The hall was spacious, measuring six zhang in both length and width and about two zhang in height. It was square and had eight armchairs placed inside, four on each side. Above, there was a horizontal inscribed board with the three characters "Azure Dragon Hall" written on it.
Against the back wall was a spirit tablet stand, on which more than a dozen memorial tablets were placed. Among them was a new tablet with the name of his adoptive father, "Pei Yuanfeng" written on it.
In front of the spirit tablet stand, there was also a long spear placed horizontally. The spear shaft was covered with numerous tiny scratches, indicating at a glance that it was an old spear that had weathered many storms in the martial arts world.
At this moment, there were already people seated on the eight armchairs. They were dressed in magnificent clothes, five men and three women. With solemn expressions, they all turned their gazes and looked towards the doorway in unison.
?!
Yejing Hall had been wondering what eye-opening things there were in the basement. Suddenly, seeing such a magnificent and formal hall, as well as the eight solemn-looking elders, he was truly taken aback.
Although he didn't know what was going on, Yejing Hall immediately composed himself and put on a cold and stern expression, standing behind Pei Xiangjun to observe the situation.
As Pei Xiangjun showed up, the eight incense masters in the underground hall all stood up and saluted:
"Building owner!"
"Dispense with the formalities."
Pei Xiangjun's aura changed completely, showing the demeanor that a female leader should have. She calmly came and sat in front of the Azure Dragon Hall.
Yejing Hall was a bit confused, but from details such as the address and the memorial tablets, he roughly figured out where this place was—the branch of the Honghua Building.
Yejing Hall wasn't very surprised by this. Ever since the "Red God of Wealth" came to his door, he had had some doubts in his heart, and now he was sure of his speculation.
So that person wearing a wide-brimmed hat was really Third Aunt...
No wonder the Honghua Building was in such a sorry state...
Yejing Hall didn't dare to ask directly. He silently came and stood behind Pei Xiangjun's big armchair, sizing up the people seated there.
After Yejing Hall appeared, the eight incense masters in the Azure Dragon Hall had different expressions in their eyes. The three female incense masters were full of amazement.
Li Sanwen and the others looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze.
Pei Xiangjun didn't introduce the background to Yejing Hall because Yejing Hall was very smart and could understand the current situation.
She sat in front of the Azure Dragon Hall and scanned the eight incense masters on both sides:
"This is Yejing Hall, the adopted son of my second brother, Pei Yuanfeng. Last month, my second brother passed away. I've already told you about the matter of him bringing the family property to the capital. His character and ability are both worthy of being entrusted with important tasks. So I want him to be the young master. Do you have any objections?"
Wang Ren spoke up: "The Honghua Building isn't just the small Tianshui Bridge outside, and our opponents aren't idle men like Yang Guan on the streets..."
Pei Xiangjun raised her hand to interrupt him and looked at Yejing Hall:
"Jingtang, do you have the confidence?"
Yejing Hall was still confused at this moment and didn't know who everyone was. But regarding Pei Xiangjun's question, his answer was straightforward:
"The Pei family is the kin of my adoptive father. Third Aunt has also been kind to me and given me a high salary. When something happens, I will naturally do my best to protect it. As for the Pei family's property, whether it's just at Tianshui Bridge or spread across the country, it makes no difference to me."
Pei Xiangjun was very satisfied with this answer, but Li Sanwen frowned:
"You're like a newborn calf that doesn't know the dangers of the world. What's为难ing the Honghua Building now is the entire martial arts world! You need to have the ability to keep your promises and be righteous. Empty words, how can we believe you?"
Yejing Hall felt that this old man's words were sarcastic and replied calmly:
"I'm not a member of the Pei family. I'm helping the Pei family out of affection. Whether you believe me or not, I will do what I should do; if it's something I shouldn't do, I won't agree to it even if you believe me."
Among the eight incense masters seated there, some frowned and some nodded. They looked at each other, seemingly discussing.
Yejing Hall saw these people talking among themselves and leaving Third Aunt aside. They lacked the basic respect for the "leader," and he secretly frowned.
Yejing Hall thought for a moment and recalled the situation of the Honghua Building—the building owner lacked strength, the forces in the martial arts world were eyeing it covetously, and the various branches were ready to act...
Looking at Third Aunt beside him, who was charming and graceful, she really didn't seem like someone who could take on the heavy responsibility. After thinking for a while, he asked:
"Third Aunt, did you bring me here today to let me show my abilities and win the favor of everyone here?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the eight incense masters all turned their heads.
Pei Xiangjun was waiting for Li Sanwen to pick a fight and have a match with Yejing Hall to prove Yejing Hall's potential. She replied:
"Hmm... that's more or less the case."
Yejing Hall nodded slightly, walked in front of Third Aunt, and scanned the incense masters:
"Then let's get straight to it. Do you want to test me one by one or all at once?"
?!
The eight incense masters seated there were directly stunned by this arrogant tone of "I want to fight eight of you."
Pei Xiangjun even widened her almond-shaped eyes a little and quickly stopped him:
"Jingtang, don't be presumptuous!"
Yejing Hall slightly raised his hand and continued:
"Third Aunt pays me a salary and wants me to be the young master. Since I'm getting paid, I have to do the job well. If you think there's a problem with Third Aunt's arrangement, you can stand up and raise it. If I can't refute it, I'll leave on my own."
Slap—
Li Sanwen had already been dissatisfied with Pei Xiangjun's hasty decision. Seeing that this young man had no respect at all, he became extremely angry and immediately slapped the armrest and stood up.
But at this moment!
Clang—
A flash of saber light appeared in the underground hall!
The three-foot silver blade at Yejing Hall's waist unsheathed, bringing out a half-moon cold light.
The shrill sound of the saber made the nine people seated there shudder!
Li Sanwen wasn't an ordinary person. Seeing this posture, his eyes were filled with horror, and he hastily retreated.
But the Eight Steps Crazy Saber was fierce precisely because it could defeat the enemy with a preemptive strike.
Although Yejing Hall had just mastered it a few days ago, he had it firmly in his heart. Even She Long could only block it in a hurry. How could a mere incense master withstand it?
The blade flashed past, directly aiming at the middle of Li Sanwen, who had just left his chair.
As expected, with a single strike of the saber, before Li Sanwen could even raise his hand, a gash had already been opened in his chest.
But unfortunately, before the silver blade could touch Li Sanwen's robe, a pitch-black long spear protruded from behind and blocked the saber.
Clang—
The crisp sound of metal clashing.
Last time, this spear could have sent Yejing Hall's saber flying.
But this time was different. The powerful and heavy spear shaft couldn't stop the saber in Yejing Hall's hand. It was struck and lifted three inches, and the spear shaft directly hit Li Sanwen's chest.
Bang—
Whoosh—
Li Sanwen flew backward, knocking over the armchair and falling to the ground.
The other seven incense masters were all terrified. They stood up and took a few steps back, treating it as a serious threat.
Li Sanwen didn't even care about the pain in his chest. His face pale, he got up and dodged behind Pei Xiangjun, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
After the saber light flashed, the Azure Dragon Hall fell silent in an instant.
Pei Xiangjun never expected that after just a few days, Yejing Hall's martial arts had reached such an incredible level.
Only then did she understand why She Long had been injured in the arm by Yejing Hall with a single saber strike.
"What are you doing? Old Li is an elder..."
"I only recognize Third Aunt. I don't know them."
"They're all our own people. It's enough for you to show your skills. Why did you strike so hard?"
"I'm a martial artist, not an actor! If someone wants to test my abilities, I have to let him know my true strength."
"..."
Pei Xiangjun felt that Yejing Hall was a bit fierce and didn't say anything more.
Yejing Hall held the saber obliquely and pointed it at the ground, looking at the incense masters:
"Among you here, who else wants to test my abilities?"
When these words were spoken, the eight incense masters who had been stunned came to their senses. They looked at each other and were silent.
Giving them a display of power to subdue you at the first encounter at the first meeting, the incense masters seated there were definitely not happy.
But the strength shown by Yejing Hall with that single saber strike already had the demeanor of a grandmaster. For them, the incense masters, to go up and test his abilities would be like seeking death.
At only eighteen years old, having such martial arts skills, there were very few people like him in the entire martial arts world. For such a person to become the young master of the Honghua Building, his potential was limitless.
Even though this young master seemed a bit fierce and not easy to get along with, suffering a bit of grievance within the sect was still better than being oppressed by the forces in the martial arts world outside.
Seeing everyone hesitate, Lady Huang Zhu took the lead and stepped forward, saluting with her hands clasped:
"Young master, your martial arts skills are excellent!"
The remaining incense masters followed suit and saluted, and Li Sanwen did the same.
Yejing Hall saw this, sheathed the saber, and retreated behind Pei Xiangjun:
"I'm not interested in the property of the Honghua Building. I'm standing here only because there's my adoptive father's memorial tablet on the spirit tablet stand. I won't take a single penny of my adoptive father's property, and the same goes for the Pei family's property. When Third Aunt thinks she doesn't need my help anymore, I will leave on my own."
After getting to know Yejing Hall for a few days, Pei Xiangjun already had a rough idea of his character. She said softly:
"Let's talk about these things later."
Yejing Hall didn't say anything more.
Pei Xiangjun sat upright again and looked around the hall.
The eight incense masters in front of her were much more serious than the pretended solemnity before. They sat in silence, waiting for Pei Xiangjun to speak.
"It will be the end of the month soon. In a few days, we'll go to Xiwang Town to meet with the leaders of each branch. Jingtang will be taken there, and this matter will be officially announced. Do you think the leaders of each branch will have any objections?"
The eight incense masters all shook their heads in unison.
Just thinking about the scene where the leaders of each branch would be shocked, they were even a bit eager to see it.
Lady Huang Zhu said: "At that time, the White Tiger Hall will definitely send a challenge letter to the young master. Young master, don't be too harsh..."
After being beaten up, Li Sanwen didn't complain either—mainly because he really couldn't beat Yejing Hall—he said:
"If you're not harsh, the people below won't know what 'rules' are! When the old building owner was alive, did the Song family dare to say a word? It's only because the Pei family is left with orphans and widows that they dare to bluster..."
Wang Ren thought for a moment: "It doesn't sound good to be too harsh on our own people. The Zhou family's birthday banquet is coming up soon. Let the young master go there and have a match with the young master of the Zhou family. I want to see what face the Zhou family will have to snatch the wharf business after losing the competition."
"Yes, it's most suitable for the young master to go..."
...
Once someone started, all the messy matters to be handled in the Azure Dragon Hall came up. Several incense masters couldn't wait to pull Yejing Hall over to boost their prestige right away.
Seeing this, Pei Xiangjun raised her hand to suppress the commotion:
"Jingtang learned the saber technique from my second brother, but he doesn't know how to use a spear. It's okay to use a saber at Juyi Tower, but if he doesn't know how to use a spear when going to the Zhou family, outsiders will think that we hired a master from the martial arts world to boost our prestige with money."
The eight incense masters thought it made sense and showed disappointment on their faces.
But unexpectedly, as soon as Pei Xiangjun finished speaking, Yejing Hall behind her spoke up:
"There are so many things piled up, so naturally, they need to be dealt with. Third Aunt can just teach me the spear technique. I remember that Xiwang Town isn't far from Shuiyun Sword Pool. If we're going out in a few days, we can just deal with it together to save the trouble of running back and forth."
??
As soon as these words were spoken, all the incense masters raised their heads.
If they hadn't just witnessed Yejing Hall's talent, they would definitely have cursed, "Where did this fool come from? Go and play somewhere else."
Pei Xiangjun didn't know how to comment on this. She tried to remain calm and said:
"Learning the cudgel takes a month, learning the saber takes a year, and learning the spear takes a lifetime. The spear technique can't be mastered in a few days. I know you're eager to help the Pei family with their affairs, but you can't rush when it comes to learning martial arts."
"Is the spear technique of the Pei family very profound?"
"The king of all weapons, the spear technique that once reached the seventh place in the world. What do you think?"
"..."
Yejing Hall thought it made sense and didn't say anything more...