At this moment, the old beggar lay comfortably on a two-man litter.
In front of him, three men rode on tall, large horses.
They were Iron Beggar Zhou Peng, Golden Saber Feng San, and Mountain Climbing Vine Liu Feng.
Riding on his horse, Liu Feng couldn’t help coughing twice. His injuries had not healed, but he had to appear on stage today because he too was a powerhouse of the Iron Bone Realm. Even an injured warrior of the Iron Bone Realm remained in the Iron Bone Realm, not something the Willow Tendon Realm could handle.
This was the strongest force the Beggar Sect could present today.
As the group entered the venue, the old beggar got off the litter and stepped onto the stage, saying, "Thank you all for coming to Nan Lake today to watch this match. If there is anything lacking in our hospitality, please kindly forgive us."
Hearing this, the guild disciples watching the excitement below were very courteous in response, "Old Leader, you are too kind."
The old beggar might ascend over White Tiger Hall today, hence these Jianghu Sects had to give him sufficient respect.
The old beggar smiled and then turned to look at the disciples arranging the venue, "Be spirited, people will be coming soon."
Sure enough, not long after, a group of important figures began to arrive in succession.
"Look quickly, it’s Shunfeng Escort Agency, Mr. Sun."
Indeed, a procession arrived, led by the socialite of Mianshui County from Shunfeng Escort Agency, Sun Bu’er.
Sun Bu’er made his way to a spot and greeted the old beggar with a fist salute, "Old Leader, you’ve arrived early."
The old beggar replied, "Not early, not early. Today’s event at Nan Lake is hosted by me. By the way, Leader Sun, you will have to trouble yourself later to preside over the event."
"To have the opportunity to preside over this great battle for everyone is my honor," Sun Bu’er said.
Afterwards, Leader Sun turned to the old beggar and said, "Old Leader, I have a favor to ask."
The old beggar courteously replied, regardless of the fact that Sun Bu’er was not strong in martial arts, his connections were vast and he ran an escort business, which meant he had no conflicts of interest with these local guilds. Hence, everyone was willing to do him a small favor.
"Shamefully," Leader Sun continued, "my good-for-nothing son-in-law has taken Peng Shizhong as his adoptive father, right? And he has been chosen to fight against your Sect in the match today."
"I hope that if your men encounter my unworthy son-in-law, please show leniency and do not leave my poor daughter a widow. I would be immensely grateful."
Stunned by these words, the old beggar quickly laughed and said, "Sure, sure. As long as your son-in-law doesn’t stubbornly refuse to admit defeat, we certainly won’t take his life."
Leader Sun chuckled, "Rest assured, Old Leader, my son-in-law is afraid of death. He will never fight to the bitter end. Rest easy, rest easy..."
The venue was gradually filling up with people when the people from White Tiger Hall finally arrived.
Two spacious horse-drawn carriages rolled in side by side, preceded by three men on horseback, the main characters of this tournament.
Chen Jiusi, Peng Fu, and Zhou Chu.
In the first of the two large carriages behind them sat Peng Shizhong, while his three adoptive sons occupied the following carriage.
Eight-faced Buddha Feng Xuan, Iron-faced Tiger Zheng Chuan, and Copper Arm Lu Rong.
At this moment, the three of them sat in the carriages and Lu Rong pulled back the curtains to take a look outside, saying, "There are quite a few people here."
Zheng Chuan said, "It doesn’t concern us; this round of competition is for the Fifth Brother and the others to fight."
"Cough cough, Second Brother, you don’t seem to be very happy about this!"
Zheng Chuan coughed twice and said, "Cough cough... happy? How can I be happy? With Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, and Uncle Fu, the only one who can really fight is Uncle Fu. Today’s defeat is certain. If I could be happy about that, my heart would be too big."
Hearing this, Feng Xuan said, "Ah, there’s nothing that can be done. We are all seriously injured. Stepping on the stage now, we probably couldn’t even beat someone from the Liu Jin Realm. It’s really like forcing a duck onto a perch for the Fifth Brother and the others!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Rong said, "Ah... it’s our oversight. If it weren’t for being ambushed by the old beggar, how could it have come to this?"
Feng Xuan turned to Lu Rong and said, "Even in a direct fight, could we have beaten the Beggar Sect? Haven’t you seen the old beggar’s Seventeen Dragon Capturing Palms? Absolutely terrifying. Even our adoptive father couldn’t withstand a single palm. Even if they didn’t ambush us, could we have expected fair play?"
After Feng Xuan’s words, Zheng Chuan and Lu Rong were left with nothing to say. With their real strength laid bare, if the Beggar Sect targeted them, even forewarned, it would probably be hard to avoid this tragedy, unless the entire White Tiger Hall turned into turtles in their shells.
But if White Tiger Hall were to shrink away, then what would give it the right to stand in Mianshui County?
This was an unsolvable dilemma. In Jianghu, it’s survival of the fittest. If you are weak, you must take the beatings; that’s the rule.
Lu Rong sighed and peered outside, saying, "Zhou Peng and Feng San are no simple figures, and although Liu Feng is gravely injured, he still retains the strength of the Iron Bone Realm. With the strength of Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother, I’m afraid they won’t be able to defeat any. We can only hope they don’t lose too disgracefully, cough cough cough..."
Zheng Chuan also lamented, "Although Uncle Fu also possesses the strength of the Iron Bone Realm, facing Zhou Peng and Feng San, I’m afraid it won’t be enough. Youth is the fear of the trained fighter. Without reaching the Energy Transformation, age is the biggest killer for a martial artist."
Feng Xuan sighed and said, "Ah, it all comes down to fate. We can only watch now. We might even be worse off than Fifth Brother and the others!"
The carriage quickly arrived in the middle of the grounds. The crowd naturally parted, leaving a space exclusively for the Fishing Guild Disciples.
The Eagle Guard lifted the curtain for Peng Shizhong, and immediately after, Peng Shizhong stepped out.
As he made his appearance, countless eyes turned to Peng Shizhong, who looked to be in good condition, showing no signs of being hurt.
Seeing Peng Shizhong, the old beggar immediately greeted him with a hearty laugh, "Old Peng, ha ha ha, you’ve finally arrived."