Tang Yan roared angrily, swung his steel sword without minding Qiu Yong and Yuan Yun beside him, and directly launched an attack towards Xia Yue.
Xia Yue’s reaction was not slow either. When Tang Yan struck, she had already retreated, hoping to widen the distance between them. However, Xia Yue still underestimated Tang Yan’s strength. After all, Tang Yan was no ordinary high-ranking martial artist on the Earthly List.
Among the elders of the Yangxin Pavilion, Tang Yan was slightly stronger than Huang Zheng, Liang Tian, and others. There were only a handful of martial artists on the Earthly List who could defeat Tang Yan.
At this moment, although Tang Yan was still about a meter away from Xia Yue, the momentum of his steel sword was fierce, and his energy was condensed and sharp. Within a meter, Xia Yue had no chance of dodging.
Seeing Xia Yue in danger, Qiu Yong and Yuan Yun couldn’t help but shout out and leaped towards Tang Yan to intercept his attack. However, Tang Yan was too fast, and even their reaction came too late.
In a corner of the room, Zhang Zhongfeng had long placed an arrow on the bowstring, with the sharp tip locked on Tang Yan, ready to save Xia Yue at the critical moment.
However, before Zhang Zhongfeng could shoot his arrow, he suddenly saw a figure flash before his eyes, blocking Tang Yan in his line of sight.
Zhang Zhongfeng frowned slightly. Having lost his target, he couldn’t lock his arrow on Tang Yan to rescue Xia Ye. In a split second, Zhang Zhongfeng quickly shifted position with his longbow, searching for a favorable perspective.
But at this moment, a crisp sound suddenly rang out in the room. Then, before everyone could react, they saw Tang Yan’s body flying out, heavily crashing into the wall along with the steel sword falling to the ground.
Seeing this scene, everyone present was stunned, looking incredulously at the person who had intervened.
The person who had suddenly appeared, rescued Xia Yue, and repelled Tang Yan was Xu Ming.
Ling Chen silently marveled, his handsome face unable to conceal a look of shock.
Xu Ming ranked second among the eight eccentrics, mainly due to his age and seniority. Although Ling Chen had spent a considerable amount of time with Xu Ming, he seldom saw Xu Ming make a move and was unclear about the extent of his strength. Moreover, Ling Chen had learned from Qiu Yong and others that Xu Ming was the most mysterious among them because no one knew his origins or what he had experienced in the past.
Now, faced with a high-ranking martial artist on the Earthly List like Tang Yan, Xu Ming actually managed to repel him, which was indeed surprising to Ling Chen and the others.
For a long while, the other six eccentrics didn’t react. Since Yang Chen, who was seventh, was blind and could only hear sounds without seeing what happened, he was not as visually shocked as Ling Chen and the others.
At this moment, Tang Yan picked himself up from the ground and, looking at Xu Ming in front of him, his face alternated between green and red, a mix of shame and anger with a tinge of shock within.
"You... who are you?"
Finally, Tang Yan chose to speak rather than continue the attack. Having received a blow from Xu Ming just now, he had deeply felt Xu Ming’s strength.
Although he had been caught off guard by Xu Ming, the power Xu Ming displayed still made him wary. It wasn’t a question of whether Xu Ming was stronger than him, but he was certainly no weaker.
"You are not worthy to know who I am," Xu Ming said coldly.
"Fine." Tang Yan nodded, glanced over at Ling Chen standing behind Xu Ming, then refocused his gaze on Xu Ming and said, "Today I’ll give you face and let it slide. However, Ling Chen killed my disciple and I will never let this go. Unless you have the ability to stay by his side all the time, no matter where he flees, I will not forgive him."
"I..." Ling Chen opened his mouth, ready to retort, but before he could speak, Xu Ming cut him off, saying solemnly, "Tang Yan, don’t think I wouldn’t dare to touch you just because of your age. I’ll tell you, stop acting entitled because of your seniority. Ling Chen didn’t kill Tong Nan; he’s been bed-ridden these past few days and hasn’t recovered from his injuries. Forget killing Tong Nan, in his current condition, he couldn’t even kill a dog, let alone a person. I don’t know who told you Ling Chen killed Tong Nan, and I’m not interested in investigating. In any case, we, the Eight Eccentrics, always take responsibility for our actions. If it really was our doing, we would definitely admit it."
Hearing this, Tang Yan’s gaze flickered, clearly contemplating something.
After a pause, Tang Yan spoke, "For now, I will believe what you said. When I return, I will find out the truth of this matter."
Having said this, Tang Yan turned and prepared to leave.
However, before Tang Yan could reach the door, Xu Ming suddenly stepped forward to block his path.
Facing Xu Ming who was blocking his way, Tang Yan’s face turned cold, barely containing his fury, he asked, "What more do you want?"
"Tang Yan, do you really think the Eight Eccentrics are so easily bullied, that you can come and go as you please? You accused my Sixth Brother of murdering your disciple without any cause and sought revenge at our doorstep, attacking without explanation. If we didn’t have some ability, my Sixth Brother would already be dead under your sword. You can leave, but first, you must apologize to my Sixth Brother. Only if he forgives you, can you go."
At these words, Tang Yan’s face underwent a change, his eyes turning icily cold, and through gritted teeth he said, "Don’t be too presumptuous. I am telling you, I am not afraid of you. If it really comes to blows, it’s not clear yet who will be the deer brought down."
"Oh!" Xu Ming said unabashedly, "If you dare to start a fight, then we will accompany you to the end. But before we start, let me be clear: we, the Eight Eccentrics, are united in attack and retreat. Either you take on all eight of us, or all eight of us will fight you alone. The choice is yours."
"You..." Tang Yan was at a loss for words. He had seen shameless, but never this shameless.
If it were just Xu Ming alone, Tang Yan might have the courage to clash with him. But facing the Eight Eccentrics alone was beyond his courage. It wasn’t just about how formidable Xu Ming was; there was also the Archer God Zhang Zhongfeng. Apart from these two, Qiu Yong, Yuan Yun, Xia Yue, and others were not to be trifled with. The eight of them together could easily take his life.
Yet, for him, a respected elder of the Yangxin Pavilion and a prominent figure of the Earthly List, to apologize to a junior was unthinkable. Where would he put his face after this?
Moreover, if word of this got out, it would likely become a laughing stock for the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.
With these thoughts, Tang Yan found himself hesitating.
After a brief moment, seeing Tang Yan’s delayed response, Xu Ming urged, "Have you made up your mind yet?"
As his voice fell, Tang Yan raised his head, swept a glance over Xu Ming and the others like Qiu Yong. The next second, without waiting for the crowd to react, he suddenly sped up and dashed towards the door.