Chapter 119: Your Name Is Patronage? Well, Thank You Very Much

Chapter 119: Your name is Huigu? Much obliged!

When all is said and done, Zheng Jian and Xie Xiaofeng are not cut from the same cloth. While Zheng Jian may be a playboy, he is not a scoundrel. If he cannot offer love, he chooses not to inflict harm. Flirtatious as he may be, and wild as he acts, he has never truly wronged any of the many women who surround him. That is his principle.

Well, truth be told, he just thinks Xie Xiaofeng is too stingy. Ten points of resentment? How could you be so embarrassed? It is not like we are still in the version 1.0 era of the Resentment System…

But I digress.

Just as the group was lost in their own thoughts, others barged in. With a sharp "thud," a man arrived in the courtyard. His left sleeve hung empty, his right leg was severed at the knee and replaced with a wooden prosthetic, and a jagged scar ran across his left eye. A man with one arm, one leg, and one eye! Despite such mutilation, he was quite unique; his attire was neat and luxurious, and he possessed a certain cruel charm.

Close behind him, two others drifted down as light as withered leaves. One carried a three-foot-long withered bamboo stalk at his waist, and he himself looked just as withered. The other was as round as a ball, with a broad, pancake-like face etched with a smile. On his chubby white hands were three priceless rings, and his nails were grown quite long—hardly the hands of a swordsman.

From outside the gate, another man walked in, coughing. He was shabbily dressed, stooped and hunched, with a face so sickly he looked like an old monk about to be buried.

"Twin Swallows in Flight" Shan Yifei, Liu Kuzhu (Withered Bamboo), the "Wealthy Immortal Soul-Searching Hand" Huigu, and this old monk—all four were figures of immense renown in the martial arts world, yet today, they had come together.

"What a lively scene," Zheng Jian said leisurely. "Xie Xiaofeng, care to guess why they are here?"

Xie Xiaofeng’s expression did not change. He replied coolly, "To kill, naturally."

Zheng Jian smiled faintly. "Then the question is, who do they intend to kill?"

The old monk spoke softly, "Amitabha!"

In that split second, Shan Yifei suddenly leaped up, kicking toward Mao Yiyun with his prosthetic leg. With a sharp metallic clang, a blade sprang from within the wood, piercing Mao Yiyun’s heart in an instant! Simultaneously, Liu Kuzhu and the pancake-faced fatty struck together, slaying Qiu Er with lightning speed. Mao Da and Qiu Er had no time to resist before they lay dead on the spot.

Xie Xiaofeng did not move, though his hands trembled uncontrollably. He truly did not want to hold a sword again.

"Heaven and earth are heartless. Ghosts and gods have no eyes. All things are incompetent. The masses are ignorant. Life and death are fickle. Disaster and fortune have no gate. Between heaven and earth, only I am supreme. That is the founding motto of the Heavenly Venerable Sect. Old monk, do you know it by heart?" Zheng Jian asked with a grin.

"Kind sir, greetings. May I ask if you are also one of us?" the old monk asked, surprised.

Zheng Jian pondered for a moment. "If a bunch of crooked melons and cracked dates like you can join the Heavenly Venerable Sect, then their threshold must be quite low. A bunch of ugly ghosts—can someone as handsome as me even get in?"

The old monk: "..."

*No resentment points? Damn, the cultivation of a monk really is something.* Zheng Jian was surprised, deciding he needed to turn up the heat.

"Look at you, Shan Yifei," Zheng Jian continued. "When you smile, wolves hang themselves; when you sigh, cats flee and rats scatter; when you jump, chickens and dogs fly into a panic. If you don't dress up, you’re uglier than a ghost; if you do, you scare the ghosts into a stupor."

Shan Yifei: "..."
(Resentment from Shan Yifei +999)

Zheng Jian turned his focus. "And you, you fat pig! Just look at your face—it’s so twisted and wretched that even I have to marvel at the miracle of your parents! And your name is Huigu? Much obliged!"

Huigu: "You!"
(Resentment from Huigu +999)

Zheng Jian then looked at Liu Kuzhu. "I can see you’ve endured much, but let me tell you, don’t keep bringing up that weather-beaten face of yours. It’s ugly in such a unique way!"
(Resentment from Liu Kuzhu +999)

Zheng Jian was quite satisfied. He turned to the old monk and laughed, "They say gold will always shine, but looking at you, you’re just a piece of broken glass constantly reflecting light!"
(Resentment from the old monk +500)

Xie Xiaofeng watched in a daze as Zheng Jian unleashed a barrage of insults without a single vulgar word, and seeing the four experts turn blacker in the face by the second, his estimation of Zheng Jian rose to a new level.

*He’s a savage!*

"You—you are courting death!" Huigu the fatty finally squeezed out the words, his fat rolling in rage, making him look like a wave of lard.

Before he could finish, Liu Kuzhu’s sword had already left its sheath, thrusting toward Zheng Jian’s left side. Simultaneously, Shan Yifei struck with fury, the blade on his prosthetic aiming for the center of Zheng Jian’s brow. Huigu the Wealthy Immortal could hold back no longer, his soft, white fingers snapping out with nails like short swords, aiming for Zheng Jian’s throat. The old monk attacked from the rear, his eyes filled with mercy, but his palms striking with the force of an angry Vajra.

The four masters struck at once, and even Xie Xiaofeng’s expression shifted.

Zheng Jian, however, remained unhurried. He deployed his *Divine Swiftness* footwork, dodging left and right. As he evaded Liu Kuzhu’s blade, he used the *Tear-Stain Sword* to deflect the withered bamboo, sending a massive force into Liu Kuzhu. The latter was dragged aside against his will, his bamboo sword colliding directly with Huigu’s lethal nails.

Just then, Shan Yifei and the old monk closed in from front and back. Zheng Jian was in mid-air, at the critical moment where his old strength was spent and his new strength had yet to emerge. The two attackers seemed to see him already run through by their blades. But with a bizarre twist of his body, Zheng Jian tapped his left foot against his right, turning once more to slip past them both.

The coordinated, lethal assault of the four masters had been easily dismantled by Zheng Jian. Xie Xiaofeng narrowed his eyes, his right hand subconsciously clenching as if gripping the legendary Xie family sword. He felt a flicker of interest stirred by Zheng Jian’s miraculous movement—a change he had not even noticed himself.

Zheng Jian exited the fray, stood firm, and smiled. "See? Even if you’re angry, what can you do if you can’t beat me?"

A sharp tongue combined with overwhelming strength—he was simply shameless!

Without waiting for the four to regroup, Zheng Jian took the initiative. After all, the *Nine Swords of Dugu* were not meant for defense; the best defense is a good offense!

With his innate *qi* surging wildly, the *Tear-Stain Sword* emitted a deep azure halo. With a flash of light, Zheng Jian had closed the distance to Liu Kuzhu. The latter was shocked and tried to retreat, but Zheng Jian’s thrust sealed all paths of escape. The strike was as dazzling and beautiful as an aurora, leaving Liu Kuzhu almost intoxicated.

"Pfft!"

The *Tear-Stain Sword* pierced through Liu Kuzhu’s chest without resistance, emerging from his back. One move, instant kill.

A strange light flashed in Xie Xiaofeng’s eyes. That strike had stirred a long-dormant desire for battle within him.

"How about it? My skills are passable, aren't they?" Zheng Jian asked, looking at the remaining men with a playful smirk.