Ink Blade Chapter 45 (Part 2)
Translated by Sylver
Instigate (part 2)
“Ah, all of you are heroes of the martial world, it’s truly rare for us to gather together today. However, I, Qi, am of limited experience and dare not judge your ranks. As for the seating arrangement, naturally, it should be based on one’s ability, each according to their ability!”
His sharp voice was polite, yet it sent a chill down everyone’s spine. As soon as he spoke, faces changed.
“Envoy Qi! What do you mean by ‘each according to their ability’!” The man who first asked the question turned red in the face, bellowing, “Are you suggesting we should fight here to determine our ranks?”
“Indeed, indeed,” Qi Qian, hands behind his back, walked back and forth with his head held high, “Isn’t it the rule of our Jianghu people that the victor is king, each according to their ability?”
He swept his sleeve with a smile, “You all know, the title of Martial Arts Alliance Leader Mansion sounds imposing, but it’s just a name. How could I, Qi, dare to assign ranks to you heroes? Look, today heroes from all paths have gathered, who sits in the higher seats, who sits in the lower seats, only ‘each according to their ability’ is the fairest!”
With these words from Qi Qian, the atmosphere in the entire venue suddenly tensed. He was right about one thing: almost all the well-known forces in the martial world were here today. If one could secure the highest seat under these circumstances, wouldn’t that mean claiming the title of the number one force in the martial world?
Many eyes were fixed on that seat, red with fiery ambition. What do these martial artists compete for? They compete for pride, for face!
With the words of the envoy from the Alliance Leader Mansion, who could tolerate sitting in the lowest seat? Who could tolerate someone weaker than themselves sitting in a higher position?
With a clever twist of words, Qi Qian pushed everyone into a difficult situation with two rows of seats.
Some wanted to fight and found a good excuse, even those who didn’t want to fight had no choice but to do so!
Xu Fangchuan’s face turned ashen with anger. Even he, usually so composed, couldn’t contain his fury and stepped forward to say coldly, “Envoy Qi seems to enjoy watching a good show, but does the Alliance Leader Mansion have any other purpose for coming to Changqing? Is it to start a grand martial arts competition?”
“Young hero Xu’s words are not appropriate. The grand martial arts competition has always been something only our Huang Alliance Leader is qualified to organize. How could Qi Qian have such authority?” Qi Qian feigned innocence, waving his hands repeatedly, “Even if it were a grand martial arts competition, the seating would be personally arranged by the Alliance Leader. I truly cannot arrange it, Young hero Xu, please don’t make it difficult for me! Or, perhaps…..Young hero…..would you like to arrange it?”
“You!” Xu Fangchuan’s face changed color. Given the current situation, if he were to take the lead, he would surely offend everyone.
It would be fine on any other day, but now the Xuyang Sword Sect was already under suspicion… As the senior brother acting with the authority of the sect leader, he absolutely could not bring more trouble to the sect. Moreover, if a fight really broke out, he would have to compete for a higher position for the sake of the sect’s honor…
Xu Fangchuan gritted his teeth, but couldn’t think of a solution at the moment. He saw that the platform was becoming restless, with some sects already starting to choose their seats.
Shui Miao’er was by his side, looking very upset. “This is bad, those who are moving first are the small sects that usually curry favor with the Alliance Leader Mansion…..Young hero Xu, they are ‘shiling’.” (TL: It initially referred to a store or roadside stall hiring one or several people to pretend to be customers and make various gestures to lure real customers to buy its products)
Xu Fangchuan’s eyebrows shot up, and he held his breath, cursing Qi Qian for even preparing this move…
The current situation was such that if no one paid attention to Qi Qian’s suggestion, it would be fine, but as soon as one person moved, a great battle would be triggered! And what would be the consequences if a great battle was triggered?
Xu Fangchuan’s fists were clenched tight. The consequence would be… the strength of all the martial world’s forces would be worn down by each other, leaving only the Alliance Leader Mansion to wait at ease.
Without strength, in the so-called “negotiations” to follow, everyone would have no choice but to be at the mercy of the Alliance Leader’s Mansion, allowing Qi Qian to reap the benefits of being a fisherman… such a sinister scheme! (TL: taking advantage of other people’s conflicts)
A series of clanging sounds of weapons colliding rang out, and Xu Fangchuan suddenly looked up, only to see that more people had started fighting on the high platform.
“Big brother, what should we do?” Some Xuyang disciples were already impatient, anxiously watching, “People are already fighting for the higher positions, are we going to compete or not?”
Xu Fangchuan shook his head. “We must not fight, stay calm, let me think…Hm?”
Xu Fangchuan was in a dilemma when suddenly a figure clad in dark black flashed before his eyes.
His eyes brightened, and he left his disciples behind to greet the newcomer, bowing with a fist. “Palace Master Chu, you’ve arrived quite late.”
“This Master is indeed late.” Chu Yan was only followed by Mo Ren and Qiu Jin, with Bai Hua not present, nor any guardians, let alone the shadow guards of Jiuzhong Palace. He frowned, looking at the people on the high platform who had already started drawing their swords, and said to Xu Fangchuan in confusion, “…What good show did this master miss?”
Xu Fangchuan gave a wry smile and briefly explained the situation with the seating. But in his heart, he thought: given Chu Yan’s pride and arrogance, if he wanted to fight for the top position, should he compete or not? He really didn’t want to fight this guy…
“This Qi Qian…is somewhat interesting.” Chu Yan pondered for a moment, then suddenly said to Xu Fangchuan. “Don’t rush, let this Master try him.”
