23 Chapter 16: Birthday Banquet_2

"Peace Gang..."

"Iron Palm Gang..."

"Green City Sect..."

Guests from all corners arrived in an endless stream, and Zhou Hai, who refused no one, soon saw the expanded Hall of Righteous Gathering filled to capacity.

"The five great sects!"

"The seven great gangs!"

"The Two Elders of Wudang, the Four Monks of Shaolin!"

"The prestigious clans, the might of the Big Dipper!"

"All have come!"

"It seems today's affairs will not end peacefully!"

"The Heavenly King celebrates his hundredth birthday, how dare they act like this!"

"Such a display clearly indicates they're banding together. They pretend to come for the birthday celebration, but their true intention is to stir up trouble!"

"Hmph, they're certainly bold, daring to seek trouble on the Hundred broken mountains. Haven't they learned their lesson from the past years?"

"They think they have strength in numbers and are clearly underestimating us!"

"We cannot let these villains ruin the Founder's birthday. As disciples and family members, we must join forces and drive them out of the mountain!"

"Hold on, since Brother Zhou invited them to sit, it means the Founder must have a plan. We must not act rashly and spoil his arrangements."

...

Inside the Hall of Righteous Gathering, the murmuring was incessant, and the atmosphere even more indescribable.

Seeing that the tables were full, Zhou Hai also stood up on the main stage and said to everyone, "For all of you to come here to celebrate Heavenly King's birthday, Hundred Broken Mountains is deeply honored. With this meager wine, we express our humble gratitude. Please, everyone, drink freely, and not return sober today. Servants, serve the wine, commence the feast..."

"Hold on!"

His words were not yet finished when someone interrupted him.

Zhou Hai looked down, gazing at the one who spoke up—it was Kunlun Sect leader He Tianchong, but he did not care and still replied with a faint smile, "What advice does Mr. Iron Sword have?"

He Tianchong stood up, drawing the eyes of everyone, and spoke out clearly, "Let's not beat around the bush. Today, we are here not only to celebrate Heavenly King Li's hundredth birthday, but there's another matter for which we ask the Heavenly King to explain to the world. So I dare to ask, where is Heavenly King Li?"

Zhou Hai smiled, still unconcerned, "Heavenly King Li has some pressing matters and cannot spare the time now. Mr. Iron Sword, all sect leaders, and esteemed figures of the Martial World, if there are matters you wish to discuss, you may speak of them now. Although I am not talented, I am still capable of speaking on behalf of Heavenly King Li."

"I'm afraid you are not the right person to handle this, Manager Zhou!"

Zhou Hai had hardly finished speaking when another man stood up—it was Kongtong Sect leader Chen Longfei: "It is better to invite Heavenly King Li to come out and confront the heroes himself."

"Sect Leader Chen!"

Zhou Hai lowered his gaze, looking at him coldly, "How Heavenly King Li conducts his affairs is not for the likes of you to determine. I advise Sect Leader Chen and the rest of you not to bring disgrace upon yourselves!"

"You...!"

"Exactly!"

Chen Longfei's expression stiffened, but before he could speak, someone slammed the table and stood up—it was the Head Escort Master of the East-bound Escort Agency, Miao Fang.

Miao Fang stood up, his tiger eyes glaring coldly at Chen Longfei and the others from Kongtong, "How the Founder acts is none of your business. If you have something to say, then say it. If you want to fight, then follow me outside the mountain and settle it. Do not disturb the Founder's birthday celebration!"

"You...!"

"Brother Miao speaks the truth!"

Chen Longfei was left speechless by Miao Fang's words, a mix of shock and anger on his face, when yet another man stood up—it was none other than the Head Escort Master of Zhenwei Escort Agency, Wang Tang.

Wang Tang rose to his feet, his hand pressing down on the table, his cold eyes sweeping over the sect leaders: "Today is the hundredth birthday of our founder. If any of you have grievances with us, settle them outside the mountains. But if you act wildly and disrupt our founder's birthday celebration, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

"Amitabha Buddha!"

No sooner had the threatening words fallen than they were suppressed by a clear and sonorous Buddhist chant.

This chant was so clear and resounding that it drummed in everyone's eardrums like a great bell, fully displaying the profound cultivation of True Qi.

Everyone turned their heads, following the sound, and saw an old monk with white eyebrows, dressed in a kasaya, rise from his seat and say while leaning on a Vajra Scepter: "Head Escort Master Wang, you are still so overbearing. With a single disagreement, you resort to threats of violence. No wonder, seven years ago, you annihilated our Shaolin lay disciples and all seventy-eight people from the Dragongate Escort Agency!"

"Huh?!"

At those words, everyone's gaze suddenly sharpened.

Only Wang Tang remained composed, his cold eyes turning to the white-browed old monk: "I wondered who it was, and it turns out to be Master Kongjian from Shaolin. True, my Zhenwei Escort Agency has competed with your Dragongate Escort Agency, even fought several battles, but the massacre that wiped out Dragongate Escort Agency was not our doing. Master, you should first investigate the facts of the case before you make baseless accusations!"

"Hmph!"

Kongjian tapped his scepter and said coldly: "Both physical evidence and witnesses point to you. You say it's not you, is that so?"

"Physical evidence can be manipulated, and witnesses can lie. The truth is in the heart of hearts!"

Wang Tang flung his sleeves, raising his hands to the sky: "We, the disciples of Hundred Broken Mountains, have been taught by our founder's verbal instruction and personal example, his earnest teachings. We always act openly and uprightly, with a clear conscience. If it were the doing of my Zhenwei Escort Agency, I, Wang Tang, would readily admit it. If there is half a falsehood, I should suffer from the Five Thunder Boom, with both body and spirit destroyed!"

"Hundred Broken Mountains?"

"Heh!"

Upon hearing this, Kongjian let out a cold laugh: "Who in the Martial World doesn't know that Heavenly King Li of the Hundred Broken Mountains is the leader of the bandits in the green forest, a peerless great bandit who roams the mountains and forests? The merchants and even ordinary travelers all suffer extortion. Even before Heavenly King Li joined the Martial World, he ruthlessly exterminated both his family and the Li and Lu families. Such a sect tradition, and he dares to claim being open and upright, with a clear conscience—it is truly laughable..."

"You bald donkey!"

The moment he said this, an uproar ensued. Wang Tang's eyes bulged with fury, pointing at Kongjian: "You dare to insult my ancestor's reputation!"

"The truth is simply stated!"

"What Master Kongjian said is true. What heroes of the green forest? Aren't they just a bunch of bandits!"

"You thief monk, you're inverting right and wrong, spouting slander!"

"My Hundred Broken Mountains paves the way for commerce, strategizing across the Martial World, westward to the deserts, eastward to the vast seas, south across the mountain ridges, north to the snowy lands. Look at the Martial World, there is nowhere without the stations, Horse Gangs, merchant associations, and fleets of the Hundred Broken Mountains, truly rich in the Four Seas and prosperous in all directions. Would we need to extort the common people? Ridiculous!"

"Bald donkey, when it comes to extortion, who in the Martial World can compete with you? Everyone knows that Shaolin, having been established for hundreds of years, is known as a temple but is actually a landlord tyrant. Inside and outside the temple, the good fields it holds are not just ten thousand acres, plus the temple Buddha statues, how much of the common people's offerings have you swallowed, how much blood and flesh of the civilians have you consumed?"

"And those from Dragongate Escort Agency, what 'lay disciples'? They are clearly just your looting methods. Dragongate Escort Agency, relying on the status of the largest sect in the Martial World, purported to be an escort agency, but is actually no different from bandits. The acts of cunning and thievery are countless. It's only fitting that their destruction is heavenly retribution!"

"Everyone knows that though my founder came from humble origins, he has always acted with fairness and justice, never harming the innocent. Back then, the Li and Lu families were wealthy but unkind, overbearing and tyrannical, seeking to take my founder's life. The founder only executed the ringleaders and cut off their followers, without harming anyone else. Where is this talk of exterminating entire families coming from?"

"Besides these malicious villains, all of you seated here are heroes of the Martial World. Ask yourselves, has my ancestor ever done anything unjust? Look across the Martial World, be it the women and men of the Martial World or the common people, who doesn't praise the name of Heavenly King Li as a righteous and benevolent ruler?"

"Hmph, what a 'righteous and benevolent' ruler; it's just to win over people's hearts and grow your own power!"

"True, you of the Hundred Broken Mountains widely shelter fleeing commoners, not knowing how many criminals and bandits have joined your camp, becoming a den of filth, too foul to speak of!"

"It's exactly because you bandits and villains back them up, that many ignorant commoners grow bold, committing murder and robbery. Then, following your founder's example, the 'righteous and benevolent' Heavenly King Li, they flee into the mountains, joining the bandits, thus becoming the scourge of the common people, a malignant tumor of society!"

"You old ghost, you're framing others with lies, clearly it's you, the so-called Prestigious Clans in cahoots with the government and powerful families, who oppress and extort layer by layer, driving people to such despair they must flee to the mountains to become escapees. You shameless old thief, turning black into white like this, do you really think no one can cut off your dog head?"

"You youngsters, what right do you have to discuss such matters with us? Where is Li Qing Shan? Let him come out. What, does he dare to do but not to acknowledge?"

"Hehe, at tonight's banquet, why is there not one from the Li Family to be seen? Could it be that the old ghost knows his misdeeds have been exposed and he will be attacked by the heroes of the Martial World? Hence he ran off early, leaving you outsiders to be the scapegoats..."

Inside the Hall of Righteous Gathering, both sides insisted on their own arguments, their faces flushed with anger, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, on the verge of losing control.

Just then...

"What a lively scene!"

A light chuckle came from outside.