Volume 1 Chapter 41: The Monument-Splitting Hand of the Yellow River Sect

Watching Li Hanzhou beside her, calm as if he were discussing a trivial matter, Yun Qianzhu felt for a moment that she no longer recognized her martial uncle.

Tea that cost ten copper coins for three jin, mixed with a little licorice powder, was being passed off as the legendary brew shared by the founder of the Changsheng Temple and the ancestors of the Divine Palace Kingdom. He even claimed that anyone capable of appreciating such a tea would possess the same breadth of spirit as those ancestors and might even attain ascension—the man was spinning an absolute fairy tale.

And for this stuff, he was charging three hundred taels of silver a cup!

Was he completely insane?

What was worse, Yun Qianzhu clearly saw many people wincing as they drank it, yet they still claimed with their lips that this tea was a peerless delicacy.

Could she not tell whether this tea was any good? She could have made a profit selling it at one copper coin a pot. Three hundred taels—tsk, tsk. There were truly so many fools with money.

"Senior, is the tea good?"

The young girl was currently leaning into the arms of a rotund martial artist, her expression overflowing with tender affection.

"Of course it's good," the fat martial artist said, looking utterly blissful. "Just thinking that the ancestors of the Divine Palace Kingdom once drank this very tea, savoring the myriad flavors of life, makes me feel incredibly powerful right now."

"Really? Could you let me have a taste? I want a cup too," the girl blinked.

"Ah, this..."

The fat man hesitated. After all, three hundred taels a cup was not exactly cheap. Never mind that he had bought a VIP ticket—among those present who had purchased VIP tickets, how many hadn't been swindled into it by Li Hanzhou through gritted teeth? The five-thousand-tael ticket had already cost him the better part of his fortune. He had bought the three-hundred-tael cup of tea out of sheer pain, and buying another would truly be pushing it.

"Oh, I'm so envious of Sister Xiaoxian." The girl looked toward Lin Xiaoxian not far away, her face filled with envy. "Sister Xiaoxian was assigned to accompany Senior Xia Yan of the Red Dust Blade. Senior Xia Yan is truly magnanimous; he actually treated her to such a premium tea as 'The Myriad Flavors of Life.' It seems Senior Xia Yan really possesses the romantic spirit of a chivalrous hero of the pugilistic world."

"Nonsense! What do I lack compared to that Xia Yan?" The fat man was immediately displeased and couldn't help but interject. "Does he, Xu Chu of the Azure Dragon Sword, think he's better than me? Don't make me laugh. Someone, bring another cup of 'The Myriad Flavors of Life'! Today, I'll let you, my little enchantress, taste what a top-tier tea really is!"

"Ah, I get one too?" the girl said in pleasant surprise. "As expected of the renowned Hero Xu Chu. With such magnanimity, if you don't attain ascension, who will?"

This bit of flattery left Xu Chu in an excellent mood.

"Taste it well. You've never had such a fine thing in your entire life," Xu Chu said grandly.

"Thank you, Brother Xu Chu." A sweet "brother" caused Xu Chu's vanity to balloon.

The girl took the premium tea handed to her by a maid of the Changsheng Temple. She had been curious all along—what kind of supreme tea could make these martial artists, who were accustomed to the finer things in life, drink with such intoxication?

However, the moment she took a sip, she nearly vomited on the spot!

What was this trash! It was so disgusting!

"How is it? Good, right?" Xu Chu asked while sipping his own tea.

"It's... it's good." The girl felt like crying. She desperately wanted to spit it out—it was far too bitter—but at three hundred taels a cup, if she spit it out, she feared Xu Chu might fly into a rage. She could only swallow it in silence, tears welling in her eyes.

Seeing that the tea was nearly sold out, Li Hanzhou walked onto the fighting stage and cupped his hands to the crowd. "I apologize for keeping you all waiting. The competition will begin now. Today, the challenger for the Changsheng Temple is a disciple of the Yellow River Sect!"

"A Yellow River Sect disciple? Then today we might see the 'Stele-Splitting Palm'!"

"I hear that the Yellow River Sect's Stele-Splitting Palm can sever mountains and rivers with a single strike. It's incredibly formidable!"

"Indeed. When Wan Changhai of the Yellow River Sect fought the Demon Tribe years ago, he used one Stele-Splitting Palm to literally cut the Qingmo Lake in two. It was truly an eye-opening display!"

The crowd below buzzed with discussion.

At that moment, four disciples from the Yellow River Sect ascended the stage. The leader was the sect's genius, Wan Qiuhen, the grandson of Wan Changhai. He was already at the Ninth Grade and was the rising star of his generation, having mastered the Stele-Splitting Palm to the third level. He was quite famous among the younger generation. The other three were no slouches either, all at the Eighth Grade.

"It's Wan Qiuhen! He's Wan Changhai's grandson!"

"Is Liu Dongyue of the Changsheng Temple really going to take on four at once? Isn't that a bit too arrogant?"

Hearing the chatter, a nearby elder of the Yellow River Sect looked at the stage with a sneer. He thought Liu Dongyue was simply courting death. These four were the strongest of the younger generation below the Transcendence Realm; together, no one of the same rank could possibly be their match.

*That Autumn Burial Blade will be ours today!*

Liu Dongyue felt a headache coming on as he looked at the four men before him. Having consumed the Divine Strength Pill, fighting four at once wasn't a problem, but he felt a sharp gaze fixed upon him.

Looking back, it was Li Hanzhou, as if telling him not to defeat them too quickly. Liu Dongyue could only try his best to play along.

"Begin!" Li Hanzhou said indifferently.

Everyone below grew serious, preparing to enjoy the match.

"You lot, watch carefully. Look for Liu Dongyue's weaknesses. If the Yellow River Sect loses today, your chances will be better. Don't let the ticket money go to waste!" an old man instructed his disciples.

"Yes!" Everyone stared intently.

"Elder, can we buy inner-field tickets next time? The outer-field view is too far," one disciple complained. "Also, Elder, we want to try that premium tea too."

"Shut up," the elder frowned. "A bunch of spendthrift brats. I haven't even tasted 'The Myriad Flavors of Life' yet, and you want some!"

On the stage, the battle had already begun.

"Liu Dongyue, let me see what qualifies you to be called the number one beneath Transcendence!" Wan Qiuhen, looking defiant, assumed a stance. His internal energy surged, and his aura changed completely. A flow of power pulsed on his palms, and a fierce wind buffeted the air, as if those hands could destroy any obstacle in their path!

Stele-Splitting Palm!

Since he had been pushed into this role, Liu Dongyue couldn't be bothered to talk anymore. He simply said, "Come and try it then!"

"Kill!"

All four attacked at once. The stage instantly turned into a chaotic brawl. The Stele-Splitting Palm was wide and powerful, and combined with their Ninth-Grade cultivation, each strike hit with the weight of a thousand jin.

However, such attacks were nothing in front of Liu Dongyue. He parried the four, using his own palm force to clash head-on with the Stele-Splitting strikes, standing as immovable as a mountain!

This left the four members of the Yellow River Sect shocked. *How is this possible!*

*Cough, cough!*

Just then, Li Hanzhou coughed sharply twice.

Hearing the cue, Liu Dongyue clashed palms with Wan Qiuhen, then took several steps back, forcefully driving his internal energy to suppress his blood flow and pale his face.

In an instant, Liu Dongyue was knocked back, his face deathly pale, looking as if he had suffered a "heavy injury."