Urban Martial Saint

Du Feng spoke, directly shoving the Wooden Plaque into Ye Qing's hand. Ye Qing didn't take it but instead thrust the Wooden Plaque back into Du Feng's hand.

"Hold it, head down the mountain!" Ye Qing said in a deep voice, "You've already confirmed my suspicion to be correct by finding this Wooden Plaque here. Finding the second one will be far too easy for me. You hold onto it while going down the mountain, and don't let anyone snatch it away."

After saying this, Ye Qing turned around and ran off, not giving Du Feng a chance to speak.

"Ye! Ye!" Du Feng shouted several times after him, but Ye Qing had already disappeared without a trace, leaving Du Feng unable to catch up.

After watching Ye Qing's distant figure and then looking at the Wooden Plaque in his hand, Du Feng felt a warm sensation in his heart. He tucked the Wooden Plaque inside his clothes and immediately started down the mountain.

Although climbing up was slow, descending was much faster, especially since he no longer needed to observe the surroundings for map Fragments. Holding the Wooden Plaque, he continued until he reached the foot of the mountain but didn't leave the area. Instead, he sat at the mountain's base waiting.

Ye Qing and Du Feng's actions were visible to those standing on the mountain, especially Shen Tianjun at the peak, and Helian Tiehua and Prince Nalan on the sides.

Seeing Ye Qing being the first to find the Wooden Plaque, the three were visibly shocked. After all, they had hidden the Wooden Plaque very discreetly, and unless the map was pieced together, it would be almost impossible to locate it accurately. Who could have imagined Ye Qing found a Wooden Plaque without piecing together the map fragments? How could this not be shocking?

And the most crucial part is that Ye Qing didn't go down the mountain himself after finding the Wooden Plaque, but instead handed it to Du Feng, letting Du Feng go down first. What does Ye Qing mean by this? Could it be that he feels completely confident, daring to generously let the first Wooden Plaque be taken away? Remember, there are only three Wooden Plaques; now that Du Feng has one, only two are left. Isn't this overconfident of Ye Qing?

Prince Nalan glanced at Helian Tiehua from a distance, although far apart, he could still see the astonishment on Helian Tiehua's face. Apparently, Helian Tiehua was also surprised by how easily Ye Qing found the Wooden Plaque. However, Helian Tiehua is different from Prince Nalan; he was only slightly surprised and immediately refocused on Li Qianqiu halfway up the mountain. It seems that Helian Tiehua is quite confident in Li Qianqiu, believing he can pass this stage as well.

Prince Nalan furrowed his brows, although Helian Tiehua had ample confidence in Li Qianqiu, he wasn't as confident about his grandson Nalan Tianyu. In fact, in this stage, he had indeed done some trickery for Nalan Tianyu, but the problem is the Wooden Plaque he's tampered with is already in Du Feng's hands. This way, Nalan Tianyu might struggle to find a Wooden Plaque on this mountain, could it be that Nalan Tianyu might be eliminated in this second stage?

After giving the first Wooden Plaque to Du Feng, Ye Qing didn't continue to search along the mountain path but instead went straight towards the mountain top. However, the top of the mountain is quite a distance from where Shen Tianjun stood, way outside the competition range.

Ye Qing ran all the way to the highest point, where a protruding giant rock was located. Ye Qing climbed to the top of the rock and observed the entire mountain in detail, as if searching for something.

"What exactly is this guy up to?" Prince Nalan frowned tightly. He knew Ye Qing was always resourceful, and any extraordinary action from Ye Qing made him deeply concerned, suspecting Ye Qing might pull off something exceptional.

Standing at this spot, Ye Qing was visible not only to the elders safeguarding the mountain but also to the other four participants in the competition.

"What does this Ye guy mean?" Wan Yan Ming frowned, "The Wooden Plaque and map Fragments are so small, even if Ye Qing stands high up, it's impossible to see them."

Li Qianqiu only glanced at Ye Qing, then continued his search without pondering Ye Qing's actions.

The most shocked was Nalan Tianyu; he clenched his fists and whispered, "Why is Ye Qing alone? Wasn't Du Feng with him? Why isn't Du Feng here? Why isn't Du Feng here? Could it be that the Wooden Plaque grandpa left for me was found by them first?"

Thinking of this, Nalan Tianyu's face couldn't help but change slightly. This was his only hope of winning; if it was indeed taken, then his chances of being eliminated this time are greatly increased.

"Shouldn't be, shouldn't be." Nalan Tianyu immediately shook his head, murmuring, "If they got the Wooden Plaque, they would surely have gone down the mountain early; why run so high? It shouldn't be possible to find the Wooden Plaque without the complete map. Moreover, even if they can find it, it should be Ye Qing who finds the Wooden Plaque, not Du Feng first. Ye Qing hasn't gone down the mountain, so Du Feng certainly hasn't found it; that's how it is, surely Du Feng hasn't gone downhill yet!"

While comforting himself, Nalan Tianyu subconsciously glanced down the mountain, wanting to see if Du Feng had already descended. The moment he looked, his expression changed drastically because he saw Du Feng clearly at the mountain's base.

"Why is he there!?" Nalan Tianyu was instantly in a panic, "Why did he go down the mountain? Without finding the Wooden Plaque, why... why did he go down? Could it be... could he intend to quit? But if he wanted to leave, why sit there and not walk away? Why not exit directly? Could it be... he already acquired the Wooden Plaque? Impossible, right? If he got the Wooden Plaque, he would've exited early and won. This... what in the world is happening?"

These thoughts filled Nalan Tianyu's mind, driving him nearly to his limit as he struggled to comprehend what was happening. However, shortly after, he regained his composure.

"Humph, no matter what, if I go down, I'll find out!" Nalan Tianyu gritted his teeth and said determinedly, "If Du Feng really has the Wooden Plaque, I'll just go and take it from him, achieving the same result?"

With this thought, Nalan Tianyu immediately turned and dashed downhill. He hadn't climbed high initially, planning to lure Ye Qing and Du Feng over first, then seize the Wooden Plaque Prince Nalan left for him in the meantime. So, he didn't climb too high to avoid inconvenience when changing paths later. With this setup, descending became much easier; soon enough, he reached the mountain's base.

Du Feng was still standing at the base of the mountain, anxiously watching the direction of the path, hoping to wait for Ye Qing to come down. However, Ye Qing hadn't descended yet, and Nalan Tianyu descended as an unexpected guest.

Upon seeing Nalan Tianyu, Du Feng's expression changed instantly; he subconsciously took a step back.

Nalan Tianyu wasn't foolish; seeing Du Feng like this, he immediately guessed a few things. With a hint of cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, he abruptly dashed forward a few steps, effectively blocking the exit. This way, Du Feng couldn't leave without passing through him.

"Du, why so tense?" Nalan Tianyu smiled lightly and said, "You came down so quickly; are you planning to quit or have you already gotten the Wooden Plaque?"

"That's my business, what does it have to do with you?" Du Feng gritted his teeth and responded in a deep voice, "Nalan Tianyu, you came down too, what are you quitting as well?"

"Not at all, as a descendant of the Nalan Family, quitting directly would be disgraceful for someone like me." Nalan Tianyu coldly sneered, approaching Du Feng slowly and calmly said, "By the way, Du, you haven't answered my previous question. Have you gotten the Wooden Plaque?"

"No!" Du Feng replied decisively.

"No?" Nalan Tianyu said with a cold smile, assessing Du Feng from top to bottom, "I find it a bit hard to believe you."

"I said no because there is none. No need for you to believe!" Du Feng replied firmly.

"I'm someone who likes to be precise; if I suspect something, I must investigate." Nalan Tianyu laughed, "How about this: let me search you. If you really don't have it, then I'll believe what you said, how about it?"

"Why should I let you search me? Why should I make you believe?" Du Feng glared and said, "Nalan Tianyu, don't push it too far!"

"Push too far?" Nalan Tianyu laughed loudly and said, "I like that term 'push too far,' interesting, really interesting. Du, do you know? To 'push too far,' one needs to have the capital. If I have the strength to bully you, I have the right to 'push too far.' Whereas you don't even have the capital to 'push too far,' and that's the difference between you and me!"

As Nalan Tianyu finished, he suddenly dashed forward, reaching out to grab Du Feng.

Du Feng, whose strength was somewhat less than Nalan Tianyu's, was startled by Nalan Tianyu's aggressive approach, quickly retreating in an attempt to avoid him. But Nalan Tianyu's speed outpaced his, and ultimately he couldn't evade, thus delivering a front punch, hoping to repel Nalan Tianyu.

"Humph!" Nalan Tianyu coldly huffed and twisted Du Feng's fist, almost dislocating Du Feng's wrist. Du Feng felt pain, let out a muffled cry, and countered with a grappling technique in return. Yet, Nalan Tianyu's speed was still faster, and before Du Feng could act, Nalan Tianyu was already in front of him, delivering a heavy punch to his abdomen.

Du Feng trembled all over from the blow, mouth agape, even struggling to breathe. And Nalan Tianyu didn't intend to stop his assault, following with a knee strike to Du Feng's chest. This hit nearly caused Du Feng to cough up blood, leaving him without any strength to counterattack.