Sword Among Us

The world of martial artists was in great chaos.

In a single day, all the forces of power who were sent out of the city by their sects were ambushed and attacked by the Forest Union! The large numbers of Blessed Realm bandits were led by a few Mystical Realm bandits, who were tigers akin to tigers who had gained wings. They easily destroyed most of the groups from the sects protecting the tributes, and the scenes of them being annihilated like a knife had sliced through butter was something no one could bear to watch.

Aside from a few strong groups who were able to endure the bandits’ attack through laborious effort, there were only a few who unhesitantly abandoned the tributes and fled when they saw that the situation was bad for them. All the sects who fought were completely slaughtered!

There were quite a number of players who wanted to butt in to profit from the chaos, but once they were revived in Guanlin Temple, they knew just how bad the situation was for them.

The tributes that were supposed to be offered to the emperor on his birthday were not items that they were entitled to take!

The Forest Union stabbed them in the back while they fought against each other. Their abilities were greatly reduced, and they did not have the power of the imperial court to protect them. Like that, most of the tributes were snatched by the bandits.

Of course, there were also unique exceptions.

A few players caught wind of a new development from the battle replays recorded in different regions.

The groups who had only a few tribute boxes would be attacked by only a few bandits. The chances of bandit leaders in Mystical Realm appearing were also reduced. Only the big sects who had looted the tributes wantonly and had lots of them attracted numerous bandits. The bandit leaders in Mystical Realm would join the fight against them, and they would die even faster!

Hence, on that day, the teams that escort few tributes but had great power managed to successfully block a few waves of ambushes, and they did not lose the tributes in their hands.

The rarer an item was, the more valuable it was!

Due to the bloody tragedies that were caused by the players themselves when they looted the tributes from everywhere in the beginning of the quest and the answer of the imperial court as well as the Forest Union, the tributes that were still left in the hands of a handful of players became even more valuable. The sects began to search for their location at all costs.

In truth, if most of the sects could promise each other not to encroach on each other’s tributes and grow strong together, it would have been fine. However, the valuable treasures, manuals, and medicine they’d had were lost, so there was no way they would just watch as a handful of people used those items to become stronger than them.

Under the trend stirred by benefits, greed, and ambition, an even more bloody massacre began in the world of martial artists.

Even Shaolin Temple, who was respected for its high moral integrity among the other sects, was dragged into the disaster that made all the wanderers’ faces pale when they heard about it.

Zhengzhou had Mount Song.

Thirteen staff-using monks charged quickly through a government-made road at the foot of the mountain. Each of them had blood and dirt on their faces, and they looked exhausted.

Behind them was a carriage carrying a tribute, but it no longer had its flag nor a canopy. There were three brocade boxes in it. As the horse pulled the carriage, it rattled forward with loud noise.

“We’re almost there!”

A group of Shaolin disciples with Jieba dots[1] on their heads cast a glance at Mount Song, which towered into the sky, and released breaths of relief. Excitement and enthusiasm shone in their eyes.

“Let’s work a little harder! In just half a mile, we’ll reach Shaolin temple’s territory!”

The group was elated. They patted the horse and made it hurry forward.

“Careful! There’s someone!”

When they passed by a pavilion, the people in the lead focused their gazes up ahead and alerted the people behind them.

Bright light lit up in the eyes of the monks. Their robes fluttered, and their qi surged. They looked at the pavilion that was not too far from them!

The pavilion built at the foot of Mount Song was very simple and crude and was used by passersby to stop and rest. It was made of thatch and logs. There was a stone table in the middle, along with a few stone blocks serving as stools.

At that moment, there were two players sitting in the pavilion, and though they seemed friendly, they were actually at odds with each other.

One of them was a middle-aged man with an unkempt face. He hugged a pot of wine while drinking without control in front of the stone table, as if he wanted to forget himself. He would occasionally smack his lips.

“Good wine!” He sounded as if he was enjoying himself greatly.

The man across from him was rather young. His blue robes fluttered in the wind while his hero’s bandana danced behind him. The lines of his face were gentle, but they also showed his determination. He gave off a refreshing air and was very handsome, unlike the unkempt middle-aged man drinking in an unconstrained manner. While he gave him a faint smile, he toyed with a very normal-looking jade slit ring in his hand. Even when the group of people from Shaolin Temple passed them by, he did not cast them a glance.

However, the thirteen staff-using monks from Shaolin Temple did not believe that the duo in the pavilion were incense-pilgrims who were there to visit Shaolin Temple. The monk in the lead whispered an order to his companion.

“Round Heart, send a signal. Have our brothers in the temple come and receive us…”

The person behind him quickly moved forward and stared at the people in the pavilion while he brought out something from his Universe Bag and threw it into the air.

Hiss!

A fiery red light swiftly rose into the air, accompanied by a shrill hiss.

Bang!

A spark that could not be considered as dazzling spread out in the sky.

The reaction of the duo in the pavilion differed.

The expression of the unkempt middle-aged man changed slightly. He cast a glance at the signal in the sky before his expression returned to normal.

The young man in the blue robes did not even look up. It was as if there was nothing in the world that was as attractive as the jade slit ring in his hands. He did not move, as if he had not heard the sound.

The group of monks looked at each other in shock.

They had already released their signal, so soon, their senior and junior brothers would come forward from the temple to provide reinforcements, but the two people did not even move an inch. Could it be that their target was not them… or had they given up on stealing their tributes?

Besides…

The open area around the pavilion was rather wide. It was impossible for anyone to hide there, which meant that there should be no ambush.

Even though they thought in that manner, the Shaolin Monks did not dare let down their guard. They carefully protected the tribute carriage and continued forward.

When they passed by the pavilion, the two people from the pavilion still did not move.

The unkempt middle-aged man stopped drinking. He placed his pot of wine on the table, and a hint of puzzlement appeared on his face as he stared at the blue-robed young man across from him, who just continued inspecting the jade in his hands.

In truth, when he arrived at the pavilion, the young man in blue robes had already been waiting there.

The blue-robed young man had an extraordinary bearing and exceptional elegance. He looked very young. Before the middle-aged man arrived, he stared in the direction of Mount Song. There was a faint, sentimental look in his eyes that suggested attachment along with grief. Even though he looked as if he had become another person now, it was not difficult to tell that he had some feelings for Mount Song, or rather, Shaolin Temple…

It was precisely of this person’s strange behavior that the unkempt middle-aged man thought that he had come with the same goal in mind.

However, when the Shaolin Monks passed by, the young man did not even cast a glance at them. He also did not react to their signals, which made the middle-aged man hesitate.

‘Could it be that this boy didn’t come here for the tributes?’

When he saw that the Shaolin Monks’ carriage had left their sight and the young man still refused to move while inspecting the jade slit ring in his hands, the unkempt middle-aged man finally stood up from his seat while swaying.

“With a pot of wine I brewed myself… I will wander the land. This humble monk will not keep you company any longer.”

The unkempt middle-aged man left the young man with the blue robes in the pavilion. With unsteady and uneven footsteps, he headed in the direction from which the monks had come.

But he did not notice that the blue-robed young man had smiled faintly at the moment he left the pavilion. The young man shook his head slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on the jade slit ring.

The wind blew gently.

The young man could hear the occasional sounds of weapons clashing, along with hasty roars.