This Is Jianghu

The Golden Saber Sect had never been very large to begin with.

An hour was enough time for so many Brocade Guards to turn the place inside out.

By the time all the Brocade Guards had gathered, everyone merely shook their heads, having found nothing.

Si Nan looked at Ye Liuyun somewhat hesitantly.

"My lord, perhaps the murderer really has escaped."

"The most dangerous place is the safest place." Ye Liuyun first shook his head, then swept his gaze across all the Brocade Guards.

"This is the imperial city, guarded as tightly as iron. So long as he has even a shred of brains, he would know that after killing so many people, he cannot flee casually. Otherwise, he would be walking straight into a net. Playing the trick of hiding beneath the lamp is the easiest way to survive."

As he spoke, Ye Liuyun suddenly looked toward a Brocade Guard standing at the very back of the crowd. The man had his head lowered, making himself easy to overlook.

"Found you!"

He grinned, then directly drew his saber.

"Slash!"

Under the Azure Sun Force, a saber aura carrying scorching heat shot forward at high speed.

This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard, though most of them were simply astonished by Ye Liuyun's strength.

Lin Chen, who had originally hidden inconspicuously behind the crowd, also changed expression when he saw the saber aura rushing straight at him. With no time to think, he rapidly retreated while drawing his own saber to block it.

"Bang!"

Even though he had reacted swiftly,

he was still sent flying more than ten meters away by Ye Liuyun's saber aura, barely managing to steady himself.

"Stop him!"

No one was stupid. The moment they saw this, they immediately realized what was happening.

They promptly surrounded Lin Chen.

Knowing he could no longer hide, Lin Chen still looked at Ye Liuyun unwillingly.

"How did you find me?"

He had thought his plan flawless: while the Brocade Guards searched, he would silently kill one of them and change into the man's clothes, hoping to slip through in the muddy waters.

Who would have thought that Ye Liuyun would spot him with a single glance?

"The bloodlust around you was too heavy."

Ye Liuyun casually made up a reason.

But in truth—

Target: Lin Chen!

Cultivation: Acquired Realm martial artist!

Traits: Blade Talent (Blue), Extraordinary Comprehension (Purple), Born Weak (Green),

"Extraordinary Comprehension (Purple): Possesses comprehension beyond ordinary people and can rapidly grasp cultivation techniques."

"Born Weak (Green): Naturally frail in constitution."

The system's inspection ability was sometimes just this efficient.

With Blue Quality Blade Talent, it should have been impossible for him to cultivate to the Acquired Realm. It seemed that Purple Quality Extraordinary Comprehension was the reason.

Presumably, if not for the Born Weak trait weighing him down, Lin Chen might have already cultivated to the Innate Realm by now.

"Tell me, why did you slaughter the Golden Saber Sect's entire family?"

His saber returned to its sheath. One hand rested on the hilt as Ye Liuyun looked levelly at Lin Chen before him.

"Hmph!"

Since he had already been exposed, there was no point in continuing to hide.

Lin Chen gave a cold snort, his eyes filled with hatred and viciousness.

"Those who kill will forever be killed. Jin Yuanba coveted my Lin Family Blade Technique and wiped out my entire Lin family. As a descendant of the Lin family, I spent three years mastering my craft. Should I not come to take revenge?"

So that was it.

So Jin Yuanba's martial arts had suddenly advanced by leaps and bounds three years ago because he had obtained the Lin family's inherited blade technique?

And Lin Chen, as the last surviving bloodline of the Lin family, had spent three years training bitterly just to avenge the extermination of his family.

This was Jianghu—he killed me, I killed him.

"You're taking revenge for your family. There's nothing to criticize about that."

Ye Liuyun was no bleeding-heart saint or indiscriminate do-gooder.

That was simply how this world worked. When one killed others, one had to be ready to be killed in turn.

"But you acted within the imperial city. As a Brocade Guard, it is only right for me to arrest you. Since you've taken your revenge, obediently come with us!"

Logically speaking,

his revenge was already complete.

Lin Chen should have had nothing left tying him down.

Yet—

"Dream on! Jin Yuanba has a daughter who married far away. If you want to arrest me, wait until I kill his last daughter first!"

With that, Lin Chen immediately prepared to use his lightness skill to leave.

"Tsk!"

He made it sound noble, but wasn't he just afraid of dying?

Ye Liuyun said no more and directly waved at Shi Sheng and Si Nan.

Shi Sheng, having snapped back to his senses, was the first to attack Lin Chen.

"You're courting death!"

Seeing that these Brocade Guards had no intention of letting him go, Lin Chen's face darkened, and he immediately chose to fight back.

Although Shi Sheng had broken through to the First-Rate Realm, there was still quite a gap between him and an Acquired Realm martial artist.

After one strike, Shi Sheng felt the hand holding his saber in defense go slightly numb from the shock.

"Don't even think about running!"

Even so, Shi Sheng gritted his teeth and held on, refusing to let Lin Chen shake him off.

Lin Chen had wanted to continue attacking, but then—

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Hearing two projectiles tear through the air, he saw they were hidden weapons and immediately threw Shi Sheng aside, swinging his saber to knock the two weapons away.

"Thanks!"

Seeing Si Nan run over after him, Shi Sheng spoke before getting back to his feet.

Si Nan had been the one to throw the hidden weapons just now.

Though Si Nan's cultivation was insufficient for direct combat, throwing a few hidden weapons was no problem.

"No need to thank me. Just remember to pay me back."

"..."

Shi Sheng said nothing, only giving Si Nan a speechless look.

He had never noticed before that Si Nan was this stingy.

If Si Nan had known what Shi Sheng was thinking, he would definitely have cursed him on the spot. Stingy? Do you fucking know what three hundred taels means? I can hold that over you for the rest of your life.

The remaining Brocade Guards also followed suit and surrounded Lin Chen.

"If you won't let me live, then we'll all die together!"

Seeing the situation, Lin Chen knew that unless he defeated these Brocade Guards, there was absolutely no way he would escape today.

With that thought—

Lin Chen's expression hardened as he clenched the saber in his hand tightly.

His inner force continuously gathered along the blade.

It looked like he was preparing to fight to the death.

"Fall back!"

At that moment, Ye Liuyun's voice suddenly rang out.

One hand gripping the hilt, Ye Liuyun slowly walked forward, his gaze fixed directly on Lin Chen.

"You are no match for him!"

The strongest among them was Shi Sheng, a First-Rate Martial Artist. If they truly fought to the death, then even if they managed to keep Lin Chen here, they would suffer no small number of casualties.

He still had to act personally.

"It's you!"

Lin Chen glared viciously at Ye Liuyun. If not for Ye Liuyun, he would never have been discovered, nor would things have turned out like this.

That hate-filled gaze made Ye Liuyun laugh.

"This is Jianghu. You can kill others, and others can kill you. You have two choices now: either kneel and submit to execution, or die here!"