The White Lotus Sect

As Li Juan heard Jiang Yuan's reply, a smile spread across her face.

Li Xiaotian is a child with both perseverance and talent, but unfortunately, his physique is inherently weak, and his roots were likely significantly affected.

Even so, Li Juan still thought highly of Jiang Yuan.

After bidding farewell to Li Juan, Jiang Yuan left the large courtyard of the Golden Saber Sect.

The sky was already darkening, and the number of people on the road had dwindled.

Unlike the nights in Haiyuan City, where the night was sometimes even more prosperous than the day, the nights in Thousand Cloud City were chaotic, with all sorts of "ghosts and monsters" coming out.

Of course, the "ghosts and monsters" here weren't abnormalities, but rather people from various gangs or the underbelly of society. Ordinary people dared not go out at night for fear of being targeted.

It seemed there were no abnormalities in this world.

At least, Jiang Yuan hadn't sensed any aura of abnormality yet. However, in his Third Life, abnormalities had appeared in the Golden Court to the north. Jiang Yuan didn't know what connection this life had to his Third Life.

It was highly probable that they were the same world; countries with the same name wouldn't appear by mere coincidence.

So, did everything from his Third Life still exist in the history of this world?

Jiang Yuan wished to explore this, but he lacked the ability. He was just a poor boy who had only just begun his martial arts journey.

Jiang Yuan walked along the road, touching the silver he had borrowed from some kind-hearted people over the past few days.

He quickened his pace, turned two streets, and a blacksmith shop came into view.

"Oh? Li Xiaotian, have you finally saved up some silver?" Jiang Yuan glanced at the burly man with bronze skin before him. This was the owner of the blacksmith shop, and also the blacksmith.

The weapons he forged himself were of excellent quality; Jiang Yuan had learned this from Li Juan.

Jiang Yuan took out all the loose silver from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

Jiang Yuan raised his eyes and looked at an iron saber hanging in the blacksmith shop.

Jiang Yuan pointed, "This one, thank you, uncle."

The iron saber was handed over. Jiang Yuan simply wrapped it with a strip of cloth he had prepared and slung it over his shoulder.

Suddenly, something flashed past his peripheral vision.

Although Jiang Yuan had lost all his cultivation, his senses were still sharp.

Those people just now had agile movements and were wearing night-clothes. It was likely that something was about to happen in Thousand Cloud City.

The Xuan Shang Dynasty was on the verge of collapse. The emperor was incompetent, eunuchs were rampant, and the civil officials, eunuchs, military officials, imperial relatives, and empresses' relatives were all fighting amongst themselves, tearing each other apart.

The entire dynasty was in turmoil, and uprisings had broken out in many places. The central government's control over the regions was weakening.

In Thousand Cloud City now, the power of the dynasty was no longer paramount. Instead, various martial arts factions maintained the order of Thousand Cloud City from collapsing.

However, without precise rules and regulations, Thousand Cloud City was still not as peaceful as it once was.

And all of this had little to do with Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan had spent all his silver and was now penniless.

It seemed he would have to find some kind-hearted people to borrow some funds from again.

Jiang Yuan looked at the dark night, opened the bag he was carrying, and took out a black night-suit.

"Come on! Little Joker!"

The room was lively, lit up like daylight.

No one noticed the pair of bright eyes in the dark corner, scanning their surroundings.

"You guys play on, I'm going out for a bit."

"Haha, lazy people need to pee and poop a lot!"

A thug walked out lazily, unfastened his trousers, and was about to relieve himself when.

He noticed a flash on his neck. A pair of hands, rough with calluses, crawled towards his face like a centipede.

Everything around was normal, with no sound of movement. All that could be heard were the faint cheers coming from inside the house.

This made the thug even more terrified. He even lost the ability to think, his mind a complete blank.

Just as he was about to scream like a woman, two hands covered his mouth.

For a moment, he could only make muffled sounds.

The next second, he fell silent, having fainted from fright.

Jiang Yuan took a money pouch from the thug's embrace, then disdainfully tossed the thug onto the ground.

The thug's crotch was already soaked.

He weighed the silver. It wasn't much, even less than the silver he used to buy the iron saber.

But it didn't matter, every little bit counts.

Jiang Yuan looked inside, took out a small ball from his pocket, and threw it through the slightly ajar door.

A moment later, the room was filled with white smoke.

Someone exclaimed, "Fire!"

The scene descended into chaos. Everyone forgot about their entertainment and rushed to leave the place.

And no one noticed that the moment many of these people stepped out of their houses, they were dragged into the darkness...

This was a branch of the Green Snake Gang, but for some reason, it had caught fire. The surrounding residents, carrying buckets, rushed to put it out. It wasn't that they particularly liked the Green Snake Gang, but if the fire spread, their own homes would likely be in danger.

Jiang Yuan moved against the flow, walking out of the noisy intersection. He patted his bulging chest; it felt heavy, but Jiang Yuan wished it were even heavier.

Jiang Yuan had wanted to take down this branch for a long time.

However, he had been an ordinary person before, with no confidence in pulling off such a task flawlessly.

Now, although he only had a trace of Qi and Blood, it was enough to deal with these mortals.

Jiang Yuan tore off the cloth strip from his iron saber, revealing its blade glinting with a hint of cold light.

The pedestrians around him, who had been looking at Jiang Yuan with peculiar gazes, quickly averted their eyes. Jiang Yuan then took a small booklet from his chest.

It was wrapped in silk and well-hidden in the pocket of a Green Skin leader. It seemed this booklet was quite important to him.

Jiang Yuan opened the booklet with a bit of curiosity.

The first page was simply sketched with a lifelike lotus flower.

And on the following title page, it read:

"Eternal Mother, Land of Ultimate Void"

Jiang Yuan's face twitched slightly. This was the White Lotus Sect, a massive organization that existed in countless novels set in ancient societies.

Jiang Yuan never imagined he would directly confront the White Lotus Sect one day.

But for now, he was just an ordinary Martial Artist in the early Qi and Blood stage, and he dared not have any dealings with the White Lotus Sect.

Jiang Yuan casually glanced at the rest of the booklet.

It was filled with gibberish and nonsensical phrases, clearly intended for brainwashing the cult's followers.

Jiang Yuan lost interest instantly and casually tossed the booklet onto the street.

Who picked it up was none of his concern.

Jiang Yuan returned home, and the first thing he saw was a little girl asleep, curled up on the table, along with two or three dishes covered by oilcloth.