Jiang Dali did not stop the people from the Dragon Gate Escort Agency from leaving.
It seemed that the two envoys and Du Dajin had already reached some sort of consensus. They might be cooperating, perhaps plotting against Wudang's Yu Daiyan and using the opportunity to provoke conflict between Wudang and Shaolin.
Seeing that the two envoys had not issued any new missions, Jiang Dali knew that what followed had little to do with him.
In the eyes of Prince Ruyang's Mansion's experts, Black Wind Stronghold was nothing more than a very, very small chess piece.
Previously, Jiang Dali had been unable to understand why the people from Prince Ruyang's Mansion had used Black Wind Stronghold to rob the escort shipment and thereby establish a connection with the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.
It looked like an exceedingly troublesome and unnecessary move.
But now, he roughly understood that it might have been meant to confuse certain people.
"Village Lord Jiang, I hope we'll have another chance to discuss martial arts and the classics in the future."
As he saw off the Dragon Gate Escort Agency group, Du Dajin actually extended an invitation to Jiang Dali.
Jiang Dali nodded with a smile. "If I have the chance to visit Jiangnan in the future, I will come pay Chief Escort Du a visit."
"Good. I shall sweep my couch clean to welcome you."
Du Dajin gave a soft snort at those words, smiled, then turned and left without taking it seriously.
How could Jiang Dali, the master of Black Mountain Stronghold and a bandit chief, possibly dare to go looking for him in Jiangnan?
Even if he did not settle today's score with him.
Once this bandit chief left his own territory, one wrong move could get him killed by righteous martial artists or government officials.
In Du Dajin's mind, Jiang Dali would never dare show his face outside unless he disguised himself and traveled discreetly.
As the people from the Dragon Gate Escort Agency and the two envoys departed.
Black Wind Stronghold immediately became quiet and deserted once more.
Jiang Dali returned to his own courtyard.
Rather than immediately inspecting his gains, he opened the player forum to check the news.
If his guess was correct, players such as Hua Kai Jian Hong in the stronghold had probably already posted some of the events that had occurred at Black Wind Stronghold today on the forum.
That suited him perfectly. In his opinion, the players' greatest value lay in being disseminators of information.
Players were not constrained by factors such as regional distance within the Comprehensive Martial World. They could learn through the forum about events happening thousands of miles away.
But for the natives of the Comprehensive Martial World, news from thousands of miles away would take at least several months to reach them. If it spread more slowly, it could take years.
On the Jianghu Forum.
Jiang Dali indeed saw the new post published by Hua Kai Jian Hong.
The title alone had drawn plenty of attention—"Shaolin Peerless Technique? Black Wind Stronghold Master Battles Dragon Gate Escort Agency's Chief Escort!"
The four words "Shaolin peerless technique" attracted more attention than either Black Wind Stronghold or the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.
Thus, Jiang Dali discovered that although the post had only been up for two hours, it had already received over twenty thousand views and more than five thousand replies.
There were only one hundred thousand players participating in the closed beta at present.
Many of them likely had not been following the Jianghu Forum in real time.
In other words, nearly every player who paid attention to the Jianghu Forum had probably already seen this post.
Jiang Dali clicked in to take a look.
He saw an extremely eye-catching video.
The burly, towering iron man in the footage, his body covered in dark bluish skin—who else could it have been but him?
It was footage of his fight with Du Dajin.
Beneath the video, a large number of players had already left replies. Most expressed surprise at Jiang Dali, the bandit chief of Black Wind Stronghold.
When the Dragon Gate Escort Agency had intended to deal with Black Wind Stronghold, many players had guessed that the stronghold might be crushed.
And Jiang Dali, a villainous minor BOSS, would surely die at the hands of Du Dajin, the Dragon Gate Escort Agency's chief escort.
Therefore, even some players from nearby cities who had previously considered joining Black Wind Stronghold had no choice but to wait and see.
Yet now, the battle between the Black Wind Stronghold Master and the Dragon Gate Escort Agency's Chief Escort had exceeded many people's expectations.
The Dragon Gate Escort Agency's chief escort was far stronger than many had expected.
No one had imagined that this NPC, who was only in the Inner Qi Realm, would know two Shaolin peerless techniques.
But the Black Wind Stronghold Master's strength and knowledge had exceeded even more people's expectations.
Du Dajin was already formidable for knowing two Shaolin peerless techniques.
Yet Jiang Dali, the Black Wind Stronghold Master, had forced him to use those peerless techniques without allowing him to gain any obvious advantage. Jiang Dali had even pointed out the hidden weaknesses within the techniques with a single remark.
Jiang Dali's performance was nothing like that of an ordinary minor bandit chief. He seemed extremely mysterious, instantly prompting all kinds of speculation from curious players.
While the players were still curious, Hua Kai Jian Hong timely dropped another bombshell concerning Black Wind Stronghold's secret—Black Wind Stronghold was suspected of having an even greater force backing it.
As this news spread, Hua Kai Jian Hong also posted footage of A San and the fair-faced envoy appearing at Black Wind Stronghold onto the forum.
The title of superior faction envoy immediately sparked heated discussion among the players.
Originally, many had believed Black Wind Stronghold was merely an early-game minor faction with no real foundation.
But now, it seemed Black Wind Stronghold might have a powerful backer after all.
"This is great! I said Black Wind Stronghold wasn't simple. Haha, tomorrow I'm heading to Mengyin County to join Black Wind Stronghold."
"The main thing is that the Black Wind Stronghold Master is impressive. There's a Liangshan Stronghold where I am that doesn't even recruit players, but the Black Wind Stronghold Master is truly farsighted."
"The Black Wind Stronghold Master even knows Shaolin secret arts, so of course he isn't some simple character. He's a rather outstanding NPC in the early stages, but once we reach his level of strength half a year from now, he'll naturally be obsolete."
"I like fierce men like the Black Wind Stronghold Master. I'm setting off for Black Wind Stronghold today to become his stronghold wife. Any sisters want to come along?"
The forum was in an uproar, with all discussion centered around Black Wind Stronghold.
The news that the Black Wind Stronghold Master had defeated the Dragon Gate Escort Agency's Chief Escort after he used Shaolin secret arts spread far and wide, making both Jiang Dali and Black Wind Stronghold famous.
Jiang Dali was more than happy to see such a situation develop.
Although Hua Kai Jian Hong had released some information about Black Wind Stronghold and exposed certain secrets.
Overall, the advantages still outweighed the disadvantages.
It was foreseeable that many players from nearby cities would soon come to join Black Wind Stronghold, causing its numbers to soar.
Furthermore, the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, A San, and the others had also entered the players' field of vision.
If anything happened to those people in the future, the Jianghu Forum would certainly react. It was equivalent to Jiang Dali gaining several extra pairs of eyes to monitor them out of thin air.
After leaving the Jianghu Forum.
Jiang Dali opened his attribute panel and examined his current status.
Jiang Dali, Black Wind Stronghold Master (Inner Qi Realm Great BOSS), Qi and Blood 4670/5000, Inner Qi 230/250 Realm: Inner Qi Realm (2/300) Status: Black Wind Stronghold Master / Iron Character Killer of Green Robe Pavilion Jianghu Title Reputation: Infamous (350/1000) Pet: Jianmen Pass Demon Eagle Martial Arts: Hidden Weapons: Mortal Grade Mid-Rank "Sky Full of Flying Rain" (Level 3, Slight Accomplishment) Fist and Leg Techniques: Basic "Four Directions Fist," Basic "Six Paths Leg," Basic "Eight Directions Palm," Earth Grade Peerless Technique Fragment "Great Vajra Palm" Saber Technique: Mortal Grade Mid-Rank "Tiger Fiend Golden Ring Saber Technique" (Level 4, Proficient) Body Tempering: Mortal Grade Low-Rank "Iron Cloth Skill" (Level 5, Mastery) Lightness Skill: Mortal Grade Low-Rank "Eight Steps Catching Cicadas" (Level 2, Initial Insight) Internal Cultivation Method: Basic Internal Cultivation (Level 3, Slight Accomplishment) Cultivation Points: 216 Potential Points: 200 Description: You are no longer an unknown nobody!
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