Mysterious Master

The horse's hooves clattered on the road, leaving clear tracks.

Jiang Dali, wearing a bamboo hat and a green robe, his burly frame carrying a long saber wrapped in cloth, looked like a valiant saber user on horseback, full of imposing presence.

He had been immersed in his insights into the Iron Cloth Skill for quite some time. After a long while, he finally came to, feeling as if he had gained something momentarily, yet also as if he had gained nothing, experiencing a sense of gain and loss.

However, he quickly shook off this feeling, knowing it was because his martial arts had not yet reached mastery, hence the vague insights.

Next time, with more Potential Points, he would directly raise the Iron Cloth Skill to the sixth realm, "Outstanding," and his insights would naturally become clearer.

"Still not enough Potential Points and Cultivation Points. Although the players have provided me with at least a thousand points of Cultivation Points and Potential Points these past two days, it still feels a bit slow.

But now, more players have joined the stronghold.

After I fatten up this new batch of players this time, I'll let them learn martial arts from me and hand over their Cultivation Points and Potential Points to me. Then I can comfortably break through."

Jiang Dali mused happily in his heart.

The initial batch of old players had already been squeezed dry, with no more oil to extract. They needed time to recover before he could squeeze them again.

But these new players joining now were like a new fertile field of leeks about to mature.

A preliminary estimate: 42 new players, each completing the task of delivering an invitation will receive 50 Cultivation Points and Potential Points.

Then, these Cultivation Points and Potential Points would be transferred to his hands through learning martial arts.

This way, he would directly gain 2100 Cultivation Points and Potential Points.

With so many Cultivation Points, he would be close to the verge of breaking through the Outer Qi Realm.

And with over 2000 Potential Points, he could probably push the Iron Cloth Skill to the seventh realm, "Peak Perfection."

"Unfortunately, my current cultivation limit is 300. Every 1 point of cultivation increase requires 10 Cultivation Points. In terms of Cultivation Points, it would take 3000 Cultivation Points to advance.

And the maximum Cultivation Points and Potential Points I can give out per day through tasks is 50 points.

Furthermore, the maximum reward requires the task difficulty and danger level to meet the corresponding standards.

Otherwise, if I directly posted a task rewarding players tens of thousands of Cultivation Points and Potential Points and harvested them all at once, I would quickly become invincible. Unfortunately, that's impossible."

Jiang Dali flicked his whip and urged his horse forward, thinking with some regret and fantasy.

Even though he was now an NPC who could issue tasks for players to do for him, there were limits to the rewards he could offer.

Tasks with rewards that did not match the difficulty could not be successfully issued.

Unless it was a task that rewarded physical items.

For example, if he valued a player, he could deliberately issue a super simple task and then give them a large sum of money or some Divine Weapon.

He could indeed offer such gift-giving tasks. However, for rewards like Cultivation Points, Potential Points, and reputation, which were intangible, he could not bestow them arbitrarily.

As he was thinking, he could already see a swaying bamboo forest at the end of the road ahead.

After riding for more than half a day, covering over sixty li, he had finally reached a small outpost of the Green Robe Pavilion in the vicinity.

As he approached, he saw a simple and elegant bamboo building nestled among the small bamboo hills, blending harmoniously with nature. Faint sounds of string and wind music drifted from within.

Outside the bamboo forest, several figures were loitering.

"Hmm? Three players?"

Jiang Dali was somewhat surprised. He recognized the three figures lingering outside the bamboo forest as players, all with black usernames. One player, named Wanderer in the Red Dust, particularly caught his attention.

"Wanderer in the Red Dust, the top-tier Gold Medal Killer of the Green Robe Pavilion in his previous life. To think he's here now? It seems he got wind of the Green Robe Pavilion long ago and rushed here to join them."

Jiang Dali pondered, then rode his horse to the edge of the forest and dismounted.

Wanderer in the Red Dust and the other two also noticed Jiang Dali, dressed in green and wearing a bamboo hat. Seeing the fleeting, dark green question marks above their heads, their expressions changed slightly.

"This is a very strong NPC. Looks like he's also a killer for the Green Robe Pavilion," one of them whispered.

"You don't need to tell us, we can all see that. We've been waiting outside this bamboo forest for two days, unable to get in, and no one has come out. Now that we've encountered this one, should we approach him?" another asked.

Wanderer in the Red Dust pondered, "Let's not rush. Let's see if he can get in and try to find a pattern."

While the three were discussing, Jiang Dali merely glanced at them and walked straight into the bamboo forest.

Within the bamboo forest, the sounds of string and wind music suddenly changed, becoming sorrowful and lingering, yet also filled with a scent of perfume, as if emotions were flowing within. Hearing this music made one feel a burning desire.

However, Jiang Dali's steps were steady. He calmed his mind, ignoring this low-level sonic attack and probing attempt, and continued steadily towards the bamboo building on the small hill.

As he rounded a corner and approached the path leading to the bamboo building, a sword light suddenly struck from the left side of the bamboo shadows like a venomous snake.

Jiang Dali knew this sword strike was just a probe. As long as he showed his Iron Character Killer token, he could pass safely.

However, he had encountered similar experiences twice before, and this time he was inclined to try something different. He didn't show his token, his face flashed with a hint of green, and he flicked out two fingers.

Bang!

The sword light was struck by a powerful force, emitting a metallic tremor. In an instant, the sword light suddenly shifted, transforming into a streak of bright light that attacked from the side.

Jiang Dali let out a light hum. With a slight turn, his ancient palm struck out like lightning. Before the force reached, the energy preceded it, accurately hitting the side of the sword with a loud clang.

A thin figure grunted and retreated with his sword, falling back several steps behind a bamboo tree. His cold eyes stared intently at Jiang Dali from under his bamboo hat.

"Your strength has improved so quickly!"

Jiang Dali said with a half-smile, "It's that you haven't improved at all."

He slowly took out a metal token. "I'm here this time to get promoted."

Inside the bamboo building, the zither music returned to normal, and a faint female voice came from within. "Come in. The Green Robe Pavilion needs outstanding assassins like you who make rapid progress."

Jiang Dali turned.

"An outstanding assassin never exposes their back to the enemy," the assassin in the bamboo forest said coldly, staring intently at Jiang Dali's back.

Jiang Dali paused his steps toward the bamboo building. "Is your brain ripe? If not, let it mature a bit longer, or you won't get the chance."

The assassin's eyes shot out sharp light, and he gripped his sword hilt. However, when his gaze fell upon the large saber strapped to Jiang Dali's back, as broad as a mountain ridge, his pupils contracted slightly. He flickered and retreated back behind the bamboo forest.

"So powerful! Who is this expert? Even that formidable mysterious Bamboo Forest Swordsman isn't his match?"

Wanderer in the Red Dust and his two companions, standing outside the bamboo forest, had witnessed the entire fight that just occurred within. One of them took a light breath.

Another said, "I think this mysterious expert is probably much stronger than that Black Wind Stronghold Master."

Although the entire battle had concluded in a mere three seconds, the sight of Jiang Dali repelling the mysterious assassin with a backhand strike had delivered an immense visual and psychological impact on the three of them. They truly felt that in the martial world, there was always someone stronger.

The mysterious swordsman who could have easily killed the three of them was no match for the even more mysterious expert who had just appeared.

Fervor surged in Wanderer in the Red Dust's eyes. "The Black Wind Stronghold Master is just a bandit leader, and Black Wind Stronghold is merely an ordinary bandit force. They are far inferior to the Green Robe Pavilion. The Green Robe Pavilion truly has an abundance of experts; anyone here is a formidable fighter. Now I want to join the Green Robe Pavilion even more."

Brother Dali asked if your brains are ripe if you haven't voted. Smart brains know to vote.