Changing into a Green Robe Pavilion assassin and completing an assassination mission was merely a small interlude on Jiang Dali's path toward unifying the underworld.
By the time he returned to Black Wind Stronghold, two days had passed since he had sent the players out with invitation cards and calling cards.
Over those two days,
two of the three groups of players had already returned ahead of schedule.
Naturally, those two groups had been killed outright, revived at the nearby City God Temple, and then taken carriages back to the stronghold.
Another group of players, led by Hua Kai Jian Hong and Li Jianfeng, had not been sent back for free. Through carrier pigeons, Jiang Dali had learned that they had achieved decent preliminary results, and the two teams would return by tomorrow at the latest.
"So, the Great Mountain Lords of Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold and Chongfeng Mountain Stronghold are both refusing to give me, the Stronghold Master, any face?"
In the council hall, Jiang Dali sat in the seat of honor, his gaze indifferent as he looked at the two groups of players reporting to him.
"That's right, Stronghold Master! We died so miserably! That short Great Mountain Lord of Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold clearly didn't take you seriously at all. You have to stand up for us!"
"Those bastards from Chongfeng Mountain Stronghold are blind too. Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner—and we aren't even dogs. We're your beloved subordinates, Stronghold Master. If we get killed, you lose face too!"
The players chattered all at once, denouncing Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold and Chongfeng Mountain Stronghold in the hopes that Jiang Dali would step forward.
The other native bandits nearby stared at the group of drama queens, exchanging bewildered looks.
What did they mean, dead or not dead?
They clearly hadn't died at all.
It seemed that in the future, dangerous missions that required someone to die should be left to these newly joined brothers more often.
At first, the native bandits had held considerable objections to the Stronghold Master teaching martial arts to these newly joined brothers and giving them special treatment.
But now, none of them had any complaints left. Instead, they were immensely grateful for Jiang Dali's wisdom in recruiting such a fearless bunch of new brothers into the stronghold.
In the future, when there were dangerous, life-risking missions, with these brothers taking the lead, their own danger would be greatly reduced.
Since that was the case, what benefits could they not concede?
They were all good brothers, living in perfect harmony.
"Enough. No need to say any more."
Jiang Dali raised a hand, cutting off the players' nonsense.
Of course, he knew exactly what this group of troublemakers was like.
Once they had delivered the invitation cards and calling cards, their mission had been completed. Even if they died, they would not suffer much loss at this stage.
The reason they were making such a fuss now was because they desperately wanted him to issue a new mission and personally attack the other two strongholds.
That way, if nothing else, the players would have new missions to profit from. It was better than having nothing important to do.
As for whether Black Wind Stronghold was a match for the other two strongholds, the players all maintained an utterly blind confidence.
After all, Jiang Dali was a growth-type NPC in their eyes.
And he had even actively issued a mission to unify the underworld. If he did not have the skill, he would not have taken on such a task.
Upon hearing Jiang Dali speak, all the players immediately quieted down like obedient quails.
Then, to their delight, they heard Jiang Dali issue a new mission signal.
"Since Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold and Chongfeng Mountain Stronghold do not respect Black Wind Stronghold and do not wish to be our friends, then those who are not friends are enemies. Tomorrow, I will personally lead a force into distant battle. We will first take Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold and develop it into a branch stronghold of Black Wind Stronghold."
The players' faces filled with delight and eagerness at those words.
The native bandits, however, all changed expression.
Xiong Ba, the Second Boss, even widened his eyes in astonishment.
What was this supposed to mean?
They were going to war just like that?
They were only a bunch of bandits.
Wasn't it good enough to guard their own little patch of land and make some petty money?
Wasn't reaching into someone else's territory a bit too reckless? Great Mountain Lord, were you planning to raise the banner of rebellion and proclaim yourself king?
For a time, the native bandits were deeply unsettled, while Xiong Ba hesitated as though he wanted to speak but held himself back.
Had the succession of major events during this period not raised Jiang Dali's prestige to great heights and made the stronghold more united than ever before, some native bandits would probably have jumped out to question him on the spot.
Compared to the native bandits, however, the players were immensely excited, yet they waited a long while without receiving a new mission prompt.
At that moment, Jiang Dali looked solemnly at all the bandits. "When two strongholds go to war, the strength of our brothers will be the key. If any of you have martial arts questions that require my guidance or instruction, come ask me afterward so that you can gain more strength for tomorrow's battle."
The native bandits were somewhat confused upon hearing this.
For them, practicing martial arts was a gradual process.
Without ten years or so, they might not even see results.
Besides, many of them had not learned any particularly powerful martial arts. Even if they sought Jiang Dali's guidance now, cramming at the last minute would be meaningless.
The players, however, were ecstatic. Two notifications had appeared on their panels.
"Black Wind Stronghold Master Jiang Dali intends to teach you martial arts. You may seek his guidance afterward!" "You have triggered the faction war mission 'Dominate the Underworld—Stage Two.'" Mission Content: Black Wind Stronghold will launch a faction war against Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold tomorrow. As a member of Black Wind Stronghold, you will participate in this faction war and contribute to the destruction of Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold. Mission Reward: Kill one ordinary Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold bandit to obtain 10 Stronghold Contribution Points. Kill one Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold bandit squad leader to obtain 50 Stronghold Contribution Points. Upon completing the faction war, you will receive 50 Cultivation Points, 50 Potential Points, 50 Stronghold Contribution Points, and 20 copper coins.
"This is awesome! Absolutely amazing! So sweet!"
"This is fantastic, hahaha! Now we can learn martial arts and complete a new faction mission too."
"This is such a scam. The ancient records provided by the officials clearly said that Wudang, Huashan, and Shaolin are all powerful orthodox sects, while bandit factions are the lowest of the low. Why is it the other way around now? Did I join the wrong sect?"
"Whoever says Black Wind Stronghold has no future, I'll fight him. Do those people still waiting outside the gates of Huashan, Wudang, and Shaolin have it as good as we do?"
"Exactly. I heard that joining Huashan means chopping firewood for a year first, joining Wudang means studying Taoist scriptures first, and joining Shaolin means not only staying away from women, but also starting with menial work. How could any of that compare to being bandits with us?"
The players were all grinning from ear to ear, their enthusiasm soaring.
They had just completed the mission of delivering invitation cards and calling cards, accumulating a batch of Potential Points and Cultivation Points that they could now use to learn martial arts. They were all brimming with anticipation.
And that was precisely what Jiang Dali wanted.
He issued missions, and the players completed them to obtain Potential Points and Cultivation Points.
In the end, the players handed over those Potential Points and Cultivation Points to him by learning martial arts, forming a perfect cycle.
Although during this process, the players might retain quite a few Cultivation Points to raise their realms.
But after raising their realms, they could complete better missions and continue working for him. There was no conflict there.
After the meeting adjourned,
a group of players eagerly crowded around Jiang Dali, choosing to learn martial arts.
At present, Jiang Dali only made Mortal-tier Martial Arts available to these players.
As for Human-tier Martial Arts, he had only revealed the Golden Body Skill and the Wild Goose Skill, and he had set the learning requirements very high. He had not revealed any Shaolin secret arts.
Even so, the players were practically drooling, wishing they could learn them all.
However, the players at this stage were short on funds, and they did not have many Potential Points or Cultivation Points. Most of them only learned one or two martial arts.
Even so, after the thirty-two returning players finished learning martial arts, Jiang Dali directly harvested over 1,600 Potential Points and Cultivation Points.
Thanks to all the brothers who tipped yesterday. Send some recommendation votes my way to bolster my courage!
Before you continue