High in the Halls, Far in the Rivers and Lakes

The dark night rain fell heavily, dull as an old man striking a bell against the earth.

Rain splashed up from the ground, lashing everything around it like whips.

The small city was nearing curfew, and darkness lay everywhere.

The few guards at the city gate lazily hurried through their duties before preparing to shut the gates. They would either go home and sleep muddleheadedly with their wives in their arms, or spend a little silver for amusement at the pitch-black Leopard House.

Jiang Dali had prepared in advance. Reaching an unoccupied corner beneath the city wall, he whistled.

A black shadow, its feathers soaked by the rain, descended from the sky, its talons reaching for him.

A bright message appeared above the flying eagle's head, visible only to Jiang Dali.

"Jianmen Pass Demon Eagle

Owner: Jiang Dali."

Jiang Dali reached up and grabbed the base of its talons. A fierce force erupted as the Demonic Eagle beat its wings.

Borrowing that force, Jiang Dali charged forward, kicked off the wall several times, and swiftly vaulted over the nearly four-zhang-high city wall. His figure vanished beyond it.

To roam the martial world as an assassin, one needed exceptional lightness skill.

Yet this martial world was so realistic that lightness skills were difficult to master.

It had been more than three years since Jiang Dali had been forced to remain in this martial world.

He had learned the tough Iron Cloth Skill from Xiong Ba, the Great Mountain Lord of the stronghold, and hidden weapon techniques as well as the lightness skill Eight Steps Catching Cicadas from the Second Boss, Deathly Scholar. Even so, he could not cross a four-zhang-high wall alone, and he remained an utter nobody in the martial world.

But by his calculations, in three days, meteors would fall from the heavens. According to the martial world's fortune-tellers, that meant extraordinary people were about to descend into the world.

When that happened, Jiang Dali's opportunity would officially arrive.

"What extraordinary people? They're just players making their entrance.

Judging by the timeline, it's now mid-May of year 134 in the Comprehensive Martial World. They should only be the first batch of closed beta players.

But if I make good use of them, they should bring me quite a few benefits."

Jiang Dali found the horse he had tied up in a conifer forest outside the city.

He removed the straw rain cape draped over the horse and wrapped it around himself. After taking out a cornbread bun to replenish some of his strength, he mounted the horse, anticipation filling his heart.

As a veteran player who had spent more than four years in the game Comprehensive Martial World, Jiang Dali had once possessed strength near the pinnacle of the first-rate experts. He was not far behind the renowned figures who dominated their regions, and could even be considered a minor celebrity in Comprehensive Martial World.

Yet what he had never expected was that after accidentally obtaining the Evil King Sarira in the Yangzhou Treasury, he had inexplicably lost consciousness.

When he awoke, he had somehow become a minor bandit leader in a small mountain stronghold within this Comprehensive Martial World.

This world was, quite simply, a hodgepodge formed from the factions, characters, and martial world histories of all sorts of familiar wuxia novels.

The martial world here was treacherous and strange, with sects standing everywhere and experts as numerous as clouds.

In the imperial court, the Human Emperor held the halls of power, while the Son of Heaven Divine Fist intimidated the realm. The Eastern and Western Bureaus he cultivated, the Six Gates, the Imperial Guards, and the palace experts were even more numerous than fish crossing a river.

In the martial world, One God, Two Empresses, Three Immortals, Four Buddhas, Five Lords, Six Masters, Seven Demons, and Eight Kings roamed freely.

One man never missed with his flying knives.

One man's Passionate Sword was unstoppable.

One man's Peerless Twenty-Eight Palms overturned heaven and earth.

One man's demonic saber slew gods and extinguished Buddhas.

In short, this world was vast and its experts countless. Even though Jiang Dali had spent four years becoming one of the top players, he was only an Earth Ranking expert in the martial world. He had not even reached the threshold of the Heaven Ranking.

And in this life, he had started with nothing but the template of an NPC bandit leader. He was practically a model example of someone destined to die young, and might be killed by the descending players before long.

Jiang Dali had therefore tried killing himself in advance, hoping to leave this world through suicide.

In the end, he discovered that he simply could not leave.

After killing himself, he actually revived at the City God Temple in a nearby city, just like a player.

The price was that, just like players, he suffered a penalty: the proficiency of every martial art realm he had learned was reduced.

It was utterly absurd.

This world was real. It was not like a game at all, but a genuine martial world of flesh and blood.

For the past two years, he had eaten and drunk well every day. The only thing he had not done was find himself a wife and retire from the martial world.

Yet he was still unwilling to accept it. He wanted to find a way back.

That meant he could only continue growing stronger—strong enough to obtain the Evil Emperor's Sarira within the Yang Gong Treasury once more. Perhaps then there would be hope.

Over these two years, although he had not acquired any powerful cultivation methods or weapons, he had already laid much groundwork for his future struggle for supremacy in the martial world. Once the players descended, the time would be ripe to cast his net.

Now, on the surface, he was the Third Boss of Black Wind Stronghold. In secret, however, he was already an assassin of Green Robe Pavilion.

These public and hidden identities supported each other, allowing him to accomplish more and seize more resources and intelligence.

Jiang Dali's eyes flickered as a transparent box, similar to a player's attribute panel, appeared before him again.

"Jiang Dali, Third Boss of Black Wind Stronghold (Power Gathering Realm Minor BOSS), Qi and Blood 3000/3000, Inner Qi 0/0."

Realm: Power Gathering Realm (92/100)

Status: One of the Three Great Bosses of Black Wind Stronghold / Iron Character Killer of Green Robe Pavilion

Martial World Title Reputation: Slightly Notorious (340/500)

Pet: Jianmen Pass Demon Eagle

Martial Arts: Hidden Weapons: Mortal Grade Mid-Rank 'Sky Full of Flying Rain' (Realm 3, Slight Accomplishment)

Fist and Leg Techniques: Basic 'Four Directions Fist', Basic 'Six Paths Leg', Basic 'Eight Directions Palm'

Saber Technique: Mortal Grade Mid-Rank 'Tiger Fiend Golden Ring Saber Technique' (Realm 3, Slight Accomplishment)

Body Tempering: Mortal Grade Low-Rank 'Iron Cloth Skill' (Realm 3, Slight Accomplishment)

Lightness Skill: Mortal Grade Low-Rank 'Eight Steps Catching Cicadas' (Realm 2, Initial Insight)

Internal Energy Cultivation Method: None

Cultivation Points: 53

Potential Points: 72"

He pondered for a moment.

Jiang Dali chose to spend all 50 of the Cultivation Points he had painstakingly acquired on improving his realm, leaving only 3 points remaining.

The moment the Cultivation Points were consumed—

He felt as though the little dry food he had just eaten had transformed into streams of heat racing wildly through his body. The heat forced every pore open, and sweat poured down him like rain.

The next moment, the 92/100 behind Power Gathering Realm became 97/100.

Jiang Dali exhaled. His eyes gleamed in the darkness, and the corners of his mouth could not help curving into a smile.

He needed only 27 more Cultivation Points to make 30, then he could break through directly from the Power Gathering Realm into the Inner Strength Realm, just like Qiu Xuemei.

Once he returned to the stronghold and handed in the mission, it would be time for his breakthrough.

Two days later.

Beside a remote mountain road more than thirty li from Black Wind Mountain Stronghold.

The shadows of trees swayed, while summer cicadas chirped incessantly throughout the forest.

Deathly Scholar had long been waiting there with two trusted subordinates. One of them would occasionally bend down and press himself to the ground, listening for hoofbeats from afar.

One of them looked somewhat nervous. "Second Boss, why hasn't the Third Boss appeared yet? If he delays any longer, the Great Mountain Lord may notice something."

Deathly Scholar remained calm and smiled faintly. "Do not panic. With that horse's speed, he should arrive within three incense sticks' time."

The other man stood upon hearing this. "The Third Boss learned all his hidden weapon skills from you, and he has cultivated both the Iron Cloth Skill and Tiger Fiend Golden Ring Saber Technique to a high level. He excels in both close and long-range combat. This time, he even managed to kill an Inner Qi Realm expert like Qiu Xuemei. He truly won't be easy to deal with."

Deathly Scholar chuckled. "It does not matter. I taught him his hidden weapons. Since I know how he releases them, I naturally know how to take them back.

That alone will cripple one of his martial arts.

As for the rest, the two of you are also Power Gathering Realm experts. If the three of us strike together, no matter how fierce he is, with the prepared calculating against the unprepared, hehe...

Once he dies, I will naturally promote you two to Third Boss and Fourth Master."

"Hehehe, thank you for your support, Second Boss. That's right. The Third Boss has no idea that we bear him ill will."

The two minor bandit leaders both laughed darkly. Most of the fear and wariness in their hearts dissipated, and their expressions visibly relaxed.