Fishery courtyard, indoors.
Chen Qing sat cross-legged, a fresh issue of the Jianghu Anecdotes Record spread open in his hands.
The turmoil in Qianchuan Marsh had indeed claimed the front-page headlines.
"Wutai Sect and Black Armor Sect join forces, Gang Jin battle erupts in Qianchuan Marsh! Demonic Sect Protector Zuo Feng flees with grievous injuries!"
The report largely matched Chen Qing's own experience. It focused on extolling the might of the three Gang Jin experts—Hong Yuandong, Chu Jinyun, and Shi Zhenyue—as well as the triumph of thwarting the Demonic Sect's scheme.
As for Tu Gang's death, it received only a passing mention, buried beneath the major news of Zuo Feng's escape. No one investigated who had done it, which suited Chen Qing perfectly.
Seeing this, Chen Qing thought to himself, This Yan Yu Lou... must have countless threads tying it to the Four Great Sects! Or rather, it is itself a mouthpiece jointly supported—or even directly controlled—by the Four Great Sects!
How long had it even been since that encounter deep within Qianchuan Marsh?
The few of them had fled back to their sects in sorry shape. The news had been reported layer by layer, then this record had to be typeset, printed, and distributed... To organize such a complex event into an article in so short a time was no easy feat.
Moreover, the writing was clearly biased toward the Four Great Sects. No ordinary jianghu tabloid could have done that.
As he continued reading, a piece of news regarding the River Bandits caught his attention:
"In recent months, Nine Waves Island has acted frequently, swallowing dozens of water strongholds of all sizes in the surrounding region with thunderous force. Its prestige has soared, and it has grown into a force too large to control! Its territory now spans