Death to Anyone Who Approaches This Beast!

"Ye Liangchen! Take my Hao One Finger!"

"Zhao RiTian! You're being far too irritating!"

"Damn it! My name is Zhao Hao! Hand over the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram! I'll leave you with your dog's life!"

"Just you?!" Ye Liangchen's alpaca hairstyle fluttered as he tossed it back. "Where are the brothers of the Unadorned Willow Sect?!"

"Here!"

With a swish, a group of rainbow-colored men with bizarre, multicolored hairstyles and an intensely Renaissance-like air leaped out of the bushes.

"Heh heh! You think you're the only one with people?! Where are the brothers of the Zong Hao Sect?!"

"Senior Brother, we're here!"

From behind Zhao Hao, more than a dozen people leaped out as well.

"For the Zong Hao Sect!"

"For the ladies!"

"Kill!"

In an instant, the people standing on both sides of the brook charged at one another. The scene immediately filled with flashes of blades and swords, the shallow brook splashing in all directions as the sounds of slaughter rang out ceaselessly from the water.

In the bushes not far from one side of the brook, Jiang Lin and a handsome, pure-looking fellow lay sprawled among the undergrowth, quietly watching everything unfold.

Nine days had passed since they entered the Bewildering Secret Realm. In other words, the circle had shrunk three times.

Jiang Lin still remembered how, on the first day, a flying bear had crashed into and wrecked the Small Wooden House. Then Chen Jia had exchanged a palm strike with the Big Black Bear, after which Jiang Lin had teamed up with Chen Jia.

More people meant more care, after all, even though Chen Jia always loved physically grappling with all kinds of ferocious beasts...

These people were the first group Jiang Lin had encountered since the circle began shrinking.

From what he heard, it seemed that a disciple of the Unadorned Willow Sect had obtained a fragment of the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram by a stroke of fortune.

Jiang Lin had seen it in a book before. The Mountains and Rivers State Diagram was an item on the level of a Divine Weapon, divided into seven pieces scattered throughout the various realms. Four pieces had appeared in the current world: two were in the empire's hands, and two were in the hands of sects. Including the one in the Secret Realm, that made five pieces.

Although the fragments of the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram were completely useless, every single one could still be said to be worth a city.

After all, they were status symbols.

Just imagine: even if you couldn't gather all seven Dragon Balls and summon the dragon, wouldn't it still be incredibly impressive to toy with the Dragon Balls like walnuts?

What was more, the artistic standards of every piece of the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram were extraordinarily high. They were practically the perfect objects for anyone who wanted to cultivate an air of elegance.

And what Jiang Lin had to do was lie in wait and profit as the snipe and clam fought! He would snatch this fragment.

There was no helping it... As a good young man, he actually didn't want to do something like this either, but he was forced by the system. Otherwise, the system would make him pull down Chen Jia's pants himself. What if the other man punched him? Who could withstand that?

"Jiang Lin, you want that fragment of the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram?"

Lying beside Jiang Lin, Chen Jia blinked his limpid eyes at him.

Honestly, a man like this really made it easy for people to commit crimes.

Jiang Lin rolled his eyes at him. "Obviously. Why else would we be here?"

"But why are we crouching here? Why don't we just go and take it?"

"...Do you think we can beat them?"

"Jiang Lin! You're looking down on me!"

Suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, the fellow stood up, planted his hands on his hips, and glared angrily at Jiang Lin. A camouflage nest of grass that Jiang Lin had woven for him still sat atop his head.

"Damn it! Don't get up! I meant I don't have confidence in myself."

In his panic, Jiang Lin hurriedly grabbed his hand. Chen Jia, however, flung Jiang Lin's hand away as if he had suddenly been electrocuted and shouted, "Pervert! What are you doing?"

"???"

The moment Chen Jia finished speaking, Jiang Lin was completely dumbfounded, but Chen Jia's voice had already drifted away.

"Who is it?!"

All of a sudden, the Zong Hao Sect's finger-qi and the Unadorned Willow Sect's Ten Thousand Leaves Flying Flowers shot toward the place where Jiang Lin was hiding.

"Bang!"

Chen Jia threw a punch, while Jiang Lin struck with his sword, dispelling the attacks. However, the bushes were also blasted apart completely.

"Flower-Picking Thief Jiang Lin!"

When they saw Jiang Lin, everyone shouted in astonishment.

"You're the Flower-Picking Thieves! Your whole family are Flower-Picking Thieves!"

Jiang Lin shook his body, scattering the leaves and mud clinging to him, a blade of grass between his lips.

"Hand over the fragment of the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram! I'll spare your lives!"

With a sword in hand, every Sword Cultivator possessed a Natal Flying Sword. Jiang Lin's Natal Flying Sword was called First Snow. Its Sword Body was translucent, as if forged from ice and snow, and its patterns were exquisitely beautiful. When Lin Qingwan had first seen it, she had even exclaimed, "How beautiful."

Looking at this man beside him, who possessed nothing but a handsome shell and an extraordinarily frivolous heart, yet had such a pure and beautiful Natal Flying Sword, Chen Jia could not help sighing and shaking his head. He felt a deep pity for the sword, as though it had met the wrong master...

Jiang Lin sent a message through the Heart-Lake Transmission: "Hey! Brother Chen! Who caused this situation in the first place? And what do you mean by sighing?"

A Pure Martial Warrior could not use Heart-Lake Transmission, but he could Condense Sound into Thread. "I'm just lamenting that this sword followed the wrong person..."

"..."

"Good sword! Flower-Picking Thief Jiang Lin, sever your connection with your Natal Flying Sword and hand it over to us. As for the insult you delivered to us at Black Tortoise Plaza, the Unadorned Willow Sect can let bygones be bygones. Otherwise!"

"Damn you! You're the cheap one! Don't call me a Flower-Picking Thief! Those who insult me are like those who strike me! Those who strike me are like those who steal my Dao Companion! Those who steal my Dao Companion are like those who ruin my Dao Heart! Those who ruin my Dao Heart are like those who kill me! A gentleman does not let such vengeance go unanswered!"

Jiang Lin held his sword horizontally before him. One sword brought frost across fourteen states.

"Unlimited Blade Works: I am the Bone of My Sword!"

"Careful! The Flower-Picking Thief is about to unleash a powerful move!"

Ye Liangchen and Zhao Hao warned them at the same time, and everyone simultaneously took two steps back.

"Hmm???"

The spring breeze brushed across the surface of the lake, carrying waves of floral fragrance. Birds chirped in the forest, and several little squirrels darted back and forth. Beside the brook, more than thirty people faced two. One of the two held his sword before him, while everyone else waited for him to unleash his powerful move...

In the end... nothing happened...

Even the foolish Chen Jia stared at Jiang Lin with a speechless expression, feeling somewhat embarrassed for him.

Could this man, who had nothing but an impressive appearance, have gone stupid? Bluffing was one thing, but why had he cursed himself as a cheap-boned idiot?

"Damn it! What the hell, you scared the life out of me! Brothers! Tear this Flower-Picking Thief into pieces!"

"For Senior Sister Lin!"

"For the ladies!"

The Unadorned Willow Sect and the Zong Hao Sect united against an outside enemy and charged toward Jiang Lin and Chen Jia, while Jiang Lin continued maintaining his pose with his sword held horizontally before him.

"Death to anyone who approaches this beast!"

Chen Jia took a deep breath and stood protectively before Jiang Lin. As a Pure Martial Warrior, Chen Jia's fist intent flowed ceaselessly throughout his body.

Just as everyone had closed in and Chen Jia was about to throw his punch, the sun and moon suddenly dimmed, and heaven and earth changed color.

In the blink of an eye, everyone arrived in an iron Sword Forest where countless blades and swords stood in dense ranks. Sword intent surged throughout the entire barren forest.

"The Red Moon is perfect for killing people..."

While everyone was still dumbfounded, Jiang Lin stood on a hillside covered in long swords, First Snow in hand. He raised his head to gaze at the moon, putting on an impressive display of sainthood.

"Who was it that called me a Flower-Picking Thief just now?"