Clue to the Dragon Slaying Saber

The seven Shaolin Sect NPC masters stood by and watched, and it was not without reason.

Sending out an eminent monk of the Kong generation to deal with Zhang Cuishan already carried the suspicion of bullying the young with the old. If they added a group from the Yuan and Hui generations to gang up on him as well, it would no longer just be a matter of bullying the young.

That would be utterly shameless!

As the leader of the righteous martial world, Shaolin Sect could not afford to lose that kind of face!

The players' battle, meanwhile, involved system rules.

For this quest, the system had arranged for players to fight players and NPCs to fight NPCs, better ensuring both gameplay and balance. Therefore, they would not interfere in the players' battle either.

Just like that, the seven major NPCs were reduced entirely to spectators.

The battle had now reached its most intense stage.

On the NPC side, although Zhang Cuishan had a set of Kung Fu that suited him perfectly to hold his ground, his overall strength was ultimately inferior to Kongxing's. As time passed, he gradually fell into a disadvantage. If this continued, defeat was only a matter of time.

Among the players, both sides' HP continued to drop as time passed. Ye Weiming had lost roughly half his HP, while the four men facing him were in even worse shape. In particular, one Shaolin player wielding a saber had only a quarter of his HP remaining.

That was only because Ye Weiming had been fighting conservatively. Casualties had already begun appearing elsewhere on the battlefield. Two of Wudang Sect's seven players had died, while Shaolin Sect had lost three. In terms of numbers, Shaolin Sect still held a firm advantage.

Under normal circumstances, Ye Weiming could have suddenly struck and killed the opponent with the lowest HP first, expanding his advantage. But when he recalled what Yin Bukui had shouted earlier, he suppressed that thought.

By then, night had fully fallen.

Suddenly! A black figure shot out from the diagonal below. With both hands flicking repeatedly, the seven Shaolin Sect NPC spectators involuntarily shuddered. Then one of them cried out, "Not good! Hidden weapons—they're poisoned!"

At his cry, the seven began checking their injuries. Meanwhile, the black figure leaped into the air and rained all manner of hidden weapons down upon the players fighting below.

Ye Weiming had raised his guard the instant the black figure appeared. Seeing the other party attack him, he fiercely tapped off the ground. In an instant, he pushed the Eight-Step Toad Leap movement technique to its limit and darted straight out of the hidden weapons' range.

Ye Weiming's evasive maneuver was graceful and impressive, but the others did not possess his skill. Other than a handful of people, the players from both sides were all wounded by the black-clad figure's hidden weapons.

The Wudang disciples suffered particularly severe losses. Because the black-clad figure had attacked the seven Shaolin NPCs first upon appearing, they had assumed she was an ally. They had not even considered that she might attack them. Caught off guard under such circumstances, the outcome was obvious. Of the five remaining Wudang disciples, three were immediately turned into white light.

Only Yin Bukui and another player holding the same Judge's Brush as Zhang Cuishan escaped unharmed.

The Shaolin players fared no better. Though they had been on guard the moment the black-clad figure appeared, the methods she used against them differed from those used against the Wudang disciples.

When attacking the Wudang disciples, the black-clad figure had used relatively conspicuous hidden weapons with greater power. For these players with low HP, getting hit was essentially an instant kill. Against the Shaolin players, however, she used extremely covert hidden weapons that were far harder to guard against. They were much less powerful, but laced with deadly poison. At that moment, most of the Shaolin players had probably turned green and were continuously losing HP.

"Villain, stop!" Kongxing abandoned Zhang Cuishan amid an angry shout, flashing toward the black-clad figure.

The black-clad figure remained unhurried. She swept both hands forward at once, sending more than ten hidden weapons shooting toward Kongxing.

Kongxing snorted disdainfully. "Petty tricks." With a sweep of his wide sleeves, he knocked every incoming hidden weapon away.

Yet the black-clad figure used the moment he spent blocking them to unleash her movement technique and flee into the distance.

The black-clad figure had come quickly and left quickly, but her appearance had completely disrupted the Battle Situation. The Wudang players had suffered heavy losses, while both Shaolin players and NPCs had been poisoned. With so many junior sect members present, Kongxing dared not leave them behind to pursue the enemy. He could not even spare attention to attack Zhang Cuishan anymore.

Having finally escaped danger, Zhang Cuishan flashed forward, grabbed the arms of two Wudang disciples, and said, "Brother Weiming, follow us." Then he used the Ladder Cloud Ascending Technique and flew away into the distance.

So this sudden black-clad figure was the one who had broken the deadlock!

And Yin Bukui's earlier reminder for everyone to hold on—had he already anticipated that she would appear?

Ding! Congratulations! You have completed the temporary quest "Help the Wudang Disciples." Rewards: EXP 5000, cultivation 500, Jianghu Reputation 10.

Ye Weiming's thoughts were interrupted by the system notification, and his eyes lit up.

High risk really did come with high returns. A simple PK had yielded rewards comparable to a four-star quest!

Not bad, not bad...

Zhang Cuishan and the black-clad figure had fled in different directions. Seeing this, Kongxing completely abandoned any thought of pursuing either of them. Instead, he flashed among the Shaolin NPCs and players, tapping with both hands to seal their meridians and prevent the poison from spreading further.

Seeing Kongxing begin treating the Shaolin disciples, Ye Weiming did not immediately follow Zhang Cuishan as instructed. Instead, he abruptly turned back toward the Shaolin disciples, frightening the heavily wounded Shaolin players into retreating. Yet he merely bent down, picked up several hidden weapons Kongxing had knocked down earlier, then once again used the Eight-Step Toad Leap movement technique to chase after Zhang Cuishan.

"Martial Granduncle Kongxing!" Seeing Ye Weiming's audacious behavior of taking something before leaving, a Shaolin player indignantly said, "Are you just going to let him leave so arrogantly?"

"Amitabha."

Kongxing merely recited a Buddhist invocation. Then, ignoring the Shaolin player entirely, he continued circulating his inner energy to force the Mosquito Stinger Needles out of Yuan Yin's body.

Once the poisoned needles left his body, Yuan Yin immediately felt much clearer. He slapped the protesting Shaolin player across his bald head. "What the hell do you know!"

"That arrogant fellow is a government constable!"

"PK between players is one thing, but if Martial Granduncle Kongxing took the initiative to attack someone from the Divine Constable Bureau, at best it would be violently resisting law enforcement or even assaulting a law enforcement officer without cause. At worst... anyway, it would bring trouble to Shaolin Sect!"

At this stage, Ye Weiming's lightness skill was unquestionably among the best of all players. But asking him to catch up to Zhang Cuishan was simply too much. Still, Ye Weiming was not worried at all, because...

Ding! Zhang Cuishan of Wudang Sect invites you to meet at the ferry by Qiantang and investigate the truth behind the destruction of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency together. Coordinates: ...

Following the coordinates, Ye Weiming found Zhang Cuishan and the others. Before they could question him, he took out the two hidden weapons again—a needle and a nail. "I picked these up at Fengbo Pavilion."

"Mosquito Stinger Needles and Seven Star Nails again!" Zhang Cuishan's gaze flickered. He seemed to want to say something, but it ultimately became a long sigh. Then he said, "We have actually already found a clue regarding the Dragon Slaying Saber. Today, Bukui learned while investigating the Sea Sand Gang that the Skyhawk Sect intends to hold a Saber-Appreciation Assembly on Wangpan Mountain. I would like to invite Brother Weiming to accompany us. What do you think?"

Wangpan Mountain was probably the final stage of this five-star quest, wasn't it?

Delighted, Ye Weiming immediately cupped his fists and replied, "I would be honored to accept!"

Thanks to reader Transparent Bridge for the 100 Qidian Coins tip!

Thanks to reader Dirt-Eating Youth for the generous 100 Qidian Coins tip!