The Vast Player Organization

"I didn't know any of this."

Ji Shu spoke slowly.

"That's normal."

Hong Yi said:

"Ordinary Players can return to Blue Star World once a year. And that year is a Player's novice period. Some die in other worlds, and naturally, everything comes to nothing. Some survive and return to Blue Star World, only to be greeted by direct control from the high-levels! They are registered anew and become members of the Player Organization. From then on, they obey the control and orders of their superiors. Whoever defies orders, no matter who they are, will be killed without mercy!"

"..."

Yue Lingshan was dumbfounded as she listened from the side. This was clearly her first time learning that Players actually had such a vast, tightly organized institution!

And now, Ji Shu seemed to have been targeted by such an organization.

She was filled with worry.

"In other words, forbidding Players from spreading news about the Tower of the Multiverse is also a direct order from the Blue Star World High-level."

"Yes."

Hong Yi nodded.

"Once the one-year novice period ends, Players become members of the organization. From then on, they can no longer control their own fate. It wasn't as though no one had ever shared what they saw and heard in the Tower of the Multiverse, but they were swiftly executed by the organization, and their families were implicated as well. Those stories are then spread within the organization to intimidate its members. It is precisely because the organization acts with such rigor and high-pressure methods that its members dare not casually spread accounts of other worlds."

Ji Shu fell into thought and proceeded to ask Hong Yi many more questions about the Player Organization.

He learned quite a few secrets.

He let out a long breath and thought, No wonder the ordinary civilians of Blue Star World can't get even a scrap of accurate news about the Tower of the Multiverse. So the high-level organization has kept a grip on all of it.

It was not as though no one had considered resisting.

But Blue Star World was a world whose technology surpassed even Earth's. Even Players blessed with extraordinary talent, after cultivating for ten years, could at most reach Ning Zhongze's level. They still could not withstand a single strike from guns and cannons!

And if resistance failed, one's family, friends, and relatives would be dragged down with them. Who could bear such consequences?

Furthermore, after ten years,

this vast organization of Players had long formed a chain of shared interests! The high-levels shared information, treasures, and cultivation methods. The lower-ranking Players fought desperately with their lives on the line! If one accumulated enough contribution points, there was also a path to rise into the high-levels.

And those Players who had fought their way from the bottom to the top would naturally safeguard this system with utmost care, refusing to let anyone destroy it!

They had struggled so hard to climb to the peak and become beneficiaries of the system. How could they possibly allow others to freely wreck the fruits of their labor?

And Ji Shu,

in these people's eyes, was an uncontrollable member seeking to destroy their achievements.

"You've been targeted. There will probably be even more Players coming to kill you in the future."

Hong Yi slightly raised his head to look at Ji Shu, pleading:

"This truly has nothing to do with me. I'm merely a bug crawling along against my will, a subordinate member who follows orders."

Ji Shu nodded.

Delight appeared on Hong Yi's face.

"Can I leave now?"

"No."

Ji Shu suddenly drew his sword. A streak of lightning flashed, and—pfft!

Hong Yi was beheaded.

"!!"

Hong Yi died too quickly. Only when his head fell to the ground and he saw a familiar headless body did he seem to realize that he was dead. He wanted to howl, but he could no longer make a sound. He looked at Ji Shu, his eyes filled with hatred, fear, shock, and regret...

Ji Shu ignored him.

Instead, he searched the corpses of the Twin Heroes of the Northern Desert.

He found two gold ingots and a thin booklet.

The booklet bore the words: "Golden Saber Secret Art."

"Neither of these two used a saber, yet they were hiding a saber technique manual?"

Ji Shu casually opened to the first page, read it twice, and suddenly understood.

"So this is the foundational secret manual of the Golden Saber Sect. The Golden Saber Sect's leader should be Wang Yuanba, known as Golden Saber Invincible—Lin Pingzhi's maternal grandfather. He is also a dominant figure in Luoyang. Why did his sect's secret manual fall into the hands of the Twin Heroes of the Northern Desert? Could it be..."

Ji Shu swept his gaze around. "This is Wang Yuanba's residence?"

Wang Yuanba had been killed?

Ji Shu's ears twitched as he listened closely. He seemed to hear movement coming from the direction of the rear courtyard.

He said to Yue Lingshan, "Let's go."

Yue Lingshan nodded.

Ji Shu killed decisively and possessed a calm, steady temperament. He was growing more and more like a great general. Her heart held nothing but joy and admiration.

If he had been softhearted and indecisive, she truly would have worried that the Player Organization might kill Ji Shu someday. But Ji Shu was clearly cautious and capable, far beyond what she could compare to.

At first, Yue Lingshan had also felt uncomfortable around the dead. But she was, after all, a child of the martial world. Having experienced her parents nearly being killed twice, she had swiftly matured as well and could calmly view the life-and-death struggles of the jianghu.

"Ji Shu, once I return, I'll tell Father to expel every Player from our Mount Hua Sect. From now on, we will have nothing to do with Players again."

"We'll see when the time comes."

Ji Shu found it difficult to judge.

The Player Organization was far too vast, and it was connected to countless worlds. Who knew just how powerful the top Players had become by now?

Fortunately, Players could not bring weapons into the World of Laughing Proudly. Otherwise, Ji Shu might truly have had to flee for his life.

You and the Players are now like fire and water. We are family. Naturally, we must stand on your side.

Yue Lingshan spoke with utmost seriousness and solemnity.

Ji Shu was moved. Knowing full well how vast the Player Organization was, Yue Lingshan still stood by his side without the slightest hesitation. "Master Yue. Thank you."

"I'm your Master Yue."

Yue Lingshan patted her chest and said brightly, "If I don't support you, who else could I support?"

Ji Shu smiled. He committed this matter to heart and said nothing more.

Tap, tap!

The two soon arrived at the rear courtyard. They saw quite a few corpses lying scattered everywhere, each holding a golden saber and dressed in golden garments. They all appeared to belong to the same sect. Movement came from a room on the left side of the courtyard.

As the two approached, they heard someone say:

"Damn it, this Wang Family doesn't have any Evil Warding Sword Manual at all! We came here for nothing!"

"I received a message by carrier pigeon today. Ji Wushi said the Evil Warding Sword Manual is on a Player called Ji Shu!"

"Night Owl Ji Wushi said that?!"

"That's him!"

"Why would he say that?"

"Ji Wushi said he obtained reliable information. This Ji Shu reached the realm of a supreme master in less than a month! He surpasses even Lin Yuantu in his prime!"

Yue Lingshan and Ji Shu looked at each other.

Yue Lingshan was thinking, Who exactly is this Ji Wushi? Why is he framing Ji Shu?

Ji Shu, meanwhile, pondered, Ji Wushi seems to be a member of the Evil Path as well. Why would this group suddenly target me?

In The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, Ji Wushi, the Twin Heroes of the Northern Desert, and the others were all named figures of the Evil Path, quite formidable in their own right. This group had suddenly appeared here for the sake of the Evil Warding Sword Manual?

Ji Shu did not believe it.

He suddenly pushed open the door. Before his eyes stood three "strange men" of different shapes and appearances. Not far from their feet, four or five people were tied up. They looked utterly disheveled. Upon seeing someone enter, they seemed to have spotted a savior, and their eyes all lit up. But when they saw that it was merely a pair of young people, the light in their eyes instantly dimmed. Clearly, they held no hope for Ji Shu or Yue Lingshan.

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