"Actually, in this brother's view, the Eastern Sea Sword Sect's so-called grudge was merely an excuse.
Gu Dongting might not even still care about events from seventeen years ago. His true target was naturally the Yuanling Swordplay Manual, which once dominated the southern lands...
Ever since Ito Yukihara's sword came east across the sea, the Eastern Sea Sword Sect had been hanging by a thread. Gu Dongting urgently needed to increase his strength to fend off powerful foes. Otherwise, his family's maritime trade might all be seized by the Eastern Barbarian fleet.
That was why he had set his sights on your Lu family's sword manual, seeking to climb a hundred-foot pole and take another step upward."
Wu Yunchong sighed repeatedly.
"Sadly, Elder Lu passed away too suddenly and did not pass down the true Primal Spirit Swordplay to his descendants, bringing this calamity upon the Lu family."
Lu Wu-bing's gaze stirred slightly. Sect Leader Master really kept his mouth tight.
After obtaining the Yuanling Swordplay Manual, he had not even mentioned it to his own disciples?
"Senior Brother is absolutely right. How could my Lu family still possess any divine sword secret manual? If we truly had one, it would not be their turn to run wild here. What is hateful is that even if we told others the truth, the Eastern Sea Sword Sect would not believe it."
Lu Wu-bing followed along, looking grief-stricken and indignant.
After they spoke for a while, Wu Yunchong noticed the Little Black Cat tilting its head and staring fixedly at him. A look of surprise appeared on his face as he bent down and reached out. "Is this the cat your family keeps? It's so intelligent."
Mao Mao let out a "Meow!" arched its back, sprang away, and dodged Wu Yunchong's hand. In a flash, it hid behind Lu Wu-bing.
Wu Yunchong withdrew his hand, his expression faintly awkward.
"The little fellow is afraid of strangers." Lu Wu-bing smiled as he explained.
Who told you to be a man?
If you smelled as nice as Senior Sister Xiaolan and had such a... towering figure, do you believe this little fellow would jump into your arms on its own?
Then again, maybe not.
Wu Yunchong smiled gently, showing that he did not mind. "I came to inform Junior Brother that news has arrived from Tiger Ridge: Aunt Guanghan of Bright Moon Palace has been surrounded. We will soon head north with Master.
"If you have any valuable belongings, pack them and carry them with you as soon as possible. And you're drenched in sweat—go bathe quickly. We may have to sleep in the wind and eat in the open on the road, so it may not be so comfortable."
After thanking his Third Senior Brother, Lu Wu-bing immediately bathed, changed clothes, and packed his luggage.
He mainly brought some gold and silver banknotes, along with scattered silver pieces. He bundled his spare clothes into a small pack and slung it over his back. That was all.
The Lu family estate had already grown much quieter.
Apart from several old servants who had nowhere else to go and stayed behind to watch the house, everyone else had received silver and gone their separate ways to make a living.
Lu Wu-bing had nothing much to be attached to.
When he reached the front courtyard, Sect Leader Master Ouyang Zheng, Senior Sister Xiaolan, and the Third Senior Brother he had just met were already waiting.
The group mounted their horses and left the city without a word.
Lu Wu-bing noticed that Sect Leader Master's expression did not look good.
He seemed to be pondering some difficult problem.
Along the way, even his scoldings were far fewer than usual.
Clearly, the matter of "Aunt Guanghan of Bright Moon Palace being surrounded" that Third Senior Brother had mentioned was far from simple. This journey might hold considerable danger.
At that thought, Lu Wu-bing tightened his grip on his longsword. Holding Little Cat, he grew faintly vigilant.
"Don't worry. Though Father rarely makes a move, he is greatly renowned in the martial world. Even experts of the demonic sects would not dare stroke the tiger's whiskers."
In Ouyang Lan's heart, her own father was naturally one of the greatest heroes and most exceptional men under heaven, his reputation enough to intimidate every vile rabble.
There was absolutely no need to worry that anything unexpected might happen.
"Stop."
Ouyang Zheng gave a low shout.
Around the bend in the road ahead lay a chaotic scene of bodies strewn everywhere. Carriages had overturned, and goods were scattered across the ground.
Grass stems and withered leaves were stained with blood, and the stench was overpowering.
It looked as though a traveling merchant caravan had been slaughtered.
The group dismounted and proceeded slowly.
Lu Wu-bing had sharp eyes. He saw that the corpses scattered across the road were all withered beyond measure, their skin an unnatural deathly white.
When they came within a dozen paces, Ouyang Zheng stopped and turned toward the forest beside them. In a deep voice, he said, "Which elder of the Blood Lotus Sect is here? You slaughter lives like grass—are you not afraid that retribution will come knocking?"
"Caw, caw! You fake Daoist from the Celestial Star Sect believe in that bald monk nonsense too? Do you not understand that among all living things under heaven, the weak are prey to the strong? It is an eternal law that has never changed.
"That these ants could offer up their blood essence to aid this old man's cultivation is their honor."
From deep within the forest came a harsh, ducklike cackle. The rolling sound waves made their eardrums ache.
At the same time, a thin mist rose along the mountain road.
No—it was blood mist.
The instant the scarlet haze entered his sight, Lu Wu-bing felt his breathing hitch and his head grow faintly dizzy. His five viscera and six bowels felt slightly obstructed, and a nauseating agitation welled up within him.
Looking up, he saw that Third Senior Brother Wu Yunchong and Senior Sister Xiaolan, standing before him, both swayed slightly, unable to keep steady on their feet.
"Wicked demon!"
Ouyang Zheng snorted coldly.
His long robe trembled faintly.
"Boom..."
Air currents surged wildly in every direction, like a starry sky, like a jade-blue sea. The currents whirled around him in a frenzy, raising waves that stretched for ten thousand acres.
The blood mist around them was struck by that force and blasted into powder, leaving the space before them clear.
Then, within the blood mist, a faint bloody shadow appeared. A sword had already silently stabbed toward Ouyang Zheng's chest.
The man's body was stretched into a straight line. His hair was wild as flying thistledown, his face aged and shriveled, savage and ferocious. Blood seemed to drip from the corners of his mouth, making him look like a vicious ghost.
One moment, he had been rushing forward at high speed, trailing an afterimage. The next, his body halted and he was blasted backward amid the roaring force.
Lu Wu-bing saw it clearly.
When the Blood-Clad Old Man came and went like the wind, lunging from the blood mist, the space before Sect Leader Master suddenly sank into utter darkness...
A point of starlight appeared, then flared brilliantly, illuminating all directions.
Immediately afterward, thunderous explosions rang in his ears.
Amid flashing light and shadow, sword qi three zhang long tore through the wind and split the clouds as it howled down.
Everything before him turned a vast expanse of white.
A massive fissure split the road apart, and the trees of the forest toppled.
The Blood-Clad Old Man gave a muffled groan and flew backward seven or eight zhang before opening his mouth and spraying blood.
Clearly, after exchanging one move head-on, he had gained not the slightest advantage.
"Vast Ocean True Qi, Ziwei Swordplay—truly worthy of their reputation."
The shrill cry now held less mockery and more caution.
The Blood-Clad Old Man retreated, then advanced again. His slender crimson sword merged into the wind and transformed into drifting clouds and mist.
Whipping up a gale, he lunged once more.
"Take this old man's Blood Cloud Thousand Miles!"
"Fall back."
After Ouyang Zheng struck out with a majestic slash, a glint of cold light flashed through his eyes.
He did not care about the vicious old man's move at all. He even had the leisure to warn his daughter and disciples behind him. With a flick of his wrist, his longsword lifted a thousand heaps of snow.
The vast sword qi let out a soul-stirring shriek as it crashed into the blood cloud.
Several ringing clashes sounded.
One azure and one crimson figure shot like lightning into the depths of the forest.
Amid the shockwaves of their clashing force, Lu Wu-bing saw a withered arm fly into the sky. The severed hand still clutched a slender crimson sword.
"Won."
Only then did he release the breath caught in his throat, his mind relaxing slightly.
Then he heard a piercing "Meow!"
Lu Wu-bing's heart lurched. Internal qi surged throughout his body, the Hand Shaoyin and Hand Shaoyang meridians trembling at once as his mind became still as ice...
From the corner of his eye, he saw a shower of scarlet needles suddenly rise from the pool of blood among the fallen corpses not far to his side.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
Countless specks of sharp light enveloped all three of them.
The first to bear the brunt was Ouyang Lan, standing at the very front.
Before you continue