Sky Pure City, the City Lord's Mansion.
A group of young warriors had gathered in the mansion's hall.
Most of them were warriors who had accepted the mission—young talents from various factions, all at the Profound Mastery Realm.
Of course, some Rogue Cultivators invited by the City Lord were among them as well.
The City Lord of Sky Pure City was a slightly stout, middle-aged man with a handsome face.
At that moment, he wore a delighted expression as he cupped his hands to the young warriors.
"Thank you, young heroes, for coming to help my Lin Family."
"However, the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord is indeed extraordinarily powerful. He excels at disguise and has exceptional movement skills."
"Once everyone has gathered, we'll discuss the details of our plan."
As soon as he finished speaking, a burly man holding a huge black sword frowned.
"City Lord Lin, we have so many Profound Mastery warriors stationed here."
"Even if the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord's movement skills are exceptional, he won't escape our grasp."
"If you're not going to tell us the plan now, who exactly are we waiting for?"
The other warriors turned their eyes to City Lord Lin, their expressions varied.
City Lord Lin smiled. "Not long ago, a disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect accepted the mission I posted."
"You should all know the standing of the Mystic Blade Sect. Their standards for recruiting disciples are extremely strict, and their Inner Sect disciples are powerful even among those of the same rank."
"I'd guess that any Mystic Blade Sect disciple confident enough to take on the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord must be an Inner Sect disciple."
"So I ask for your patience. We need to wait for this Inner Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect to arrive."
"He should reach the City Lord's Mansion by tomorrow at the latest."
When City Lord Lin finished, the warriors present all looked startled.
The once noisy hall fell silent.
The Mystic Blade Sect!
Within the Great Cloud Dynasty, the Mystic Blade Sect was one of the top sects.
Its disciples were powerful, and those ranked near the top had earned fearsome reputations through countless battles.
Naturally, they wouldn't dare underestimate an Inner Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect.
A moment later,
a servant hurried in to report, his face bright with excitement.
"City Lord, a Mystic Blade Sect disciple is outside the mansion. He says he's accepted the mission and come to kill the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord."
City Lord Lin was overjoyed and quickly called out,
"Please, invite the young hero in!"
The warriors in the hall also looked curious.
Who was this Inner Sect disciple who had accepted the mission?
They were naturally eager to make this person's acquaintance.
Before long, the servant led Su Yun into the hall of the City Lord's Mansion.
"Su Yun, disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect, pays his respects to City Lord Lin."
After entering, Su Yun cupped his hands.
"Hmm? Young Hero Su, are you an Outer Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect?"
Seeing Su Yun's disciple robes, City Lord Lin was immediately puzzled.
What was going on?
How had an Outer Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect accepted the mission he'd posted and dared to take on the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord?
Several figures flashed through his mind.
"Su Yun doesn't seem to be among the top ten Outer Sect disciples, either?"
City Lord Lin felt a little uncertain.
As the City Lord, he had naturally looked into the top ten Outer Sect disciples of the Mystic Blade Sect and knew some information about them.
Clearly, Su Yun wasn't one of them.
If he wasn't in the top ten Outer Sect disciples, how could he dare to take on a Profound Mastery warrior like the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord?
Facing City Lord Lin's question, Su Yun slowly nodded.
"I am indeed an Outer Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect."
"This..."
City Lord Lin's face fell.
The other warriors frowned as well.
"An eighth-stage Body Refining warrior dares to accept a mission like this?"
"And he even claims he'll kill the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord?"
Suddenly, someone spoke in a low voice.
The speaker was a warrior with a cold expression.
He held a long black spear, his gaze indifferent.
Su Yun glanced at him.
Boom!
In an instant, boundless Killing Intent seemed to gather in his eyes, coalescing into a streak of killing light that struck the spear-wielder's mind.
This was a special application of Blade Momentum.
Now that his Blade Momentum had reached thirty percent, he was becoming increasingly proficient in wielding it.
"Pfft!"
Under the crushing force of his Blade Momentum, the other man staggered back three steps, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as his expression shook.
Then he raised a hand to wipe away the blood and stared at Su Yun in disbelief.
Even his right hand gripping the spear trembled faintly.
"This kid is strange!"
The other warriors' expressions changed drastically. They stared at Su Yun warily.
Seeing this, City Lord Lin was startled and quickly spoke up.
"Young Hero Su must be tired after traveling all this way. I'll arrange a fine guest room for you so you can get some proper rest."
This was no time to turn on one another.
After all, they still hadn't caught the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord!
"All right, I'll trouble you, City Lord Lin."
Su Yun nodded and didn't look at the spear-wielder again.
A servant led him to a beautifully furnished guest room.
The room was spacious, fully equipped, and furnished with exquisite furniture.
A landscape painting of the Mystic Blade Sect also hung on the wall, its artistic conception profound. It was the work of a renowned painter.
Clearly, City Lord Lin had arranged this room in advance and spared no effort.
Inside the room,
Su Yun sipped his tea and waited for the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord to come knocking.
Who knew how much time had passed?
The setting sun had already sunk behind the mountains, and the rosy glow had dimmed.
Night was falling.
Knock, knock, knock!
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Su Yun rose and opened it.
A dignified, lovely woman stood before him, with two maids beside her.
"Are you the Flower of Baoshan? City Lord Lin's daughter?"
Su Yun asked as he looked at the woman.
"Young Hero Su, that's right."
The woman gave a poised curtsy, then nodded with a smile.
She looked apologetic. "Thank you, Young Hero Su, for traveling such a long way to help my Lin Mansion."
"My father was discourteous to you earlier. Please don't take offense."
"It's all right."
Su Yun shook his head, then asked, "Miss Lin, what brings you here?"
He understood that the person he was assigned to protect was the woman standing before him.
As long as he kept her safe and killed the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord, the mission would be complete.
The woman smiled. "I heard from my father that you'd arrived, so I wanted to come and pay you a personal visit."
"Young Hero Su accepted this mission of his own accord despite being at the Body Refining Realm. You're clearly no ordinary person, but a true martial arts prodigy."
"You already proved as much in the hall, when you stunned a Profound Mastery warrior with a single glance."
"My father doubted you because you were an Outer Sect disciple."
"I worried that this might displease you, so I came to apologize."
She spoke plainly, her eyes clear and her expression apologetic.
Su Yun's thoughts stirred.
Miss Lin was rather interesting. She wasn't some arrogant, pretty face.
"Rest assured, Miss Lin. Now that I've accepted the mission, I'll protect you."
Su Yun knew what she had in mind, so he said this.
"Then I thank you, Young Hero Su."
The woman smiled serenely, then bowed and left with her two maids.
"Miss, why do you think so highly of Young Hero Su? Why come to see him in person?"
"Other warriors in the mansion can barely get a chance to meet you."
On the way, one of the woman's personal maids couldn't help asking.
The other maid looked just as puzzled.
"You're both still too naive."
"Young Hero Su dared to accept this mission while at the Body Refining Realm, which clearly means he's confident in his own strength."
"The other warriors may be powerful, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can defeat the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord."
"Whether I can get through this calamity may well depend on Young Hero Su."
"Tell me, shouldn't I come and pay him a personal visit?"
"Miss, we understand!"
The two maids hurriedly replied as soon as the woman finished speaking.
Yet as she looked at the peaceful surroundings, worry crept into the woman's eyes.
The Flower-Plucking Sword Lord!
He was ruthless and had already committed several major crimes in the city, yet he still hadn't been caught.
No matter how careful she was, she was still just a young woman with no cultivation.
If the Flower-Plucking Sword Lord caught her, her fate would surely be miserable.
So she couldn't help feeling anxious.
Time flowed like water, slipping through one's fingers.
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
Everything remained peaceful in the Lin Mansion. Not a ripple disturbed the calm.
The Flower-Plucking Sword Lord hadn't broken into the Lin Mansion.
There wasn't even a trace of him.
Even so, security at the Lin Mansion grew ever tighter.
The young warriors were all on high alert.
At that moment, Su Yun sat with his eyes closed, gripping his Black Blade on a wooden chair in an elegant corridor.
This corridor was the only path leading to Miss Lin's bedroom.
He and several young warriors were stationed there.
At one point,
a young man carrying a spear walked toward them.
His name was Xu Shan. He was also the warrior whose spirit had been shaken by Su Yun's Blade Momentum earlier.
Among the Profound Mastery warriors who had gathered, he was of average strength, but he was by no means weak.
"Hmm? Wait!"
Just as Xu Shan approached them,
a burly, bald warrior suddenly reached out and stopped him.
"What is it?"
Xu Shan was naturally displeased at being stopped.
His expression turned cold, and he looked unhappy.
But the bald warrior narrowed his eyes.
"You're not Xu Shan!"
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