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Lu Bai wandered through the mountains for a while, then discovered a very practical problem: he was lost.

Ancient mountain forests had always been difficult to traverse, and with the snowfall, many of the woodland paths had been covered over.

As he walked, Lu Bai lost all sense of direction.

White stretched as far as the eye could see, and Lu Bai could only feel the cold steadily eating away at him.

"I'll walk a little longer. If I still can't find a way out, I'll have to figure out some kind of temporary shelter to keep warm."

Lu Bai surveyed his surroundings and headed in one direction by instinct.

It was nearly dusk when Lu Bai finally saw a wisp of cooking smoke rising in the distance.

"Looks fairly large." Lu Bai climbed a tree and gazed toward the source of the smoke.

Wooden stakes and stones had been used to build a wall, and a flag fluttered in the air above it.

However, because of the wind and snow, Lu Bai could not make out what was written on it.

Still, there were only a few possibilities for a structure built deep in the mountains.

Either it was a Martial Forest sect, or it was a bandit stronghold—or both.

And judging by its style, the odds of it being a bandit stronghold were somewhat higher.

"Perhaps I can play the great hero who roots out evil and punishes the wicked for once?"

Lu Bai tightened his clothes around himself and slowly approached the place.

Before long, he arrived near this "stronghold."

The entire stronghold was a chaotic, filthy mess, with all manner of things thrown about. Lu Bai even spotted suspicious white bones in several places.

Only then did Lu Bai clearly see the flag.

It was a brand-new flag, bearing several large characters: Black Tiger Sect.

"Not Black Tiger Stronghold?" Lu Bai was somewhat puzzled. Then he saw a battered old Black Tiger Stronghold banner amid that heap of trash.

"So they've changed banners."

At certain times, there was little difference between a stronghold and a sect. Yet at other times, that difference was quite significant.

A stronghold was the "evil" that righteous heroes punished, while a sect was the "good" entitled to carry out that punishment.

Though most of the time, what they did was actually about the same.

Martial artists did not engage in production. They generally lived off land rents, local taxes, and robbing the rich to aid the poor. Those skilled at managing money would also support various businesses.

Such as gambling dens, taverns, brothels, even private salt, weapons, and maritime trade.

They were black-market criminal organizations through and through.

Strongholds, on the other hand, were the sort with no technical sophistication at all, occupying the very bottom of the Martial Forest's chain of contempt.

When people had use for you, they called you righteous men of the greenwood.

When they did not, you became a great hero's chance to rack up achievements.

Every trade had its rules. For a stronghold to change its banner was an extremely abnormal matter.

And according to the rules of Earth's "Jianghu" that Lu Bai knew, whenever any sect set up its signboard, the surrounding sects had to weigh it up one way or another.

That weighing was comprehensive. From your past deeds to your martial arts, everything would be dragged out and discussed.

If you had old enemies, they would be even more likely to seize this opportunity to dispense justice.

If you had committed deeds that stirred heaven's wrath and humanity's resentment, someone would come to enforce Heaven's way as well.

In short, setting up a signboard was generally very difficult.

But once the signboard had been successfully established, all those who had weighed you up effectively served as endorsements.

Though this "Martial Forest" dimension possessed Internal Force, its core was actually much the same as Earth's.

When one circle entered another, it was inevitably subjected to scrutiny. Being able to successfully change banners already said something.

"Of course, it could also be that these bandits ignored the rules and changed their banner on their own."

Lu Bai idly entertained that thought before climbing straight over the wall.

No one was guarding it—or rather, the people who should have been keeping watch had all hidden in the houses to warm themselves by the fire.

A stronghold deep in the mountains, with snow falling now—no normal person would think there was any need to keep watch.

Besides, a Martial Forest force transformed from a bandit stronghold did not possess that kind of discipline.

Even many Martial Forest sects were like this. Keeping watch was nothing but wasted effort.

Thus, when Lu Bai climbed over the wall, no one noticed him at all.

Braving the wind and snow, he came to a small hut beside the wall. Several men inside were warming themselves by a fire, eating flatbread and some unknown stew.

They were not drinking liquor and eating meat as he had imagined. Clearly, even bandits were poor these days.

After observing them closely for a while, Lu Bai simply opened the door and walked in.

Before the man facing him could react, something smashed into him.

The stone struck his face like a blossom bursting open, blood spraying out as it choked off his words.

Then, like a starving tiger pouncing on prey, Lu Bai seized one man by the neck, used him as a massive pendulum, and swung him into another man nearby.

By the time he released his grip, only Lu Bai and one other person in the room were still breathing.

That man was now trembling all over, covering his mouth and daring not make a sound.

"Smart!" Lu Bai patted the man's shoulder, pulled over a stool, and sat down.

He picked up a flatbread and began chewing on it. As he ate, he said, "Tell me about the situation in the stronghold."

"G-g-great hero, we're Black Tiger Sect now," the man said tremblingly.

"Is there a difference?"

"No difference."

After learning how many people were in the stronghold and how many knew martial arts, Lu Bai nodded.

Black Tiger Sect had evolved from Black Tiger Stronghold, and it had also benefited from the conflict between Hundred Flower Grave and Tianwu Holy Land.

It had originally been nothing more than a stronghold. After getting in with Hundred Flower Grave, it had waved flags and shouted slogans alongside them a few times, and then made it onto the whitelist.

It had become righteous men of the Martial Forest resisting the Outer Realm Demons, heroes of the greenwood.

And so the name Black Tiger Stronghold had become Black Tiger Sect.

"Very good." After finishing the food, Lu Bai asked whether there was anything strange in the soup. Once assured there was not, he drank a bowl and stood up.

"Spare—"

Before the word "my life" could leave his mouth, Lu Bai had already gripped his neck.

With a crack, his entire body went completely limp.

Lu Bai waited for a while, and four identical modules appeared in his hand.

Energy Module [Vitality] was different from Elemental Module [Vitality].

The Elemental Module ultimately pointed toward one's own Vitality, while Energy Module [Vitality] truly contained a current of Vitality within it.

"In other words, the Blood Burning Technique has gained fuel to a certain extent."

Lu Bai tossed the modules in his hand. No wonder Dimensional Travelers were called demons.

These bandits were, at most, like street thugs. They merely dared to fight and kill, and had seen blood before.

Yet such people could condense precious modules. For those with lower moral limits, finding a place to slaughter indiscriminately would probably earn them a huge fortune.

Lu Bai placed the [Vitality] modules into his skill slots and headed deeper into the stronghold.

The entire stronghold had roughly fifty or sixty people, over twenty combatants, and three of them knew martial arts.

Then he would use this group to test the power of his skills.

Second update. Everyone, remember to vote.