Old Acquaintances Meet, Eyes Red with Envy

The incoming crossbow bolt nailed itself into the collapsed building.

Following this, more people surged toward the ruins of Lingfeng Tower.

The scene descended into utter chaos in an instant.

"Kill!" War cries and shouts of various intentions mingled together in that moment.

"Go rescue Old Man Lin Haixian!"

"Kill Lu Bo!"

"Stop them!"

"Kill the bandits of Lianwu Mountain and make them pay for their atrocities!"

"Son, don't get involved in this, let's leave first!"

"No, I want to kill the thieves!"

The myriad states of human life were fully revealed at this moment, adding to the surrounding turmoil.

Blades, spears, swords, halberds, axes, and hooks collided, and blood splattered across the ground.

Naturally, it was mostly the people of Lianwu Mountain being killed; they were at a massive disadvantage in numbers, and the people of Hundred Flower Grave had also begun their reckoning against them at this time.

If not for the lack of consensus among the Martial Forest figures and the logistical difficulty caused by the chaotic scene, Lianwu Mountain would likely have been slaughtered to the last man long ago.

"A desperate army will win"—this saying isn't always accurate, but it described the state of Lianwu Mountain at this moment quite well.

Driven by the conviction of certain death, this group was doing everything in their power to cause destruction.

Lianwu Mountain was a product of history; Martial Forest sects were extremely traditional, and they strictly prohibited the leakage of martial arts knowledge, maintaining a monopoly on it.

Once you entered a sect, you were a person of that sect in life and a ghost of that sect in death.

It was incredibly difficult for small, independent families to produce an expert, and even if they did, they still had to bow to the whims of the major sects.

After becoming an expert, one had to submit a formal letter of introduction to the major sects, visit the seniors, present gifts, and perform martial arts demonstrations.

Only when the seniors nodded could you make a living with your martial arts in this Martial Forest.

Once you managed to scrape by, the lion's share had to be used to grease the palms of the seniors, and the remaining money had to be split seventy-thirty with the major sect!

That seventy percent still belonged to the major sect, and for your thirty percent, you still had to beg for the seniors' approval.

This wasn't navigating the Jianghu; it was kneeling to beg for food.

Some people thought, I train through the bitter cold of winter and the sweltering heat of summer, working hard to master my family's martial arts, only to have to pay homage, give gifts, and perform like a monkey for the seniors just to get their nod.

Then, after earning a living with my meager skills, I have to hand over the bulk to the seniors and split the rest with their disciples.

I would rather stand tall and earn that money.

Thus, some people forcibly seized the assets of major sects and hid away in the deep mountains and forests.

This behavior inspired others to imitate them, and as these people gathered together and shared their stolen martial arts knowledge, the original Lianwu Mountain was formed.

Gradually, Lianwu Mountain grew in scale, becoming an assassin organization, and ordinary people or martial artists with nowhere else to turn would join its ranks.

Those who still had a path to survival or a future would not be accepted into Lianwu Mountain if they were only looking to make a living.

Only those who had no choice but to walk down this dark path to the end, and who had completed multiple assassination missions, would be accepted.

Because only then would Lianwu Mountain truly be their home.

This created the state where Lianwu Mountain was fierce toward the outside world but united within.

Therefore, at this moment, few from Lianwu Mountain were fleeing; more were fighting for their lives.

As Lu Bo fell into Lingfeng Tower, the sound of rushing wind whistled past his ears.

He couldn't help but dodge to the side, and a moment later, an arrow pinned itself to his previous position.

This arrow had actually pierced through the wall of the restaurant, shooting in from the outside, and it had accurately predicted Lu Bo's landing spot.

If Lu Bo hadn't reacted quickly, he likely would have been run through on the spot.

Before the first arrow could settle, another flew in, just as precise and with terrifying power.

"It's the Heaven-Patrolling Arrow of Lianwu Mountain!"

Lin Haixian immediately warned from the other side.

Although Lianwu Mountain began as a collection of small, desperate families, they had developed over the years. After they began doing dirty work for the Tianwu Holy Land, they were no longer lacking in high-level martial arts.

The Heaven-Patrolling Arrow was one such technique.

After a practitioner developed internal energy, they had to begin "nurturing" the arrow.

They needed to confirm the target and collect all information regarding them.

Then, they had to find a way to obtain items related to the target, such as hair, blood, or clothing.

They would soak these items in their own internal energy, then imbue the arrow with that energy to strike the target down.

The cycle had to be repeated, and no errors could occur; if any abnormal aura—other than their own or the target's—was mixed in, the cultivation of this martial art would fail.

Once the technique was successfully cultivated, an archer only needed to obtain an item related to their target to lock onto its location through the communion of energy.

After the Martial Forest, the birth of living beings, the accumulation of momentum, and the perception of objects, a new branch had appeared before Lu Bai.

People called it "Strange Art," which meant using internal energy to commune with certain objects and establishing various rules and taboos, thereby allowing one's moves to unleash peculiar powers.

For instance, the way the Hundred Flower Grave had people coexist with the Life-Eroding Flower, causing their bodies to undergo alienation and even allowing them to turn internal energy into roots that burrowed into human bodies to absorb nutrients, could be called a Strange Art.

It was just that this "strangeness" was somewhat inhuman.

Generally speaking, the most well-known Strange Art was the Gu Art; people in the West Province used their own internal energy or flesh and blood to raise Gu insects, achieving communion with them.

The Heaven-Patrolling Arrow simply fixed the object of communion to the category of "target."

Lu Bai had shed quite a bit of blood during his previous battle with Lin Haixian, so it would not be difficult for the other party to lock onto Lu Bai's aura.

It was at this very moment that quite a few people broke into the Lingfeng Tower, which had its roof collapsed.

One group shouted as they charged toward Lin Haixian, while another group had been staring at Lu Bai ever since they entered.

Lu Bai naturally recognized this group of people at once.

"Brother Bandit, how have you been? To dare to charge in here and make an enemy of me at a time like this, you truly have 'guts'—though you should be careful not to end up with nothing but a broken egg!"

Lu Bai deliberately emphasized several of his words.

The face of the man in the lead turned a shade of green and white, looking quite spectacular.

When these people had robbed Lu Bai earlier, they had all worn standard bandit masks.

The reason Lu Bai was able to recognize this group, aside from the significant difference in their temperament and form compared to the natives of the Martial Forest, was the firearms in their hands.

Hearing the words Lu Bai had emphasized, the lead bandit's face instantly turned iron-blue.

This was not a metaphor or an exaggeration; the man's face had truly turned the color of iron-blue, a dark, bruised shade with a hint of green.

A pair of scarlet eyes stared at Lu Bai, and then, gritting his teeth, he said word by word, "I want you dead!"

Gunshots rang out immediately afterward.