Harvest 1

Russell's grandfather, Kalien Rafael, was a retired cadre from the provincial government. Lin Sheng didn't know exactly what position he'd held, but from the way the others acted around him, it was clear he was no ordinary man.

"If it's Grandpa Kalien, there won't be any problem. The White Card Gang may be powerful, but they'd never pick a fight with Grandpa Kalien over a few small-time thugs!" Xiayin said confidently.

"Teacher Lin, don't worry. This time, it'll definitely be fine." Madilan nodded as well.

Lin Sheng said nothing, but his expression eased. No one noticed his grip tightening around the sword hilt.

Once someone had taken care of the aftermath, the four of them got a taxi back to the clubhouse.

The outdoor combat lesson was suspended for the time being. After what had happened, no one was in the mood to continue class.

Lin Sheng gave the three of them some pointers on their basic stances. Besides the Center Iron Gate, he taught them the Crown Stance and had them practice it. Then he packed up and left the clubhouse.

The sun shone brightly outside, and the fresh air carried a hint of the sea.

Beside the clubhouse, a couple were wrapped in each other's arms, whispering sweet nothings without a care in the world. The boy's hand brazenly slipped beneath the hem of the girl's top.

The sound of Lin Sheng leaving the clubhouse startled them.

The young couple scrambled away at once. Before leaving, though, the young man shot Lin Sheng a resentful look.

Dressed in a white tracksuit and carrying his sword, Lin Sheng walked to the bus stop beside the clubhouse. He waited for the bus with several elementary school students who'd just watched the couple, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

Soon, a pale purple sedan silently rolled up along the right side of the street and stopped in front of the clubhouse.

The car door opened, and an elderly man with grizzled hair stepped out. He wore a long black silk shirt.

The old man glanced around and spotted Lin Sheng at the bus stop. He stopped in his tracks, just as he was about to head for the clubhouse entrance. A strange look crossed his face, though it was hard to tell what he was feeling.

"Teacher Lin Sheng?" the old man called out.

They were more than five meters apart, but Lin Sheng could clearly feel that the man's gaze was fixed on him.

He paused, taking in the old man's clothes and the silver-patterned trim on the car door behind him. It was obvious none of it came cheap.

"May I ask who you are?" He walked a few steps closer.

"My name is Reni. I'm that rascal Russell's uncle. I've heard him talk about you for a long time. Now that I've seen you for myself, I'd say Russell understated things." The old man studied Lin Sheng closely, a faint glimmer of admiration in his eyes.

He'd met plenty of young people, but none had given him the same inexplicably cold impression as this one.

That wasn't the kind of bearing an ordinary high school senior should have.

In Reni's eyes, Lin Sheng, dressed in white, bore some resemblance to his father in his youth: equally composed and forceful, unruffled by sudden storms.

"So you're Russell's uncle. It's nice to meet you, sir. What brings you here?" Lin Sheng had a vague idea.

"As you probably guessed, the old man personally told the White Card Gang to let the matter go.

"I came to inform you verbally. Be careful from now on, and don't provoke those desperate thugs lightly," Reni said in a lowered voice.

"The old man? Do you mean Mr. Kalien?" Lin Sheng asked gravely.

"Yes. All right, you should get going. Keep working hard. The college entrance exam is coming up soon." Reni spoke kindly.

Lin Sheng came from an ordinary family, but putting that aside, it seemed the old man had taken quite a liking to him after hearing what happened.

After all, not many people could earn the respect of those three troublemakers, Russell and the others.

Even the special forces instructors their family had hired hadn't managed it. Reni hadn't expected this young man to succeed where they'd failed.

Lin Sheng nodded politely and said goodbye, watching as Reni pushed open the clubhouse door and went inside.

He returned to the bus stop and waited only a few minutes before the bus arrived.

With his sword case on his back, he squeezed aboard and stood among the crowd, his expression calm even as his thoughts churned.

After returning home from the clubhouse, he spent several days in the dream without entering Black Feather City, exploring the areas around its walls instead.

There were quite a few gaps and holes in the walls. Since the main gate was extremely dangerous, he planned to find another way in.

A city as vast as Black Feather City couldn't be entered only through its gates.

For three days straight, he found nothing of note. In the course of exploring, he did kill a few more wandering Rotten Swordsmen.

The memories he gained were mostly the same old thing, with nothing new or useful in them.

Days passed, and before long, a week had gone by.

In the steady drizzle, Lin Sheng ran swiftly through the rain.

The dream's gloomy sky was filled with drifting black clouds. Moonlight fell like a veil, and not a single star could be seen.

The wilderness was pitch-dark. He was on the far side of the city, at least several kilometers from the gate he'd used to enter.

Weeds grew waist-high all around him. Every so often, an unknown sound rustled through them and vanished.

Lin Sheng gripped his sword hilt. After all this time, he'd grown fully accustomed to the weight of the greatsword in his hand.

He could also feel that his stamina had improved slightly.

It's all because I've kept up my training lately. The progress is slow, but at least it's working.

Lin Sheng sighed inwardly.

Whoosh!

In an instant, his sword flashed.

The Black Sword vanished into the darkness to his right.

A body hit the ground with a thud. The Rotten Swordsman fell flat on its back, struggled a few times, then went still.

Lin Sheng hurried over to check. Aside from a few blackened coins in its money pouch, it had nothing else.

As for the Black Sword in its hand, he didn't even bother with it.

Compared to the greatsword he'd gotten from the Elite Rotten Swordsman, all the others were junk.

After absorbing the black thread, he continued forward, sprinting at full speed with an impassive expression.

In the darkness, the only sound was the continuous pounding of his footsteps.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and his pace slowed involuntarily.

Less than ten meters ahead of him, a section of the city wall had collapsed, leaving an unmistakable gap.

Gray bricks lay scattered across the grass, flattening a wide swath of weeds.

The gap was over three meters high and more than a meter wide. Beyond it lay an alley between two buildings.

Lin Sheng was overjoyed.

This was exactly what he'd been looking for!

He approached quickly, then lowered his steps to muffle the sound. He gripped the sword hilt with both hands and slowed his breathing.

At the gap, he peered inside.

The dark alley stretched all the way to a main road. In the distance, he could just make out the faint glow of yellow streetlights.

The ground in the alley gleamed with a thick, greasy sheen. Several large black barrels were piled up on the right, though he couldn't tell what they contained.

Lin Sheng carefully checked above, below, and on either side, then listened for sounds nearby.

His previous encounters had taught him that Black Feather City was an extremely dangerous place. To put it in gaming terms, he'd run straight into a high-level monster zone.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Sheng silently stepped through the gap.

His sneakers crunched faintly on the broken stones. As he moved forward, he quickly compared the surroundings with what he remembered, figuring out where he was.

This should be behind the kitchen.

Lin Sheng slowly made his way along the alley. The ground felt like a thick carpet beneath his sneakers, and some black, greasy grime stuck to the soles. It was unpleasant.

When he reached the mouth of the alley, he cautiously peered out and looked both ways.

The main road was deserted. He could see for over a hundred meters, and there was nothing in sight.