Why Did You Join the Sacred Sect

It was that black-faced leader.

What skill!

I almost let him spot me!

Shen Chu's heart clenched again, but he immediately replied, "Coming, coming!"

Fortunately, when Shen Chu had killed that Cultist just now, he had reached out to support the man's body and gently propped him against the base of the wall.

From behind, it looked just like the Cultist was leaning against the wall to keep watch.

The night was dark and deep, and even the black-faced leader had failed to notice.

Shen Chu's thoughts raced. After taking a deep breath, he quickly returned to the black-faced leader and lowered his voice. "Leader, the sleeping smoke has been set. Someone is guarding that side."

The black-faced leader had returned to his original position. His cold gaze swept toward the relay station, and he said in a deep voice, "Good. Pass the order—prepare to move. Once we get inside, kill anyone we see. Leave no one alive."

The Cultists behind him drew their weapons one after another.

Shen Chu's gaze fell upon those weapons, and his pupils suddenly contracted!

Those blades gleamed with a familiar cold light. Their shape and patterns were unmistakably those standard long sabers the Li Family's Sword-Forging Courtyard had just produced!

These Red Lotus Sect people had actually gotten their hands on the Li Family's blades!

How had they gotten them?!

"Brother, this is your blade!"

In a daze, Shen Chu accepted a long saber handed to him by someone else.

Gripping that Li Family-forged saber, he stood in the night as thoughts whirled through his mind.

Shen Chu wanted to warn those inside the courtyard, but dozens of Red Lotus Sect Cultists had already surrounded the relay station from all sides.

The black-faced leader stood not far from him, his hawkish gaze watching every person's movements.

If Shen Chu forced a warning through, not only would he fail to save Li Chengwen and the others, he would expose himself at once and be besieged by dozens of people. He would undoubtedly die.

Think of another way...

Shen Chu drew a deep breath, suppressed the impulse in his heart, and decided to wait and see for a better opportunity.

The black-faced leader crouched behind a low boulder, his gaze fixed on the relay station's tightly shut wooden door. He said in a low voice, "Send two men in first to feel things out and see whether the people inside are sleeping like the dead. Everyone else stays where they are. The moment the signal comes, charge in."

His gaze swept over the Cultists behind him, waiting for someone to volunteer.

Yet the Cultists looked at one another, and not a single one stepped forward.

Everyone knew that the first people to scout ahead faced the greatest risk.

If the people inside had not been knocked out by the drug, or if the night watchman was especially alert, those who went in to scout might never return.

The black-faced leader's expression immediately darkened, and he cursed under his breath, "A bunch of trash! Usually, each of you is better than the next at bragging and licking boots. When it's time to use you, every last one of you turns into a turtle pulling its head into its shell!"

Shen Chu's heart stirred. Realizing this was a perfect opportunity, he stepped forward and volunteered. "Leader, I'm willing to go in and scout."

The black-faced leader's gaze landed on Shen Chu, and approval appeared in his eyes.

He gave Shen Chu's shoulder a heavy pat, then turned to the other Cultists and barked, "Do you see that?! This is what a good brother of the Sacred Sect looks like! You bunch of trash, usually you talk yourselves up until flowers fall from the sky, but when it comes time to risk your lives, someone else still has to step up and carry you!"

Turning back to Shen Chu, he looked at him with undisguised admiration. "Good brother, tell everyone—what did you join the Sacred Sect for?"

Shen Chu's heart tightened slightly, but his expression remained calm as he casually made something up. "Reporting to the leader, to obey your orders and the Sacred Sect's orders!"

The black-faced leader froze at those words. Then he felt as comfortable all over as if he had eaten a ginseng fruit.

"Good brother! Truly a good brother of our Sacred Sect!"

Overjoyed, the black-faced leader announced on the spot, "From today onward, you're a minor leader of our squad, serving as Corporal! Once this mission is complete, I'll personally request credit for you from the Flag Master!"

Everyone else's expressions immediately changed.

Damn it, he could even come up with that kind of bootlicking? What was Shen Chu's brain made of?!

Just as the black-faced leader finished speaking, Shen Chu's eyes suddenly lit up.

The system panel automatically appeared, and several clear lines of text surfaced before him:

[Cultist class level increased to Corporal]

[Initial skill Incense Offering to All Living Beings lv1 upgraded to lv2; passive skill Breath Concealment slightly improved]

[Team skill unlocked: Red Lotus Sect Corporal Authority: May command the Cultists of this squad and obtain low-level internal Red Lotus Sect information]

Shen Chu was both shocked and delighted.

He quickly glanced at his system panel. Three classes were clearly listed there:

[Bladesmith], [Martial Artist], [Cultist (Corporal)].

After this period of exploration and real combat, he had more or less figured out the upgrade paths of these three classes.

The [Bladesmith] level rose through improvement in forging skill.

Forging higher-quality weapons and mastering more complex forging techniques could both advance this class and raise the skill level of [Thousand Hammer Refinement].

Previously, only after forging Silver-Veined Meteorite Iron into premium long sabers had [Thousand Hammer Refinement] risen to lv2.

During this period, he had worked day and night to rush orders, and his class proficiency had also risen by a considerable amount.

Though there was still some distance before the next upgrade, the direction was clear.

As long as he kept hammering iron and kept studying, there would come a day when he broke through.

Though the Martial Artist's initial skill [Twice the Result with Half the Effort] had yet to improve, Shen Chu vaguely sensed something.

The advancement of this class and skill did not depend on external objects or status, but solely on the accumulation of real, hard-earned martial strength.

Improvements to one's innate physique, progress in cultivation techniques, and experience and insight accumulated through actual combat were all gathering power for that breakthrough.

Once his martial strength reached a certain threshold, the level would naturally break through as water flowed into a channel.

As for the [Cultist] class, he had unlocked it only after killing Han Tieshan and obtaining Nether Ghost Control Technique.

After exploring it for some time, he found that this class's upgrade path was completely different from the other two, and he had not the slightest clue how it worked.

He had originally thought that upgrading the [Cultist] class would require a long time and complex conditions.

Yet it did not rely on forging or martial training.

Simply because he had been promoted to a minor leader within the Red Lotus Sect, his class level had risen directly!

This discovery gave Shen Chu new plans for what came next.

If he continued climbing higher in the Red Lotus Sect, could he unlock more skills and information?

But when he thought of that, it also felt somewhat strange.

Could it be that he would really have to mingle with this pack of freaks in the future to go farther down the [Cultist] path?

As Shen Chu pondered this, the black-faced leader had already stopped wasting words. He swept his gaze over the remaining Cultists, casually pointed at one man, and said, "You, come out. Go in and scout with the Corporal. Follow all his commands."