Enemies came hunting

While Tian Hao secretly forged his black iron sword, Lu Dayou returned from the area around Guan Family Fort, having uncovered Tian Hao's true identity.

Mount Hua, Reflection Cliff.

"I knew that fellow had a dubious background, but I never imagined he was a foreign tribesman from the grasslands."

After hearing the information Lu Dayou had gathered, Linghu Chong was both shocked and furious.

"The Guan Family didn't discover you, did they?"

A sudden thought struck him, filling him with concern.

The Guan Family wielded considerable influence in Guanzhong. At their peak, they had even rivaled the Mount Hua Sect, and Elder Guan had been a Houtian Realm expert in his day.

Even though Guan Family Fort had been destroyed, the Guan Family still numbered in the tens of thousands.

If they learned that the Mount Hua Sect had taken Tian Hao in, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Senior Brother, you underestimate me. I knocked a constable unconscious, stripped off his clothes and took his badge, then put them on and investigated as a constable from the County Office. I didn't mention Tian Hao's name outright, either.

"But according to Elder Guan's sole surviving son, they accounted for everyone in Guan Family Fort back then, and one household slave's body was indeed missing.

"They said that slave was a foreign tribesman captured on the grasslands. Elder Guan was kindhearted and spared his life, but who could have imagined that the fellow would repay him by causing the deaths of hundreds of people in Guan Family Fort?

"Utterly despicable!"

By the end, Lu Dayou's teeth itched with hatred. Though he no longer had any teeth, he still loathed that fellow to the core.

"Senior Brother, we can't let that fellow stay and keep bringing disaster upon our Mount Hua Sect. We have to drive him out as soon as possible."

Lu Dayou spoke bitterly, wishing he could throw the man out of the sect that very moment and restore peace to Mount Hua.

"Master and his wife have been bewitched by him. I've been punished with confinement to face the wall and reflect on my mistakes, so I can't go down the mountain at all. We'll have to plan this carefully. But you must keep a close eye on that fellow. Don't let him harm anyone else."

Filled with frustration and helplessness, Linghu Chong had no good solution for the moment.

"By the way, come with me. I discovered a treasure trove here on Reflection Cliff. It contains lost sword techniques belonging to our Mount Hua Sect and the Five Mountains Sword Sects."

Gathering his thoughts, Linghu Chong glanced outside. Only after confirming that no one was on the mountain path did he pull Lu Dayou deep into Reflection Cliff's cave, where a concealed opening lay.

He had discovered it by accident while venting his frustration through sword practice.

The discoveries within had greatly advanced his swordsmanship and considerably increased his strength.

"This really is our Mount Hua Swordsmanship, but much more refined. And that's Master's wife's Jade Maiden Nineteen Swords. It's more refined, too."

When Linghu Chong brought him to the section devoted to Mount Hua Swordsmanship, Lu Dayou was stunned, then ecstatic.

"Huh? It looks like quite a bit has been shaved off here."

Suddenly noticing something strange, Lu Dayou stepped closer. The stone wall bore marks where a sharp weapon had shaved it away. The marks were fresh and distinctly different from the surrounding surface.

"These sword techniques weren't carved by our Mount Hua predecessors. There were quite a few filthy insults, so I scraped them off."

Linghu Chong explained. He had indeed scraped those words away.

But it was not only the filthy insults left by the Demon Cult fiends that he had removed. He had also erased the counter-techniques.

Those moves utterly defeated the sword techniques of their Five Mountains Sword Sects. If they leaked out, it would spell disaster for all five sects.

Thus, after memorizing the counters, he had shaved them all away with sword-qi, leaving only the Five Mountains Sword Sects' supreme sword techniques.

Lu Dayou suspected nothing. He had already noticed that, besides some specially made longswords belonging to the Five Mountains Sword Sects, there were other weapons here, including two battle-axes. Those clearly had not belonged to the five sects' predecessors.

"Senior Brother, you haven't told Master and his wife about this place, have you?"

As though suddenly remembering something, Lu Dayou's expression changed drastically.

"Now you're underestimating your senior brother, too. Am I that stupid?"

Linghu Chong shot him a glare, then his expression darkened. "Master and his wife have been completely bewitched by that Tian fellow. If we tell them about these sword techniques, he'll inevitably find out. If he uses them to scheme against our Mount Hua Sect, we'll have committed a terrible wrong.

"Once we get rid of him, we can tell Master and his wife. Besides, these sword techniques can serve as our trump card against him."

Linghu Chong spoke bitterly. He could never forget what had happened that day.

In his eyes, Master and his wife had been utterly beguiled by that Tian fellow and obeyed his every word.

That was bad. Very bad.

The Mount Hua Sect's future would have to depend on him and Dayou!

"Dayou, observe our junior brothers and win over the reliable ones. We must mend the roof before the rain comes and unite every force we can. Only then can we drive that Tian fellow out of the Mount Hua Sect."

After considering the Mount Hua Sect's current situation, Linghu Chong knew they could not let things continue this way. They had to act as soon as possible.

Since that Tian fellow had bewitched Master and his wife, he would start with their junior brothers instead.

He also wanted to seize this opportunity to prove to Master and his wife that he was right, and that they were the ones who were wrong.

"I understand!"

Lu Dayou nodded solemnly. He, too, knew how important this was. The Mount Hua Sect's future depended on them.

Leaving aside the two fellow disciples' plotting on Reflection Cliff, a merchant caravan had arrived at the foot of Mount Hua.

"Fort Lord, we've confirmed it. There is indeed someone in the Mount Hua Sect who closely matches our target. There's no tattoo on his face, but there is a scar in that spot. He probably left it when he cut the tattoo away.

"I also paid for information at the County Office and learned that the brat recently killed Black Bear of the Desert North Duo. His strength cannot be underestimated. Apparently, he also wears chainmail forged from meteoric iron. Even a saber made of hundred-times-refined steel couldn't cut through it."

A group rode out of the city and approached the caravan. The middle-aged man leading them delivered his report.

"So that's why I couldn't find that beauty. He was hiding on Mount Hua. If that self-important fool hadn't come to investigate a few days ago, we still wouldn't know!"

The caravan's leader licked his lips and gave a cold chuckle.

He was Guan Ji, the eldest son of Guan Family Fort's lord. Back then, he had been the one to bring the boy out of the underground workshop, intending to raise him for a while before enjoying him.

But unexpected changes in their business on the grasslands had prompted his father to send him away to handle matters. He had been gone for half a year. By the time he returned, Guan Family Fort had been burned to ruins, and its accumulated wealth had vanished without a trace.

As Guan Family Fort's young lord, he knew exactly how much wealth they had amassed over more than a century by selling weapons and crossbows to the foreign tribes of the grasslands.

He had to recover that money, and Tian Hao was his only lead. At the very least, the brat was the sole survivor from back then and might well know something.

"Eldest Brother, I want to cut off that wretch's head myself and avenge Father and the others."

A tall, powerfully built girl beside him spoke bitterly, murderous intent surging from her.

"Of course. When the time comes, we'll need your Green Dragon Crescent Blade to cut through that brat's meteoric iron chainmail, Feng'er!"

Guan Ji lovingly stroked the girl's hair, but a cruel, mocking gleam flashed deep in his eyes.

"I'll use our ancestor's treasured blade to take that wretch down!"

Her voice still brimmed with hatred as she gently stroked the blue-green crescent blade in her hands.

Three years ago, her eldest brother had found her and rescued her from a brothel. He had taught her martial arts, spared no resources in supporting her cultivation, and even passed their ancestor's Green Dragon Crescent Blade down to her. She would capture that wretch and avenge her father and the hundreds who had died in Guan Family Fort.

"There are women from the Western Depot here at Mount Hua. Don't provoke them. Come with me to the Yellow River and make preparations.

"Guan San, stay behind with some men and find an opportunity to lure that brat over. Once we capture him, we'll leave by boat."

Having made his arrangements, Guan Ji wasted no time and departed with the family's skilled fighters disguised as a merchant caravan.

He naturally had no fear of the Mount Hua Sect alone, but half the Western Depot's experts were stationed at Mount Hua Academy. It would be unwise to cause trouble here.

Besides, their target was only Tian Hao. There was no need to grow extra branches from the main affair.