Zhang Qingyuan wanted to kill!

Central Province Prefecture had been a battleground coveted by military strategists since ancient times, as well as the ancient capital of seven dynasties.

Presumably, after Great Qian fell, future courts would still establish their capitals here.

Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao were killing people.

They had barely set foot in Central Province when they encountered a band of mountain bandits blocking the road to rob them.

The bandit chief was vicious, wielded a nine-ring saber, and called himself the Great King of South Mountain.

Without wasting words, they drew their swords and advanced.

There had been seventy-four people in the bandit stronghold. All had now died beneath their swords.

They had already encountered no fewer than three bands of bandits and brigands along the way, and the two dealt with them swiftly and cleanly.

They had rescued eighteen abducted women, thirty-two kidnapped children, and forty-five villagers, every one of whom was profoundly grateful.

Every time they finished clearing out a stronghold, they gave some travel money to the unfortunate people they had rescued.

If their homes were nearby, they even escorted them home, leaving only after ensuring their safety.

With three bandit dens wiped out in succession, their reputations gradually grew.

Their names once again appeared in the martial world of Central Province.

Everyone knew that these two Daoists hated evil as their mortal enemy and habitually cut out bandit strongholds root and branch.

As for the remaining money, they packed it up and took it with them. Whenever they encountered a large banking house with multiple branches, they deposited it there. All of this would fund the sect they would establish someday.

By now, not only had they spent none of the travel money Pure Yang Palace had given them when they left the mountain, they had even accumulated another thirty-five hundred taels in savings.

After they finished clearing out the stronghold, Zhang Junbao looked at the sacks of grain and the small pile of gold, silver, and valuables left inside. With his hands on his hips, he remarked, "Well, would you look at this. No wonder everyone wants to learn martial arts and become a great hero. The money comes so fast."

"That's not right," Zhang Qingyuan objected.

"Why?"

"Does money come fast for Brother Ju?" Zhang Qingyuan raised an eyebrow.

Remembering their old acquaintance in Sanhe Town, Zhang Junbao felt a little wistful.

Zhang Qingyuan added, "The money comes fast because we're doing something illegal. Earning an honest living takes time."

Zhang Junbao nodded. Drawing a blade against others in the name of chivalry and justice was, in a way, another form of treating human life like grass.

Logically, even the most heinous bandits should be dealt with by the court. Ordinary people had no authority to enforce the law. Legally speaking, killing was a crime.

Suddenly, Zhang Junbao froze.

Why am I thinking like this?

Wasn't it precisely because the court ignored the affairs of the martial world that knights-errant like us came into being?

Damn it, so we killed some bad people.

If we didn't kill them, were we supposed to keep them around for New Year?

Having thought it through, Zhang Junbao turned to Zhang Qingyuan. "All you do is fool people with your silly musings."

Zhang Qingyuan pursed his lips. "Oh, come on. Let's finish packing and go."

Can't I muse a little?

Doing this in this life accords with morality. Doing it in my last life would have gotten me shot.

After packing up the valuables, they could not carry the remaining grain with them. They could only make several trips to haul it down the mountain and leave it beside the main road.

"Ugh, I just can't stand waste," Zhang Qingyuan said, panting.

Zhang Junbao likewise said, "When I think of all those people down below still going hungry, my heart just can't bear letting this grain go to waste on the mountain."

"Ah, these compassionate hearts of ours."

"No wonder our cultivation goes smoothly and our Dao hearts are so clear!"

"Indeed, Brother Bao, well said!"

After a round of mutual self-congratulation, the two felt thoroughly satisfied.

They could not take the grain with them. They had brought it down to see whether any common folk passed by; if they encountered anyone, they would give them all the grain so they could have full meals or use it as seed grain.

After waiting a while, they really did encounter several woodcutters. Zhang Qingyuan handed the grain over to them. First astonished, the woodcutters then thanked them repeatedly, calling them immortals.

Both were the sort who would give money to the poor, but in this society, giving the poor grain was better than giving them money.

They could at least hold on to some grain. They could not hold on to large sums of money and might even lose their lives because of it.

They continued onward. This was northeastern Central Province, with several sects nearby. The largest was called Mount Hua, while the most locally famous was a sect called Hundred Flowers Valley.

Hundred Flowers Valley was famous neither for its beauty nor for its strength, but because it accepted only women.

According to rumor, every woman in the sect was as beautiful as a celestial maiden, a heavenly maiden descended to earth.

Zhang Qingyuan teased, "Want to visit Hundred Flowers Valley? We might even find you a wife."

After Zhang Qingyuan's tutelage, Zhang Junbao was no longer so thin-skinned. Facing him squarely, he said, "Heh, am I such a vulgar man?"

Zhang Qingyuan said, "Are you noble?"

"I have long since risen above vulgar tastes."

"All right. Huh? There's a girl over there with no clothes on."

Zhang Junbao instinctively turned his head, then instantly realized he had been tricked.

"Ugh, there's no guarding against you!"

The two fooled around, laughing and joking.

Brother Bao really is pretty adorable.

Mount Zhongnan was one of their destinations on this trip to Central Province. Having already visited the Pure Yang Daoist Sect, they had to visit Quanzhen Dao Palace too, as the other of the martial world's only two great Daoist sects.

Besides, the Quanzhen Dao Sect on Mount Zhongnan was also known as the abode of the immortal court. They wanted to see just how immortal this so-called immortal court was.

Mount Zhongnan had been a sacred place for Daoist cultivation since ancient times. The Taiqing Sage himself had once preached the Dao here, and countless Daoist temples of every size dotted the mountain.

Then, over eighty years ago, a martial genius named Wang Shouxin emerged in the Quanzhen Dao Sect on Mount Zhongnan. He created the "Purple Mist Innate Art," hailed as a treasured scripture of Daoist cultivation, and earned a resounding reputation in the martial world. Upon returning to the mountain, he united its Daoist temples, bringing the sect to its present scale.

The Quanzhen Sect was now in its third generation, and its current Daoist leader, Zhou Wangji, was as renowned as Chen Xugu.

They had met Zhou Wangji once during their last visit to Taiqing Palace to become disciples, though they had barely spoken.

Still, the impression he gave was that his personality was the complete opposite of Chen Xugu's.

Chen Xugu was an immortal-like Daoist who disregarded trifles, laughed and joked, and roamed the mortal world at play.

Zhou Wangji was a solemn Daoist patriarch, a lofty master who transcended worldly attachments and entered the Dao to return to oneness.

Neither was right or wrong. It was only a question of how easy they were to approach.

They were still some distance from Mount Zhongnan, but quite close to Mount Hua.

Ultimately, the two were still wandering along the Yellow River.

They arrived in a town and found a restaurant. They had only just sat down, and their food had yet to arrive, when a conflict broke out inside.

It happened very suddenly. With a crash and a clatter, the fighting began. At a glance, eight people were attacking one, and those eight were actually losing.

The other people in the restaurant ducked and hid wherever they could.

The waiter sighed and crawled under Zhang Qingyuan's table.

That was just how this world was. Judging by his practiced movements, the waiter was already used to it.

Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao had no intention of meddling either. After all, they were not the martial world's law enforcers.

Respect other people's destinies and let go of the compulsion to help.

They helped the poor, and none of these nine looked poor.

Besides, they knew none of them. What if they helped the wrong side?

The two crouched behind the table as well. Zhang Junbao even patted the waiter's shoulder and asked, watching the combatants, "Brother waiter, who are all these people? Why are they fighting?"

Seeing that they were both Daoists and were hiding under the table just as timidly as he was, the waiter explained, "Those eight are the Eight Eminences of Central Province. Their martial arts are very formidable. Their leader is the one with the spear, Han Jingqiong, known as the Sea-Entering Flood Dragon. He's the strongest and the most enthusiastic about upholding justice. The other seven are his sworn brothers.

"The one they're surrounding is the Mount Hua Sword Sect's eldest disciple, Jiang Muye.

"As for why they started fighting?

"I only heard Han Jingqiong say Jiang Muye wasn't worthy of being a disciple of the Mount Hua Sword Sect. I don't know anything else."

Both looked utterly bewildered after hearing this. The martial world was just that unreasonable. People would start fighting in the middle of talking, no different from gangsters.

Zhang Qingyuan sighed. "All right, they're all orthodox figures. Let them fight. We can watch."

Zhang Junbao wholeheartedly agreed, because watching others fight could also give them inspiration for their martial arts.

Only by observing the different martial arts of different sects could they gather the strengths of a hundred schools.

It was as though they had returned to their days in Sanhe Town, heading wherever there was a duel.

They were only missing Sanhe Town's five-spice melon seeds. Their mouths felt as though something was missing.

The Eight Eminences of Central Province were no weaklings. Taken individually, every one of them was at least as strong as Zhou Haojie, Old Wang's chief steward back then.

Together, their combined attacks were even more powerful.

But was the Mount Hua Sword Sect's eldest disciple really this formidable?

He seemed even stronger than Old Pei from the Mount Song Sword Sect.

What had Old Pei been thinking back then, wanting to establish the Five Mountains Alliance and become its leader with skills like his?

Jiang Muye's swordsmanship was exceptionally refined. Though his internal cultivation might have been inferior to those eight, his brilliant swordsmanship still allowed him to trade blows with them evenly.

"That swordsmanship is dazzling. If everyone in the Mount Hua Sword Sect is this strong, they could absolutely challenge the Huashan Sect." Jiang Muye's swordsmanship left Zhang Junbao repeatedly dumbfounded.

"Yes. In terms of sophistication, his swordsmanship is a notch above our Purple Firmament Thunder Ultimate Sword Technique."

"Brother, let me correct you. I'm afraid this isn't a matter of one or two notches." Zhang Junbao sighed in admiration. "If I actually fought him, I could take him down within ten moves. But if we weren't comparing martial prowess, only swordsmanship, this sword technique really is superior to ours."

"Yes, the sword technique is excellent, but this fellow can't bring out its proper effect.

"If we used this sword technique, even Brother Gu would have to power up."

However good a sword technique was, it still depended on who wielded it.

Inferior was inferior. They had the courage to admit it.

In terms of martial prowess, Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao were superior to Jiang Muye, but in terms of the sophistication of the moves, his sword technique truly surpassed the Purple Firmament Thunder Ultimate Sword Technique.

As they watched Jiang Muye handle his opponents with ease, after roughly fifty or sixty moves, Zhang Junbao suddenly exclaimed, "Brother Yuan, I know how to create the Thirteen Swords!"

The Thirteen Swords referred to the Deadly Thirteen Swords Zhang Qingyuan had told him about. Previously, however, Zhang Junbao had seen too few sophisticated sword techniques and lacked the knowledge, so he had never managed to create it.

Now, after witnessing such sophisticated sword moves, inspiration suddenly struck.

His words had barely fallen when a blast of force flew toward them. Zhang Qingyuan hurriedly blocked it.

Zhang Junbao was startled as well.

A furious roar rang out. "Sneaking around and babbling-what vermin dares make a racket here!"

Zhang Junbao raised his head with a bitter smile. "Brother, I lost my inspiration."

Zhang Qingyuan took a deep breath and drew his sword.

"It's all right, brother. Stay here and watch. I'll go find you some more inspiration."

Gritting his teeth, he fixed the nine people with a sharp gaze.

Fight your own fight. How did you manage to drag us into this?

Damn it!