Chapter 1 The Sky is Overcast

Noon, the sky was a sheet of gloom.

Dark clouds blocked out the sun, and even the heavens seemed to be helping to create a tense, pre-storm atmosphere.

At this very moment, three figures appeared on the deserted street.

The leader, walking in the middle, was a middle-aged man.

He was dressed in tattered clothes, and he carried a stick-like weapon wrapped in rags. He walked step by step, slowly and deliberately.

The two people following him on either side looked much more conspicuous. Oda Ai and Sasaki Mei were, after all, players. Their appearance and temperament were very different from the average characters in the script. Even though the system had "harmonized" their appearances to a certain extent, they were still eye-catching.

The three of them walked along the widest main street in Linlu Town, in the silent cold wind, and amid countless gazes hidden in the shadows…

*Whoosh—*

Suddenly, the sharp sound of something cutting through the air broke the oppressive silence.

*Clang!*

With a quick eye and hand, Oda Ai raised one arm and easily deflected the incoming hidden weapon with her vambrace.

But this was just the beginning…

Before the first hidden weapon had even landed, the subsequent attacks arrived.

In the blink of an eye, black dots rained down on the three of them from all directions.

These hidden weapons included darts, knives, needles, and pellets… Each type of weapon had its own unique speed, force, and killing method.

Needless to say, some were coated with poison; others were loaded with gunpowder and would explode upon impact. Some would even split into two or more projectiles mid-flight; and there were even some that could suddenly change their trajectory.

Faced with such an assault in a completely open area, jumping into the air was generally the only option.

However, the three people… stood still.

"Sickly Sword…" At that moment, Sasaki Mei made his move, announcing the name of his technique in a weak and sickly voice, “…Circular Termination."

As the words fell, the sword move appeared.

In the next second, a transparent, circular force field spread out from Sasaki Mei, enveloping Oda Ai and the middle-aged man as well.

No one knew the principle behind his [Sickly Sword—Circular Termination]. His sword was clearly still sheathed, yet he was still able to create a saturated sword qi force field that blocked all the hidden weapons outside the "circle."

After this round of combined attacks, the three of them were unscathed.

"Ah—"

Unexpectedly, another change occurred after a few seconds.

A scream rang out, followed by someone flying out of a second-story window of a building by the side of the road.

As soon as this person hit the ground, more screams and the sounds of clashing weapons followed in quick succession.

"Hmph… Is the infighting beginning…" Oda Ai watched the figures flying out of buildings and dark alleys, and she already knew what was happening in the places her eyes could not see.

Her guess was correct. What was happening was a "double-cross."

The group that had attacked them first was from the Embracing Wind Society.

To put it bluntly, this sect was basically an armed robbery gang. Its members excelled in hidden weapons and light body techniques. In a fair duel in broad daylight, they weren't very strong, but when it came to assassination, ambush, and theft, their skills were quite good.

Last night, the Embracing Wind Society had killed more martial artists than the Mad Tiger Gang. Of course… they mostly killed underlings; they hadn't managed to take out many real experts.

Compared to the cunning Tu Ji, the leader of the Embracing Wind Society was relatively simple-minded, so after the entire night of assassinations, their own losses were also very heavy. By noon today, they had only about thirty people left.

With such strength, taking down the Sword Dance Compendium was obviously a long shot.

Therefore, the Embracing Wind Society had come up with a simple and direct strategy that had a good chance of succeeding… strike first.

They had deliberately chosen to ambush in an area not far from the town entrance, and their plan was to strike first, aiming to take away the person carrying the secret manual in one wave, and then use their sect's advantage in light body techniques to grab the item and run.

But they never expected… that their long-prepared, sure-kill attack would be easily defused by the target. Not only that, but the Beggars' Sect, the Sea Dragon Gate, and the White Plum Sect, the three sects that had suffered the most from their sneak attacks last night, had already set up an ambush in the outer areas. As soon as the Embracing Wind Society made their move, the people from those three sects came in from behind like a praying mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

The fighting… ended quickly.

It was more like a massacre than a fight.

One hundred and forty people killing thirty, and with the former having planned it out while the latter were caught unaware; it was good if the latter could last a minute or two.

After all the members of the Embracing Wind Society were lying flat on the ground, a dark mass of people emerged from all directions, blocking the three people's path.

At the head of this group were also three people.

The first was a man with gray hair draped over his shoulders, dressed in light-colored, close-fitting attire. Judging by his appearance, he was at least sixty years old, but his every move showed no signs of age.

This person was Luo Can, the current leader of the Beggars' Sect.

As a long-standing sect, the Beggars' Sect had produced many outstanding heroes over the years. Unfortunately, Luo Can was not among the best in terms of talent, martial arts, or wisdom.

If there was anything commendable about him, it was that… he had successfully restored the lost art of "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms," which had been lost within the sect for decades, by piecing together some incomplete forms he had collected from various sources.

If this had been a hundred years ago, it wouldn't have been a big deal. At that time, there were many external martial arts techniques of a higher level than the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. But in this "post-martial arts era," possessing such a set of palm techniques was enough for Luo Can to join the ranks of first-rate experts and dominate the world.

Now, the second person…

This person was called Gu Jiaolong. His clothes were ordinary, the close-fitting attire that martial artists often wore, but his appearance was very distinctive; it could be described as… having the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear, and delicate features.

Yes, you read that right, and I didn't write it wrong, that's what he looked like. Therefore, this young master of the Sea Dragon Gate had the nickname "Jade-Faced Jiaolong."

The Sea Dragon Gate, as its name suggests, made its living from the sea; it was half martial arts and half business. Unlike other sects, the Sea Dragon Gate had always had a "good relationship" with the government, because they would regularly provide rare and exotic treasures and delicacies from the sea to some high-ranking officials in the court and local officials, and thus had obtained many conveniences.

In the coastal areas of Jiangnan, the Sea Dragon Gate could be said to dominate one side. To give an exaggerated example, within their sphere of influence, the private salt business could be done openly.

As for the martial arts of this sect… they were average. There were no remarkable high-level martial arts, but there were a few sets of fierce external martial arts that were passable in actual combat.

Finally, let's look at the third person.

That was a woman, a woman so fat that it was difficult to tell her gender.

Perhaps it wasn't uncommon now, but in that agricultural-based, relatively impoverished society, seeing a fatty weighing over a hundred kilograms was quite rare.

This female leader… or rather… female cult leader, was named Feng Meiyu. This name was one she had chosen for herself after she grew up. When she was a child, she didn't have a name, or rather, she had many names…

It might be hard to believe, but the Feng leader in front of them had been the top courtesan in a particularly famous pleasure house in the capital when she was fifteen years old. At that time, her name was Feng'er.

Back then, Feng'er had been a beautiful girl. Even though she was still a teenager, her precocious body had already conquered countless young nobles in the capital.

Because she was a child picked up by the brothel madam, and had grown up in such an environment since she was a child, she didn't seem to mind living a life of luxury by selling her body.

But one day, she changed.

A woman's transformation is usually related to a man, and Feng'er was no exception.

When she was nineteen years old, she fell in love with a young man from a poor family. She loved his appearance, his talent, and every minute and second she spent with him. Even many years later, she still remembered that tenderness.

However, this relationship soon ended with the young man's untimely death.

His death was not an accident, but simply because he was too close to Feng'er and had made the latter think of redeeming herself and becoming a respectable woman. This was obviously something that some people did not want to see, and those "some people" were all figures who could stir up trouble in the capital. To them, killing a poor scholar was as easy as crushing an ant.

From that moment on, although Feng'er showed no abnormalities on the surface, her heart was completely consumed by the flames of revenge.

She used her own methods to obtain some martial arts manuals and secretly practiced hard.

Hatred is a terrible motivation, and it doesn't weaken with the passage of time, but rather grows stronger…

Under such motivation, people are extremely efficient in whatever they do.

Three years later, Feng'er completed her revenge.

She only spent one night killing all her enemies and setting fire to the largest brothel in the capital. She even skinned the madam and hung her corpse on the archway of that red-light district.

After that night, Feng'er disappeared.

It wasn't until more than ten years later that a sect called the White Plum Sect appeared in the martial world. Their leader was an extremely fat woman who called herself "Feng Meiyu."

Her obesity was not because of gluttony and laziness… but because she lacked the most basic knowledge and methods, and relied entirely on her own understanding to desperately practice a variety of completely different internal energy techniques, which eventually led to abnormalities in her meridians and qi. Over the years, these abnormalities gradually manifested in her body.

Obesity was just the most direct manifestation. She had many other problems that caused her great suffering. However, over the past ten years or so, even though she had visited famous doctors all over the world and consulted many martial arts masters, no one could cure her extreme "internal energy deviation."

Finally, the pain in her body caused problems with her mind… She gave up treatment, turned the pain into a new motivation, turned killing into a way to release pressure, and turned the desire for power into her painkiller… That was how the White Plum Sect was born.

"The Beggars' Sect… the Sea Dragon Gate… the White Plum Sect…" After the three people and their gang stood still, the middle-aged man slowly opened his mouth, "Judging by this formation… are you all joining forces?"

He guessed correctly. Due to the various events that had occurred last night, the balance of power between the sects had changed. After negotiations, these three sects decided to join forces to ensure victory today.

"Enough nonsense!" Gu Jiaolong was thirty-two years old this year, the age when his blood and qi were at their peak. He was used to being the only one who mattered in his own gang's territory, so his words and demeanor could no longer be described as "impetuous," but rather "domineering." "Hand over the Sword Dance Compendium and I'll spare your life!"

"Oh?" The middle-aged man heard this and his tone was still unhurried, "How do you know… the Sword Dance Compendium is on me?"

Before Gu Jiaolong could answer, Luo Can interjected, "The murderer who killed the sixty-three members of the Jiang family will appear in Linlu Town on New Year's Eve with the Sword Dance Compendium; the person is around fifty years old, with a bamboo hat covering his face, and carrying a weapon wrapped in rags…" He repeated this piece of information that had already spread throughout the martial world, word for word, and then continued, "Right now, you perfectly fit the description of this news, except that the time hasn't reached 'nighttime' yet." He paused, and shifted his gaze to Sasaki Mei, "Moreover… we just saw the skills of that subordinate of yours… that must be a move from the Sword Dance Compendium, right?"

Their deduction was reasonable. Sasaki Mei's "skill" seemed magical to orthodox martial arts practitioners, and this could be explained by "he learned it from the Sword Dance Compendium."

"Hmm… what you said does make some sense, but there's something I don't know if you've thought about…" The middle-aged man still replied calmly, "That 'news' you mentioned seems a little too precise… doesn't it?"

When he said this, the two players behind him didn't react, because they had already learned the truth from the middle-aged man. However, at this moment, Xu Huishang, Kuang Zong Jianying, and Cai Bupa Ne, who were also hiding in the dark and heard these words, all changed their expressions.

"So what?" Feng Meiyu stood there, looking like a big meatball, and even speaking seemed a bit strenuous. "What's the point of saying this now… Do you still want to deny that the thing is on you?"

"I'm not trying to deny anything…" the middle-aged man replied, "On the contrary, I want to admit some things…"

"You just want to say… that you released the news, right?" Suddenly, another person's voice joined the conversation.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and quickly spotted a person on the roof of a residential building by the side of the street.

"Feng Bujue!"

At the moment when Brother Jue appeared, these three words galloped through the minds of the other players like a thousand horses.

"Hmm?" The middle-aged man's attention was also attracted by Brother Jue. He raised his head, gently pushed up the brim of his bamboo hat with his finger, and glanced at Brother Jue, "You are…"

"Be careful…" Oda Ai's whisper immediately entered the middle-aged man's ears, "This kid is hard to deal with…"

"Hey! Who do you think you are?" Two seconds later, Gu Jiaolong shouted loudly at Brother Jue, "Do you even have the right to speak here?"

"Heh…" Feng Bujue chuckled and replied, "Young Master Gu, please calm down. I'm just here to say a few things that you might be interested in. I don't intend to interfere with the plans of you sect leaders."

"We don't have time to listen to your stories," Luo Can said, "I advise you to hurry up and…"

"Hold on." Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man interrupted at this time, "I'd like to hear… what he has to say."

As soon as he said this, the three sect leaders were stunned for a moment. The way they looked at Brother Jue also underwent a subtle change.

Of course, at this time, they still didn't take this young, unfamiliar face seriously. They were just wondering what the middle-aged man was up to.

"Hehe… actually, I don't have much to say, it can be finished in a short time." Seeing that no one was interrupting him, Feng Bujue continued, "Simply put… you planned this whole thing today." He looked at the middle-aged man and smiled, "If I'm not mistaken, you should be that 'Eastern Sea ronin who didn't know the true value of the sword manual and pawned it at a low price.'"

When the words fell, everyone present except for the middle-aged man, Oda Ai, and Sasaki Mei changed their expressions.

Feng Bujue didn't care and continued to speak slowly, "In fact, you know the value of the Sword Dance Compendium very well… That's why you used it as 'bait' to set up this scheme…" He paused for a second, then continued, "First, you deliberately let Jiang San get the Sword Dance Compendium, and then you created the Jiang family's massacre to take back the sword manual; you knew that Duan Keyi would definitely come to avenge his disciple and investigate the matter thoroughly… Therefore, you took advantage of the reputation of the Diancang Sect to spread the news of the Sword Dance Compendium's appearance in the world.

"When people hear the relevant news, they will naturally think… that 'the Diancang Sect found out', as if everything is logical.

"But when I heard about this, I felt that something was wrong…

"Putting aside how Sect Leader Duan and his disciples were able to reach the conclusion that 'the murderer killed the entire family in order to seize a sword manual' from a crime scene where there were no survivors… Even if they were convinced that the killer's motive was 'to seize something important' and pursued the clues based on this… The probability of finding the so-called 'Eastern Sea ronin' and 'pawn shop' line is really slim.

"And the news that 'the Sword Dance Compendium will appear on New Year's Eve' that was later spread made me completely sure… that the murderer himself was the one who released the news.

"As you said… that news was described too specifically and too precisely. Not only the time and place, but even your clothes and appearance were described in detail."

Speaking of this, Brother Jue couldn't help but laugh, "Hehe… the most ridiculous thing is that since this news has spread throughout the martial world, attracting so many sects and people, then the 'person' in the news is likely to already know about this… Under this premise, how could he still appear at the time and place mentioned in the news? Knowing that the entire martial world is ambushing him, would he still come to his death?"

This question was obviously posed to the sect leaders and other martial artists lurking around.

"So, there is only one truth." Feng Bujue raised one hand and pointed at the middle-aged man, "The person who carries the Sword Dance Compendium… the person who released the news… the person who created this situation today through careful planning… doesn't think he will die."

As he spoke, he turned to look at the three sect leaders, "The ones who will die… are you."