The person whose eyes had just reddened was immediately deafened by the loud voice.

He froze for a moment, stopped moving, hesitated, glanced at the three, then turned and left.

"Niu-shixiong, are we just letting him go?" Crooked-mouth Wang looked straight at the bundle clutched tightly in the man's hand, his eyes unblinking.

"..." Niu Niu didn't say a word, but was actually in a private chat with his number two, Ye Shao, a close friend.

Although his number one, Crooked-mouth Wang, was the first to follow him, he was still just a vagrant, and some things were not easy to tell him. Ye Shao, being a fellow player, was much more convenient, as their ideas often aligned.

"Can you see through that guy's strength?"

"At least Initial Realm!"

"What about his physical condition?"

"He won't last long. That knife wound in his chest is fatal. He might not have realized it yet, but once he recovers, he's as good as dead. Niu-ge, this is our chance!"

At this point in the private chat, Ye Shao put his hood back on, his whole body radiating fire, and made a throat-slitting gesture.

Niu Niu immediately understood what to do.

"Xiao Wang, let's go! Follow that guy!"

"Yes, Niu-shixiong!"

Crooked-mouth Wang's face lit up, and he followed Niu Niu. The three quickly left the spot.

However, Niu Niu and his group were not the only ones eyeing the man. At least two others were secretly observing from the shadows.

But...

"Blazing Fire Sect... Tricky."

"This Niu Niu seems to be quite famous in the Blazing Fire Sect. Although I don't know how strong he is, he's so well-known, he must be quite powerful. With so many treasures, there's no need to fight such a strong opponent."

The two in the shadows quietly withdrew from the competition.

When Ye Shao privately sent this information to Niu Niu, Niu Niu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Niu Niu also had his own way of surviving!

He had chosen to enter the game even as the overall environment became so harsh, and in the knowledge that death in the game meant death in reality. Naturally, he had his reasons.

And that was bragging! Spreading his name far and wide, making himself famous, and as for his actual strength, that was another matter entirely.

As long as he avoided taking action himself as much as possible, avoiding revealing his strength, then the greater his fame, the more he could deter petty thieves!

Before, Niu Niu had been playing the game as just a game, completely enjoying the experience.

But after learning the truth, his thinking changed.

After thinking about it for three days, he finally made the decision to step into the game again.

And this time, he only had one thing to do, and that was to survive!

Whether it was clinging to a powerful backer or going against his conscience, he had to survive in the game. This game was so peculiar that there must be immense benefits within it. He had the advantage of getting a head start, so he had to seize this opportunity.

Although he had only been playing casually before, the new body and identity he randomly received allowed him to successfully join the Blazing Fire Sect even before he knew the truth about the game.

This time, he would climb up the ranks in the Blazing Fire Sect, climb to a higher position, and be protected by even stronger experts!

And this behavior could be summarized as clinging to a powerful backer.

There was no other way. Ye-ge’s powerful leg was too far away, so he could only rely on the Blazing Fire Sect for now.

Within the Blazing Fire Sect, besides doing tasks every day, the thing Niu Niu did most often was to shout out his name, to make his name known. Not only did he want the people of the Blazing Fire Sect to know that there was a Niu Niu in the Blazing Fire Sect, but he also wanted people outside the Blazing Fire Sect to know that when they heard the name Niu Niu, they would know he was a member of the Blazing Fire Sect and couldn't be easily offended.

It was good to have a big tree to lean against. Under the big tree of the Blazing Fire Sect, Niu Niu lived a relatively safe life.

But strangely, a while ago, the Third Elder of the sect suddenly took Niu Niu as his disciple and even made him the chief disciple, a level of treatment that made him panic.

And not long after, he heard news about Ye-ge.

Ye-ge had actually come to Jing City?

Niu Niu was surprised and somewhat excited. He immediately called Fang Yue, but Ye-ge seemed to be busy and didn't check his phone.

Moreover, the Blazing Fire Sect and the Glacial Ice Sect were in a sensitive period and could go to war at any time. He was also being ordered around by the sect to do work, and he couldn't find time to get away.

It wasn't until today, when he learned that the Sixth Elder of the Blazing Fire Sect had been killed and that war with the Glacial Ice Sect was unavoidable, that he finally became free.

Seeing that he was about to be conscripted by the sect, he quickly took his lackeys out to scavenge for resources.

"I can't be an enemy of the Glacial Ice Sect where the tail is. Besides, Ye-ge has also come to Jing City. The real powerful leg has arrived. It's best to leave this Blazing Fire Sect!"

Niu Niu calculated his own little plans, hoping to contact Fang Yue as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, other forces continued to divide up the legacy of the Heavenly Sword Sect, which had been passed down for hundreds of years, not even wanting to let go of the tables and chairs. But in the end, the gains were not great, leaving everyone puzzled.

At this time, news began to spread in the martial world that people had seen former disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect appearing in various places outside Jing City, all possessing great treasures!

Only then did these plunderers realize that the real treasures of the Heavenly Sword Sect had long been taken away by the disciples who had been scattered to escape!

In an instant, the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect became rats running across the street, hunted by everyone, not daring to show their faces.

Almost all the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect left Jing City and fled to various places.

But in this environment, there was one Heavenly Sword Sect disciple who remained in Jing City, kneeling heavily in the courtyard of a mansion, kowtowing to one person.

"Your Highness the Seventh Prince, this is Tian Ruichi's last request in his life! Please, you must grant it!"

"Sigh..."

The Seventh Prince sighed deeply and looked up at the distance.

"Ruichi, do you know? I have always considered you my best friend."

"..."

Tian Ruichi didn't speak, because His Highness the Seventh Prince hadn't yet granted his request.

So, he remained kneeling, unable to see the Seventh Prince's expression at that moment.

But he believed in His Highness the Seventh Prince!

"Do you remember the day we first met? It was a scorching afternoon. I encountered night thieves while out, and you happened to pass by, drew your sword, and saved me. That's how we met."

"..."

"But do you know? Those night thieves were actually my subordinates."

"!!!"

Tian Ruichi suddenly looked up.

"That's right, none of it was accidental. The world only knows that I am leisurely and friendly, making friends widely, but they don't know how much scheming and effort is required behind 'making friends widely.'"

Tian Ruichi was at a loss. He suddenly felt that the Seventh Prince before him had become so unfamiliar, as if he had only known a mask of the Seventh Prince.

"Tian Ruichi, a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect's sect master, almost the future successor to the Heavenly Sword Sect's sect master. You should have been one of my best chess pieces, but unfortunately... our fate is over."

The Seventh Prince slowly turned around.

And in front of him, in the shadows of the trees, two dark figures slowly emerged!