Chapter 1 Nao Mountain Lake

Nao Mountain Lake was a vast lake, a hundred *li* wide. Standing on the shore, one couldn't see the other side; it resembled an ocean. This lake nourished the surrounding inhabitants, and countless people made their living on its waters.

It also gave rise to a great bandit—the master of Nao Mountain Lake, 'Fu Xu'.

It was the afternoon of the day after Fang Chong's death. Inside Fu Xu's mansion.

"San You!"

Fu Xu's eyes were filled with tears, his sorrow overwhelming. "Last time, you came to celebrate my birthday. We brothers got drunk together. Who knew that would be our last farewell!"

"Master, please accept our condolences."

"Brother! You must take care of yourself. Brother San You certainly wouldn't want you to be so sad."

"Millions of people in Nao Mountain Lake depend on you, Brother. You must take care of your health."

Everyone around him offered words of comfort.

At that moment, Lao Fu arrived with a child.

"Hurry and kowtow," Lao Fu urged.

The child immediately knelt down. "Fang Yong pays respects to Uncle Fu."

"Good child."

Tears welled in Fu Xu's eyes as he nodded. "I just received news that your parents have passed away."

The child was stunned.

Lao Fu was in disbelief. "Master..."

"The Blood Rain Guards did it. They couldn't escape," Fu Xu said with sorrow. "Brother San You didn't want to suffer humiliation, so he committed suicide by taking poison. The Blood Rain Guards didn't spare the rest of the Fang family either. Child, you have no parents. From now on, you will be my adopted son. Is that alright?"

The child was still dazed. Lao Fu prompted him to kowtow in gratitude, and the child mechanically obeyed.

Fu Xu suddenly stood up, enraged. "San You was my sworn brother! Whoever killed my brother, I will kill him! I heard that the murderer first killed San You's son, Fang Chong, then fled to the Blood Rain Guard's station, and this morning, he escaped Fengye City!"

"Lao Liu," Fu Xu said to one of his old comrades, "I'm leaving this to you. Quickly take people to investigate and find out the murderer's identity and whereabouts! I want to avenge Brother San You!"

"Yes, Brother!" Lao Liu immediately accepted the order and quickly left.

"Brother, we should think this through," someone said with concern. "Brother San You had the support of our Nao Mountain Lake. Where did Fengye City get the courage to attack him? Why are the Blood Rain Guards in Fengye City so obedient to the murderer? The murderer must have a significant background. We can't be reckless."

"San You is dead! What's there to think about? If we keep thinking, the murderer will escape!" others retorted.

"All of you, shut up."

Fu Xu glared at everyone. "I must avenge my brother's death!"

"Thank you, adoptive father," the child Fang Yong finally regained his senses and knelt down to express his gratitude.

"Good child, come here." Fu Xu beckoned, and Fang Yong rose and went to his side.

Fu Xu pulled Fang Yong into his arms and said, "I will avenge your father's death. Live peacefully and study martial arts diligently."

Fang Yong nodded repeatedly.

"Everyone, leave. I'm tired." Fu Xu waved his hand with a sorrowful expression, and the crowd withdrew.

Fu Xu sat there, even the maids retreated, leaving only his wife with him.

"A'Fu," his wife frowned slightly. "Two hours ago, you received a secret letter from Fengye City. The letter clearly stated that the murderer is the father of Commander-in-chief Fei. The one who killed Fang Chong was Commander-in-chief Fei's sister."

Nao Mountain Lake was the true master of the surrounding hundreds of *li*. Within a day, they could gather detailed information, which was delivered to Fu Xu by carrier pigeon.

"I received the secret letter two hours ago, but only now did I summon everyone. I knew the murderer's identity, yet I ordered Lao Liu to investigate the murderer's identity and location," Fu Xu sighed. "I'm just buying time for that Master Fei, letting him escape from the reach of Nao Mountain Lake as soon as possible."

His wife was taken aback.

"How dare I pursue and kill him?" Fu Xu shook his head. "Everyone says I am the master of Nao Mountain Lake, the local emperor of the surrounding thousands of *li*. But that Commander-in-chief Fei is the sky of the entire Eastern Region of the Empire! His power is immense. All the Blood Rain Guards in the Eastern Region of the Empire obey his orders. How dare I kill his father, kill his sister?"

His wife sighed. "I understand."

"We are rebels, but I, the leader of these rebels, am walking on thin ice," Fu Xu said. "Internally, I have to keep the brothers united. Externally, I have to be ruthless! So that everyone fears and dreads me. I also have to be careful, lest I bring a disaster upon myself. I'm already fifty-eight this year, and I'm feeling increasingly overwhelmed."

His wife held her husband's hand.

From ordinary bandits to their current position, the couple had supported each other and experienced too much.

"Moreover, this Commander-in-chief Fei's father is very shrewd," Fu Xu said with a smile. "He revealed his identity publicly in front of the Blood Rain Guard's station, in front of many Blood Rain Guards! If he had hidden his identity and only told Commander Chang and a few others, it would have been difficult for me to find out his identity. He revealed his identity... he was actually telling me to be clear-headed and not rush over foolishly and cause a great disaster."

"Revealing it to you?" His wife was surprised.

"Within the surrounding thousands of *li*, only I have the strength to destroy their team," Fu Xu said. "So he revealed his identity to tell me. He was afraid I would do something stupid."

His wife understood.

"Our Commander-in-chief Fei's father is quite cunning," Fu Xu smiled.

In this declining era of the empire, Fu Xu, a rebel, could control thousands of *li*, not only because he was smart but also because he had enough martial strength. He himself was a well-known super-class expert, and he also had many first-rate experts under his command! This was why he could do so many forbidden things, resist the empire's several military expeditions, and the Blood Rain Guards in the surrounding cities had to rely on him!

Fu Xu had enough strength to destroy Fei's family's convoy.

That was why Master Fei was so careful.

...

Two days later.

"Brother, we found out," Lao Liu knelt, frustrated. "The leader of the murderer's team is the father of Commander-in-chief Fei of the Eastern Region of the Empire! After their convoy left Fengye City, they traveled extremely fast, covering six or seven hundred *li* in a single day. They traveled day and night, without much rest. They bypassed Su Changcheng, and now they are far beyond our Nao Mountain Lake's territory."

"What?" Fu Xu rose, his eyes wide. "Traveling day and night? Bypassed Su Changcheng? Where are they now?"

"They must be near Xu Fang," Lao Liu reported.

Fu Xu's face turned pale with anger. "Lao Liu, you took two days to find out the news. Now that they are in Xu Fang, how can we catch them?"

"It's my fault. Please punish me, Brother!" Lao Liu knelt with tears in his eyes, but he was calm inside because when Brother Fu Xu instructed him to investigate, he pointed two fingers. Having followed Brother Fu Xu for so many years, he understood...

It would take 'two days' to find out the murderer's identity and location.

******

The Fei family's convoy made a detour and continued north.

"It's settled," Master Fei had been somewhat nervous when he left Fengye City. He was afraid that those rebels would act rashly and block them! Even though he deliberately revealed his identity in front of the Blood Rain Guard's gate, he was still worried that the rebels would go crazy.

Rebels sometimes acted recklessly.

"The master of Nao Mountain Lake is indeed a hero, as the legends say. Knowing my identity, he didn't attack us." Master Fei truly relaxed only after escaping far from the Nao Mountain Lake's sphere of influence.

In fact, the Fei family's guard team was quite luxurious. Ordinary bandits couldn't do anything to them. The only ones who could destroy this convoy were the real powerful forces in various places. Nao Mountain Lake was naturally one of them.

"Xin Lan." Master Fei looked at his daughter. After two days and nights of travel, Fei Xinlan didn't look well.

"Father." Fei Xinlan looked at her father.

"Remember this lesson," Master Fei said. "In the future, think twice before acting! Consider the consequences."

"But sometimes I can't help it," Fei Xinlan said, lowering her head.

"You have to restrain yourself," Master Fei said. "Being able to restrain yourself means you've grown up. First, restrain yourself, then consider if there is a better way. Even if you outwardly restrain yourself and don't act, you can secretly send people to wipe out their entire family. That's better than killing someone openly!"

"Secretly send people?" Fei Xinlan was stunned.

"Assassination, framing, there are plenty of methods. For example, you could have saved the person on the spot, punished Fang Chong slightly, and not cause a big conflict. After we leave Fengye City for a few days, you can kill him through the Blood Rain Guard. Wouldn't that be much easier?" Master Fei said. "You have to know that for the past day or two, our lives were in the hands of Nao Mountain Lake. Fortunately, the master of Nao Mountain Lake restrained himself and let us leave."

Master Fei looked at his daughter. "Never put your life in someone else's hands and let them decide your fate, understand?"

"Daughter understands," Fei Xinlan said thoughtfully.

"I hope you learn from this lesson. When you go to the imperial capital, there are many people there who are much stronger than your brother. If you cause a big disaster there, even your brother can't save you," Master Fei said. "Think more, consider more, and never act impulsively."

"I understand," Fei Xinlan also sensed her father's nervousness these past two days.

...

Six days after leaving Nao Mountain Lake's territory, the Fei family's team encountered their first guard death since their departure. The team had many handsome horses, and everyone knew that they were from a rich family, so they were bound to encounter robbery.

Overall, traveling in the Eastern Region of the Empire was relatively smooth.

But when they traveled more than twenty thousand *li* and left the Eastern Region of the Empire, the situation took a turn for the worse!

...

Outside the Eastern Region, the fierce bandits didn't care about 'Master Fei'.

In a flash, it had been two months since they left Lan Yue City.

"We'll be able to reach the imperial capital tomorrow." By the roadside, the Fei family's team was eating dry food and resting. Qiu Tong looked north with anticipation, but she was missing her left arm.

The cold and aloof female swordswoman had undergone a transformation after two months of fighting. After losing an arm, her strength had not decreased, but had instead increased.

"This journey has been too difficult," Luo Baichuan shook his head with a scar on his face. "Fortunately, the Fei family recruited another batch of Blood Rain Guard experts in Tie Zhong City to replenish our forces, otherwise our team's losses would have been much greater. Why are the bandits in the north so fierce compared to those in the east?"

Xu Jingming drank wine and ate a cake, saying, "The main reason is that once we left the Eastern Region, Master Fei's deterrence naturally wasn't enough!"

Qiu Tong nodded. "In the Eastern Region, as long as we mentioned Master Fei's name, even the fiercest bandit groups would give us face. But outside the Eastern Region, it's been one fierce battle after another! One robbery after another! Brother Jing, I admire you. You can use a spear and your shield techniques are so amazing! If it weren't for your shield, I wouldn't have just lost an arm, but my life."

Xu Jingming looked at the two shields placed beside him.

Yes, in a fierce battle half a month ago, the bandits were too fierce, too fearless, and too cunning. Xu Jingming even felt that... the group of terrifying bandits was probably made up of cosmic citizen players! Perhaps only 'cosmic citizen players' would be fearless!

In that battle, the guards died one after another, and Miss Fei Xinlan was in danger. Xu Jingming chose to pick up the two shields of the dead guards to protect Miss Fei Xinlan! Of course, he also helped Qiu Tong.

When facing a group attack, it was more convenient to defend with a shield.

In the end, after two first-rate experts and twelve second-rate experts were killed, all the attacking bandits were killed.

Yes, none of these bandits escaped! This level of ferocity made Xu Jingming believe even more that... they must be cosmic citizen players!

"Fortunately, the experts the Fei family replenished were all Blood Rain Guard experts! Otherwise, in the battle half a month ago, many guards would have been scared to run away," Luo Baichuan said.

Xu Jingming glanced at his two companions.

So many people had died, but Luo Baichuan and Qiu Tong were still alive. They were truly lucky.

Perhaps it was because they were closely following Miss Fei Xinlan that they were the most protected.

"This time, we escorted them all the way from Lan Yue City. The first month was relatively easy, but the second month was much more difficult," Xu Jingming thought. "For Qiu Tong and Luo Baichuan, they found the second month too dangerous. But for me, the second month was better for honing my spear and shield techniques."

"My shield techniques have improved a lot. Under the pressure of the siege, I even comprehended the 'Laying Earth' path of my shield techniques, thereby entering the *Dingshan* Scroll."

The *Dao* was interconnected and could be applied to different weapons.

It was easier to align with the *Dingshan* Scroll and comprehend the Laying Earth path when using shield techniques. After the breakthrough in his shield techniques, he practiced his spear techniques, and he quickly entered the *Dingshan* Scroll. Since then, he had entered three of the five scrolls of his spear techniques.

The Laying Earth path started from the smallest things.

Laying earth could build a city, could become a towering mountain! However, even the most majestic mountain was made up of pieces of earth and stone.

Whether it was shield techniques or spear techniques, every single move needed to be solid. When being solid reached a certain level, every move would naturally be seamless and without flaws. The shield's protection also left the enemy with no loopholes to exploit.

"Miao Miao is probably going to give birth in the next few days," Xu Jingming ate something, thinking of his wife again.

Li Miao Miao was about to give birth.

Xu Jingming was naturally concerned every day as he was about to become a father! Every day when he slept in the Blood Rain World, he would leave his intelligence on autopilot to accompany Li Miao Miao.

...

Master Fei was also sitting on a soft cloth, eating exquisite pastries, and looking north. Although the guards had suffered heavy losses, and even replenished a batch of Blood Rain Guard experts in Tie Zhong City, Master Fei and Miss Fei were not injured.

"We'll be at the imperial capital tomorrow," Master Fei said with emotion. "Although the journey was quite difficult, we should be thankful that we arrived safely."

"The Commander returned to the imperial capital a few days ago to report for duty," the silver-haired old man said. "The Commander chose to return to the imperial capital recently to take the opportunity to see you and Miss."

"My son is thoughtful."

Master Fei was also looking forward to seeing his son after many years.