Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

"Excellent!"

He spun his weapon, preparing to meet the blade head-on.

With a CLICK, his weapon once again caught his opponent's longsword between its two prongs.

A savage grin spread across his lips. With a twist and flick of his wrist, he prepared to repeat his old trick and snap the opponent's longsword.

But to his surprise, when he twisted, the opponent's longsword bent with the force, showing no sign of breaking.

Not only that, but the other half of the blade was like a Spiritual Snake, suddenly arcing and sweeping across his throat.

The man's eyes went wide, and he clutched at his neck.

But no amount of clutching would do any good now.

In the blink of an eye, his face turned a dark purple. His eyes went vacant, and he died on the spot.

The newcomer flicked their longsword, and with a sharp, rippling sound, the two drops of blood on the blade were shaken to the ground.

It was clearly a Soft Sword.

"Ruan Yuqing, you've finally shown yourself."

Sitting opposite Fang Yinuo was a man dressed in Black.

He didn't look young, perhaps around fifty years old.

He was clean-shaven with a pale face, and his eyes were sinister. When he chuckled, his voice was thin and reedy, enough to make one's brow furrow.

Behind him stood two other people.

They were positioned on his left and right, their faces obscured by iron masks.

The man who had just wielded the strange weapon was also one of his subordinates.

He had only brought four people with him on this trip to the Three Rivers Gang.

Another was the fat man from before, who was currently being pursued by Steward Chen.

Now that Ruan Yuqing had slain one of his men with a single sword strike, the middle-aged man showed no anger. Instead, a smile played on his lips:

"The Gentle Water Sword truly lives up to its name. On that night, you used this very sword to kill nearly a hundred of my best men.

"But I wonder, have you found a cure for the 'Biluo Poison' in your system?"

"Female Knight Ruan."

Fang Yinuo had already risen to his feet. He said to Ruan Yuqing:

"Why did you come out?"

Ruan Yuqing didn't look at the man opposite them. Instead, she looked at Fang Yinuo and sighed.

"Gang Leader Fang, you are a righteous man, willing to risk your life to protect us.

"But this is far enough.

"I cannot let you sacrifice the Three Rivers Gang, which you've poured your heart into for years, for the sake of a few strangers like us."

Having said this, she finally turned to face the man across from them.

"Wu Zhong, there was no enmity between us.

"You ambushed and murdered people on the river, causing the deaths of several of my sect's juniors.

"And now you come to the Three Rivers Gang, acting so aggressively.

"Do you really think the Shuiyue Sword Sect is to be trifled with?"

"The One Clan, the Two Assemblies, the Five Sword Factions, the Seven Sects, the Thirteen Gangs…

"Your Shuiyue Sword Sect is famous throughout the martial world. If not for being absolutely desperate, who would dare to provoke you?"

Wu Zhong sighed softly.

"But as things stand, I had no choice but to come.

"Who else but your Shuiyue Sword Sect knows the whereabouts of the Jiaowei?

"You need only hand over the Jiaowei, or tell me where the Jiaowei is now.

"We will turn and leave immediately, and we won't harm a single brick or tile of the Three Rivers Gang."

"Jiaowei?"

In the distance, Fang Li froze when he heard this.

'So Elder Ruan knew the location of the Jiaowei Zither? No wonder she's brought such a deadly disaster upon herself!'

Li Tianxin, however, glanced at what was behind Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran's current appearance was indeed extremely cumbersome.

A wine gourd hung from one side, the Shattered Gold Saber from the other, and the Jiaowei Zither was strapped to his back.

'Thankfully, he can usually hand his baggage to Luo Qingyi… Otherwise, he could settle down and start a new life wherever he went; he was carrying his entire net worth on his person.'

Jiang Ran was also stunned.

'I thought the Shuiyue Sword Sect had run into some old enemies.'

'After all, according to Ye Jingshuang, a sect like the Shuiyue Sword Sect, run by women, easily gets into disputes in the martial world.'

'I never expected this disaster was all because of the Jiaowei.'

'But who leaked the fact that the Jiaowei is here?'

'Was it Shi Pingzhang? Or that important person in the sedan chair?'

'The five great sword sects probably wouldn't talk about it, but you can't rule out the possibility of an unscrupulous disciple from within their ranks.'

At the same time, Jiang Ran's thoughts turned to Qi Tianyue.

This Right Venerable of the Celestial Palace was like a phantom, sometimes whispering in Jiang Ran's ear, other times vanishing without a trace.

'If it was him, it wouldn't be difficult for him to find out where the Jiaowei is.'

'But if it really was him, why would he spread the news about the Jiaowei everywhere?'

'Is he trying to stir up a storm in the martial world so he can profit from the chaos?'

As these thoughts rolled through his mind, he heard Ruan Yuqing let out a soft, scornful laugh:

"So, this is all for the Jiaowei Zither…

"Ever since the Twelve Celestial Artificers came to be, countless people in the martial world have died for their creations.

"Wu Zhong, in the past you betrayed the Court and became a wanderer in the martial world.

"It's one thing to hide and live in obscurity; at least then you could eke out a meager existence.

"But now you're scheming so meticulously for a mere Jiaowei Zither. Aren't you afraid the Court will hold you accountable? That they'll have your head?"

"Hahaha."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhong burst into loud laughter.

His laughter was maniacal, and as it rose, the world around them seemed to shake.

Those present with weaker martial arts felt their blood and qi thrown into chaos, their True Qi surging backward, and they couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

They hurriedly sat down to suppress the turmoil within their bodies.

Even the more skilled martial artists felt dizzy and nauseous, finding it incredibly uncomfortable.

Ruan Yuqing's brow furrowed slightly. She raised her sword and flicked it with her finger.

A low HUM echoed.

As the sound of the vibrating sword washed over them, many people in the crowd felt the earlier oppressive feeling dissipate completely.

But Jiang Ran noticed that after this single flick, the color drained a little more from Ruan Yuqing's face.

'Wu Zhong's earlier claim that she was afflicted with the Biluo Poison was probably true.'

Wu Zhong, having been interrupted by Ruan Yuqing, didn't ungraciously resume his attack. Instead, he smiled and said: