In fact, all of Zhang San's guesses had been correct. The new magistrate of Xiaoyun County, or the former leader of the Lesha Gang "Lin Nu" from 20 years ago, was actually gambling!
Deep down, he also knew that even if he escaped for the time being, he would still be hunted down for life by the top expert Xiu Wangchou.
Lin Nu understood even more clearly that a man in his early thirties who already had mid-stage Earth Realm martial arts would most likely become someone even the Dark Building did not dare provoke once he cultivated to the Heaven Realm in the future.
So he gambled!
He gambled that during the time Xiu Wangchou was severely injured, in order to be absolutely certain he could kill him, Xiu Wangchou would not act rashly for the time being and would only keep him under surveillance, because Lin Nu's martial arts were still a bit stronger than Wang Hu's.
As long as he could wait, or drag things out until the people from the Dark Building in the north arrived.
Everything would be over then.
...
In a bamboo forest south of Xiaoyun County, there was a very small temple, enshrining the immortal from the story.
The door of the small temple was open, and the immortal statue inside looked out of the temple, as if watching the avenger in white taking revenge 20 years later.
The black bamboo forest swayed in the wind, and a bloodstained bamboo leaf fell to the ground.
In front of the temple...
A man dressed as a government runner lay bloody on the ground, looking extremely pathetic as he crawled forward while shouting, "Leader...Leader, I listened to you and kept waiting here to meet you, save me...Save me..."
After shouting a few times, the man gradually stopped moving.
The swordsman in white, Xiu Wangchou, was standing behind this dead man, while the black-clothed Lin Nu was not far in front of the man.
There was blood all over Xiu Wangchou's sword. It was evident that the pitiful man who had just died tragically was killed by him.
Raising his sword and pointing it at Lin Nu, Xiu Wangchou forcefully held back his hideous expression and said, "Leader Lin, we haven't seen each other for 20 years. I didn't expect you to join the government. How delightful..."
Lin Nu looked indifferently at the corpse in front of him. He suddenly smiled and said, "I should thank you for killing these 'good brothers' of mine, including Wang Hu. Now there is no one else who knows my identity."
Xiu Wangchou said indifferently, "I said this was a game. You...are the last one. I will slit your throat and chop off your limbs, then slowly play with you."
His words were as terrifying as a devil!
Perhaps when facing the greatest vengeance in one's heart, even the most righteous swordsman no longer retained any sense of "righteousness."
At this moment, the swordsman in white in the bamboo forest was simply a pure avenger.
Yet facing Xiu Wangchou's threat, Lin Nu smiled instead.
Lin Nu grinned widely at Xiu Wangchou.
It was mockery, it was ridicule.
Xiu Wangchou frowned, vaguely sensing danger.
At that instant...
Whoosh! A cold arrow shot out from behind!
Sensing it immediately, Xiu Wangchou raised his sword to parry. The fierce Star Sea Swordplay he executed as quick as lightning split the arrow before it came close.
But in the instant that Xiu Wangchou turned around, eight black-clothed masked men suddenly appeared around him from the depths of the bamboo forest. They fired eight more black iron arrows at him!
It was obvious these men were experienced masters. The first arrow was only meant to induce Xiu Wangchou to reveal a move, and these eight dark arrows were several times faster than the first, flying in from all directions in the blink of an eye.
"Star Sea Style - Chaotic!" Xiu Wangchou shouted loudly!
His sword lifted up, sword qi danced!
It all happened in an instant. The powerful sword winds that erupted from his move were forceful enough to deflect even the speeding black iron arrows. However...
Seven black iron arrows were deflected, but one remained to pierce through his calf.
Blood flowed out at once.
Even an expert like Xiu Wangchou could not deflect all arrowheads in the face of black iron arrows while being ambushed, and in that instant of pain he knelt down on one knee, supporting himself on the ground with one hand.
Lin Nu laughed loudly beside him, arrogance overflowing as he said, “Truly, you are worthy of being called the Dark Building! Knowing he was a mid-stage Earth Realm expert, you still dared to attempt assassination! The Black Cloud Dojo and Poison Valley would have considered it carefully even if the reward was higher!”
Xiu Wangchou looked up coldly at the scarred, emaciated man. From hearing the "Dark Building" and seeing the black heavy blade at the man's waist, he had roughly guessed his opponent's identity.
Yet the black-clothed men had already approached, raising their bows and taking out black iron arrows from the quivers on their backs.
"Wait." Hei Shanke raised his hand to stop his subordinates from nocking their arrows.
Walking closer, a cruel smile appeared on his scarred face. Hei Shanke said, "Ever since the death of the Formidable Hero Xiu Hai, I thought the Star Sea Sect no longer had any masters left, but that previous sword move, the Star Sea Style, definitely inherited the essence of Star Sea swordsmanship! It would be too much of a waste for me not to kill a master like this personally!"
Xiu Wangchou glanced coldly at him. He stood up, sword raised, slashing twice to sever both ends of the arrow piercing his right calf.
Raising his sword to point at Hei Shanke.
Xiu Wangchou actually did not want to speak originally.
Because his master had told him that speaking with despicable petty men would dirty one's mouth. But hearing his master Xiu Hai's name, Xiu Wangchou decided to make an exception this time.
The wind swayed his white clothes in the bamboo forest.
Xiu Wangchou smiled and mocked, "Master Xiu Hai? Is a filthy mouth like yours even worthy of addressing my master's name directly?"
"Bold! Still daring to disparage our Dark Building master even in death!" one of the eight masked men shouted angrily.
But Xiu Wangchou only laughed loudly and said, "Even if your Dark Building master came himself, I would not fear! Much less you bugs? One on one? Are you even worthy? If not, you might as well all come at me together!"
Hei Shanke's identity as a mid-stage Earth Realm expert did not overawe Xiu Wangchou at all. On the contrary, it provoked his fighting spirit to the maximum!
Removing the black blade at his waist, Hei Shanke grinned widely with a smile that seemed innocent yet cruel.
"I haven't seen such an arrogant junior in a long time. Since this is the case, don't blame me for taking advantage of your plight. My subordinates will not make a move, but I will still make you understand that even at the same mid-stage Earth Realm, there are differences between martial artists!"
Hei Shanke raised his blade, his inner strength shaking his black clothes.
Though his blade had not moved yet, it already exuded an overwhelming pressure.
Xiu Wangchou lifted his sword, a faint sword aura fluctuating from the blade, seeming to resound with the melody of steel.
Though his sword had yet to leave its sheath, it already made hearts tremble with fear.
Below the Heaven Realm was the Earth Realm. At this moment, two top mid-stage Earth Realm masters were about to begin their mortal combat amidst the bamboo grove.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
