Why do I have so many masters?

Qingfeng Edge belonged to the Hidden Sword Sect.

These three girls clad in white had been traveling with Wang Anfeng and others, and only now did they display the formidable prowess typical of legitimate heirs of a renowned sect, their movements graceful yet powerful.

They managed to entrap a Seventh Rank Martial Artist who lived off the edge of his blade, their green umbrellas poking at three vital acupoints around his body, the Qi Force reverberating, lifting the curtain of rain.

The man's mouth opened, but he was unable to speak, his body swayed, and he fell straight into the muddy ground.

The music from the zither ceased.

Wang Anfeng's palm rested on the zither strings, his fingers slightly trembling.

His breathing somewhat hurried, a sense of having narrowly escaped great peril surfaced in his mind, a green umbrella was held above his head, shielding him from the pouring rain.

Xue Qinshuang, dressed in white, stood by his side, shoulder to shoulder with him, her eyes, however, did not fall on him but remained fixed on the man who had been knocked unconscious in front, and the green umbrellas held by the three Qingfeng Edge girls opening.

The girl's mind was full of tumultuous thoughts.

She wanted to scold him for his recklessness, almost dancing on the edge of a knife, and wanted to ask him if he had been hurt anywhere, or to jokingly inquire if he had been frightened, glossing over the incident for the moment.

Yet, after all, she just stood beside him, covering him from the rain, three steps away, neither intimate nor distant, without speaking a word.

The rain poured heavily.
Continue your journey with empire

...............

Using the legitimate Sword Array of Qingfeng Edge, defeating that unconventional Seventh Rank Martial Artist did not take much time.

Before the Defending General arrived, Gong Yu and others had already entered the city.

On the city streets, there was not a single person, as if it were a deserted city, but from slightly opened doors and windows, pairs of curious eyes could be seen cautiously observing the group.

A Middle Third Rank Martial Artist was already considered a high-level fighter in Jianghu, able to move through the air and produce various phenomena during combat. In the eyes of those who had never practiced martial arts, such individuals were no different from immortals.

If in County City or State City, where people are more worldly, they wouldn't be much of a spectacle, but Dingwu City, being remote, its citizens rarely saw any martial arts experts.

Therefore, at this moment, they felt both fear and a desire to witness the elegance of a true master.

Gong Yu's expression was indifferent, sword in hand leading the way.

Upon finding an inn and just about to enter, something seemed to catch her attention, she hesitated in her steps, turned sideways, and a glint of cold light appeared in her eyes. Her gaze stretched over a great distance and saw a figure in gray standing with his hands behind his back, his face gentle.

The surrounding rain, Heaven and Earth, and the empty city streets seemed to turn into a background, dimming, with that man at the center of all things.

The man's expression was gentle as he nodded towards Gong Yu.

Despite her high level of martial arts, Gong Yu, being a disciple of the Hidden Sect and not often visiting Jianghu, did not recognize the other party, only knowing that his strength was no lesser than her own.

She nodded slightly in return out of courtesy, her features remaining cold and detached, then turned and entered the inn, with Wang Anfeng carrying the newly bought zither and the rest following closely behind.

In the distance, under the eaves of a tower, the man in gray touched his nose and showed an interested expression.

He had initially been looking for the Jade Bead, but the speed of escape was not something that mere lightness skills could keep up with. After chasing a few steps, he had already lost the trail. After searching the entire city without finding any clues, he felt somewhat regretful and disappointed, thinking about how to explain to Yu Lian'er but unexpectedly witnessed an interesting scene.

The youth playing the zither under the city.

The woman floating through the air.

The man's face showed an expression of appreciation, yet behind him, a soft seductive female voice echoed.

"So, sir, you like such cold and icy beauty..."

The smile on the man in gray's face briefly stiffened, and he suddenly felt a headache coming on.

............

Inside the inn.

Gong Yu and others had taken a guest room. The unconscious man was carelessly thrown onto the floor.

Although the opponent was fierce, during the exchange, the three Qingfeng Edge disciples broke his Dantian and several major acupoints with their swordsmanship, draining all his considerable Inner Strength. Now, he was dazed, truly like a lifeless corpse. Gong Yu sat on a wooden chair, unaffected by the outside rain, her features cold, and said,

"What has happened, explain in detail."

The boy nodded, circulated his Inner Strength to dry off the rainwater on his body, steadied his mind, and was just about to speak, when Xue Qinshuang handed him a cup of hot tea. Wang Anfeng thanked her softly, took a sip, and initially felt a spicy sensation in his throat, which then led to a slight warmth spreading through his body, dispelling the chill from the rain.

He was momentarily distracted, lowering his head to see the chopped ginger floating in the tea.

Ginger, spicy in taste and mildly warm in nature. Belongs to the lung, spleen, and stomach meridians, dispels the exterior and scatters the cold.

As he recalled these details from the Pharmacopeia, a slight warmth filled the boy's heart.

Wang Anfeng pursed his lips slightly, cradling the teacup in both hands as he gently caressed it, steadying himself before he began speaking. Without any embellishments, he simply narrated everything he knew, apart from the matter concerning Ni Tianxing.

How he had found Aiping's father.

How he had noticed someone tracking him, and though he glossed over the process of how he had killed the two men, he emphasized the intelligence he had extracted from them.

Then he described how he eluded being tracked further, how he turned back to escape, and when he realized escape was impossible, he decided to stake it all.

He meticulously narrated everything.

Although his language was plain, it was all the more real. Everyone present was a Martial Artist; the crises hidden in his story were evident to all—a single sentence was enough to be thrilling—and yet, the young man recounted slowly amidst the curling tea fragrance as if it were all ordinary.

The three Qingfeng Edge disciples watched the young man in the blue robe with guarded expressions.

In their mountain gate, they often listened to their seniors narrating tales of Jianghu, imagining the heroics of martial heroes. Yet the dangers in the young man's story surpassed any they had heard, and they, his companions, had become characters in that very tale. One day, they too might be talked about.

While on the mountain, they were listeners of the tales, but after descending the mountain, they had become characters in those stories.

Unprepared, they were part of Jianghu in the blink of an eye.

All at once, they felt as if they were in a dream, their looks towards Wang Anfeng changed. The admiration and curiosity in their eyes replaced their original aloof and arrogant gazes.

"...that's the situation, and the elders also know what happened afterward," he concluded.

As the young man's last word fell,

on the chief seat, the coldness on Gong Yu's face deepened.

With a slight lift of his right hand, his Inner Strength activated, and a soft light emerged on his fingertips, condensing into multiple tiny translucent longswords. The temperature in the entire room dropped instantly. Without any visible movement, those tiny longswords transformed into streaks of light, penetrating thirty-six major acupoints around the unconscious man's body.

Upon contact, they dissolved into the man's body.

Faintly, sounds like the echoes of longswords could be heard, and the man screamed in agony, awakening from his unconscious state. His face first wore a look of confusion, then understanding of his situation dawned, changing his expression drastically.

Gong Yu, sitting in the wooden chair, spoke indifferently:

"Having said that..."

Though captured, the man remained defiant. On hearing this, he sneered and said,

"Speak? I accept my losses, and I'm willing to concede."

"I only seek death, asking me to reveal anything is absolutely impossible."

Gong Yu's expression remained unchanged, and he lightly tapped the desk with his index finger, creating a soft sound. Immediately, a sound of swords humming rose inside the man, as if blades were slicing through all the muscles and blood vessels in his body, causing unbearable pain.

Suddenly, the Qi Force turned gentle, like a sharp knife slicing through flesh, initially cool, but moments later, the pain surfaced continuously.

The man's expression changed drastically, veins bulging on his face, his body trembling with severe pain, his features twisting into a grimace. He fell to the ground, repeatedly slamming his head against it.

After a moment, unable to bear the pain akin to slow dissection, he let out a low howl, his voice miserable but muffled by an Inner Strength barrier, making it sound even more pitiful as it echoed within the room.

Wang Anfeng looked somewhat stiff, while Xue Qinshuang's face turned pale.

When the sound of sword humming ceased, the man collapsed on the ground like a puddle of mud.

Pale-faced and bewildered, his body still spasmodically twitching, he murmured,

"I... I'll talk."

"Only, only please let me die quickly."

Gong Yu's expression unchanged, he inquired softly. The man knew very little, providing hardly any useful information, only that he belonged to a Jianghu organization called 'White Tiger Hall' and had been sent on a mission to kill. After further questioning for a short while, Gong Yu narrowed his eyes and asked,

"Where is your subordinate now?"

The man's expression paused slightly, seeming to understand Gong Yu's intent, and chuckled sadly.

He did not conceal the information any longer, disclosing the inn where his companions stayed, closed his eyes, and said,

"Only ask... for… a quick..."

Before he could finish, the sound of sword humming erupted within his body, and thirty-six sword lights burst forth. The man couldn't even scream before those sword lights enveloped him. In a mere moment, he turned into a statue-like figure, all signs of life gone.

PS: These two days are the launch days, and there are many supporters. The author's acknowledgments can't all fit here at once, please be patient (bows).