Chapter Twenty-Four: Punishing Evil and Promoting Good

Most people, however, still sided with Hu Junfeng. After all, he had suppressed his cultivation level; had he fought with full strength, Lu Xingchen would not have stood a chance. Following his duel with Hu Junfeng, Lu Xingchen enjoyed some blissful time alone with Lin Wanqing. They were still rather reserved, though, only holding hands and chatting.

The next afternoon, Lu Xingchen went to the Mission Hall again to pick up a quest to hunt spirit beasts. On the outskirts of the Sunset Forest, he slew two second-tier spirit beasts, elevating his cultivation to a five-star Martial Master. Through this combat, Lu Xingchen discovered the advantages of upgrading his Shadow Sword. As a profound-tier high-grade weapon, the Shadow Sword allowed him to throw out two scabbards at once and teleport freely between them. This wasn't merely a simple addition of capabilities; it was an exponential increase! His survival skills and tactical maneuverability had improved drastically. Lu Xingchen was confident that if he were to face Hu Junfeng again, while he might not be able to defeat him, the man wouldn't even be able to touch the hem of his garment.

Upon returning to the Lingxiao Sect, Lu Xingchen spent five hundred contribution points at the Mission Hall to exchange for a profound-tier low-grade martial technique: Sky-Breaking Slash. He finally had an offensive move to call his own.

One day, while Lu Xingchen was refining medicine at Small Bamboo Peak, Wang Dongxuan sent him a message. "Junior Brother Lu, the Master of Spirit Sword Peak requests that all new disciples gather at the plaza for a meeting."

"Understood, I'll be there immediately."

It took a quarter of an hour for Lu Xingchen to pack up his medicine cauldron. By the time he arrived, the plaza was packed with hundreds of disciples. Lu Xingchen naturally took Lin Wanqing’s hand. After a while, Yi Hong appeared on the high platform and said in a deep voice, "Fellow new disciples, in order to cultivate your practical combat abilities, the sect has decided to send you on a mission to eradicate the Blood Garment Sect."

There were five third-grade sects in the vicinity of the Great Yan Kingdom: the Lingxiao Sect, the Wuyun Sect, the Haotian Sect, the Jiutian Sect, and the Tianyan Sect. All five were recognized by the Righteous Alliance; though they had their frictions, they stood together when faced with matters of great importance. However, there were other sects not recognized by the Alliance. These sects were generally wicked, committing countless atrocities and slaughtering the innocent—entities that deserved to be destroyed by all. The Blood Garment Sect was one of them. Their disciples needed to absorb blood and vitality to cultivate, so they frequently massacred towns and villages, becoming a persistent headache for the five major sects.

Hearing Yi Hong's words, the new disciples were excited. Who among those who entered the Lingxiao Sect wasn't a genius from their respective lands? To punish evil and promote good, to roam the world with a sword—this was their lifelong pursuit.

Whispers immediately broke out in the plaza. "Those scoundrels from the Blood Garment Sect should have gone to hell long ago!"

"If I can manage to kill even one disciple from the Blood Garment Sect, my family would need to add a new page to our genealogy just for me."

"Don't fight me for them; I want to take on ten at once!"

Seeing this, the corners of Yi Hong's mouth turned up slightly. This batch of new disciples had some spirit. "According to intelligence, their branch altar has two experts: the Altar Master is a five-star Martial Master, and the Vice Altar Master is a three-star Martial Master, along with about a hundred disciples. Given your strength, taking them down should not be a problem."

"I will lead two elders to follow behind you. If you encounter an invincible foe, you may come to me for help. But I would much prefer that you resolve this yourselves. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" the disciples replied in unison.

"This operation will be led by the newcomer assessment champion, Lin Wanqing. Now, move out!"

[Congratulations to the host for receiving the quest: Punish Evil and Promote Good!]

[Quest Requirements: Destroy the branch altar of the Blood Garment Sect. Quest Rewards: 500 experience points, 500 exchange points, and the profound-tier high-grade martial technique "Heaven-Swallowing Art."]

Lu Xingchen was overjoyed. He could earn experience and exchange points by grinding monsters, but a profound-tier high-grade technique was not easily obtained. Heaven-Swallowing Art? What an overbearing name! He had originally planned to just coast through, but it seemed he would have to take this seriously now.

The Blood Garment Sect’s stronghold was set on the edge of a cliff, with only one small path leading to the outside world. They thought this made it easy to defend and hard to attack, but they didn't realize they were just trapping themselves.

Lin Wanqing had served as a squad leader before and was very skilled in commanding operations. She first had the Martial Master-level newcomers take out the sentry posts before leading the main force in silently. By the time the Blood Garment Sect disciples realized something was wrong, the main force had already reached the gate of the branch altar.

"Attack together! Leave no one alive; don't give these Blood Garment bastards a chance to escape!"

Everyone drew their weapons, and a great battle broke out instantly! Lin Wanqing engaged the five-star Martial Master, while the other three Martial Masters among the newcomers charged into the crowd, dealing heavy damage. With these three leading the way, the morale of the Lingxiao Sect soared.

Lu Xingchen, meanwhile, held his Qingxia Bow, hiding within the ranks and firing cold arrows. Every arrow he loosed was sure to bring down a Blood Garment disciple. In just a quarter of an hour, Lu Xingchen had killed over thirty of them. His eye was sharp, and he only struck when his fellow disciples were in danger. With his help, the casualties of the Lingxiao Sect were drastically reduced—there were some injuries, but not a single death. The Blood Garment Sect, conversely, had already lost more than half their fighting strength.

Just as Lu Xingchen was about to loose his next arrow, a cloud of blood mist suddenly appeared before him. Lu Xingchen frowned. The Blood Garment Sect wouldn't have survived this long under the pressure of the five major sects if they weren't strong. Not knowing the nature of this blood mist, Lu Xingchen didn't dare to get too close. He immediately fired an arrow into the mist. The arrow vanished into the blood, not even causing a ripple.

A young man in red stepped out from the mist. His attire was red, but not the bright red of the ordinary disciples; it was a dark, blood-red, indicating his status was clearly significant. What left a deep impression on Lu Xingchen was his deathly pale complexion, devoid of any color. He looked like someone who indulged in excess.

"Heh, heh, heh! Kid, your archery is decent! It's a pity you met me; you’ll only find your grave here."

Lu Xingchen said indifferently, "A five-star Martial Master dares to show off in front of me? I can cut you down with a single sword stroke!"

The man laughed. "My name is Wang Zitao, the Young Sect Master of the Blood Garment Sect. Fighting above my level is as easy as drinking water for me. You'll soon understand the gap between us."

"What a coincidence; fighting above my level is my specialty too."

With that, Lu Xingchen put away the Qingxia Bow, drew his Shadow Sword, and looked toward Wang Zitao. Wang Zitao’s weapons were two short blades, balanced for both offense and defense. As soon as they clashed, Lu Xingchen realized the man was formidable. Though Wang Zitao looked sickly, his body was tough, and his battle qi was as deep as water. His battle qi also had a peculiar quality. Hu Junfeng’s "Spirit-Dissolving Sword Art" could annihilate an opponent’s battle qi, but Wang Zitao could devour his opponent’s battle qi and use it for himself.

Lu Xingchen felt a twinge of envy. Be it the Saint Son or this Young Sect Master, they all had their own unique methods. Yet, his own battle qi had no special attributes at all.