Chapter 97: The Mountain Gate’s Debt Collection

Three consecutive days!
Fights across the martial world, bloodshed and chaos…
On the roads, in the forests, by the rivers—everywhere, an atmosphere of brutality prevailed! Often, it was just an unknown path, and the hurried passage of one or a few players would trigger a barrage of arrows or various attacks from above, leaving corpses scattered across the land and turning once peaceful secluded paths into hellish realms.

As time passed, the trend of robbing caravans in the martial world showed no sign of abating. On the contrary, with the emperor’s birthday approaching, all players became even more frantic in searching for the tributes within their reach!

Those carrying tributes became highly noticeable due to the government’s manhunt, and their locations were periodically revealed by the authorities—truly like moving time bombs, attracting waves of opportunists from time to time.

The owners of the tributes kept changing!
Even those at the Creation Realm level couldn’t guarantee their stability in this chaotic situation. They might handle one or a few intruding players with ease, but facing many opponents, they couldn’t withstand repeated attacks. Even the strongest would end up meeting a tragic fate.

Hundreds of miles away, the leader of Xuzhou’s top sect took a stunning action!
He ordered nearly thirty masters at the Creation Realm level, along with hundreds of disciples from the Mountain Gate, to escort a large amount of tributes into a former bandit stronghold, under the watchful eyes of even more players who came to rob them.

“Damn.”
“So many.”
Seeing at least a dozen caravan vehicles and the imposing presence of swords and blades, the onlookers were both envious and jealous.
If the Mountain Gate took control of all these tributes, once the emperor’s birthday passed, the rare treasures and unique skills within would be priceless!

“Tsk tsk…”
Not everyone in the crowd was unmoved.

But…
In the martial world, people’s hearts are hidden.
Weren’t all the surrounding players here driven by greed? Who would dare to be the first to take action? In front of nearly thirty Creation Realm masters from the Mountain Gate, and hundreds of other players??

Watching helplessly as the Mountain Gate’s people entered the stronghold and closed its gates, most players stayed for a while before reluctantly leaving.
To attack a stronghold guarded by so many experts required either a large enough force or extraordinary strength—something none of the players present possessed.

“Brother!!” “Leader!”

“Brothers! How impressive is our momentum today? Which hero from all corners of the world isn’t shocked by the grandeur of our Mountain Gate? Even those guarding our caravans dare not act rashly… Hahaha… What a thrill!”
The two strode into the Hall of Unity of the stronghold, their bold voices joining those of the other masters at the Nascent Creation realm already gathered there. All of them were beaming with excitement.
“The sect leader is truly wise! If it weren’t for his sudden decision to merge the Xuanyuan Sect and Cold Wind Valley, gathering thirty masters from these three sects to bring so many treasures, how could they have fallen into our hands so easily?”
“Right! Right! Right!”
“Come! Let’s raise a toast to the sect leader!”
Everyone raised their cups toward the center of the hall.
In the main seat, a middle-aged man smiled and stood up. Dressed in a scholar’s robe, he exuded elegance and grace: “The glory and momentum of Mountain Gate today are all thanks to the support of all of you brothers. Though I’m not worthy, I’d like to offer this toast to you all…”
“Cheers!”
The hall was filled with the sound of clinking cups.
Just as the disciples of Mountain Gate celebrated their achievements over the past time, a sudden commotion came from outside.
“Who’s there?” “Looking for death! How dare you invade Mountain Gate’s territory!”
“Stop! Over there… Ah…”
The shouts of the Mountain Gate disciples, along with brief groans and thuds of falls, quickly caught the attention of the leaders in the Hall of Unity. They put down their cups, frowned, and turned to look.
“What’s going on?”
The sect leader of Mountain Gate, “Heartless,” narrowed his eyes coldly:
“Leader Wind! Go take a look.”
“Yes!”
The man who entered last was “Candle Wind,” the leader of the Battle Will Hall of Mountain Gate. Without hesitation, he set down his cup and rushed out of the hall toward the main gate of the stronghold.
A few disciples guarding the entrance to the Hall of Unity followed closely behind.
“Let’s continue.”
Turning his gaze back, Heartless raised his cup. Before he could say anything else, a cold shout from outside interrupted him:
“Rogue Swordman!”
“Come out and face your death!”
Everyone in the hall turned their attention to a man who had stopped what he was doing. His face showed confusion and bewilderment, and after frowning, he finally set down his cup.
At that moment, Heartless finally realized that the intruder meant no good. He rolled up his sleeves, his expression darkening:
“Let’s go! Let’s go check it out together.”

“Who dares to shout demands at our Mountain Gate and ask for people!” The others, disappointed, followed angrily behind, leaving the Hall of Unity in a grand procession.
Upon stepping outside…
Everyone’s eyes narrowed sharply!
…
Outside the hall, across the spacious open area, a man in a gray cloth shirt, holding a short sword, stood facing off against a dozen or so disciples from the Exit-Entry Sect. The man’s gaze was cold as he stepped forward slowly, his eyes scanning over those disciples before drifting slowly among the crowd pouring out of the hall…
What shocked the Mountain Gate’s followers was that their own dozen disciples were clearly at a disadvantage. Every time the opponent took a step forward, they stepped back, seemingly too afraid to resist.
If this were all they had seen, the Mountain Gate’s master would have instantly dismissed all his disciples without hesitation. But to his shock, along the corridor behind the opponent, up to the main gate of the stronghold—less than fifty meters away—dozens of corpses lay scattered, a horrifying sight.
Even Zhu Feng, the master of the Candle Wind Sect, who had left just moments ago, lay lifeless on the corridor steps. Once famous for single-handedly defeating several groups and seizing threeescorts teams, his eyes were now vacant, staring at the blue sky and white clouds above, his face frozen in fear and disbelief.
“Hiss…”
Seeing this, everyone gasped in shock.
“Back off!”
Wuxinren stopped on the steps, ordering his disciples to retreat before asking in a deep voice, “Who are you?”
Seemingly sensing Wuxinren’s status and reputation within the Mountain Gate, the stern-looking young man finally stopped. “I’m here to collect debts.” Yet his gaze didn’t linger on Wuxinren’s face for long as he asked coldly, “Where’s Deer Blade? Send him out.”
His tone was calm, but the coldness in his words carried an unmistakable command.
“Who are you? I don’t seem to know you.”
After scanning the crowd for a while and confirming he didn’t recognize the newcomer, Deer Blade stepped forward.
The stern man narrowed his eyes:
“So you’ve made it this far.” The chill in his voice grew even stronger!
Seeing the opponent take another step, Wuxinren’s expression darkened:
“Wait!”