Chapter 17: Attacked by Robbers

Kai Xin already had the appearance of a handsome young man, drawing much attention. Now, with the gentleman’s sword in hand, he exuded an even more refined demeanor and a touch of the heroic spirit typical of martial artists. He quickly left the gates of the Murong family estate, while a group of male players who had not yet been accepted into the estate sighed with envy and resentment. The female players, on the other hand, had bright, heart-shaped glances in their eyes as they followed Kai Xin’s figure from start to finish, leaving their ignored companions even more frustrated.

After leaving the Murong family estate, Kai Xin deposited the Battle-Tested Sword taken from the tomb raider at a money house. Although it wasn’t considered a legendary weapon, it was still very sharp and durable, barely falling short of such weapons. He could use it for practicing sword skills in the future, avoiding the need to buy another weapon.

As for the burial jades obtained from the unlucky “Lao San,” Kai Xin took them straight to a shop to sell them, earning 1,100 taels of silver. Adding 120 taels of gold and the previous 500 silver notes, he could now be considered wealthy.

Passing by a clothing store, Kai Xin stopped and glanced down at his gray cloth shirt, recalling what Miss Murong had said. The Murong family was a prestigious clan, and he didn’t want to tarnish its reputation.

Hmm, this money must be spent.

He turned into the clothing store. When he came out, his gray cloth shirt had been replaced with a simple light blue warrior’s outfit, along with a blue hero’s headband. He now looked less like a delicate young man and more like a martial artist with a manly presence.

The cost of this outfit wasn’t high, but it became Kai Xin’s most common attire during his period of seclusion. It even attracted the admiration of many women at the time—of course, aside from his weapons…

As he stepped out of the store, his outfit immediately caused a sensation among the players on the street. The gentleman’s sword, the blue warrior’s shirt, the hero’s headband—his appearance had changed dramatically. He seemed even more popular than before, with half of the people in Gusu City staring at him. Some bold female players even exchanged affectionate glances with him.

Sensing the unusual atmosphere on the street, two pairs of eyes from a window seat on the second floor of “A Room Restaurant” peeked out, quickly focusing on the blue figure at the center of the street that was causing such a stir.

“He’s quite young.”

“Hmph, and quite flashy too.”

The two people in the conversation were young adults, appearing to be in their twenties or thirties, but they seemed more mature and steady than most players on the street—this was a feature of “Jianghu.” After a month in Jianghu, players’ physical appearance would gradually match their real-life looks, regardless of their age. Their gazes fixed on the light blue figure on the street were filled with disdain and hostility! “Already so arrogant before even breaking through the beginner stage. Looks like another rich kid.” “You mean we should teach him a lesson?” The other person raised an eyebrow, silently gripping the weapon beside the table, staring at his companion with a faint smile. “You understand me too.” The two laughed heartily, agreed instantly, and quickly went downstairs. … Happy’s goal for this trip out of the city was naturally the thug “Li San” who collected protection fees. His Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword had just reached the third level. It might not be strong enough to deal with Li San, who was at 50% of his strength, but with his experience, he should be able to engage in a fight and improve soon enough. However, to Happy’s surprise, he was stopped on the way. Two players who seemed slightly taller than him, also dressed in warrior robes and carrying swords, stopped right away, their expressions serious. “I don’t seem to know you two.” After three years in “Jianghu,” Happy had long understood how treacherous people could be. Many, though not as skilled as NPCs, were far more dangerous in heart than evil NPCs like Li San or the tomb raider Lao San. “That kid’s sword… is quite good.” “He seems to have some valuables on him. How about this: if he drops a sword, it’s yours; if he drops anything else, it’s mine!” The two talked among themselves, completely ignoring Happy. “…” Hearing this, Happy glanced down at the Gentleman Sword in his hand and sneered inwardly. He hadn’t even had time to get used to the sword when he ran into robbers! Hmph. These two kids seemed to have been in “Jianghu” for some time already. Their weapons were good, and their focus and composure were better than those of ordinary beginners. They could do evil deeds without any shame—probably causing trouble to newcomers often. Realizing they were greedy, Happy didn’t intend to waste words. He drew his Gentleman Sword, its cold blade pointing at the ground: “Come at me.” Since they had decided to rob him, he wasn’t opposed to having a fight.

The two on the opposite side exchanged glances. Finally, they noticed something unusual in the fighting spirit and composure in the young swordsman’s eyes, and they retracted their previous contempt. This person was completely different from those they had encountered before—too calm, too composed…

However!

The young man was still far too inexperienced, and as seasoned fighters who had been around for a month, they didn’t get too carried away with joy. The sword-wielding youth pondered for a moment before looking at the swordsman:

“You go first! I’ll hold back the enemy.”

“Okay.”

The man stepped forward a few steps with his sword, staring at Kaixin, his tone growing colder:

“Remember my name—I’m Wu Hou!”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Hmph! Let’s see how long you can keep talking tough.”

The sword-wielding man was immediately angered by Kaixin’s indifferent tone. With a roar, he launched a highly refined move called “Immortal’s Guidance,” sending out a flash of cold light as he moved in sync with his sword.

Kaixin’s brows twitched, showing surprise!

No wonder the sword-wielding man was confident enough to let this person face him alone—there was indeed skill behind it. This was the Quanzhen School’s sword technique. Judging from its speed and power…

It was at the eighth level!

Though shocked, Kaixin didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He used a move called “Penglai Welcomes Guests” to deflect the opponent’s attack. As the two swords clashed, the gap in their sword skills became immediately apparent.

As his level improved, Wu Hou clearly had a decisive advantage in speed and lethality. Sensing the slowness of Kaixin’s Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Sword Technique, he didn’t hesitate to launch consecutive attacks, fighting with fierce determination, completely in a dominant manner.

“Haha! How dare you be arrogant with such trivial skills!”

With each clash, Wu Hou could clearly feel that the opponent’s strength and speed were far below his own. It seemed the opponent was just starting out, still inexperienced and unskilled.

But one thing was strange.

Even though the opponent’s level was low and their sword technique was crude, their footwork was extremely methodical. It seemed they could predict his next move in advance, blocking his attacks at the smallest cost. Though it was difficult, they managed to parry each attack one by one.

It might have been luck in the earlier encounters, but if it happened every time, there was a problem!

After some time of fighting, the expression of the sword-wielding man watching from the side gradually turned serious and solemn. He had fully realized that the opponent seemed to understand the Quanzhen Sword Technique well. Their footwork was steady, and their sword technique improved with each clash, becoming increasingly smooth…

In other words, it seemed the opponent was using Wu Hou to practice the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Sword Technique.