Chapter 42: Gusu City, Longhu Gate

In the world of martial arts, one has no control over their own fate!
……
With the establishment of gangs, the exploitation and monopoly of resources are very common in this world, and they are also the most likely to trigger competition and battles. In his past life, Happy had seen this many times, and he had even participated in such situations several times himself…
There’s no other reason. Once one achieves success to a certain extent, there will always be a few hostile forces or individuals who will try their best to ruin their opponents’ plans. When carrying out important missions or actions, it’s necessary to clear out the area; otherwise, the entire force could be wiped out, never to recover.
Longhu Gate was one of the early forms of such forces. Led by an ordinary player whose martial arts skills had reached the level of a master, they used the gathered funds to apply to establish a sect, find a base, recruit members, and seize advantageous resources to grow rapidly.
Happy had seen many such cases. It was understandable that Longhu Gate could emerge and do this so quickly, so he didn’t react at all to its emergence and rise in Gusu City. Even when encountering areas surrounded by Longhu Gate’s disciples, he would simply leave quietly and choose a distant place like Black Wind Fort to train.
Seeing Xi Men Qing and Windy Li looking depressed and frustrated, Happy immediately understood what had happened.
But…
Happy had no intention of fighting against a group of resourceful players alone.
Although the Blue-Clothed Gentleman Sword was quite famous in Gusu City, he wasn’t confident enough to challenge an entire sect with just his own body.
After several days of development, Longhu Gate already had at least five hundred members!
Thinking of this, Happy stopped in front of the two of them:
“Do you have time?”
“……”
Xi Men Qing and Windy Li exchanged a glance and nodded.
“Pack up. Come with me to Black Wind Fort.”
“Okay!”
They were both smart people. Although they had just been humiliated by Longhu Gate’s people and left the tavern in shame, they couldn’t bear to ask Happy to help them regain their dignity.
Not to mention whether Happy could succeed…
They were proud and intelligent people who wouldn’t ask Happy for such a favor. Moreover, Happy’s involvement might bring about even bigger trouble.
A gentleman waits ten years to take revenge!
Cheering themselves up, the two quickly packed their things and waited at the entrance of the Murong family’s residence.
Happy went to the shop across the street, exchanged all the unnecessary loot for silver coins, then carefully deposited all the coins in a bank. After gathering Xi Men Qing and Windy Li, he left the city under the cover of darkness and headed outside the city walls.
……

A week ago, the wilderness at night was still very empty and desolate; but as the players’ strength improved, more and more people no longer worked from sunrise to sunset. Some traveled in groups of three or five, while others went out alone at night, making the most of every moment to practice martial arts diligently. Along the way, they often saw people leading beasts and wielding swords and blades with great skill, showing a semblance of the demeanor typical of martial artists in later generations.

“Elder Brother!” After walking in silence for a while, Xuanfeng Xiao Li suddenly spoke up, “How much further do you need to reach the Inner Realm?” He had been wondering these past few days—Blue Robe Gentleman Sword was already famous for a long time and stronger than some of those who had reached the Inner Realm, yet his internal energy progress seemed rather slow.

Happy smiled without hiding anything. “I’ll reach it by tonight.”

He had already mastered the ninth level of the Black Wind Fort’s martial arts, and his internal energy had reached 39.78. With a bottleneck approaching, that’s why he had brought these two along… He planned to raid Black Wind Fort’s stronghold once he reached the Inner Realm himself!

He remembered that in past lives, bandit strongholds usually had one or two valuable treasures. Although the chance of finding them was low, it was guaranteed on the first attempt!

So he thought he should take advantage of the fact that no one in Gusu City had yet set their sights on Black Wind Fort to seize its treasures—it wouldn’t be fair to let others get them.

Although Black Wind Fort might have already chosen new “Second Leader” and “Third Leader,” with his current strength, dealing with those two peak-level leaders shouldn’t be difficult. As for the “First Leader” at the Fate Realm… with gradual effort, there was still a good chance of killing him.

Ximen Qing and Xuanfeng Xiao Li didn’t know what Happy was thinking. Hearing that he could reach the first level of the Inner Realm by tonight, they immediately became excited and energized! The Inner Realm was now synonymous with mastery…

Blue Robe Gentleman Sword’s fame was showing signs of fading. If things continued like this, perhaps all the players in Gusu City would only know Longhu Gate and forget Blue Robe Gentleman Sword—this wasn’t what they wanted to see.

They arrived at the foot of Black Wind Fort by boat… The scene before their eyes shocked all three of them!

The boatman and Xiao Huan were hugging tightly, crying bitterly.

“It seems someone triggered Black Wind Fort’s mission… and failed…” Ximen Qing frowned, looking toward Black Wind Fort hidden in the darkness, where he saw a few flickering flames. “There are people up there!”

“…”

Happy and Xuanfeng Xiao Li also saw them. Happy silently counted the number of flames in the distance, his expression growing increasingly serious. Slowly, he nodded. “There are quite a few people.”

Based on his memories from his past life, players usually acted alone at night, with one person carrying a torch for lighting, unless they were part of a group, in which case more torches would be used.
And…
To avoid wasting resources, groups of five to ten people used one torch per group.
Now, team operations were still in their infancy, with groups of at least thirty or forty players, or even more!
Xuanfeng Xiao Li and Ximen Qing took a deep breath.
With such a lineup, only Longhu Men in Gusu City could probably organize something like this. Their target was obvious… the stronghold of Heifeng Zhai!
“What do we do now?”
If Longhu Men were active on the mountains of Heifeng Zhai, encountering them would surely end badly…
It was possible that seeing these three alone, they might harbor malicious intentions, and their plan to train at Heifeng Zhai might have to be abandoned.
The two hesitated.
“…”
Kai Xin frowned in thought for a while before resolutely saying to those behind him, “Follow me.”
His strong confidence infected Ximen Qing and Xuanfeng Xiao Li. They nodded at each other, turned around, and the three of them slipped into the dark forest through a small path.
…
Kai Xin, who lived in Heifeng Zhai, knew it well. With his willow-leaf knives, even if bandits from Heifeng Zhai attacked from hiding, he could easily deal with them.
Running quickly, they soon approached the battlefield illuminated by flames, where the sounds of clashing swords and knives filled the air, accompanied from time to time by the shouts of players…
“It’s indeed Longhu Men!”
Hiding behind the bushes, they saw, under the light of the torches, players engaged in combat with a dozen or so bandits from Heifeng Zhai. These players had a simple dragon and tiger head embroidered on their chests. Eight experienced players held torches, guarding various directions, paying close attention to the less skilled players in the fight while giving them advice—very organized.
Seeing this, the three felt a chill in their hearts…
The other side was using the bandits of Heifeng Zhai to systematically train new recruits in bulk!
This Longhu Men…
“Not ordinary!” Kai Xin’s eyes narrowed slightly.