Chapter 523: Quanzhen Sect, Yin Zhiping

Hero’s Villa—a world beyond imagination!
Here, arenas of all sizes can be seen everywhere. On these arenas, there are players and renowned martial arts masters from various sects, such as the Beggars’ Guild, Tang Sect, courier agencies, and wandering knights. Some stand below the arenas, while others gather in nearby restaurants, commenting on the fights.
Kai Xin and the others stared in awe at everything they saw along the way.
Led by Hero Gui, they arrived at the nearest arena.
“Hero’s Villa is divided into four areas. These large arenas outside the city are meant for newcomers like you. Every young disciple must compete against upright martial artists from the martial world. Those who can survive three challenges can enter the ‘Arena Path’!” Hero Gui stopped and pointed to the crowded street not far away. “It’s easy to pass these large arenas—there’s no limit on failures. As long as you win three times in a row, you’re qualified. If not, you can try another gate.”
“…”
Kai Xin silently memorized everything Hero Gui said. He thought that the large arenas outside must be a warm-up place for all challengers!
“With no limit on failures, does that mean we can start challenging again anytime?” Nan Gong Xue asked in the group.
“That’s right,” Hero Gui nodded. “Hero’s Villa is a place where upright people can compete and get to know each other. If you wish, go there to register and then compete on the arena.”
Following his gaze, Kai Xin and the others saw a table below the arena. A man with a small beard, looking like the owner, sat there with a pen, registering participants. After each fight ended, he would loudly announce the next name.
Hero Gui paused and glanced at the street across, explaining, “The ‘Arena Path’ is different… It’s a place for advancement, gathering masters from all over the world. These masters all possess a certain level of skill!”
“To enter the ‘Arena Path,’ you must win three times outside. But once inside, you need to win two fights on each arena—defeating the opponent there and then facing another challenge to advance to the next arena… There are four Arena Paths in the city, each with five stages! Only those who pass all five stages can enter the central ‘Dragon and Tiger Arena’! There, you’ll fight against renowned masters from the martial world. That’s the real competition—elites from all sects gather there, and it certainly won’t disappoint you.”

“But after every failure, one has to wait an hour before being able to register again, starting from the outermost arena…” Hero Gui explained clearly, “I won’t go into details about these. Someone inside will explain them to you when the time comes.” After saying that, he bid farewell to Huang Rong and the others and returned to the city gate to continue his defense duties. At this point, aside from the six members of the Murong family and Nan Gong Xue, “Xinyi” from the Valley of Heartlessness, “Xiao Zi” from the Mandao Villa, and “Lu Jing” from Peach Blossom Island, they were all eager to register and challenge the arena. The bearded man who called out the names wrote down the three of them’s names respectfully at the back… “I’m not coming.” On the arena, the two fighters seemed to be NPCs. Seeing someone step in, the one who was at a disadvantage quickly left the arena with a light step, bowing in surrender: “The Quanzhen Sword Art is truly remarkable.” “Your grace!” The winner was a disciple of the Quanzhen sect. Hearing this, he sheathed his sword and stood, his gaze sweeping across the audience: “Is there anyone else willing to step up and learn from you?” His tone was neither arrogant nor humble, showing a certain degree of grace. “The next challenger is ‘Xinyi’, a disciple of the Valley of Heartlessness.” “I am Xinyi, known in the jianghu as ‘The Heartless Stranger’. I look forward to learning from your skills!” Xinyi hadn’t expected to be called next, but he quickly adjusted and floated onto the arena. He had observed earlier that the Quanzhen disciple didn’t seem very strong—just average. But when the opponent introduced himself in return, Xinyi was shocked: “Quanzhen disciple ‘Yin Zhiping’. I look forward to learning from your skills!” Even those in the audience, like Kai Xin, gasped in shock. They re-evaluated this graceful-looking white-robed Taoist. Setting aside his character, this guy had almost become the leader of the Quanzhen sect. Who would have thought such a master would appear in an ordinary arena outside? On the arena, Xinyi also became nervous… Truly, this was a hero’s villa where heroes gathered—NPCs were the norm. For them, players at the Life and Death realm, to think they could dominate here was quite arrogant! With a flash of sword light, Yin Zhiping soared above the arena like a gray, misty cloud! His sword was like a cold star, sharp and icy; its edge flickered unpredictably, making it impossible to discern his exact attack trajectory. Just with the first move, he showed a level of skill far beyond the previous battle. Kai Xin watched closely and immediately recognized it as a teaching sword art of the Quanzhen sect, one of the Seven Quanzhen Swords—extremely profound and considered a top-tier martial art at the Life and Death realm.

Yin Zhiping had great insight. Although his realm had not reached perfection, he had already demonstrated much skill, bringing out the subtlety and variability of his sword techniques to the fullest. Seeing this, Kai Xin understood Yin Zhiping’s strength—his lethality was not high, but his moves were exquisite, making it likely difficult to overcome him. His heart sank; although these battles involved disciples from various sects, those participating in Hero Villa were all formidable! As expected, after just a few moves, “Heart Intent” was already under pressure from Yin Zhiping’s intricate sword techniques. His expression grew increasingly serious, and he completely abandoned his earlier contempt, finding himself in a tough fight. If the first battle was already so difficult, the ones to come would likely be even harder! Below the stage, many people looked uneasy, feeling suddenly insignificant. The stark contrast left many feeling disheartened. But Kai Xin quickly recovered: In this martial arts conference, people were not competing against NPCs but against players, so the difference in strength was still clear… Moreover, only a few would ultimately make it past the preliminary rounds and into the Dragon and Tiger Arena to face true martial arts masters. If everyone had a chance to reach the Dragon and Tiger Arena, it would be a joke. This martial arts conference was mostly meant to help players realize the gap between them and true masters—there were other factors besides realm level… Such as understanding of martial arts! Calming down, Kai Xin headed toward the registration desk. At that moment, several men and women with depressed expressions but undeniable grace emerged from the crowd on the street ahead. They talked about the situation in the Dragon and Tiger Arena as they walked over: “We’ve already encountered an Elder of the Beggars’ Sect in the third round—someone with eight bags of skills. There’s no way to fight them… I think we should just change our location and try our luck elsewhere.” As they spoke, they didn’t even glance at Kai Xin’s group before walking away quickly.