Chapter 578: A Letter from the Beggars’ Guild

While Happy devoted himself wholeheartedly to practicing the “Combined Finger Technique,” a series of major events related to the demonic sects unfolded in the martial world.
The affairs at Hero’s Villa had not yet settled when experts from the demonic sects appeared across the land, attacking lone disciples from various sects. Some even joined forces to launch surprise attacks on powerful gangs.
Traces of these demonic creatures could be seen outside the gates of the six major sects; even some branches of the Ming Sect and the Beggars’ Guild were attacked by the demonic sects, suffering heavy losses.
The martial world was in turmoil, and peace was gone!
At such a time, many new gangs emerged suddenly in the martial world. Many newcomers to the realm flocked to these new gangs.
Among them were evil sects like the Flower Among Flowers Sect, Yin Gui Sect, Heavenly Demon Gate, and Tu Tian Dao; as well as the Song Clan, Stone Dragon Dojo, Giant Whale Gang, Kunpeng Sect, and the highly mysterious “Cihang Jingzhai”…
The most eye-catching was undoubtedly “Cihang Jingzhai.” Rumors said it only accepted female disciples, and only those with extraordinary insight would be admitted. So far, no one had been reported to have joined Cihang Jingzhai.
Along with these gangs came many changes. The martial world saw an increase in rebel forces fighting against the imperial troops.
The emergence of these rebel forces instantly brought the martial world, still not fully recovered from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, back to an era of uprisings that led to the downfall of the Sui Dynasty.
With battles raging everywhere and countless warriors at war, regional warlords seized control of various territories.
There was the Song Clan, which rose to power through arms manufacturing; the Yuwen Clan founded by the imperial general Yuwen Huaji; and the now-famous Li Clan…
Both new and old players rushed to pursue different tasks for these factions, hoping to seize the storylines and hidden missions of The Legend of the Two Dragons of Tang after missing those from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.
Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were, of course, the top priorities, attracting countless players’ attention!
Additionally, the rumored “Yang Gong Treasure Trove,” capable of bringing down the Sui Dynasty, was another important route that attracted many player gangs. Some even went there in advance, turning everything upside down but finding nothing, only ending up in ridicule.
Yet some did reap significant rewards.
Hou Xibai, the romantic young master of the Flower Among Flowers Sect who roamed brothels, was a descendant of Shi Zhixuan of that sect. Several beautiful female players caught his attention and even earned a title in the martial world:

The enchanting female disciple of the Emei Sect, with waist-length hair as blue as silk, a slender waist, and a natural charm that captivated countless men, became known as the “Blue Phoenix Fairy” after meeting Hou Xibai, and was fortunate enough to make it onto Hou Xibai’s Beauty Fan!
With the example of the Blue Phoenix Fairy, the martial world was shaken!
In reality, numerous girls who had previously shown no interest flocked to “The Martial World,” and several truly stunning beauties appeared, catching Hou Xibai’s attention with their unique personalities. These beautiful players became famous not only in the game but also in real life, with their REP scores soaring in the paid REP system.
This beauty contest, accidentally initiated by “Hou Xibai,” was merely a realistic action within the plot, yet it truly sparked a new wave of enthusiasm for “The Martial World.”
Even many external media outlets recognized the influence and creativity of “The Martial World.” Some even brought beauty contests into the game, and to ensure fairness and attract attention, some even proposed having system NPCs serve as judges.
Unfortunately…
The system NPC “Hou Xibai” dismissed these so-called contestants with disdain. Although the contest turned out rather disastrous, the television station achieved astonishing ratings and became an instant success in its own right.
…
Additionally, Tang Feng, the leader of the assassin guild with extensive experience in assassinations, accidentally tracked down the shadow assassin Yang Xuyan and taught him a set of “Shadow Killing Sword Techniques.”
Wanwan, the heir to the Yin Queen of the Yin Gui Sect, known for her innate charm, also appeared in the martial world several times. Each time, she appeared draped in gauze, with delicate curves and porcelain-like skin—a sexy little sprite barefoot—who caused a sensation in the martial world, with countless men and women going wild in admiration.
Although Wanwan killed a few people each time she appeared, it did nothing to dampen people’s enthusiasm.
Even in ancient times, there was a star effect.
However!
So far, the disciple from Ci Hang Jing Zhai and the famous “great master” who dominated the Tang Dynasty seem to have yet to appear. Otherwise, who knows what kind of crowd surge might occur.
Whoosh!
That day, Happy was practicing the “Combined Finger Technique” with four abandoned disciples from the Sword Sect when a homing pigeon flapped its wings for a long time before landing on Happy’s shoulder.
Upon reading the message, Happy’s brows immediately furrowed…
It was news from the Murong family, written in the master’s own hand:

Some time ago, several branches of the Beggars’ Sect were attacked by experts from the Evil Sect. Guo Jing and his group rushed around tirelessly but were unable to stop these elusive members of the Evil Sect. Huang Rong believed that spies from the Evil Sect were watching every move of Guo Jing and his companions, so she sought Happy’s help once again.

The task was relatively simple. They had learned that the Evil Sect seemed to be targeting another branch they had destroyed earlier. Happy was asked to rush to Fengyang County within three days, use the sect’s special markers to locate the branch there, protect its leader Chen Youliang, and kill at least two Evil Sect experts to curb their arrogance!

At such a time… Happy really didn’t want to leave, as it would delay progress on the “Integration Finger Technique.” But it was true that he owed the Beggars’ Sect a favor. Refusing this task would likely strain their relationship severely. The Murong family head had also emphasized in his letter that Happy must go to Fengyang immediately to complete the task.

So, this wasn’t a task he could choose to take or not—it was one he had to carry out! Failure would have serious consequences.

With a wry smile, Happy channeled his energy, bid farewell to the ex-disciple of the Sword Sect, summoned Tiyin, and set off downhill. Although Fengyang wasn’t very far away, he wanted to make sure everything was fine in case anything went wrong. To be safe, he planned to go ahead and investigate, finding a place nearby to practice and buy time.

But Happy clearly forgot something… Along the way, traces of Evil Sect disciples appeared one after another. At first, there were two or three ordinary disciples at the Liberation Realm. As Happy neared Fengyang, their numbers grew. After encountering three or four attacks, as he reached the outskirts of Fengyang City, an astonishing aura suddenly erupted from an hunched old man near the main road! His hunched figure suddenly swelled, and with a loud cackle, he delivered a vicious palm strike to Tiyin, Happy’s mount.

Sss!!! Poor Tiyin, who had followed Happy for half a year, was struck as if by a massive force. With a scream, it collapsed to the ground…

Happy reacted quickly. The moment Tiyin was attacked, he leaped off the horse! At that instant, an icy chill came from behind his back! Without turning around, Happy caught sight of a familiar slender sword silhouette—Yang Xuyan!