With the Blade

Jiang Wenyuan suddenly felt a bit confused.

As a Chief Constable, he was considered quite experienced, yet he couldn’t find any answer to this problem.

"Old Jiang, Old Jiang?"

While Jiang Wenyuan was lost in thought, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Old Jiang, what’s wrong?"

"I’m... fine."

Shaking his head vigorously, Jiang Wenyuan returned to his senses.

He didn’t know what was going on these past few days. First, Shan Bing suddenly zoned out, then he started losing focus—his situation was far more dangerous than Shan Bing’s earlier, even just facing a group of people with Evil Qi could lead to sudden death if they got too close.

"No, it’s not Evil Qi."

At this moment, Shan Bing spoke up again.

"They’re not infested with Evil Qi, I just checked. There’s no Evil Qi on them."

"Hmm?"

Jiang Wenyuan was puzzled.

No Evil Qi? That makes sense now, no wonder he lost focus; it turns out those people are not even considered enemies—yet the issue remains, how could these people have no Evil Qi?

"No Evil Qi, and not by normal methods, how did they survive?"

"You ask me, I also want to ask that."

Saying this, Shan Bing really walked forward and started inquiring the few remaining vagrants nearby.

As for the result of his inquiries...

No one expected that solution.

"Praying to gods?"

Hearing the vagrants’ response, Shan Bing and Jiang Wenyuan were astounded.

They weren’t sure if they had heard wrong or if the vagrants had gone mad, surviving the monsters’ rampage by praying to gods... Is this really something a person can say?

"Then... which Immortal did you pray to?"

Suppressing the urge to curse, Shan Bing and Jiang Wenyuan continued to pursue the question.

The results were not ideal; ten people gave ten answers. These vagrants from various places naturally worshipped different Immortals—but no matter which Immortal they called out to in their dire moments, at least at that critical juncture, some Immortal truly responded to their prayers.

An Immortal flew from the edge of the sky, and with just a wave of the hand, the monsters lying all over the ground suddenly died.

These desperate people ultimately survived.

"Not right, huh?"

Jiang Wenyuan frowned.

"All the monsters died, but where are their corpses? How come no traces can be seen?"

"The corpses of the monsters were taken away by the Immortal."

The remaining vagrants answered this way.

The Immortal flying in the sky just waved a hand, and the corpses of the monsters floated up. Then the Immortal took the corpses away, disappearing from their sight.

"Sounds like a dream... Have I already been bitten to death by monsters?"

Shan Bing tugged his cheek hard, trying to wake up with the pain.

However, when Jiang Wenyuan smacked his head, the stinging sensation reaffirmed for him that this was reality.

Though this reality was a bit too outrageous.

"Not... too outrageous."

Jiang Wenyuan thought for a moment before speaking.

"I’ve never seen an Immortal myself, but I know of powerful beings flying in the sky. As for carrying a bunch of monster corpses, it’s exaggerated, but I’ve seen powerful beings fly with living people—it’s not beyond reality."

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing Jiang Wenyuan say this, Shan Bing keenly realized something.

"You mean..."

"Yes, just like what you’re thinking."

Jiang Wenyuan frustratingly slapped his head.

"Maybe we should have stayed, then our task would have been completed directly."

"Oh..."

Shan Bing was speechless for quite a while.

There’s no way around it; they can’t be blamed for such matters. No matter how skilled you are, when faced with a cluster of Evil Qi monsters, the first reaction is definitely to flee as far as possible—they are not opponents humans can deal with. But evidently, amidst their panic, they forgot an important point: that in this world, there are people who possess martial prowess far beyond that of ordinary humans.

Like the Master Swordsman they were looking for, Du Taishi, such a powerful being unlike a human...

"Human."

Seeing Shan Bing about to utter those two words, Jiang Wenyuan promptly corrected his wording.

"It’s a human powerful unlike a human. Mind your words, experts have extremely keen reactions; if he hears you talking behind his back, could you still live?"

"I... you’re right."

Shan Bing took a deep breath and finally nodded in agreement.

Maybe this is the true oppressive pressure from a master. He hadn’t even met him face to face yet; Shan Bing didn’t even know what Du Taishi looked like. Although the guy should have been gone for a while and probably couldn’t hear the commotion over here, he still dared not say anything taboo, no matter how unruly he was.

Even the one ranked first in the Hundred Weapons Chart, recognized as the greatest swordsman under heaven, Grand Eunuch Cao, he dared to call "old eunuch" secretly. But when it comes to this Du Taishi...

He could only say Jiang Wenyuan stopped him in time.

After all, even Shan Bing himself subtly felt that uttering the inappropriate words earlier might provoke consequences, even more terrifying than monsters.

"What should we do now?"

Sighing, Shan Bing felt completely numb.

Just a slight decision error made them miss their target by a hair’s breadth. Such disparity would leave anyone stunned; even Jiang Wenyuan beside him looked quite disheartened. Clearly, their mental states were quite similar.

Yet Jiang Wenyuan, being a former Chief Constable, adjusted his expression within a few breaths, showing no signs of the previous despair.

"It’s also a good thing; at least we have a general direction now."

Seeing the bewilderment still on Shan Bing’s face, Jiang Wenyuan chuckled.

"Let me ask you, when one’s martial arts are practiced to a level where they’re deemed masters, what do they lack the most?"

"...Position with official titles?"

Shan Bing asked tentatively.

"Or is it money and wealth? Having money doesn’t necessarily mean your words make a difference..."

"Are you not awake today?"

Jiang Wenyuan was stunned by Shan Bing’s response; he wanted to give Shan Bing another slap.

"Think about what you’re saying."

"Are you perhaps talking about opponents?"

Shan Bing was equally stunned.

"No, there are many on the Hundred Weapons Chart, who actually lacks opponents?"

"This..."

Jiang Wenyuan suddenly had a moment of realization.

It seemed he couldn’t blame Shan Bing for this, given that Shan Bing’s understanding was indeed different from his—Shan Bing spent a long time confined and only emerged when the Hundred Weapons Chart became popular.

Contrarily, his perception of power stemmed more from the impressions formed during his time in Yizhou City.

In his memory, masters rarely had opponents; even if one or two occasionally appeared, they were swiftly killed—masters were always solitary until they met an enemy worthy of their blade; at least that’s how Jiang Wenyuan always understood it.

But now, times have changed.

Masters of Shan Bing’s generation operate based on the Hundred Weapons Chart; they may lack other things, but certainly not opponents. They must always be prepared to compete for higher ranks and also guard against newcomers pushing them down. Unlike the solitary masters of the Yizhou City era, this is indeed a different scenario.

But it directly caused Shan Bing to misunderstand Jiang Wenyuan’s point.

"Let me put it in terms you can understand."

Jiang Wenyuan thought for a moment and then changed his phrasing.

"Are you familiar with beast chess? Cat eats mouse, dog eats cat, big fish eats little fish, little fish eats shrimp."

"I understand this."

Shan Bing nodded.

"You mean..."

"Monsters are merely little fish compared to true masters."

Jiang Wenyuan nodded.

"Just as vagrants attract monsters in large numbers, when there are enough monsters, the master we’re seeking will naturally appear."