Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

"M-Meddling?"

Gu Xizhi could hardly believe his ears.

"Was I wrong to save you? Had I known, I should have just left you to your fate.

"How ungrateful!"

Gu Xizhi had always held chivalry dear and possessed a benevolent heart.

He would even show mercy to his enemies.

He had just arrived, and though he hadn’t seen the whole picture or known the full story, the moment he saw Tang Huayi shot with an arrow, he rushed forward to help without a second thought.

But he never would have imagined being called a meddler for his troubles.

For a moment, even a man as good-natured as him couldn’t help but feel indignant.

He then looked at the archer in black.

"And who are—"

The last word never left his lips. He saw the man’s eyes roll back, his body swaying as he was about to fall from the roof.

Gu Xizhi froze. Without time to think, his figure moved like a dragon and swift as a sword. In a flash, he was in front of the black-clad archer.

He reached out and scooped the man into his arms, pushed off the wall with the tip of his foot, and returned to the rooftop.

He set the man down and couldn’t help but glance at Tang Huayi again.

"Who is this?"

"An Assassin from the Death Building."

Tang Huayi left him with those words and was already heading toward the tavern.

"...If I’d known, I wouldn’t have saved him."

Even with his benevolent heart, Gu Xizhi felt a pang of regret for saving the man upon hearing his identity.

In the martial world, grudges and vengeful killings were unavoidable.

But what Gu Xizhi hated most were the kinds of Assassins who slaughtered innocent people for money.

Although Jiang Ran was also motivated by money, the people his kind of Assassin captured were, at the very least, all vicious criminals.

Assassin Organizations, however, were utterly without principle. As long as the price was right, they would kill anyone—be they innocent commoners, the old, the weak, women, children, or even your closest friends and family!

At this thought, he looked in the direction Tang Huayi had gone. Seeing the swarming heads and the sky stained with blood, he knew the battle was raging fiercely.

’So the Death Building set up an ambush here...’

He glanced down at the black-clad archer in his hands, tempted to simply crush him to death, but he hesitated. Finally, he shook his head.

’Taking advantage of someone’s vulnerability is not the way of a gentleman.’

’If he had fallen to his death just now, then so be it. But now that I’ve saved him, even if I want to kill him, I should at least wait for him to wake up... I can’t just execute him without a word.’

With that thought, he was about to leap up and join the fray when his brow suddenly furrowed.

He looked toward another corner of the town.

From that direction, at some unknown point, the sounds of battle cries had also begun to ring out.

He strained his ears and heard a voice shout:

"The Death Building has committed countless evils! Their methods of taking lives for money are despicable."

"Now they gather here—whose life are they plotting to take?"

"Today, my Thunderbolt Hall passes through this place. How can we stand by and watch you murder and harm people?"

"Disciples of the Thunderbolt Hall, hear my command! Eradicate this evil to the last man! Leave no one behind!!"

"Thunderbolt Hall?"

Gu Xizhi’s brows furrowed slightly.

"First it was the Blood Saber Hall, and now the Thunderbolt Hall shows up. Are the Thirteen Gangs planning to hold a meeting around here? Or... are they also here for the tea and zither recital at Sunset Plateau?"

It wasn’t just Gu Xizhi. Tang Huayi, who was almost at the tavern; Scholar Jingtan and Ruan Yuqing, who were watching Jiang Ran and Greed Poison’s battle from the tavern entrance;

and even Jiang Ran and Greed Poison themselves—all of them heard the voice.

But while Jiang Ran paid it no mind, Greed Poison’s expression instantly darkened.

But at this point, it wasn’t just Jiang Ran who was stuck to him, forced to compete in a battle of Inner Strength.

He himself was trapped as well, with no way to escape.

He had no choice but to shout:

"Stop the Thunderbolt Hall! Don’t let them ruin our important business!"

"Yes, sir!!"

The disciples of the Death Building responded in unison, and some immediately leaped into the air to intercept the Thunderbolt Hall.

However, they had already gathered most of their forces in front of the tavern.

The scattered men they had stationed around town were no match for the Thunderbolt Hall’s direct charge.

It was too late to redeploy their forces now.

In the blink of an eye, a group of people dressed in blue robes arrived before them.

Their leader was a man of about thirty who plunged into the ranks of the Death Building Assassins like a sharp blade.

His iron palms struck like thunder and lightning, and wherever he went, no one could withstand a single exchange.

In just a moment, he had already reached the spot where Jiang Ran and Greed Poison were locked in combat.

He looked up and was stunned.

"This is..."

He tried to step forward, but he was blocked by the Gang Qi, unable to take a single step into the Thunder Pool.

His brows knitted. He flipped his palms and struck out fiercely.

The attack sent a jolt through him. He let out a muffled grunt and stumbled back several steps, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

"What profound Inner Strength!!"

As he muttered to himself, an Assassin launched a sneak attack.

He dodged, grabbed the attacker’s wrist, pulled him close, and sent a kick flying.

The man was instantly kicked away. But halfway through his flight, he ran into the invisible gale of Gang Qi radiating from Jiang Ran and Greed Poison. The force sent his body flying, and he sprayed a gruesome fountain of blood.

"Do not enter rashly."

A voice came from the side. "The two men fighting have Inner Energy far beyond the ordinary. You mustn’t be reckless."

The man from the Thunderbolt Hall turned his head and was taken aback.

"Scholar Jingtan? I never expected to see you here, Elder!"

"And you are?"

The area in front of the tavern was blocked by the range of Jiang Ran and Greed Poison’s battle, making it completely impassable.

Scholar Jingtan had circled around from the side. He spoke up only when he saw the man from the Thunderbolt Hall trying to barge into the combat zone.

He hadn’t expected the man to recognize him.

"This junior is Chi Lin! I once met you, Elder, seven years ago with my master.

"I had the honor of witnessing that unfinished battle between you and the Celestial Dragon Divine Sword, Elder Gu Xizhi."