Chapter 371: Night Battle, The Experts Flushed Out

Time waited for no one!

Train again at night!

Wangchuan did not want to miss this chance. After supper, he immediately dragged Lu Ping’an back to the practice grounds and began training 《Qingcheng Sword Art》.

When Lu Ping’an saw that Wangchuan had switched to another sword art, he was first taken aback, then immediately understood and could only laugh bitterly.

“Hall Master Wangchuan, are you trying to squeeze me dry?”

“Young Master Lu’s swordsmanship is extraordinary. I simply cannot resist the urge when I see such prey. If I can improve my own swordsmanship, then in the future, when we spar and verify our skills, I can serve as your sparring partner in turn.”

“Is that so?”

Young Master Lu was no fool.

Wangchuan was only a Deputy Hall Master. It was not as if he could follow him all the way to Qinghe Commandery.

Lu Ping’an could only shake his head helplessly, but he still assumed the stance to receive moves and continued serving as a sparring partner.

At Entry-Level Mastery, 《Qingcheng Sword Art》 was slower than 《Swift Sword Art》, but it was also much easier to spar with...

Especially when using 《Qingcheng Sword Art》 against 《Qingcheng Sword Art》, that oppressive feeling made Wangchuan feel stifled from beginning to end. Every move and every stance left him feeling miserable.

Fortunately, the Experience Value continued to rise.

Wangchuan gritted his teeth and endured it.

Another night passed!

The next day!

Only around noon did he finally hear the system prompt:

“Ding!”

“《Qingcheng Sword Art》 has advanced from ‘Entry-Level Mastery’ to ‘Integration.’ Reward: +4 Agility.”

Wangchuan’s Agility rose to 108!

He continued training.

That feeling of being suppressed was still there, though it had eased slightly.

That night,

news came from Qinghe Commandery:

For two days in a row, the two fifth-rank martial artists from the Beggar Sect had not continued attacking the Qinghe Commandery hall or the Lu Family.

The Qinghe Commandery Hall Master, the Lu Family Patriarch, and Medicine King Valley all sent warnings at the same time.

After Wangchuan and Old Seven received the news, they heightened security around the hall.

Lu Laosan and Lu Laosi became more vigilant, deliberately climbing to higher vantage points to stand guard over the young master.

Wangchuan also mobilized a batch of men, fully armed and equipped with bows and arrows, to stand watch and guard the area.

For two full days in a row!

He began training with more restraint and stopped letting Young Master Lu exhaust himself through long sparring sessions. The night training was canceled outright...

Only on the third day did he finally raise 《Qingcheng Sword Art》 to Perfect Mastery.

“Ding!”

“《Qingcheng Sword Art》 has advanced from ‘Integration’ to ‘Perfect Mastery’! Reward: +4 Agility, +1 Spirit!”

“Detected that 《Qingcheng Sword Art》 has reached ‘Perfect Mastery.’ You may now expend 100 points of internal energy and three hours to create one 《Qingcheng Sword Art》 martial arts manual. Limited to one martial arts manual per day.”

After eight straight days of sparring practice,

Wangchuan felt that his swordsmanship had advanced by a tremendous amount.

His sword moves were more practiced;

his sword skill was more ingenious;

his strikes were faster;

his responses were calmer.

Now, the moment he stood in the practice grounds with a sword in hand, powerful confidence naturally welled up from within him.

“Hall Master.”

“Only five days remain before the fifteenth day of the tenth month!”

“The official opening day of the martial tournament.”

That night, Chen Ergou came to report in Wangchuan’s courtyard:

“According to current figures, the inns and restaurants in Sanhe Commandery are all packed to bursting. Even many private residences have already been rented out!”

“This subordinate has compiled the numbers. At present, there are over two thousand martial artists registered for the first-rank tournament! Over one thousand seven hundred are registered for the second-rank tournament, and far fewer for the third-rank tournament, with only a little over three hundred.”

“But the total number of martial artists who have entered Sanhe Commandery has reached at least fifty thousand!”

“The scale of the martial artists who have come to watch this tournament is astonishing!”

“...”

Even Wangchuan was somewhat startled.

Fifty thousand martial artists...

The hall was only holding a tournament below the third rank, yet it had already stirred up such a huge commotion.

If they were truly to hold a martial tournament for the entire Jianghu, would it not empty ten thousand streets?

Mm!

“In addition,”

“Hall Master,”

Chen Ergou continued reporting,

“A fair number of disciples from the great sects of the capital have already arrived. Some among them directly purchased residences in Sanhe Commandery, while others rented pleasure boats. Their spending is enormous at a glance. They clearly do not lack money.”

“They do not lack money. They came for fame.”

Wangchuan understood this very well. He himself no longer lacked money either. What he lacked was fame!

Within the Jianghu, the two words fame and profit killed without drawing blood.

Chen Ergou nodded.

“Wang Yuehui sent word that the inns and restaurants in Hejiang Town are also packed to the brim. A good many martial artists who could not squeeze into Sanhe Commandery settled for second best and went to Hejiang Town and the nearby town docks instead.”

“During this period, the Sanjiang Branch Helm has recruited and taken in more than thirty first-rank martial artists and three second-rank martial artists. They have all been checked with the yamen, and their backgrounds are clear.”

“Mm.”

A smile appeared on Wangchuan’s face.

One of the other purposes of holding this martial tournament was precisely to build up the foundation of the Sanhe Commandery hall and recruit more men.

And now!

The effect was already beginning to show.

The Sanjiang Branch Helm alone had recruited dozens of people!

The Leishui Branch Helm, the Jinhe Branch Helm, and the Main Helm had taken in only more, not less!

This was an enormous gain!

One had to know—

these were all genuine, Ranked Martial Artists.

Even if, after this martial tournament was over, they recruited only a little over two hundred first-rank and second-rank martial artists, it would already mean a major boost in strength for the Sanhe Commandery hall—at the very least, it would replenish the manpower they had lost during the previous period, with some left over besides.

Just as Chen Ergou was about to continue reporting other matters, Wangchuan suddenly heard the faint sound of robes cutting through the air as someone rapidly approached. His expression changed. Drawing his Qi down to his dantian, he raised his voice and shouted:

“I wonder which honored guest is visiting my Sanhe Commandery hall!”

Before his words had even fully fallen, Lu Laosan and Lu Laosi next door were already stepping onto the wall, looking down from above toward a certain point in the darkness.

Whoosh!

Whoosh-whoosh!

A series of almost inaudible sounds of something slicing the air rang out.

The rapidly approaching figure was instantly driven back. With a cold snort, the intruder kicked out a flurry of broken roof tiles, smashing several Caobang disciples who had leapt onto the wall and sending them tumbling down.

The one who had broken into the Sanhe Commandery hall by night saw that his tracks had already been exposed in advance. Furious, he struck and immediately turned to leave with absolute decisiveness.

Yet several figures shot up from the street outside the hall, and furious shouts exploded into the night:

“You have quite the nerve, sir!”

“This is Caobang territory. Do you think you can come and go as you please?!”

Their words were sharp, their edge fully bared.

The ones who had come were actually Caobang experts!

Wangchuan’s heart leapt with excitement, and he at once used his lightness skill to land on the rooftop.

He saw that in the street outside the hall, two men had already clashed.

“Caobang’s Wan Xiwen! So it’s you! Surnamed Wan, you’ve actually been guarding this hall the whole time!”

In the darkness,

the heavy clash of blade and sword ripped out several dazzling sparks. The two men moved so quickly that the eye could barely follow them, while the nearby ground and walls were continuously cut with fresh marks.

Internal force erupted. Both were fighting with everything they had!

When true experts exchanged blows, they always went all out, fighting for their lives!

Elsewhere in the darkness, three more people were battling together.

“Hahahaha...”

“Elder Xiong!”

“After betraying the Beggar Sect, I never expected you to end up more and more down on your luck. Why not come to our Six Gates instead? At the Six Gates, we’ll feed you, house you, and keep you alive!”

“Captain Lin of the Six Gates!”

“I never expected you all to arrive this quickly.”

Wangchuan fixed his gaze on them.

Two officials of the authorities stood there, their cloaks spread like shields, swords hidden within them, fighting a burly man who wielded an iron staff.

Clang-clang!

Clang-clang!!

Lu Ping’an came to stand beside Wangchuan, lining up with Lu Laosan and Lu Laosi as they gazed into the distance beyond the hall.

“I never expected that Caobang experts, captains of the Six Gates, and even a Beggar Sect elder would all appear. Sanhe Commandery is lively indeed.”

Lu Ping’an’s expression remained calm.

At this moment, every disciple in the hall had already been alarmed.

Old Seven and Lin Cunxin were leading men streaming out of the hall!

Old Seven noticed Wangchuan and shouted through voice transmission:

“Wangchuan, take men and protect Young Master Lu. Do not come out.”

“Yes!”

Wangchuan nodded forcefully.

To be honest,

he did not want to go anywhere near a battlefield where fifth-rank martial artists were fighting.