Sword Among Us

Chapter 899: Flames of War Rising Everywhere, Asking for Teachings in Shaolin Temple

The matter at Barbican was not as simple as it seemed!

Before the people sent to provide reinforcements at the ore mines could get themselves comfortable, they were already struck dumb from behind. All eight resource points were under attack! Most of the reinforcements died, and the remaining people were blocked inside the ore mines. After trying to charge outside, they gave up on breaking out and decided to stay inside instead of trying to come out.

When this news spread out of Barbican, Class One Hall instantly burst into commotion.

Eight resource points!

They originally thought that only a small group of people snuck into their territory to ambush and harass them so that they can divert Class One Hall’s attention from the plains, but based on the strength Mu Clan displayed, Mu Clan had actually sent more than one thousand people to march through their defense line.

More than one thousand people!

That was enough people to pose as a great threat to Class One Hall’s rear. In fact, they can even cause great destruction.

“So many people entered the area near Beijing, but you’re telling me that the branches near the defense line didn’t react to it?! And you want us to rush over in the same night to save them?! Damn it!”

The people in Class One Hall’s branches were incredibly gloomy.

But they had no choice but to save them…

This matter had happened abruptly, and no one expected that Mu Clan will launch such a major operation and attack Barbican while facing the risk of sacrificing more than one thousand of their members.

There were people among the higher ups in the branch who died in battle, and some were also trapped. Their defense at the back lines was weak, and hundreds of Mu Clan members attacked the Barbican branch, causing the flames of war to be lit everywhere.

The astonishing wealth and pool of resources at Barbican’s branch was in grave danger!

The materials in there were materials they gathered over a week. They were worth nearly twenty billion taels of silver, and they also had equipment and materials for medicinal pills they had accumulated over a long period of time stored in the branch…

Class One Hall’s master, Dream Clouds, gave a stern order that all branches nearby were to immediately take action and protect the storage for Barbican’s branch regardless of the cost.

“Defend it to the death! Regardless of what price you have to pay, hold back the people from Mu Clan! You must absolutely not let them destroy the branch and get the resources in the store!”

The people from Class One Hall descended into complete frenzy.

Once the people trapped in the ore mines obtained this news, they began to launch charges to break out of the encirclement regardless of the cost and desperately tried to charge out.

Even most of the people who died in battle joined the battle while they were inflicted with the injured status to fight against Mu Clan.

*****

The same thing repeated itself in Aru City.

Lin Xiao brought more than two hundred Chivalry Sect members to charge into Aru City’s branch with the force of a bulldozer when Little North’s group was engaged in battle against the people from Class One Hall.

There were only hundreds of people who died and were revived there. They were like sheep waiting for slaughter, and Chivalry Sect’s members were like fierce wolves and tigers. Under their weapons, the injured Class One Hall members were like wheat to be harvested, and they had no strength to fight back at all.

At the moment the branch was defeated, just as they expected, Lin Xiao finally had a smile break out on his face, as if he had vented his hate. He shouted loudly, “Brothers and sisters, hurry up! The people from Class One Hall are about to come back! Hurry up and steal all the resources so that we can leave! Aru City isn’t our final stop! We still have many things to do! Hurry up with what you’re doing!”

“Haha!”

“We’re rich this time!”

“You’re grinning way too much. Let’s go.”

Under countless martial artists’ envious gazes, the group quickly charged out of Class One Hall’s emptied branch, summoned their steeds, and quickly vanished into the night.

*****

Less than ten minutes since Aru City’s branch was emptied, Kuo Ma City’s branch was also emptied.

However, the people who attacked the place were not as lucky, because more than two hundred of those ambushers were trapped there.

A group of Class One Hall core members led a group of people to provide reinforcements. At that time, they were coincidentally escorting a fleet of carts while they passed by Kuo Ma City. When they heard of the news, they charged over and outflanked Mu Clan while they also attacked them from the rear.

More than eight hundred people attacked Kuo Ma City, but around two hundred were trapped there. The others split up and fled.

As for those who were unlucky enough to die in the fight, more than one thousand Class One Hall elites eyed them hostilely. They could not get out of the city and can only stay in the restaurants in the city.

“Hmph! How dare they raid Class One Hall’s branch!”

“They sure have guts…”

“I’m warning you, spit out what you took from us, and I will plead for mercy for you. You can either join Class One Hall or leave by then. Well?

“You’re not agreeing to it? Darn it all! Just wait for us to force you to delete your ID, brat! No matter what, you can forget about ever coming back.”

“Heheh, I’d be the real idiot if I gave you the stuff.”

The people who were monitored looked completely unbothered. They walked in the city while they looked at everything around them. If they had nothing to do, they entered restaurants to drink, and they did not show any sadness of someone who died in battle or any despair of being forced into a corner.

Sometimes, the Class One Hall members beside them will mock and threaten them. “Don’t even think about playing any tricks. I’m telling you, I’ve already remembered your names. We’ll be ‘taking care’ of you everyday 24/7. Let’s see who will dare rescue you.”

Class One Hall was enraged, and they became even more extreme in their methods.

They did not manage to persuade these Mu Clan members to surrender, so they arranged a few people to monitor one person each, setting up a tight monitoring system on these Mu Clan members. They looked as if they wanted to force these Mu Clan members to be unable to continue playing.

After all, this was the north. As long as Class One Hall wanted to, they can mobilize a large number of people to monitor a mere two hundred people.

They can even kill and cripple them.

But unfortunately for them, Mu Clan was still making other places descend into war.

The Town of Kui was the only place without any resources, and it was the only one not emptied, but aside from that branch, in one night, three branches were emptied at the same time, and a huge gap was forcefully torn out of the three-layered defense Dream Clouds set up.

However, Dream Clouds had intentionally not sent any reinforcements to fill up this gap, because she had no choice but to let Mu Clan go.

Mu Clan’s act of attacking the Town of Kui was within her expectations, but the others were not.

Aru City’s branch was emptied by Mu Clan and Chivalry Sect working together, and Class One Hall lost more than one thousand people.

The ones who showed their faces over there were Chivalry Sect’s Lin Xiao and Mu Clan’s Little North.

Both led a group of elites and did not follow the large battalion who broke through her defense line, and it made Dream Clouds uneasy.

Besides, the duo were completely not worried about revealing their tracks. When they attacked and emptied Aru City’s branch, Dream Clouds saw that they headed to the other two Class One Hall branches when she asked the diviners to search for them.

Aside from this, the huge loss from Barbican also made Dream Clouds’ heart clench in pain. At the same time, she felt a chill in her heart.

The actions from the four sects were a little strange. They did not seem to be performing a simple break out.

Chivalry Sect and Mu Clan’s elites seemed to have split into different groups and appeared in different regions.

There was Aru City and Kuo Ma City. Lin Xiao, Little North, and the other elites’ locations were proof.

Why did these people stay behind?

There was also that battalion of more than one thousand hiding in the north…

More than one thousand Mu Clan elites had quickly snuck into her territory! This was like a sharp knife being buried in her body, and it was very near her heart.

Dream Clouds did not dare to continue placing all her energy on the three defense lines serving to lock down Mu Clan’s path at this moment so that Mu Clan and Chivalry Sect can continue destroying her branches.

She had already mobilized a lot of forces to set up the three blockades.

At this moment, it was hard for her to avoid Mu Clan and her allies doing any sort of abnormal gathering or mobilization. It was impossible for her to protect her rear.

Right now, her territory was in grave danger before Mu Clan and Chivalry Sect’s elites.

Also, there was an even more important reason for Dream Clouds’ actions—Happy’s current location.

*****

One night passed very soon.

The flames of war attacking Class One Hall enveloped the entire area in the north.

But while Class One Hall members were busy dealing with their enemies who came and went like shadows, at Mount Song, where Shaolin Temple was, the ancient temple that had been passed down through generations continued standing tall. The Shaolin Temple disciples seemed to be in a paradise that was set apart from the world of martial artists.

A young man and woman with outstanding presences wore Bamboo Hats, and they looked like a couple in paintings about immortal couples. They led on tall and handsome steeds while they slowly walked down the mountain. They looked incredibly relaxed, as if they were taking a walk in a painting. They did not have the hasty air that other wanderers had, but they seemed like the epitome of wanderers more so than anyone else.

They saw Shaolin monks training their basic skills by diving and climbing the mountain everywhere while they strolled about. There were also secular disciples who used their lightness skills to run on walls.

When these monks saw this man and woman who did not reveal their faces, they could not help but cast secretive, sidelong glances at them.

If their steeds were not the expensive Hoof Shadows, perhaps a lot of people will treat them as plot-relevant characters and run over to trigger hidden quests.

“Shaolin Temple is still the most comfortable place to be after I traveled to so many places. This place seems to be more tranquil that the other places, and the air of the world of martial artists isn’t as great here.” A young and beautiful voice rose. It was gentle and charming, and people will subconsciously find themselves forming a favorable impression of the speaker. They will also have the urge to lift the veil of the Bamboo Hat so that they can see her real face.

Right when she finished speaking, the young man beside her laughed heartily. “That’s only natural.”

He stopped talking for a moment, then said without bothering about the surprised glances cast on him. “The entire north is filled with war. Only Shaolin Temple is peaceful and tranquil. After all, it is out of the world, and it is the home for monks. Shaolin Temple’s peace can help a person calm down and clear their minds. It will be even easier for them to pursue the way of Buddha this way and practice Zen meditation. Hence, as long as Shaolin Temple disciples spend a long time in the temple, they will have a peaceful air similar to this place, and people will find it comforting just by looking at them.”

“You make it sound so reasonable.” The woman looked over in surprise. “Why does it seem like you know everything…?”

“Of course, I came here before.” The young man let out a magnificent sigh, as if he was seized by a sudden feeling to the place.

“Alright, then let me test you.”

“Sure.” The man took up the challenge.

The woman was struck by a sudden idea. “Tell me, why do Shaolin Temple disciples bring water up the mountain every day? There’re a lot of them who have already reached Life and Death Realm.”

The young man smiled. “That’s simple. Shaolin Temple’s martial arts is famous for having a sturdy lower body. Bring water up the mountain can train their basic leg strength, arm strength, and bones. If they persist in bringing one round of water up every day, they can increase their Arm Strength, Affinity, and Body Movement at the same time. Among the seven sects, four factions, and three schools, their training is the most arduous, but the basics for their martial arts is the sturdiest, and it is the most effective way to increase your skill and strength.”

When they heard this, some of the monks carrying water up the hill by their side seemed to have gained an epiphany, and some of them put on contemptuous expressions.

At that moment, the young man’s voice rose again. “But the last time I came here, there were very few people who persisted in carrying water up. Today, there’re a lot more people around. It must be because of the words from the Prophet.”

“Oh?” The young woman raised her veiled face, and she seemed attentive.

“If they want to be outstanding, they must first build their foundation. If the Shaolin Temple disciples can train hard for a period of time, their results will not be weaker than Nine Bulls’ Strength Ralson, who is on Great People Rank.”

When he said this, the Shaolin Temple disciples around him instantly had their minds start working, and they found themselves unable to believe what they heard.

“How did you know?”

“Haha, doesn’t Buddhism have talks about reincarnation? Perhaps I was a Shaolin disciple in my previous life.”

“Are you saying that you were a monk in your previous life?”

“A secular Shaolin Temple disciple. I can get married.” The young man picked up the outstanding woman’s hand. She tried to break free, but could not.

When they saw this scene, the Shaolin Temple disciples around them put on cordial smiles and left even faster.

However, right when he finished speaking, notes from a zither that sounded like running water came from a pavilion not far away. Even though the notes were melodious, it still broke the peace on the mountain trail.

A man with an extraordinary presence and a cordial expression played his zither while he put on a mysterious smile to the young man and woman who stopped in the distance.

“My friends, are you interested in listening to my song?”