Chapter 438: Once New Year’s Eve Passed, the Challenge Came Knocking

The death of the Warring States Game Studio boss did not cause too great a stir.

The other three studio players were likewise dealt with as quietly as possible by the 《spirit realm》 Online Guidance Center and the matter was suppressed.

But this operation by the Crimson Pavilion truly had touched the Son of Heaven’s reverse scale!

Under the Son of Heaven’s feet, in the heart of the capital region, they had openly committed murder!

Especially with the New Year approaching, at the very moment when the ministers were offering their New Year congratulations...

Where was the dignity of the imperial house?

The very next day,

two Crimson Pavilion assassins were discovered and hunted down in a residence in the Capital.

The two Crimson Pavilion assassins were highly skilled. They forced their way through the encirclement, injuring and killing more than ten experts from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Six Gates before one of them was struck in the calf by a crossbow bolt and the two were hacked to death in a storm of blades...

Then, that very same night, more than a dozen Crimson Pavilion assassins were surrounded and killed in an estate outside the Capital. Everyone in the estate, over a hundred people in total, was branded with the crime of treason and sentenced to death by dismemberment on the spot!

On New Year’s Eve itself,

the Six Gates, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Western Depot all made gains of their own and offered New Year gifts to the Son of Heaven: one Gold-Ranked Assassin token from the Crimson Pavilion, and several Silver-Ranked Assassin tokens.

Along with them, more than a dozen civilian forces, gangs, and families were wiped out as well.

The Crimson Pavilion had originally been hidden very deeply.

It should not have exposed flaws this quickly...

But the 《spirit realm》 Command Center had thousands of studios, along with millions of players, secretly monitoring and coordinating in the dark, reporting any abnormality around them. Very soon, they found the first traces.

The Crimson Pavilion was caught completely off guard.

They had no idea where things had gone wrong.

Once their people in the Capital were exposed, the fallout spread outward like radiation, blossoming across every region.

Six Gold-Ranked Assassins were surrounded and killed;

more than a dozen Silver-Ranked Assassins were beheaded;

over a hundred Bronze-Ranked Assassins and ordinary killers, together with the patrons secretly tied to them, were all uprooted in one sweep.

In this affair, Wangchuan had completely become nothing more than a tiny ripple among the vast multitude.

He listened as Constable Captain Yu and the others continuously sent back reports of victory, then, after New Year’s Eve had passed, heard that the various commanderies and the Six Gates had announced the lifting of the alert.

The Crimson Pavilion, in just a few short days, had gone from provoking the imperial house to falling like a shooting star.

At present, it seemed that only the Crimson Pavilion’s most mysterious Pavilion Master had yet to show himself.

...

Over these past few days,

Wangchuan had been training at a relentless pace while listening to reports from Li Na and Su Wan.

All of the assets and personnel of Warring States Game Studio had now been transferred to Sanjiang Studio.

Under Wangchuan’s name, besides Sanjiang Studio’s own tower, there were now two additional properties: the Warring States Building and Red Moon Plaza.

Sanjiang Studio now had more than 3,300 employees.

According to the reports from Su Wan and Li Na, there were currently 1,200 gold farmers, more than 1,100 Quasi-Martial Artists, more than 600 full-fledged martial artists, 370 first-rank martial artists, fewer than 100 second-rank martial artists, and 7 third-rank martial artists.

Within H City, it now truly sat in the foremost seat among game studios.

Wangchuan did not make any more detailed personnel arrangements within the studio.

Following the private arrangements made by Li Na and Su Wan, the two of them continued managing their original groups.

But there were also some minor adjustments.

For example, all the Land-Clearing Teams were immediately placed under Li Na’s management. She then coordinated with Wang Yuehui and Lin Jiahe to have them join the Sanhe Commandery Hall or be assigned to Qingfeng Escort Agency.

Wangchuan specifically had Yang Feiyue organize men to retake the Yulong Gang Water Stronghold and establish the Caobang’s Fourth Island!

He appointed Monk Dalong as the island master, had fish ponds built for the disciples of Sanjiang Studio to train in,

reopened the coal mine and the iron mine to create a fresh source of income, and at the same time assigned more than a hundred players from the Gold-Farming Team to enter.

Over these past few days,

under the sparring of Lin Jiahe and Chen Gang, Wangchuan had finally pushed 《Iron Python Body-Protection Qigong》 to Integration... and the two men’s 《Wudang Sanshou》 had, in the process, risen to Perfect Mastery as well.

Once New Year’s Eve had passed,

with the Crimson Pavilion, which had been choking everyone by the throat, now destroyed, Wangchuan finally let out a breath of relief. He had Ye Baiyi and Li Xiangyang spar with him as he trained the fifth-rank cultivation method 《Golden Bell Shield》.

Using the training method Yan Tiannan had provided, he quickly filled the full 500 points of experience required for 《Golden Bell Shield》.

“Ding!”

System prompt:

“《Golden Bell Shield》 has risen from ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ to ‘Entry-Level Mastery.’ Reward: +3 Stamina.”

Its weak points were reduced to only three places: the groin, the eyes, and the temples.

Wangchuan specifically had Ye Baiyi attack his chest and back with weapons, and discovered that when combined with internal force, 《Golden Bell Shield》 formed a powerful membrane of qi around his body, like a metallic bell, producing clear, ringing clashes of metal.

Every attack that landed on his body produced the sound of striking a golden bell. The force was shaken and weakened by the sound, reducing the attack by thirty percent, and the remaining force also seemed to be evenly dispersed, making it impossible to trigger critical damage or lethal damage.

This was the true profundity of 《Golden Bell Shield》.

Although it might not be as clear as 《Dragon-Elephant Body-Protection Technique》 in sensing in advance where an opponent’s attack would land, the fact that it nullified all critical and lethal damage outside its weak points was indeed a tremendous advantage!

And besides...

“《Dragon-Elephant Body-Protection Technique》 only gave 28 Defense after reaching ‘Integration,’ but now that 《Golden Bell Shield》 has reached Entry-Level Mastery, its Defense is already 30 points. It nullifies critical and lethal damage outside the weak points, and once it rises another realm, its five senses will improve, and every aspect of its attributes and defenses will strengthen. Its usefulness far exceeds that of 《Dragon-Elephant Body-Protection Technique》!”

Wangchuan had already decided to train rapidly and push 《Golden Bell Shield》 to Integration, completely replacing 《Dragon-Elephant Body-Protection Technique》.

At the current pace, he would need to take at least forty thousand punches before advancing!

Just as he was preparing to devote himself fully to pushing 《Golden Bell Shield》 higher, news came in from the river:

One Inner Elder of the Beggar Sect, along with two Outer Elders and four third-rank martial artists, had come by land, passing through Qinghe Commandery along the official road, and entered the territory of Sanhe Commandery.

Within a single day, Wangchuan received warnings from Medicine King Valley, the Lu Family, the Six Gates, and the Qinghe Commandery Hall.

Constable Captain Yu personally came calling:

“Wangchuan!”

“The Beggar Sect has come with great force this time. They are probably planning to use the same old trick again and tear open a gap in your Sanhe Commandery Hall under the pretext of paying you a challenge visit.”

Wangchuan invited him into the main hall and slowly brewed tea.

“There is no rush.”

“They still haven’t arrived yet, have they?”

Constable Captain Yu looked more anxious than the man involved.

“At a time like this, you’re still drinking tea? I’ve already made inquiries. The one leading the team into Sanhe Commandery this time is the Beggar Sect Inner Elder Zhuang Xuyan. He is a seasoned fifth-rank martial artist, stronger even than your Caobang Elder Wan Xiwen.”

“Zhuang Xuyan is only here to hold the line!”

“Among the two fourth-rank martial artists he brought, one is an Outer Elder named Wang Gu. Seven years ago, he had already made quite a name for himself in Jianghu. His twin saber technique has reached the realm of Peak Perfection, and among fourth-rank martial artists, he has hardly any equals! He is far, far more formidable than Qin Kainian, the man who challenged you before.”

At that, Wangchuan finally showed a trace of gravity.

“A saber art at Peak Perfection?”

That strong?

Wangchuan took a sip of tea.

Compared with his own 《Basic Sword Technique》 at Peak Perfection, who would prove stronger?