Chapter 32

A great battle ended with the defeat of the Beggar Sect!

When they set out, the Beggar Sect had nearly three hundred disciples, but upon return, the number was less than a hundred, with two or thirty severely injured, and only four or five completely unharmed. The rest all had injuries.

Such heavy casualties deeply saddened everyone, and even Quan Guanqing's face was very grim. Although not many of his people died, there were still three or forty who lost their lives in this great battle. These were the fruits of his efforts over the years, and now they were all gone.

If Quan Guanqing was like this, how much worse was it for Xie Xian, the helmsman, who suffered heavy losses? His face was ashen, and his eyes were blazing with anger.

In a room, Bai Xiaosheng and many disciples of the Beggar Sect were humming and buzzing. They were all injured, but those with minor injuries, like Bai Xiaosheng, had only superficial wounds. He had been cut twice, which looked serious but were actually just skin-deep. After stopping the bleeding and applying medicine, he would be fine in a while. Unlike those in the next room, who had lost parts of their bodies.

"The battlefield is truly perilous. It seems I need to be more careful in the future." Bai Xiaosheng shook his head inwardly. It was his first time on such a battlefield, and he had been overly excited, completely immersed in the slaughter, unable to control himself, just like when he first killed a bandit. This was not a good situation. "Is it because my character is not strong enough, or do I have the potential to be a killer?"

Bai Xiaosheng was somewhat self-deprecating, his mind wandering uncontrollably. It wasn't that he didn't want to stop, but he didn't dare to stop, because once he did, the images of the slaughter would flood his mind.

His first time killing, those images had tormented him, and this time, it was clearly even worse. So he let his mind wander, and eventually, he even recalled the things he had learned, afraid to let his mind rest and see those hellish, bloody scenes.

For three consecutive days, Bai Xiaosheng lay in bed, but his spirit did not improve; instead, it became more listless. During the day, he let his mind wander, and at night, he was awakened by nightmares. It was no wonder he was in such a state. Fortunately, his wounds no longer hurt, and he felt a tingling sensation, indicating that they were about to scar.

This was probably one of the benefits of living here. Being cut twice, his wounds were almost healed in just three days. Internal martial arts were truly amazing!

On the fourth day, Bai Xiaosheng left the hospital and returned to his living quarters. Previously, ten people lived here, and they would just lie down in their clothes and sleep through the night. Now, the place was empty, with no sign of life except for Bai Xiaosheng.

Thinking of the faces of those who used to live here, Bai Xiaosheng sighed. Although he knew them, he couldn't even remember their names.

"Once a person is dead, everything is over!" Sighing, Bai Xiaosheng leaned against the wall and sat down. His internal energy flowed slowly through his body, reaching the meridians and acupoints affected by his wounds. The flow of internal energy would slow down at the wound, creating a warm sensation. This was a sign of internal energy rapidly healing wounds, a major feature of internal energy. In modern terms, it was about accelerating or slowing down metabolic processes.

"Little Bai, how are your wounds? Do they still hurt?" Outside the room, Wang Gouzi approached, his voice reaching before he did.

Shaking his head, Bai Xiaosheng said loudly, "These minor injuries are nothing. I'm already fine and can even fight."

"Ha ha... That's good. If you lost an arm or a leg, you'd never find a wife." Wang Gouzi, rarely joking, and Bai Xiaosheng went along with it, bantering with him.

After a while of idle talk, Wang Gouzi suddenly whispered, "Brother, the helmsman has been reassigned!"

Bai Xiaosheng was taken aback, then thought of the new helmsman, frowning inwardly. "Will Brother Quan become the new helmsman?" He asked, showing a look of anticipation, but in his mind, he thought of Quan Guanqing from "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils." According to that storyline, Quan Guanqing did not become the helmsman, but things were different now. Quan Guanqing was highly regarded in the Beggar Sect and might very well become the helmsman.

To his surprise, as soon as Bai Xiaosheng finished speaking, Wang Gouzi's face darkened. "Brother Quan left with the helmsman."

"Huh?" Bai Xiaosheng was greatly surprised. "Why is that?"

"I don't know yet." Wang Gouzi shook his head and speculated, "You know, Jiang Yi is a close confidant of Helmsman Xie. This might be a plot by Xie Xian to take Brother Quan away. It's possible that once Brother Quan leaves, he won't come back."

His words proved prophetic! Neither Wang Gouzi nor Bai Xiaosheng could have imagined that his speculation would become reality.

Three days later, new news arrived. Helmsman Xie stepped down from his position and became an Eighth-Bag Elder. Quan Guanqing was promoted to Seventh-Bag Disciple and transferred to the main headquarters to manage affairs. The branch did not appoint a new helmsman, but Jiang Yi was promoted to Seventh-Bag Deputy Helmsman to temporarily manage the branch. The remaining disciples of the Beggar Sect also received rewards for their hard work, and Bai Xiaosheng's clothes gained another patch, making him a Third-Bag Disciple.

His promotion was rapid. In less than a month, he had risen from First-Bag to Third-Bag. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he became the new Quan Guanqing.

However, the reality was different!

The promotion of Beggar Sect disciples was not slow, but that was for lower-rank disciples, like from First-Bag to Third-Bag. As long as you joined the Beggar Sect for a long time and had enough merit, you could quickly become a Third-Bag Disciple. Bai Xiaosheng becoming a Third-Bag Disciple in less than a month seemed impressive, but those introduced by important figures and with high martial arts skills often joined as Third-Bag Disciples.

Moving up further was not that simple!

Take Wang Gouzi, for example. He had been in the Beggar Sect for over ten years, about the same as Quan Guanqing, but he was still only a Fifth-Bag Disciple. This time, he did not get a promotion, only a martial arts manual as a reward.

All those who were promoted in this campaign were low-rank disciples. Promoting high-rank disciples was not that simple!

In Bai Xiaosheng's room, Wang Gouzi entered with a look of resentment. Jiang Yi becoming Deputy Helmsman was detestable to him and other close confidants of Quan Guanqing. What made him even more resentful was that Quan Guanqing had been reassigned, leaving them leaderless.

"Brother Bai, tell me, what's going on up there? Since Brother Quan came here, we've had a great situation, but now they've reassigned him and let Jiang Yi take charge. Humph! Does Jiang Yi have the capability?"

After cursing for a bit, Wang Gouzi sat down on the ground, kicking his feet hard and cursing, "Damn it!"

Shaking his head, Bai Xiaosheng said, "Brother Wang, getting angry won't help. We can't control what happens up there. I think we should focus on our brothers and keep everyone together. Otherwise, we'll give Jiang Yi a chance to exploit the situation."

"You're right, brother. I'll go find Qiu Jiu and the others right now." Wang Gouzi quickly stood up, walked to the door, then turned back, slapping his forehead. "I almost forgot the main thing! Brother, here are the books you asked me to find. You know, we're all beggars, and not many of us read. These few books were found in Brother Quan's room."

A few days ago, Bai Xiaosheng, feeling bored, had asked Wang Gouzi to find him some books. Now, he had come to deliver them, but he couldn't stop cursing about Jiang Yi.

Taking the two books he handed over, Bai Xiaosheng smiled at him, and Wang Gouzi left in a hurry, determined to contact his old brothers and prevent them from being picked off by Jiang Yi.

"Nowhere is peaceful!" Shaking his head, Bai Xiaosheng opened the books and began to read.

These were two ordinary books, one being the "Analects of Confucius" and the other a biography. The "Analects" was common and not worth mentioning, but the biography was unique, detailing the lives of several martial arts figures.

Bai Xiaosheng had never heard of these figures, but the content opened his eyes. Combining his memory with the biography, he found that much of the content was related to the forces in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils."

"Who would have thought that Quan Guanqing had such good stuff!" Bai Xiaosheng was quite surprised. Such material was truly rare and valuable!