Chapter 94

The cold and impersonal rewards and deductions of merit points sounded exceptionally bloody and cruel to Meng Qi and the others. Each deduction and reward of merit points would mean the end of a life!

The confrontation between factions is very dangerous!

The darkness before him disappeared, and a buzzing noise filled Meng Qi's ears, as if countless flies were swarming around.

Looking around, Meng Qi found himself in a corner of a large inn hall. Before him were thick pillars and square tables crowded with people.

Many of them carried weapons, clearly martial artists, but they paid no attention to the eight new arrivals in the corner.

Meng Qi turned his head and exchanged glances with Jiang Zhwei, Zhang Yuanshan, and the others. He saw the same meaning in their eyes: the Master of the Six Realms was truly terrifying!

Previously, Meng Qi had thought that the Master of the Six Realms would always place them in uninhabited places or areas where others would not notice, to avoid being discovered. Who knew that even in the center of a bustling market or the main hall of an inn, no one found it strange. The occasional glances they received were as if everything was normal.

"The Master of the Six Realms has powers far beyond our imagination. At least before achieving the Dharmic Body, we should not take unnecessary actions," Luo Shengyi said with a smile, seemingly understanding Meng Qi's thoughts. He did not speculate much about the identity of the Master of the Six Realms but treated it as a divine being.

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Luo," Zhang Yuanshan replied politely.

Luo Shengyi pointed to Xia Dandan and Xia Chulin: "Xia Dandan has opened four acupoints and is skilled with the paired knives. Xia Chulin has just opened the Eye Acupoint and excels in lightness skills, concealment, and socializing. What about you?"

Xia Dandan and Xia Chulin seemed to respect Luo Shengyi greatly. They controlled their expressions and did not move their eyes while he spoke.

Seeing Luo Shengyi's sincerity, Zhang Yuanshan pondered for a moment and said, "I have opened four acupoints and am skilled with the sword."

Then he pointed to Jiang Zhwei: "My junior sister Jiang Zhwei has had her four acupoints open for a long time and is also skilled with the sword, but she excels in offensive techniques."

Jiang Zhwei had opened her Ear Acupoint before the second cycle task. After the cycle task and a single task, as well as a year and a half of interval, the related acupoints of the Nose Acupoint had long been condensed. She had not exchanged for the "Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing" pill to break through because, after the last single task, she had a vague grasp of the key to the Nose Acupoint and felt that with more time, she could break through on her own.

Therefore, Meng Qi now guessed that she had either opened six acupoints or was just a step away, but they had not discussed this, so he was not certain.

"Jiang Zhwei, four acupoints, skilled in offensive sword techniques..." Luo Shengyi thought for a moment after hearing this, "Could you be the Jiang侠女 from the Sword Washing Pavilion?"

A young girl who had not yet officially left the mountain to travel the world was already listed on the Human List, so Luo Shengyi paid extra attention. When introducing names, he had already guessed, and now hearing her level of strength, he was even more certain.

Jiang Zhwei nodded lightly, "Yes."

She was neither proud nor humble.

"Having Miss Jiang here will make this task much easier," Luo Shengyi changed his address to draw closer.

Jiang Zhwei did not respond, and Zhang Yuanshan continued, "My junior brother Qi has opened two acupoints and has unique martial arts skills, excelling in fist techniques, lightness skills, and sword techniques."

The *Hun Tian Treasure Mirror* includes fist techniques, internal arts, and lightness skills.

Luo Shengyi, Xia Dandan, and Xia Chulin knew nothing about Qi Zhengyan, so they only nodded in acknowledgment without saying more.

"Zhen Ding, my junior brother, has opened two acupoints and is skilled with the saber and hard qigong," Zhang Yuanshan deliberately described Meng Qi's combat style ambiguously, making it easy to arrange tasks while leading others to misunderstand—hard qigong and the Golden Bell Cover are quite different.

Luo Shengyi and Xia Chulin glanced at Meng Qi, nodding in acknowledgment, while Xia Dandan sized him up, her gaze lingering on the Red Sun Evil-Repelling Saber, as she was also skilled with the saber.

"Fu, my junior sister, has just opened the Eye Acupoint and is skilled with short swords, palm techniques, lightness skills, and medicine," Zhang Yuanshan paused, "We don't have any teammates at the Qi Accumulation stage. Does this mean the enemy faction has some?"

Luo Shengyi, with his extensive experience in cycle tasks, understood Zhang Yuanshan's question.

"Yes, but not many. Generally, the Master of the Six Realms arranges the two sides of a faction confrontation task to be roughly equal in strength. Even if there is a significant gap, it can be balanced by the native forces in the cycle world," Luo Shengyi confirmed Zhang Yuanshan's guess.

Meng Qi took a deep breath, thinking it was similar to what he had imagined: "This suggests that we have been assigned to the encirclement side, meaning the enemy faction's strength is significantly higher than ours. We need to go to the Feng Yun Manor quickly."

"Right, Little Master, I agree. Chulin, go gather some information first, and we'll set out shortly," Luo Shengyi instructed Xia Chulin.

Xia Chulin got up with a smile, walked to a distant table, and quickly befriended the five or six people there, drinking and shouting, almost forming a brotherhood.

While Meng Qi and the others listened to Xia Chulin gather information, Luo Shengyi continued, "However, strength and actual combat power are two different things. Sometimes, one side might completely overwhelm the other."

As he said this, Luo Shengyi's usually calm face changed slightly, showing a hint of gloom, but he quickly composed himself.

They began to chat casually. Meng Qi was concerned that Luo Shengyi might have special eavesdropping skills, so he did not try to use secret transmission to ask Jiang Zhwei if she had opened the Nose Acupoint. After a while, Xia Chulin returned, his face flushed and looking more lecherous.

"The Feng Yun Manor is just outside the city," Xia Chulin's first words reassured everyone.

"These are all martial artists planning to join the four major sects' encirclement of the Devil Sect, hoping to gain fame and fortune. There are many small sects and gangs, so we won't stand out too much," Xia Chulin's second words put everyone at ease.

"However, since we are so many and have a special relationship, it's best to pretend we are from the same gang to avoid being separated," Xia Chulin finished his third sentence and took a sip of tea.

Luo Shengyi chuckled, "Then let's form a temporary gang. What should we call it?"

His words and actions had a commanding presence, making people naturally follow his lead.

Naming a gang? I'm best at this! Meng Qi's mischievous side showed, and he grinned, "Let's call it the Power Gang."

Since everyone's strength was still low, they didn't choose names like "截教" (Jie Jiao) or "天庭" (Tian Ting), which sounded too overbearing. "青衣楼" (Qing Yi Lou) and "金风细雨楼" (Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou) were too literary and didn't match.

"Power Gang? Holding the power of the world in one hand and resting the head on a beauty's lap. What a good name," Luo Shengyi joked, "Little Master Zhen Ding, is there any story behind it?"

"It's a story I once heard from a storyteller. Seven young men, with great ambitions, wanted to control the power of the world. So, they formed a brotherhood, named their gang 'Power,' and swore to use only their brotherly ranks until they achieved their goal, like Li Da and Liu Wu," Meng Qi laughed and made up a story.

Luo Shengyi's eyes lit up, "What great ambition and spirit! Li Da, Liu Wu... I like these names."

He looked at Jiang Zhwei and the others, "If we become close friends in the future, we can form a brotherhood and achieve great things, not wasting our martial arts and useful lives."

For his friendly approach, Meng Qi and the others could only respond with a chuckle.

Luo Shengyi was not annoyed, full of ambition and grandeur, and asked Meng Qi, "Did these seven brothers achieve their goal?"

"Of course they did," Meng Qi smiled.

Luo Shengyi pressed on, "What was the final outcome?"

"When they achieved their goal, only Li Da and Liu Wu were still alive," Meng Qi did not reveal the final outcome.

Luo Shengyi fell silent, playing with his wine cup. After a while, he said, "Let's go to the Feng Yun Manor. Chulin, continue sharing the information you gathered on the way."

The Feng Yun Manor was just ten miles outside the city. On the way, Meng Qi and the others learned from Xia Chulin that the four major sects were the Feng Yun Manor, the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, the Star Plucking Tower, and the Dawn Moon Sect. Each had a powerful sect weapon, the main reason for their status as the four major sects.

All top martial artists either came from the four major sects or the Devil Sect. For hundreds of years, no top martial artist had emerged from outside these sects.

This seemed strange to Meng Qi, and the sect weapons made him speculate. Of course, they were not real divine weapons, but they might be "treasure weapons" at the Outer Scenery level.

At the entrance of the Feng Yun Manor, several servants greeted the martial artists coming to join the alliance. Seeing Meng Qi and the others, a servant politely asked.

"Power Gang?" The servant frowned, thinking for a moment, then smiled, "Heroes, the manor is already full. Please stay elsewhere and come back for the alliance meeting."

Luo Shengyi said nothing, raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and lightly struck the stone lion at the entrance.

Crack! The stone lion instantly turned into a pile of rubble, making the onlookers gape.

The servant was shocked and fearful, sizing up Meng Qi and the others for a long time before saying, "Heroes, please come in for tea. I will inform the manor lord."

Inside the manor, Luo Shengyi explained to Meng Qi and the others, "We need to show some strength to gain attention. Our side is weaker, so we must quickly contact the leaders of the four major sects."

"We agree," Zhang Yuanshan replied politely.

Meng Qi, Jiang Zhwei, and Qi Zhengyan exchanged glances, understanding that they had similar thoughts. Luo Shengyi's decision and handling were correct, but he made the decision without consulting them, which seemed a bit domineering.

...

In a flower hall, they drank tea and waited for the manor lord to summon them.

"Boss, I'll go around and gather some information," Xia Chulin said cautiously.

With Luo Shengyi's approval, he left with a smile, unable to sit still.

After a while, a servant came and respectfully said, "Honored guests, the manor lord invites you to his study."

"Alright," Luo Shengyi stood up and muttered, "Why hasn't Chulin returned yet?"

Before he finished speaking, the voice of the Master of the Six Realms echoed in their minds:

"Xia Chulin has been killed by a cycle player from the Devil Sect. Each of you loses 100 merit points."

What? Meng Qi and the others were stunned and shocked, not expecting the enemy to act so quickly and directly in the Feng Yun Manor!

The danger had already begun!

Xia Dandan's face changed drastically, and she rushed out, black with anger. Jiang Zhwei, Meng Qi, and the others followed closely, and the servants were puzzled, calling for guards to chase after them.

After some inquiries, Xia Dandan found Xia Chulin's last location, a guest room.

She pushed open the door and stepped in, suddenly gasping and instinctively stepping back.

Meng Qi peeked in and saw Xia Chulin and an old man lying on the floor, their expressions peaceful and joyful, as if they had found liberation. Below their heads, their skin was yellow and shriveled, resembling mummies.

"Lifeless Finger..." Meng Qi muttered in shock.

...