Why do I have so many masters?

Xiahou Xuan had waited for a moment inside Liu Wuqiu's house, and due to the poison, he was unable to do anything but watch Huangfu Xiong, who lay unconscious next to him like a dead pig, and he grimaced unhappily.

If it weren't for the poison affecting him now, he really wanted to beat him to death.

While he was feeling anxious and frightened, this fellow was sleeping more comfortably than anyone else.

Just then, a rustling sound came from outside, and Xiahou Xuan's expression turned severe as he heard a low voice say, "It's me, Wang Anfeng."

With a light creak, the wooden door was carefully pushed open, and Wang Anfeng, who had just left not long ago, slipped back in. Xiahou Xuan slightly frowned and whispered, "Why have you come back? Is the outside heavily guarded?"

"No..."

Wang Anfeng shook his head, and relayed to Xiahou Xuan the thoughts he had just had, lighting up his eyes slightly as he whispered, "Bring me that wine!"

Wang Anfeng unsealed the jar of wine, and Xiahou Xuan, struggling to get up, dipped his finger in the wine and tasted it. His eyes brightened slightly as he said,

"It can't be wrong, this is it!"

Wang Anfeng also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. His back was already covered in cold sweat. Having resolved the matter, intense curiosity about Liu Wuqiu surfaced.

He had left the antidote, clearly not wanting to truly harm the scions of noble families, but the location of the antidote was written in code. Did he not want someone to know about it? It could only mean he didn't want the people of the Four Symbols Pavilion to know.

That meant, many from the Four Symbols Pavilion must be around him.

A revenger must hide himself very well.

So, the 'Liu Wuqiu' he saw, greedy for money and lustful for power, was that really Liu Wuqiu?

For some reason, he suddenly remembered his first opponent, who fought purely with external martial arts to hide the fact that he was also skilled in Qinggong, aiming for a deadly move in the third round, making him believe he couldn't use Qinggong through two rounds of a story.

Liu Wuqiu has been known as a coward and a lecher, greedy and lustful, for sixty to seventy years.

So… was this a trap he had been setting up for sixty years?

A chill suddenly struck Wang Anfeng's heart, and his scalp tingled. The seemingly simple old man now appeared to be covered in shadow, utterly indistinct. On the side, Xiahou Xuan took the medicinal wine, coughed twice, and said:

"You see it too?"

Xiahou Xuan's face was a mask of complex emotions as he whispered, "How could a man who has lived for eighty years not understand what we just figured out?"

"He must want others to think he doesn't understand." Enjoy new adventures from empire

"The chessboard extends nineteen vertical and horizontal lines, totaling three hundred sixty-one points, with nine stars. Right now, you and I are within the Tian Yuan of this game, unfortunately, neither you nor I are chess players, but merely bait."

Wang Anfeng remained silent, his hand resting on the window.

.........

Liu Wuqiu, dressed in extremely luxurious clothing, stood respectfully next to another middle-aged man. The night wind was a bit cold, making Liu Wuqiu's pale hair a bit disheveled, looking down into the black abyss, reminiscent of the winter of his fifteenth year.

Back then, he didn't dress as well as he does now, but it was thick. Still, it was cold, a kind of cold seeping out from the depths of his heart, so he always dressed much more than ordinary people.

"Wuqiu, you messed up this time."

The man in the black robe spoke, his voice resonant like a bell, shattering the daydream that Liu Wuqiu was lost in.

"The last time the Pavilion Master ordered us to act was sixty-eight years ago, when the world was still unsettled. You had not yet joined the pavilion, and I had been in hiding for a long time. Now that we've acted, you've made such a big mistake."

"It's because the descendants of the Xiahou and Huangfu families were present that I personally appeared and took that treasure out, but you ended up losing them."

The man in the black robe was not older than Liu Wuqiu. In Jianghu, the older one is often respected not because of martial power, as even the strongest martial power fades, but the wisdom gained from surviving through conflicts is comparable to the best martial arts manuals. But towards Liu Wuqiu, his words were full of disdain and rebuke.

Such a craven and greedy person was someone he despised as well.

Liu Wuqiu bowed, his aged face pleading as he said:

"Sect Leader, this... this isn't my fault ah, the Xiahou secret treasure… the Superior Rank Royal Qi Armor," the wind atop the mountain was rushing, and fear colored Liu Wuqiu's face as he mumbled indistinctly. The man in the black robe heard of the Xiahou secret treasure and the 'Superior Rank Royal Qi Armor,' and his heart rose with a bit of greed. He instinctively moved closer and said sternly:

"Liu Wuqiu, are you so old you can't speak clearly?! Speak up!"

Liu Wuqiu shivered, raising his voice slightly, "The treasure protecting the Xiahou young master... the Xiahou Noble Clan's protective treasure"

His words were still somewhat trembling. The man in the black robe, impatient, grabbed Liu Wuqiu, and suddenly a cold light flashed. Pain shot through his wrist, and with a tiger's roar, he threw the old man aside forcefully. But it was too late—Liu Wuqiu, while mid-air, flung his arms, and cold lights burst forth.

In an instant, starlight brilliantly pierced through thirty-seven vital points around the man in the black robe. Blood poured out, and the Sect Leader fell stiffly, without even a chance to scream.

By then, Liu Wuqiu had already lunged forward, tearing at the secret treasure, which shattered on the outside, but inside was nothing more than an ordinary jade talisman. The old man's expression faltered slightly, yet no drastic change occurred. A voice from beyond the heavens long and tranquil said:

"You troubled yourself for over sixty years as a lapdog. I thought you'd already forgotten, but after having someone divine for me, I kept a trick up my sleeve."

"It seems, after all these decades, you still couldn't let go."

In the midst of this speech, a daoist elder in a blue robe appeared, his wide robes fluttering, and stepped through the air.

Although he was an elder, his complexion glowed wrinkle-free, and the hair that had grayed years ago had now turned black—a trait of someone who had reached the Upper Third Rank of the Mysterious Passage Realm, accessible only to those with exceptional talent and resolute will. Turning his right hand, he revealed a Blood Bagua, filled with an ominous aura that was nauseating upon scent.

Liu Wuqiu watched him, his expression gradually changing. The back that had been bent for sixty-eight years slowly straightened, his white hair fluttering in the wind. Looking at the Blood Bagua, he softly said:

"It's a pity I still couldn't deceive you."

"Couldn't shatter this piece of jade."

The elder sighed deeply, "You did deceive me. I never expected someone to play a role their entire life, performing until all peers are deceased, still remembering the hatred from their youth. However, my mind couldn't find peace, so I had someone divine for me."

"Ordinary people take seventy years of cultivation to reach the Middle Third Rank. You've been stuck here for twelve years while I've already reached the Upper Third Rank. You are no match for me. If you go back, considering you lived honestly all your life, I can forget today's matter."

Liu Wuqiu shook his head, drawing a longsword with his right hand, the blade sharply pointed at the ground, and softly said:

"But I cannot forget."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Of old friends, only I remain.

That clumsy youth who couldn't even block a sword strike for someone else, now with a head full of white hair, how could he forget his first encounter with her in his youth?

Liu Wuqiu stepped forward, longsword in hand, inaugurating his final sprint. With the disparity in their cultivation levels, reaching the Upper Third Rank had rendered common hidden weapons useless.

The Taoist Sect referred to such a one as a True Master, the Confucian Sect as a Grand Scholar, the Military Family as a General, and martial artists outside these teachings were worthy of starting their own sects.

He had tumbled through the Jianghu for seventy to eighty years; how could he not know that the outcome was already decided?

But for Liu Wuqiu, who couldn't even master basic boxing and was ignorant of adapting, he had no other choice left.

To uphold your promise, I shall never forget in this lifetime.

After sixty-eight years of seasons, he finally saw him again, this piece of jade.

His once-unattainable dream now quietly awaited realization before his eyes.

The elder in the azure garments sighed softly, his sleeves flinging out waves of Sword Qi that densely filled the void, like the Heavenly Emperor opening his armory, indicating Sword Qi that was both exceedingly pure and fiercely intensive, under a chilly gleam. Yet as Liu Wuqiu recalled the dazzling starry sky of those years,

Underneath that very starry sky, he buried Mei Chuxue, arranged for Sister Qingli's parents, left all the silver coins on the desk of Brother Wang from the Wang Family, watered the flowers the fair maiden adored, and then humbly knelt down, subdued his pride, and lived like a dog for sixty-eight years, clad in money-scented garments, seated at the head of Liuxu Villa.

Whenever he missed her… he would just look down, look over the Wangxian County where she once had been.

Sixty-eight years had passed. It was time to return…

"Hahahaha!!"

Longsword in hand, Liu Wuqiu faced off against his opponent, who could be called a grandmaster, and laughed aloud, boldly charging forward. Amidst the fierce sounds of air being cleaved, continuous Sword Qi tore through his body, blood flowing freely, yet this pain was trivial compared to the pleasure of removing his mask and squarely facing his enemy!

Before such a master, against absolute strength, all schemes and calculations proved utterly useless. As he diagonally held the only functional longsword and continued his charge, his body suddenly staggered—his right leg's tendons had been cut, but he still staggered forward as if nothing had happened, until, in front of the man in green, he thrust his sword violently forward.

But the sword from the other side was faster, as a fierce Sword Qi on the elder's right-hand pierced through Liu Wuqiu's abdomen, yet he seemed not to notice. Raising his left arm, the inner strength within his body surged, releasing a series of sounds like spring ice breaking apart.

The incoming Sword Qi intensified, but he also managed to punch the elder in the abdomen, causing a burst of Qi Power that shattered the Blood Jade Bagua.

In the midst of the grandmaster's furious shouts, the corners of Liu Wuqiu's mouth lifted slightly, with a youthful defiance. His vision blurred, yet he seemed to see once again the bright and spirited young woman of those days.

"Liu lad, if I die here, what will you do…"

"I will avenge you."

"Pfft, you're so clumsy, avenge what… You… you should marry a good girl, and live well…"

The girl's voice gradually weakened, her eyes slowly closing in his arms, her body leaking blood, soaking her white dress, Mei Chuxue, Mei like blood. When they first met, he was the most inconspicuous and least skilled naïve boy, on a misty rain-drenched riverbank, the young girl slightly lifting her lips, sheltering him under her umbrella.

He never imagined that just one glance would fill his lifetime.

The Blood Jade Bagua shattered into pieces, Liu Wuqiu's right arm was completely ruined, Sword Qi wreaking havoc throughout his body leaving many wounds, but he still laughed out loud, his face like a tiger.

To uphold your promise, I shall never forget. Sixty-eight spring and autumn seasons, pursuing nothing but revenge, this is Liu Wuqiu.

With a laugh, he drew his sword and traveled the world. A heroic heart swallowing the universe, his ranger spirit enduring the harshness of frost. People call him a ranger, his sword as heavy as his life, yet his life lighter than a feather!

The moonlight fell on the courtyard, all was silent, yet suddenly a tiger's roar erupted, resounding between heaven and earth.

Mei Chuxue had been gone for sixty-eight years, the once most foolish and clumsy youth, now an old man with white hair on this lone peak, clad in a hundred scars, with one punch, entered the Upper Third Rank.