A Record of A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Chapter 19: Jianghu Battle

“Senior Brother Han, you really have your head buried in the sand, don’t you? Such a big event and you don’t even know about it? Even if you were in seclusion, your master should have mentioned it to you,” said Little Abacus, his tone tinged with suspicion.

Without a word, Han Li quickly pulled out a waist token from his body and handed it over to Little Abacus.

“Senior Brother Han, what are you doing? Do you think I can’t trust you? I felt you looked familiar the moment I saw you—surely we’ve met before, hehe!” He glanced quickly at the token from the corner of his eye, and seeing it was real, hurriedly put on a smile.

“Now can you tell me?” Han Li pressed on, still concerned about the question he had just raised.

“Of course, of course.”

“Oh no, I probably offended this guy right in front of me,” Little Abacus muttered in his heart. Yet, outwardly, he obediently spilled everything.

It turned out that over the past few years, the conflicts between the Seven Mysteries Sect and the wild wolf gang had intensified. Both sides had fought more than a dozen battles over several prosperous towns whose ownership was disputed, suffering heavy casualties.

Because the wild wolf gang members were all trained like bandits, they fought recklessly, often losing themselves to bloodlust once they saw blood. On the other hand, the disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect, though more skilled, lacked that ruthless spirit and held back during the fights. As a result, the sect's side often suffered greater losses.

After a series of battles, some senior figures of the Seven Mysteries Sect could no longer sit idly by. They dispatched most of their inner sect disciples to take part in the upcoming ongoing fights. On one hand, these territories could never be lost; on the other hand, it was an opportunity for the disciples to experience the harshness of the jianghu world and sharpen their real combat skills.

In the subsequent skirmishes, the Seven Mysteries Sect gradually gained the upper hand, but the cost was heavy. Many older senior brothers sent out never returned. At this, Little Abacus sighed sadly.

Later, the sect leaders changed tactics, sending inner sect disciples on less critical missions elsewhere to temper their experience in the jianghu first. Only after gaining some practical experience would they return to join fights against the wild wolf gang. This approach indeed reduced casualties significantly.

This strategy was formally adopted as a sect rule in the past two years, requiring all disciples to go down the mountain for training before being given real positions within the sect.

Thus, nearly all the older senior brothers from the mountain had been sent out. They were either entangled with the wild wolf gang or away training. Aside from necessary guards, only young disciples who had yet to graduate remained on the mountain.

Hearing this, Han Li finally realized why things on the mountain had changed so much from before.

“Bang!” A loud sound echoed as a soft sword flew into the air.

Zhao Ziling pressed his right hand’s injured tiger mouth with his left hand, his face pale as he took a few steps back, gasping heavily.

Just moments ago, under Senior Brother Li’s fierce continuous saber technique, he had failed to evade in time and was forced to block with his soft sword. The tremendous force transferred through the blade sent his weapon flying.

“Senior Brother Li, you are truly formidable. I concede defeat,” Zhao Ziling said with a strained smile and bowed.

Cheers erupted all around.

“Senior Brother Li, such impressive skills!”

“Senior Brother Li, amazing saber technique!”

“Senior Brother Li, please teach me!”

One call after another, the crowd’s voices, refusing to be outdone, echoed throughout the arena toward their idol.

Senior Brother Li sheathed his long blade, a faint blush appearing on his face. Just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed. Frowning, as if recalling something, he clenched his fist and said coolly, “I still have urgent matters to attend to. I will take my leave.”