A look of fear crept onto the faces of Fang Lingxin and Shui Qianrou as they watched the crowd fight over the Seven-String Ancient Chapter as if they had gone mad.

Su Heng, with his powerful martial arts, merely ended up disheveled. But some with weaker skills were lucky enough to grab the treasure.

For some reason, one of them got overexcited and shouted:

"I got it! I got it!"

But before he could finish, a cold light flashed, and his head hit the ground.

The killer barely had time to reach for the Seven-String Ancient Chapter before he, too, was ambushed from behind and fell dead in an instant.

In that instant, lives were being snuffed out in a frenzy. Within moments, many had their eyes turn red, lost in a bloodlust.

They killed anyone who got the Seven-String Ancient Chapter, and they killed anyone who didn’t.

In the end, they died tragically under a storm of blades.

The pungent stench of blood and the cries of agony instantly filled the air, creating a deafening uproar!

Witnessing these scenes unfold, Fang Lingxin’s pupils contracted in shock.

’The Jianghu I dreamed of... it wasn’t like this...’

’These people aren’t the gallant heroes of the Jianghu I imagined. There’s no righteousness in their eyes, no chivalry.’

’There is only greed, and the frenzy of slaughter.’

She watched, wide-eyed, as the Seven-String Ancient Chapter changed hands several times. Then, a burly man, laughing wildly, snatched it up. In his other hand, he wielded a single-legged bronze effigy, beating back everyone in his path until no one dared to approach.

He seemed completely unaware that a gruesome wound had pierced straight through his chest.

When he moved, his bones and internal organs were even visible.

Blood soaked the soil, every drop a testament to the price of greed.

Yet the people there turned a blind eye.

They were still caught in the frenzy... still locked in slaughter.

"Quite a spectacle."

The voice, belonging to someone who clearly enjoyed watching a disaster unfold, came from the side.

Fang Lingxin instinctively glanced over and saw Chen Yan, who had appeared out of nowhere. He was leaning against his small donkey, taking out a brush and paper to write something down.

The words on the paper came into view.

"To prove his innocence, Ye Feihua surrendered the Seven-String Ancient Chapter. The heroes of the Jianghu swarmed to fight, staining the valley with blood for the great treasure."

Fang Lingxin stared blankly.

It wasn’t the first time she had read words like these.

Many stories from the Jianghu were passed down, some written into chapbooks. She had even collected a few, and her heart would pound with excitement every time she read them.

’But... how could these few brief words ever compare to the scene unfolding before my very eyes?’

’How could a single line—"staining the valley with blood for the great treasure"—ever convey the madness of these people and the slaughter before me?’

Suddenly, she felt a slight pressure on her head. Without looking up, she knew it was Fang Shuwen’s hand.

She couldn’t help but look up at Fang Shuwen.

"Master..."

"Scared?"

"Not exactly. I know you’ll protect me, Master... It’s just, this isn’t what I imagined."

For the past few days, Fang Lingxin, like all the other Jianghu people, had been looking forward to the excitement of the Flower-Picking Conference.

But she never dreamed that "excitement" would mean this.

"Don’t idealize the Jianghu... but don’t condemn it, either."

Fang Shuwen said softly,

"Chivalry and compassion, the gleam of blades and the shadow of swords... all of it is the Jianghu."

Their current position was far enough away that they weren’t swept up in the chaos.

The fighting and scrambling remained contained within the main throng of people.

Suddenly, Shui Qianrou tugged on Fang Shuwen’s sleeve and cried out,

"It’s my brother! That’s my brother!!!"

Fang Shuwen didn’t need Shui Qianrou to point. He had already spotted a young man who now held the Seven-String Ancient Chapter.

The young man moved with calm composure, weaving through the crowd. His goal was to escape, not to kill.

’So this is Shui Qianliu?’

As the young man drew closer, Fang Shuwen narrowed his eyes. A figure shrouded in golden light suddenly dropped from the sky!

The golden light solidified upon landing with a tremendous BOOM.

It landed squarely in Shui Qianliu’s path, and the golden light, now almost tangible, enveloped a burly, vicious-looking old monk.

The old monk roared with laughter.

"The Buddha is merciful! At last, I have found you!"

With that, he thrust out a vicious palm strike.

"Celestial Desire Chaotic Heart Palm!!!"

Shui Qianliu’s expression turned cold. With a snort, he advanced instead of retreating, and a sound like rushing water seemed to swirl around him.

His own palm, trailing watery patterns, shot out to meet the attack.

When the two palms collided, it sounded like a great wave crashing against a rock, sending out a series of powerful tremors.

The golden light around the old monk rippled, layer upon layer, as if struck by successive waves. Each impact was stronger than the one before.

It caused the golden light to flicker violently, but it never broke through.

Suddenly, a sliver of Sword Qi materialized out of thin air.

Shui Qianliu’s face fell. He channeled his Inner Strength, forcing the old monk back one step as he himself retreated. Though he avoided injury from the invisible Sword Qi, the Seven-String Ancient Chapter was snatched from his grasp by a red shadow.

The wisp of Sword Qi then wheeled around, stabbing toward a major acupoint on Shui Qianliu’s chest.

After clashing with the old monk and being ambushed by the Sword Qi, even a genius of the Celestial Water Palace like Shui Qianliu was caught in a vulnerable state—his old strength spent, his new strength yet to rise. He was powerless to block the fatal strike.

Fang Shuwen’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t seem anxious. It wasn’t that he still had faith in Shui Qianliu, but rather that he knew someone else would make a move.

Still, he didn’t just stand by and watch. He had Fang Lingxin pick up Shui Qianrou, and then led them both in Shui Qianliu’s direction to offer support.

He suddenly heard Fang Lingxin grunt. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, a massive beam of Sword Qi, a foot wide, descended from the heavens. The moment it appeared, every sword-wielder in the vicinity felt their own blade tremble—whether in excitement or in fear, it was hard to tell.

PSSSH! With a soft hiss, the Sword Qi aimed at Shui Qianliu vanished.

At the same time, the foot-wide Sword Qi also dissipated, leaving an ordinary-looking longsword in its place.

A man in green robes descended slowly from mid-air, his hands clasped behind his back. He landed with one foot on the sword’s hilt and spoke slowly.

"You call yourself an Ancestor, yet you attack a mere child with such force. Don’t you find that beneath your station?"

Upon seeing this man, the faces of the crowd changed dramatically.

"The Cangwu Sword Sect... Xiao Ruofeng!?"

But before anyone could process this, a CRACK-CRACK-CRACK sound suddenly spread across the ground from all directions.

Xiao Ruofeng himself seemed surprised. He glanced down to see cracks spreading rapidly from the point of his sword, fanning out like a spiderweb.

His eyes were still filled with confusion when the ground beneath his feet gave way. Before he could even let out a cry of surprise, he had vanished from sight...