Chapter Fifty-Two: The Sect's Advancement

"Main Quest," Jiang Yan suddenly recalled the main quest he had struggled so long to complete, and at last, was able to finish. Among the rewards for completing the main quest, there was one that allowed him to upgrade any special building in the sect. Originally, Jiang Yan intended to upgrade the Sect Grand Hall, since its functions were many and its advancement conditions numerous. His plan was to return to the sect, make careful arrangements, and then upgrade the Grand Hall to maximize benefits. But now…

Jiang Yan took out a pouch filled with spirit stones from the Sect Leader's ring. With a clatter, he poured out all the spirit stones and spiritual artifacts. He paid no mind to the Wooden Crane artifact, pushing it aside, and aimed the Sect Leader's ring at the spirit stones. With a thought, a vast number of spirit stones vanished from the ground.

"Ding! The spirit stones are sufficient for completing the main quest. Would you like to use them to offset the missing merit points and finish the quest?" The Sect Leader system had detected enough spirit stones in the ring and prompted Jiang Yan.

Without hesitation, Jiang Yan chose to complete the main quest.

"Ding! Main quest completed. Deducting spirit stones to offset merit points."

In Jiang Yan's perception, the spirit stones in the Sect Leader's ring vanished rapidly, taken by the system. His heart ached—these were over eight hundred spirit stones!

"Ding! Main quest completed. The Sect Leader's ring space is expanded to fifty square meters. You are rewarded with: Flame Gold Technique, First Grade Upper; Water Transformation Technique, First Grade Upper; Leaving Fire Technique, First Grade Upper; Thick Earth Technique, First Grade Upper—one scroll each. Green Wood Technique, Second Grade Middle. Second Grade Five Elements attack techniques: Green Wood Archery, Black Water Sword Rain, Leaving Fire Burning Heaven, Yellow Earth Axe Method, Golden Stream Sword Energy—one scroll each. Spiritual Plant techniques: Earth Qi Method, Spirit Transformation Method—one scroll each. Beast Taming Method, one scroll. Alchemy methods: Fire Condensation Method, Pill Division Technique—one scroll each. A small pill furnace, an equipment forging stove, one copy of the Soldier Command Manual. You gain one opportunity to upgrade any sect building."

The Sect Leader system finally recited all the rewards. Jiang Yan ignored everything else, waiting intently for the system to announce the upgrade for a special sect building.

"Ding! Please select a special building to upgrade." The system's voice arrived at last, as if Jiang Yan had waited a month for it.

"Upgrade the Mountain Gate," Jiang Yan chose without hesitation. With the Mountain Gate's upgrade, the protective formation that came with it would also be enhanced. If the upgraded formation could not save Mount Hua, then Jiang Yan's swift return would be in vain.

"Upgrading the Mountain Protection Formation..." The system notified Jiang Yan that the protective formation was being promoted.

"Ding! The spirit stones powering the Azure-Clad Talisman Soldier are depleted." The system's warning echoed once more in Jiang Yan's ears.

Jiang Yan's heart tightened—the second Azure-Clad Talisman Soldier had run out of spirit stones. This soldier was assigned to guard Yun Ying. The order he gave was only to act if Yun Ying was attacked. Now, it seemed the enemies assaulting the sect did not even spare children.

"Buzz..." As Jiang Yan was burning with anger, a buzzing sound rose beside his ear, followed by the familiar sensation of breaking through a realm within his body.

"I’m about to advance," a vague thought flashed through Jiang Yan's mind, just before his consciousness was engulfed by boundless pain.

...

"Hahaha..." Meng Lu stood with the Cold Light Sword hovering above his head, his chin raised high, laughing up at the sky.

Not far from Meng Lu, Nanmen Luo and Mu Yun still lay on the ground. On the steps of the Sect Grand Hall, Tang Wan's lotus-colored garment was torn in many places, stained with blood. Her delicate face was streaked with fresh blood, and she clutched Yun Ying tightly in her arms. Tang Wan lay half-slumped on the steps before the Grand Hall. Between her and Meng Lu, the second Azure-Clad Talisman Soldier lay limp on the ground, its azure robe flickering faintly with light.

Meng Lu's own robes were tattered, his face marked with bloody grooves from the Green Wood arrows, his black hairband undone, hair in disarray, white robe smeared with blood—he looked truly sinister.

"The second one, this is the second! For such a small sect to have two talisman soldiers—remarkable!" Meng Lu walked forward a few steps, unfastened his treasure pouch, opened it, and stuffed the Azure-Clad Talisman Soldier inside.

Tang Wan's gaze swept over Meng Lu's pouch, and she saw that another Azure-Clad Talisman Soldier was inside as well. She felt some surprise; could these silent beings be some sort of treasure?

"To destroy a small sect and harvest two talisman soldiers—this is truly my fortune! Hahaha..." Overexcited, Meng Lu could not stop laughing as he spoke.

"For the sake of these two talisman soldiers, today I’ll grant you all an intact corpse." Having collected the Azure-Clad Talisman Soldiers, Meng Lu was in high spirits. Though he did not know these were exceptional talisman soldiers, his excitement was undiminished. Talisman soldiers could only be crafted by mid- or high-level talisman masters; any talisman soldier was a treasure.

Finishing his words, Meng Lu formed his fingers into a sword and pointed at Tang Wan from afar. The Cold Light Sword above his head flared with dazzling brilliance, then suddenly contracted, transforming into a thin, snow-bright line that shot toward Tang Wan and Yun Ying at the entrance of the Grand Hall...

"So this is how I die?" Tang Wan stared at the blinding sword descending from above, a trace of desolation flickering in her heart. The Sect Leader had not returned—she feared she would not see him one last time...

"Quick!" A faint command came from the direction of Nanmen Luo.

"Ding ding ding!" Three sharp, metallic clashes rang out before Tang Wan, and Meng Lu's Cold Light Sword, carrying a bone-chilling aura, flashed past her side.

"Zing..." The sword embedded itself in the steps of the Grand Hall, half its blade buried, humming loudly.

Meng Lu's blood-streaked face twisted as he looked at Nanmen Luo. "Ugly-faced brat, I didn’t expect you still had the strength for a fight. You hid well, but it’s useless—your realm is lower than mine. No matter how you hide, it’s futile. Prepare to die."

"Buzz..." The Cold Light Sword soared into the air, responding to Meng Lu's command.

"To die under my Tianshan Cold Shadow Sword Technique, you should have no regrets," Meng Lu, hair wild and eyes mad, teeth clenched, spoke to Nanmen Luo, each word heavy and deliberate.

"Go," Nanmen Luo, his ugly face tense, formed his fingers into a sword and struggled to summon his Green Wood Arrow. Injured as he was, his movements were sluggish.

After being wounded by Meng Lu, Nanmen Luo had been channeling energy to recover his spirit. The Green Wood Technique had indeed lived up to its First Grade Upper reputation; within half a cup of tea’s time, Nanmen Luo had gathered enough power for one shot with the Green Wood Arrow.

Seeing Meng Lu move, the Cold Light Sword threatening Tang Wan, Nanmen Luo acted without hesitation. His senior sister was in danger—he had to save her, though he knew he only had enough strength to counter Meng Lu’s attack once.

"Dark Night Meteor," Meng Lu’s face twisted, as he unleashed the first move of the Cold Shadow Sword Technique—Dark Night Meteor.

"Whoosh..." The Cold Light Sword suddenly accelerated, slicing through the air with a roar.

Meng Lu knew, judging from the ugly-faced brat’s expression, he had little spirit left. Still, Meng Lu used his favorite move—Dark Night Meteor. He relished the feeling of flesh and blood flying, ground turned to dust, everything destroyed before his eyes.

"Ding..." Nanmen Luo’s first Green Wood Arrow collided with Meng Lu’s sword, and as expected, the arrow dissipated into spirit energy.

"Ding..." The second Green Wood Arrow was similarly reduced to spiritual dust.

Nanmen Luo gritted his teeth, gathered his last ounce of power, rolled over to Mu Yun’s side, grabbed him, and together they tumbled far away like a pair of rolling gourds.

"Ding..." Nanmen Luo’s third Green Wood Arrow finally met Dark Night Meteor, but again, it dissolved into dust.

"Boom..." The Cold Light Sword struck the spot where Nanmen Luo and Mu Yun had just lain, thundering loudly. The stone plaza before the Grand Hall was smashed into a deep pit.

"You still have strength to run, ugly-faced brat," Meng Lu’s face took on a mocking look, like a cat toying with mice. His savage expression was full of amusement as he stared at his battered juniors.

But Meng Lu failed to notice that the pit he had just blasted was slowly repairing itself. While he was speaking, the bottom of the pit had already smoothed into new stone...

"Come now, block my Dark Night Meteor again," Meng Lu commanded the Cold Light Sword, suspending it above Nanmen Luo and Mu Yun’s heads, savoring the moment.

"Buzz buzz..." The sword’s brilliance surged, enveloping Nanmen Luo and Mu Yun.

Suddenly, the sword twisted its direction, transforming into a streak of light that shot toward Tang Wan and Yun Ying on the steps.

"Ugly-faced brat, didn’t you want to save those two little girls? I’ll make you watch as they’re turned to dust before your eyes—boom! Hahaha!" Meng Lu laughed arrogantly, pointing at Tang Wan and Yun Ying in the distance, determined to kill in a way that would bring him the most pleasure.