The Flames of War Are Approaching

Inside the Outer Sect Policy Hall, a high-quality beastskin carpet stretched out, with ten rows of Blood Sword Sect's outer disciples dressed in blood-red robes, standing neatly on either side.

There were about a thousand outer disciples in total, and every 100 days, their rankings were reorganized based on their strength.

At this moment, Ye Qiang stood on the left side of the carpet, in the sixth row, tenth from the back. Behind him stood a petite girl with fair skin and long hair.

Although she was positioned toward the back of the crowd, the girl often drew the attention of many young men, some of whom were secretly swallowing their saliva as they admired her.

This girl was Lei Qingqing.

From the memories of the previous owner of this body, Mo Xian, Ye Qiang learned that Mo Xian had once helped this girl complete a task on her sheepskin scroll. This had led to Li Zhi, a haughty disciple with a mole at the corner of his eye, wrongly assuming that Mo Xian was trying to seduce his fiancée. As a result, Li Zhi lured Mo Xian into the bamboo forest and taught him a harsh lesson.

"Mo Xian, I can't thank you enough for helping me with that complicated task on the sheepskin scroll," Lei Qingqing whispered, leaning close to Ye Qiang's ear.

"It's nothing, Qingqing. You don't need to be so polite," Ye Qiang replied.

Just as Ye Qiang was about to say something else to Lei Qingqing, the girl suddenly asked, "Mo Xian, I heard you were bullied by that Li Zhi because of me, is that true?"

"Heh, where did you hear that from? Who could possibly bully me, your brother Mo Xian?" Ye Qiang answered without a second thought.

"Well... if there's nothing else, it's better if we don't interact too much in the future," Lei Qingqing said with a troubled expression, her words vague.

Although Lei Qingqing had entered a sect that was officially recognized as an evil faction, she was still young and kind-hearted. The reason she said that to Ye Qiang was because she didn't want anyone to be hurt because of her.

Ye Qiang, with his experience from two lifetimes, was quite sharp and mature, despite his appearance as a 20-year-old. He could easily read people's emotions, and Lei Qingqing's thoughts were no mystery to him. However, he didn't want to expose her intentions directly.

"Junior sister, what's wrong? Is there something you're not telling me?" Ye Qiang asked, pretending to be surprised.

"No, it's not like that... It's just..." Lei Qingqing hesitated.

"Is it because of Li Zhi?" Ye Qiang cut to the chase when he saw Lei Qingqing struggling to find the right words.

Lei Qingqing nodded silently and said nothing more. In the days since Mo Xian's punishment by Li Zhi, Lei Qingqing had been harassed by Li Zhi every day.

Though she deeply disliked Li Zhi, she felt she couldn't offend him, and she felt extremely wronged.

At this moment, a young man in the fifth row, position 85, with a mole at the corner of his eye, was glaring at Ye Qiang with fury. This person was Li Zhi, the one who had severely injured Mo Xian.

In Li Zhi's mind, Lei Qingqing had long been his betrothed, and he would not allow anyone to get close to her, even with a simple word.

Ever since he entered the hall, Li Zhi's eyes had never left Lei Qingqing. However, Lei Qingqing remained unaware of this.

When Li Zhi saw Ye Qiang laughing and talking with the girl he considered his fiancée, his heart was filled with resentment.

What was Mo Xian, after all? He had no identity, no background, and his strength was far inferior to his own. Yet, he had managed to gain his fiancée's favor. Li Zhi was enraged!

After a short while, an imposing elder with a full head of silver hair walked in from the entrance of the Policy Hall, accompanied by a bearded, bald elder. The bearded elder seemed to be slightly weaker in terms of presence, and behind him were several young elders following closely.

"Disciple Cai Jianming," "Disciple Gou Panwei," "Disciple Lin Feng," "Disciple Ge Hong," "Disciple Liao Yulong," "Disciple Jin Wenwen," and so on.

"Greetings, Grand Elder, and all the Elders,"

As the outer sect elders entered the Policy Hall, the top ten outer sect disciples in the front row clasped their fists and greeted them.

The rest of the outer disciples followed suit and greeted the elders, "Greetings, Grand Elder, and all the Elders."

After the sudden arrival of the elders and their respective positions, all the outer disciples straightened up. Over a thousand disciples were now fixated on the elders, waiting for what was to come.

"The reason I have gathered all of you here today is to investigate a matter that poses a serious threat to the safety of our sect, one that could even determine the survival of the Blood Sword Sect. The inner sect elders are deeply concerned and have urged us to identify the cause of this matter as soon as possible," spoke a young seated elder.

Upon finishing his words, the young elder stood up amidst the admiring gazes of the crowd.

Relishing the respectful attention of over a thousand disciples, he said with great authority, "I'm sure everyone here is aware of the fire that broke out in the bamboo forest a few days ago. Does anyone know where exactly the fire started?"

After asking, the young elder surveyed the crowd of over a thousand disciples but found that none of them spoke up.

He then asked, "In that case, could the disciples who were in the bamboo forest that day step forward?"

Upon hearing this, around twenty disciples dressed in blood-red robes stood up, including Ye Qiang and Li Zhi.

The young seated elder fixed his gaze on the twenty disciples like a spotlight. After clearing his throat, he spoke sternly, "You all are the elite disciples of our sect, and we've always treated you well. Now, outside our sect, lawless criminals have the audacity to set fire and provoke us. If we don't uncover the reason behind this and bring them to justice, how can our sect maintain its dignity? To the disciples here, did any of you see anyone suspicious that day?"

The twenty disciples in blood-red robes all replied in unison, "Reporting to the Elder, no."

"Did anyone notice anything strange?" the young elder asked again.

"Reporting to the Elder, no," came the response once more.

The young elder, looking disappointed, turned to the silver-haired elder behind him and sighed in helplessness. Eventually, he returned to his position.

The silver-haired elder, seemingly expecting this outcome, took a deep breath to calm himself. He then waved his hand toward the twenty disciples, signaling them to return to their places.

"I will get to the bottom of this matter one day," the silver-haired elder said solemnly.

With the tension dissipating, the silver-haired elder then addressed all the outer disciples again, "Now, I have some good news to share."

"Our sect leader will soon emerge from seclusion and has accepted challenges from the Shura Sword Sect, the Fumo Sword Sect, and the Wujian Sword Sect."

"Not long from now, our sect leader will lead us in a united battle with the Dark Sword Sect against the three major sword sects. The battlefield will be at the border between our Blood Sword Sect and the Shura Sword Sect, at Willow Leaf City. All disciples are expected to participate in this battle."

"What? All disciples have to participate?"

"Ah, this is great!"

"This is the perfect opportunity to make a name for ourselves!"

"I'm so looking forward to it!"

"We must seize this chance to earn achievements for our sect!"

After the grand announcement by the seated elder, some Blood Sword Sect disciples began to discuss among themselves.

Ye Qiang, too, was lost in thought, pondering the upcoming events.