First Encounter with the Wuji Sword Sect

Ye Qiang glanced over and saw the blue-haired girl, dressed in a thin light green robe, looking extremely tense. Behind her were two long-haired youths, both injured.

One of the youths was very tall, with a smear of fresh blood still at the corner of his mouth, indicating he had been wounded not long ago.

The other had a cross-shaped scar on his face and was sitting on a large rock, his deep eyes locked onto Ye Qiang with a gaze that seemed filled with enmity.

Upon first meeting these three, Ye Qiang quickly deduced that they were most likely members of the Wuji Sword Sect.

A sense of foreboding washed over him.

From the response of his Qi Dan, Ye Qiang could tell that all three of them were stronger than him, being at the third stage of the Bronze rank. The Qi Dan was a natural cell formed in the body of a cultivator once they entered the Bronze stage. It could store vast amounts of spiritual energy and sense the presence of other cultivators within a certain range, depending on one's strength.

Ye Qiang hadn't sensed any cultivators when he first entered the cave, but as he moved deeper, he faintly began to sense their presence. Their Qi Dan range was greater than his, so by the time he became aware of them, they were already ready to strike, making his capture inevitable.

"Please don't be impulsive, miss!" Ye Qiang said calmly, despite the sword pressed to his throat. "I mean no harm."

"The beasts outside are too many. I had no choice but to take refuge in this cave. If I have offended you in any way, please forgive me," he continued.

The blue-haired girl, holding the sword, glared at him. "Look at your clothes. You're clearly from the Blood Sword Sect. My master always said that no one from your sect is trustworthy."

"Junior Sister, kill him!" the scar-faced youth sitting on the rock snarled.

What the hell? What did I do to deserve this? I just met them and already they want me dead! And that so-called master of theirs, no good person either! Ye Qiang cursed inwardly.

Feigning a hurt expression, he said, "Senior Brother, I think you've misunderstood me."

"I'm just here to complete a sect mission. I have no intention of causing any offense!"

The blue-haired girl spoke up, "This person's cultivation is only at the second stage of the Bronze rank. He poses no threat to us. How about I keep an eye on him while you two recover? Once your injuries are better, we can take him back to our sect."

"I agree with Junior Sister," the tall injured youth said, stepping forward to support her suggestion.

"If you say so, Junior Sister, then I'll trust your judgment and make sure he doesn't escape," the scar-faced youth said, his voice tinged with affection for the girl.

"Thank you for showing mercy, Miss. I am deeply grateful," Ye Qiang said politely to the blue-haired girl.

"Hmph, my master has ordered that anyone from the Blood Sword Sect should be killed. My two senior brothers were injured by your sect, so don't try anything funny!" the girl threatened coldly.

After delivering her threat, she took Ye Qiang's weapon, bound his hands behind his back with a chain, and ignored him.

She then moved to the cave entrance to stand guard, protecting her two brothers.

Just as Ye Qiang had guessed, these three youths were indeed members of the Wuji Sword Sect. Like Ye Qiang, they were on a sect mission to slay the Savage Wolf King and obtain its beast heart.

However, during their search for the Savage Wolf King, they encountered members of the Blood Sword Sect, and a small skirmish broke out. After being injured, they were caught in an unexpected wave of magical beasts, and in the chaos, they were forced to flee.

The two brothers of the blue-haired girl had been injured during this minor battle.

"Looking at the situation, it seems the beast we're after has already been found and killed by someone else. We've arrived too late," said the scar-faced youth sitting on the rock.

"Hmph..."

"It's all because of those damn Blood Sword Sect disciples."

"If it weren't for them,"

"We would have completed our mission already," the tall youth said, his frustration evident.

The tall youth then cast a displeased glance at Ye Qiang.

After hearing their conversation, Ye Qiang realized that these people were also here to kill the Savage Wolf King and obtain its beast heart. He was now even more certain that they were from the Wuji Sword Sect.

Fortunately, they didn't know that the beast heart they were searching for was currently in his possession. Ye Qiang couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.

As the injuries of the two Wuji Sword Sect youths gradually healed, Ye Qiang began to sense that his situation was becoming more and more dangerous.

What awaited him if they took him back to the Wuji Sword Sect?

Would he be dismembered slowly?

Or executed on the spot?

No, he couldn't just sit back and wait for his death—he had to find a way to escape.

So, when the two injured youths weren't paying attention, Ye Qiang tried to increase the force in his hands, attempting to snap the delicate green chain that bound his wrists.

After using all his strength and failing to break the chain, Ye Qiang couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment.

"You can stop wasting your energy," said the tall youth smugly. "With your cultivation, even if you had a whole day, you wouldn't be able to break the chain that's been infused with spiritual energy."

"Just accept your fate."

Ye Qiang realized from their words that what they said was true, so he stopped struggling. But his mind was racing, desperately trying to come up with an escape plan.

Meanwhile, the blue-haired girl, whose scent mixed with a faint fragrance, walked past Ye Qiang.

Seeing that the injuries of her two senior brothers had healed, she said to them, "The beasts outside have all left."

"How about we take this Blood Sword Sect disciple back to the sect now and leave him to our master's handling?"

The two youths stood up at the same time and said, "Fine, let's leave this cursed place."

"Junior Sister, this person is in your care."

"Make sure to keep a close watch on him."

"Our master said that on the night of the full moon, August 15th, the Wuji Sword Sect and the Blood Sword Sect will officially go to war. Now that we've entered a semi-war period, if we capture prisoners, the elders of the sect will reward us handsomely."

"And the rewards are quite generous. I heard that if we capture five outer disciples from the Blood Sword Sect, we'll get a middle-grade earth-tier weapon."

"If we capture five inner disciples from the Blood Sword Sect, we'll be rewarded with a high-grade earth-tier weapon. Such weapons are rare, even in our inner sect!" said the tall Wuji Sword Sect youth.

What the hell, am I really so worthless? Am I not even worth a single earth-tier weapon? If I take out the beast heart from the Savage Wolf King right now, you'd probably be scared to death.

Damn it, just thinking about it makes me angry.

Ye Qiang cursed inwardly at these people.