Chapter 146: Long Xiaoyun Has Arrived

"Kunlun Sect, Diancang Sect, Huashan Sect..."

Gu Qing flipped through various secret manuals.

Lin Xian'er, perhaps due to her poor origins, feared poverty so much that whenever others had something, she insisted on having it too; after entering the martial world, she used her title as the Number One Beauty to extract massive gold coins from wealthy heroes through paid props.

As for poor comrades, if Lin Xian'er took a liking to them, she'd let them enjoy themselves too.

The various secret manuals Gu Qing now held were all dropped by wealthy heroes.

Yet most of these manuals contained only mid- to high-level sect techniques, not the sects' most secret, unparalleled skills; after reading through them, Gu Qing merely broadened his martial understanding.

"Put them away."

After finishing, Gu Qing returned the manuals to Lin Xian'er.

Lin Xian'er noticed Gu Qing had merely glanced at them, showing no greed; when she looked at him, her eyes carried a hint of seduction.

Gu Qing, ungreedy for wealth and immensely powerful, was precisely the ideal partner for Lin Xian'er—too bad he had no interest in her.

"Grandmaster Gu, what kind of woman do you like?"

Lin Xian'er wanted to shift tactics and seduce him again.

"A beautiful woman with charm."

Gu Qing said: "Either utterly good, or utterly evil."

Lin Xian'er's gaze shifted. "What about me?"

Lin Xian'er felt she, as a wicked woman, was thoroughly evil enough.

"You're thoroughly rotten."

Gu Qing gave a blunt evaluation.

Lin Xian'er's face turned icy with frost; she had never been insulted like this before.

Pushing open the inn's door, Gu Qing stepped out to find Jing Wuming already standing before it, his gray-white eyes filled with deathly stillness, and his gaze toward Gu Qing brimming with lethal intent.

Gu Qing acted as if he saw nothing, walking straight ahead.

"Was it you who suggested riding horses?"

Jing Wuming asked coldly.

The duel between Shangguan JinHong and Li Xunhuan had ended, exactly as Gu Qing had foreseen: when Guo Songyang arrived on horseback before Shangguan JinHong and proposed changing the duel's location, Shangguan JinHong's face had turned ashen.

Shangguan JinHong demanded absolute certainty before acting; he meticulously investigated every life Li Xunhuan's flying dagger had taken before daring to strike. Suddenly changing the location, and Guo Songyang riding a horse to exhaust his strength—Shangguan JinHong naturally refused.

So Shangguan JinHong ordered Jing Wuming to kill Lin Xian'er.

Gu Qing couldn't help laughing. "Didn't you notice how absurdly overpowered the weakness is—to always walk everywhere?"

But there was no help; this was Shangguan JinHong's design.

On the surface, Shangguan JinHong and Jing Wuming moved in perfect sync, exuding immense prestige—but walking everywhere on foot was simply too slow.

Someone like that roaming the martial world would eventually be worn out and killed.

Jing Wuming gripped his sword hilt.

Gu Qing finally restrained his smile and stepped forward toward Jing Wuming.

In this world, Afei was temporarily incapacitated; Jing Wuming's swift sword was peerless, capable of reversing his blade after passing an opponent to strike them from behind. In the original duel, Guo Songyang replaced Li Xunhuan, encountered Shangguan JinHong and Jing Wuming, realized he couldn't escape, fought Jing Wuming, and died in his hands.

Ten steps!

Five steps!

Jing Wuming suddenly drew his sword, their shadows crossing.

Lin Xian'er saw only Jing Wuming dart forward, appearing behind Gu Qing, while Gu Qing, throughout, walked calmly, his steps gradually receding.

Lin Xian'er looked at Jing Wuming and saw he held only the sword hilt.

In the instant the blade emerged, Gu Qing had used some technique to shear the sword clean off at its base—the blade remained inside the scabbard, while Jing Wuming stood frozen, gripping only the hilt.

Lin Xian'er subtly shrank back, realizing Gu Qing's move had just saved her life.

Though Gu Qing had just called her a rotten waste, Lin Xian'er sincerely thanked him.

"Still able to harvest good karma from Lin Xian'er..."

After sensing the good karma, Gu Qing smiled; after the Legend of Lu Xiaofeng, his martial arts had gradually reached the pinnacle. In this world of The Merciful Swordsman, only Shangguan JinHong and Li Xunhuan were worth his effort, so he chose to be a benefactor here, accumulating good karma, hoping to uncover Shangguan JinHong's secret manuals and test whether he could catch Li's Flying Dagger.

Gu Qing possessed many manuals—he needed to refine the Hunyuan Qi Gong and Dragon Elephant Power, the Infinite Yoga Secret Transmission was boundless, and he still hadn't fully integrated the teachings passed down by the old man Wu Ming, nor had he connected all his meridians into one unified whole.

Gu Qing felt no anxiety, advancing steadily; each sunrise marked his new peak.

Maple Forest Town.

When Gu Qing returned, Li Xunhuan and Guo Songyang were drinking, with the little girl Lin Lingling beside Li Xunhuan.

"Too bad you didn't see Shangguan JinHong's face."

Seeing Gu Qing return, Guo Songyang immediately recounted the scene.

Shangguan JinHong, usually stern and intimidating, had collapsed in expression the moment Guo Songyang proposed the location change.

Riding a horse to confront Shangguan JinHong—if this rumor spread through the martial world, it would shatter his prestige.

Gu Qing looked at Li Xunhuan. "You saw how Shangguan JinHong and Jing Wuming walk, right?"

Li Xunhuan nodded.

Shangguan JinHong and Jing Wuming moved in perfect harmony; no one in the world could survive their combined assault—Li Xunhuan knew this well.

"So didn't I just save your life?"

Gu Qing asked seriously.

"Cough, cough..."

Li Xunhuan coughed repeatedly—he instantly recalled Gu Qing's obsession: saving Li Xunhuan's life so Li would give up Lin Shiyin.

"You simply don't understand what happened back then..."

Li Xunhuan didn't want to revisit the past—it was a wound in his heart, barely scabbed over, yet Gu Qing kept poking at it.

Lin Shiyin would weep from the poking.

Li Xunhuan bled inwardly.

"If you mention Shiyin again, don't blame me for ending our friendship."

Li Xunhuan muttered.

"Oh..."

Gu Qing nodded, unconcerned.

Li Xunhuan could no longer drink; he stood up, bid farewell to Guo Songyang, who understood perfectly—every time Gu Qing appeared, the drinking stopped.

Li Xunhuan left Gu Qing behind and walked with Lin Lingling down the street, when suddenly he glimpsed the blurred figure of Zhongyuan Eight Righteousness and Tie Chuanjia; he abandoned Lin Lingling and chased after them, only to be ambushed by Zhongyuan Eight Righteousness and Hu BuFeng.

After Li Xunhuan was captured, Long Xiaoyun emerged, radiant and beaming, rushing forward to seize Li Xunhuan's hand. "Xunhuan! I knew you'd come! I've already prepared a feast to welcome you! We haven't seen each other in years—tonight we must drink deeply!"

This trap had been set by Long Xiaoyun behind the scenes.

Seeing Long Xiaoyun, Li Xunhuan shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Big Brother, if you wanted to see me, just send word—I'd come. Why go through all this trouble?"

Long Xiaoyun had thick skin, completely immune to Li Xunhuan's veiled barbs; he gripped Li's hands tightly, professed brotherly affection on the surface.

"Are you Long Xiaoyun?"

Gu Qing's voice came from outside; when he arrived, he brought Lin Lingling with him, just parted from Li Xunhuan.

Long Xiaoyun turned, looked at Gu Qing, his expression grave. "Xunhuan, is this another one of your friends?"

With Hu BuFeng and Zhongyuan Eight Righteousness beside him, Long Xiaoyun was utterly calm.

"No, we've severed ties."

Gu Qing stepped forward, clasped Long Xiaoyun's hand tightly. "Long time no meet. Honored."

Gu Qing had long wanted to meet Long Xiaoyun.

(End of Chapter)