Chapter 1086: Heart-Plucking

Aaron had Lang Fantian practice an Internal Energy technique, then found a place where no one was around and logged out of the game.

He had purchased one month, which was thirty years of time in the game world, but he could, of course, log off at any time during his play.

At this moment, he ordered takeout, and not long after, a delivery drone dropped the meal in from his balcony.

Opening it to look, the braised pork rice bowl was perfect in color, aroma, and taste, and the flavor was quite good, yet it was full of artificiality.

Clearly, this was not the work of a human chef, but a product of mechanized production.

Aaron shoveled a mouthful of rice, felt the taste was good, then set it aside and logged into the player forum for *Sword Moving the Jianghu*.

On the forum, a few posts would always appear sporadically, only to be deleted very quickly.

Since they were a Breaker, then no matter what shocking light-body technique they displayed, it could be understood.

He was an old hand in the Jianghu, and his body reacted subconsciously—sheathing his blade and retreating!

In the martial arts world, competitive Martial Artists were everywhere, but true martial arts experts all knew that defense and escape were even more important!

Duan Hong was just such a person; he retreated without losing his composure, his wrists moving like the wind, a slash to the left, a slash to the right, a slash above, a slash below, defending all four sides so that not even a drop of water could get through—truly, his methods were rigorous!

This was a common tactic used by villains of major factions, which could ultimately even achieve the effect of subduing the enemy without fighting.

However, Yuan Yuexin was different!

She had truly fallen in love with that high-level NPC, then used every trick in the book to pursue them, and in the end, the lovers were finally united.

On the imperial road, a black horse drifted over like a dark cloud.

Aaron looked over and discovered that, at some unknown time, a straw shed had appeared nearby, and Dugu Jian was sitting in meditation under the shed, practicing internal martial arts.

"Internal Energy!"

Aaron stopped his horse and laughed: "And who might you be?"

But the opponent thrust a sword straight through the center, which was actually a suicidal style of fighting!

Wrong!

The two walked out of the mountains and wilderness, identified their direction, and began their journey.

He thought for a moment and asked a question.

Leiyu Hall was just a local gang, so this was even more the case.

Aaron dismounted leisurely, carrying his iron sword: "Since Hall Master Duan knows we have already decided to leave Qingzhou, why must you be so aggressive?"

"Big Brother, Big Brother, you're finally online!"

……

Then, he constructed a series of psychological offensives to mess with the enemy's state of mind.

Aaron's eyes lit up; clearly, in these short ten-plus days, Dugu Jian had actually managed to cultivate an entry-level mastery!

But this was also quite normal.

"I didn't!" Dugu Jian replied blankly.

Yuan Yuexin wrote at the end: "It was me being stupid, me being foolish... The game company flatly denied the matter, and I have no evidence to sue them... But I choose not to play; I have already deleted my account. The Jianghu road is long, goodbye everyone!"

In any case, he did not need to sleep, and he did not even need to eat or drink.

Aaron adjusted his breath for a moment, opened his eyes, and said.

He had been killed by his own blade and Internal Energy……

Aaron vibrated his Internal Energy, and the scabbard flew out automatically.

The Dragon Tiger List was a ranking of martial arts experts in the Jianghu, equivalent to the list of righteous giants, corresponding to the Six Gates' Black List.

Aaron also drew his long sword and began to dance it about casually.

"We haven't even fought yet, how do you know you can't beat me?"

"Did the killers from Leiyu Hall not come?"

Like a slingshot firing, a turtle dove on the opposite treetop let out a sharp cry and fell from the branch, with a few feathers still drifting in mid-air.

The scorching sun could almost ignite the hair on one's body, making one feel as if the entire skin on the back of their hands was burning.

Cold sweat streamed down Duan Hong's forehead; he felt he had encountered an unprecedentedly strong enemy! His expression was extremely grave!

Duan Hong, who founded Leiyu Hall, had once been on the list for a short period; although he was at the very bottom, he was still famous in Yuanding, and once he established his gang, countless people came to join him, bringing their own provisions.

He looked over with dissatisfaction and immediately shut his mouth.

But after only a few seconds, the post disappeared; clearly, someone on the forum was controlling the narrative.

Situ Zhaixin nodded and admitted it directly: "It was me... I am preparing to go to Xuanjing to steal a treasure called the 'Nine Dragons Shadow Wall'. It contains Qianbukong's criminal data. The source code for the *Sword Moving the Jianghu* game company was borrowed directly from large corporations, and their technicians are too incompetent; even if they delete the data, traces will remain……"

Duan Hong could perceive that his blade had slowed by a fraction because of the feint; if this continued, the opponent would definitely thrust their sword into his throat, while he would at most manage to hack off the enemy's shoulder!

The next moment, Duan Hong only felt that his Broken Jade blade, which had been as responsive as his own arm, was suddenly struck and lost some control; the blade turned back and grazed his own throat.

Aaron continued reading and found the process quite comedic.

【The worlds are full of endless joy!】

Once one stepped onto the imperial road and bought a horse, this left traces.

Dugu Jian excitedly grabbed a few pebbles and flicked his fingers repeatedly.

Being able to live in a hut in the wilderness for over half a month was indeed quite impressive.

"You are very smart!"

Dugu Jian was just about to praise him loudly, but a woman beat him to it.

Leiyu Hall's current influence relied heavily on this person's contributions!

"No need, we should go!"

It was already the year 2077, so as long as it was consensual, there was nothing more to say.

Duan Hong swung his great saber: "This blade is named—Broken Jade. Please!"

【Demon Sect Elder: Morons... Without key data, even the courts can't judge it! The game company is biased toward their executives, trash!】

But the next moment, a Sword Light pierced through the fleeting flaw in his transition between moves!

Duan Hong was greatly alarmed and performed a lazy donkey roll to barely dodge it; when he touched his back, he found a huge tear had been ripped open, with fresh blood seeping out.

Aaron ignored him, and the two rode their horses all the way, leaving the territory of Yuanding City.

Don't look at those wuxia novels where every sect and faction is simply heaven-defying, some claiming to have branch halls wherever money circulates, or holding territory wherever the sunlight reaches.

Clip-clop!

A joyful shout from Dugu Jian immediately came from the side.

Aaron did, however, think a little higher of the other person.

"Good swordsmanship!"

So in ancient Jianghu stories, those great villains being so powerful and their intelligence networks and influence being so outrageous... it's actually all just bullshit!

It is just to scare the opponent to death, or at the very least, scare them half to death so they lose their fighting spirit.

He sheathed his saber, sighed in admiration, turned around, and left.

If he had retreated even one step slower, and the opponent's blade had dropped just a few fractions lower, the outcome would have been an immediate bisection at the waist!

"Duan has killed countless people in his life and committed every evil, but I have never betrayed my brothers... I even swore an oath that whoever spills my brothers' blood, even if they flee to the ends of the earth, I will kill them! Hearing news of you this time, I rode for three days straight, without eating or drinking, just to finally intercept you!"

But as for this kind of thing, as long as one is willing to hit and the other is willing to be hit, no one goes to investigate.

Various virtual reality games have strict underlying rules, some of which are difficult for even the game officials to modify.

As long as you are willing to dive into the deep mountains and old forests to live like a savage, even the Emperor can do nothing to you!

Dugu Jian swallowed his saliva: "I feel like as long as your Internal Energy goes up, Brother, the Jianghu Dragon Tiger List will be yours for the taking!"

Players come to play the game, not to be played by the game; they cannot really be stuck for that long, otherwise the company won't be able to make a living if they quit the game.

The reason they could track Aaron and his companion's whereabouts before was because after they wiped out the Zhang Family, they headed toward Yuanding City, all along official roads where they could be spotted by informants.

"This sword is named Overturned Water!"

Crossing Dingzhou, one can reach the current capital of the world—Xuanjing!

The sun hung high.

Seeing Aaron come online at this moment, he looked excited: "I've been waiting for you for over half a month..."

……

The big man in purple clothes and a black robe dismounted and slowly untied the heavy saber on his back: "I am Duan Hong... Hall Master of Leiyu Hall! Originally, you killing a Disciple of our hall was just a small matter... but later you wiped out a team of Protectors and assassins, so I cannot let you live!"

【Situ Zhaixin: Qianbukong, you remember this, if Heaven won't take you, I will!】

With the miserable transportation and communication conditions of ancient times, once you leave the city, it is just vast stretches of wilderness...

Aaron was quick-eyed and nimble-handed, clicking on one:

【I am 'Yuan Yuexin', reporting 'Sword Moving the Jianghu' game executives for fraud and sexual misconduct!】

It turns out this Heroine Yuan had no intention of upholding justice, but was instead a love-struck fool who entered the wuxia Jianghu to fall in love and even took a fancy to a dashing high-level NPC!

"The once 'Ghost Fear' of the Dragon Tiger List?"

Unless one has an expert perform an empowerment (with maxed-out Divine Attribute of Fortune), one can only swallow heavenly treasures (purchased via top-ups).

"Pity, the Internal Energy is ultimately a bit shallow..."

Pfft, pfft!

Aaron strolled leisurely, suddenly thrusting his sword out, and amidst the saber light that was as fast as a fleeting shadow, he tapped lightly on the back of Duan Hong's saber: "My Internal Energy is lacking, but you have Internal Energy!"

【Situ Zhaixin: Sister, don't give up... I will help you!】

After seven steps, he suddenly fell to the ground, blood spilling from his throat...

In over half a month, for Leiyu Hall to catch Dugu Jian... unless they mobilized all the surrounding villagers and hunters to conduct a dragnet search of the mountains... that is clearly impossible!

"Brother, look!"

And Dugu Jian's anti-reconnaissance awareness was clearly not very good either.

On the back of the horse sat a middle-aged man.

But in reality...

"It's me!"

Swish, swish!

The opponent had a pair of fox eyes, a chin full of curly whiskers, wore purple clothes with a black robe over them, and carried a thick-backed heavy saber on his back.

It can also be called psychological warfare.

The two had completely left the territory of Yuanding City, and there was not much road left before leaving Qingzhou.

Duan Hong's eyes narrowed; he had long known from scouts that Lang Fantian possessed extremely exquisite Swordsmanship, most adept at avoiding the solid to strike the void, and waiting for the exhausted by staying rested!

Swish!

He shifted his feet, and the heavy Jade-Breaking Saber in his hand felt almost weightless as he slashed out three times in an instant.

"Good swordsmanship!"

Some people even settle down and start families in the game, with descendants totaling over a thousand... among them are many high-level NPCs, and the most ridiculous thing is that in some unscrupulous games, gender can still be adjusted...

First a small dot, then it grew larger and larger.

【Situ Zhaixin: Shared, hang in there, sister!】

Accompanied by the still cheerful sound, Aaron had already arrived in a desolate wilderness.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from behind.

Aaron sheathed his sword and sighed.

Even if he were talented and peerless, and his Internal Energy entered the path in a day, accumulation was a big problem.

Below was a thread of posts.

"True..." Aaron smiled at himself.

Everyone on the list is a top-tier expert.

Dugu Jian only saw that between the swings of Aaron's blade, leaves drifted down from the sky, dancing like butterflies along with the three-foot-long green blade, and he couldn't help but exclaim in shock: "Controlling a sword with Qi?!"

At the beginning, it looked quite beautiful, didn't it?

Dugu Jian felt that his first life was about to be given up here: "Big Brother... we can't beat him!"

Below the post, there were many replies from enthusiastic netizens, and the popularity was very high.

Making a living, it's nothing to be ashamed of!

As long as a player is willing to put in the hard work, memorize the human body's Meridians map, identify the acupoints, and have a Secret manual, ten days to get started is the average standard.

Only when he got closer did Dugu Jian see that the horse had a coat of black hair all over, without a single strand of mixed color, yet its four hooves were pure white; it was a famous horse—Cloud-Treading Snow!

Once on the player forum, someone had offered 7,000 Alliance Currency to buy it!

……

Even in some remote small towns, given the tragic lack of realism in the portraits on the Wanted Orders, it was truly difficult to find someone who looked exactly the same; instead, a pile of wrongful cases was more like it.

It seemed that after offending the other party, even the air would turn against you, always able to precisely track down the protagonist and hunt them to the ends of the earth.

However, the identity of the Blue Star citizen 'Aaron' required regular consumption of water and food; otherwise, it would look very strange in the big data.

Aaron smiled slightly and simply returned a sword strike!

These three blade strikes from Duan Hong were feints, intended to test Aaron's background.

It was rare to have such a thick thigh to cling to, so he still intended to hold on.

"Where to?" Dugu Jian asked, eager to try: "Yuanding City?"

A woman was seen moving with light footwork, like a startled swan fairy, stepping on a silk ribbon, walking through the air, and with a sudden, nimble leap, she landed on a treetop like a fairy from the Moon Palace dancing.

Fortunately, the clash of blade and sword just a moment ago also made him suddenly realize one thing—the other party's Internal Energy was insufficient!

He was an expert who had once been on the Dragon Tiger List, with extremely fast reflexes; he immediately changed his strategy, using a set of Disordered Cloak Blade Technique, simple and unadorned, not rushing to strike, but instead forcing the other party into a contest of Internal Energy or a war of attrition!

That wasn't the key! The key was... this player only had a nickname—Situ Zhaixin!

The rest of the account information was completely blank!

——Breaker!

"Good Lightness Skill!"

Aaron recounted the matter of Yuan Yuexin, and Dugu Jian listened with righteous indignation: "Damn... that guy surnamed Qian is too evil, let's go... let's go to Xuanjing and mess him up!"

The person who posted was a female player calling herself 'Yuan Yuexin', who also had her own game snapshots and nickname account, which looked quite authentic.

Seeing Aaron and Dugu Jian, her eyes lit up, and she shouted: "Are you the Sword of Talisman Water, Lang Fantian?"

Aaron gave a faint comment, looked at today's news, and then logged back into the game.

"Interesting!"

Three days later!

"No... we are going to Xuanjing, a major event has happened there!"

【Big Shrimp Dongfang: Support the OP! Don't be a coward, fight the game company!】

"But later... I discovered that I had fallen into a trap... Qianbukong, an executive of 'Sword Moving the Jianghu', directly fired the original high-level NPC temporary worker and played that high-level NPC himself... Later, I discovered the clues, and he even lied that he had encountered a Breaker and bought a Past-Life Pill to recover his memory... I believed him, continued to foolishly love him, and even transferred money to him offline... If I hadn't accidentally overheard him letting it slip once, I wouldn't have known I was so stupid!"

Aaron sheathed his sword and asked with a smile: "Are you that Situ Zhaixin from the forum who is preparing to find trouble with Qianbukong? What do you plan to do?"

Aaron refreshed a few more times and found that the post was being forwarded one after another, having a bit of the flavor of an unsinkable lonely island.

Moreover, having just acquired Internal Energy, he did indeed need a process of living in seclusion to practice in closed-door meditation.

"Big Brother, shall I buy you a Small Restoration Pill?"

Otherwise, the entire virtual world would collapse...

Clearly, the 'Nine Dragons Shadow Wall' belonged to the 'indestructible' category of items, which even a GM couldn't delete!

(End of this chapter)