Li Yuan stood on the street for a while, and soon a disciple of the Blood Saber Sect came around the corner on horseback, saying, "Senior Brother, the Sect Leader is in the Blood Fury Hall, please go quickly."

Saying this, the disciple leapt off his horse, about to hand the horse over to him.

Li Yuan waved his hand and said, "I'd rather walk."

The disciple handed the horse to someone else, then dismounted and led Li Yuan through the street toward the core area of Silver Creek.

For various reasons, it was Li Yuan's first time visiting this core area. As he walked, he surveyed his surroundings.

The core area of the Blood Saber Sect was like a city within a city. The towering walls and iron gates first hinted at this, and, in addition, there were Black Armored Soldiers patrolling with spears on the walls.

The four-corner watchtowers and wall fortresses were packed with people, clearly stationed with soldiers.

These soldiers were different from ordinary people; their eyes were somewhat vacant, yet their entire being radiated a cold, unapproachable demeanor, like machines that only knew how to execute orders without fear of death.

Inspection at the city gate was extremely strict. It was impossible to enter unless one's identity was verified.

Li Yuan walked to the gate, looked up at the words "Blood Saber Sect" written prominently at the center of the gate. The lettering appeared newer compared to the walls, suggesting the inner city might not have been built by the Blood Saber Sect but was merely changing hands as the banner waved.

Meanwhile, the disciple had already completed his entry registration. After finishing, the disciple stood outside the gate, smiling, "Senior Brother Li, please head in by yourself."

Li Yuan said, "You're not leading the way?"

The disciple smiled, "In the Inner Sect, ordinary disciples need a summons to enter freely; you can go in by yourself, Senior Brother."

Li Yuan glanced at the "21~23" above his head and asked, "What is your name?"

The disciple was momentarily stunned, then replied, "Senior Brother, my name is Tian Feng."

Li Yuan said, "Thanks for leading the way, Junior Brother Tian."

Tian Feng hurriedly returned the gesture.

Li Yuan turned around and stepped into the Blood Saber Sect, or rather, Blood Saber City.

Upon entering the city, he was slightly astonished.

The entire Blood Saber City wasn't large. A sweep of both sides easily revealed the corners.

But compared to before his crossing, the shantytown was akin to an old community, Baiyun Alley was like a normal community, and this place could entirely be called a villa district.

Large houses, spacious courtyards were everywhere to be seen.

The environment outside the houses was also elegantly designed; on the east side of the city, there were no city walls, bordering Silver Creek, and along the creek were pavilions and terraces, where one could vaguely see some beautiful ladies playing and boating by the creek.

The picture was harmonious and tranquil, completely different from the chaos outside, like a paradise on earth.

Looking closer, you could see rocks protruding beyond the lake, linked by iron chains as thick as a child's arm in several layers of interception.

The iron chains swayed with the wind, occasionally floating up and down on the water, emitting a slight dull clang, reflecting cold metallic glints in the sunlight.

It could be said that even if the Red Lotus Thieves breached Shanbao County and Silver Creek, this place would remain unscathed.

While Li Yuan was looking around, a woman's voice came from a short distance.

"Junior Brother, come quickly, we're waiting for you."

Li Yuan looked up to see a woman in a Blood-Edged Profound Robe smiling at him in the sunlight. The woman's physique was strong, her face full of flesh, with a scar on her left cheek near the mouth. From certain angles, it looked as if the scar connected to her mouth, making her appear somewhat intimidating.

She carried a Ghost Head Blade on her back, with the numbers "72~80" floating by her side.

Unlike ordinary Blood-Edged Profound Robes, this one had an additional layer of white markings on the edges, seemingly indicating that the person wearing the robe was different from ordinary disciples.

"May I know your name, Senior Sister?" Li Yuan asked politely.

"Inner Sect Disciple, Zhao Chunxin."

The woman cupped her fists and spoke. She was very polite too, not displaying any contempt despite the fact that this Junior Brother was Ninth Grade.

"Senior Sister Zhao," Li Yuan returned the salute.

The woman smiled, "We belong to the same sect, we should get closer in the future."

Li Yuan replied, "Naturally."

They did not speak further and quickly arrived at a pavilion in the center of Blood Saber City, one after the other.

Upon entering, Li Yuan immediately saw the white-robed man sitting in the center. The man had a full beard and carried a sword, appearing very formidable. His Blood-Edged White Robe stood out among the many Blood-Edged Profound Robes.

This was Tie Sha.

The numbers "215~235" floated by Tie Sha's side, the highest numbers on the scene.

To his left sat a rather androgynous and handsome man, Yu Chaoyin.

The numbers floating next to Yu Chaoyin were the second highest on the scene, "210~225".

Below them were three high-backed chairs, one of which was empty, while the other two were occupied by men, and Master Li was unexpectedly among them.

On the other side were four high-backed chairs, with even one unoccupied, while the other three were occupied by two men and one woman.

Nearby, more than twenty disciples were standing.

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, Junior Brother Li has already been brought here." Zhao Chunxin finished her greeting and stood among the disciples to the side.

Tie Sha picked his nose and looked at Li Yuan with interest, suddenly asking, "Kid, did you encounter an ambush?"

Li Yuan replied, "Reporting to the Sect Leader, I encountered two Ninth Grades, one archer, all of whom I killed... It's just that I got a bit injured myself, so I hid to recuperate. I only came out when things calmed down."

Saying this, he took out two ancient "Wei" character tokens from his bosom, respectfully handed them over to prove he wasn't lying.

Tie Sha turned his head to Yu Chaoyin and said, "Old Yu, from now on let this kid live within the sect."

Yu Chaoyin coldly replied, "As long as the Sect Leader has decided, it's fine."

Saying this, he glanced at Li Yuan. This imagined mud-legged villager didn't seem so muddy or lousy.

This fact was clear to everyone present.

The two Ninth Grades from the Wei family were sent to kill Li Yuan, which was calculated and guaranteed to succeed because Li Yuan had previously fought Zhao Zimu in the ring, and his strength was already well understood.

The opponents only needed to send two people of his level to ambush him, and it was sure to be a deadly strike.

The deaths of Zhao Zimu and some other young Blood Saber Sect talents were examples.

However, Li Yuan didn't die.

The dangerous situation at that time was not something that could be summed up simply by saying "I killed them all," as everyone could completely imagine.

Originally, wanting to live in this Inner City of the Blood Saber Sect not only required status but also an assessment, and only when the time was right could one enter.

This was also the reason why Zhao Zimu preempted Li Yuan's spot but couldn't immediately move into the city.

Under normal circumstances, even if Li Yuan made contributions, he wouldn't be able to enter the Inner City so quickly.

But due to the battle between the Blood Saber Sect and the Wei family, there had been many losses, an elder had died, and so had a tributor, and the younger generation suffered severe losses.

Thus, Li Yuan had this opportunity.

Li Yu, by the side, said, "Foolish boy, why don't you hurry up and thank the Sect Leader?!"

Li Yuan hurriedly said, "Thank you, Sect Leader, thank you, Sect Leader."

Tie Sha looked at Li Yuan and laughed heartily, "This kid, I like him. Old Yu, I told you he would win, and look, he not only won but survived."

Yu Chaoyin said, "I will publicly punish myself by drinking three cups."

Tie Sha laughed heartily, "Are you angry again, or what?"

Yu Chaoyin replied, "I wouldn't dare."

Tie Sha said, "Old Yu, the past contradictions between you and me were not such a big deal.

You wanted to appoint your people as elders, now that a position is open, it's yours. You wanted to place your people as tributors, and now that we have an extra position, it's yours as well. How about that?

The territory is big, and the elder and tributor positions can be increased, can't they?

Look farther, and don't just focus on our Silver Creek area."

Yu Chaoyin replied, "Yes, Sect Leader."

After Tie Sha finished speaking, he looked at Li Yuan again and said, "Kid, for the time being, you should focus on cultivation in the Inner City.

Once the external situation stabilizes a bit, the sect will arrange tasks for you.

However... this time, don't fall sick so casually again."

Li Yuan blushed and said, "Yes, Sect Leader."

Tie Sha laughed heartily and then waved his hand.

Li Yuan bowed and stepped back, seeing Zhao Chunxin waving at him, he walked over and stood next to Senior Sister Zhao.

Back in the Blood Fury Hall, Tie Sha started to continue discussing matters.

Li Yuan listened for a while, and the matters were essentially threefold.

First, the follow-up handling of the Wei family, including uncovering and exterminating the remnants of the Wei family's die-hard faction and recruiting experts who surrendered from the Wei family.

Second, expanding recruitment to replenish fresh blood into the Blood Saber Sect.

Third, keeping an eye on the Sun family to prevent them from taking advantage of the situation.

But, for the time being, none of these three matters had much to do with Li Yuan.

He was a rising star among the younger generation of the Blood Saber Sect, a focus of the Wei family's remnants, so Tie Sha naturally wouldn't let him go out to perform these tasks but would rather keep him hidden for a while.

...

...

P.S.: I've noticed a lot of complaints from readers these past few days. Peach Blossom Pastry thinks... well... it must be the author's fault, and I'll just have to work harder on avoiding some pitfalls in the future. I hope you'll forgive me.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.