"Is he the young hero you mentioned, Sect Leader, the one who vanquished the followers of the Devil Boat and the Twin Swords of Black and White?"

The middle-aged woman cast a sharp gaze over Wang Zhifan and then looked at Xiong Tianli beside her.

"Indeed!"

Xiong Tianli replied with affirmation.

"Hmm... truly a young talent, remarkable and formidable."

Upon hearing this, the woman turned her head again to Wang Zhifan, expressing her admiration with a naturally fierce gaze laced with approval.

"Greetings, Honored Elder of the Zither Pavilion!"

Wang Zhifan felt that he ought to be courteous, and so he greeted the woman, who was evidently much older than he was.

"Hmm, in the pursuit of cultivation, strength is paramount. There's no need for excessive courtesy."

The woman's reaction was relatively indifferent, indicating that she might be someone who is rather formal and not adept at mingling.

"Mr. Wang, would you like to rest or prepare briefly before you depart this time?"

Xiong Tianli, standing beside, smiled and asked Wang Zhifan, engaging in the customary small talk before setting off.

"There's no need. I can leave anytime."

Wang Zhifan naturally shook his head. He came here fully prepared for battle, and despite his recent exploits in the city, he hadn't expended much energy, thanks to his extraordinary endurance, and was still in near-perfect condition.

"If that is the case... Honored Zither Elder, it is getting late. Shall we depart immediately and first meet with the other three sect leaders to discuss the strategy for demon slaying?"

Xiong Tianli sought the opinion of the middle-aged woman.

"Then let's set off. I too wish to conclude this matter swiftly."

The Elder from the Broken Zither Sect nodded in agreement to assault the Demon Sect's stronghold early.

"Xun'er! I'll leave the matters of the sect to you and Qin'er. Make sure that no idle persons infiltrate the mountain!"

With the decision made to depart, the black-haired middle-aged man, Xiong Tianli, turned to instruct his two direct disciples, indicating he had no intention of taking them along.

"Master! I, too, wish to seek vengeance against the Demon Sect!"

The youthful figure who had earlier led Wang Zhifan in immediately bowed and requested, expressing his eagerness to join in the battle.

"Xun'er, I've told you before, this demon-slaying mission is fraught with peril. I don't take you along for your own good! Do not act impulsively, there will be plenty of opportunities for revenge once your cultivation is complete!"

Xiong Tianli unequivocally rejected his disciple's request, intending only to bring along the combatants he trusted.

"Let's depart, you two!"

He then said no more, and with Wang Zhifan and the Elder from the Broken Zither Sect, swiftly exited the grand hall of the Wuji Sect.

Outside the hall, apart from Wang Zhifan's Red Deer Horse, there were already two other extraordinary horses, and then the three of them each mounted their steeds and set off down the mountain, led by Xiong Tianli towards the northeast of Wuji Mountain.

On the way, the three of them said little, each urging their mount to gallop swiftly across rivers, fields, and mountains, covering over three hundred li in less than one hour.

This was, in part, due to the extraordinary nature of the horses in this world, able to withstand such vigorous travel. However, Wang Zhifan's Red Deer Horse was an exception, being a heavenly steed where running on the ground was merely child's play for it.

"Sect Leader! Which three sects will join us in slaying the demons this time?"

While traveling, Wang Zhifan inquired about the information he wanted to know, fearing he might otherwise be going with no understanding, though he was confident enough in his strength to follow along without much concern.

"The Dharma Zen Temple, the Juyi Sect, and the Quicksand Sword Sect!"

With the loud wind whistling past as the horses galloped, Sect Leader Xiong had to shout very loudly in reply to Wang Zhifan.

"These righteous sects, Mr. Wang, you must have heard of them!"

After answering, he even asked Wang Zhifan a question in return.

"Sort of..."

Wang Zhifan was somewhat speechless upon reaching this topic, as he wasn't much familiar with these sects. It wasn't that he had never heard of them; having been to Pingwu City multiple times, he'd occasionally hear of them mentioned by passersby and tavern patrons, but he never delved into understanding them.

Part of this was due to his busyness, not having focused much on these matters, and also because he mostly operated within the Wuji Sect's jurisdiction, rarely encountering people from other sects.

"It seems Mr. Wang is unaware that among these three, only the Dharma Zen Temple has a heritage surpassing two hundred years, while the others are merely century-old sects, not capable of much."

Realizing Wang Zhifan might be unfamiliar with his allies in demon slaying, the middle-aged woman from the Broken Zither Sect, dressed in silken attire, briefly introduced them, appearing to hold the young man in high regard.

"Honored Elder, your words are amiss! I encountered the leaders of the Juyi Sect and Quicksand Sword Sect years ago! Though they might not be top-tier, they are peak figures among the second-tier!"

Riding at the front, Sect Leader Xiong turned his head to counter, eager to prove that those he had gathered were not just ordinary figures.

"First tier? Second tier? Is this how power is classified in this world?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhifan's curiosity was piqued, as he had never heard the common folk discuss such topics, likely due to their lack of exposure to this hierarchical knowledge and only referring to various sects' experts.

"Merely peak second-tier, in our Broken Zither Sect, even true disciples have several reaching this level! If they're not first-tier, how can they lead a sect, unless it's a small sect?"

The middle-aged woman scorned Sect Leader Xiong's words, feeling that a sect leader's competence lies in reaching the first-tier.

"It seems first-tier might be the strength of leaders in medium to small sects..."

Listening quietly to their conversation, Wang Zhifan arrived at some conclusions.

For instance, the attitude of the Broken Zither Sect's Elder suggested that she was undoubtedly first-tier, possibly even among the stronger echelon of first-tiers. Meanwhile, Sect Leader Xiong of the Wuji Sect was likely first-tier, albeit defensively specialized, powerful but not exceedingly strong.

"It seems like this world's first-tiers aren't exceptionally formidable... my strength is probably above first-tier."

Cautious not to expose his lack of basic knowledge, Wang Zhifan quietly assessed himself.

He was quite aware of Sect Leader Xiong Tianli's strength, whom he perceived as a sturdy elite monster rather than an overwhelmingly formidable one, using this as a benchmark, ensuring his own strength was far above, firmly establishing himself above the first-tier.

"Honored Elder's words ring true! Yet your sect boasts substantial heritage, while our remote southwestern sects cannot compare. I implore your forgiveness!"

Noticing that the esteemed guest might have been a tad angered, Sect Leader Xiong who had previously countered her, now appeased, ensuring the esteemed guest wouldn't become discontent and disrupt the demon slaying plans.

Meanwhile, Wang Zhifan refrained from adding much to the conversation, choosing instead to retrieve a thread-bound Wordless Celestial Book, calculating the dangers and opportunities of this trip while in the saddle.

With past experience at the end of the previous scenario, Wang Zhifan had become much more prudent using the Heavenly Fate Hexagram Book, confining himself to a maximum of three calculations a day unless special circumstances arose, and refrained from doing consecutive calculations, preferring to ponder his queries thoroughly before divining, thus avoiding undue latent consumption.

"First, calculate the dangers of this demon slaying... a point of danger indeed? The Demon Sect is predictably not easily dealt with... opportunities also abound, although not the ones I most desire..."

Having retrieved the Heavenly Fate Hexagram Book, Wang Zhifan completed the calculation in seconds, then quietly stowed it away.

Since the timing of the events he calculated was imminent and didn't involve entities of particularly high caliber, the Heavenly Fate Hexagram Book offered detailed results, clarifying the enemy's situation long before encountering them. The sensation was akin to playing games with hacks, providing assurance but diminishing some of the thrill.

"I'm curious about the content of my next scenario... but I'm sure there wouldn't be a favorable outcome if I tried calculating it."

Wang Zhifan had contemplated using the Heavenly Fate Hexagram Book to predict the contents of the supernatural game itself, but he dared not do so, as the game's level was exceedingly high, to the point that the Heavenly Fate Hexagram Book originated from it, and calculating such would likely yield no results and result in backlash.

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