Ringing the Bell for a Hundred Years, I Became the Sect’s Ancestor – Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Old Acquaintance

The Divine Sword Sect’s sphere of influence covered three provinces and twelve counties. In addition to the eight counties of Sword Province, there were also three counties in Xuan Province and the sole Taiping County in Bright Province.

Despite being called Taiping （Peaceful） County, this county was anything but peaceful.

Due to its numerous mountains and treacherous terrain, it had always been a land of hardship, with a tough folk customs and rampant banditry.

The Taiping Cult rebellion over a thousand years ago originated in this Taiping County, ultimately leading to the demise of the previous Great Yan Dynasty and the rise of the Great Chang Dynasty.

After the establishment of the Great Chang Dynasty, to completely eradicate the roots of the Taiping Cult, the Great Chang adopted a policy of population replacement, relocating the remaining population to various provinces and migrating a large number of outsiders from surrounding provinces and counties.

This resulted in the proliferation of large and small martial arts families and sects in Taiping County. Coupled with the fact that Taiping County was separated from other counties in Bright Province by the Min River, making communication inconvenient, and with no powerful force to dominate the situation, Taiping County had always been unstable.

It was only after the Divine Sword Sect’s influence infiltrated that a true balance was formed.

Even so, undercurrents still surged in the shadows, and clashes and struggles among various forces were commonplace.

One evening, outside Taiping County City, a fast horse galloped to the city gates.

“Good thing the city gates haven’t closed, otherwise I would have to spend the night outside.”

Li Qian, riding the fast horse, breathed a sigh of relief.

After accepting the mission, he had been galloping non-stop.

Even so, it still took him two days and one night.

The time spent was much longer than the journey to Xuan Province Smelting City.

It wasn’t that Taiping County City was farther, but rather that Taiping County had numerous mountains and treacherous terrain, with winding and twisting roads, forcing him to take many detours.

Before entering the city, Li Qian glanced at the area outside Taiping County City. He saw numerous shacks built along the city walls, densely packed and stretching endlessly.

These shacks housed a large population, mostly refugees.

Due to various reasons, they had lost their land or livelihoods and were forced to leave their homes, coming to Taiping County City to seek survival.

White Jade City and Smelting City, which he had previously visited, didn’t seem to have such a situation.

This showed the suffering of the people caused by the turmoil in Taiping County.

Li Qian didn’t linger. He squeezed his legs against the horse’s flanks and galloped into Taiping County City.

The soldiers guarding the city didn’t even dare to intercept him.

They were all observant enough to see the embroidered pattern on the protective cover tied to the neck of Li Qian’s fast horse, which was unique to the Divine Sword Sect.

The Divine Sword Sect had a station in Taiping County City, and Divine Sword Sect disciples often rode horses in and out, so they naturally recognized it.

After entering Taiping County City, Li Qian went straight to the Divine Sword Sect station.

The Divine Sword Sect station was a large mansion.

The plaque read “Taiping Divine Sword Residence”.

There were also guards standing at the entrance.

In addition to stationed disciples, the Divine Sword Sect’s local stations in various provinces and counties usually had affiliated local organizations.

These local organizations were mainly composed of recruited freelance martial artists and some martial artists who voluntarily submitted, often serving as an auxiliary force for the Divine Sword Sect.

Often, a Divine Sword Sect station in a particular location had only a dozen or so stationed disciples, but the number of auxiliary martial artists could be in the tens, hundreds, or even more.

At this moment, inside the Taiping Residence.

Several people were drinking and chatting.

Suddenly, a guard ran in, “Your Excellencies, someone from the Divine Sword Sect has arrived.”

“They’re here?”

Everyone who was eating and drinking quickly stood up.

They knew that the sect would send an Innate Realm expert to handle a case.

“Quick, let’s go welcome him. Junior Sister Fan, go inform Senior Brother Yan and the others immediately.”

Hu Lang, a burly man with a thick beard, gave orders.

Among those present, he had the highest cultivation level, already at the Postnatal Sixth Level.

The stronger the strength, the greater the voice naturally.

“Okay.”

The woman called Junior Sister Fan quickly turned and left.

The burly man, along with several other Inner Sect disciples, hurriedly went out.

In a reception room.

Li Qian sat upright, a cup of tea served by a servant placed on the table beside him.

However, he didn’t drink it.

When away from home, even at a local station of the Divine Sword Sect, he wouldn’t eat or drink casually.

At this moment, a group of people hurriedly walked in.

When they saw Li Qian sitting there, they were stunned at first, puzzled as to why the Innate Realm martial artist sent by the sect was so young.

However, they understood one thing clearly: the younger the Innate Realm martial artist, the higher their status within the Divine Sword Sect must be.

“Inner Sect disciple Hu Lang greets Senior Brother.”

The burly man at the front hurriedly bowed.

“Inner Sect disciple Yan Chou greets Senior Brother.”

“Inner Sect disciple Su Can greets Senior Brother.”

Li Qian didn’t get up, just nodded, “Who is the Residence Master?”

The Divine Sword Sect’s local branches were mainly divided into Residence Masters and Branch Masters.

Residence Masters were of a higher level, often held by Half-Step Innate or Postnatal Ninth Level martial artists.

Branch Masters, on the other hand, had slightly lower cultivation levels.

There were too many local stations, and it would be a waste of manpower to station so many Innate Realm martial artists.

Only when major events occurred and Innate Realm martial artists were needed would the Divine Sword Sect dispatch them in the form of missions.

“Senior Brother, because another case occurred, the Residence Master and several other Senior Brothers went out not long ago. I’ve already sent someone to inform them.”

Hu Lang, the burly man, said respectfully.

“Take me directly to the scene of the incident.”

Li Qian stood up and said.

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

The burly man hurriedly replied.

Then he looked at an Inner Sect disciple beside him, “Junior Brother Su, you stay and guard the residence.”

So, the group rode their fast horses and left the Taiping Divine Sword Residence.

Three Harmonies Town.

Located twenty miles west of Taiping County City.

◈◈◈

Surrounded by mountains on three sides, with dangerous terrain, it guarded the narrow passage from Taiping County City to other counties in Bright Province. This place had always been a strategic location for military strategists.

Inside a large mansion in the town.

The lights were bright.

But a bloody smell permeated the air.

Many corpses lay scattered on the ground.

Some people were busy investigating the scene.

“These people are getting more and more rampant.”

Chu Ping, the Commander of the Mysterious Monitoring Division in Taiping County, had a gloomy expression.

In less than half a month, the Oceanic Bandits had committed a series of crimes, and in recent times, they had even massacred entire families.

The Xia Family was a well-known martial arts family in the area, and they had close ties to the Divine Sword Sect, with some of their disciples in the Inner Sect.

Moreover, the old patriarch, Xia Yuan, was originally an Inner Sect disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, already a Half-Step Innate, before leaving the Divine Sword Sect to establish the Xia Family.

But now, this old patriarch, along with one hundred and seventy-eight members of the Xia Family, had been killed.

“Brother Chu, don’t worry, our Divine Sword Sect will soon send an Innate Realm martial artist to handle this. The main issue is how to find the whereabouts of these people.”

Yan Song, an Inner Sect disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, said.

“These people come and go like the wind, appearing and disappearing without a trace. Although they leave some clues behind, by the time we find their location, they always manage to leave one step ahead of us.”

Commander Chu Ping sighed.

Actually, there was one more thing he didn’t say: he suspected that these people had informants within the Mysterious Monitoring Division.

But he hadn’t been able to find out yet.

At this moment, someone ran over quickly.

“Junior Sister Fan, why are you here?”

Yan Song asked when he saw her.

“Senior Brother Yan, the sect has sent someone over.”

Junior Sister Fan said hurriedly.

“That’s great, I’ll go back right away.”

Yan Song was overjoyed and immediately said to Commander Chu Ping of the Mysterious Monitoring Division, “Brother Chu, I’ll take my leave first. Please find out the location of these people as soon as possible.”

“Brother Yan, I’ll go with you. I’m more familiar with the information about this case.”

Commander Chu Ping said.

“Alright.”

Yan Song nodded.

So the group prepared to leave the Xia Residence.

But before they reached the entrance, they heard the sound of horse hooves. Several riders galloped towards them and quickly arrived at the entrance of the Xia Residence.

These riders were Li Qian and the others who had come from Taiping County City.

“Senior Brother Yan, this is…”

After dismounting, Hu Lang was about to introduce Li Qian to Senior Brother Yan.

But Yan Song’s pupils constricted, and his face twitched slightly. However, he quickly regained his composure, walked over, and bowed, “Greetings, Senior Brother Li.”

How could he not recognize Li Qian?

He had even tried to cause trouble for Li Qian before.

After Li Qian participated in the True Disciple Selection, he knew that he would never have a chance, so he applied for an external assignment and came to Taiping County City for duty. When the previous Residence Master left, he took over the position.

Through years of cultivation, his cultivation level had already reached the Postnatal Ninth Level, but his talent, aptitude, and comprehension were limited. Without the aid of an Innate Pill to break through to the Innate Realm, it was extremely difficult.

Therefore, he planned to accumulate Contribution Points to exchange for an Innate Pill.

“Junior Brother Yan, long time no see.”

Li Qian said with a faint smile.

He didn’t expect to meet an “old acquaintance” here.

If it weren’t for this person, he wouldn’t have participated in the Formal Disciple re-assessment and ultimately become Zhou Buping’s disciple.

Yan Song’s back was drenched in cold sweat.

He lowered his head even further.

The other Inner Sect disciples seemed to have noticed something amiss as well and remained silent, not daring to speak.

“Junior Brother Yan, what’s the situation here now?”

Li Qian wouldn’t really hold a grudge against Yan Song and changed the subject.

Yan Song breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, “Senior Brother Li, over a hundred members of the Xia Family were massacred during the day.”

He briefly explained the situation.

“They’re getting more and more rampant?”

Li Qian frowned slightly, “Do you know what their purpose is? For wealth, or is it a grudge?”

“Senior Brother Li, based on the series of cases, these people don’t seem to be after wealth. Instead, they seem to be looking for something. However, there are no survivors, so we don’t know what they’re looking for.”

Yan Song hurriedly said.

“Looking for something?”

Li Qian walked into the Xia Residence. There was still a faint smell of blood, and there were many bloodstains on the ground and walls, mostly in a spray pattern. There were still unprocessed corpses on the ground.

He examined them one by one.

The members of the Xia Family were basically killed in five different ways, which meant that the Oceanic Bandits should consist of five people.

That was all the details he could discern.

After all, Li Qian didn’t have much experience in investigating cases.

When he arrived at the main hall, the signs of fighting were very obvious, with destructive marks everywhere.

A tall, white-haired old man lay on the ground.

His entire head was flattened, as if he had been killed by a blow to both temples.

“Hmm?”

Li Qian squatted down. Under his Spiritual Perception, he vaguely sensed a trace of violent and evil negative energy remaining in the old man’s head.