Gu Long's Martial Arts World: Starting with the Invincible Demon Blade

"The western route, spearheaded by six families including the Wei family, the Xiao family, and the Lin family, with approximately one thousand men, is attacking the western wall. Zhao Cheng!"

"exist!"

A burly man stepped forward from the crowd, standing ramrod straight.

"You lead your men to lie in ambush at the west wall. When they climb the wall, throw logs and stones at them, then open the gate to meet them. Just like before, the goal is to kill the leader and demoralize them. But if anyone resists, kill them on sight."

"clear!"

Zhao Cheng clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned around, and counted his troops with swift and decisive movements.

"Although the South Route has the largest number of people, reaching 1,700, it consists of the Wu family, the Cai family, and ten gangs. Although it looks powerful, it is actually a rabble and not worth mentioning. They are attacking the main gate to contain the enemy."

Bai Tianyu sneered:

"Ye Zhen!"

"exist!"

A man with piercing eyes, clearly possessing extraordinary internal strength, stepped forward.

"You take the elite troops of the Divine Blade Hall and guard the main gate to the death! Do not retreat an inch! Crush the courage of these scumbags completely!"

"yes!"

Ye Zhen's eyes flashed like lightning as he swept over the remaining elites of the Divine Blade Hall.

"The last leg of the journey."

Bai Tianyu's voice turned deep:

"There aren't many people, but they are the main force of Wanmatang. Ma Kongqun, Hua Mantian, Yun Zaitian, and Gongsun Duan led about two hundred people, all of whom were Wanmatang's elite. They intended to bypass the southeast horse trail and go straight into the heart of the territory."

He paused, then looked at Xue Bufeng, who had been listening quietly beside him.

"I was supposed to lead the team myself, but now a new friend has joined us..."

The remaining people in the hall all turned their attention to Xue Bufu.

This mysterious swordsman, who only appeared today, is already on par with the hall master.

Xue Bufeng faced the gazes of the crowd with his usual nonchalant smile, as if he were facing not the four masters and two hundred elites of Wanmatang, but a bunch of chickens and dogs.

"This street..."

He spoke, his voice not loud, yet it possessed a strange, penetrating power:

"You all don't need to worry about it; I can handle it all myself."

After he finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent!

Even Bai Tianyu's eyes flashed with surprise.

He knew that Xue Bufeng's martial arts skills were extremely high, no less than his own.

But how could one person face more than two hundred people from Wanmatang alone?

Among them were figures like Ma Kongqun and his strongest fighting force.

This isn't confidence, it's downright...arrogance!

Although Bai Tianyu himself was arrogant enough.

But he never considered that he was facing the crowd of people alone at this moment.

"Brother Xue."

Bai Tianyu couldn't help but speak, his tone grave:

"Those are the elite of Wanmatang, personally led by Ma Kongqun, coming with a do-or-die spirit. They are far superior to those rabble from before. You..."

Xue Bufeng interrupted him, merely repeating the same thing softly, his tone terrifyingly flat:

"I can handle this street all by myself."

silence.

The hall remained silent.

Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

Shock, astonishment, and even a hint of suspicion.

Some of them even began to suspect that Xue Bufu might be one of Ma Kongqun's men.

If that's the case, Bai Tianyu handing this street over to Xue Bufu alone would undoubtedly be like inviting a wolf into the house, exposing the most crucial and important location for tonight's battle to the enemy's blade.

Then all of Bai Tianyu's efforts tonight will have been in vain.

The Divine Blade Hall will also be plunged into an abyss of no return due to Ma Kongqun's unimpeded advance.

What choice will Bai Tianyu make?

Bai Tianyu looked at him.

Everyone was watching Xue Bufu.

Suddenly, Bai Tianyu burst into laughter, the sound of which shook the dust off the beams!

"good!"

He only said one word, "good," and that was enough to prove his judgment to others:

"You go, alone! Bring back that son of a bitch Ma Kongqun's head!"

Xue Bufeng nodded and said no more.

No one else dared to look anymore.

In the Divine Blade Hall, no one would refute Bai Tianyu's meaning, nor could anyone refute his meaning.

Bai Tianyu's smile vanished, his gaze sharpening like an eagle's as he surveyed the entire room. His voice suddenly rose like a drawn blade:

"The time is approaching! Tonight, let these blind bastards of the border town remember with their blood who their true masters are!"

"yes!!!"

More than 500 disciples of the Divine Blade Hall roared in unison, their voices like muffled thunder rolling across the hall, their killing intent soaring to the sky!

The next moment, the crowd, like a black tide, quickly and silently dispersed under the leadership of their respective leaders, merging into the shadows of the buildings and alleys of the Divine Blade Hall in all directions, as if they had never existed.

In the blink of an eye, the once bustling hall was now empty except for Bai Tianyu and Xue Bufu, along with the flickering torches and the cold moonlight.

In the distance, the faint sounds of countless hurried footsteps, hoofbeats, and suppressed shouts seemed to be gathering towards the Divine Blade Hall from all corners of the border town, like a pack of wolves smelling blood.

The night was as dark as spilled ink.

Bai Tianyu nodded heavily to Xue Bufu, his cloak billowing as he flashed toward the main gate.

Xue Bufeng then turned around and walked out of the hall, facing southeast.

There was a wide, open road for galloping horses, bathed in moonlight.

Tall stone walls and sparse poplars line both sides of the road, which disappears into deep darkness at the end.

He slowly drew the blood-stained knife from his waist.

The blade gleamed with an eerie and poignant crimson sheen under the moonlight.

He picked up his knife and took a step forward.

Step by step, they walked toward the street that was destined to be stained with blood.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

It was just past the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) and before the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

It was the darkest, most oppressive, and most tiring time of the night.

The wind swept fine sand from the depths of the Gobi Desert, rustling softly against the bark of the poplar trees, adding to the deathly stillness.

On the horse-riding path, the moonlight barely illuminated the wide road, while the stone walls on both sides cast heavy shadows.

Suddenly, the shadows seemed to come alive, silently wriggling and converging.

A large number of people clung to the base of the wall, moving forward slowly but steadily.

There were no torches, no conversation, and even footsteps were kept extremely low; only suppressed breathing could be heard.

The two hundred-plus people were all elites cultivated by Wanmatang over the years.

At this moment, their eyes gleamed with a desperate, reckless glint, and their hands gripping the knives were slightly sweaty with tension and excitement.

The group at the head were Ma Kongqun, Yun Zaitian, Hua Mantian, and Gongsun Duan.

Ma Kongqun's face appeared particularly gloomy in the dim light, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

He knew this was the most vulnerable moment for the Divine Blade Hall, and also the last chance for his Ten Thousand Horses Hall.

Bai Tianyu was arrogant and conceited. He held a grand banquet for his guests while surrounded by powerful enemies, and got so drunk that he passed out. This was simply a golden opportunity!

If we can successfully cut off the heads of Bai Tianyu and his brother tonight, the sky over the border town will still belong to Ma Kongqun!

He could almost see the Divine Blade Hall collapsing in the flames, and the Ten Thousand Horses Hall's flag being planted anew on the highest point of the border town.

Excitement and murderous intent surged within him, almost making him growl out.

But at that moment, he suddenly stopped.

The black torrent of more than two hundred people behind them also came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone saw the figure in the middle of the road ahead, a figure that shouldn't be there.

The cold moonlight shone on that person.

He was quiet, so quiet!

Because he almost blended into the night, his figure was upright, yet his posture exuded a lazy ease, as if he had just taken a stroll under the moon and accidentally wandered here.

He was carrying a knife.

Demon Blade!

The scabbard was blood red, the hilt was blood red, but the drawn blade gleamed with a cold light, ready to kill and drink blood at any moment!