From the beginning of Swordsman, he created a legend in the martial arts world.

The Huashan Sect's team that left the city was not very large, about ten people.

Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze walked in front, with the disciples following behind, and the procession was quite orderly.

At the end of the procession followed a figure who seemed to have no direct connection with the Huashan Sect—a middle-aged man in his thirties with dark skin and a simple, honest face, wearing worn-out coarse cloth clothes, carrying several jars of wine that smelled of alcohol on his shoulder.

The porter was none other than Meng Fei in disguise. Although he had agreed to blend in with the Huashan Sect and leave the city together, he had changed his appearance to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

Although his skills weren't particularly refined, his slightly hunched figure, unremarkable attire, and faint smell of alcohol on him were enough to fool the average person unless they were specifically looking for him.

As the procession passed through the city gate, it indeed attracted the attention of some observant individuals stationed there.

Several sharp gazes swept over the Huashan Sect members. When the gazes fell on Meng Fei, the "porter," they lingered for a moment. He walked steadily (he was actually forcing himself to stay upright), and his expression was natural (mostly due to the fatigue from his injuries). He did not communicate with the Huashan disciples and seemed to be a true laborer accompanying them.

Finally, their gaze fell on Lin Pingzhi, the newly initiated disciple. Although these people did not dare to openly provoke the Huashan Sect, their greed for the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual would prevent them from giving up easily.

Sure enough, not long after the Huashan Sect group left the city, a group of pursuers with gleaming eyes quietly followed them.

After leaving the city, Meng Fei calculated the distance and his recovery progress in his mind, hoping to reach Mount Hua smoothly.

Unexpectedly, as the group passed through a dense forest, more than twenty masked men suddenly rushed out from both sides, surrounding the Huashan Sect from both sides.

"Who goes there? How dare you block the way of my Huashan Sect!"

Upon seeing that the group was blocked from the front and back, Yue Buqun's face darkened, and he loudly questioned them.

The masked men in black did not answer, and the leader's eyes were fixed on Lin Pingzhi in the group.

"Sect Leader Yue, we know that the Lin family boy has joined the Huashan Sect, but you absolutely cannot try to monopolize the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual."

The man's voice was hoarse, laced with threat: "As long as that brat hands over the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual, we'll leave immediately and won't cause any trouble for the Huashan Sect!"

As soon as the man in black finished speaking, the atmosphere tensed up instantly, and the disciples of the Huashan Sect drew their swords and glared angrily.

"Sect Leader Yue, we know your 'Gentleman's Sword' martial arts are superb, and your Purple Cloud Divine Skill is renowned throughout the martial world, but..."

The man in black glanced at the group of young Huashan disciples and sneered.

"These disciples of your sect may not possess the cultivation level of Sect Leader Yue. Swords have no eyes; if one of your distinguished disciples, or even your daughter, were to be injured... hehe, that wouldn't be a sight to behold!"

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun's expression indeed changed slightly.

Just as the man in black said, if he were alone, even if he couldn't annihilate the enemy, he could leave at his leisure. But now all the remaining disciples of the Huashan Sect were here. If they were lost, it would be nothing short of a pipe dream to rebuild Huashan.

However, it was even more impossible to get Lin Pingzhi to hand over the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual. Not to mention that Lin Pingzhi did not have the manual, even if he did, how could the dignified leader of the Huashan Sect compromise just because of a threat?

This would not only damage his reputation as a "gentleman's sword," but would also chill the hearts of his disciples.

Seeing that Yue Buqun remained silent, a fierce glint flashed in the black-clad man's eyes, and he said sternly, "Sect Leader Yue, since you're having trouble deciding, then we'll choose for you! Attack!"

Before the words were finished, the leader of the men in black rushed to meet Yue Buqun, while the rest of the men in black shouted in unison and split into several groups to attack Ning Zhongze, Linghu Chong and other Huashan masters. Several others even rushed towards Yue Lingshan and Lin Pingzhi.

"Form the formation! Protect our junior brothers and sisters!"

Linghu Chong shouted sharply, and together with Ning Zhongze, they led the Huashan disciples to quickly form a sword formation, trying their best to resist the attacking men in black.

Just as everyone was resisting the man in black, they discovered that the man in black who was fighting Yue Buqun was also quite skilled in martial arts.

The man's swordsmanship was ruthless, and his internal strength was profound. Although he was slightly inferior to Yue Buqun, he held Yue Buqun back tightly, making it difficult for him to break free and protect his disciples.

The battle instantly descended into stalemate and chaos!

While the Huashan Sword Formation was indeed exquisite, the men in black had the advantage in numbers, their moves were ruthless, and their martial arts skills were also remarkable.

As soon as they clashed, several Huashan disciples were injured. Although Ning Zhongze's swordsmanship was exquisite, she was surrounded by three or four people and found it difficult to escape.

Only Linghu Chong still had the strength to fight his way through the crowd, trying his best to maintain formation and rescue his fellow disciples.

However, the most eye-catching was the newly joined Lin Pingzhi. Although he had only learned the first three moves of the Thirteen Deadly Swords, his sword strikes, made with anger, were far more fierce and ruthless than those of ordinary Huashan disciples.

He moved along the edge of the sword formation, his sword flashing like a venomous snake, striking the enemy's wrist at the last second. In a short time, he wounded three or four men in black, causing the enemy to lose their footing.

However, Lin Pingzhi had only been cultivating for a short time and his internal energy was shallow. Such high-intensity and high-frequency sword techniques consumed a great deal of his internal energy. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, his breathing became disordered and the power of his sword techniques was greatly reduced.

A man in black seized an opening and slashed with his knife. Lin Pingzhi tried his best to block, but the impact made his arm go numb. He was almost stabbed in a vital spot by another man from the side, but fortunately, his senior brother next to him risked his life to block it.

The other Huashan disciples were in even worse shape. Although they relied on the sword formation to fight back with all their might, the casualties continued to increase, and the situation was already in dire straits!

Yue Buqun, with his keen eyesight, saw that his disciples were in grave danger, especially his daughter Yue Lingshan, who was under increasing pressure, and he became extremely anxious.

"drink--!"

With a clear whistle, Yue Buqun's face was suddenly covered with a faint purple glow, as he had pushed the Purple Cloud Divine Skill to its limit.

Suddenly, the sword in his hand shone brightly, its speed increased several times over, and its power surged!

"Auspicious purple clouds are coming from the east!"

The sword light flashed like a bolt of lightning, carrying an overwhelming and unstoppable aura of righteousness and a sharp killing intent, heading straight for the leader of the men in black!

The leader of the men in black was terrified and hurriedly raised his knife to desperately block the attack!

"clang--!!!"

A deafening explosion!

The long sword in the man in black's hand was actually shattered by the force of the impact!

The sword light, still sharp, slashed open a deep, bone-revealing gash on his chest!

The man in black let out a miserable howl, flew backward, crashed into a small tree, and collapsed to the ground, clearly not going to live.

However, the desperate attack by the man in black before his death also caused Yue Buqun considerable trouble. A chilling internal force invaded Yue Buqun's body, causing the purple aura on his face to fluctuate, clearly indicating that he had also suffered a serious injury.

However, in the split second between him killing the leader of the men in black, being wounded himself, and turning to rescue them—

The battle situation has taken another sudden turn!

Several men in black who had been besieging Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan, upon seeing their leader dead and Yue Buqun injured and returning to their aid, disregarded their own safety and pounced on Yue Lingshan like mad tigers.

They were clearly determined to take Yue Lingshan hostage and force the Huashan Sect to submit!

"Shan'er, be careful!"

Ning Zhongze was shocked by the martial arts world, but he was held back by two enemies and had no way to deal with them.

"Junior Sister!"