Martial Arts Master: The Lin Family Sword God, who swept through the Five Mountains and Four Sects

Zhao Zhijing's face turned pale, and his eyes darted around: "Qingdu? Why is he here? Senior brother, I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Oh, you're right," Lin Tian said calmly. "He really... won't be coming back."

"What?! You killed Qingdu?!"

Zhao Zhijing's heart tightened, but he forced himself to remain calm: "If he has broken the sect rules, I will be eternally grateful if you, junior brother, can clean up the mess for me!"

Lin Tian sneered and shook his head: "The sandalwood incense at the lotus pond behind the mountain hasn't dissipated yet—Senior Brother Zhao, are you still going to continue this act?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Zhijing's last shred of hope was shattered.

His legs buckled, and he knelt down with a thud, burying his face in his hands and wailing, "Junior brother! Senior brother knows his mistake! I was bewitched and coveted the position of chief! I will go to the sect leader to beg for forgiveness and accept whatever punishment I may receive!"

While crying and shouting, she slowly crawled towards Lin Tian's feet, from seven or eight steps away to only two or three steps away.

But he never looked up and saw that Lin Tian's eyes were already full of mockery.

"Go to hell!!"

In an instant, Zhao Zhijing sprang into action! A flash of cold light appeared in his hand, and his short dagger plunged straight into Lin Tian's abdomen. His face was contorted in a grimace; not a trace of tears remained. His earlier weeping was all a facade!

However, the next moment, his expression froze.

The dagger was three feet from Lin Tian, ​​as if striking an invisible barrier, unable to advance an inch.

"Wha...what's going on? You...you know magic?!"

"Sorcery?" Lin Tian scoffed, flicking his wrist to send the dagger flying out of his hand and crashing to the ground. "You call yourself a martial artist at the peak of the Innate Realm, yet you don't even understand 'Gathering Qi into罡'? Heh... That's right, you're too weak, it's normal that you don't understand."

"Junior brother! Junior brother Lin Tian! I really repent! Please have mercy!" Zhao Zhijing finally panicked, crawled on the ground toward Lin Tian, ​​and tried to beg for mercy by hugging his leg.

"Bang!"

With a kick, he rolled several feet, looking utterly disheveled.

Zhao Zhijing, Lin Tian smiled casually, "You know what? Senior Brother Zhijing, I've always been a man of principle. I was just wondering where to find a reason to mess with you—after all, you've always been respectful to me, and our brotherhood is there for us."

He clicked his tongue twice, his tone suddenly turning cold: "But you're so considerate, willingly offering your head to the blade. To plot against the emperor's only bloodline? Tsk tsk, that's a capital offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family. But... I'm a kind-hearted junior brother, I'll only take your life, isn't that more than merciful enough?"

"No...no! Junior brother, I know I was wrong—"

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of cold light appeared, and the longsword had already pierced his throat.

Zhao Zhijing fell backward, his eyes bulging with anger, unable to believe it even in death.

Lin Tian brushed the blood off his sword, his expression indifferent: "I'm sorry, senior brother. Even if you didn't make a move today, you wouldn't survive."

Whether Xiaolongnu lost her virginity to him was true or false, whether it was out of love or not, it didn't matter. From that moment on, she was Lin Tian's woman. Anyone who dared to drug her was crossing his line—they would be killed without question.

As for karma and retribution? Even without Zhao Zhijing, Xiaolongnu wouldn't have fallen into his arms. But so what? Just burn more paper money in the future as compensation.

It's just that you're unlucky and happened to run into my unlucky hour.

The sky was beginning to lighten, the morning mist still lingering. Lin Tian was about to go and greet Ma Yu. As for whether Ma Yu would mind? Perhaps, but he didn't care.

"Clang—Clang—Clang—"

The bell tolled suddenly, deep and muffled like thunder, striking thirty-three times in a row.

The tolling of the bell thirty-three times signifies the highest level of emergency summons in the Quanzhen School—all disciples must assemble immediately.

"Heh... I just killed someone, and I've already been exposed?" He raised an eyebrow, then sneered, "Impossible."

Firstly, the body was still warm, so no one noticed it so quickly;

Secondly, the death of Zhao Zhijing is not enough to alarm the entire sect.

Unable to guess the reason and too lazy to guess, and with no intention of collecting the body, Lin Tian turned around and walked towards the Chongyang Hall.

……

The air seemed to freeze the moment I stepped through the palace gates.

The six disciples of Quanzhen sat cross-legged in the center, their faces ashen, each one looking like they were attending a funeral for their father, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

"Master, fellow disciples, what happened?" Lin Tian asked, his tone slightly mocking. But the solemn expressions on their faces were worse than if their ancestors for eighteen generations had died. However, if their parents had truly lived to this age, they would probably have died a natural death and deserved a joyous funeral.

Ma Yu glanced at him and said in a low voice, "My disciple just reported that a large Mongol cavalry force of no less than five thousand has appeared at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain."

As soon as the words were spoken, the hall erupted in chaos.

Everyone's face turned ashen, and their breathing became erratic. Who didn't know the fearsome reputation of the Mongol cavalry? They were a terrifying force capable of crushing 30,000 elite Song soldiers!

And what about the Quanzhen Sect? They numbered less than two hundred, most of them third-rate martial artists, capable of dying on the spot even against two battle-hardened Mongol soldiers. Now they faced five thousand iron cavalry—equivalent to each man carrying twenty-five enemies. Even if the enemy stood still, a single swing of their swords could chop them into mincemeat!

Lin Tian's pupils contracted slightly, and his brows furrowed.

Something's not right... This wasn't in the original storyline at all. The butterfly effect? ​​But what did I just do? I only took Yang Guo as my disciple and casually killed Huo Du.

Huo Du!

In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck.

He only remembered that Huo Du was a disciple of the Golden Wheel Monk, but forgot his other identity—a Mongol prince! Although he might not be a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, he still bore the title of "prince." Having died within the territory of the Quanzhen Sect, how could the Mongols let it go unpunished?

"What kind of noise is this!" Ma Yu suddenly stood up and shouted angrily, "Shut up! Prepare your weapons immediately and get ready to fight!"

The disciples fell silent, trembling with fear, and withdrew one after another.

Only the six disciples of Quanzhen remained in the main hall, along with Lin Tian, ​​Yin Zhiping, and Li Zhichang, a few outstanding third-generation disciples.

Ma Yu sighed deeply, his back hunching over slightly: "I thought the Mongols would not act easily because they were wary of our sect being a sacred place of Taoism and the orthodox lineage of martial arts... I never expected that we would face such a calamity today."

After a pause, Ma Yu's gaze fell on Lin Tian, ​​and he slowly said, "Today is probably the day when the calamity of our Quanzhen Sect descends. Tian'er, your identity is special, and you must not get involved in this killing game. There is a hidden path in the back mountain. You, Zhiping, and Zhichang, along with a few fourth-generation disciples, should set off immediately for Lin'an—Emperor Lizong has already built a Taoist palace for our Quanzhen Sect in the suburbs and has repeatedly issued decrees summoning you back to the capital. This time, you can take advantage of the situation to go."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Tian glanced at the Seven Masters of Quanzhen.

Everyone's face was calm, but their eyes were resolute as if they were going to their deaths.

A slight tremor ran through him, and his impression of the group of old Taoist priests subtly changed. Although their martial arts skills were mediocre, they were extremely pedantic, and even a bit hypocritical, they did not back down when it came to matters of principle.

Of course, there were also scoundrels like Zhao Zhijing and Lu Qingdu who wanted to grovel before the Mongols, but unfortunately... Lin Tian had already dealt with them.

"Sect Leader! This disciple is willing to live and die with Quanzhen!" Yin Zhiping suddenly took a step forward, his voice resounding.

"Disciples swear the same oath!" Li Zhichang followed closely behind, his brows resolute. He was Qiu Chuji's second disciple, and among the three generations of disciples, his martial arts skills were second only to Yin Zhiping.

"Nonsense!" Qiu Chuji roared, his eyes wide with anger.

These two disciples were raised by him, so it was his turn to reprimand them: "Are you letting you go because you're afraid of death?! The Quanzhen lineage must not be broken! The burden on your shoulders is heavier than your lives! Do you understand?!"

"Disciple...understands..." The two bowed their heads in response, their fists clenched until they turned white, filled with resentment.

"Master, fellow martial uncles," Lin Tian suddenly stepped forward, his tone calm yet undeniable, "this calamity arose because of me, how can I simply walk away?"

"It started because of you?" Ma Yu was taken aback, her brows furrowing. "What do you mean?"

The others also cast puzzled glances at them.

Lin Tian said calmly, "Just three months ago, I killed a group of Mongols, whose leader called himself 'Prince.' Now that their iron cavalry is pressing in, they must be here to avenge this. Since I started it, I will end it."

"Prince... I remember now!" Sun Bu'er suddenly opened her eyes. "Senior brother! That young man with the fan that day kept shouting that he was some kind of prince!"