My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 488: Chapter 219: Deserted Village

And so, most eyes were on Qin Fang, gazes filled with amazement and awe landing upon him...

...Of course, they were all familiar with Qin Fang. But he was mostly known for his other identities: the Sect’s greatest talent, the Scripture Lecturer of the Tempering Martial Hall, the one who gave the In-Depth Discussion on Mirror Flower Water Moon, and so on.

Few had ever imagined that he had such a side to him on the battlefield!

...After all, he was only at the True Essence Second Realm!

There was a huge gap between him and the likes of Yue Shan and Yun Guanyu.

And yet, with just his True Essence Second Realm Cultivation, he had managed a superior performance that rivaled even Yue Shan and Yun Guanyu!

What’s more, of all the disciples who returned from the battlefield with him, not a single one disputed this!

They all felt his performance was entirely deserving of the praise!

...That in itself was astounding.

”They say Senior Brother Qin is a completely different person on the battlefield... His killing intent is even more terrifying than the disciples from the Luzhan Lineage...”

”I heard that too. When it comes to killing Cultists, Senior Brother Qin shows not a shred of mercy...”

”...It’s hard to imagine what Senior Brother Qin’s expression was like... He always seems so gentle and approachable. I greeted him once, and he even smiled back at me...”

The disciples who hadn’t been in the battle murmured among themselves.

”That’s because we’re fellow disciples. Of course he’s gentle with us. But if we were his enemies... You haven’t seen what Senior Brother Qin looks like when he’s resolved to kill. The mere sight sent a chill down my spine!”

A disciple who had been on the battlefield chimed in quietly.

His words drew gasps of shock.

Qin Fang stood there quietly, lost in thought.

After the ceremony for rewarding merit ended, Qin Fang flew off, and no one knew where he went.

「A few days passed in a flash.」

The atmosphere within the Sect had been somber these past few days. Many had died, and whenever disciples brought it up in casual conversation, they would suddenly fall into a stunned silence.

However, this atmosphere didn’t last for too long...

...It was just as his master had said: ’The dead are gone, but the living must move forward.’

During this time, the Sect sent disciples to continue the Investigation around Jiulian Island, hoping to find more clues.

As it turned out, it seemed all the Cultists were dead. Even Jiulian Island itself... had been shattered by the attacks of the powerful experts that day. It had crumbled several days later, most of it sinking into the Great Cloud Marsh, with only a few fragments remaining.

Several days later, Qin Fang returned to Lanyang City and met with his senior sister.

His senior sister hadn’t participated in the great battle... As Qin Fang had gone in his capacity as the Sacrificial Hall Chief Steward, she naturally had to remain in the city and hold down the fort at the Sacrificial Hall.

She clearly already knew everything. Upon seeing Qin Fang, she didn’t say much, only offering a gentle smile.

Qin Fang went back to being a hands-off manager. He returned to the company of the local anglers, sitting with them all day. But he would often get lost in thought; sometimes, a fish would take his bait, and he would only snap out of his daze when a nearby fisherman reminded him.

...’The dead are gone; the living move on.’

Easy enough to say.

But Qin Fang’s heart remained heavy, weighed down by an oppressive feeling.

His senior sister would occasionally come to sit with him, but it didn’t make him feel much better.

He finally decided he needed to get away for a while. ’If I stay cooped up in Lanyang City every day... who knows when I’ll start to feel better.’

As it happened, on the tenth day after the great battle, the members of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect were preparing to leave.

They had decided to form a mutual defense pact with the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect, but the finer details still required negotiation. They also needed to return and discuss the situation regarding the Path of Non-Birth with the rest of their sect. ℴ

At the same time, they would begin dedicating manpower to a strict investigation of the Three Religions within Jinlan Prefecture.

Zhao Yuanling and the others would naturally be returning with them.

After seeing off the members of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect, Qin Fang went to his master and informed him of his intention to leave the Sect for a period of time.

He was currently the rotating Chief Steward for the Sacrificial Hall. However, with his senior sister there, and given that he had always been a hands-off manager anyway, his departure wouldn’t cause any problems.

His master readily agreed.

...In truth, he had been keeping an eye on Qin Fang’s condition lately.

He had, of course, noticed Qin Fang’s despondency.

But he hadn’t said anything. In fact...

...he was growing even more satisfied with this disciple of his.

...This was ample proof of Qin Fang’s deep sense of loyalty and empathy.

What could be more gratifying to a master than having such a loyal and empathetic disciple?

After bidding farewell to his master, Qin Fang made a trip to the Pill Pavilion.

He currently had over a million contribution points... the vast majority of which he had earned from his previous lecture on Mirror Flower Water Moon Minor Achievement.

He hadn’t spent any of them in the past few months.

The fifty-thousand-point reward he had just received... was just a drop in the bucket by comparison.

To be fair, Qin Fang’s current total of contribution points was likely one of the largest in the entire Sect.

Qin Fang exchanged all of these contribution points for True Essence Pills.

They made for a huge bundle.

...This time, Qin Fang didn’t plan on taking Xile with him.

Besides cultivating in seclusion, he also wanted to wander around and see the sights.

After trading for the True Essence Pills, Qin Fang went to Guiyuan Valley. He found a few disciples he knew well and asked them to look after Xile for him. The disciples immediately puffed out their chests and assured him it would be no problem at all.

After bidding farewell to Master Fan, he went to the Sacrificial Hall to say goodbye to his senior sister.

His senior sister nodded gently, telling him to be careful on his journey and not to worry about the Sacrificial Hall; she would be there to manage things.

That very night, Qin Fang took to the skies and departed from Lanyang City.

「Several days later」, Qin Fang arrived back at Old Ox Back.

Returning to Old Ox Back this time, however, stirred a different kind of feeling within him.

Throughout the bamboo forest were traces of the lives his master, his master’s wife, his senior brother, and Qinghe had once lived here.