The martial artist took a deep breath and struggled to maintain a calm voice as he asked, “Did you^[1]你— you^[2]您; formal bring the heads? We need to inspect them.”

Lin Dan picked up the bundle she had casually tossed aside earlier. The bundle was bulging and heavy, with the faint outline of facial features visible through the cloth. A strong smell of blood wafted through the air and the person responsible for receiving her grew even more cautious, accepting the bundle with the utmost respect. He carefully examined the seven heads inside. Fearing his own judgment might not be enough, he even called the branch leader out to verify.

One by one, the people who were selecting tasks in the hall began to gather around, their expressions varied— some were suspicious, some grave, and others dismissive.

“She’s probably here to scam the bounty. It happened before.”

“Scam the Jianghu Alliance? She must have a death wish!”

“I think it’s real. This person must be Lin Dan from the Eastern Sacred Sect. Who else could have the ability to kill seven half-step grandmasters in one go?”

“Even if it’s her, it’s still hard to believe. You have to remember, she just recently advanced to half-step grandmaster herself. Her state is still unstable and she lacks combat experience. How could she compare to those seasoned masters?”

Amid the murmurs, the branch leader had finished inspecting all the heads. He first looked at Lin Dan with deep reverence, then took a cloth soaked in a special liquid and leaped up to the wanted list, wiping off the names from one to seven.

“May I ask who you are?” The branch leader had already guessed, but couldn’t help asking anyway.

“When will I receive the money?” Lin Dan replied with a question instead.

The branch leader’s expression froze for a moment.

Bai Yan suppressed his laughter and said, “She is Lin Dan. Hurry up and give her the bounty.”

“That’s right. I still have many debts to pay.” Lin Dan stated bluntly.

The branch leader’s expression grew even more complex. It was the first time he had ever seen a half-step grandmaster so poor.

Bai Yan could no longer hold back and turned away to laugh quietly.

Lin Dan ignored him and walked straight to the board to see what other task she could take. The people who had learned her true identity no longer dared to underestimate her. They quickly stepped back as she approached, leaving a three-meter gap between her and everyone else, their faces filled with deep respect.

Another martial artist jumped up to the ranking board and swapped Lin Dan’s nameplate with that of the Great Elder of Lianyun City. He then added a note beside her name— 「Suspected to have advanced to Grandmaster」.

As soon as this annotation was made, the crowd erupted in shock. They had already retreated three meters, but now they scrambled even further back, terrified of offending Lin Dan. A grandmaster, and a living one at that! They never expected to see one in their lifetime! Who would have thought a grandmaster would leave their sect or city to hunt down evil people? This was incredibly down-to-earth!

For some reason, the martial artists who had been in awe of Lin Dan now felt a sense of closeness toward her. Grandmasters were the pinnacle of the Eastern Tang Continent, ruling over cities or even entire nations. None of them would deign to involve themselves in common matters, let alone personally eradicate evil. They were untouchable, pristine beings. Yet, the girl before them, though expressionless, gazed at the board with the curiosity of a child.

So, grandmasters could be like this! With this thought, many martial artists, though still respectful, gathered a bit closer to Lin Dan. Lin Dan, still focused on the board, paid no attention to the commotion around her. No matter how skilled she was, she was still just an ordinary person, no different from anyone else.

Watching Lin Dan slowly get surrounded by the crowd, Bai Yan’s cool eyes warmed, a hint of a smile flickering within them.

After a while, someone wiped a wall clean and wrote up a new list— the Jianghu Power Ranking. At the top was Lianyun City, followed by Yanhuang City…… Meanwhile, Lin Dan’s former sect, the Eastern Sacred Sect, had jumped from being a minor, evil faction to becoming a major sect, second only to the Xiaoyao Sect in influence. They were now actively recruiting disciples to restore their former glory. Unable to locate the elusive Lin Dan, the remaining sect members brought He Yufei back to serve as the acting leader.

The current Eastern Sacred Sect was what He Chongling and his father had dreamed of making, but they would never get to see it.

Lin Dan withdrew her gaze, her expression calm. A nearby bounty hunter, summoning his courage, asked, “Grandmaster Lin, which task do you plan to take next?”

Everyone pricked up their ears at the question, and the spies from the demonic sects tensed up. Over the past three months, Lin Dan’s hunt for the seven great evildoers had nearly devastated the demonic sects. They had sent many assassins to kill her, but all had fallen to her blade, leaving them in utter fear. They had risked coming to the Jianghu Alliance to gather information.

“None. I’ll leave some jobs for you.” Lin Dan replied, shaking her head.

The bounty hunter breathed a sigh of relief, his fear replaced by admiration. Where else could they find a grandmaster as righteous and approachable as Lin Dan? The demonic sect spies also relaxed, gradually leaving the Jianghu Alliance. From then on, they all kept a low profile, terrified that Lin Dan might disapprove of them and cut them down.

That said, due to the large sum involved, the Jianghu Alliance spent half an hour counting and another half-hour gathering the funds, but they still couldn’t pay the full amount. Since Lin Dan was alone and couldn’t carry much gold, she accepted a bag of gold leaves and a promissory note. She planned to withdraw the money in installments from the Alliance’s branches as she traveled from city to city, making it more convenient for her.

As she left the Jianghu Alliance, Lin Dan handed two gold leaves to Bai Yan and said proudly, “Here, now we’re done!”

Bai Yan smiled lightly and said, “You can keep it. From now on, all my expenses will be on your tab until the debt is paid off.” For some reason, he really disliked the word ‘done’.

Lin Dan thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright.” The two of them continued their journey to the next city, without any plans or purpose. They went wherever the road took them, and surprisingly, it was quite pleasant.

As they walked, Lin Dan noticed that almost all the women in the Jianghu passing by were dressed in black and carrying large swords, looking exactly like her. She couldn’t help but feel dazzled by the sight. Bai Yan didn’t find it strange, but his smile carried a hint of strangeness. When they entered an inn, they overheard some martial artists sighing, “Ah, how times change! In the past, everyone thought wielding a double-edge straight sword was the most elegant, but now, they believe using a single-edge curved sword is more imposing. The weapon shops can’t even keep up with the demand for singe-edge swords!”

“Who made Grandmaster Lin suddenly rise to prominence? She’s the only female among the six Grandmasters, and the youngest as well. Even Emperor Yun was over twenty when he was promoted to Grandmaster, yet she’s not even eighteen. Give her a few more years and she might be able to challenge Emperor Yun himself!”

“The younger generation is truly fearsome!”

“Such monstrous talent!”

No matter how others marveled, Lin Dan’s expression remained unchanged, while the usually indifferent Bai Yan furrowed his brows as if troubled. Others envied Lin Dan but they had no idea what kind of pain she was enduring. She was being tortured every moment, facing death every second, and the only thing keeping her sane was her iron will. If it were someone else, not to mention walking, sitting, or lying down, he’s afraid they would even find breathing hard.

Thinking of this, Bai Yan said quietly, “If it were up to me, you’d be ranked first.”

Lin Dan glanced at him and, surprisingly, made a joke, “Can I surpass Emperor Yun?”

“You can.” Bai Yan gazed deeply at her, a glimmer in his eyes.

Lin Dan nodded solemnly. “I hope I have the chance to face him in the future.” With that, she took out a map and pointed out, “Our next destination is Wen^[3]Plague City.”

Bai Yan’s relaxed expression immediately tightened and he waved his hand, “We can’t go there.”

“Why?” Lin Dan asked.

“The city is called Wen City for a reason.” Bai Yan replied.

“Wen refers to plague. Then Wen City is actually a city of plague?” Lin Dan frowned.

“Exactly.”

“If it’s a city of plague, why does it still exist? Haven’t any doctors gone there to treat the disease? Even without doctors, if the sick were isolated, the plague wouldn’t spread, but within a few years, the city would disappear from the map.” Lin Dan found it hard to understand.

Bai Yan didn’t want to explain further. He carefully folded the map and said slowly, “It exists for a reason, so don’t get involved. The plague there is incurable. Even the Medicine Valley’s Divine Doctor personally visited it years ago and had no solution. To avoid catching the plague, we should take a detour and visit Chun^[4]Spring City instead. It’s warm all year round and has beautiful scenery. You’ll definitely like it there.”

Lin Dan shook her head and said bluntly, “The more you don’t want me to go, the more I want to see it.”

Bai Yan felt a headache coming on and couldn’t help but rub his temples. If it had been anyone else defying him like this, he would have slapped them into a wall long ago. But this was Lin Dan, and he couldn’t think of any other option but to compromise.

Bai Yan sighed. “……Alright, then let’s set off at dawn.”

———pr


The next day, they arrived at Wen City, but instead of a desolate wasteland filled with corpses, they found bustling streets and numerous shops. The city was unexpectedly prosperous.

“See? Wen City is just like any other place. Let’s leave now.” Bai Yan immediately suggested.

Lin Dan glanced at him and directly pointed out, “Don’t try to deceive me. Look at the people on the streets. They walk with hunched shoulders and fearful expressions. Even innocent children cling to their parents while trembling, too scared to play loudly. Only the martial artists in tight clothing dare to speak loudly, taking whatever they want from the shops without paying a single coin, while the shopkeepers still bow and serve them politely. If this city isn’t strange, then what is? I want to see what’s really going on in this Wen City, whether it’s a natural disaster or a man-made one.”

Bai Yan sighed and rubbed his forehead, once again defeated by Lin Dan’s keen insight. He should have known that if Lin Dan could see through the facade of Bulao City, she would surely uncover the truth behind Wen City as well. Her hatred for injustice was bound to get her into serious trouble someday.