Quadruple split.

Chapter 2957 Pure Snow Reborn
There is a high probability that this is a historical country.

The ruling class of this country is plagued by internal contradictions.

To the north, a barbarian tribe called the Di Rong repeatedly invaded the south, and the court was largely inclined to seek peace and concessions.

Logically speaking, the pro-war faction was likely composed of border generals and some patriotic officials who had no vested interests in the conflict. However, as Xie Yu'an said, the people behind the pro-peace faction were mostly from prominent families, including even his own Xie family.

In this situation, a general named Li Chongshan, who was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Gaoyang and stationed at Gaoyang Pass in Jiangbei, died in battle not long ago. He first held off the Di Rong army of 100,000 with his 20,000 troops for three months. Finally, after running out of ammunition and food and the enemy breached the city, he led his 3,000 remaining troops in a desperate fight to the death, buying precious time for the people to evacuate. He fought to the last moment.

Of course, there are many doubts here. Some specific details, positions, and relationships cannot stand up to scrutiny. There are even questions about why the civilians did not evacuate during the three months that General Li resisted, but instead became a burden at the last moment, leading to the death of the general and three thousand soldiers who stayed behind to cover the retreat.

Even among the so-called peace-loving aristocratic families, there was no possibility of a monolithic unity. The final outcome depended on the will of many, the compromises of many, the role played by the court, whether the person on the throne was a true dragon or a puppet, and the power struggles between many people and factions behind the scenes. There are simply too many stories to count.

Fortunately, Mo Tan did not come to save the world from suffering. He was also well aware that the 'present' he was experiencing had already become the predetermined future, so he would not act impulsively.

In fact, he didn't have much to be 'spirited' about. After all, from the beginning, the current personality of Mo Tan was not someone who cared about the common people and was willing to do anything to be a partner of justice. He was just a good person who was considerate and upright enough.

There are many things in this world that he cannot change; there are countless relative justices and evils in this world; this world has never been a philosophical testing ground where things are simply black and white.

Therefore, even now, Mo Tan has never thought of becoming a partner or messenger of justice to save worlds, countries, dynasties, and ideologies that do not need to be saved by anyone.

He was just a good person.

An ordinary, good person.

At least that's what he thinks.

In short, neither the 'Mo' in the game nor the person outside the game whom Yi Dong jokingly calls 'good kid Mo Tan' will be brainwashed by those childish and ridiculous acts of heroism in this situation, and will stop thinking about those unrealistic and stupid things.

In fact, Mo Tan only had one thing on his mind right now: to complete the storyline of this small instance, to make things develop in his favor as much as possible, or at least not in his favor, and then to complete the task in the shortest possible time... or to try a few more times in this half hour.

Fortunately, his quick and clear mind allowed him to complete simultaneous analysis at top speed without compromising the efficiency of acquiring new intelligence.

……

"Xueying has already issued a challenge to Commander Di Rong, intending to fight him to the death at dawn tomorrow."

Mo Tan quietly extracted the key point from Xie Yu'an's words, then asked bluntly, "So who is Xueying? And who is the commander of Di Rong?"

"Xueying is a hero on our side. Because he comes and goes without a trace, every time he makes a move, it creates a spectacle like snow falling from the sky. He also wears a mask on his face, so we people in the martial arts world call him 'Xueying'. Not only that, because he has killed several powerful corrupt officials, the imperial court is also looking for him, and the bounty on his head is also written as 'Xueying'."

Xie Yu'an smiled slightly and said, "Speaking of Xueying, I remember when we traveled together last time, we talked about Xueying. However, Brother Chi, you didn't seem very interested in her at the time. I would often change the subject after I had only said a few words about the rumors about Xueying."

Mo Tan sighed and said with a wry smile, "I'm interested in everything now, so you can speak freely."

"Haha, look at what you're saying, Brother Chi, it's as if I'm a fan of Xueying."

Xie Yu'an, who had subtly changed his address from "Brother Chi" to "Big Brother Chi," shrugged, then coughed lightly. He changed his previous elegant and aristocratic demeanor and scratched his cheek with a rather subtle expression: "Although I am indeed an admirer of Xueying."

Mo Tan: "Brother Xie, you... you wouldn't have decided to learn martial arts and roam the martial world because of that Xueying, would you?"

"Haha, Brother Chi, you're overthinking it. You know, Xueying first appeared seven years ago, while I, Xie, have been practicing martial arts since I was six years old. Although I look a bit young, I don't look like a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child at all, do I?"

Xie Yu'an couldn't help but wave his hand and said cheerfully, "Brother Chi, you don't know this. Although our Xie family has long since fallen into worldly ways and become what others call a noble family, we started out as a security escort agency and salt merchants. If you want to make it in these two industries, you can't do it without some skills. That's why all the male members of our Xie family, whether they are direct or collateral branches, must learn the family's martial arts from a young age. Collateral branch members are even required to travel the world before their superiors to cultivate relationships with old friends. In this respect, my Xie family is actually much closer to the world than ordinary noble families."

"I see."

Mo Tan, who hadn't expected Xie Yu'an to explain so much, nodded very seriously and said sincerely, "Although I really want to say that I'm ignorant, considering that I don't remember anything right now, let's just say I'm not guilty of ignorance?"

Xie Yu'an laughed heartily and said, "Brother Chi, you really know how to joke. It's just a chat, there's no crime involved. Besides, although I didn't learn martial arts because of Hero Xueying, it was because of him that I embarked on this path of the martial world."

"Oh?"

Mo Tan looked at the other person with some surprise and asked curiously, "I thought it was because of what you just said, that the Xie family members need to travel around the world for a period of time before taking charge."

"Haha, that's definitely how it is with 'collateral' descendants."

Xie Yu'an winked at Mo Tan and said in a light tone, "But I am a direct descendant. Logically speaking, I only need to be taken by my elders to meet my 'old friends' and practice my martial arts to a certain level. But I never expected that I would be considered a martial arts prodigy. I had already reached the Great Perfection of the family's 'Prefect's Embracing Yuan Skill' when I was eleven years old. Then I studied the superior mental technique 'Jade Balance Skill' with Mr. Sikong, whom my father hired at great expense. By the time I was seventeen, I had already reached the seventh level. When I came to my senses, I had already become the genius boy in other people's eyes."

Although Mo Tan didn't know exactly what level the seventh level of the Jade Balance Technique was, if the concept of 'high-level' under the [Realm of Innocence] were brought to the time thousands of years ago outside the game, he could probably guess that this Brother Xie was indeed a master of his generation.

"However, I personally wasn't interested in wandering the world at the time, especially since I was told from a young age that I should take over the family business, so I never intended to venture out at first."

Xie Yu'an smiled shyly and shook his head, saying, "Seven years ago, I noticed someone who was about my age doing something I never even dared to dream of. I was immediately swept away by a surge of passion. Haha, Brother Chi, you don't know this, but the first scoundrel killed by that Xueying met me before he died. Even though I loathed that kind of scum, I had to bite the bullet and call him 'Uncle' back then."

Having a perfectly sound mind, Mo Tan, who had already guessed that he... or rather, that Chi Qing, the spear spirit, was very likely the 'Snow Shadow', very considerately offered a question: "And then?"

"Then I suddenly felt that this 'home' was a bit boring, so after thinking for a long time, or more accurately, after that Xueying had gradually become famous, I asked my father for three years to come out and relax, to do the things I had always wanted to do but couldn't do, and to think about whether I could try my luck and run into that Xueying."

Xie Yu'an stroked the long sword at his waist and chuckled, "I do indeed have a considerable degree of admiration for that person. The reason I risked traveling north this time was to see if I could meet him." "Then I wish Brother Xie all the best."

Mo Tan smiled and asked again, "Speaking of which, regarding the matter of Xueying issuing a challenge to Commander Di Rong, did Xueying herself receive the news?"

"How could that be? That guy is always so mysterious, like a dragon whose head is never seen. He's too busy hiding his whereabouts to announce where he's going or what he's doing."

Xie Yu'an chuckled and shook his head, saying, "The news was spread by Bai Xiaosheng."

Mo Tan nodded slightly and continued to inquire, "And who is this all-knowing scholar?"

"do not know."

Xie Yu'an spread his hands and then quickly explained to Mo Tan, who looked a little confused, "If even Xue Ying has been seen wearing a mask, no one has ever seen Bai Xiaosheng. This guy suddenly appeared five years ago by writing his name in a book called 'Weapon Ranking'."

Mo Tan was taken aback again: "The Weapon Ranking?"

"That's right. The book is called 'Weapon Ranking,' signed by Bai Xiaosheng. It records the rankings, weapons, martial arts techniques, and even some trivial anecdotes of more than a hundred masters in the world."

Xie Yu'an casually took out a thin booklet from his pocket and placed it in front of Mo Tan, saying seriously, "A brand new version of these 'Weapon Compendiums' will appear every month, with exactly one hundred copies each time. However, because of their high popularity, they are usually copied in large quantities within two days of their appearance, and by the third day, anyone can buy a copy of the latest 'Weapon Compendium' for just a few coins."

"I see."

Mo Tan nodded slightly, then opened the booklet in front of him.

The booklet was written in regular script, so it wasn't difficult to read. However, the problem was that, apart from the title "Weaponry Ranking" and the signature "Bai Xiaosheng" at the very top, most of the content in the booklet was completely blurry, making it hundreds of times messier than Mu Xuejian's calligraphy. Simply put, it was completely unreadable.

Mo Tan felt that those vague contents were things that Gun Soul himself didn't care about, so he didn't remember them at all, which is why even his subconscious was in chaos and there wasn't even a snapshot of them.

As for the few items that could be clearly seen, there were only a handful of names: Wuming, ranked first on the weapon ranking list, named Shenji Sword; Xueying, ranked sixth, named Suxue Spear; Su, ranked thirteenth, named Zhuyan Blade; Xie Yu'an, ranked thirty-fifth, named Baiyu Sword; and Chi Qing, ranked ninety-ninth, named Xunying Spear.

【really……】

Upon seeing the words "Su Xue Spear," Mo Tan immediately realized that "he" was definitely Xue Ying. He twitched the corner of his mouth. After all, aside from some extremely melodramatic situations, the owner of "Xiao Su Xue Spear" was probably the Spear Soul from the beginning, which was Chi Qing, whom Mo Tan was playing at this moment.

What's surprising is that Chi Qing's name is indeed on the list, and ranked very low.

Either that all-knowing scholar's intelligence-gathering ability is still lacking, or there is some tangible agreement or intangible tacit understanding between him and 'me'.

Mo Tan thought to himself, then pretended to look at it carefully before returning the booklet to Xie Yu'an and said with a smile, "That all-knowing scholar is indeed very powerful, but since even someone like me can be on the list, it seems that the value of this 'Weapon Ranking' is just so-so."

Clearly, the target of this statement was not the "Weapon Ranking" or the "All-Knowing Scholar," but Mo Tan herself. The purpose was very simple: to get Xie Yu'an to tell Mo Tan in person just how strong this "Chi Qing" really was.

really--

"Brother Chi, you're wrong to say that."

Xie Yu'an's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "Although I also feel that the weapon rankings in the past few periods are somewhat biased, that's because Brother Chi's ranking seems a bit too low to me. You know, although I have made some progress in the past six months, my strength is only slightly better than when you saved me before, Brother Chi. Yet I'm ranked thirty-five, while you're only ninety-nine. That's the real problem."

"If that's the case..."

Mo Tan suddenly turned his gaze to Xie Yu'an's waist and asked, "Brother Xie, this sword of yours must be something extraordinary."

"Ah."

Xie Yu'an nodded slightly and smiled, "It was my father and Master Sikong who spent a lot of money to find someone to make it for me, and it can perfectly match my Jade Balance Skill."

"I see, then it's not surprising."

Mo Tan immediately realized and smiled, "Since it is a 'Weapon Ranking,' it should naturally focus on weapons. My broken spear is naturally no match for Brother Xie's precious sword."

After saying that, he casually tore off the white cloth wrapped around the spear.

The snow gleamed again, and a sudden chill set in.

Where the sharp edge rises abruptly, a solitary line stands alone. Its sharpness is too intense to behold, like a lone star falling from the heavens on a winter night, solidified and unyielding.

With guns in place, the summer heat dissipates, the wind dares not howl, the dust dares not rise, and the fields fall silent.

Mo Tan's last impression was Xie Yu'an's suddenly wide-eyed stare—

"The Snow Spear!? Brother Chi, you could be..."

Then, Mo Tan returned to the stone platform with a completely bewildered look on her face, her whole body numb.

Chapter 2948: The End