Devour: Can you also draw entries from clone projection worlds?

You spent another year on the Cliff of Contemplation, and spring seemed to come particularly late this year.

It's mid-April, and the snow on the mountain hasn't completely melted yet. Clumps of snow can still be seen on the shady slopes under the pine trees.

You stand at the cave entrance, watching the distant mountains begin to turn green. For some reason, you suddenly feel an urge to go down the mountain and take a look.

It's not because you're tired of staying here, but because you suddenly feel you should come down the mountain. Yes, it just suddenly felt that way.

You've spent several years on the Cliff of Contemplation, and your swordsmanship has reached the pinnacle of first-class skill, your movement techniques have become incredibly refined, and your internal energy is steadily improving.

But "practice" and "application" are two different things.

No matter how much swordsmanship you practice on the Cliff of Contemplation, you'll never know how strong you truly are without the test of actual combat.

Furthermore, although his internal energy cultivation is getting closer and closer to the peak of the mid-stage of first-class, the progress is getting smaller and smaller. Obviously, if he relies solely on hard work, his progress will only become slower and slower.

You need worldly experience and real combat, not the kind of life-or-death battles that you'd rather avoid, but rather low-intensity, controllable real combat.

For example, sparring with third- or second-rate masters in the martial arts world might feel like overpowering them, but is it shameful to bully weaker opponents? You're simply testing your swordsmanship and movement skills to see where you stand.

[With a thought, the speed of internal energy circulation suddenly increased. If it weren't for your strong physique, your meridians might have been damaged.]

"This... peak mid-stage first-rate internal energy, could it be because it aligns with my own thoughts?"

It's understandable that you might think this way; you've just made a decision, and things are immediately changing on the other side. Clearly, there's a high probability that either of these two scenarios is possible.

[Then you spent two days preparing, polishing your sword until it gleamed, washing your robes clean, and packing your rations and water bottle.]

You even went down the mountain to the market to buy a new straw hat and some materials.

After returning to the Cliff of Contemplation, you spent half an hour altering your face, transforming your thirty-year-old appearance into that of a forty-year-old. You drew wrinkles around your eyes, added a fake beard to your chin, and tied your hair up, making you look like a down-on-his-luck middle-aged swordsman.

You looked at the puddle from left to right, and when you were satisfied, you slung your sword over your shoulder and started walking down the mountain.

Your first stop is Hengyang City, not because you want to go there, but because Hengyang City is the closest to Mount Hua, and there is a "Qunyu Courtyard" there. You're not going to find girls, but to gather information.

Qunyu Courtyard is the largest restaurant in Hengyang City. People from all over the country like to stay there because it is the most well-informed.

You spent three days traveling to Hengyang City, found an inconspicuous little inn to stay in, and that very night you went to Qunyu Courtyard.

The Qunyu Courtyard was doing very well. The lobby on the first floor was full of people, including merchants dressed in silk, swordsmen, women in heavy makeup, and drunken scholars.

You found a corner seat, ordered a pot of tea and a plate of peanuts, pulled your straw hat down low, and quietly listened to the conversations around you.

"Have you heard? Recently, a masked swordsman has appeared in the martial arts world. He specifically targets bullies who prey on men and women, and he has already killed seven or eight people."

"I've heard of him, what's his name again? Something like... 'The Faceless Swordsman'?"

"No one knows his name, and no one has ever seen his face. All we know is that he uses a sword, and his swordsmanship is incredibly fast, so fast that it's impossible to see clearly. No one you've set your sights on has ever escaped."

As you listened to these words, a thought struck you: a masked swordsman? Targeting thugs? This didn't sound like the plot of the original novel, *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*.

Could it be a time traveler? Or a hidden character from the original story?

Without giving it much thought, you continued listening.

"There's another piece of news: things aren't going well at the Huashan Sect lately. After Yue Buqun died, the sect was leaderless, with several inner disciples fighting amongst themselves, none willing to submit to the others. Most of the outer disciples have deserted, and the remaining ones are also looking for a way out."

"The Huashan Sect used to be so glorious, but now it's like this."

"Yes, that's how the world is—ups and downs, who can say for sure?"

Hearing this, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside you. The Huashan Sect, the place you'd spent over a decade in, was just about to be dissolved.

Although you've always been invisible, and no one has ever paid attention to you, it's still a place you've lived in for ten years.

Those stone steps, those trees, those houses—you could walk through them with your eyes closed. Now, all of those things are gone.

You shook your head, suppressing your emotions. The Huashan Sect may be gone, but you still have your own path to walk.

You spent five days in Hengyang City, gathering information for the first four days, and then encountered an "opportunity" on the fifth day.

That evening, you were walking on the official road outside the city, heading back to the inn, when you reached a grove of trees and heard the sounds of fighting ahead.

You moved quietly, taking advantage of the "concealed aura" effect, and approached a little closer.

Through the gaps in the bushes, you can see three people attacking one person.

The person being attacked was a middle-aged woman, dressed in coarse cloth and holding a long sword.

She was attacked by three men, all dressed in identical black outfits and carrying knives.

The woman was skilled in martial arts, but fighting three against one, she was clearly at a disadvantage. Her left arm had been slashed, and blood was dripping down her sleeve.

You hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to make a move.

In the past, you definitely wouldn't have intervened; it's better to avoid trouble, and the consequences of getting involved would be unimaginable.

But things are different now; your purpose in coming down the mountain is for real combat.

The battle in front of you is not very intense, and the three men in black are only second-rate in terms of martial arts. You are confident that you can take them down without getting injured.

Moreover, the woman didn't seem like a bad person; her swordsmanship was upright and honest, without a trace of evil.

Those three men in black were ruthless, each strike aimed at vital points; they were clearly not good people.

You made a decision.

You emerge from your hiding place, your steps neither fast nor slow, as if you were just passing by.

"Gentlemen, there's a world of your own. Why fight like this?" Your voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear amidst the sounds of fighting.

The three men in black and the woman were all stunned for a moment. One of the men in black turned around, glanced at you, and sneered, "Mind your own business and get lost!"

Instead of rolling away, you drew your sword.

"I'll ask you one last time, could you please give me the honor of stopping?"

"Who do you think you are? You think you're worthy of our respect?" the man in black said, swinging his knife at you.

You sidestepped, and with a light touch of your sword tip, you struck the man in black's wrist. The man's knife clattered to the ground, and he clutched his wrist, screaming in pain.

Seeing this, the other two men in black released the woman and rushed towards you together.

You didn't withdraw...