Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

Wherever the thugs went, the vendors lowered their heads, daring not to speak out against their anger, and could only offer them money with fawning smiles.

Gu Shuxian frowned.

There are many such people in chaotic times; they dare not provoke the powerful and wealthy, but only bully ordinary people.

However, although these thugs are arrogant, they should be no match for me.

Should we teach them a lesson?

Gu Shuxian narrowed his eyes, his gaze gradually turning dangerous.

But he quickly closed his eyes and shook his head.

It's not worth it.

Showing off is like putting yourself on the hot seat.

Regardless of whether the sects involved will investigate further, if the younger ones are attacked and the older ones come along, that would be troublesome.

Just as he was pondering this, the thugs arrived in front of their shop.

The bearded man at the head of the group was about to speak when he saw Qian Le's face, paused for a moment, and then put on a smiling face.

"Hey, Brother Qian! Long time no see!"

A tall, thin guy behind him also shouted, "Brother Deng's here too! You guys've had a tough time these past few trips!"

His attitude changed drastically from arrogant to obsequious, making him seem like a completely different person.

Gu Shuxian raised an eyebrow. What's going on here?

Only then did he notice that Qian Le had remained expressionless, simply replying indifferently:

"I took my junior brother down the mountain to buy some things and sell some local produce. I've been quite busy lately."

"Busy! Busy is good!" The bearded man smiled obsequiously, then turned to Gu Shuxian and asked疑惑地问道, "And who is this?"

"My junior brother's surname is Gu."

"So it's Brother Gu!" the bearded man exclaimed in surprise.

"Hello, Brother Gu!" his underlings greeted in unison.

Looking at the several burly men, more than ten years older than him, bowing and scraping as they called him "brother," Gu Shuxian got goosebumps all over his body.

"Alright, if you don't have anything else to say, then leave! Don't disturb my business."

Qian Le frowned, waved his hand, and spoke.

The bearded man wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he took out some copper coins and said ingratiatingly, "My wife has been talking about eating bamboo shoots these past few days. Brother Qian's bamboo shoots are quite good. I'll buy some to take home."

Qian Le didn't stand on ceremony, took the money, and gave him a bag of bamboo shoots.

The bearded man exchanged a few more pleasantries, making polite remarks such as inviting his senior brother for drinks another day, before leisurely leaving with a few of his men.

After the thugs left, Gu Shuxian lowered his voice and asked:

"Senior Brother Qian, this is...?"

Qian Le laughed triumphantly, "Junior Brother Gu, you should know that we are disciples of the Suishan Sword Sect!"

Deng Shifan, standing beside him, nodded vigorously, revealing an expression of both pride and disgrace.

"No, that's right. We are disciples of the Sui Sui Mountain Sword Sect. Who would dare to disrespect us?"

"Those thugs are from the Great River Gang. The gang leader is known as 'Stabilizing Waves Hand' Yan Zhenjiang, a notorious figure. He has mastered the unique internal energy technique, Zhenjiang Gong, to an unparalleled degree, and has already reached the Meridian Opening Realm... Meridian Opening Realm, do you even know what that means? He could crush us mere Flesh Refining Realm nobodies with a single hand!"

"Even with an expert like that, any one of the inner disciples of our Suishan Sword Sect could easily wipe out his entire gang!"

Thinking of the sect's awesomeness, even as the lowest-ranking servant disciple, Qian Le proudly puffed out his chest.

Zhenjiang Merit?

Why does this sound like the Mysterious Yin Technique?

Gu Shuxian's brows remained furrowed as he asked:

"But aren't we afraid that exposing our identities like this will attract the attention of those outcasts?"

Gu Shuxian hadn't forgotten that there was a group of lunatics who were specifically targeting his former fellow disciples.

Qian Le's smile froze for a moment, then turned into a hint of helplessness as he said:

"Of course I know that, but these thugs are the most troublesome. If they didn't know you were a disciple of Suishan, they would cause you trouble every few days, demanding money from you. If you don't pay them, they can ruin your business!"

"Besides, we've been doing this business for almost a year now, and nothing's happened. We stay on main roads and in crowded places. How easy is it to run into a pack of mad dogs?"

"Don't, don't worry too much," Deng Shifan said.

Gu Shuxian shook his head. It was too late to have any doubts now. It seemed that Qian Le's sect identity had already been revealed.

However, since nothing has happened so far, there's no need to worry too much.

Gu Shuxian remained silent for a moment before asking another question.

"How dare this gang, so arrogant, act so domineeringly under our sect?"

The subtext of this statement is: We are a righteous sect, shouldn't we live in peace and prosperity within a radius of a hundred miles?

How can there be such scoundrels who prey on their neighbors in this area?

If those wicked villains seize on this point and attack them as hypocrites, they won't know how to refute it!

"You've come to the right person! I've been down the mountain for a year and have heard all sorts of news!"

Qian Le perked up, revealing an expression that said, "I don't tell this to just anyone."

He lowered his voice:

"The root of the problem still lies with our sect leader!"

"Oh, how so?"

"Hey, when our sect leader came to Suishan to establish the sect, the city lord of Wancheng helped us a lot, providing money, food, and manpower. It's fair to say that the city lord contributed greatly to the Suishan Sword Sect's success today!"

"However, after the sect gained a foothold, the city lord wanted to ask the sect leader to send some inner disciples to help him form a sword guard, but the sect leader refused, saying, 'The imperial court is the imperial court, and the martial world is the martial world. The Suishan Sword Sect is a martial world sect, and it should only concern itself with martial world affairs, and should not get too involved with the government's power!'"

"It is said that the two had a very unpleasant falling out after this incident, and since then, the relationship between Wancheng and our sect has become distant. Since we can't interfere in the affairs of the government, we don't bother with the gangs that Wancheng has nurtured itself, as long as they don't provoke us."

"I feel like the sect leader isn't being very fair in this matter..." Gu Shuxian complained.

"Hey, you can't say that. Who is our sect leader?"

Qian Le held a different view.

"Our Suishan Sword Sect may not be considered a top-tier force in the martial arts world, but our sect leader is known as the 'Sword Master'! The 'God of Craftsmen' Ouyang Ye left behind six masterpieces, among which the 'Jinghong Sword' is in our sect leader's hands. Over the years, which hero has dared to ask for it?"

"What is a city lord? There are countless people who want to curry favor with our sect leader!" Deng Shifan chimed in, his face full of admiration when he spoke of the sect leader.

Then the two of them started telling those hearsay legends and stories, embellishing them with extravagance.

What do you mean by slaying the renowned Right Envoy of the Demonic Sect with a single sword strike? What do you mean by someone exchanging the wealth of three cities for the Sect Leader's promise? What do you mean by the Sect Leader sealing his sword for ten years because there are no longer any opponents in the martial world worthy of his drawing...?

It's hard to tell the truth from the fake.

But without a doubt, Sect Leader Yang Qingfeng is the faith in the hearts of these Suishan Sword Sect disciples, the greatest refuge and spiritual pillar in the chaotic world.

Gu Shuxian listened quietly without refuting.

As a disciple of the Suishan Sword Sect, I have heard some of the legends about the sect leader Yang Qingfeng.

It is probably these legends that make the surrounding forces treat the Suishan Sword Sect with utmost respect.

The group chatted and laughed, and time flew by.

Lunch consisted of several hot sesame seed cakes that Deng Shifan bought at the street corner, along with cold water from a bamboo tube.

Gu Shuxian helped look after the shop, and when he had free time, he would flip through the book "The Record of Herbs". The contents of the book were obscure and difficult to understand, especially some of the technical terms, which required guessing. But when he thought about the great value it might contain, he read it with great interest.

Before we knew it, the sun began to set in the west, and the warm sunlight gradually turned a golden-red hue.

I noticed that most of the mountain produce on the stall had already been sold.

Gu Shuxian began to consider another matter on his mind.

A sequel to "The Legend of the Swordsman"!