"I'm just heading out," Lin San replied to Fu Xiaohu, feeling somewhat baffled by the question.
Now, even leaving the city required an explanation?
"Leaving the city? You wouldn't be trying to escape after killing someone, would you?" Fu Xiaohu asked coldly, his gaze fixed on Lin San.
"I did not," Lin San responded, shaking his head.
"Anyone who uses a sword can't be a good person. You're not allowed to leave the city," Fu Xiaohu snarled, his anger directed at Lin San.
"I'm from the Sky Peak Sect, and tomorrow is our sect's grand competition. I need to return," Lin San explained calmly.
Fu Xiaohu, having been demoted to Guard Captain, must be taking out his frustrations on people, Lin San thought. Even leaving the city was becoming an issue.
"I said you can't leave, so you can't leave!" Fu Xiaohu shouted, glaring at Lin San, clearly irritated by Lin San's refusal to back down.
"I don't care about your sect's grand competition," he added with a sneer.
"Heh," Lin San chuckled coldly, ignoring Fu Xiaohu as he continued walking toward the city gate.
"How dare you force your way out! You're courting death!" Fu Xiaohu bellowed, raising his long blade to strike at Lin San.
Clang—
Lin San instinctively used his sword scabbard to block the attack. The clash of metal echoed sharply as Fu Xiaohu's blade struck the scabbard.
Fu Xiaohu, a fourth-tier warrior, had put considerable force into his strike, pushing Lin San back a few steps.
"Fu Xiaohu!"
"When the Earth Dragon men were in Star City, you aided them in their crimes. Now that they've been killed and you've been demoted, you're taking it out on us warriors? Do you think we're lower than pigs and dogs?" Lin San shouted, his voice carrying through the area.
"Fellow warriors, please judge this fairly! Just because I carry a sword, he's deliberately making things difficult and won't let me leave!"
As Lin San's voice rang out, many warriors gathered around.
With Fu Xiaohu no longer the City Lord, people were less afraid of him, and many warriors still harbored resentment toward him for his previous actions.
"Shut up, you brat!" Fu Xiaohu's face turned green with rage, and he roared furiously.
He had only intended to make things difficult for Lin San, never expecting Lin San to react so strongly.
"Fu Xiaohu!"
"When the Earth Dragon men were harming innocent people, you helped them. Now that they've been killed, are you still trying to be their lapdog?"
"Spineless coward! You can't even stand up straight!"
The warriors around them were equally indignant, voicing their anger at Fu Xiaohu.
"You…"
Fu Xiaohu's face turned even greener as he listened to their words.
"I am a disciple of the Sky Peak Sect. If Captain Fu insists on preventing me from returning to my sect, I will have no choice but to send a message to our sect master," Lin San stated firmly.
Hearing this, Fu Xiaohu's expression grew even darker.
If this continued, he would be in real trouble.
Damn it!
"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect Lin San to be so clever."
"Now Fu Xiaohu has no choice but to let him go."
Ye Fan chimed in.
"The Sky Peak Sect's grand competition is tomorrow. I wonder what will happen."
As a sword, life could be a bit boring, so Ye Fan was curious to see how Lin San would grow.
He hoped this swordmaster would live long enough to help him kill more enemies.
"Get out!" Fu Xiaohu growled, glaring at Lin San.
He had thought he could bully an easy target, but things had escalated beyond his control.
The public's pent-up anger had been ignited by Lin San's words, and if he didn't let Lin San leave, something worse might happen.
That would be a real problem for him.
"Hmph!"
Lin San snorted and walked through the city gate.
"If you leave, don't ever come back to Star City!" Fu Xiaohu spat, watching Lin San's retreating figure with gritted teeth.
"Trying to make things difficult for me," Lin San muttered as he left, shaking his head.
"Finally, I'm out."
In the wilderness beyond the city, Lin San took a deep breath.
The past few days had felt longer than the past four years.
Since acquiring the sword that fell from the sky, everything seemed to have changed.
"I will rise."
He gripped the hilt of the Demon Slaying Sword, his resolve firm.
Four years of humiliation would be washed away in tomorrow's sect competition!
Roar—
As Lin San made his way back to the Sky Peak Sect, he heard a beast's roar.
Looking around, he saw several black wolves closing in on him.
"Second-tier Black-Furred Wolves, coming to meet their death," Lin San muttered, narrowing his eyes.
These black wolves were pack animals, usually numbering more than ten.
They were fast and strong.
But for Lin San, killing them would be easy.
Holding the scabbard in his left hand and the sword hilt in his right, he drew his sword!
As the sword was unsheathed, powerful sword energy burst forth.
The black wolves seemed to sense the terrifying aura, and under the effect of [Aura of Malevolence], their bodies began to tremble.
They shivered, the ferocity in their eyes fading away.
Kill!
In a flash of sword light, one by one, the black wolves fell to the ground.
[Absorbed blood essence from second-tier beast Black-Furred Wolf, gained 0.2 energy points]
[Absorbed blood essence from second-tier beast Black-Furred Wolf, gained 0.2 energy points]
...
[Killed second-tier beast Black-Furred Wolf, gained 200 evolution points]
[Killed second-tier beast Black-Furred Wolf, gained 200 evolution points]
...
The system notifications continued to appear.
"Killing over a dozen of these second-tier beasts gave me over two thousand evolution points."
"Not bad at all," Ye Fan remarked, satisfied.
Lin San now knew that the Demon Slaying Sword needed blood. After killing the beasts, he stabbed his sword into their corpses, allowing the sword to absorb their blood.
"Over a dozen second-tier beast cores, nice."
Lin San stored the beast cores in his storage ring.
"This thing is really convenient," Ye Fan commented as he watched Lin San use the storage ring.
After finishing up, Lin San continued on his way back to the Sky Peak Sect.
...
"Damn it, where have Zhang Shan and the others gone? They've disappeared!"
Qian Haowen was busy at the foot of the Sky Peak Sect mountain.
After Zhang Xiaoming's death, Zhang Shan and the others had vanished as well.
"Could it be they're searching for that sword?"