Chapter 96: Again Counterfeiting

"Great!"

Why did these Yuling Sect members get so angry and yell about fighting and killing whenever they saw people from Xuanzhou? The group with the blue-robed, bearded man, who was discreetly following, felt a bit awkward. They probably knew the reason, realizing it was due to the 'good deeds' they had done earlier.

These three individuals had already been pursued by them before. After they escaped, the pursuers searched everywhere but couldn't find them, thinking they would never encounter them again. Unexpectedly, they were now fighting with others here. If you're going to fight, you should pick a battle you can win. Getting themselves killed by throwing a tantrum—what were these three thinking?

The group members each pretended as if nothing was amiss, careful not to draw attention or implicate other people from Xuanzhou.

Since the two individuals had already stated their position so clearly, continuing to press them would truly make the group seem oblivious. They could no longer force the two to join; it wasn't as if they couldn't proceed without them.

"In that case, you two are free to do as you please." The blue-robed, bearded man cupped his hands in greeting, then waved a signal to his companions, and led his group away.

The road ahead was open, and each went their own way, not bothering each other.

The moment they left, Shi Chun immediately dropped his pretense, bounced back onto a dirt mound, and crouched low to observe the group's direction.

Wu Jinliang, meanwhile, quickly searched the corpses for valuables, then picked up three swords from the ground and also scrambled onto the dirt mound. He held up a sword in his hand and said, "I'll make the tags."

They had done similar things too many times before, so even without further instruction, he knew what to do next.

It wasn't that the two didn't want to go with that group; it was that they couldn't. If the Xuanzhou group later asked to see the tags on their wristbands to verify their identities, they would immediately be exposed.

The key was that the tags on their wrists were not easy to replace. The wristband had some unknown fastening method; once on the wrist, it couldn't be slipped off. To remove it, they would have to chop off their hands. Furthermore, the wristband's material was extraordinary; they couldn't break it with their cultivation power, nor could they cut it with their weapons.

Because they had encountered the Yuling Sect group spontaneously, had to improvise, and had only just learned about a sect called Youxia Mountain, they simply had no time to create fakes.

Therefore, the best way to join the Xuanzhou contingent currently was to let the other party know that the two of them absolutely did not want to join, thus laying the groundwork for a future move.

Shi Chun glanced back and warned, "The last slave contract was too crude. If I hadn't improvised on the spot, it wouldn't have passed at all. If you do such shoddy work again, it will easily lead to trouble."

Wu Jinliang replied, "There are so many characters on a slave contract, and I can't ask anyone else to write it for me. Given my handwriting skill, isn't asking me to make it look authentic just making things difficult for me?"

Shi Chun asked, "This sword isn't easy to cut, is it?"

Wu Jinliang cheerfully replied, "I forged both our knives. Do you have any issues using them? I didn't learn from the blacksmiths of Zhixu City for nothing. I have my own way. Besides..." He used his pinky finger holding the knife to point at the sword's guard. "The patterns on this should not be that hard. If not, I'll just scrape this off and make do."

Shi Chun said, "Leave marks on the way."

"You too." Wu Jinliang left the words and turned to run, slipping away along the lower ground. It wasn't good to make noise here, in case the previous group heard them.

Shi Chun lay prone, observing for a while. Seeing the Xuanzhou people in the distance get up and leave, he quickly slipped out too, trailing the group all the way...

Inside the training ground, Yuling Sect Elder Fei Zhendong and his two disciples on either side slowly stood up. Their gazes towards the mirrored image were heavy.

After waiting for half the night, it was finally their turn for a viewing. However, the mirrored image only showed two complete corpses, with severed limbs nearby. An elder from another sect beside them sighed lightly upon seeing this. He realized that what they feared had indeed come to pass; it seemed they had truly been killed by those two fellows from Wukang Mountain.

For this viewing, the Yuling Sect had requested to see not only the three injured disciples but also two missing ones.

They were requested at the same time, so the next segment of the footage immediately cut in, showing another two corpses exposed in the wilderness.

In other words, all the Yuling Sect attendees had been wiped out.

Regarding these two scenes, most people in the training ground showed little reaction. The screen switched every fifty counts, and everyone had grown numb to it. No one would remember those not directly involved or not particularly noteworthy.

Even if the clothes on the corpses looked familiar, no one would recall them as the attire of the Yuling Sect disciples who had confronted Shi Chun and his companion, unless they were already familiar with Yuling Sect clothing.

Everyone had seen many similar images of corpses.

However, there were some not directly related who remembered. The person in charge at the optimal viewing position was considered exceptionally gifted. Not only did he recognize the clothes, but he also recognized the deceased as those who had confronted Wukang Mountain's two individuals earlier.

He looked at the scene before him. The dozens of domain lords had dispersed earlier. Now, two who had arrived later had no idea what had happened before; they had simply come to sit and watch.

Since those two domain lords didn't ask, the person in charge remained silent in the corner.

The viewing platform where Young Master Nan had been was also empty. The world in the mirror was about to dawn, and there was nothing left to see. Young Master Nan was not there, and Lan Qiaoyan and her mother had also left long ago. Only the recruitment office remained staffed.

Only personnel from various sects closely associated with the training ground were still present. Even Feng Chi, who was cloaked, had entered a cross-legged meditation state. This was the current state for many sect members: taking turns to monitor the mirror and taking turns to meditate and rest.

Fei Zhendong, who was meditating cross-legged, was suddenly woken by a disciple beside him. He saw three familiar people standing in front of him. Just as he was about to stand up and ask, the leader introduced himself, "I am Yu Lingzong, an elder from Youxia Mountain."

Fei Zhendong was startled, instantly realizing the situation. The sect members whose people had confronted Wukang Mountain's two individuals had come knocking.

Before, he hadn't even known about the Youxia Mountain sect. Later, people from other sects in Shengzhou, after gathering information, kindly reminded him. It wasn't just one sect that reminded him, but several, to the point where his ears were almost calloused.

Fei Zhendong simply didn't understand. Xuanzhou itself wasn't willing to inquire about the news, so what was the meaning of other sects enthusiastically focusing on which sect the two troublesome disciples who confronted them belonged to? Were they so idle?

Standing up, Fei Zhendong returned the greeting, saying, "I am Elder Fei Zhendong of the Yuling Sect."

Elder Yu Lingzong cupped his hands slightly, his smile not reaching his eyes, saying, "I wish to inquire, does my Youxia Mountain have an enmity with your esteemed sect? Why did your disciples run ten li to intercept and kill my disciples? And after they were already severely injured, why were they still mutilated?"

"Are they already dead?" Fei Zhendong looked at his two disciples on either side in astonishment, seeking their gaze. There was also a hint of blame, wondering why their mirror showing the Wukang Mountain incident hadn't woken him.

The two disciples were also surprised and both shook their heads, indicating they hadn't seen it.

Since that was the case, Fei Zhendong immediately retorted, "Elder Yu, did you personally witness my sect's disciples killing your sect's disciples?"

Elder Yu Lingzong replied, "The scene of your sect's disciples intercepting my sect's disciples is known to everyone present. When the image of my disciples reappeared, they were already corpses..."

Before the other party could finish, Fei Zhendong directly interrupted, pressing aggressively, "Did Elder Yu personally witness that it was my sect's disciples who killed them?"

Elder Yu Lingzong was instantly left speechless by him. Unable to resort to violence there, he immediately snorted coldly and flicked his sleeves, departing. It was clear he meant, 'my sect's disciples won't die in vain; you'd better wait and see.'

Fei Zhendong immediately retorted sarcastically, "Don't bother seeing them off!"

Local Shengzhou sects were one thing; they saw each other frequently. But for someone not from Shengzhou, from far-off Yingzhou, to come all this way to demand an explanation, did he have no shame? With so many Shengzhou sects watching.

Furthermore, did they really think Xuanzhou's royal court backing was to be trifled with?

Bowing to Shengzhou's Domain Lord Wei Mo was because they were making a living on his territory. But for an unknown sect from Yingzhou to come here to make trouble was simply absurd.

Besides, there were so many killings in the mirror, yet no sect had ever confronted another outside the arena. Why should it be different when it came to his Xuanzhou sect? Did they really think Xuanzhou was a soft persimmon, easy to bully?

Thinking that even the domain lord had found him to admonish him, he suddenly felt deflated again.

"Fei Zhendong, come collect the bodies!"

When the departing armored guards shouted that phrase in the middle of the training ground, the whole place stirred again, with people asking each other if it was Youxia Mountain...

Night had not yet fallen, but within a large temporary camp, specks of golden flame light were already visible.

Shi Chun lay behind a large rock in a mountain hollow, observing from afar. It was truly a very large-scale encampment. Judging by the number of people, there must be at least ten thousand, if not fourteen thousand. This should be the gathering place for the Shengzhou participants, led by Suyuan Sect.

The direction he was observing was the one the blue-robed, bearded men had taken.

He didn't dare to approach rashly, because he had personally seen the camp dispatching alternating secret sentinels.

Just as twilight deepened, faint rustling sounds came from behind. He looked back and saw Wu Jinliang stealthily returning.

Wu Jinliang grinned, first crawling to the other side of the rock to check the situation at the encampment. Then he stood up, sat against the rock, put down his small knife, rolled up his sleeve, and revealed the chain bound to his wrist. It originally had only one small tag hanging from it, but now it had one on the front and one on the back.

He explained, "I don't have the right tools, so it's too hard to make the chain look proper. Just temporarily hang a tag on it; that will do for now. Here's the trick: when they want to see it, use your hand to cover the real one and show them the fake one on the back."

As he spoke, he casually tossed a newly made tag to Shi Chun.

It was a tag about half a finger long. Shi Chun took it and looked. One side read: "Elder Ke, Rank One." The other side read: "Wang Sheng."

Wu Jinliang chuckled beside him, "Isn't that a great name I picked for you? Full of dominance, clearly a figure destined to win, symbolizing victory for this trip! Much more sophisticated than your name 'Kang Shan'!"

Shi Chun immediately pulled at his wrist to look. One side read: "Elder Ke, Rank Two." The other side read: "Gao Ruo."

Whether the name was good or not, and knowing he was only ranked second, Shi Chun didn't argue with him. He took the forged tag and compared it to the real wristband. The neatness of the handwriting and the color difference of the tag couldn't withstand scrutiny; a comparison clearly showed it was fake.

However, Shi Chun was quite satisfied with this level. "Not bad, it can be used for now."

As he spoke, he hung it on his own wristband. When it came to forgery, their standards had always been low, just like their moral standards.

In their view, the reason was simple: no matter how realistic the forgery, it was unlikely to be truly taken and inspected by others. If someone were to carefully examine it, even the most authentic-looking forgery would be exposed. So, being able to 'make do' was enough.

Seeing that it was inconvenient for him to hang the tag with one hand, Wu Jinliang proactively offered both hands to help. At the same time, he reminded him, "The people from Xuanzhou in the Royal Capital Immortal Mountain should also be living together. Among these people, someone might recognize Elder Ke's people. Our clothes are too fake. Are we going to pretend to be Elder Ke's people by wearing Xuanzhou clothes?"