Chapter 153: The Black Water River Tyrant, Great River Gang

“Who are you? How dare you steal monsters in the territory of our Great River Gang!”

This group of players charged over with fierce expressions. The Soul Attracting Incense had drawn all the monsters from within a ten-mile radius, leaving them with no creatures to kill. So they gathered more people and followed the trail of the Aquatic Demonic Creatures.

“Great River Gang? Your territory?”

Ye Rong chuckled inwardly. He had never heard of this so-called Great River Gang before. Clearly, it was a name privately established by these players, unlikely to be officially recognized by the System as a formal Player Organization. It was probably a Faction with not very large scale.

However, their mention reminded Ye Rong that his own team still didn’t have a name. It was very inconvenient to refer to, and they couldn’t build a reputation. When others talked about them, they couldn’t always use the long and unwieldy name “Yijian Kurong’s team”—it lacked impact and didn’t sound impressive.

“It seems we need to find some time to discuss and come up with a striking Faction name. No matter how far off the creation of the Faction is, it’s always good to decide on a name first.”

As for this group of over ten players, Ye Rong didn’t take them seriously at all. Since he didn’t recognize them, they probably weren’t Qingcheng Disciples. They were just players from who-knows-where who had occupied a section of the Black Water River and treated it as their own territory.

“We’re asking you a question! Are both of you dumb? Why aren’t you answering!”

These people all displayed their name IDs, clearly used to throwing their weight around and not concerned about anyone causing trouble for them.

“Lao Feng, sorry you have to see this. Just some small-fry who sneaked in. I didn’t even know the Black Water River had been taken over by these outsider players.”

“Haha, Yijian, it seems your Qingcheng needs to step up. Although this tributary isn’t much, if this precedent is set, other Sect disciples might think you’re weak and easy to bully, or that you don’t care. If they start entering the heart of Qingcheng Mountain Gate, there will be trouble.”

Breeze Clear and Clouds Light stood by with his hands behind his back, watching the scene unfold like a spectator. Such things often happened near the Huashan Sect as well, but it had little to do with a laid-back person like him.

“Kill them! Let these two know the consequences of stealing monsters in our Great River Gang’s territory!”

The leader, San Mao Chao Si, was enraged by Ye Rong and Breeze Clear and Clouds Light’s complete disregard for them. He gave the order for his subordinates to attack.

The composition of the Great River Gang was quite mixed. It wasn’t mainly from one Sect but consisted of disciples from three or five Sects, along with some Rogue Cultivator Players. There were some Qingcheng Disciples among them, but they made up only a small portion, just a few dozen people.

Currently, their scale had exceeded two thousand members, making them one of the larger Factions in the area. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able, as outsiders, to seize the Black Water River and push out the local Qingcheng Players.

Facing their attacks, Ye Rong didn’t dodge or evade. A flash of the Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier intercepted all the assaults.

Most of these people were still using Third-Rank Flying Swords, and their Magic Treasures were quite ordinary. He saw clusters of thunderfire and ice spikes hurled toward him, but they didn’t even cause a tremor in the Xuan Cai Yunxia, only reducing the Defense Value by about a hundred points.

With a sweep of two Sword Lights from his hands, Ye Rong launched his counterattack. He had deliberately ignored them, waiting for them to make the first move.

Karma Points were extremely precious to Ye Rong now—he couldn’t afford to waste them on these small fries. Because they were related to unsealing the Nine Glazed Golden Lamp, he valued Karma Points even more than Experience Points.

Given the huge gap in strength between the two sides, striking after the enemy made the first move was the best approach. It posed no threat to him at all.

Against Players of this Level, Ye Rong didn’t need any exquisite sword techniques. A twist of his Sword Light caused one Player to vanish in a flash of light. Then, a blast of frost and snow slammed into two others, shattering them into fragments and sending them back to the Resurrection Point.

In just a few breaths, Ye Rong had eliminated nearly half of the group. The remaining few finally realized they had provoked a super expert they shouldn’t have mess with.

They turned their Sword Lights and fled, each running faster than the last, with no intention of helping their attacked teammates. It seemed they all believed in the idea that you don’t need to be the fastest—just faster than the teammate beside you.

However, Ye Rong wouldn’t let them escape. The Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier suddenly expanded, and the Xuan Cai Yunxia instantly stretched to cover several acres, trapping all of them inside. Then, he used his Flying Sword to pick them off one by one, sparing no one.

He had already begun to form a vague plan. As his team continued to expand and develop, the Tuojiang River Basin alone might suffice for monster grinding and leveling for now. But how could he allow others to snore beside his bed? He definitely needed to take control of both the Black Water River and White Water River tributaries.

The Great River Gang would inevitably become an enemy sooner or later, so he showed no mercy at all, cutting them down one by one with his sword.

“Brat, let me go now, or our Great River Gang will never let you off!”

San Mao Chao Si had a layer of peach-blossom-like mist shielding him, making him the only Player who withstood a few strikes from Ye Rong without dying. Although he knew the other was an incredible expert, he still refused to admit defeat, shouting threats and curses wildly.

This guy was the brother-in-law of the Great River Gang’s leader. Usually, relying on his brother-in-law’s power, he was unrestrained and lawless in this area, with no one to keep him in check.

“Then I’d like to see exactly how your Great River Gang won’t let me off.”

Ye Rong exerted force, sending Casting Snow and Black Phoenix in successive strikes. The continuous Sword Light fell like rain beating on plantain leaves. That layer of peach-blossom mist couldn’t withstand such an assault and soon shattered under his Chongxu Sword Qi, blasting him back to the Resurrection Point.

Where his body vanished into white light, a shapeless, fluctuating red mist was left behind, vivid and bright in color.

Peach Blossom Mist, a Fourth-Rank Magic Treasure. Peach Blossom miasma poison damage 30-50, Defense Value 1500, required Level 35.

The Magic Treasure that San Mao Chao Si had relied on to withstand Ye Rong’s attacks happened to drop. This Peach Blossom Mist was somewhat similar to the Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier—it could both defend and attack—but it was a comprehensively weaker version.

Ye Rong tossed it into his Universe Pouch. He could let Lei Laohu handle it or give it to a Player in the team. Since it came from someone else, he didn’t feel any heartache over how it was used.

“Yijian, let’s change locations. After lighting one Soul Attracting Incense here, the monsters within ten miles have basically been cleared out. Using another one here now would be much less effective.”

Breeze Clear and Clouds Light spoke up then. He wasn’t wrong—with the powerful effect of the Soul Attracting Incense, the Aquatic Demonic Creatures in this section of the river had indeed become very sparse until the monsters respawned. Even lighting another Soul Attracting Incense wouldn’t attract as many monsters as before.

“Alright. The Black Water River is winding and twisted anyway. Although its flow isn’t huge, its length is sufficient.”

The two used Sword Flight to leave, traveling over twenty miles upstream before stopping. They lit another Soul Attracting Incense, drawing in a horde of Aquatic Demonic Creatures similar in scale to the previous one, vast and mighty.

Another round of frenzied slaughter ensued. Today was undoubtedly a disastrous day for the Aquatic Demonic Creatures of the Black Water River, the blood staining the river water red.

Ye Rong’s Experience Points soared rapidly, while the number of Inkfish Spirits killed by Breeze Clear and Clouds Light’s Dry Flame Sword Embryo also increased rapidly. Both were achieving their goals with highly efficient monster-clearing speed.

…

“Brother-in-law, you have to avenge me!”

San Mao Chao Si wore a pitiful expression, his heart bleeding. He bitterly hated that person, yet he still didn’t know the other’s name—after joining a Sect, completing a simple small task allowed one to conceal their information. Even after killing someone, the killer’s ID and name wouldn’t be revealed.

Only if you were killed three times in a row by the same person within seven days would the System reveal their name to you.

“They not only stole all our monsters but completely disregarded our Great River Gang. And the Peach Blossom Mist my sister gave me was dropped and taken by him!”

Da Jiang Yingxiong’s face was dark, his mood very sour. He knew that this brother-in-law of his often stirred up trouble and did no good. But even disregarding his special status, if ordinary gang members were killed by an outsider, he would still need to stand up for them and settle the score. Otherwise, the cohesion of the Great River Gang would gradually dissipate over such matters.

“Dammit, who on the Black Water River would dare to be so bold? Could it be experts brought in by those guys from the White Water River?”

When Da Jiang Yingxiong gathered a group of elite Players from the gang and rushed with San Mao Chao Si to the place where he was killed, it was already empty. Ye Rong and Breeze Clear and Clouds Light had long since left.

“Xiao San, but you don’t know his name, and now the two have run off. Where do you expect me to go to avenge you?”

Although the slain Players all swore that the one who attacked was definitely a super expert, almost each of them being instantly killed, Da Jiang Yingxiong was still somewhat skeptical. He knew very well what his subordinates were like. If they were all taken out by one person, resulting in a team wipe, of course they would exaggerate the opponent’s strength. They’d probably even make up that it was Ni Shui Han from the Shushan Sword Alliance who came to the Black Water River to kill them all—that would at least save face.

If it were really a super expert, would they need to run off and disappear immediately after killing people?

So Da Jiang Yingxiong didn’t take the two Players San Mao Chao Si mentioned as serious enemies or even bother remembering them; he just found it too troublesome.

Without any leads or information, it was possible they had already left the Black Water River. Finding them would be like chasing ghosts.

“Brother-in-law, that person was a Qingcheng Disciple! All dozen of us remember his face! Let us split up and join different search teams to sweep the Black Water River. How about that?”

“Fine, we’ll do it your way. But if we can’t find them, don’t come bothering me again!”

In the end, Da Jiang Yingxiong couldn’t resist San Mao Chao Si’s pitiful pleading. If he didn’t agree, the tigress at home would surely nag him tonight.