Chapter 29: The Twenty-Ninth Day as Cult Leader (Part 1)

Qin Ming finally understood what it meant to lift a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

Perhaps because this was the first time Yang Xu could propose attacking a certain sect with complete justification, without needing to consider this or worry about that, he was practically as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood. His whole person seemed much more at ease. At the council hall meeting the next day, he was the first to stand up, indignantly recounting the vileness of the Blood Blade Sect in impassioned tones.

“To think our Cult once magnanimously let those petty villains off, sparing their lives and merely making them pay some grain in exchange for our protection. Yet as soon as the previous Cult Leader stepped down, they dared oppose us to our faces! They show no regard for old ties! They have not placed the Cult Leader’s dignity in their eyes at all! If this can be endured, what cannot? We should teach the Blood Blade Sect a thorough lesson!”

Under his fervent wording, the Demonic Cult disciples were also stirred into anger, and they echoed him furiously.

“Do those dog thieves think our Cult has declined and is no match for them anymore, so they dare act so brazenly? Heh, fine. If they dare look down on us, then we must use force to correct their understanding!”

“Let them know the consequences of opposing us! This battle must be fought fiercely. Beat them into submission and seize all their granaries!”

“That’s exactly right!” Some elders and hall masters stroked their beards and said smugly, “As it happens, the Breathing Method the Cult Leader bestowed upon us a few days ago has repaired our hidden injuries. This old man’s hands have been itching with nowhere to vent. This time, we’ll let those famous righteous sects off and use the Blood Blade Sect to test my saber instead!”

These Demonic Cult disciples had already been itching lately to go somewhere and compare martial skills. Now that the Blood Blade Sect had happened to deliver itself to their door, what was there for the Demonic Cult disciples to hold back for? Just fight!

And this time, the undercover agents and spies lurking within the Demonic Cult would no longer rack their brains for ways to stop the Demonic Cult’s attack. After all, the Blood Blade Sect was also crooked and heretical. Letting them and the Demonic Cult fight like dogs biting dogs while the righteous path sat back and reaped the benefits—was that not even better?

Thus, with the support of a group of cheerful Demonic Cult disciples, the matter of attacking the Blood Blade Sect was quickly decided. Everyone was very satisfied. Only Qin Ming, seated in the place of honor, nearly had his whole face wrinkled into a ball.

He also very much agreed with attacking the Blood Blade Sect. After all, he could obtain a large amount of merit points. But… why did they have to leave the final boss to him? He simply could not do it!

Sure enough, at this moment, Elder Yang Xu first glanced at the calm-faced Cult Leader, then suddenly spoke again. “The Blood Blade Sect has even fewer disciples than we do, but its strength is also about equal to ours… It is just that this Blood Blade Sect Leader’s martial arts are truly somewhat strange. Have you all heard of them?”

When the hot-blooded Demonic Cult disciples heard this, their heads finally cleared, and they looked at one another.

Almost everyone had heard the rumors about the Blood Blade Sect Leader. That was an existence whose martial arts had been evenly matched with their previous Cult Leader’s. How could they possibly overlook him?

For a time, everyone hesitated and did not dare continue speaking. So Chen Lue took the initiative to pick up the thread of conversation and said calmly, “Legend has it that the Blood Blade Sect Leader’s martial arts are uncanny. No matter what style of martial arts his enemy uses against him, he can return it twofold. The stronger the martial arts, the greater the chance of injury. Since we are going to attack the Blood Blade Sect, this sect leader is an existence that cannot be bypassed.”

Yang Xu cooperated extremely well and spoke up. “The only question is who in our Cult can fight the Blood Blade Sect Leader…”

As he spoke, he looked toward Qin Ming with hopeful eyes.

The Demonic Cult disciples knew they were no match for the Blood Blade Sect Leader, and they could not help looking around suspiciously, considering who exactly was the person with the strongest martial arts.

Then they suddenly realized—wait, the strongest martial artist in the Cult? Did that even need to be asked? There could only be that one person!

Thus, one after another, they all tacitly raised their heads, their eyes shining brightly as they landed on Qin Ming.

“That’s right! The only one who can defeat the Blood Blade Sect Leader is our Cult Leader!”

Qin Ming: …

As expected!

Completely unsurprisingly, the pressure once again landed on his head.

Qin Ming was practically about to cough blood. This was the bad part about pretending to be a peerless master. When facing a powerful enemy, he had no way to refuse and could only feel sorrow flood backward like a river in his heart.

Fortunately, he had at least prepared himself mentally beforehand. At this moment, even under everyone’s pressuring gazes, he was able to keep his expression unchanged. The moment he opened his mouth, it was a sneer.

“Trash. If I personally take action, what use would I still have for all of you?”

It was clearly a remark arrogant to the extreme, yet when the Demonic Cult disciples heard it, they felt it made sense. The Cult Leader’s strength was already so great. If he acted personally, would there still be room for subordinates like them to make a move?

But if the Cult Leader did not act at all… they also could not beat the Blood Blade Sect Leader.

The Demonic Cult disciples scratched their ears and cheeks, unable to think of a good strategy. They also did not dare truly anger the Cult Leader, so they could only discuss in low voices.

Meanwhile, Qin Ming let out a breath of relief inwardly. The first step had already been taken. His strategy was half complete.

After deliberately pausing for several seconds in his heart, Qin Ming finally opened his pitch-black eyes and waved his hand as if irritated. “Forget it. Your kung fu is indeed still lacking. Then I will tolerate you one final time. Half a month from now, I will personally arrange to meet the Blood Blade Sect Leader elsewhere. At that time, with no one holding the fort inside the Blood Blade Sect, it will be the perfect opportunity for you to act.”

“If you still cannot win even like that…” Qin Ming gave a cold laugh, his eyes brimming with killing intent sweeping one by one over everyone’s faces. “Then all of you can roll off into seclusion and cultivate. Do not come out and disgrace yourselves!”

…

It had to be said that Qin Ming’s feigned cold laugh and those naturally murderous eyes gave the Demonic Cult disciples more than enough pressure.

Who among those watched by him would dare have any other thoughts? It was practically whatever the Cult Leader said, went.

But the Cult Leader’s words were very reasonable. They had all obtained the internal martial arts manual personally bestowed by the Cult Leader. If the Blood Blade Sect Leader was absent and they still could not defeat this tiny little sect, then they should all stop living and roll back to cultivate!

Thus, every Demonic Cult disciple seemed as if they had been injected with chicken blood and trained their martial arts even more diligently, all so they could use their full strength when attacking the Blood Blade Sect.

Of course, Qin Ming also brought out the temptation of contribution points at this time. This filled the hearts of these Demonic Cult disciples with even more longing. Even the Demonic Cult elders all began limbering up, feeling rather satisfied in their hearts. The Cult Leader had only just said there would be opportunities for them to obtain contribution points. Had that opportunity not arrived?

Ever since they had experienced the power of the Breathing Art and watched Shen Fubai’s Floating Cloud Sword, which never left his hand, all the Demonic Cult disciples now knew that anything bestowed by the Cult Leader was sure to be good. They had to earn more contribution points and hurry to exchange for them.

With all these factors stacked together, the Demonic Cult members were of one mind and forged upward, their cohesion extremely deep. They set their hearts entirely on preparing to attack the Blood Blade Sect. And among them, the only person so worried his hair was about to fall out was the Demonic Cult Leader Qin Ming, who had just uttered those ruthless words.

Qin Ming had a terrible headache. Right now, his greatest opponent, the Blood Blade Sect Leader, was who knew how many times stronger than him. If he wanted to defeat this person, facing him head-on was absolutely impossible.

Only by playing some tricks from behind and seizing the initiative could there be the slightest possibility!

This was also the reason Qin Ming had thought it over for an entire night and finally decided to call the Blood Blade Sect Leader out for a duel. He could arrive ahead of time at a place easy to set traps in and ambush the other party. He could also rely on being Immune to All Poisons, smear poison over his body, and stealthily kill the other party that way… In any case, as long as he did not travel together with the main force of the Demonic Cult, he would have many possible ways to make a move!

If all else failed… he could still use qinggong to run away!

At that time, when the Demonic Cult disciples returned victorious, he would say the Blood Blade Sect Leader had run away, and he had not been able to catch up. By pushing all the fault onto the other party, he could preserve his dignity as Demonic Cult Leader.

Although this battle method was somewhat shameful, for the sake of the mission, and for the sake of merit points, Qin Ming still gritted his teeth and decided to do it. Before he left, he would buy a pile of poisons and traps. He refused to believe the other party would not fall for any of them.

If the Demonic Cult disciples won this battle, they could openly and honorably annex the Blood Blade Sect, remove a scourge from the jianghu, and also obtain grain and wealth.

And if the Demonic Cult disciples lost… that was not entirely a bad thing either. He could casually throw a temper and make the Cult’s disciples go into seclusion to cultivate, which would be enough to buy him a year or half a year of peace and quiet. No matter what, this outing would be beneficial to Qin Ming.

This was also why Qin Ming did not plan to stop this battle.

As for the most urgent matter at present, it was figuring out a way to lure the Blood Blade Sect Leader into meeting him alone.

Qin Ming spread the map over the tabletop and examined it carefully. The journey from Shilian Mountain to the Blood Blade Sect’s location in Bei Yi Prefecture was nearly five days… Then the place Qin Ming chose to meet the other party had to form an equilateral triangle with Shilian Mountain and the Blood Blade Sect, ensuring that both sides had to travel some distance. That way, even if the Blood Blade Sect Leader heard some rumors, he would not have time to rush back and rescue them.

In the end, Qin Ming chose a rather famous area called the Purple Bamboo Grove as the site of the challenge. The terrain there was complicated, suitable for hiding and fleeing, and also suitable for setting some traps. It was his only choice.

After circling the three place names on the map, Qin Ming nodded, then took out paper and brush, preparing to write a letter to the Blood Blade Sect Leader. But he still was not very used to ancient letter-writing conventions. Often, after writing a few sentences, he would get stuck, then dissatisfiedly crumple the paper into a ball and continue writing the next sheet, repeating the cycle over and over.

By the end, he truly could not bear the torment anymore, so he decided to use his golden finger—summoning Shen Fubai.

“Shen Fubai.”

He merely opened the study door and called casually. After silently counting two beats in his heart, Shen Fubai’s figure suddenly emerged from a corner, his face piled with smiles as he bowed to him. “May the Cult Leader reign for a thousand autumns.”

This ready-at-any-call appearance made Qin Ming greatly suspect where exactly the other party had popped out from. But since he had come this quickly, it also saved Qin Ming a good deal of worry.

“Write a letter to the Blood Blade Sect Leader on my behalf.”

Qin Ming lay on the couch, his right hand supporting the back of his head, eyes closed in thought. Shen Fubai immediately took out paper and brush, dipped the brush in ink, and began freely elaborating according to his ideas.

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