The Shushan Players were immediately ordered to assemble beneath the city walls, awaiting their next command.
Jinyang County was not the front line.
The front line lay ten miles beyond the county town, at the very edge of the creeping black mist.
Twenty thousand auxiliary soldiers and five thousand Demon-Slaying troops formed the main defensive force on the front line.
Because the surge of demonic energy was so sudden, there had been no time to build proper fortifications; the defense consisted only of makeshift thorn barriers as the sole obstacle.
“Leader, there’s news from the deputy leader.”
Beneath the city walls, the ten thousand Shushan Players were not united; they were split into hundreds of small groups.
The largest among them was the Xueyan Pavilion led by Mu Qingxue, numbering several hundred.
Of course, these hundreds were not all official members of Xueyan Pavilion—more than half had joined attracted by Mu Qingxue’s reputation.
After all, Mu Qingxue was now the top player in Shushan and also held the position of Senior Disciple.
“Where is she?”
“At the temporary infirmary, healing NPCs.”
“What?”
The Shushan Player group instantly erupted in excitement.
“Players can heal NPCs?”
“Yes, the Tianxiang players have already fully healed all the NPCs in the temporary infirmary.”
“Whoa, that’s insanely strong!”
“Who discovered this?”
“It must have been Big Sister Xiaoyan.”
“That’s right, she was the first to find this feature.”
“Truly a boss.”
Hearing the waves of praise around her, Mu Qingxue’s lips curved into a slight smirk, as if all the compliments were meant for her personally.
[Mu Qingxue: Xiaoyan, nice work. With this kind of publicity, Xueyan Pavilion will probably get another influx of new members.]
[Chen Xiaoyan: ?]
Inside the temporary infirmary, the Tianxiang players were arguing over who would heal the injured first.
“I’ll heal this one.”
“Why you?”
“Keep arguing—I’m just going to treat them first.”
“Sis, that’s not ethical. Trying to catch the cicada while the mantis is watching?”
“What’s the point of arguing? The NPCs are waiting for us to heal them. How about we settle this with rock-paper-scissors?”
“Good idea, rock-paper-scissors it is. Only the winner gets to heal.”
“Scared of me? I’ve never lost rock-paper-scissors since I was a kid.”
Chen Xiaoyan and Chongchong stayed out of the argument; they had already taken care of over half of the severely wounded in the previous wave.
No other choice—her instant healing output was ridiculously strong.
A gentle touch from Chunfeng Yin or Sanwu Yu was enough; they didn’t want to spend over ten seconds healing just to restore an NPC’s health fully.
Even Chongchong could look down on 99% of the Tianxiang players with her nine hundred spiritual energy instant healing—not a joke.
So, they didn’t even bother competing for the scattered injured.
Seeing the message Mu Qingxue sent, Chen Xiaoyan replied with a question mark.
When had she ever advertised for Xueyan Pavilion?
[Mu Qingxue: Players can heal NPCs! Come on, Xiaoyan, how did you discover this?]
[Chen Xiaoyan: That? I accidentally found out during the sect’s daily quest a few days ago.]
[Mu Qingxue: Babe, you’re amazing.]
[Chen Xiaoyan: Ahem, just luck.]
[Mu Qingxue: If you’re free, come help out.]
[Chen Xiaoyan: Okay.]
[Mu Qingxue: mua~]
Chen Xiaoyan twitched at the corner of her mouth.
This girl just wouldn’t stop—really not afraid of ruining her aloof image, huh?
Mu Qingxue closed the private chat and proudly looked toward the True Martial Sect team that had just left the county town… especially at the woman among them.
“The Way is emptiness,” Liu Yue.
Liu Yue led dozens from the Sword Pavilion, along with some True Martial players who joined along the way, totaling five hundred and sixty.
Their numbers seemed larger than Mu Qingxue’s group, but the levels were uneven, mostly low-level players.
“Tch.”
Mu Qingxue snorted disdainfully.
What use was having more people?
Xiaoyan was on her side—that was all that mattered.
“Xiaoyue.”
Mu Qingxue smiled brightly as she approached to greet her.
Liu Yue was momentarily stunned to see Mu Qingxue running over, then broke into a smile.
“Mu… Xiaoxue, you’re here too?”
“Yeah, congratulations. Didn’t expect that after parting at Monster Village, you’d become the top True Martial player. Impressive~”
She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, as if mocking her.
Liu Yue wasn’t stupid; she immediately recognized that Mu Qingxue had come to stir trouble.
Her smile gradually stiffened.
“Just an empty title. Whether I’m truly number one is still uncertain.”
“Xiaoyue, no need to be modest. Knowing you’ve grown this strong would make Xiaoyan happy.”
Xiaoyan…
Hearing that name, Liu Yue’s expression darkened instantly.
Mu Qingxue noticed and continued, aiming for the effect she wanted.
“By the way, Xiaoyan is now the deputy leader of Xueyan Pavilion.”
Liu Yue’s polite smile turned cold.
“Congratulations, Leader Mu.”
“Eh, Xiaoyue, why the sudden politeness?”
Mu Qingxue feigned confusion, asking rhetorically.
Looking at this little fake sweetheart, Liu Yue was so annoyed she wanted to grit her teeth.
Not getting angry was impossible—not a saint without feelings.
But what good would anger do?
It would only let Mu Qingxue’s plan succeed.
Endure!
“Nothing.”
“Alright then, Xiaoyue, you look upset. Did something happen?”
Liu Yue took a deep breath and forced a bitter smile before squeezing out a single word: “No.”
“Good, then. But there’s something that’s really been bothering me.”
She didn’t ask further, just waited silently for Mu Qingxue to continue.
“Don’t know who’s so shameless, trying to poach Xiaoyan from me. Xiaoyue, are you aware of this?”
Even the most polite Liu Yue sneered—though only coldly.
“As the top Tianxiang healer, it’s natural for Xiaoyan to receive invitations. But whether someone can keep her is another matter.”
Mu Qingxue smiled slightly at Liu Yue’s words.
“Someone?” Might as well have said her name, Mu Qingxue.
“Whether she stays? We’ll see.”
Mu Qingxue turned and walked back to her team.
Once she left, two Sword Pavilion True Martial players beside Liu Yue asked, “Leader, do we have a grudge with Mu Qingxue?”
“Not now, but soon enough.”
No idea why; they had barely interacted, and there was no enmity between their factions.
So why did Mu Qingxue hold such a grudge against her?
The members didn’t know, but Liu Yue did.
Everything originated from her.
Looking at the Clear Heart Ring on her ring finger, a proud smile curled on Liu Yue’s lips.
Mu Qingxue—so what if Xiaoyan was temporarily with Xueyan Pavilion?
In the end, she would be mine.
***
Inside the temporary infirmary, injured kept arriving continuously, so Chen Xiaoyan left a few Tianxiang players behind to guard the place.
She took the remaining ninety Tianxiang players and prepared to head outside the county town.
“Xiaoyan, we seem to be blocked.”
Chongchong’s words made Chen Xiaoyan pause, half in disbelief.
“Who dares block us?”
Tianxiang Sect’s reputation was soaring now.
Would anyone really want to cause trouble and risk inciting public wrath?
“Ugh, just those NPCs. Go check outside and see.”
Chen Xiaoyan, puzzled, went to the entrance and lifted the curtain.
Wow, the outside of the temporary infirmary was completely surrounded by a dense crowd of people.
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