Why do I have so many masters?

Regardless of Wang Anfeng or An Zhaofeng, they have both triggered the Qi mechanisms of Divine Weapon Artifacts. In this short span of time, they have become the foremost figures in Jianghu within and outside the Great Qin. Their Qinggong skills allow them to leap with incredible speed, making it difficult for the naked eye to discern them.

And Tie Lin, having initially only prepared with the thought of 'dealing with Qiong Qi while also considering the possibility of encountering a Fourth Rank Martial Artist,' how could he have managed to cope?

No matter how he racked his brains, he couldn't have imagined that what initially seemed like merely capturing a criminal with mediocre martial skills would eventually involve two masters with Grandmaster abilities.

It was like planning to fish in a swift current, only to end up catching a giant shark from the deep sea, or a great crocodile from the East Sea—utterly absurd!

The involvement of four notorious criminals, two of whom can temporarily wield Grandmaster means, is beyond a case he can handle. Had he known earlier, the Chief Arrestor from far away in Heaven Capital City would have brought the four dark guard organizations 'Heavenly Net,' 'Earth Net,' 'Shadows,' and 'Mysterious Hook' to appear here directly—

Yet at this moment, he is all alone, looking around with no one to rely on, even Wuxin is in Liangzhou City, a hundred miles away. So no matter how infuriated he is, his human capacity is limited, and despite exerting his full strength, he couldn't catch up at all.

Currently, Tie Lin, sword in one hand and crossbow in the other, after running out for two or three streets, both parties have vanished without a trace, grudgingly accepting the fact that all parties have left.

Breathing heavily, he then swung his hand heavily in anger and smashed the Mo Family's Mechanical Crossbow in his hand onto the ground, creating a pit.

With a loud clang, the Mo Family's Hand Crossbow, like the honest yet taciturn students of the Mo Family, didn't even produce a scratch, further making him feel stifled, gnashing his teeth, wishing to channel his inner strength and stomp on it fiercely to vent his anger.

This action seemed to startle the nearby townsfolk. This location is almost twenty miles from the site of the incident, and although they felt the vibration, they weren't greatly affected, only seeing the townsfolk's astonished gazes.

Nearby, a young couple at a stall turned their heads in astonishment to look at the enraged Tie Lin, seemingly a bit frightened, and even the children running and playing on the street stopped in their tracks, not daring to approach the cold, unapproachable aura emanating from the man in black.

The middle-aged man with a wealthy demeanor quickly caught up, saw Tie Lin, who was sulking, gave a bitter smile, stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him warmly:

"Master Tie, the criminals have already escaped..."

Tie Lin's mouth twitched, instinctively wanting to retort with a "I'm not blind," yet he took a deep breath, maintained his usual cold demeanor, exhaled sharply, and said:

"Please order Lord Zhao to maintain the external operations of the entire Rongyue City as usual, while secretly tightening precautions. If the Martial Soldiers notice anything unusual, they should secretly note it down and avoid rashly provoking the criminals."

This move suited the local official's thoughts, causing him to relax secretly, yet he feigned a worried expression, hesitantly saying:

"But wouldn't this mean letting those criminals escape in vain? As the parental official of this place, how can I possibly act in such a manner?"

Tie Lin shot him a glance, endured several times, finally couldn't help but snort coldly twice, and said:

"Worry not, my lord, this matter is stated by Tie Lin himself, and I shall bear full responsibility. The escape of the criminals has nothing to do with you, and this will not affect your official career."

The official sighed in great relief, yet was still embarrassed, with an indignant look on his face, he clasped his hands towards the north in a salute, and declared loudly:

"What is Master Tie saying? I am from the Jian Nan noble clan, well-versed in the sages' teachings, living on the stipend of my lord, sharing worries for the lord, for I have long since set life and death aside. Every word I said just now was sincere without any falsehood."

Tie Lin, already angry, upon hearing this, snorted and replied:

"Then why didn't you step up yourself, my lord? Why were you being so hesitant just now? You weren't even as brave as a common crossbowman with trivial martial skills."

The official's mouth twitched slightly. In his twenty-year career, he had never encountered such an unruly official.

He intended to continue showing his unwavering loyalty, cautioning against slandering and mudslinging, but upon seeing Tie Lin's icy gaze, he remembered An Zhaofeng of Sword Forging Valley, who alone faced off against five hundred rounds of mechanical crossbowfire, and he shivered, left speechless, merely saying:

"This..."

Tie Lin snorted once, stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, saying:

"Lord Zhao, unworthy as I may be, I'm also a capital official, accustomed to seeing all kinds of immortal combat you old fox. So there's no need to put on a Liaozhai show in front of Tie Mou."

"It's natural for people to have interests, but to shun responsibility, shifting it while portraying profound loyalty, to be honest..."

"Quite pretentious."

Having said that, he strode away.

Lord Zhao's fair face turned alternately red and purple with shock and anger, affronted for the first time in his life like this. Tie Lin, however, ignored him, his face stern, sighing inwardly—

Martial Soldiers locking down?

How can they lock down?

Will they use their lives to fill the gap? These two martial artists possessing Grandmaster abilities chose to flee not out of fear of those five hundred elites and five hundred mechanical crossbows but due to concerns about the Great Qin behind them.

If they genuinely get pushed too hard, even a rabbit would bite, let alone the tigers that are about to spread their wings? By then, under the lash of the Great Qin being too far, Rongyue City doesn't know how many lives might be lost...

I never expected that in the effort to capture Qiong Qi, not only did I encounter the two notorious criminals already being pursued, but I also met a Commander of Troops from Sword Forging Valley.

Having hit the jackpot multiple times in one day, Tie Lin's heart is indeed not as calm as he appears on the surface; many thoughts churn like tides in his mind, surfacing then receding, again surfacing, clashing.

These two forces should not have any contact, so why did they appear simultaneously? Is there a conflict between them?

Or perhaps they were secretly cooperating but fell out over sordid matters like uneven spoils?

Tie Lin found it difficult to discern for the moment, planning to note this down in the record once he returned.

Especially that foreign youth, the previous records seemed to suggest he didn't have any remarkable martial arts skills, just a noble identity and exceptional intelligence, much like Qiong Qi.

But what was seen today, that slap and jab, lifting weights with ease, like rushing thunder, even he couldn't perform it so effortlessly and perfectly, judging by this, his strength, even if not close to the Heavenly Sect, is not far off.

In the future, if he is to be captured, more experts must be dispatched, treating it as a top Fourth Rank Martial Artist situation, setting numerous Heavenly Nets Earthly Traps to ensure no failure.

Tie Lin walked a few more steps forward, suddenly a new thought sprang up, involving none other than Wang Anfeng, who told him the news today, he instinctively felt that Wang Anfeng might have some connection to this unexplained conflict, worth delving into.

But as soon as the thought flashed, he stopped, raised his hand to rub his brow, muttering to himself:

"Last time was a misunderstanding, this time I can't let my imagination run wild again."

"Wang Anfeng meant well, how can I let him down again and again? Besides, he's currently offering free medical treatment in Liangzhou City, unable to spare a moment, how could he possibly manipulate this situation?"

"It was indeed that old man and youth who appeared here without a care, based on the evidence Wuxin found, they have important matters yet to complete, unlikely to leave Liangzhou City."

"Just now talking to me deliberately, probably seeing things exposed, with the intent to create confusion, they're likely to return to Liangzhou City, but they may plant another layer of confusion on top, which must be guarded against..."

Tie Lin murmured in his heart, walking slowly towards the Ministry of Punishment in Rongyue City, his heart was originally depressed, but due to some gains, he was now mentally uplifted.

............

The county official who rebuked Tie Lin earlier, swept his sleeve angrily, then left. The young couple, who seemed frightened by Tie Lin before, put down the goods they were looking at, exchanged glances, and walked away, seemingly slow but actually fast, breathing a sigh of relief after passing two alleys.

They exchanged glances, both with a strange expression, the young woman crossed her arms, mimicking a man's gesture of rubbing his chin, eyed the young man provocatively and laughed:

"Young Master Wang, you really are knowledgeable..."

The young man lightly coughed twice, looked straight ahead and said:

"Forced by circumstances, forced by circumstances..."

"Besides, Miss Xue, you're no less capable."

Xue Qinshuang looked at her clothes, seemingly familiar, said: "Back when my martial arts were not perfected, there were several times I was chased by martial soldiers or sect martial artists, this 'Backward Lance' technique, using it over and over, became skilled."

"Haven't played like this for a long time, ahem...I mean, haven't taken such risks for a long time, it's quite novel."

Wang Anfeng stifled a laugh and nodded, not pointing out the flaws in Miss Qinshuang's words, then sighed with some relief—today's matter, finally had results up to this point, what happens next depends on whether Qiong Qi is worth such elaborate efforts.

If he's so weak that he can't even escape, then nothing can be done.

If he can truly run out under such circumstances, then afterwards, it'll depend on Shi Huaidie's performance and Mr. Ying's methods, since that expert seemed to be using Qiong Qi as bait to distract Tie Lin, for his own escape, he likely won't protect him thereafter.

The previous Middle Third Rank swordsman went in a completely opposite direction from Qiong Qi, making it unlikely they'll meet, the situation has some fluctuations, but the final result is favorable, convenient for Shi Huaidie's actions.

After Qiong Qi is captured, we can use this opportunity to learn about the various secrets in the Sword Organization, and even use this to receive information in advance.

Most importantly—the opponent previously targeted him and the Dongfang Clan, he faintly felt, the opponent might know much about events from the past twenty years.

Those twenty years were a time of great upheaval in Jianghu, a stormy era, but many historical records are vague, even the collections in Fufeng Academy and Qingfeng Edge are not detailed, mostly brushed over with a few words.

Among it is the matter of his parents.

Wang Anfeng exhaled, suppressing his longing for this thought, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy, seeing Tie Lin regretful earlier, his tension eased, guilt emerged.

The two were somewhat friends, behaving like this himself, felt a bit unscrupulous, seeming to deliberately bully an honest person.

Wang Anfeng guiltily lifted his eyes towards the sky, lightly coughed twice.

Ahem, afterward, compensation must be given.

For example, helping Wuxin and Tie Lin find the true identity of the elder he disguised as—the latter might still be unaware he's been inexplicably saddled with a huge black pot, provoking both the black and white realms.

Could also make some food or something, to make amends...

The thought paused slightly, Wang Anfeng then recalled the piece of pastry he ate yesterday, his face turned slightly pale, and his stomach twitched faintly, thinking of something.

That pastry seems to still be on the table, not destroyed yet.

Hmm, better take it back and hit it with Thunder Vigor about a dozen times, otherwise in case of sending it to the wrong person, it would not be compensation but murder, afraid the entire Liangzhou Ministry of Punishment would get caught in a net by a petite girl...

If that happens, there really would be no face to see Tie Lin or Wuxin.

Assuming they survive eating it...

PS: Presenting the first update of the day... three thousand four hundred words