Chapter 497: A New Era (I)

“Isn’t Earthturner a bit out of line to act like this?” transmitted a shocked Liu Long to Li Hao. “Even if he hides his true strength, he shouldn’t send his daughter and disciples out to work for a living when he’s a Solar!”

It’d gotten to the point where they waited every month to be paid! Liu Long hadn’t given thought to his wages in years. This was... a laughable situation.

Li Hao chortled and looked at Hong Qing, then at the others. “You don’t stop Martial Uncle Hong from randomly picking up orphans off the side of the street? It’s hard enough for martial masters to cultivate themselves, much less raise other people as well.”

“It’s alright,” Hong Qing giggled. “Some of them are really cute. They swarm around me when I’m home and call me big sis. You know, leader, sometimes they’re very interesting.”

“We were picked up off the side of a street too,” Hong Hao piped up. “If it wasn’t for the Sword Sect... Master pitied us and took us in, teaching us how to read and write and practice martial dao. Those who could not train were instructed in other aspects. They could thus make a living for themselves even if they left the mountain.

“There aren’t many adults in the sect these days, most of us are kids. Many who grew to adulthood left the mountain to eke out a livelihood in the vast Silver Moon. Some became officials, some joined the Inspectorate. Others started their own business or worked for others. Most who leave the Sword Sect are willing to give back to it. A lot of people send money back to the sect once they start earning money, keeping only what they need for themselves...”

Hong Hao looked at Li Hao. “Therefore, we support all of master’s decisions and preferences. If it wasn’t for his casual care back in the day, where would any of us be now?”

There hadn’t always been a Sword Sect in this world! This faction was just a function of one person’s outpouring of generosity in taking in a group of people. After Earthturner Sword accumulated some money, he gradually enlarged his operations until he formed the Sword Sect.

Therefore, there weren’t many powerhouses in the sect. Apart from his senior disciple Hongxiu breaking through to Solar, there weren’t many Sunflares in the entire sect. The martial masters were even worse off as there wasn’t a single Dominator.

Such a roster of strength was less than the Light Island of old, the faction that Yuan Shuo had easily destroyed before the first expedition. Hong Yitang didn’t purposefully search out Heaven Favored or martial dao geniuses. He simply went with the flow and taught those he took in if they were suited for martial dao.

Thus, Sword Sect members were an even-keeled, peaceful bunch with solid foundations. Their skills weren’t all that stunning; there would’ve long been some Dominators among them if they were that remarkable.

Hong Yitang’s expectations for them weren’t that high either. He just wanted them to be able to protect themselves in an era of chaos. It was enough that they didn’t commit wrongful acts when they left the sect. As for whether or not they admitted they were a Sword Sect member, changed their background, or joined another faction—he didn’t care.

Liu Long listened quietly. “Has the sect taken in a lot of people over the years?”

“I don’t know.” Hong Hao shook his head. “Sometimes people come, sometimes people go. Master doesn’t stop them. People can leave whenever they want. We can go out and work once we’re of age, get married, or do whatever. Master doesn’t levy that many rules on us. He’s an easygoing guy and rarely leaves the sect apart from accepting some Night Watcher missions. But it’s got to be at least... eight thousand kids over twenty years, if not ten thousand?”

Who remembered? There were steady waves of people coming and going; currently, there were roughly one thousand people in the sect. While many came back to visit, there were those who never returned after they left.

Hong Hao was used to this. If they left permanently, so they left. At least there were still plenty of people willing to come back and give the sect some support. Much of their daily supplies and necessities were sponsored by people who visited.

“This is my father’s only hobby,” Hong Qing laughed. “My senior sister... ahem, fanned the flames and has continuously supported my father in picking up more children. We’ve taken in even more over these years. Otherwise, I remember that the sect maintained a constant roster of five hundred people back in the day. Now it sits at almost one thousand.

“My senior sister even encourages my father to bring back adults. Thankfully, our new additions are all decent as they come from war torn areas. They help with chores around the complex, such as cleaning, cooking, washing, and the like. We’re generally much cleaner than we were before. We have too many people these days and most of them are children, so it’s a dirty mess. Even I had to wash clothes once in a while...”

Hong Qing wanted to cry at this point. When the Sword Sect was predominantly children, she had to roll up her sleeves when dirty clothes overflowed, even though she was the daughter of the sectmaster. It was one thing if she washed the clothes of the older children, but the younger ones who weren’t potty trained yet... Those were memories she didn’t want to recall.

“Master says that when you marry in the future, you’ll know how to do everything and won’t suffer in your new home,” Hong Hao laughed. “You’ll know how to wash clothes, cook, take care of children, martial arts...”

“I’m not marrying.” Hong Qing rolled her eyes. “Martial dao is the best. Will I need to depend on someone else’s favor if I become as strong as our leader?”

Next to them, Li Hao said nothing and continued reading his ancient tome of the Building Five Bridges method. Liu Long’s interest was piqued, however. “Are all of the kids in the Sword Sect from Silver Moon?”

“Not all, many of them are from other places. There are children from the central region, other northern provinces... Silver Moon is well enough since we don’t see much fighting. There’s more from the three northern provinces since they’ve experienced continual unrest.”

“Does Swordmaster Hong teach anything else other than martial dao?”

“That’s all my master teaches, my senior sister teaches the other subjects. She knows a lot and is apparently from a rich family. Ahem, who knows? We don’t talk about this. She teaches the girls some other skills such as cooking and cleaning, but also the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She also knows how to weave...”

As Liu Long continued his questioning, Hong Qing had nothing else to do but keep responding. These weren’t major secrets. Hong Hao listened beside them, coughing discreetly when Hong Qing mentioned subjects relevant to Earthturner Sword’s martial dao. He didn’t care about anything else.

There weren’t many secrets at the Sword Sect. Apart from his master and senior sister’s gossip, everything else was regular day-to-day living for the outside world.

......

This kind of conversation was very boring, but Liu Long, Hong Qing, and Hong Hao chatted until dawn. The crowds were gone and the Demon Hunters would travel back to White Moon City today. When everyone left, Liu Long looked at Li Hao. The young man had spent the night reading—a rare sight.

“If you go to the central region...” Liu Long took a deep breath. “I’d... like to stay.”

“Are you sure, chief?”

“Yes!” Liu Long rumbled. “One should seek out the uncommon in the common! I wasn’t too familiar with Swordmaster Hong before and knew only a little of his stories in the martial world. They paint him to be a timid, weak-willed person who didn’t dare fight Professor Yuan. That was the martial world’s greatest criticism of him.

“But after hearing his accomplishments at the Sword Sect, I cannot help but think that maybe this is what he seeks instead. He drifts around the clouds like wild geese, but has shouldered some responsibility in the process. Now he wants to do more, and I think I should... stay and help him. It is a cause for pride that I have been invited by Swordsmaster Hong.

“My strength is mediocre in the central region. Here, I can help Silver City at times. Although there is no war in Silver Moon and the three great organizations have been exterminated, I worry that they’ll seek revenge sooner or later...”

He’d decided to stay. Liu Long hadn’t made up his mind at first, but the night’s conversation had helped him come to a decision.

“Then stay!” Li Hao nodded.

“Are you sure about heading to the central region?” Liu Long breathed out.

“I’ll hold off on that for a little bit. We have a lot of resources at the moment, so I should digest them all first. Even if I go, it won’t be for others to hunt me or to go to my death. If I go, I go to kill!”

His eyes narrowed as hatred sharpened his tone. Who was he going to kill? Ying Hongyue was his first choice! Some hatreds were unable to be erased—that of his parents’ and best friends' death. Even his parents’ bodies were gone. This kind of hatred would be hard to wipe out even if the four seas were emptied.

My heart will not rest until Red Moon is no more!

Liu Long could stay, but he could not. Since Red Moon’s people would not come, he would go to them. But not right now. He would continue to strengthen his body, blood qi, organs, and build the five bridges. He would then use the Mind Fruits to enhance his aura and practice the Weeping Willow Sword to its utmost. It would be best if he could comprehend the wood aura as well. If not, he was even of the mind to consume the Goldensky Lotus and strengthen his other auras first.

As for whether or not that would cause an imbalance when he eventually grasped the wood aura... that was a problem to solve in the future. Thus, he had a lot to attend to at the moment. He didn’t have that much free time. Hou Xiaochen could leave in such a dashing manner because he was strong. He was so strong that he would still be a titan in the central region. The same did not hold true for Li Hao.

......

The Demon Hunters headed for White Moon City right after breaking their fast when the sun rose. It was October 1st.

They crossed through Rift Canyon again—there was barely anyone there. Everyone else had either left or died. There were only a few Night Watchers or Silver Moon Guards on duty at the entrance to the ruins.

When Li Hao and his people crossed Rift Canyon, they happened to run into a frazzled Hao Lianchuan. The man quickly rushed over when he saw the Demon Hunters.

“Are you going back to White Moon City?” he panted.

“Yes, where are you going, director?”

“To chase down the remnants of the three great organizations!” he huffed. “We haven’t stopped all night. There are so many Red Moon members and a lot of them have run. More than a thousand Red Moon supernaturals have gathered from the nineteen northern provinces. Many died and quite a few more ran off. I need to lead the team to the north of the province as I hear some have escaped into Ash Mountain...”

“Forget the mountain.” Li Hao frowned. “You can ignore that area.”