Due to the extensive damage near the sect and the notorious reputation of the players, almost all the demonic beasts within a hundred-mile radius had fled.
This meant new players couldn't level up at all and could only rely on daily sect quests to gain experience.
However, with the impending battle at Mo Yun Battlefield, Chu Huaian had no choice but to put this matter aside and plan for it later.
In the center of the plaza, new and old players gathered, many surrounding Peng Yuyan and Liu Yifei, asking for their autographs.
The remaining portion rushed to the quest hall to snatch sect quests.
Some clever players had already made their leveling plans.
First, they would do sect quests to transition to the Qi Condensation Stage, then enter the Demon Subduing Pagoda to gain experience, use contribution points to exchange for spirit stones to cultivate in the Spiritual Energy Secret Realm, and then challenge individual secret realms.
With the addition of the sixth batch of players, the sect experienced its first cultivation frenzy.
The entire process lasted for nearly a month, and the sixth batch of players gradually became familiar with the game's mechanics, with the fastest already advancing to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
It's worth mentioning that another troublemaker appeared among the sixth batch of players, even worse than Fang Yuan and Qin Hao.
This person was Zhang Ziqiang, who claimed to be a gang leader from the Greater Bay Area.
For the first two days, he was relatively well-behaved, but on the third day, he finally revealed his true nature, stealing an AK rifle when Wang Xiaojun and Li Yongxiao weren't paying attention.
He then incited two other players to ambush several waves of disciples near the handyman disciples, robbing them.
This matter was reported to Chu Huaian, and the consequences were predictable: the three were tied up in the center of the plaza and executed on the spot.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Chu Huaian treated them to a "peanut" (a euphemism for a bullet to the head).
But the matter wasn't over; after Zhang Ziqiang revived, to get revenge on Chu Huaian, he made two bombs himself and rushed into the back mountain that night, intending to blow up Chu Huaian.
The idea was good, but reality was harsh; he didn't blow up his enemy but was instead captured by the other party and once again hung in the center of the plaza.
This time was even more severe than before; he was whipped for a full four hours!
Since then, Zhang Ziqiang had reined himself in considerably.
But just because he didn't cause trouble didn't mean others wouldn't.
Fang Yuan, Qin Hao, and Sun Yiyi, upon learning of this incident, troubled Zhang Ziqiang daily.
Either he would be beaten in the dark while sleeping, or he would be put in a sack and thrown into the lake while walking on the road.
What he couldn't stand even more was that after he painstakingly built his house, just as he was about to move in happily, it was blown up by a bomb.
The most infuriating thing was that he didn't even know who the enemy was!
Later, he rebuilt it, and the process went smoothly, but precisely when it was completed, the other party blew up the house again, making him furious to the point of exploding, so he simply lived in a thatched hut.
Just as he had given up struggling, the other party repeated their actions, sneaking into his room in the dark and beating him up again.
There wasn't a day his face wasn't swollen, and even now, he didn't know who the enemy was.
Later, Zhang Ziqiang couldn't take it anymore and ran to Chu Huaian to beg for forgiveness, and the matter was dropped.
The day before the Mo Yun Battlefield opened, Yun Xiang and others successively left the Hua Xia Sect.
Meng Ke'er had locked herself in her room for an entire month, only appearing in everyone's sight on the last day.
When she left, she only bid farewell to Chu Huaian and did not alarm anyone else.
But just as she soared into the air, several figures suddenly blocked her path.
"Ke'er, it's been a month, are you still angry with me?" Fang Yuan grinned and leaned closer.
Meng Ke'er took a step back and said coldly, "Move aside."
"Look, I've humbled myself and apologized to you, and you're still acting like this?"
With so many people present, Meng Ke'er showing him no face like this, Fang Yuan couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
"I said, move aside!" Meng Ke'er said coldly again.
"Fine, you said it." Fang Yuan sneered and took a few steps back.
Meng Ke'er looked deeply at Fang Yuan, then turned and left.
"Ke'er, don't be impulsive, you know Fang Yuan's temperament." Huo Sichun and the others quickly stopped Meng Ke'er, kindly advising her.
"Let her go!" Fang Yuan snapped with a cold face.
Hearing this, Meng Ke'er's body visibly paused, then she flew away without looking back.
Watching her departing back, Huo Sichun shook her head and sighed, "Sigh, why do you have to be like this? Why act so macho? I'm truly speechless."
"It's good that she left, lest she affect the speed of my drawing my blade!" Fang Yuan scoffed, then added, "Besides, she's just an NPC; am I supposed to spend my whole life with her or something?"
"You truly are heartless after having your fun, the scum of scums, what excuses are you making?!" Qin Hao showed disdain.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this, I'm happy today, want to go drinking with me?" Fang Yuan feigned nonchalance, waving to them.
"Go drink by yourself, I despise you!" Sun Yiyi glared at him, then turned and left.
"What about you guys?" A hint of hope flickered in Fang Yuan's eyes.
"No drinking, Zhao Shijie warned me not to drink today." Huo Sichun found an excuse to leave.
Fang Yuan placed his last hope on Qin Hao, who remained unmoved and snorted, "I'm going to find Fan Xiaomei."
With that, Qin Hao disappeared from the spot.
Watching the people around him leave one by one, Fang Yuan pouted, "They're all a bunch of disloyal guys, I'll drink by myself then!"
Two hours later, he returned to his small villa, clutching several jars of strong liquor, completely drunk.
The room was somewhat dim, and there was a faint fragrance in the air.
He staggered into the bedroom, clutching the wine jars, and collapsed onto the side of the bed, gulping down wine repeatedly.
Only when his consciousness gradually blurred did he prop himself up and fall onto the bed.
The quilt still carried a familiar scent; he took a deep breath, mumbled something, and fell into a deep sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, a cold wind blew in from outside.
In the dim room, moonlight streamed through the window, falling upon a figure.
The figure moved lightly, walking to Fang Yuan's side, taking off his shoes, and carefully tucking him in with the quilt.
The wine jars on the floor vanished with a wave of a hand.
The figure sat by the bed and couldn't help but reach out, gently caressing Fang Yuan's face.
Drip, drop—
In the quiet room, the sound of water dripping echoed.
...
The next morning, all the disciples of the Hua Xia Sect lined up neatly in the center of the plaza; even the few demonic beasts stood obediently within the ranks.
On the other side of the formation, a massive airship was docked, its deck adorned with numerous red sect flags.
On both sides of the airship, steel cannons extended, and at the front of the deck, a fierce dragon head was carved, looking like a gaping abyss from a distance.
"All disciples of the Hua Xia Sect, listen up! Board the ship immediately! Depart for Mo Yun Battlefield!"
Whoosh, whoosh—
A total of over six hundred people landed neatly on the airship's deck.
Only over a hundred handyman disciples and a few demonic beasts were left behind in the sect to guard it; everyone else participated in this operation.
At the same time, in the central area of Jizhou, a pitch-black, swirling Cave entrance suddenly appeared.
