One Month Later, the Stronghold of the Ancient Martial Arts World

The live stream ended.

The replay of the Night King and the Night Organization's broadcast quickly topped trending lists across major platforms.

Countless content creators chasing trends began editing clips from the livestream.

Everyone now understood—aside from monsters, there existed an organization known as the "Night Organization" in this world.

This group had existed since ancient times, persisting to this day, and now they had revealed themselves to the world in a strikingly bold manner.

The world underwent a drastic change.

Masses of people logged onto the official martial artists' database to search for information.

There, meticulously compiled martial arts records were available for public inquiry.

Numerous video bloggers pivoted their content, shifting to producing guides on martial arts.

Now, simply hosting a livestream discussing martial artists guaranteed explosive viewership.

Time passed steadily.

A month later.

Martial artists had become household names, and their superhuman abilities—like flying through the skies or vanishing into the earth—became the stuff of widespread admiration.

Moreover, to adapt to the modern world, the ancient martial arts community chose to integrate itself into every facet of secular society.

8:30 PM.

Inside a livestream titled [Qingfeng Sect Official Channel], an elder with an air of ancient wisdom sat serenely in a rattan chair.

The viewer count in the top-right corner surpassed 100,000.

Stroking his long beard, he spoke kindly, "Good evening, everyone. I am Qingfengzi, the leader of the Qingfeng Sect."

"With the world undergoing such changes, our ancient martial arts community also needs fresh blood."

"Those interested may sign up in advance for our Qingfeng Sect."

"If you are found to possess the talent for martial cultivation, you may directly join our sect."

"Before that, I will answer any questions you may have about martial artists in this livestream."

The chat scrolled rapidly.

Countless netizens flooded the stream.

[Damn! I looked it up—this elder is actually a grandmaster-level expert! Someone of his stature would lower himself to host a Q&A livestream for us?]

[You just don’t get it, do you? That’s the magnanimity of a true master! By the way, Qingfengzi, what’s the deal with this Night Organization? Even the ancient martial arts world can’t defeat them?]

Noticing this comment, Qingfengzi chuckled lightly, stroking his beard before shaking his head.

"Ah, dear viewer, you underestimate our ancient martial arts world far too much—and overestimate the Night King."

His tone brimmed with pride as he continued, "Let me tell you this—no force in this world can withstand the combined might of all martial artists in our community!"

"In the past, the previous Night King was slain through the joint efforts of both the ancient martial arts world and secular martial artists."

"However... it is unfortunate. The Night King possesses a unique ability—as long as evil exists in this world, he will be reborn!"

[Got it, so the Night King is pure evil!!]

[The Night King can revive?? But if the last one was killed, shouldn’t this one be easy to deal with too?]

Seeing this comment, Qingfengzi laughed heartily.

"You’re absolutely right, dear viewer. In terms of combat, the Night King isn’t actually difficult to defeat."

"The real challenge lies in his elusive and unpredictable abilities. He’s an expert at running away."

"If we could trap him, all martial artists would mobilize at once. No matter how many tricks he has, survival would be impossible!"

[Damn! As expected of the Sect Leader! Once I awaken my talent, I’m joining the Qingfeng Sect!]

[Hahahaha, looking at it this way, the Night King isn’t all that impressive!]

[The Night Organization is probably just bluffing. Otherwise, why haven’t they shown themselves after all their big talk?]

[Exactly! Hiding in the shadows like cowards—only now that the martial arts department announced the public rollout of martial training for all do they start panicking.]

[Hey, that’s a good point. It’s because everyone’s about to become martial artists that the Night King feels threatened!]

[Pfft, the Night King? More like the Night Clown.]

Qingfengzi watched the shifting tone of the chat with satisfaction.

In his heart, he also held nothing but disdain for the current Night King.

If we could kill you five years ago, we can do it again now!

However—

Suddenly, a comment caught his attention.

[But didn’t the Night King say he would eradicate all evil? What if he’s actually a good guy?]

Qingfengzi’s expression darkened instantly. He snapped, "Nonsense! The Night King is inherently cruel—a mass murderer who has slaughtered countless lives. How could he possibly be good?"

"Such naive thinking is utterly laughable! You are unworthy of being a martial artist! You should feel ashamed and apologize to the entire martial arts community!"

[Lol, old man, getting worked up over a comment? Throughout martial history, strength has always ruled supreme.]

[There have even been demonic sects that sacrificed living beings—are their methods any better than the Night King’s?]

[In the martial world, exploiting others for personal gain is just the natural order.]

[So why are you suddenly preaching righteousness when it comes to the Night King?]

[Could it be… because the Night King is stronger than all of you?]

[Yo, what kind of messed-up logic is this? Elder Qingfengzi is obviously a righteous martial artist—he’d never do the things you’re accusing him of!]

[Yeah, trolls like you should just leave. Did real life beat you down so hard you have to seek validation online?]

[Lmao, no need to argue—this guy’s account just got banned.]

[Serves him right.]

[Serves him right +1.]

Qingfengzi felt a headache coming on.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. Damn troll.

If I ever find out who you are in real life—and if you’re part of the martial world—I’ll tear you apart limb by limb!

The elder was utterly exasperated. Of course, he and his peers were the righteous ones.

The Night King’s power could destroy the world. If left unchecked, both righteous and demonic factions would be annihilated.

Wait—was that troll sent by another sect to stir up trouble?

Anyone who saw the Night King’s previous livestream could tell he wasn’t a good person.

How could anyone possibly believe otherwise?

He shook his head. Livestreaming to the secular world had its pros and cons. If this helped recruit a few talented disciples, it might be worth it.

Then again… true geniuses were rare even in the martial world, let alone the secular realm where spiritual energy was thin.

Even if there were any, the martial arts department would probably snatch them up first.

Hmph. Whatever.

Time to wrap up this tedious livestream.

With that thought, Qingfengzi stroked his beard and smiled benevolently.

"Everyone, pay no mind to that misguided individual earlier."

"The hour grows late, and this old man must retreat for closed-door cultivation."

"From now on, my head disciple, Yang Huan, will host these livestreams."

The camera panned to a broad-shouldered, thick-browed young man.

"Greetings, everyone. I am Yang Huan, the head disciple of the Qingfeng Sect."

......

Meanwhile, deep within the ancient martial world…

Atop a fog-shrouded black cliff, where blood mist hung thick in the air, corpses lay strewn about in grotesque poses—their eyes frozen in terror.

Amid this macabre scene, a figure clad in a white oni mask stood fuming at his phone, glaring at the notification of his banned account.

"Infuriating! How dare they insult the Night King like this? Unforgivable!"

"And who’s the idiot running this platform? On what grounds did they ban me?!"

Beside him...

A figure wearing a black demon mask shook his head helplessly. "Little Bai, don’t be like this. The master didn’t give you a phone for this kind of thing."

"Hmph!!"

With a flick of her right hand, Little Bai stored the phone back into her dimensional space.

She walked over to Shitou and grinned. "Brother Shitou, the people from the Ten Thousand Poison Sect are so weak. How dare they even think of attacking us?"

As she spoke, she kicked a nearby skeleton that had been corroded into a pile of bones, sneering. "We were just peacefully gathering intel on the Ancient Martial World. Why did they have to seek death?"

Shitou held a poison pearl emitting a faint green glow in his hand and nodded. "It’s only because the master granted us power that we could deal with an entire sect so easily."

"Enough fooling around. I reported this to the master long ago. I’m sure he’ll arrive soon."

No sooner had he spoken than a thick black mist began to gather.

A ghostly figure materialized before Shitou and Little Bai.

"Master!"

"Master."

The two immediately bowed in reverence.

"Mn."

The newcomer was none other than Gu Yan. With a wave of his right hand, the green poison pearl floated from Shitou’s grasp to hover before him.

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the ‘Ten Thousand Poison Pearl.’ This artifact can summon a lethal poison mist spanning ten thousand miles. Anyone below the Xiantian realm who inhales it will instantly melt into bloody pus!!]

He examined the pearl, then surveyed the mountain range with a thoughtful gaze.

Perfect. This place will serve as our stronghold in the Ancient Martial World.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl shot into the sky, radiating a dazzling green light.

Then—hum!

A magic circle materialized above the pearl.

Gu Yan flicked his right hand.

Boom!

A surge of true energy poured into the formation.

[Ten Thousand Poison Illusion Array]

In an instant, the pearl vanished.

The entire mountain range, spanning ten thousand miles, was enveloped in an eerie green mist.

Any living being that entered would not only be poisoned but also trapped in an endless illusion.

Next—

Gurgle… gurgle…

Claw-like tendrils split into countless cellular clones, scavenging like cleaners. In the blink of an eye, they reduced all the lifeless disciples of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect into nutrients.

With everything settled, Gu Yan turned to Little Bai and Shitou.

His voice was calm but commanding. "From this day forth, this mountain range shall be our base in the Ancient Martial World."

"Have Ling Fa complete the teleportation arrays on both ends as soon as possible."

"And one more thing…"

Gu Yan’s figure gradually dissipated, but his voice echoed in their ears.

"The first target of judgment… may now be dealt with."

Heh.

Every single faction that had participated in the siege of the Leng Family back then—

Gu Yan would…

Leave none alive.