The Hero of Xiangzhong, Henry Clark, strictly speaking, is not a real person, but an NPC in this world. However, as a well-known NPC with both a name and reputation, the influence of the Hero of Xiangzhong, Henry Clark, on this jianghu is far greater than that of any player.

“Why has the Hero of Xiangzhong come here?”

“Is something about to happen?”

Amidst the whispers, the Hero of Xiangzhong had already arrived beside the Sword-Unfastening Pool. The leader of the fourteen NPC disciples greeted him with courtesy and immediately inquired about his purpose.

“Your sect’s Chongming Daoist sent a letter inviting me, saying there was an important matter to discuss.”

The Hero of Xiangzhong spoke with a powerful voice, which the players heard loud and clear.

Chongming Daoist! Important matter to discuss!

These two keywords instantly set the players abuzz.

Chongming Daoist is the chief disciple under the Wudang Sect Leader, Master Zi He. Nowadays, Master Zi He is advanced in years; though he still holds the title of sect leader, it is actually Chongming Daoist who manages most of Wudang’s affairs. Any important matter he discusses with others is undoubtedly a major event for the Wudang Sect.

If something big is happening in the Wudang Sect, then every Wudang disciple is responsible. In the players’ minds, that means everyone has a chance to reap some benefits.

The Hero of Xiangzhong is famous, so the Wudang disciples naturally wouldn’t treat him with the same suspicion as some random troublemaker. Hearing there was business, they no longer blocked his way. Henry Clark, out of respect for Wudang, didn’t need anyone to tell him—he stepped forward on his own, unfastened his sword, and placed it personally into the Sword-Unfastening Pool. The rule of the Sword-Unfastening Pool: except for the owner of the weapon, even Wudang disciples are absolutely forbidden to touch anything in the pool unless under special circumstances.

Henry Clark returned to the mountain path and continued toward the Wudang Sect. The players along the path all followed to watch.

The players guarding the Sword-Unfastening Pool were so anxious they were scratching their heads. Leaving the area of the pool would definitely result in punishment, but the visit of the Hero of Xiangzhong, Henry Clark, surely meant something unusual was about to happen—it would be a real shame to miss it.

Events like this, interactive in nature, are different from routine tasks like guarding the Sword-Unfastening Pool; you can only participate when the event actually happens. The “Life in Jianghu” game system isn’t a pre-written script. Even the game’s designers don’t know what will happen in this jianghu each day.

A bunch of players assigned to guard the Sword-Unfastening Pool had no mood to play anymore, their tempers flaring as they cursed this trash task for being such a pain. After hesitating for a while, someone finally gritted their teeth, stepped out of the area, and chased up the mountain path. Once one person took the lead, the rest wavered even more. Soon, one, two, three... everyone ignored the task in front of them.

After all, the penalty could be made up for, but if you missed out on the benefits from an event, there would never be a second chance.

In a moment, the Sword-Unfastening Pool regained its solemn atmosphere. The fourteen NPC disciples still stood motionless by the pool, but the only players left were a clueless newbie and the infamous “super jinx” who had compiled the seven worst tasks.

“Senior brother, what’s going on?” The newbie, new to the jianghu, still didn’t understand the game’s rules and tricks, and had no idea why the players suddenly abandoned their tasks and rushed off.

“Something’s about to happen,” the person replied.

“What kind of event?” the newbie asked.

“You’ll know soon enough.” As he spoke, he stood up and walked toward the Sword-Unfastening Pool. As a disciple assigned to guard the pool, he at least had the right to approach.

Inside the Sword-Unfastening Pool, the Hero of Xiangzhong’s sword lay quietly across the surface. Almost none of the players knew that this sword belonged to the Hero of Xiangzhong and was one of the ten most famous swords passed down through the ages—Tai’e.

Edward Thompson didn’t know at first either; he just happened to stumble upon an event and received a quest. The quest was to obtain the Tai’e Sword. Based on the initial clues, Edward Thompson investigated in many ways and finally confirmed that the sword carried by the Hero of Xiangzhong was indeed the Tai’e he was looking for.

The Hero of Xiangzhong, Henry Clark, is no simple character; in the official quest compendium, he’s rated as an A-level character. At present, the highest level players can only match D-level characters from the compendium.

The difference in strength is simply too great. As long as the sword was on Henry Clark, Edward Thompson wouldn’t have the slightest chance. And Henry Clark was the type to even sleep with his sword under his pillow. So, the only place where Tai’e could be separated from Henry Clark was—Wudang Sect, the Sword-Unfastening Pool.

Just like now, Henry Clark had entered the Wudang Sect, and his Tai’e Sword was left in the Sword-Unfastening Pool.

Edward Thompson couldn’t wait too long, because he knew that as soon as Henry Clark met Chongming Daoist in Wudang, everything would be exposed. The letter inviting Henry Clark to Wudang was actually a fake, forged by him.

By using a fake letter, he tricked Henry Clark into coming to Wudang, separating him from his sword. Henry Clark’s arrival, and the crowd of players he drew away, was all within Edward Thompson’s expectations. For possible interactive events like this, players would never miss out.

Now, the only one left was a completely clueless newbie. That wasn’t much of a problem. The real pity was that not a single one of the fourteen Wudang NPC disciples had left. Even with such a famous guest as the Hero of Xiangzhong, they hadn’t sent two disciples to guide or accompany him—truly lacking in manners.