James Allen's martial arts skills were something he had witnessed firsthand. Even though he had just died and lost some cultivation, it was still more than enough to deal with David Harris thoroughly. Originally, he had hoped that after retrieving his sword and handing it over to the sect, he would earn great merit, receive generous rewards, and become strong enough not to fear James Allen's revenge. Who would have thought that after offending such a ruthless person, the sword he snatched back turned out to be the fake one left behind by Edward Thompson's scheme? Even more unexpected was how quickly James Allen tracked him down, and how coincidentally the two of them ran into each other.

David Harris really didn't have the time to be frustrated now. He tapped his foot on the ground, used his lightness skill, and retreated—clearly preparing to escape. In terms of lightness skill, he was quite confident. With this backward leap, he floated more than two meters away, only preparing to turn around after landing. In the very last instant before turning, he saw that James Allen hadn't moved at all, as if he had no intention of making a move. When his body finally turned all the way around and he was ready to sprint, he heard James Allen say coldly, "No need to run. I won't kill you here."

"Hmm?" David Harris was taken aback by this, paused, and turned back around.

At this point, the distance between them was considerable, so David Harris wasn't too nervous. If things went wrong, he figured he could still escape with his lightness skill. But after hearing what James Allen said, David Harris was actually quite curious to hear what he wanted to say. After all, being entangled with such a vicious guy would only bring endless trouble.

Seeing David Harris stop, James Allen sneered again. "Kill you here? Do you think I'm as much of an idiot as you?"

"What do you mean?" David Harris was afraid, but his tone wasn't particularly weak. After all, it's just a game—if you're not strong enough, so be it, but there's no need to act all submissive.

"This is the Wudang Sect. We're surrounded by Wudang disciples, and you and I are both members. If I kill you, that's harming a fellow sect member. In any sect, that's a serious crime. Do you think I'm stupid enough to kill you openly here?" James Allen said.

David Harris's expression changed instantly. He immediately thought of how he had ambushed and killed James Allen earlier, right in front of everyone, and instantly understood what James Allen meant by "idiot."

"Looks like you've figured it out. That idiotic thing—you just happened to do it yourself," James Allen said.

"Then why am I perfectly fine right now?" David Harris asked.

"That's only because there were no NPCs present at the time, and almost no players pay attention to sect rules like this. But if any of the witnesses had reported you, what do you think would happen to someone who harms a fellow sect member? You might want to read the Wudang sect rules—I guarantee you'll find a detailed answer there," James Allen said coldly.

Given David Harris's understanding of "Jianghu Online," he had a vague feeling that James Allen was telling the truth. Such a setting was absolutely logical.

When you first join the Wudang Sect, everyone is given a copy of the sect rules, but David Harris had treated this too much like a game and never paid attention to such settings. Now, David Harris hurriedly pulled out the rules to take a look. Harming a fellow sect member was, unsurprisingly, absolutely forbidden. As for the consequences? The answer in the rules was just one word: kill.

The weight of that "kill," David Harris figured, was definitely not simple. While it probably wouldn't kick a player out of the game directly, according to the rules, "kill" was a heavier punishment than "cripple" or "expel."

"Cripple" meant losing all martial arts skills, "expel" meant being kicked out of the sect. In an online game, these two punishments were actually scarier than "kill." But here, "kill" was still the most severe, and David Harris guessed this wasn't a design oversight. This "kill" probably included both "cripple" and "expel"—after revival, all martial arts would be gone, and you would no longer be a Wudang disciple.

Such a punishment was truly harsh. In "Jianghu Online," characters had no levels; all experience from killing monsters or completing quests was used to improve martial arts. If your martial arts were crippled, unless you still had some equipment and money, it was basically no different from deleting your character. At this thought, sweat broke out on David Harris's forehead again. He wasn't like Edward Thompson, who had other skills after losing Wudang martial arts. All his skills came from the sect, so if they were crippled, he'd have to start from scratch.

James Allen watched David Harris's expression with apparent leisure, clearly enjoying the moment. But everything he said to David Harris was an obvious threat.

"What do you want?" David Harris asked helplessly. To be threatened by someone in a game—David Harris felt incredibly frustrated. But now, it was no longer as simple as dying and losing some items or cultivation, so he couldn't afford to act rashly.

"What about the stuff I dropped earlier?" David Harris asked.

"I have it," James Allen replied. David Harris didn't rush to respond. The fact that James Allen was asking about this meant he still had some bargaining chips and wasn't completely at the other's mercy. But James Allen was straightforward—without saying anything else, he simply stretched out his hand. "Hand it over."

David Harris wasn't about to give it up so easily, so he just stared at James Allen in silence. Both sides had something the other wanted. What David Harris held was just some equipment and items, and losing them was nothing compared to having all his martial arts crippled. But the problem was, if David Harris's martial arts were crippled, it wouldn't actually benefit James Allen in any real way. For James Allen, getting his equipment back was much more worthwhile than crippling David Harris's skills.