This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

---

...

Outside the city, a temporary camp had been set up for the citizens of Zhenjiang City.

Tent after tent, each very rudimentary, lined up. From above, they looked like numerous small mounds scattered across the ground.

On an open space, a row of wooden tables was set up, with a bustling crowd of people forming neat lines in front of the tables, monitored by cultivators in charge of maintaining order.

After a few simple questions from the cultivators, everyone received a small wooden token.

This was an initiative by Great Xia, where the cultivators organized the data, distinguishing those citizens who wished to leave Zhenjiang for other prefectures from those who wanted to stay.

Only the cultivators, with their strength alone, could maintain order among such a large gathering of ordinary people without chaos ensuing.

Reverence for the cultivators was deeply ingrained in the blood of the common folk.

Apart from the number of ordinary people who had survived being much greater, everything else was almost exactly the same as it had been in the past.

In the past life after the Corpse Puppet Chaos, it was through this plotline that players from Zhenjiang Prefecture were able to access the larger map of Qing State and spread out into its thirty-six prefectures.

Back then, Lu Qingshan had gone to Taiyuan Prefecture in Qing State with a group of players.

From the end of the main storyline of the Corpse Puppet Chaos to the beginning of the next main storyline, there would be an extraordinarily long buffer period.

This period was specifically designed to give players time to discover and complete various side quests to enhance their strengths.

...

Cai Xingchao was seriously recording information, distributing wooden tokens to the people of Zhenjiang.

Zhenjiang City had survived with a population of a million; categorizing such a massive number of humans was a huge project.

Therefore, Great Xia had temporarily summoned many cultivators from Zhenjiang City to assist, and quite a few members of the Lu Family were also involved.

Cai Xingchao was one of the many cultivators called upon from Zhenjiang City.

After being busy for a long time, a somewhat weary Cai Xingchao twisted his neck and looked up slightly, catching a glimpse of a tall, exceptionally handsome man standing to the side out of the corner of his eye.

"I need to leave for a bit, please can you watch over things for me?" Cai Xingchao quickly requested the cultivator beside him.

The cultivator next to him nodded, "Go ahead, come back as quickly as you can."

"Lu Brother, how long have you been here?" After handing over his tasks, Cai Xingchao approached apologetically.

Lu Qingshan smiled and said, "I've also just arrived not long ago. How is your mother doing?"

"She's not too bad, it's just that she had only recently recovered from the venom of the Red Pearl Snake, and then this incident happened. After all the ordeals, she's still weak and needs to rest and recuperate for a while before she can recover."

"What are your plans next, to go to another prefecture, or...?"

Cai Xingchao shook his head, smiled shyly, and said firmly, "I want to stay in Zhenjiang. Grandfather died for this city, and I think he would be happy to see Zhenjiang rebuilt if he could witness it from the Netherworld."

Lu Qingshan looked at the young man before him and approvingly said, "That's good."

"Lu Brother, are you leaving then?"

Lu Qingshan nodded.

"I guessed as much. My mother told me that for someone like Lu Brother, Zhenjiang Prefecture is too small." Cai Xingchao said with understanding, a hint of longing in his eyes, "The world outside must be fascinating..."

...

Atop a low hill outside Zhenjiang City stood three fresh mounds of earth.

When Lu Qingshan arrived, two people were already standing in front of the graves.

Xiao Zhi and Su Shu.

Both appeared calm, but Lu Qingshan knew that as the deaths of Xu Hao, Zhong Ming, and Li Zu had only occurred ten days ago, their sorrow could not possibly have faded so quickly. They simply kept their emotions buried deep inside.

Lu Qingshan stood quietly with them in front of the graves for a long time.

"Su Shu Sister decided to leave the Knowledge Guard Tower, and you're leaving Zhenjiang, too. In the end, only I will be left from the Tiger Squad..." Xiao Zhi said wistfully.

---

"Do a good job," Lu Qingshan patted Xiao Zhi on the shoulder with encouragement.

The once lively Su Shu of the Tiger Squad was now silently staring at Lu Qingshan.

This disaster had changed too much.

Lu Qingshan sighed, walked over, and gave Su Shu a slight hug before whispering to her with somewhat moist eyes, "Sister Su Shu, you must understand that life is not the way we've lived it, but rather, the way we remember it."

Su Shu was stunned for a long time, staring straight into Lu Qingshan's handsome but youthful face.

At that moment, the youngster's eyes seemed to hold deep ravines.

...

At the Lu family of Mihe Peak, the clothing workshop.

In the battle with the Golden Core Cultivators from the Netherworld, Lu Qingshan had been seriously internally wounded, and to recuperate, he returned to the Lu Family to rest for half a month.

At this time, the atmosphere inside the clothing workshop was quite tense and edgy.

"Do you really have to go?" Lu Zhou said with indignation.

Lu Qingshan nodded.

"For what reason?"

Lu Qingshan candidly replied, "To increase my cultivation."

This experience had made it all the clearer to Lu Qingshan how important strength was in the Nine Heavens.

If one's own strength wasn't enough, even if they knew how things would unfold, they still couldn't change anything.

"Can't your strength be increased by staying with the Lu family? With your talents, we could give you all of the Lu family's resources without reservation," Lu Zhou said in a deep voice.

Lu Qingshan shook his head calmly and said softly, "Great Elder, I am a Sword Cultivator."

Lu Zhou was taken aback and didn't speak for a long time. After a while, he sighed lightly and took out a storage bag, handing it to Lu Qingshan.

"If you are determined to leave, I can't stop you. However, venturing out there without the protection of the family means you have to be very careful. Consider these for your expenses outside."

Lu Qingshan silently accepted the storage bag, cupped his hands towards Lu Zhou, and said, "I thank the Great Elder in advance, then. Qingshan will take his leave first."

Lu Zhou waved his hand, "Go on, go on, just don't forget to come back and visit."

...

At the summit of Mihe Peak, two Golden Core Cultivators watched as a sword light dashed from the foot of Mihe Peak, quickly soared, and then vanished into the horizon.

"Did you already guess that the Great Elder couldn't keep him here?" Lu Yuan asked the stunningly handsome male Cultivator beside him.

"Sword Cultivators are naturally free-spirited; how could they ever be confined to one place?" Lu Bei responded calmly.

"Indeed, other Cultivators might be able to advance through seclusion and hard training, but Sword Cultivators can't achieve that through mere diligence," Lu Yuan nodded in agreement, then said, "That's your son, and with his departure, who knows when he'll return. Don't you plan to see him off?"

Lu Bei shook his head, his figure flashed, and he became a streak of blue light that sped away, "I'm on the verge of a breakthrough and planning to go into seclusion. During this time, don't disturb me."

Watching the blue light fade away, Lu Yuan shook his head and chuckled bitterly, "This father and son pair..."

...

Under the sky as blue and clear as water, a streak of elegant sword light passed by, leaving a very faint trail in its wake.

"Lu Qingshan, where are we heading?" a sly voice rang out among the clouds.

"The South Sea."

"I hate the sea. Can we go somewhere else?"

"No."

"Then what are we going to do there?"

"Search for a sword!"