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Hearing him say that, Ma Lu thought of something, his expression changed, "I know who you are."

"Hmm?"

"In this story, there's only one important character who hasn't made an appearance yet. You must be Li Tianlong, the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect who is like the elusive dragon that shows its head but not its tail. Heh, to think you have the face to say you haven't deceived us, even your name is fake."

With resignation, Han Guangzhong said, "I haven't deceived you all. My real name is indeed Han Guangzhong. On the contrary, the name Li Tianlong isn't mine, but belongs to a friend of mine; nor did I establish the Heavenly Dragon Sect—it was his doing."

"Ah, so you're not Li Tianlong?" Ma Lu exclaimed in surprise.

"No, I am indeed the Li Tianlong that you, or rather most people, think of," Han Guangzhong explained.

"My friend had a rough start in life. When he founded the Heavenly Dragon Sect, he hoped to create a haven for people like him – those with good hearts who, for various reasons, couldn't find a place within the martial arts circles of the Righteous Path.

"However, not long after, his enemies from the past found him. He fought with all his might to escape their encirclement, but regretfully, he succumbed to his severe injuries within a few days. Before he died, he entrusted me with the Heavenly Dragon Sect."

Han Guangzhong sighed, "I'm not originally from Jianghu. By some stroke of luck, I mastered a set of Divine Technique, but my heart was not in this. I only wished to immerse myself in nature and in books, reluctant to get entangled in the grievances and disputes of Jianghu.

"However, I couldn't resist his persistent pleading and ended up taking over as the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect for him. At that time, the sect was no more than a small group, just a few cats, and I thought I could get away with just going through the motions.

"But before long, a man named Yit, a burly fellow with half-barbarian, half-Han features, joined us. He was courageous and strategic, and since I'm rather lazy, I went off to have some fun. When I returned, I discovered that the ranks of our followers had grown by hundreds. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

"My head was spinning, and then because of a new arrival surnamed Xiong, they even got into a conflict with Zhengqi Academy. Hey, you know what Zhengqi Academy is, it's the leading sect in the Huizhou martial arts circles.

"I couldn't just stand by and watch them get killed, so I had no choice but to make a trip to Huizhou and meet with Headmaster Song of Zhengqi Academy to explain the situation."

"Somehow, the story of our card game and martial exchange got out, and after that even more people came to join the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

"Sigh, what could I do? I decided to turn a blind eye, to get away from it all, and hide myself away even further."

"Eventually, I ran all the way to Yunzhou and passed by a large estate, where I heard sounds of fighting. Curiosity led me inside, where I discovered a demonic woman committing murder, intending to wipe out an entire family.

"And she attacked me without a word as soon as she saw me, attempting to take my life.

"What else could I do but fight back? I teamed up with the owner of the house and we defeated the evil woman. That owner then told me he wanted to repay me for saving his life.

"Upon hearing about my sect, he insisted on joining. Oh right, his surname is Xu, he comes from a Martial Family Clan, and it seems he is also one of your teachers."

As Ma Lu listened to Han Guangzhong bragging about his rise, he grew impatient with the storytelling and interrupted.

"Head Li, since you enjoy talking so much, why not share with us the nature of your relationship with Hong Xinghua from Xinghua Village instead? That's what I want to know right now. Why is my second senior brother framing the Heavenly Dragon Sect to target Hong Xinghua?"

Han Guangzhong, who had been speaking enthusiastically, was taken aback by Ma Lu's question and started coughing heavily.

"Cough cough, that's... Let's not delve too deeply into things of the past."

"Fine, then let's talk about the present."

Ma Lu said, "Catcher Gu and I helped you catch the mastermind behind the theft of the Lotus Bowl and averted a major disaster for the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Shouldn't you also thank us for that?"

"Fine, that's only right. What do you want?" Han Guangzhong readily said.

"Secret medicine, as much as possible. If that's not enough, money is also fine. Additionally, I want seeds—all the seeds of the secret medicines you have on hand. Don't give me too many, ten of each kind is enough, but I want all the varieties."

"You want to grow secret medicine yourself?" Han Guangzhong was somewhat surprised.

"This secret medicine isn't like grains; you can't just scatter it on the ground, water it at will, and expect it to grow. You need to find famous mountains and great rivers, use special cultivation methods, and have someone to watch over it. Moreover, you won't see any harvest without seven or eight years of effort—it's time-consuming and laborious."

"How I grow it is my own business, there's no need for Head Li to worry about it for me," Ma Lu said. "And I can assure you that I won't sell the secret medicine I grow to other sects or people in the martial arts circles."

Han Guangzhong nodded. "Okay, I'll have someone get them for you."

Having said that, he then turned to Chu Qianyuan. "Everyone says Protector Chu is remarkably generous and upright..."

Chu Qianyuan didn't wait for Han Guangzhong to finish and said, "Head Li, rest assured, I will tell my fellow elders and brothers in the Beggars' Sect exactly what I have seen and heard."

"And about the seven experts who died earlier, their families and the sects behind them, I also trouble Protector Chu to clarify for me..."

"This is the responsibility of our Beggars' Sect, Head Li need not say much."

"In that case, I am truly grateful," Li Tianlong said.

Han Guangzhong seeing that they both called him Head Li, knew that they were still on guard against him.

This was an unavoidable situation. The fact that the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Beggars' Sect nearly started a war was certainly instigated and exacerbated by Yuan Xiaoyun.

But it was also because both sides were in Qingzhou, and over the years, a lot of contradictions and conflicts had accumulated. Even if today's disaster could be resolved, it was feared that sooner or later, disputes would arise again with time.

This was also the reason Han Guangzhong disliked Jianghu—once you step into it, you always fail to be in control, rarely gaining freedom.

However, if Ma Lu knew what Han Guangzhong was thinking at the moment, he would tell him that he was overthinking it.

Ma Lu was not part of the Beggars' Sect, and he didn't have a personal preference for either side. Calling him Head Li was just to adopt an attitude of strict business, for the sake of seeking benefits.

And at this moment, Chu Qianyuan was feeling sorrow for the deceased Yuan Xiaoyun. Both of them were orphans and were among the earliest to be apprenticed to Deng Youtai, with their bond deeper than with their other martial brothers.

Chu Qianyuan had always regarded Yuan Xiaoyun as his own younger brother, and after the latter's death, he had no heart to talk further with Han Guangzhong.

As Chu Qianyuan was about to reach out to lift Yuan Xiaoyun's body, Ma Lu preempted him. "Elder Brother, let me do it."

"Junior Brother, your injuries have not yet healed; it's better not to move carelessly," Chu Qianyuan said with concern.

Ma Lu, who was focused on searching the body, insisted despite having a broken arm, "I'm fine. I'll hold him for a while; if I can't continue, I'll hand him over to you, Elder Brother."

Moved by his words, Chu Qianyuan said, "Junior Brother, you truly have a noble heart. Before, your Second Brother treated you so harshly, wanting to put you to death, yet you repay evil with good, possessing the air of an ancient gentleman."

Even Ma Lu, who had such thick skin, felt a bit embarrassed by Chu Qianyuan's praise, scratching his head as he said.

"Um, well, if you think about it carefully, Second Brother is actually quite pitiful. We are all from the same sect after all; it's only right for me to see him off one last time."