Free Web NovelChapter 79: Sect Disciples Show Their Standard
The next morning, Damian left Selvara’s mountain peak before the sun had fully risen.
His dark-silver sword hung at his waist, and his disciple token rested inside his storage ring.
Compared to the past week of brutal training, simply walking down the mountain almost felt like freedom.
"Damn..." Damian muttered with a faint smile. "Even the air outside the training ground feels better."
Soon, he arrived at the eastern gate of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Several disciples were already gathered there.
Most of them were inner disciples, and judging from their aura, they were all around the Fifth or Sixth Stage Foundation Establishment Realm.
A few wore serious expressions, while others chatted casually as they waited.
Not far from them stood a merchant caravan.
There were several large wagons pulled by horned spirit beasts, each wagon covered with thick cloth and protective talismans.
Beside the lead wagon stood a round-faced middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed beard and nervous eyes. frёewebnoѵēl.com
His robe looked expensive, but the way he kept wiping sweat from his forehead made him look more like a worried shopkeeper than a powerful merchant.
When Damian walked over, several disciples immediately noticed him.
"Isn’t that Damian?"
"Elder Selvara’s new disciple?"
"Why is a core disciple here?"
Their whispers quickly spread.
The round-faced merchant also heard them, and his eyes immediately brightened.
He hurried forward and cupped his hands deeply. "Young Master Damian, right? I am Marden Lou, the client for this escort mission."
Damian looked at him and smiled politely. "That’s me."
Marden Lou let out a long sigh of relief, as if half the mountain had been lifted from his shoulders. "Good, good! I did not expect a core disciple to actually join this mission."
Damian raised an eyebrow. "Is that surprising?"
Marden quickly nodded. "Of course. Escort missions like this are usually taken by inner disciples. A core disciple joining personally means our chances are much better."
The nearby inner disciples’ expressions became a little stiff when they heard that.
Damian noticed it and smiled helplessly.
He had not even left the sect yet, and the atmosphere was already getting awkward.
Still, he cupped his hands toward the group. "Senior Brothers, Junior Brothers, I am Damian. Since we are on the same mission, let’s work together properly."
Some disciples nodded politely.
Others only gave short responses.
Damian did not mind.
Marden Lou quickly stepped beside the lead wagon and gestured forward. "Since everyone is here, shall we depart?"
The lead inner disciple looked around, confirmed the numbers, and nodded. "Move out."
The caravan slowly began moving away from the eastern gate.
Damian walked beside the wagons, looking at the road ahead with a faint smile. "Redstone City, huh..."
Hopefully, this escort mission would be peaceful.
But knowing his luck, Damian already had a feeling that peace might be asking for too much.
---
The caravan traveled smoothly for most of the morning.
The road from the Heavenly Sword Sect toward Redstone City was wide, but once they left the sect’s nearby territory, the trees on both sides became thicker.
The horned spirit beasts pulled the wagons steadily forward, while the inner disciples spread out around the caravan in a loose formation.
Damian walked near the middle wagon with a lazy expression, but his eyes were quietly observing everything.
The inner disciples did not look relaxed anymore.
Their hands rested near their swords, and their gazes kept moving toward the forest.
Marden Lou sat inside the lead wagon, occasionally peeking through the curtain with nervous eyes.
Damian noticed this and smiled faintly. "Looks like escort missions really aren’t as peaceful as they sound."
Just as that thought appeared, a sharp whistle suddenly came from the forest.
The lead inner disciple’s expression changed. "Enemy!"
The next instant, several figures rushed out from both sides of the road.
They wore rough leather armor and dark cloth masks, and their weapons carried a faint bloody smell.
Bandit cultivators and there were more than twenty of them.
Their leader was a tall man with a scar across his face, holding a large axe over his shoulder.
He laughed loudly. "Heavenly Sword Sect disciples? Good! Looks like this caravan is carrying something valuable!"
Marden Lou’s face turned pale immediately. "Bandits!"
The inner disciples quickly drew their swords.
"Protect the wagons!"
"Do not let them break the formation!" freewēbnoveℓ.com
Damian narrowed his eyes slightly, but he did not move.
Instead, he stepped back half a step and calmly watched.
This was not because he was scared.
He was curious.
Other than the three reckless inner disciples from the Sword Trial Arena and Raika, who was clearly a monster among inner disciples, Damian had not really seen how normal Heavenly Sword Sect inner disciples fought.
Those three from before had been emotional, arrogant, and careless.
Raika was simply abnormal.
So Damian wanted to see the real standard of the sect. "Let’s see how strong these inner disciples actually are."
The lead inner disciple moved first.
His sword flashed with pale blue Qi, and with one step, he met two bandits head-on.
[Flowing Sword Art]
His sword moved smoothly like water, deflecting one blade while cutting toward the second man’s wrist.
The bandit screamed and dropped his weapon.
Another inner disciple followed with a heavy sword strike that cracked the ground beneath a bandit’s feet.
The rest of the disciples also moved quickly, their sword Qi forming a loose defensive circle around the wagons.
Damian’s eyes lit up slightly. "Not bad."
They were not flashy like Raika, and they did not have strange mutated Qi like him, but their cooperation was solid.
Their footwork was stable, their attacks were clean, and they clearly knew how to protect a target while fighting.
One bandit tried to rush toward the second wagon, but before he could get close, two inner disciples crossed swords in front of him.
CLANG!
The bandit was forced back immediately.
Another bandit threw several black needles toward the wagon, but a female inner disciple waved her sword and created a thin curtain of sword Qi, knocking them all away.
Damian nodded slowly. "So this is the difference between sect disciples and random city cultivators."
The scar-faced bandit leader noticed Damian standing calmly near the middle wagon and frowned. "That one isn’t moving."
Then he grinned. "Either he’s weak, or he’s important."
Damian heard that and smiled.
The bandit leader rushed toward him with his axe raised. "Kid, let’s see which one you are!"
Damian’s grin widened slightly, but he still did not draw his sword yet.
"Alright," he muttered. "Guess it’s my turn soon."
