Hu Sanduo looked at everyone again and continued:

We've taken what we were supposed to take, and we can leave now. Someone will come and clean this place up later.

After saying that, Hu Sanduo turned and walked towards the gate of the courtyard.

Then, everyone followed behind Deputy Hall Master Hu and headed towards the mission base at the fishpond in Hongshan Bay.

More than an hour later, Lin Xiaofei and his group of more than 20 people arrived again in a grove of trees near the Shuiwan Fish Pond.

"Very good, this mission can be considered a complete success."

Each of you will receive 500 contribution points and 500 taels of silver, which you can collect from the Internal Affairs Hall after returning to the guild.

Okay, if there's nothing else, then everyone can go their separate ways.

"Vice Hall Master Hu, we'll take our leave now."

Most of the people spoke up, bid farewell to Hu Sanduo, and then went their separate ways.

Some went into the mountains to continue hunting, while others carried their packages to the Green Peak Gang, intending to get rid of what they had as soon as possible.

Lin Xiaofei cupped his hands in greeting to Vice Hall Master Hu, then turned and left.

On his way back, Lin Xiaofei thought about what some of his senior brothers at the Stream Realm had been saying about him. They said that of the seven or eight ordinary peak-level disciples who had participated in the mission, none of them had returned alive, but he had. They said he was a lucky person.

Lin Xiaofei smiled. He was able to come back alive this time entirely by his own ability, and it had nothing to do with luck.

Moreover, while chasing down those who betrayed their own people, he also fought with Steward Xu and several others, thus obtaining a fine black sword.

Lin Xiaofei had some knowledge of various high-quality iron longswords, and when he saw Xu Chen draw out the black-lustered longsword, he immediately took a liking to it.

That longsword was definitely the finest among the best swords.

Although his own longsword was broken by Xu Chen, the longsword in Xu Chen's hand was a top-quality sword, which he immediately coveted.

Now, this black longsword hangs at Lin Xiaofei's waist.

Lin Xiaofei glanced at the black sword at his waist, a surge of joy welling up within him. Then, after a moment's thought, he whispered:

"Before I killed Xu Chen, he said that when he was forging this sword, he invited his friends to help him forge it. His friends are several veteran inner disciples of the Qingfeng Gang. Many people know about this."

Now that Xu Chen is dead, the sword is in my hands. Once I return to the gang, some of Xu Chen's friends will see the sword hanging at my waist.

I suspect someone will come looking for trouble with me, or try to steal this sword.

Nowadays, the Qingfeng Gang is rife with internal strife, and any valuable items a disciple with low strength possesses are easily snatched away.

But I have a precious sword in my hand, and especially if I return to the Green Peak Gang and Xu Chen's friends see it, they might come looking for trouble.

Lin Xiaofei thought about it. If he were really just an ordinary inner disciple at the peak of the cultivation realm, what would happen if he were targeted? He knew very well what the consequences would be.

If the sword is brought back to the sect, it will be questioned by senior inner disciples, or even stolen or assassinated.

Lin Xiaofei thought about it again. Even if Xu Chen's friends didn't openly cause him trouble, he would probably face some trouble or danger in the future.

Lin Xiaofei remained calm, but a glint flashed in his eyes as he thought to himself:

No matter who comes looking for trouble in the future, this sword will be enough to handle anything.

He knew that the best way to deal with troublesome or even threatening people was to make himself strong.

The sword in his hand can greatly increase his combat power, which is also the best way to protect himself.

Furthermore, he is not an ordinary peak-level martial artist, but an Inner Qi Realm martial artist with formidable strength. Coupled with the perfected Mad Shadow Sword Technique, the power of his swordsmanship will greatly increase once he uses the Cold Light Sword.

He estimated that he was already able to spar with third-rate masters.

Moreover, he possesses a wealth of magical abilities, especially the White Light Flame Technique and the Dust Stone Falling Sword Technique, all of which are at the perfect level. Once unleashed, they can even kill a third-rate expert.

As for whether Xu Chen's friends would cause trouble, he didn't care too much.

As he walked, Lin Xiaofei thought to himself:

Since carrying this sword around would only cause me trouble, I'll put it in my spatial bead for now. As long as Xu Chen's friends don't see the sword at my waist, they probably won't bother me for a while.

Moreover, the Qingfeng Gang is rife with internal strife, which I suspect will also have some impact on me.

The original mission was to hunt down some traitors within the Grand Elder's faction.

However, when he was acting with Xu Chen and the others, Senior Brother Lü mentioned the Third Elder before he died.

This made him realize that Senior Brother Lü was one of the Third Elder's men, which meant that the people sent by the First Elder had been infiltrated by the Third Elder's men.

If a large number of the Third Elder's faction's subordinates infiltrate the First Elder's faction, and given the covert competition and struggles between the two sides, it's possible that at some point, the Third Elder's faction will turn against the First Elder's people.

He guessed that this mission was about friction between the two sides.

"The reason I took on this temporary mission was because I was influenced by a group of people from the First Elder and Third Elder's faction."

If something like this happens again, it won't be a good thing for me.

It seems I need to hurry up and master the basics of the Purification Divine Art, then consume the herbs in the spatial bead to accelerate my cultivation.

By the way, we also need to get the immortal techniques for Qi Refining Level 6 and above sorted out as soon as possible.

Only in this way can I greatly improve my strength, and then, even if the people under the First Elder and the Third Elder's factions start fighting, I won't be greatly affected.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xiaofei thought to himself.

This time, he was inexplicably involved in the mission, and during the mission, he was targeted by Xu Chen and others, who even tried to kill him.

Fortunately, the only person he encountered this time was Xu Chen, a third-rate early-stage expert, whom he could handle and kill. Otherwise, things would have been much worse.

To avoid encountering this situation again, he needs to improve his strength as soon as possible.

Only in this way can he easily eliminate those who make things difficult for him, or let others know his power, so that no one will provoke him.

Half an hour later, Lin Xiaofei entered the Qingfeng Gang and headed towards the Internal Affairs Hall, intending to collect his reward for completing today's mission.

Walking down a corridor in the gang's compound, Lin Xiaofei saw many disciples gathered together, discussing in hushed tones.

Have you heard?

Just now, the Grand Elder's faction's servants spread the news to many disciples in the gang.

It is said that today in the Hongshan Shuiwan area, during the escort of goods by the gang, some traitors appeared, and these traitors were hunted down and killed by the people under the Grand Elder's faction.

In this process, although the area under the Grand Elder's jurisdiction lost some resources, it also damaged the confidence of some people.

At the same time, he warned some of the gang members not to betray their own side, or they would be hunted down.

"Sigh, the infighting within our gang is getting more and more intense."

Ultimately, it's just a contest between the First Elder and the Third Elder. When gods fight, we suffer.

"I really hope that the leader can finish his seclusion soon."

"Once the gang leader intervenes, the internal strife within the gang can be stopped, and we disciples won't have to suffer as a result."

"You're overthinking it. Unless something major happens to the Qingfeng Gang, the gang leader won't end his seclusion."

In the eyes of the gang leader, these internal disputes were all trivial matters.

In the corridor of the courtyard, many disciples were discussing amongst themselves.

Lin Xiaofei passed by and overheard this, and couldn't help but think to himself:

Is internal strife within the gang a trivial matter in the eyes of the gang leader?

After thinking it over, Lin Xiaofei felt that the discord between the First Elder and the Third Elder, which caused many disciples to suffer, did not affect the Qingfeng Gang in any way. In the end, it was indeed a minor matter.

"If one day the First Elder and the Third Elder were to fight each other, it could cause a great upheaval in the Green Peak Gang. I guess the Gang Leader would only end his seclusion then?"

Lin Xiaofei thought for a moment and muttered to himself.

He quickly stopped thinking about it. The conflicts within the gang were not something he could control, and thinking about it too much was useless.

After collecting several hundred taels of silver from the Imperial Household Department, Lin Xiaofei returned to his own courtyard and had the cook prepare a grand meal for him, which he enjoyed immensely.