Marvin arrived at the back of Xunshan Monastery's rear mountain after crossing the suspended stone bridge.

This place was even more ruined than the previous path. There were a few caves that led to some unknown places.

Marvin examined the area carefully and found that someone had frequently gone in and out of the central cave.

There was dust covering the ground of the other entrances, so it seemed that no one had been in those for a long time.

As far as he knew, only Blade Technique Master Kangen was living at the back of this mountain.

It should be right here.

He wasn't in the Feinan continent anymore. This was the Dead Area continent, this world's most desolate region.

With a trace of reverence, Marvin didn't rely on his Darksight to rush in, lighting a candle instead before slowly entering the cave.

Those who could talk on the same level as the Copper Dragon Professor were certainly not normal people.

Marvin had a vague understanding of Xunshan Monastery and had also heard some things about Blade Technique Master Kangen.

...

The Dead Area was an expansion added in the later stage of the game and it attracted a large number of players on release.

Although the Dead Area was desolate, it had a variety of monsters and many valuable minerals, plants and ghosts that Feinan lacked.

Players had always been fearless. In the eyes of the players, the natives' banishing ground was a land worth being developed, a territory that had yet to be enjoyed.

At that time, the impact of the Great Calamity in Feinan was gradually diminishing, and with the help of the Golden Children, the cities gradually became prosperous again.

And the Gods also had their own domains in Feinan. Although they didn't gain a firm foothold, aside from a few fallen Gods, they had their own Apostles and followers. The strength of the players gave them a headache, so they united to open the entrance to the Dead Area, trying to shift the attention of these greedy Golden Children.

At the same time, there was a power they were afraid of in the Dead Area.

They wanted to send the tiger away to swallow the wolf, weakening their own enemies.

As a result, the players in the Dead Area encountered a lot of troubles. Many of the forces working to open up new territories in the Dead Area suffered great losses!

Because their main target was Xunshan Monastery!

They accepted the quest of the Winter God and treated Xunshan Monastery as an instance similar to the Scarlet Monastery.

The outcome... Well, as one could imagine...

After the fight started, the players found out that this seemingly unguarded mountain not only had a rough path that was difficult to traverse, but was also filled with runes and arrays.

Moreover, even though the basic Xunshan Monastery itself only had about 20 Monks, once the fighting started, many Monks from all over the Dead Area continent hurried back.

This place was very important for Monks from all over the Dead Area. It had many hidden talented individuals and also a long history.

In the first three days of the war, more than two hundred Monks hurried there, and the weakest were Half-Legends! And there were more than ten Legend Monks among them!

Nobody knew where these unknown Legend Monks had been hiding, but when the Monastery was under attack, they rushed back one after the other to help.

The players who received the quest complained endlessly.

Even if there were also some Legends among the players, they simply weren't able to overcome the powerful Xunshan Monastery!

The first wave of their meticulously prepared attack was defeated.

The angry players looked for the Winter God and accused him of giving the wrong quest information. The Winter God was only a God with medium Divine Power that didn't dare to descend to Feinan with his body. He was blocked at his shrine by a group of reckless players that were endlessly complaining.

Under the pressure of all these players, the Winter God had no choice but to change his terms. He had to promise more rewards, and also had to send a Divine Power Avatar to the Dead Area to help the players prevail over the "sinister" Xunshan Monastery.

The scene at that time had a lot of influence, and countless related messages appeared on the forums.

After all, this was the first large-scale cooperation between the players and the 3rd Era Gods.

Most people weren't too optimistic about Xunshan Monastery's chances this time. It was just a group of Monks. Faced with the players' human wave tactics, how could it possibly survive?

But the second attack still ended up being defeated.

The reason was that the Blade Technique Master living at the back of the mountain acted!

Kangen only made one move and the Winter God's avatar was shattered.

The players were stunned. Their morale collapsed immediately!

At that time the players figured out that Xunshan Monastery wasn't the "evil" place the Gods had made it out to be. It also wasn't an instance, and was in fact a huge problem for the Gods.

Meanwhile, the conspiracy of the Winter God and the other Gods was revealed by the [Last Valkyrie]. The players were all furious, and they tore apart the shrine of the unlucky Winter God. Although the Great Calamity had already happened, it was a common occurrence for Humans and Gods to cooperate. But the players still generally disliked the Gods. The memory of the destruction of Rocky Mountain, which had happened a while back, was still in the minds of those players who couldn't participate in the Legends' battles at that time. With a group fanning the flames on the forums, soon, the 3rd "God Extermination Wave" arrived.

The players spontaneously gathered and planned to put an end to some weaker Gods. The Valkyrie's supporters went to look for trouble at each Deity Hall in the North.

The Gods were powerful, but facing such a huge number of players, especially those who were at the peak, would be way too much.

Marvin remembered that in the God Extermination Wave, at least four Gods lost their foundations, while the Winter God had even heavier losses and was almost forced to hibernate.

And the fuse to all this was the powerful but low-key force in the Dead Area, Xunshan Monastery.

At the time, Marvin didn't participate in all this because he was still playing hide and seek with Glynos while making his final preparations to ascend to Godhood.

But Xunshan Monastery's power left a strong impression on him.

Especially during the second attack on the Monastery. The Blade Technique Master Kangen made a move and it was enough to match the Great Elven King or the Cloud Monk, yet this was only part of his power. Marvin was very curious about how strong that powerhouse was, but no one knew what he was, or whether he was still in this world.

All kinds of legends spread about him.

From that day onwards, the Dead Area continent became an area forbidden to the Gods. The 3rd era Gods didn't dare to easily set foot in that ancient mysterious land any longer.

...

In the dark cave, a candle flame swayed gently.

He stopped dwelling in his memories as a fragrant aura came pouring into Marvin's nose, clearing up his mind.

It was actually sandalwood.

He hadn't thought there would be sandalwood here, although it was commonly seen in Monks' monasteries.

Small, small rays of light shone over, revealing the scenery inside.

A shadow was sitting leisurely beside a pond.

Blade Technique Master Kangen.

His back was facing Marvin, and he didn't have any weapon in hand.

"Few can find this place," Kangen said casually. "How did you get past those Monks?"

"No one can avoid being spotted by the Monks." Marvin smiled. "I came to deliver a letter, Prince Kangen."

In an instant, the atmosphere in the entire cave turned cold.

The originally tranquil water in the pond suddenly started rippling and some of it splashed out and flew to Marvin's face!

Marvin didn't blink.

But the next moment, he felt something ice cold before feeling a burning pain.

Blood flowed down from the upper part of his face.

"Sorry… I didn't control my emotions."

After a long time, Kangen continued in a faint voice, "It's been many years since someone addressed me like that."

Marvin smirked a bit. "Although some things have passed, not everyone will forget."

Kangen nodded and gestured Marvin to approach. The latter handed over Professor's letter.

Marvin sighed in relief.

His risky action just now was in order to deepen the Blade Technique Master's interest in him.

After all, there weren't many who knew Kangen's identity. Only a few could be found in this world.

The prince of a destroyed nation, a genius of the martial path, a banished wanderer… and also a sinner who fell in love with his own stepmother.

These identities were like shackles making the first part of Kangen's wandering life very miserable and difficult, up until he immersed himself in Blade Techniques, finally feeling at ease.

Living in seclusion in Xunshan wasn't because he didn't want to do anything, but because he had nothing to do.

His former foes had already been killed, the woman he loved had already died, and his old country was no more. He no longer had any place to stay.

The Blade Technique Master of Marvin's memories was a pitiful person.

Perhaps only people like this could have an exceptional state of mind and be able to stand tall against the Gods as natives.

...

The cave was silent.

Only the sound of water drops could be heard from time to time.

Kangen carefully perused the letter while Marvin stood to the side, looking at his expression.

The Blade Technique Master was rather handsome, and although he had a scar on his face, it didn't detract from his elegance.

In fact, after reaching his level, it would be very easy to remove that scar if he wanted to, but he didn't because that scar had a special meaning to him.

Thinking of this, Marvin couldn't help but inwardly sigh, 'Beauties do bring disasters.'

After reading the letter, Kangen pondered for a long time.

Marvin wasn't anxious and just waited.

After a while, Kangen recovered and muttered to himself, "What happened in the end, what made Professor feel danger?"

"This world is changing? Isn't the outside world changing every day?"

Marvin remained silent. Perhaps the man in the cave had no interest in the changes of the outside world.

But fortunately, after talking to himself for a bit, Kangen finally focused back on Marvin.

He examined Marvin and noted, "You don't understand Blade Techniques."

"Please advise, Master Kangen," Marvin requested respectfully.

"What can you do?" Kangen asked.

Marvin considered for a bit and bluntly answered, "Killing."

Kangen laughed. "Good. Quite frank. I have a Blade Technique Style which is actually very suitable for people like you."

"The name of this Blade Technique Style is [Desperation]."

"Follow me."