Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 408 - 52 Jianghu Dispute

Chapter 408: Chapter 52 Jianghu Dispute

"News of other Heroes? Tell me about it?"

Xiang Shan showed interest.

"Well, they’re not exactly locals," Babbitt said. "They are two groups of Heroes from the north, apparently from two different Sects."

"Sects, huh..." Xiang Shan couldn’t help but think.

The concept hadn’t appeared in the era of the Martial Ancestor.

Though Martial Ancestor Xiang Shan had created Martial Arts, he hadn’t founded any Sects. Rather, he was the common ancestor revered by all Sects.

What he called "hundreds of boxing techniques" were actually tactical processes and ideas intended to achieve different goals under various scenarios. These "boxing techniques" were born and sublimated through deep learning computation against the enormous computing resources of the Old Era, evolving continuously over the decades in practice.

Nowadays, it is rare for modern Sects to teach completely original boxing techniques.

Since the creation of "Chivalrous Power," it emphasized the "sharing spirit of the Internet." Heroes are always the party with fewer resources and manpower, so they must rely on complete information sharing to enhance their only advantage as much as possible. Otherwise, Heroes could easily be destroyed.

Xiang Shan opposed sectarianism.

Even when he had just awakened and heard about "Sects" for the first time, he was quite astonished for a while.

Nevertheless, during these two hundred years, while not many new styles of boxing were created, Sects rarely had "proprietary boxing techniques" exclusive to themselves, at most one or two Moves.

Sects, similar to the dojos within cities, do not impart specific unique boxing techniques but provide systematic education.

Sects guide their Disciples on how to select the boxing styles best suited to them from publicly available Martial Studies resources and how to consolidate strategies that fit their own personalities. Sects teach their Disciples how to cultivate Inner Strength, how to identify enemies, how to stay concealed, and how to retreat and escape.

Of course, the most important lesson is what "Chivalry" means.

In the era of Martial Ancestor Xiang Shan, there was no concept of "Sects." The defeats of the Second and Third Martial Gods made the Heroes realize that the social environment had changed, and methods of the past no longer worked as well.

"Sects" were also a form of "social group" proposed by the Fourth Martial God. During the Chivalrous War, all Heroes gathered under one great banner; one Hero was a natural ally to another. Additionally, their common goal of "reclaiming modern society" naturally aligned their stances.

Besides, due to technological constraints, most people could not become a significant fighting force against the "Tyrant." There weren’t many Heroes capable of stepping forward at that time. Xiang Shan could easily unite them. And at that time, the main battlefield was still on Earth, and the information network could handle communication.

However, after the Sublimation War, the number of Heroes had increased and spread throughout the entire Solar System. Facing this crumbling society, the Heroes still needed to persist with Guerrilla Warfare. In such circumstances, they had to have their grassroots organizations.

Additionally, there were certain disagreements among the Heroes regarding their vision for the "future." By forming "groups," these disagreements became transparent, facilitating the search for common ground and conflict resolution.

A coalition forced together could either slide towards the most extreme direction or disintegrate while maintaining a facade of unity.

From the era of the Fourth Martial God to that of the Sixth, the "Sects" ecosystem took root in Jianghu.

During the era of the Seventh Martial God, the Sects demonstrated their role as grassroots organizations, rallying the Chivalrous Power across the entire Solar System.

Memories from the Eighth Martial God convinced him that this ecosystem had its significance.

Xiang Shan nodded, "Two Sects, which ones? Is Redstone Gate among them?"

"Oh! Mr. Noname actually has such extensive personal connections... I mean, such extensive knowledge, huh?" Babbitt said. "You even know about Redstone Gate? The Instant Explosion Solo-Kill King was indeed a legendary figure..."

"Oh, I have met him," Xiang Shan waved a hand dismissively.

"Hmm, but the two Sects that showed up this time aren’t from Redstone Gate," he shook his head. "One is Chaotic Blade Sect and Flash Speed Sect from the north."

"Flash Speed Sect..." Xiang Shan pondered for a moment. "Oh, I think I’ve met them before."

Three years ago, he saved several young Heroes in Pine Eagle City, including two Disciples from Flash Speed Sect. He remembered that the Sect’s Martial Arts mainly focused on Inner Strength...

"Right. My listener is a Disciple of Chaotic Blade Sect," Babbitt continued, "Chaotic Blade Sect and Flash Speed Sect have a bit of a Jianghu dispute, seemingly planning to settle it by the rules of Jianghu. They said they want to have a fight, asking if I could go there and broadcast it live."

Xiang Shan was stunned, "Wait, what?"

"Hm? Is there a problem?"

"A dispute has arisen?"

"Yeah."

"To have a fight by the rules of Jianghu?"

"Yes."

Xiang Shan covered his head, even tilting the solar panel-covered hat on his head, "To avoid any misunderstanding, I want to ask, how are these kinds of matters dealt with by today’s rules of Jianghu?"

"These kinds of matters?" Babbitt thought for a moment. "Based on what they told me earlier, Flash Speed Sect and Chaotic Blade Sect teamed up to hijack a government transport vessel in another city to the northwest and seized some elite resources. They only had a dispute over the distribution."

Xiang Shan asked nervously, "So, does the Jianghu’s way of ’having a fight’ result in fatalities?"

"Ah, impossible," Babbitt replied, "The Jianghu sparring strictly limits the output of Prosthetic Bodies, forbids all sorts of high-explosive and powerful Firearms, and relies entirely on AR simulations. If someone were to actually die, the person chiefly responsible would also have to pay with their life."

Xiang Shan felt somewhat relieved. But thinking of Babbitt’s "romanticized tales," concern arose again.

After all, Babbitt was mainly a Broadcasting Client focused on propaganda, not a real Hero.

His understanding of Jianghu might well be biased.

Xiang Shan said, "But about the distribution of war spoils, issues like that must be common, right? How can they fall out over such a minor matter?"

"Maybe..." Babbitt speculated, "The entire Jianghu is quite short of resources, especially those special resources that require a higher level of technological skill to produce. Heroes don’t get many chances to handle such resources, so naturally, there’s a comparison... of who is qualified to use those precious components, right?"

"After all, those valuable components only reveal their greatest value when placed in the hands of the Hero with the highest Martial Arts skill."

Xiang Shan was taken aback for a moment.

He remembered what someone had told him many years ago.

Public and private interests are not always clearly defined.