Fighting the Bandits Alone, Saving the Crisis

Qingshi Town's streets were already a scene of devastation. The bandits of Black Wind Stockade swept through like a locust plague, slashing anyone they saw and looting every shop they came across. Fires blazed everywhere, thick smoke billowed into the sky, and the once-peaceful little town had become a living hell.

The One-Eyed Great Chieftain sat astride a tall horse, wielding a demon-head saber as he watched his men run rampant, letting out a cruel laugh. "Rob them all! Take anything valuable, and burn whatever you can't take! Kill all the men and take the women! Hahaha!"

The bandits became even more frenzied.

The town guards and several residents with Soul Master cultivation tried to resist, but the gap in strength was too great. They were quickly cut down. Liu Qing and his lackeys had long since vanished into hiding.

Just as despair set in, a figure in azure walked slowly against the panicked fleeing crowd toward the town square, where the bandits were most heavily gathered.

His presence was utterly out of place amid the chaos. His expression was calm and his steps steady, as though he were not walking toward a battlefield of slaughter, but taking a stroll through his own courtyard.

"Hm? There's still a kid who isn't afraid of dying?" One bandit spotted Ling Yun and charged at him with a savage grin, swinging his blade. "Die!"

Ling Yun did not even glance at him. He merely waved a hand.

Bang!

The bandit flew backward as if struck by a massive hammer, man and blade alike, crashing through an earthen wall and falling silent.

That immediately drew the attention of the other bandits.

"This one's tough! Get him together!" Several bandits shouted as they raised their weapons and surrounded him.

Ling Yun did not stop walking, continuing onward as before. He did not even summon his martial soul. Relying only on his physical strength and exquisite footwork, he weaved through flashing blades and sword shadows. With every raised hand and every step, a bandit would scream and fall—either with severed tendons and broken bones, or dead on the spot.

He moved as if taking a leisurely stroll. Wherever he passed, the bandits were sent sprawling, and not one of them could stop him for even a moment!

Before long, he had carved out a path and reached the center of the square, stopping before the One-Eyed Great Chieftain's horse.

The One-Eyed Great Chieftain reined in his horse, uncertainty flashing through his single eye. He could tell that this youth was immensely powerful and ruthless in his methods. He was no ordinary person.

"Kid, who are you? How dare you meddle in the affairs of Black Wind Stockade?" the One-Eyed Great Chieftain demanded in a low voice, releasing the aura of a Soul Ancestor in an attempt to suppress Ling Yun.

Yet under the pressure of that Soul Ancestor aura, Ling Yun did not even furrow his brow. He merely looked at him indifferently and said, "I'll give you two choices. First, take your men and get out of Qingshi Town immediately, then swear never to return. Second, I'll leave every one of you here."

His voice was not loud, yet it clearly carried across the entire square, bearing an unquestionable authority.

The surviving townspeople and the guards still fighting were all stunned, staring in disbelief at the youth who stood alone before dozens of vicious bandits and their Soul Ancestor chieftain.

The One-Eyed Great Chieftain laughed in fury. "Hahaha! What an arrogant brat! Just you? You're still wet behind the ears, and you dare spout such nonsense? I'd like to see how you plan to leave us all here!"

He stopped wasting words. Intense Soul Power surged from his body, and four soul rings—white, yellow, purple, purple—rose beneath his feet! His fourth soul ring lit up, and his demon-head saber glowed blood-red as it cleaved down at Ling Yun's head with a shriek that tore through the air! It was his Fourth Soul Skill—Blood Rend Slash!

The strike was terrifyingly powerful. Even a Soul Ancestor of the same rank would not dare take it head-on!

Yet Ling Yun still did not use his martial soul. Watching the blood-red blade light descend, he simply slowly raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and grabbed toward it!

"Courting death!" the One-Eyed Great Chieftain sneered, as if he could already see Ling Yun being split in two.

But in the next moment, his smile froze on his face.

Ling Yun's palm precisely caught that violent blood-red blade light! The soul skill, powerful enough to split metal and shatter stone, was held firmly in his hand like a tame pet, and then... he gave it a light squeeze!

Crack!

The blood-red blade light shattered like glass and vanished into nothingness!

He had crushed a Soul Ancestor's Fourth Soul Skill with his bare hand?!

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath! What kind of monster was this youth?!

The One-Eyed Great Chieftain's pupils contracted sharply, and fear appeared on his face for the first time! He knew he had kicked an iron plate!

"Y-you... who exactly are you?!" His voice trembled.

Ling Yun did not answer. He merely stepped forward and instantly appeared before the horse, throwing a punch into its belly!

Boom!

The tall horse did not even have time to scream before the horrifying force blasted it into a cloud of blood mist! The One-Eyed Great Chieftain cried out and fell from the saddle.

Just as he tried to struggle to his feet, a foot was already planted on his chest. It was as heavy as a mountain, rendering him unable to move.

"I've changed my mind." Ling Yun looked down at the terrified One-Eyed Great Chieftain, his gaze icy. "Scum like you should disappear completely."

He pressed down with his foot.

Crack!

The sound of his breastbone shattering was clearly audible. The One-Eyed Great Chieftain's eyes bulged, blood mixed with fragments of organs spilling from his mouth. His head tilted to the side, and he died on the spot.

The Great Chieftain of Black Wind Stockade, a Soul Ancestor expert, was dead!

When the remaining bandits saw their chieftain killed, they were terrified out of their wits. With a cry, they scattered and fled in all directions.

Ling Yun could not be bothered to chase such minor lackeys. He withdrew his foot, swept his gaze over the ruined square and the still-shaken townspeople, and said calmly, "It's over."

With that, he turned and walked toward the edge of town, as though he had merely done something insignificant.

The townspeople stared at Ling Yun's departing back for a long time without recovering their senses. No one knew who took the lead, but they all fell to their knees and kowtowed in his direction.

"Thank you, Benefactor, for saving our lives!"

"Benefactor, please wait! May we ask your honored name?"

Ling Yun did not turn back or leave behind his name. His figure soon vanished beyond the town entrance.

The turmoil in Qingshi Town had begun because of him, and it was also calmed by him. The legend of a "mysterious youth fighting Black Wind Stockade alone and killing a Soul Ancestor with his fists" began to spread throughout the town and the surrounding region.

Ling Yun did not know that this casual act had spared him from an even greater trouble. For behind Black Wind Stockade, there seemed to be the faint shadow of that mysterious Holy Cult...