A piercing scream, like a boulder hurled into a tranquil lake, shattered the camp's silence in an instant.
Everyone's gaze snapped in unison toward the heart of the disturbance.
By the firelight, the newly joined, seemingly frail youth was gripping an escort's wrist with one hand. The escort, who usually swaggered about in all his glory, now had a twisted face and was drenched in cold sweat, while his other arm hung limp at a bizarre angle.
"What happened?"
The one-eyed Team Leader Zhang strode over with a dark expression. The Killing Intent radiating from him seemed to freeze the very air around them.
The other escorts also gathered around, glaring at Lin Xiao with unfriendly expressions, their weapons already drawn.
"Chief Zhang! This brat... this brat crippled my hand!" Seeing his pillar of support arrive, the sharp-faced escort immediately began wailing his complaint.
Team Leader Zhang glanced at his mangled wrist, a cold gleam flashing through his single eye. He turned to Lin Xiao, his voice cold as ice. "Boy, give me an explanation."
Lin Xiao slowly released his hand, allowing the escort to stagger back behind the crowd. Without the slightest fear, he calmly met Team Leader Zhang's gaze. "He tried to rob me and threatened to kill me."
His voice was not loud, but every word was clear enough for everyone present to hear.
At those words, several of the escorts showed embarrassed expressions. They were all men who licked blood from the edge of a blade. Though they had their share of petty thefts in ordinary times, robbing a boy serving as their guide and even threatening murder and plunder was, in the end, no honorable matter if word got out.
The injured escort's face turned green, then white. He forced out an excuse, "I... I was just joking with him! Who knew this brat would strike so viciously!"
"Joking?" Lin Xiao sneered. His eyes, especially bright in the night, swept over every person present. "Using murder as a joke? Or is it that, by the rules of your Black Wind Escort Agency, bullying the weak, murder, and plunder are all merely 'jokes'?"
His words were like slap after slap across every escort's face.
Team Leader Zhang's expression darkened further. He knew his own man was in the wrong first. But as the agency's team leader, he could not simply let an outsider humiliate his brothers.
"Boy, even if my man was at fault first, you went too far." Team Leader Zhang slowly drew the Ghost-Head Saber from his waist. The heavy blade reflected a chilling gleam in the firelight. "My men are not for you to discipline. Take three strikes from me, and this matter will be wiped clean. Otherwise, leave your life here today!"
Before his words had even faded, a powerful aura erupted from him.
[System Notice: Scanning target: Zhang Kui] [Realm: Body Refinement Fourth Level] [Technique: Fierce Tiger Saber Technique (Beginner)] [Weakness Analysis: An old injury in his left leg affects his explosive power; his saber technique is broad and forceful, and his recovery defense is slow.]
Body Refinement Fourth Level!
Lin Xiao's heart jolted. That was a full three minor levels above him! In a direct clash, he had no chance of winning.
But he could not retreat now. He knew Team Leader Zhang was testing him—and establishing his authority. If he showed weakness today, he would never know peace on the road ahead.
"Fine. Three strikes it is." Lin Xiao slowly drew the Rusty Dagger.
Seeing his battered, shabby weapon, the surrounding escorts all let out scornful snickers.
"Using that thing to take Chief Zhang's saber? It'll probably snap in one blow!" "This kid is dead for sure!"
Even the fat merchant, Boss Zhao, poked his head out of his carriage and watched with great interest, showing no intention of stopping them.
Seeing him accept the challenge, Team Leader Zhang's single eye flashed with surprise, but it was quickly replaced by ruthlessness. "You've got guts, boy! Take this!"
With a low roar, he stamped his foot down. The Ghost-Head Saber in his hand whipped up a foul wind as it hacked down at Lin Xiao's head from above!
This strike was powerful and heavy. If it landed cleanly, Lin Xiao had no doubt he would be split in two.
Yet in Lin Xiao's eyes, Team Leader Zhang's movements seemed to have slowed. He clearly saw a trace of stiff, unnatural movement in Team Leader Zhang's left leg as he exerted force.
Now!
Rather than meet the blow head-on, Lin Xiao slid one step toward the front left at a strange angle just as the blade was about to touch him.
Whoosh!
The heavy blade fell almost grazing his back, smashing into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
The first strike missed!
Everyone froze. They had not expected Lin Xiao to evade such a certain killing blow in such a perilous manner.
Team Leader Zhang was equally startled. He had not expected Lin Xiao's movement technique to be so nimble. Without time to think, he flipped his wrist, and the saber swept horizontally toward Lin Xiao's waist and abdomen!
The second strike was faster and fiercer than the first!
But Lin Xiao moved even faster! As he evaded the first blow, he did not pause at all. He ducked and lunged forward, his entire body closing in on Team Leader Zhang's side like a civet cat in an instant!
This was Team Leader Zhang's blind spot, where his recovery defense was slowest!
"What?!" Team Leader Zhang's face changed drastically. He tried to pull back his saber to defend himself, but it was already too late.
Lin Xiao did not attack. He merely laid the Rusty Dagger lightly across Team Leader Zhang's throat.
The icy touch made Team Leader Zhang's body stiffen instantly.
The entire camp fell deathly silent.
Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at the scene, hardly able to believe their eyes.
The chief team leader of an escort agency at the Body Refinement Fourth Level had been subdued in two moves by a youth at the Body Refinement First Level?
"You lost." Lin Xiao's voice remained calm, but the dagger against his throat was so steady that it did not tremble in the slightest.
Team Leader Zhang's face alternated between green and white, cold sweat sliding down from his temple. He could feel that if the other's dagger moved forward even a fraction more, he would meet his end here today.
This youth was absolutely no ordinary hunter! That ghostlike movement technique and that timing precise to the extreme were clearly methods only a battle-hardened killer could possess!
After a long while, he squeezed out several words through clenched teeth. "I... concede. There is still one strike. You may make it."
Lin Xiao slowly withdrew the dagger, took two steps back, and shook his head. "No need. I only want to reach Cloud Creek City safely. So long as no one provokes me, I will not take the initiative to cause trouble."
He knew when to stop while he was ahead. What he wanted was only to establish authority, not to make enemies.
Team Leader Zhang looked deeply at him, his gaze incomparably complicated. He waved his hand, signaling his men to withdraw, then clasped his fists toward Lin Xiao. "Little brother, what fine skill. I failed to recognize Mount Tai before my eyes. From today onward, you are not a guide—you are an honored guest of my Black Wind Escort Agency!"
As he spoke, he turned and kicked the escort whose wrist had been crippled, roaring, "You thing that does not know life from death! Get over here and apologize to little brother at once!"
The escort crawled and rolled to Lin Xiao, then dropped to his knees with a thud, knocking his head against the ground like a pounding garlic pestle. "Y-young master, spare me! I had eyes but failed to see Mount Tai! Dog's mouths cannot spit out ivory!"
Lin Xiao did not even look at him. He only said indifferently to Team Leader Zhang, "Team Leader Zhang, keep your men under control."
With that, he turned and returned to his carriage, closing his eyes to rest as though nothing had happened.
After that battle, no one dared look down on Lin Xiao again. The escorts' gazes changed from initial disdain to awe and fear. Boss Zhao even specially sent someone with fine wine and meat, raising Lin Xiao's treatment by several tiers at once.
Lin Xiao was happy for the peace and quiet, using this rare stability to focus on cultivating the Qi Gathering Art.
The caravan took a detour around a smaller road. Though it added two days to the journey, they made it through without danger.
However, just when they believed they were completely safe and about to leave the mountain region, an accident still occurred.
That afternoon, when the caravan reached a narrow gorge, piercing whistles suddenly rang out from the cliffs on both sides!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of poison-tipped crossbow bolts descended like rain, covering the entire caravan!
"Enemy attack! Form up!"
Team Leader Zhang reacted with lightning speed. With an angry roar, he spun the Ghost-Head Saber into a blur of light, knocking away every bolt aimed at him.
The other escorts also raised their shields to protect the carriages.
But the bandits' assault was too sudden and dense. In an instant, several guards were struck by bolts and fell, black blood flowing from their wounds.
"Hahaha! You trash from the Black Wind Escort Agency, your grandfather has returned!"
A rough, arrogant laugh came from the cliffside. Immediately afterward, more than a hundred vicious-looking bandits armed with weapons charged out from the forests on both sides like tigers descending the mountain, surrounding the entire caravan.
Their leader was a burly, one-eyed man with a face full of whiskers. Carrying an enormous mountain-cleaving axe, he radiated the unmistakable aura of the Body Refinement Fifth Level!
"One-Eyed Dragon King! Weren't you wiped out by the authorities?" Team Leader Zhang's expression instantly became incredibly ugly upon seeing him.
"Wiped out?" The One-Eyed Dragon King spat disdainfully. "By those wine sacks and rice bags? I merely went out to avoid the limelight for a while! Zhang Kui, leave the goods and the women behind, and I can spare your worthless dog lives!"
Team Leader Zhang's face was so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it. The other side had more than three times their numbers, and the One-Eyed Dragon King himself was a Body Refinement Fifth Level expert. Fighting head-on was undoubtedly a road to death.
"Brothers, fight them! Kill one and we break even; kill two and we profit!" Team Leader Zhang raised his saber, prepared for a desperate fight.
Just then, Lin Xiao, who had remained in the carriage, suddenly spoke.
"Team Leader Zhang, don't act rashly. Seventy paces away on the left cliff, there are three archers beneath that crooked-neck tree. Their deputy is hiding behind that black rock ahead to the right. Take those few out first, and their formation will fall apart."
His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached Team Leader Zhang's ears.
Team Leader Zhang abruptly turned around and looked at him with uncertainty. Dense woods covered both sides of this gorge. How did he know where their ambushes were?
But he had no time to think further. He chose to trust Lin Xiao!
"Third, Fourth! The crooked-neck tree on the left! Everyone else, charge with me at that black rock on the right!" Team Leader Zhang made his decision without hesitation and issued his orders.
Two nimble escorts immediately broke away from the group and climbed toward the left cliff like apes. Meanwhile, Team Leader Zhang personally led the remaining elites like a sharp blade thrusting straight toward the black rock ahead on the right!
The One-Eyed Dragon King clearly had not expected his arrangements to be seen through at a glance, and he could not help but freeze.
In that brief moment of distraction, three screams rang out from the cliff. The three archers had already been dealt with by two experts from the Black Wind Escort Agency.
On the other side, Zhang Kui had already led his men behind the black rock and clashed with the deputy at the Body Refinement Fourth Level!
"Damn it! Kill them!" The One-Eyed Dragon King flew into a rage and waved his mountain-cleaving axe as he charged at the caravan.
The battle erupted in an instant!
Lin Xiao did not move. He remained in the carriage, calmly observing the entire battlefield. Countless streams of data flickered rapidly across his retina.
[Scanning battlefield environment...] [Analyzing the comparative strength of both sides...] [Calculating the optimal attack route...]
The chaotic battlefield became a three-dimensional model made of data and lines in his eyes. Every bandit's strength, weakness, and movement trajectory was clearly displayed before him.
"Boss Zhao, have your men push the third and fifth carriages forward to block the gap on the west side!" "Team Leader Zhang, your men have spent more than half their stamina. Have half of them fall back and let the other half take their place—maintain the formation!" "You with the twin sabers, there's a sneak attack behind your left!"
Lin Xiao's voice was like a ghost on the battlefield, constantly ringing out at crucial moments.
At first, the escorts only half-believed him. But every time they followed Lin Xiao's instructions, they escaped danger and even counter-killed their enemies!
Gradually, everyone, including Team Leader Zhang, developed an almost blind trust in him. Lin Xiao had become the hidden commander of this battle!
The One-Eyed Dragon King grew more alarmed as he fought. Though his side held the advantage in numbers, they were restrained at every turn. Every move seemed to have been anticipated in advance, and they fought with unbearable frustration.
He quickly noticed the youth who had been issuing orders all along.
"Kill that brat first!" The One-Eyed Dragon King roared, abandoning the opponent before him and charging straight toward Lin Xiao's carriage!
"Protect our honored guest!" Team Leader Zhang was horrified and wanted to return to defend him, but several fierce bandits held him tightly in place.
The One-Eyed Dragon King's enormous mountain-cleaving axe was about to fall onto Lin Xiao's head.
But a cold killing intent flashed through Lin Xiao's eyes.
He had been waiting for this very opportunity!
In the instant before the axe fell, his figure suddenly vanished from atop the carriage.
The next second, he appeared at the One-Eyed Dragon King's side. The Rusty Dagger in his hand, like the fangs of a venomous snake, silently stabbed toward the man's ribs.
That was the flaw that would inevitably be exposed between the broad, sweeping movements of his axe technique!
Pfft!
The dagger plunged precisely into the One-Eyed Dragon King's vulnerable waist!
Aah!
The One-Eyed Dragon King let out a scream. He had never imagined that this seemingly powerless youth would possess such terrifying speed and ruthless methods!
He swung his axe backward, trying to force Lin Xiao away.
But after succeeding in one strike, Lin Xiao gave him no chance at all. He released the dagger and twisted his body at an unbelievable angle, dodging the axe blade while chopping his palm viciously onto the One-Eyed Dragon King's axe-wielding wrist!
Crack!
The sound of bone breaking rang out. The One-Eyed Dragon King could no longer hold the heavy mountain-cleaving axe, letting it fall to the ground with a clang.
"You..."
Before he could say anything else, Lin Xiao's attacks followed one after another like a raging storm!
Fists, elbows, knees, and legs!
Lin Xiao perfectly combined every fighting technique he had seen in his previous life with the strength and speed of his current Body Refinement Realm. In a mere three seconds, he unleashed more than a dozen frenzied attacks upon the One-Eyed Dragon King's vital points!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
After a string of dull impacts, the One-Eyed Dragon King, the fierce bandit leader of the Body Refinement Fifth Level, collapsed limply like a torn sack. Blood spilled from his nose and mouth, and he was clearly not going to survive.
[Successfully killed Body Refinement Fifth Level cultivator: One-Eyed Dragon King] [Experience gained: 80 points] [Level increased! Current level: 4 (36/100)] [Strength +1, Agility +2, Spirit +1]
With the bandit leader's fall, the battlefield went silent for an instant.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the scene in disbelief.
"T-the chief is dead?" "Run!"
The remaining bandits finally came to their senses. Frightened out of their wits, they threw down their weapons, wailed for their fathers and mothers, and scattered in all directions.
The battle ended in such a dramatic fashion.
Team Leader Zhang and the escorts looked at the youth standing beside the bandit leader's corpse, not a speck of dust on him, their eyes filled with shock and awe.
At that moment, no one regarded him as a youth who needed protection any longer.
In their eyes, Lin Xiao was an unfathomable monster!
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