Tiger Demon Roars in the Mountains

"You little beast, you're asking for death!"

Tie Xiong roared, stepping forward like an enraged bear.

BOOM!

The hard bluestone floor shattered under his foot, cracks spreading outwards like a spiderweb.

A wave of scorching heat exploded outwards from him, his exposed skin turning crimson as the air around him warped from the intense temperature.

"Fire God Fist!"

His right fist ignited with a layer of crimson flame. This wasn't ordinary fire, but his highly condensed fire-attribute True Qi, cultivated over many years, capable of melting gold and iron.

On the other side, the second-in-command, Tie Yi, had a grim expression that could wring water.

He didn't roar. With a flick of his wrist, a gleaming, thick-bladed saber appeared in his hand.

The blade hummed, and an incomparably sharp aura locked onto Shen Che.

"Gold Splitting Saber!"

Tie Yi grunted, merging with his saber into a silver streak that slashed forward.

Before the blade even arrived, its sharp saber energy had already carved a deep沟壑 in the hall's floor.

One as fierce as fire, the other as sharp as gold.

The combined might of two True Meridian Realm experts was terrifying.

Nangong Wen and Nangong Wu, trapped, turned deathly pale.

They knew they wouldn't last a single round against such an attack.

That young man from the Demon Suppression Division was dead for sure.

Yet, facing this world-destroying pincer attack, Shen Che's movements were bafflingly simple.

He merely gripped the hilt of his saber at his waist.

The Black Tiger Saber.

A standard-issue saber from the Demon Suppression Division, ordinary to the extreme.

But the moment his hand grasped the hilt, the temperature in the entire Yiju Hall inexplicably dropped several degrees.

An invisible, ferocious aura, emanating from ancient times, spread from him.

Everyone present, including Tie Xiong and Tie Yi, felt like they were being stared down by a peerless, man-eating tiger.

A tremor from the depths of their souls made their movements a beat slower.

"Tiger Demon Saber Technique..."

Shen Che uttered four words, slowly drawing his saber.

"Tiger Roar."

There was no earth-shattering blade light.

No dazzling True Qi.

Only a pure, condensed-to-the-extreme black saber gleam, flashing and disappearing.

Accompanying it was a tiger's roar, seemingly capable of tearing apart souls, that exploded in everyone's minds.

A phantom of a black demonic tiger, formed from pure killing intent and Saber Intent, flashed past behind Shen Che and lunged forward.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl.

Nangong Wen could clearly see.

The black saber gleam, lightly and effortlessly, first met Tie Xiong's flaming fist.

There was no violent collision as expected.

Tie Xiong's protective True Qi, the flames on his fist, his punch capable of cracking stone – all were more fragile than tofu before that black line.

The black line slashed through.

Tie Xiong's charging body froze.

He looked down at his right arm.

Starting from his fist, a thin black line extended upwards, passing through his chest, all the way to the top of his head.

Then, his body split perfectly in two from the middle, the cut as smooth as a mirror.

His internal organs and blood spilled out onto the floor with a splash.

The black line, its momentum undiminished, then met the second-in-command Tie Yi's Gold Splitting Saber.

CLANG!

A crisp sound.

Tie Yi's finely forged saber snapped in two from the middle.

The black line continued, crossing his chest.

Tie Yi also stopped.

On his chest, a huge wound ripped open, almost cutting him in half.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but all that came out were large mouthfuls of blood foam and shattered internal organs.

Thump.

Thump.

Two bodies fell to the ground, one after the other.

[Killed a True Meridian Realm martial artist, gained Time Value: 120 points.]

[Killed a True Meridian Realm martial artist, gained Time Value: 110 points.]

In the Hall of Righteous Gathering, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Saber... Saber Intent..."

Nangong Wen's dry throat squeezed out two words.

It was definitely Saber Intent!

A martial will that could only be comprehended after cultivating a saber technique to the realm of transcendence and sainthood!

This young man, how old was he?

Sixteen? Or seventeen?

So young, and he had already cultivated Saber Intent?

And with one strike, he killed two experts of the same level, both in the True Meridian Realm?

What kind of monstrous talent was this!

The entire stronghold descended into chaos.

The bandits cried out in fear and desperation, scrambling to escape. They even killed each other in their haste to get through the passages.

Shen Che ignored these low-level thugs.

He walked to the bodies of Tie Xiong and Tie Yi, picked them up one in each hand.

Under the bewildered gazes of Nangong Wen and the other two, the Demon Suppressing Token in his hand emitted a faint glow, and the two massive corpses vanished into thin air.

The Demon Suppressing Token came with a storage space, which was perfectly reasonable for storing mission tokens.

It was a pity that the third-in-command, Tie Feng, had been blown into a mist of blood; otherwise, there would have been one more.

After finishing this, he walked out of the Hall of Righteous Gathering, his saber in hand.

Outside, it was already a scene of utter chaos and disarray.

Shen Che walked to an open space, took a signal flare from his bosom, and pulled the fuse.

Whoosh—Bang!

A brilliant red flare exploded in the silent night sky of Iron Furnace Mountain.

At the foot of the mountain.

Wang Changshou and over ten thousand Prefectural Guards were waiting anxiously.

They had heard some of the shouts and commotion from the mountain, and their hearts were filled with unease.

"Your Excellency the Prefect, it's been almost an hour. Could it be that Lord Shen..." a deputy general asked worriedly.

Wang Changshou's heart was also hanging by a thread.

He had gambled the safety of Ping'an County on that young man.

Just then.

A red flare bloomed at the mountaintop.

It was the agreed-upon signal!

Wang Changshou was stunned at first, then overwhelmed with joy.

He succeeded!

He had truly succeeded!

"Beat the drums!!"

Wang Changshou drew the sword at his waist and roared with all his might.

"The entire army charges!!"

"We will annihilate Iron Furnace Stronghold tonight!"

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The impassioned war drums soared into the sky, dispelling the fear in the soldiers' hearts.

"Kill!"

Tens of thousands of Prefectural Guards, like a breached dam, surged up the single stone staircase towards the mountain peak.

The ensuing events were less a battle and more a hunt.

With the bandit leaders all dead, the remaining mountain bandits lost all will to fight, wishing only they had been born with faster legs.

Many didn't get far before being intercepted by the advancing Prefectural Guards, crying out and falling to their knees in surrender.

Iron Furnace Stronghold, a tumor that had festered in Ping'an County for years, was thus extinguished.

Shen Che stood atop the stronghold's watchtower, observing the government soldiers below methodically taking over the mountain stronghold and apprehending prisoners.

A light sound of footsteps approached from behind.

"Demon Suppression Division, Lord Shen Che?"

It was the veiled young girl.

"Is there something?" Shen Che turned around.

"My name is Nangong Xue, from the Nangong Family of Beiliang City," the young girl said with a graceful bow, her voice clear and pleasant.

"Thank you for your assistance this time, Lord Shen. Otherwise, my siblings and I would likely have perished here."

"We came to pursue the three leaders of Iron Furnace Stronghold. A year ago, these three massacred a wealthy merchant family in Beiliang City. They are wanted criminals for whom my Nangong family has posted a bounty."

So, they were bounty hunters.

Shen Che understood.

"It was nothing."

After expressing her thanks, Nangong Xue departed with the injured Nangong Wu and the still-shaken Nangong Wen, without any hesitation.

At this moment, Wang Changshou ran over, panting, his face unable to conceal his excitement.

"Lord Shen! Lord Shen! You are truly a divine being!"

He showered Shen Che with praise, his flattery soaring.

Shen Che interrupted him, "How are the spoils of war being tallied?"

"Reporting, my lord, most of the bandits have surrendered, with only a few who resisted being killed on the spot," Wang Changshou quickly reported. "Additionally, in the bandit stronghold's treasury, we found some... peculiar items."

"Take me to see them."

Led by Wang Changshou, Shen Che arrived at a secret chamber.

The chamber was piled high with gold and silver treasures, dazzling the eyes.

However, the most eye-catching item was placed in the very center of the secret chamber.

A massive golden bell.