Spare My Life, Sir!

Zhang Kuangfeng snapped out of his shock, and the ferocity of a regional tyrant once more took over his face.

"You've got some skill."

He spoke, his voice icy.

"This Great Leader admits that I underestimated you."

"But do you think that with just this little trick, you can survive before my army of several thousand?"

Zhang Kuangfeng abruptly raised an arm and pointed at Shen Che.

"All men, heed my command!"

"Abandon your sabers! Draw your bows!"

"I'm going to turn him into a pincushion!"

The order was given, and the bandits behind him came to their senses. In perfect unison, they pulled iron-reinforced bows from the sides of their horses.

The bodies of those bows gleamed with cold metallic light, and only tremendous arm strength could draw them.

Several thousand bandits drew their bows and set their arrows, every arrowhead aimed at the lone figure a hundred meters away.

"Release!"

Zhang Kuangfeng's hand chopped heavily downward.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The shrill sound of arrows tearing through the air merged into one. Thousands of arrows soared skyward, forming a vast black cloud that blotted out the newly risen sun.

The rain of arrows came crashing down upon Shen Che and the other two.

Shen Che pushed the true qi within him to another extreme.

Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield!

A deep hum rang out.

A massive golden bell phantom, solid as glazed crystal, emerged from Shen Che's body and rapidly expanded.

On its surface coiled a lifelike golden tiger totem, majestic and imposing.

The bell tightly enclosed the terrified Elder Bai, Bai Fengling, and Shen Che himself.

The next instant, the arrow rain fell.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A dense barrage of sound, like torrential rain hammering an iron roof, erupted wildly.

Thousands of arrows powerful enough to pierce iron armor struck the golden bell, yet failed to leave even the faintest mark.

They merely burst into showers of sparks before bouncing helplessly away.

The bandits in the distance were dumbfounded at the sight.

What the hell was that thing?

Zhang Kuangfeng's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

Before they could react.

Something even stranger happened.

The rebounding property of the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield was fully triggered.

Those arrows that had been knocked away did not fall feebly to the ground.

Instead, they shot back along their original paths, faster and fiercer than before!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

An even more terrifying chorus of air-rending whistles rang out.

The bewilderment had not yet faded from the faces of the bandits who had just fired their arrows when they were met by the death arrows they themselves had shot.

"Argh!"

"Pfft!"

"Help!"

Screams and the sounds of flesh being pierced rose one after another.

The bandits' formation instantly descended into chaos.

Countless riders were struck by their own arrows or those of their companions, screaming as they tumbled from their horses.

The warhorses, driven mad by pain, bucked and crashed about wildly, throwing even more men to the ground.

After one volley, the enemy was completely unscathed.

Yet their own side had suffered grievous casualties, men and horses sprawled everywhere.

In close combat, charging in meant becoming a cloud of blood.

At range, the arrows they fired would fly back and kill them.

How were they supposed to fight this?

An emotion called fear spread wildly through the bandit ranks.

They looked at the figure standing amid pools of blood, protected by a golden bell, and felt that he was not human but an invincible God or Devil.

"Any man who retreats will be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts!"

Zhang Kuangfeng's roar drowned out every scream.

He drew the long saber at his waist and chopped off the head of a bandit beside him who had tried to retreat.

"Whoever dares take another step back will end like this!"

"Charge, damn it! How much true qi can one man possibly have? We'll exhaust him to death if we have to!"

Under the double pressure of heavy rewards and brutal punishment, the bandits' disorderly formation barely stabilized.

But though they did not retreat, no one dared step forward again.

Shen Che dispelled the Golden Bell Shield.

He no longer needed to worry about Elder Bai's and Bai Fengling's safety.

He looked at Zhang Kuangfeng, who was fierce in appearance but cowardly at heart, and a cold curve tugged at his lips.

"A turtle who only knows how to hide behind his subordinates."

"Do your rules still count?"

The words had barely fallen.

Shen Che moved.

To capture bandits, first capture their king.

The sand beneath his feet suddenly collapsed into a deep crater.

His entire body shot forward like a cannonball leaving its barrel, drawing a straight black line as he charged directly at Zhang Kuangfeng a hundred meters away.

Several bandits forced forward along the way tried to stop him.

But the instant their bodies touched Shen Che, it was as though they had slammed into a primordial beast charging at full speed.

Men and horses alike were smashed to pieces, turning into fragments of flesh that filled the sky.

A dull sonic boom even rang through the air.

Zhang Kuangfeng's expression changed completely.

He knew he had no choice but to act.

This young man was simply not someone his subordinates could withstand.

"Good!"

Zhang Kuangfeng bellowed as he flipped down from that beast-like warhorse, both feet landing firmly on the sand.

He gripped the hilt of that ancient saber with both hands and sharply drew it.

Clang!

The blade came out of its sheath. It was a broad, heavy Horse-Slaying Saber, nearly five feet long and weighing a hundred pounds!

"Die!"

Holding the saber in both hands, Zhang Kuangfeng poured his Primordial Qi Realm true qi into it without reserve.

A green blade light several feet long extended from the saber.

Horse-Slaying Saber Technique!

He slashed horizontally at Shen Che, who was charging straight toward him, aiming to cut him in two at the waist!

This strike was both swift and savage. Before the edge even arrived, the fierce saber qi had already plowed a deep trench into the ground.

This was the ultimate technique upon which he had built his fame. Countless experts had died beneath this strike.

Facing this saber blow capable of splitting mountains and cracking stones.

Shen Che neither dodged nor evaded.

He extended his right hand.

Under Zhang Kuangfeng's horrified gaze, he precisely caught the blade wrapped in green blade light with his bare hand.

Screech—

A teeth-grating sound of friction rang out.

That incomparably violent Horse-Slaying Saber suddenly stopped half an inch from Shen Che's body.

The blade had been clamped tightly by a single hand.

Zhang Kuangfeng felt all the power of his Primordial Qi Realm sink like a clay ox entering the sea, unable to stir even the slightest ripple.

He used all his strength, trying to pull the saber back or push it forward by even an inch.

Yet the blade did not budge.

He felt as though he was not gripping a saber, but a mountain.

And the hand holding the saber was not made of flesh and blood, but the iron pincers of an immortal from legend.

"You... you..."

Zhang Kuangfeng panicked completely. Looking at Shen Che's impossibly young face, a terrifying thought surged into his mind.

This was not the Primordial Qi Realm!

For him to crush Zhang Kuangfeng so effortlessly, could this man be the legendary Innate Martial Artist who had returned to simplicity?

Cold sweat slid down his temples.

"Your saber is nothing special."

Shen Che spoke coldly.

The five fingers gripping the blade suddenly exerted force.

Crack!

A crisp snap rang out.

That Horse-Slaying Saber forged from hundred-times-refined steel, which had accompanied Zhang Kuangfeng for over a decade, broke in two.

Shen Che casually tossed away the half-blade in his hand.

Zhang Kuangfeng stood there gripping the broken saber, completely dazed.

With his weapon destroyed, his fighting spirit was utterly shattered as well.

Fear drowned all his ferocity and cruelty.

Thud.

The Great Leader of the Gale Bandit Group, the local emperor of the Forgotten Sand Sea, went weak at the knees and knelt on the sand.

"Spare my life, sir! Spare my life, Senior!"

He threw away the broken saber in his hand and, facing Shen Che,