Raging Sword Roars in the Mad Sands, Hong Yifei

Chaos Only Grasped, Exhaling Marvelous Qi!

The punch's force penetrated his body, and the bandit leader grunted, his internal organs feeling like they'd been struck by a heavy hammer.

The black horse reared in fright and bolted, but Qin Chao clung to its side like a shadow. His right hand transformed into a claw, seizing the leader's throat and yanking him backward.

The leader's body leaned back, his great saber falling limply.

Qin Chao's left fist followed suit, Sole Yang Sole Steel Blooming Marvelous Radiance!

One punch landed squarely on the bandit leader's chest.

A "crack" of bone breaking mixed with dust filled the air. The bandit leader's eyes widened, and blood spurted from his mouth, instantly absorbed by the yellow sand.

Qin Chao released his grip and landed back on the ground, watching the massive body tumble from the horse's back. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Late stage Innate Realm, still killed with ease!

However, although Qin Chao had killed the bandit leader in the shortest possible time, the overall situation remained chaotic and brutal!

Horses thrashed and convulsed with neighs, mangled corpses and internal organs lay scattered everywhere, twisted camel frames blazed with thick, black smoke, and the air churned with a nauseating mix of odors!

Qin Shuang intercepted a scimitar aimed at Hong Yifei, simultaneously twisting the attacker's wrist and kicking him several yards away.

However, against the indiscriminate attacks of hundreds of sand bandits, Qin Shuang's counterattacks were like a drop in the ocean.

Chen Zhenqun wielded his waist saber, its edge already chipped and blunted. Several bloody gashes from sand bandit scimitars marked his back.

Under the protection of the guards, the merchants scrambled and crawled toward the last corner.

The acrid smoke billowed, obscuring the sky, leaving only the glint of swords and blades in the smoke and dust, splashing up revolting bloody mist again and again.

The remaining caravan guards were being suppressed by the advancing scimitars of the sand bandits, on the verge of being completely swallowed, torn apart, and disintegrated by the dark, surging tide!

Just then, a shrill, long wolf howl ripped through the chaotic din above the sea of sand like tearing silk.

Atop the sand dune trembling in the violent sandstorm behind the camel train, countless pairs of eyes, gleaming with hungry, eerie light, flared up like ghost fires breaking open the underworld!

The next instant, the entire massive sand dune seemed to come alive.

Countless agile, gray-brown and earth-yellow figures, carrying sky-obscuring, sand-blinding dust, poured down with a roar!

These earth wolves, like a murky torrent of mud and rocks, fiercely charged into the camel train, colliding violently with the dense formation of sand bandit horses!

The horses ridden by the sand bandits let out terrified, piercing shrieks under the attack of wolf claws and fangs!

Their originally well-trained formation instantly collapsed and scattered!

Some sand bandits were dragged directly from their fast-moving horses by the earth wolves that pounced on them, their heavy black linen robes torn like paper under the absolute brute force of teeth and fangs.

One sand bandit managed to chop off an earth wolf's front paw, only to be immediately bitten by several other leaping earth wolves on the neck and thigh, dragged to the ground, blood spraying wildly from the wolves' jaws!

With their leader killed and their formation broken, their conviction to swiftly take down the caravan was shattered.

Their morale completely gone, the sand bandits began to scatter and flee.

At the same time, the green-eyed wolf girl from yesterday appeared strangely on the periphery of the wolf pack's charge.

She raised her hands, stained with fresh blood, and dry, hoarse, yet strangely accented syllables rhythmically emerged from her mouth, like the friction of an ancient stone flute.

"Wooo… wooo… lululu…"

The wolf pack's attack seemed to receive precise instructions. They avoided the remaining figures of the caravan caught in the chaos and madly bit and pounced in the direction of the fleeing sand bandits!

The sounds of slaughter outside the corner, the wolf pack's pursuit and tearing, the sand bandits' dying screams, the choking smell of burnt smoke… were the final scenes of this battle.

Seeing that the situation was under control, Qin Shuang unhurriedly approached Hong Yifei.

The young man sat frozen, deathly cold, beside the pool of still-uncongealed blood and shattered organs – where Wu En had died.

His slender back was slightly hunched, as if struck by an invisible heavy hammer.

His hands were clenched tightly, his fingernails digging deep into the flesh of his palms, yet he felt no pain at all. Only his shoulders twitched uncontrollably.

A few drops of murky, hot liquid fell silently onto the blood-soaked sand, instantly absorbed greedily, leaving only a few dark, stained marks.

Qin Shuang knew Hong Yifei needed to vent his emotions, so he did not interrupt his crying.

After a long while, Hong Yifei's stiff fingers slowly loosened. With his right hand, stained with dust and Wu En's blood, he tremblingly grasped the hilt of the short sword that had fallen into the bloody sand.

The bent hilt was wrapped with thick felt by Wu En himself to prevent slipping.

"I want to learn martial arts from you!" Hong Yifei looked at Qin Shuang, his eyes seeming to overflow with hatred. "I want revenge!"

After speaking, his lips trembled violently, finally pressing into a stubborn, pale white line.

Qin Shuang looked at Hong Yifei's eyes, red as if they could bleed, and said word by word, "Alright, but you can only get revenge when you're standing!"

Hong Yifei understood the meaning behind Qin Shuang's words. He nodded heavily, then bowed his head and, on the ground stained with Wu En's dying embers, kissed it deeply.

Qin Shuang raised his head, his gaze piercing through the smoke and blood mist, meeting the wolf girl's eyes on the distant giant rock.

The wind tugged at her blue clothes, as if responding to Qin Shuang's gaze.

Immediately, the small figure flickered and silently slid down the giant rock, disappearing into the distance.

The wild wolf pack, as if receiving a silent command, retreated like a tide, following the lone figure that vanished among the undulating sand dunes.

Chen Zhenqun looked at the wolf girl, who seemed to melt into the shadows of the sand dunes, then at Qin Shuang, and could not utter a word.

Only the scorching smoke, the wreckage of the caravan and the pack animals, and the mournful sighs of the survivors shattered his illusory sense of unreality.

The sandy sea returned to desolation. The wind blew through the broken camel bones and the blood-soaked sand, emitting a low, mournful whimper.

***

The wind and rain were as dark as the night.

Large raindrops hammered the tiles of the dark, suspended building's roof, creating a continuous sound like tearing silk.

The Medicine King Sect was built against the mountains, hidden deep within the folds of Miao Prefecture's vast mountain ranges.

This was once the foundation upon which countless disciples of the Medicine King Sect stood, and the heart from which the Medicine King Sect cultivated myriad poisons and intimidated the southern regions.

But tonight, this ancient Miao village groaned in the wind and rain, like the final breaths of a dying behemoth.

A blinding flash of lightning suddenly split the ink-black night sky, illuminating dozens of figures outlined like thick ink strokes.

They were like demons crawling from the depths of hell, or like cold, stone sculptures standing in the torrential night rain.

Their jet-black combat uniforms were completely soaked by the rain, clinging to their lean, powerful bodies.

The light reflecting off the standard-issue dual sabers in their hands was the only cold gleam in the darkness, devoid of warmth.