Killing Like Weeds, Unheard! Breaking Through a Thousand Troops!

The mountains below Crimson Hair Stronghold were continuous, with vast forests stretching out.

In winter, the mountain forest should have been utterly silent, with only the whistling of the cold wind.

However, today, this foothills, silent for who knew how many years, were completely shattered by an aura of killing intent.

A black figure moved through the forest like a phantom.

Su Haoran pushed his Major Accomplishment Breath Concealment Art to its limit, making him seem to blend into the mountain forest.

His purpose for this trip was clear: he wouldn't rush to find trouble with Xiong Ba just yet. Instead, he would inspect Prajna Temple's properties in the foothills one by one.

Elder Hui Jue and the others thought he was still in seclusion. Since that was the case, he would act as a spy and first get a clear picture of Crimson Hair Stronghold's movements.

Su Haoran followed the route in his memory, stealthily heading towards the nearest temple estate.

This estate was responsible for providing more than half of the temple's oil, making it one of their lifelines.

However, before he even got close, Su Haoran's footsteps abruptly stopped.

His keen senses had detected something unusual.

It wasn't a sound or a smell, but an extremely subtle tremor emanating from deep within the earth!

Thump... thump... thump...

It was as if countless giant beasts were galloping in the distance, or like war drums were beating, muffled and oppressive, causing one's heart to beat irregularly.

Su Haoran's expression hardened. Without further hesitation, his figure shot towards the source of the vibration like a wisp of smoke.

His speed was so great that he left only a barely perceptible shallow track on the snow.

The further he went, the stronger the faint scent of blood in the air became.

Soon, his pupils contracted sharply.

On the snow ahead, a glaring crimson stain appeared.

A corpse lay curled up beneath a withered tree by the roadside.

The deceased appeared to be an ordinary tenant farmer, dressed in coarse cloth. A large bloody hole was in his chest, and his blood had dyed the snow beneath him red, already frozen solid.

His face was frozen in the terror of his final moments.

Su Haoran didn't stop, but his gaze turned colder.

He continued forward. Along the way, there were bloodstains everywhere, a shocking sight.

Tenant farmer corpses, one, two, three... lying haphazardly on the road. These were the common people most protected by Prajna Temple.

And now, they had become souls claimed by the bandits' blades.

Suddenly, Su Haoran's gaze fixed on a particular corpse.

The person was not wearing ordinary cloth, but a set of standard dark-colored iron armor! Although the armor was covered in marks from swords and axes, Su Haoran had seen its unique style from afar when he descended the mountain.

This was... the Qingshi City's guard, the Qingshi Army!

Why were the imperial troops here? And why had they clashed with the people of Crimson Hair Stronghold?

A heavy sense of foreboding instantly enveloped Su Haoran.

He no longer held back, exerting force with his feet. His speed increased again, his entire body becoming a blurred afterimage as he charged forward like lightning.

The wind howled past his ears, and the scenery on either side rapidly receded.

Finally, at the entrance to a mountain hollow, Su Haoran came to an abrupt halt.

His gaze was fixed on a figure in the snow ahead.

It was a monk, his gray robes soaked through with blood, now dark red and stiff.

He leaned against a mountain rock, still tightly gripping a broken precept staff, his eyes wide with anger, staring straight ahead as if he had fought valiantly until his last breath.

Su Haoran knew that face all too well.

It was the supervising monk who had looked out for him in the Labor Courtyard, even making an exception to let him learn martial arts, Cao Yi!

Senior Brother Cao Yi...

Scenes flashed through Su Haoran's mind in an instant.

"Su Haoran, I see you have a unique physique, a good seedling for martial arts. Take these steamed buns to fill your stomach first."

"You're making rapid progress! Train hard and don't waste this talent!"

"This is medicinal ointment I had someone bring from down the mountain. You train diligently and are bound to get injured. Keep it for emergencies."

"..."

Boom!

An irrepressible rage, like a volcanic eruption, exploded from Su Haoran's chest!

Bone-chilling killing intent spread wildly, making the air around him seem to freeze into frost.

He had transmigrated here, and in this cold world, the little warmth he had felt, a part of it came from Cao Yi.

And now, that warmth had been brutally extinguished!

"Crimson. Hair. Stronghold!"

Su Haoran gritted out the three words, each syllable sharp and cold, devoid of any emotion.

He slowly stepped forward, reaching out to gently close the unseeing eyes of Cao Yi.

"Senior brother, rest in peace."

"Your revenge, I will claim!"

"Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

As his words fell, he dropped all pretense of concealment. He abruptly raised his head, gazing into the depths of the mountain hollow.

The earth-shattering roars of battle and the clash of metal were now mere steps away!

He took a stride, his body a blur like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging into the blood-soaked battlefield!

The sun dipped below the horizon, its dying rays like blood.

The scene before him was a veritable slaughterhouse, a true Asura's domain!

Nearly a hundred Qingshi Army soldiers, clad in dark armor, formed a battle array and were locked in a fierce engagement with hundreds of ragged mountain bandits wielding a motley assortment of crude weapons.

Glinting blades, flying flesh and blood!

The Qingshi Army soldiers, well-trained and coordinated, struck with deadly precision, showcasing their elite status.

However, their opponents, the ruffians of Crimson Hair Stronghold, were far more formidable than anticipated!

Though their equipment was crude, with many armed only with woodcutting axes and clubs, these bandits fought with a reckless ferocity, like madmen.

Their eyes were bloodshot, faint red patterns pulsed beneath their skin, and a savage aura emanated from their bodies.

Every axe swing, every saber cut, possessed a power far exceeding that of an ordinary person!

A Qingshi Army soldier cleaved a bandit's shoulder, sending blood splattering. Yet, the bandit, seemingly unfazed by pain, grinned and retaliated with a backhand axe swing, cleaving half the soldier's head clean off!

Elsewhere, three soldiers cornered a bandit leader, their spears thrusting in unison, poised to impale him.

The leader roared, charging headlong into the spear tips, and with a sweeping arc of his great saber, bisected one of the soldiers!

"What the hell is wrong with these scumbags today!" a Qingshi Army squad leader roared, felling an attacker with his saber, but not before his own arm was gashed to the bone by the dying bandit's desperate counter.

On the battlefield, while the Qingshi Army held the advantage in equipment and formation, the Crimson Hair Stronghold bandits, fueled by their bizarre strength and frenzied resolve, had dragged the battle into a brutal stalemate!

The two sides were evenly matched, with casualties falling every moment!

Amidst this chaotic meat grinder, a dark figure suddenly burst forth.

Su Haoran deactivated his Breath Concealment Art. The cold, pure killing intent radiating from him, like a drawn, peerless blade, instantly drew the attention of the two closest Crimson Hair Stronghold ruffians.

"Heh, another bald donkey looking to die!"

"Take him down!"

Seeing Su Haoran in his monk's robes and unarmed, the two ruffians bared cruel grins.

Abandoning their current opponents, they lunged at Su Haoran from either side, steel blades flashing, their eyes red like bloodthirsty beasts!

Su Haoran's gaze was calm. He watched the charging pair, his steps unwavering, showing no intention of dodging.

Just as the left ruffian's saber was about to cleave his face, Su Haoran moved.

He simply raised his right hand. His movement was faster than their attack. His fingers curled into a claw, seizing the ruffian's wrist.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound of bone breaking echoed!

The ruffian's sinister grin froze on his face, replaced by boundless horror.

He felt as if his wrist had been clamped in a red-hot iron vice. An irresistible force surged through it, crushing the bones to powder in an instant!

"Ah—!"

His piercing scream was cut short.

Su Haoran flicked his wrist, unleashing the immense power of the Dragon Elephant Skill. The ruffian's hundred-fifty to hundred-sixty-pound body was tossed through the air like a scarecrow, slammed with brutal force into the other ruffian attacking from the right!

"Bang!"

A dull thud, and the two collided like rolling gourds. The sickening sound of cracking bones was clearly audible. Both spat a mouthful of blood mixed with internal organ fragments, dying on the spot!

The entire process was fluid and lightning-fast, lasting only a couple of breaths.

Su Haoran retracted his hand expressionlessly, as if he had merely swatted two flies.

But he frowned slightly.

Killing these two ruffians had been as simple as crushing ants for him.

Yet, he had keenly sensed that their strength was... off!

Both their power and reaction speed were more than a notch above the ruffians he had encountered outside the stronghold!

Nearly... fifty percent stronger!

No wonder!

Su Haoran understood instantly.

No wonder the well-equipped and well-trained Qingshi Army was locked in a bitter struggle, fighting back and forth with this rabble!

It wasn't that the Qingshi Army was too weak, but that the bandits of Crimson Hair Stronghold had become too strong!

"This... this master..."

A voice filled with shock and gasps sounded nearby.

The Qingshi Army soldier who had been fighting with the two henchmen just moments ago stared at Su Haoran, dumbfounded.

His armor was damaged in multiple places, his tiger's mouth was split, and blood flowed freely.

He had been fighting two against one, suppressed and in perilous situations, almost losing his life on the spot.

But in the blink of an eye, these two ferocious bandits, whom he had struggled with all his might to resist, were effortlessly and instantly killed by this Martial Monk, who looked even younger than him, with his bare hands!

What... what kind of terrifying strength was this!

Su Haoran ignored him, his icy gaze sweeping over the chaotic crowd and fixing on the center of the battlefield.

There, a ferocious aura, far surpassing everyone else around, surged towards the sky!