Slaying the Bandit Leader!

The First Boss's Mountain Splitting Fist had already gathered momentum.

The True Qi condensed around his fists gleamed with a dark, murky red light as though it were tangible, and the terrifying pressure made the ground of the stronghold tremble faintly.

He suddenly exerted force beneath his feet and shot toward Ye Feng like a cannonball. His fist howled as it tore through the air, striking straight for Ye Feng's heart.

If this punch landed, even with True Qi protecting his body, Ye Feng's internal organs would be shattered.

Ye Feng's gaze sharpened. He knew perfectly well that the gap between the Qi Gathering Realm Ninth Layer and the Second Layer was not something Fist Intent could fully bridge. Vajra Fist alone would not be enough to receive this killing move head-on.

He immediately withdrew his right fist and slowly pressed his left hand toward the wooden sword at his waist. The instant his fingertips touched the hilt, a mysterious Sword Intent quietly spread through the air.

"Only thinking of drawing your sword when death is at your door? Too late!" Seeing Ye Feng draw his sword, the First Boss sneered. The power in his fist grew even stronger, as though he could already see Ye Feng being blasted into grievous injury.

Yet in the next second, his smile froze on his face.

Ye Feng flicked his wrist, and the wooden sword left its sheath. The Profound-grade Low-tier martial skill, Wind Shadow Sword Art, was unleashed at full force.

There was no earth-shattering boom—only a pale azure sword qi that silently swept past. It carried two-tenths Sword Intent within it, sharp enough to seem capable of slicing through the air itself.

The First Boss did not even see the trajectory of the sword move. He only felt a chill in both legs, followed immediately by agonizing pain that tore at his heart and lungs.

"Ah!"

His scream resounded throughout the stronghold. Both of the First Boss's legs had been cleanly severed at the knees, blood gushing out like a fountain.

Having lost all support, he fell to his knees with a thud.

His face was twisted with pain and disbelief, and for the first time, fear appeared in his eyes as he looked at Ye Feng.

The remaining bandits in the stronghold turned deathly pale at the sight, their previous viciousness gone without a trace.

Someone quietly edged backward, hoping to flee amid the chaos. Yet Ye Feng merely gave his sword a light sweep, and a streak of sword qi grazed past that bandit's ear, slicing the wooden pillar behind him into two.

"Whoever dares move again will share his fate." Ye Feng's voice was calm, yet it carried unquestionable authority.

The bandits instantly froze in place. No one dared entertain thoughts of escape again. One after another, they dropped to their knees with thuds, heads bowed low, not even daring to breathe loudly.

The First Boss lay sprawled on the ground, cold sweat covering his forehead, his features warped by excruciating pain. Yet he still wanted to live.

He raised his head toward Ye Feng and begged in a trembling voice, "Senior! Big Brother! Grandfather! Please spare my life! I know I was wrong! All the resources in the stronghold are yours! Whatever you want, I'll give it to you!"

As he spoke, he struggled to pull a black Storage Ring from his robes and held it out to Ye Feng with trembling hands. "This is a Storage Ring. It holds all the treasures Black Forest Mountain Stronghold has accumulated over the years—Spirit Stones, weapons, medicinal herbs. I haven't hidden a single thing! Please spare my life! I swear I'll never be a bandit again!"

He was calculating inwardly.

As long as he lived, where there was green life, there was firewood to burn. Once he recovered his strength someday, he would come back and settle this blood debt with Ye Feng!

Ye Feng took the Storage Ring, casually weighed it in his hand, and asked indifferently, "You really didn't hide anything else?"

"No! Absolutely not!" The First Boss hurriedly shook his head, terrified that Ye Feng would not believe him. "If I've spoken even half a lie, may Heaven strike me with five bolts of lightning!"

Ye Feng looked at his fawning expression, a cold smile curling at his lips. "Unfortunately, I never said I would spare you. The sect assigned me the task of exterminating Black Forest Mountain Stronghold. As its First Boss, how could you possibly be allowed to live?"

The color instantly drained from the First Boss's face. His eyes filled with venomous resentment as he roared a curse, "Ye Feng! Even as a ghost, I won't let you off!"

"I'm not afraid of you while you're alive. Why would I fear a ghost?" Ye Feng could not be bothered to waste more words. With a sweep of his sword, a streak of azure sword qi flashed past, and the First Boss's head rolled to the ground. Blood sprayed out, staining the surrounding earth red.

The First Boss of Black Forest Mountain Stronghold, who had run rampant through Qingmu Town for many years, perished just like that.

After dealing with the First Boss, Ye Feng turned his gaze toward the bandits kneeling on the ground.

These bandits spent their days robbing homes and plundering travelers, guilty of countless evils. They deserved death in the first place.

Sword in hand, he moved through the stronghold. Each flash of sword light brought down another bandit.

In mere minutes, corpses carpeted the stronghold. A thick stench of blood filled the air, nauseating all who smelled it.

However, Ye Feng deliberately spared three Body Refining Realm bandits.

It was not because he had gone soft-hearted. He wanted to use these three people to test the system's abilities.

Seeing that Ye Feng had not killed them, the three bandits trembled from head to toe and repeatedly knocked their heads against the ground. "Spare us, my lord! We were forced into this! We've never done anything bad! Please spare our lives!"

Ye Feng ignored their pleas. With a casual wave of his hand, three streams of True Qi struck the backs of their necks, knocking them unconscious.

He glanced around, grabbed the three unconscious bandits, and leaped into the air, landing in an open patch of ground on the mountain behind the stronghold.

It was secluded here. No one would disturb his experiment.

Ye Feng laid the three bandits side by side on the ground, took a deep breath, and began his first test.

Test One.

Alter time to revive the dead.

Ye Feng walked to the first bandit, bent down, grabbed the man's head, and gave it a savage twist.

With a crisp crack, the bandit's neck snapped, and his breath was completely extinguished.

Ye Feng stared at the corpse, a thought stirring in his mind. "System, modify this person's production date to one minute ago."

The moment the words fell, something bizarre happened.

The bandit's twisted head slowly turned back and reattached itself to his neck.

The next second, he abruptly opened his eyes. They were filled with terror, clearly still holding the painful memory of having his neck snapped.

Ye Feng was shaken. He had never expected the system to affect not only items and cultivation arts, but living people as well—even reviving the dead! To make sure it was not a coincidence, he did not wait for the bandit to react before grabbing his head again and snapping it with a crack. As he watched the bandit die once more, Ye Feng's expression grew grave.

The system's abilities were even more terrifying than he had imagined.

Test Two.

Modify time to accelerate aging.

Ye Feng walked over to the second unconscious bandit, his gaze settling on the man's middle-aged face.

He took a deep breath and thought, "System, modify this person to Hundred Years Later."

This time, the changes were even more obvious.

The bandit's aura suddenly weakened. His originally jet-black hair turned gray at a visible speed, while the skin on his face rapidly sagged, becoming covered in ravine-like wrinkles.

In just a few seconds, he changed from a middle-aged man into a decrepit old man on the verge of death.

But the changes did not stop. The old man's body continued to shrivel, his skin clinging tightly to his bones, until he finally turned directly into a skeleton that scattered across the ground.

Ye Feng looked at the skeleton on the ground and could not help but suck in a cold breath.

When he had previously modified items and cultivation techniques, he had only felt that the system was convenient. But now, he realized that the system was most terrifying when used on living beings.

It could directly accelerate an opponent's aging and reduce them to bones within seconds. Such a method was impossible to guard against, and could be called one of the most terrifying abilities in a fantasy world!

Test Three.

The effects of modifying time on one's realm.

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Ye Feng walked over to the third unconscious bandit.

This time, he did not choose to modify him by a hundred years. Instead, he thought, "System, modify this person to twenty years later."

The changes appeared once more.

The bandit's hair gradually turned gray, and his face aged considerably. He looked as though he had grown twenty years older, and his aura also weakened, clearly leaving him on the brink of death.

But at the same time, Ye Feng keenly noticed that the fluctuations of aura within his body had changed.

He had actually broken through from the Body Refining Realm to the first level of the Qi Gathering Realm!

"Modifying someone else's time can even let them break through their realm?" Ye Feng's gaze sharpened.

Just then, the bandit slowly opened his eyes. Feeling the True Qi within his body, delight appeared on his face. Then he saw Ye Feng, and a vicious glint flashed through his eyes. Struggling to rise, he wanted to circulate his True Qi and attack Ye Feng.

Ye Feng snorted coldly and drew his sword. A flash of sword light streaked past, and the bandit who had just broken through was immediately separated from his head.

He would not give an experimental subject the chance to bite back.

With the experiment over, Ye Feng looked at the corpses and skeleton on the ground and sighed again in his heart. "The system's abilities are too monstrous."

From modifying cultivation techniques and martial skills, Sword Intent and Fist Intent, to now being able to control the time of living beings.

Reviving the dead, accelerating aging, even helping someone break through their realm—such methods had already exceeded the bounds of normal cultivation. They were nothing less than forbidden arts. Ye Feng knew very well that manipulating time was a taboo among taboos in any world. Even against cultivators stronger than himself, as long as they were unprepared, he could easily use the system to kill them in an instant.

"Looks like I'll have to be even more careful when using the system in the future." Ye Feng sheathed his sword and turned his gaze to the Storage Ring in his hand.

Next, it was time to take stock of the gains from this bandit suppression.