A Foolish Bandit on the Road

After leaving Nuoding City, Zhang Bufan did not choose to hire a carriage. First, he had just gotten one hundred Gold Soul Coins. While that counted as a huge sum, he still believed in saving where he could and managing the household diligently—mainly because he had not yet adjusted to the life of a rich man in another world. Second, he wanted to experience the customs and scenery of Douluo Continent firsthand, measure this unfamiliar land with his own feet, and perhaps... see whether he might encounter some lucky opportunity or a chance to save a beauty in distress—scratch that.

The Official Road was fairly level, paved with compacted yellow earth and wide enough for several carriages to travel side by side. Endless fields and the occasional village lined both sides of the road, while lush mountains and forests stretched into the distance. The air was filled with the fresh scent of soil and plants. To Zhang Bufan, who had grown accustomed to the exhaust fumes and smog of a modern city, it had a unique charm.

With his hands behind his head and a foxtail grass stem he had plucked from who knew where between his lips, he walked briskly while humming an off-key tune, thoroughly at ease.

"Hmm, air this clean would have been worth money in my previous life, right? The negative oxygen ion levels are off the charts!" He took a deep breath, feeling as if even his lungs had been purified.

But transportation here is way too inconvenient. No high-speed rail, no planes, not even shared bicycles... one-star review! As he walked, he grumbled inwardly. Once I get stronger, I'm definitely setting up something like Imperial Cauldron Flight or Spatial Teleportation. That would suit my status as a cheat-equipped protagonist!

His thoughts wandered as he began planning for the future. How should I get into Heaven Dou Royal Academy? Should I reveal my strength outright? Would that be too high-profile? Hmm... Keep a low profile, stay low-key. After all, I'm still just a "child." I'll show just a little bit of "genius" talent, then. Something like... Innate Full Soul Power? That should be enough, right? Anyway, it has just a tiny bit more substance than Tang San's "Innate Full Soul Power."

Thinking of Tang San, he could not help grumbling again. Come to think of it, Tang the Divine King should still be playing in the mud at Sacred Soul Village, right? Learning the "Ten Core Competencies of Soul Beasts" from that Master-dad of his, whose theories are supposedly invincible? Tsk, tsk... what a way to mislead the younger generation. Without the Mysterious Heaven Skill or Hidden Weapons, what could anyone cultivate with Master's theories alone? They could only fool Little White during the early stages.

As his imagination ran wild, a burst of shouting and clashing metal suddenly rang out from around a bend ahead on the Official Road, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hmm? Something's going on?" Zhang Bufan raised a brow. Rather than feeling afraid, he was a little excited. Could this be the classic scene—running into bandits on the road? Then I show off my might and save a beau... Uh, let's take a look first.

He quickened his pace and rounded the bend. Sure enough, the scene before him was exactly as expected.

More than a dozen men clad in ragged leather armor, wielding all manner of rusty swords, sabers, and axes, had surrounded what appeared to be a small merchant caravan. The caravan consisted of three carriages, with only four or five guards. They stood with their backs to the carriages, nervously facing off against the bandits. Two or three caravan guards already lay on the ground, their blood staining the yellow earth.

The bandits were wildly arrogant. Their leader was an especially burly man with a vicious scar across his face. He had not summoned his Martial Soul, yet the Soul Power fluctuations emanating from him had clearly reached the level of a Soul Emperor! Most of the lackeys behind him were also Soul Elders or Soul Ancestors.

A middle-aged man who looked like the caravan manager was sweating profusely as he bowed and scraped before the scar-faced brute, his voice trembling. "...Lord Barak, please show us mercy. We're only a small business, and this shipment isn't worth much. This is our toll fee. Please be generous and let us pass..." As he spoke, he offered up a bulging money pouch.

Barak, the Soul Emperor bandit leader, snatched the pouch and weighed it in his hand. A disdainful, vicious grin appeared on his face. "That's all? Are you trying to dismiss beggars? My brothers have been exposed to sun and wind here for days, and this is the only profit we get? If you know what's good for you, leave all the cargo and valuables behind. Leave the women too! The men can get lost!"

The bandits behind him immediately erupted into lewd laughter, their gazes sweeping maliciously over the female dependents in the caravan, who were trembling in fear.

The caravan manager's face turned pale as he pleaded desperately, "Lord Barak, you can't! That cargo is our entire livelihood! Please..."

"Get lost!" Barak impatiently kicked the manager to the ground. "You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Brothers, move! Kill all the men and take the women!"

Howling, the bandits were about to swarm forward.

Just then, a somewhat lazy and helpless voice abruptly rang out, shattering the tense atmosphere.

"Ah..."

The voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Everyone froze and turned toward the sound. A delicate-looking youth in ordinary cloth clothes, no more than eleven or twelve years old, was strolling over from the far end of the road, wearing an expression that said, "I'm utterly speechless."

It was Zhang Bufan.

As he walked, he shook his head and sighed, his inner monologue going into overdrive. What did I say? The classic scene might be late, but it never fails to arrive! But these bandits are way too unprofessional, aren't they? They don't even assess their target's strength before robbing them? Then again, out here in the countryside, a Soul Emperor leading a bunch of Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors really can run rampant. What a pity. You guys didn't check the almanac before leaving today—you ran into an existence beyond your pay grade.

Both the bandits and the caravan members were stunned. None of them had expected a youth to suddenly appear.

Barak frowned deeply and looked Zhang Bufan over from head to toe. He could not sense the slightest Soul Power fluctuation from him—the Nine Cauldrons had automatically concealed his aura—and his clothes were ordinary. He looked like nothing more than a common kid who had wandered into the area by mistake.

"Where did this little brat come from? If you don't want to die, get lost!" a hot-tempered Soul Elder lackey roared at Zhang Bufan.

Zhang Bufan ignored him. He walked straight ahead until he was less than ten meters from the bandits, then stopped. Looking at Barak, he asked with genuine confusion, "Um... Soul Emperor Brother, can I ask you something? Before you rob people, don't you use your spiritual power to sense their Soul Power levels first? What if you kick an iron plate?"

Barak was briefly taken aback. Then, as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world, he burst into wild laughter. "Hahaha! An iron plate? In Nuoding City's territory, I am the iron plate! You little bastard, you're still wet behind the ears, and you dare meddle in my business? Sense Soul Power? With that tiny body of yours, how much Soul Power could you possibly have? Level one? Level two? Enough to light a lantern?"

The bandits also burst into laughter, thinking that there had to be something wrong with the boy's head.

The caravan members, meanwhile, fell into despair. They had thought a savior had arrived, but it turned out to be a foolish kid with a death wish.

Zhang Bufan sighed again, looking even more helpless. "As expected... a communication barrier. It seems bandit vocational education on Douluo Continent has a long way to go. They haven't even learned the most basic word: 'caution.'"

He raised a hand and brushed dust from his shoulder that was not actually there. Then, toward Barak and the bandits behind him, who were laughing so hard they nearly doubled over, he casually and lightly waved his hand.

As if he were shooing away a swarm of annoying flies.

No Soul Rings appeared. No dazzling light from a Soul Skill flashed forth. There was not even a violent surge of Soul Power.

But in the next instant—

Whoosh—!

An invisible, intangible force so vast and terrifying that it defied description erupted from Zhang Bufan's palm like a burst dam, like a hurricane sweeping across heaven and earth!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!...

A string of dull impacts rang out like popping beans!

The smiles on the faces of the laughing bandit lackeys instantly froze, replaced by extreme terror and confusion. Before they could even understand what had happened, they felt as if they had been struck head-on by a charging Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Their bodies were sent flying uncontrollably into the air!

Like scattered blossoms from a celestial maiden, the dozen or so Soul Elder and Soul Ancestor bandits flew backward in twisted poses, screaming as they traced "graceful" arcs through the air before crashing heavily dozens of meters away—onto both sides of the Official Road, into the fields, and even against tree trunks. After landing, they did not even groan before passing out, their life or death unknown.

In an instant, the once-noisy and menacing bandit camp was reduced to only its Soul Emperor leader, Barak, still standing there stiffly like a wooden post.

The vicious grin on his face had completely frozen. His Pupils had widened to the limit, and his mouth hung open unconsciously, wide enough to fit an egg. The hand gripping his weapon trembled slightly.

The entire Official Road fell into deathly silence.

Everyone in the caravan—guards, the manager, and female dependents alike—stared dumbfoundedly at the youth who still looked utterly calm.

He had waved his hand... just waved it once...

More than ten Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors... wiped out?

What... was this?!

An illusion?!

Zhang Bufan withdrew his hand, looked at the bandits strewn across the ground like corpses, and curled his lip. Then he gave Barak, the only one still standing, a "kind" smile that looked like a demon's grin to the other man.

"See? I told you, you need to be cautious when doing things. Now, you're the only one left, Soul Emperor Brother."