The Pre-battle Dance

"Seriously? He wants to stop the bandits all by himself?"

Among the City Guard, Jin Baobei was covered in dust and dressed like a disheveled young man, blending in with the crowd.

When she saw Ye Kang, Jin Baobei's eyes widened in disbelief.

Ever since Ye Kang had left last time, he hadn't returned to the inn.

Jin Baobei had waited and waited, but he never showed. Then she heard that bandits were on their way. To save her own skin, she had no choice but to blend in with the volunteer defenders and see how things played out, while looking for a way out.

But as soon as she slipped in, she saw Ye Kang riding alone out of the city.

"Though the Six Mansions Cave Lords are only Super First-Class, the six of them together are no weaker than Xiantian. He's being far too overconfident."

Jin Baobei frowned but said nothing. She decided to wait and see.

Unlike her, everyone else was simply baffled.

"What is Lord Ye doing?"

"Could he be planning to drive off the bandits by himself?"

Everyone looked stunned. Lin Hanzhi in particular wanted to rush down and call Ye Kang back at once.

But Lin Baichuan held her back.

"Don't rush. Let's see what Lord Ye has in mind."

"But, Father..."

"He's highly skilled. Even if he can't beat them, he can still protect himself. You'd only hold him back if you went."

Only then did Lin Hanzhi stay put, though she clenched her fists with worry.

Meanwhile,

when the bandits saw Ye Kang riding toward them alone, they were just as confused.

"Big Brother, what's that guy up to? Is he riding over here to get himself killed?"

"Not so fast. I say he knows he can't win, so he's come to surrender."

"Sounds about right. Big Brother, should we accept his surrender?"

Several leaders looked toward the Great Leader at the center.

He snorted.

"We said we'd slaughter the whole city, so we won't spare a soul. Archers, fire!"

At his order, one of the bandits immediately drew his bow.

The arrow flew. In the next instant, a thread-thin streak of Pink Sword Qi shot in, sliced the arrow in half, and pierced the bandit between the brows.

The six leaders all jolted at the sight.

"He's a master!"

"To kill someone from that far away—what kind of martial art does he practice?"

The Great Leader of Liuhe Mountain narrowed his eyes and called out, "Who goes there?"

Ye Kang reined in his horse and took a deep breath.

Time to show off before the battle.

With a cold expression, he said, "Ye Kang of the Imperial City Department. I've come to send you scum to your deaths."

His powerful voice left everyone gaping.

A moment later, the bandits burst into laughter.

The six leaders laughed so hard they bent over.

"Did you hear that? The guy says he's going to send us to our deaths! Hahaha!"

"I thought he was a coward. Turns out he's an idiot!"

"Big Brother, leave him to me. I'll take his head and offer it up as a sacrifice!"

With a loud shout, the bandits hoisted a huge apricot-yellow banner. Four characters were written across it: "Uphold Heaven's Justice."

The defenders of Mengzhou City saw the banner and trembled with rage.

What a shameless bunch!

A pack of bandits who robbed homes and butchered innocents dared to claim they were upholding heaven's justice!

Yet the bandits saw nothing wrong with it. If anything, they were more fired up than ever, shouting and hollering.

The Great Leader said, "Fifth, go cut him down."

"Right away, Big Brother!"

A short, thin man with disheveled hair rode forward.

He held a pair of short spears and shrilled, "I am the Fifth Lord of the Six Mansions Cave Lords. You're a lapdog of the court—how dare you stand in my way?"

Ye Kang was delighted that someone was playing along with his grandstanding.

He quickly produced a copper coin and said with a teasing smile, "I hate it when people point spearheads at me. I'll bet you one copper coin—you believe I can make you see your own brains, don't you?"

The whole field fell silent.

Was Lord Ye out of his mind?

They were about to duel, and he'd started betting copper coins?

The bandits were completely at a loss, too.

Fifth's expression darkened.

"Big words. I'll cut you down first!"

Just then—

Whoosh!

Hundred Flowers Sword Finger streaked through the air, swept past Fifth, then curved around and stabbed him from behind.

The Sword Qi pierced the back of his head and burst through his brow, carrying a drop of yellow-white matter into his eye.

The next instant, Fifth fell straight off his horse.

Ye Kang took out the coin, blew on it, and said leisurely, "You owe me a copper coin."

"Fifth!"

A roar rang out. The remaining commanders charged forward, furious, their swords pointed straight at Ye Kang.

"You insolent whelp!"

It had all happened too fast. Ye Kang had nearly killed his opponent in an instant, leaving both sides dumbstruck.

Of course, the City Guard's morale soared. Everyone stared at Ye Kang with fervent admiration.

"Lord Ye is incredible!"

"That copper-coin bet was the ultimate insult. He was mocking those bandits!"

In the blink of an eye, the defenders, whose morale had been flagging, stood tall again.

The situation on Liuhe Mountain's side was far messier. They were bandits from all sorts of strongholds, with no unity to speak of. Now quite a few bandit chiefs were thinking of running for it.

The Great Commander of Liuhe Mountain looked furious at the sight.

He immediately raised his voice and shouted, "You little brat, do you know that we Six Mansions Cave Lords practice the Six Harmonies Technique? If we join forces, we can slay Xiantian! You're as good as dead today!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Ye Kang didn't waste a word. He sent Hundred Flowers Sword Finger flying again.

This time, the men were ready. Their true qi surged as they each used their own techniques to block the Hundred Flowers Sword Finger.

But it was no use.

Driven by Ye Kang's Xiantian Realm cultivation, Hundred Flowers Sword Finger broke through their defenses as easily as slicing tofu.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Hundred Flowers Sword Qi pierced through one head after another.

In a single breath, the leaders who had seemed so mighty moments ago all fell.

Not one of them even got out a last word.

The Six Mansions Cave Lords had indeed mastered the Six Harmonies Technique, and together they could fight Xiantian. But they had run into Ye Kang, who played by no rules.

Hundred Flowers Sword Finger was like a sniper rifle: it picked off one target at a time, impossible to defend against, and gave them no chance to join forces.

All you could say was: "Sir, times have changed."

With the Six Mansions Cave Lords dead, the City Guard erupted into cheers.

"The bandit leaders are dead! Lord Ye is invincible!"

"What Six Mansions Cave Lords? In front of Lord Ye, they're nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs!"

The deafening cheers made the bandits tremble. The various stronghold chiefs looked at one another, stunned.

"What the hell! Weren't the Six Mansions Cave Lords supposed to be powerful? How did they all get wiped out in an instant?"

"Bah! Those six shameless bastards told us Mengzhou City was as good as theirs and dragged us all into this!"

"Chiefs, are we fighting or not?"

The bandits fell into chaos, completely at a loss.

Ye Kang pressed his advantage, riding slowly forward.

"You scum, I'll say this once and once only: anyone who doesn't retreat dies!"

Before the bandits could even react, Hundred Flowers Sword Qi shot out again. Swish, swish, swish, swish! The bandits at the front all had their heads blown apart.

Like a neat row of watermelons, bursting one after another.

The sight was so shocking that the bandits lost their nerve and scrambled backward.

Those farther back had no idea what was happening. Before they could retreat, horses from the front slammed into them and knocked them down.

The bandits, already in a state of chaos, now became a complete mess.

A stronghold chief hurriedly shouted, "Ma De, don't panic! What are you afraid of? He's just one man. We can all charge him together—"

He hadn't even finished speaking before Sword Qi pierced his head.

As his body fell, countless bandits screamed in terror.

"Unorthodox! He's a practitioner of unorthodox arts! That martial skill is downright demonic!"

Now, no matter how much the bandit chiefs shouted, the brigands wouldn't listen. They only raced backward, trampling countless people underfoot.

Ye Kang continued to shout, "A pack of cowards, daring to attack a provincial city of the imperial court and rebel against the throne! You deserve to die! I, Ye Kang, stand as a city by myself. Anyone who stands in my way dies!"

Ye Kang secretly unleashed Vajra Fury Intent. His boundless fury transformed into a Vedic Chant of wrath, carrying his words far and wide. Everyone was utterly shaken by the thunderous declaration.

The bandits were terrified out of their wits, while the defenders were filled with excitement.

"Lord Ye! A hero of our age!"

"What are you waiting for? The bandits have lost their nerve. Now's the time to strike! Charge with me!"

The Great General of the defenders drew his sword and roared. At once, countless soldiers charged out through the city gates, while countless martial artists leapt down from the walls, bearing down on the bandits with crushing momentum.

Now the bandits lost all will to fight. They broke completely and fled in every direction.

The bandit chiefs, each already harboring their own schemes, saw that things had gone south and led their own men in a desperate scramble to escape.

The target was too tough. No point dying for this!

The tide of battle turned in an instant. What had been a one-sided slaughter became a slaughter in the opposite direction.

Ye Kang remained on his warhorse, motionless, seeming to grow taller by the moment.

His words, "I stand as a city by myself," left Lin Hanzhi and Jin Baobei gazing at him in a daze, their hearts trembling.

Both women flew toward Ye Kang at the same time.

At that moment, Ye Kang had no time to watch the battle. He was frantically calling for the system.

"System bro! The enemies have retreated. The mission should be complete, right?"