Counter-kill Victory

"It seems the men from Green Ridge Stronghold launched a night raid!"

Fang Yuan lowered his head to examine the two corpses. Their clothing was crude, and they carried a bandit's air about them. He fished out their identity tokens.

Down the mountain, torchlight blazed bright, and the sounds of battle—clashing weapons and shouts—mingled in his ears.

"Young Master!"

Fang Zheng lived not far from Fang Yuan and arrived at the first moment, showing concern and assessing the situation.

The two cold corpses lying on the ground clearly indicated a fight had taken place here, and one of them still exuded the aura of the Xiantian Realm.

"Two petty thieves not worth mentioning can't hurt me." Fang Yuan pointed toward the direction of the mine, where the fighting was fierce. "Let's go down and help."

Even the Xiantian Realm counted as not worth mentioning—Fang Zheng couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

"It seems the Young Master's strength is even greater than the rumors say."

Though Fang Zheng was stationed at the mine, he still knew the news from within the family.

Defeating a Xiantian with a single sword stroke—he had thought it was the family building up Fang Yuan's reputation, but who would have guessed it was true?

After all, one of the men lying on the ground was the Chieftain of Green Ridge Stronghold, a Xiantian Second Layer cultivator.

Yet judging by the traces of battle here, he had clearly been killed instantly.

He could easily crush this man himself, but under the circumstances of a night ambush, he would never have done it so effortlessly.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, the battle was chaotic. Roughly a hundred cultivators were engaged in the fight—a considerable scale.

Fang Yuan naturally wouldn't let bandits slaughter his own clan. He completely unleashed his strength, and wherever he walked, bandits fell.

"Who is this man? His strength is incredible!"

Some clan members who had long been stationed at the mine had rarely seen Fang Yuan before, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt.

"You don't even recognize the future family head? Looks like you want to spend your whole life at the mine," a companion mocked.

Fang Yuan's path was heading toward the living quarters of the younger generation of the family.

As soon as he reached this area, he saw six Xiantian Realm experts locked in fierce combat, and some disciples had already been wounded.

"Green Ridge Stronghold has come with a vengeance!"

Fang Yuan's eyes flickered. He picked up a pebble from the ground, infused it with true qi, and flicked it out.

In an instant, it sent a bandit who was about to ambush a disciple from behind flying backward.

"Young Master!"

The disciples' confidence surged at the sight of Fang Yuan. Their grips on their weapons tightened, and they struck at the enemies before them with renewed vigor.

"Man'er's skills are quite impressive."

Fang Yuan noticed that two of the battles were one-sided.

Among them, Fang Man wielded a fine iron staff with wide, sweeping movements. Facing two Houtian Ninth Layer opponents alone, he showed no sign of weakness.

"Fang Yuan's strength has grown quickly."

As Fang Yuan relieved pressure on the disciples, his peripheral vision caught sight of an old acquaintance locked in combat with a bandit chieftain, and his eyes showed some surprise.

"I didn't expect him to cultivate the Seven Wound Fist."

Among the Fang Family's clan-guarding martial arts, the Seven Wound Fist's reputation was even greater than the Myriad Star Fist.

"Everyone makes their own choices—nothing to fault."

Setting aside the urge to meddle, respecting others' fates.

The one fighting Fang Yuan was a Xiantian Second Layer bandit chieftain. His blood and qi surged violently, and as true qi roiled, the chieftain was practically being beaten, his fist force splitting the air.

"If the family hadn't sent stewards ahead of time, this mine would have been drenched in blood tonight."

Fang Yuan had already encountered more than a handful of bandit chieftains, and the actual number might be even greater.

Clang...

After Fang Yuan joined the fight, the stalemate among the Xiantian Realm combatants began to reverse.

Fang Yuan condensed a sword of true qi in his hand. With a single swing, he severed a chieftain's arm—extremely swift.

The one-armed bandit chieftain's combat power plummeted, and he was soon slain by a family steward.

"I don't need help!"

After Fang Yuan resolved the battle for two stewards, Fang Yuan's pride flared up. His face twisted in a furious roar.

Fang Yuan couldn't be bothered to respond.

He hadn't planned to help him in the first place—the guy was just flattering himself.

"The Young Master is truly extraordinary. Today, we finally get to see it."

The two stewards, having caught their breath, stepped forward and showered him with flattery, leaving Fang Yuan deeply frustrated.

Fang Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the bandits whose numbers had dwindled sharply, knowing the battle was nearly over.

"Let's go check elsewhere."

The mine covered a large area, but only a few spots were critical, and the lodging zone was certainly among them.

Fang Yuan moved with Phantom Step, incredibly fast, roaming through various parts of the mine as he cut down two more bandit chieftains.

"The Young Master's cultivation now must be at least the fourth layer of the Houtian Realm!"

"Fourth layer of Houtian? I remember he was at the third layer half a year ago—such rapid improvement."

"He participated in a major sect's trial, so isn't this normal?"

"Watch your words!"

Fang Yuan's formidable strength left many stewards astonished, murmuring among themselves in admiration.

Young as he was, his power was nearly on par with theirs—truly humbling.

"Young Master, what should we do next? Please give your orders."

As the battle gradually subsided, Fang Zheng gathered the core members of the mine and yielded the lead position to Fang Yuan.

"I'm still young and inexperienced, so I'll leave it to Steward Fang Zheng to handle."

Fang Yuan had no desire to steal the spotlight.

Coming to the mine only to usurp authority and vie for power was hardly worth it—better to spend that time cultivating.

Seeing this, everyone silently praised the youth's gentle nature, his restraint and modesty, proud yet not arrogant.

Fang Zheng, as the mine's overseer, was quite capable in management and arranged all matters methodically.

Dawn broke.

A faint fish-belly white appeared on the distant horizon, tinged with a hazy purple aura.

Fang Zheng compiled the reports and came to Fang Yuan's door to brief him.

"Tonight, Green Ridge Stronghold dispatched eight chieftains and over forty Houtian Realm cultivators."

"Nearly all the attacking bandits have been eliminated."

"We lost six Houtian cultivators, and one steward was severely wounded."

Fang Yuan nodded. Such a loss ratio was normal.

Though they had been ambushed at night, they had achieved a decisive victory.

"What about the casualties among the younger disciples?" Fang Yuan asked.

Fang Zheng thought for a moment and replied, "No deaths, but two are severely injured, and four or five have light wounds."

"Thanks to the Young Master's arrival, our mine was able to turn defeat into victory," Fang Zheng praised.

Fang Yuan did not take the credit.

Even if the family hadn't dispatched stewards ahead of time, he could have slaughtered all the invading bandits, but the losses wouldn't have been this light.

Numbers were what they were—going back and forth to kill took time.

Fang Yuan watched the early sunlight spill across the land and asked in a low voice, "Do you know where Green Ridge Stronghold's bandit lair is?"

Fang Zheng thought it over and answered truthfully.

"Rather than waiting to be attacked, it's better to strike first."

The lesson of the night raid was clear—if they let the bandits run rampant, where would the Fang Family's dignity be?

Now that the mine's overall strength had risen a notch, they had the ability to counterattack.

"But Green Ridge Stronghold has a Foundation Building Realm powerhouse stationed there."

Fang Zheng feared that Fang Yuan, in a fit of hotheadedness, would lead the men to assault the stronghold—that would be asking for disaster.

"Foundation Building Realm—I can't do anything about him for now."

Fang Yuan's eyes flickered with uncertainty. "But as for the rest, not a single one will leave alive!"