After Green Ridge Stronghold launched a night raid with so many elite fighters, every last one of them had been wiped out.
Naturally, they wouldn't dare set their sights on the Mine again for a long time.
As the person in charge of the Mine, Fang Zheng's greatest achievement was ensuring its safety.
"I won't mobilize the people at the Mine. It'll be enough to take the family disciples with me to gain some experience," Fang Yuan said.
Fang Zheng hurriedly replied, "Young Master, you needn't say that. Whatever you order, I'll carry it out."
The rewards and contribution points for the family's Mine missions were primarily determined by the number of bandits killed.
After getting detailed information about Green Ridge Stronghold from Fang Zheng, Fang Yuan had someone call Fang Man over.
"I killed seven bandits last night. That really hit the spot."
After entering, Fang Man said with a broad grin.
"It's just a shame I didn't run into the bastards who hurt me. I'd have cut off all their limbs and hung them from a tree."
Fang Man seemed reluctant to call it a night, his words tinged with regret.
"Don't worry. You'll get another chance to let loose," Fang Yuan said with a smile.
Fang Man's eyes lit up. He knew Fang Yuan must have a plan, so he eagerly pressed him for details.
"It's simple. We'll go straight to a place where the bandits often show up, then lie in wait and block their way."
Block their way!
Fang Man grew excited. The idea was right up his alley.
"Let the family disciples rest first. After noon, they'll set out with me."
Fang Man answered with a grin.
By noon,
Fang Yuan's Heavenly Origin Earth Realm talent manifested, and his Source Points increased by 1.
Add point!
Following the familiar procedure, Fang Yuan sat cross-legged in his room and sank his consciousness inward. Dozens of booms suddenly rang out inside his body as his bones crackled.
[After a year of painstaking cultivation, the true qi surrounding your dantian pillar rose to the ninth layer and overflowed. Your true qi broke through fifty-nine of your body's acupoints. Your cultivation has not yet made a substantive breakthrough and remains at the Ninth Layer Houtian Realm.]
Fang Yuan took a deep breath. A sharp glint flickered in his eyes as he gradually calmed his body.
"My cultivation hasn't broken through, but my overall strength is more than twice what it was before!"
The transition from the Xiantian Realm to Foundation Establishment was a major threshold, a qualitative leap in the level of one's life. It was no easy feat.
Fang Yuan still remembered that the youngest person in Flowing Cloud County to break through to Foundation Establishment had been forty-nine!
And he was widely recognized in Clear Sea City as the person most likely to break that record.
The first step in advancing from the Xiantian Realm to Foundation Establishment was to open all 108 acupoints, allowing the body to store more true qi.
Once every acupoint had been opened, the true qi would become a seamless whole, resonating in unison. The slightest movement would carry tremendous force.
After adjusting his state and eating the lunch Fang Zheng had thoughtfully prepared, Fang Yuan gathered the disciples together.
"I'm going to take the initiative and head to Falling Mist Mountain to wipe out the bandits. If any of you want to back out, you can go home now."
"This operation means facing vicious, bloodthirsty bandits head-on. There'll be no elders to protect you, and you could lose your lives at any moment."
Fang Yuan laid out the stakes plainly. The choice was theirs.
Many family disciples had been raised in a hothouse. Few had ever truly fought for their lives against another person.
And now they were facing bandits from Green Ridge Stronghold, notorious villains with more than a dozen lives on their hands apiece.
After a fierce inner struggle, not one disciple chose to back out.
"We're willing to follow Young Master into the mountains and kill bandits!"
Fang Yuan was very pleased with their attitude. It was no problem if they lacked experience in life-and-death trials, but they couldn't lack spirit.
What he didn't realize was this:
The disciples had made that choice largely because of Fang Yuan's influence.
From Prefecture City to the Mine, Fang Yuan had earned great prestige among the disciples. Last night, he had descended like a god of slaughter.
Before long, they set out.
Fang Yuan decided to test the waters first by lying in wait at a spot where the bandits from Green Ridge Stronghold often appeared.
"Green Ridge Stronghold still has more than a dozen Xiantian Realm chieftains. It'd be great if we ran into them all at once," Fang Yuan thought.
If an outsider had heard Fang Yuan's thoughts, they would surely have called him crazy.
The leading chieftains of Green Ridge Stronghold were all at the Ninth Layer Houtian Realm, and some had opened more than a hundred acupoints.
Against such a lineup, an ordinary Ninth Layer Houtian Realm cultivator would be doomed. Only someone at Foundation Establishment could stand a chance.
Time flew by.
They waited for more than an hour, but still hadn't seen a single bandit. Some of them gradually lost patience.
"Keep waiting."
Another hour passed.
They still hadn't seen any bandits from Green Ridge Stronghold. Instead, they encountered a passing merchant caravan, whose horses pulled carts loaded with goods.
"These look like people from the Shi Family," one disciple said, recognizing their clothes.
The Shi Family wasn't one of the Three Great Families of Prefecture City, but it was still a major family, second only to them.
"This makes us look like highway robbers."
Just then,
Three or five burly men wielding sharp blades emerged from the woods and blocked the Shi Family's caravan.
"This road was opened by me, these trees were planted by me. If you want to pass through—"
Before a thin man could finish speaking, the burly man leading them smacked him on the head.
"Quit spouting all that fancy nonsense. You're wasting time."
The leader had a scar across his face. He planted his broadsword in the ground and cast a cold glance over the Shi Family's people.
"We're from Green Ridge Stronghold. Leave the goods and the women behind, and everyone else can get lost."
As he spoke, the Scarface Bandit revealed his aura at the Seventh Layer Houtian Realm. He was clearly one of Green Ridge Stronghold's chieftains.
"How dare you!"
An old man from the Shi Family stepped forward, his face indignant. "Do you know who we are?"
The Scarface Bandit spat, picked up his broadsword, and swung it backhanded, chopping off the old man's head. A murderous glint shone in his eyes.
"I don't give a damn who you are."
He swept his gaze imperiously over the other members of the Shi Family. "None of you are leaving today."
The brutality of the Green Ridge Stronghold bandits stunned some of the Fang Family disciples, who had little experience of the world.
"This is trouble."
Although these Fang Family disciples hadn't yet reached the Xiantian Realm, they were knowledgeable enough to sense that the burly man before them could rival the family's powerful Stewards.
"Brother Yuan, those two bandits over there took part in the ambush against me. If they hadn't caught me by surprise, I'd have crippled them," Fang Man said angrily.
"It's fine. None of them will get away," Fang Yuan replied calmly.
His words also inspired the family disciples behind him, bolstering their confidence.
"I'd heard the bandits of Green Ridge Stronghold were arrogant, but seeing it for myself is something else."
The people from the Shi Family were even more panicked. Only the Steward leading them, a cultivator at the Sixth Layer Houtian Realm, could still force himself to stay calm.
He had planned to invoke the Shi Family's name to intimidate them, but they hadn't given him the chance. They'd gone straight for him with their blades, and he was soon badly wounded.
"Attack!"
Seeing that the Shi Family's people were about to be slaughtered, Fang Yuan and the others emerged from the woods and surrounded the bandits.
"Who are you?"
A flicker of surprise crossed the Scarface Bandit's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
They were usually the ones lying in wait to rob others. Now someone had turned the tables and ambushed them?
Judging by their clothes, these people didn't look like fellow bandits.
"I'm your father."
Fang Man had always been bold. He trusted Fang Yuan's strength without reservation, so he wasn't afraid in the slightest.
"You little bastard! I'll chop you up and eat you with my wine!"
One of the Green Ridge Stronghold bandits recognized Fang Man and said in a low voice, "Seventh Chief, they're probably people from the Fang Family."
"Whoever they are, they're all going to die today."
The Scarface Bandit charged over with his broadsword, true qi surging through him as he rushed forward, intent on cleaving Fang Man in two.
Fang Yuan's expression remained calm. A long sword took shape in his hand, and he used Phantom Step to appear before the Scarface Bandit in the blink of an eye.
"What?!"
The Scarface Bandit's pupils widened. He clearly hadn't expected such a young expert to be among their opponents. He hurriedly raised his broadsword to block.
Clang, clang...
But his resistance only prolonged his final moments by a little.
The true-qi sword struck the broadsword with a clear ring, shaking the Scarface Bandit's hand until the skin at the base of his thumb split. He nearly lost his grip on the weapon.
Just as he thought the true-qi sword in Fang Yuan's right hand had shattered and dispersed, leaving him an opening to counterattack,
the sword in Fang Yuan's left hand shot straight through his heart, blood spraying out in a glaring burst.
He clutched at his chest, but the blood wouldn't stop. In the end, he fell with his eyes wide open...
Seventh Layer Houtian Realm. Dead!
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