Bandits, Fierce Battle

As the caravan continued to advance, the mountain road became increasingly winding and rugged.

The forests on both sides grew steeper as well.

Nightfall gradually descended, yet the carriages did not stop; instead, their speed accelerated quite a bit.

"We are traveling through the night today, everyone keep your spirits up!"

Hong Lei's shout came from the front, causing everyone's hearts to tighten.

They had all mastered the basics of the Five Animals Fist, and the circulation of qi and blood within their bodies allowed them to dispel the chill and fatigue.

Even traveling through the night was not much of a problem.

It was just that the thought of potentially encountering mountain bandits and having to fight for their lives inevitably stirred up a sense of fear and panic within them.

Although they had grown accustomed to life and death in this current world, that did not mean they did not want to live well.

However, a few were quite excited, as if hoping for bandits to appear so they could show off their skills and win the favor of Master Song or their mysterious employer.

"When walking the path of the jianghu, how can one be greedy for life and afraid of death? If any of you are afraid, just hide behind me when the thieves actually show up!"

Chen Yong waved the butcher knife in his hand, his eyes filled with determination.

"He certainly knows how to talk!"

Chen Pi jumped off the carriage, quickly caught up to Lu Yuan, and handed him a torch before glancing at Chen Yong with a speechless expression.

"If we really run into thieves, I'm afraid we'll have no choice but to fight for our lives!"

Lu Yuan said with a noncommittal smile.

As the saying goes, when two parties meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins. Facing vicious and merciless thieves, fear is useless; only by fighting to the death can one survive.

However, he was not particularly worried.

Generally speaking, ordinary mountain bandits were mostly tenant farmers who had been forced into banditry because they could no longer survive.

Even with sharp weapons in hand, they posed no threat to martial artists like them who had achieved some level of cultivation.

Even if they were unlucky and the leaders were also martial artists, they would likely be at the Ming Jin or at most the An Jin level.

With his current cultivation and strength, he had the confidence to protect himself.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if they truly encountered a Hua Jin bandit leader, there was still Master Song to hold the line.

Master Song had walked the jianghu for many years, and his strength was surely far greater than that of an average Hua Jin expert. Unless a great disaster struck and they encountered a ranked super-bandit, they would simply have to accept their bad luck.

But that was clearly impossible; not to mention whether any ranked martial artist would be willing to turn to banditry, even if one did, it was unlikely they would come to such a desolate, backwater place.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

Not long after the caravan continued forward, a sharp whistle suddenly rang out from the dense forest on the mountain.

Immediately following, torchlight flared.

Dozens of figures, accompanied by fierce howls, lunged directly toward the caravan.

"It's mountain bandits!"

Someone could not help but scream.

After a brief silence, the entire caravan erupted into chaos.

The escorts' faces drained of color; although they drew long staves and short blades from the carriages, they still looked panicked and scrambled to hide behind the cargo.

Even Wu Yu, Chen Pi, and Gu Ming, the Song Academy disciples who were already true martial artists, could not help but turn pale.

After all, they were only seventeen or eighteen-year-old youths, and this was their first time escorting goods through the jianghu; they had never truly fought or killed anyone before, so how could they not be afraid?

Moreover, these bandits closing in, though ragged in appearance, all had fierce glares and ruthless expressions, charging as if they did not fear death, suppressing them with their momentum alone.

In particular, the leader, who wielded a pair of battle axes, was not only extremely burly but also moved with great speed, radiating a thick, murderous aura.

An Jin, or Hua Jin?

Lu Yuan's gaze narrowed, and he tightened his grip on his long blade.

"Don't panic, surround the carriages, back to back!"

At this moment, Master Song's deep voice suddenly rang out, immediately putting everyone at ease.

With a top-tier Hua Jin expert like Master Song, they had no reason to fear a mere few dozen bandits.

The dozens of bandits reached the front of the caravan and suddenly stopped, and the burly leader began to negotiate directly with Master Song.

"I am a martial artist. Trade your blade with me, and I will protect you!"

Chen Yong glanced at the escort beside him, then reached out and grabbed the long blade from the man's hand, tossing his own butcher knife to him in exchange.

The escort could only nod helplessly, then gripped the butcher knife tightly with both hands and hid behind Chen Yong.

"Chen Yong, can you really protect him?"

Chen Pi frowned slightly and turned to ask Chen Yong.

"If I can trigger a blade aura, these bandits will be nothing more than chickens and dogs!"

Chen Yong said, his eyes filled with hope.

"So, have you mastered the entry level of the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique?"

Chen Pi asked again.

"Almost!"

Chen Yong snorted coldly and retorted directly, "Though I cannot compare to Wang Liang, nor to Brother Hong Lei or Brother Fang Chang, I am still a step ahead of you lot."

"Win against Lu Yuan first before you talk!"

Chen Pi shot back, causing Chen Yong's face to flush with heat as he cast a sharp, piercing glare at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan didn't take it to heart, continuing to lift his gaze toward Master Song and the others ahead.

"Do it, kill them all!"

Before long, a sudden cold shout rang out.

The next moment, the burly man was seen swinging his axe violently toward Master Song.

Master Song naturally did not sit still and wait for death, swinging his blade to meet the attack head-on.

"Kill! Kill! Kill..."

The bandits in the rear also brandished their blades, spears, and clubs, charging toward Hong Lei, Fang Chang, and the group including Wu Yu, Chen Pi, and Lu Yuan; it was clear they did not intend to spare a single soul.

"The negotiations collapsed!"

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, then lifted his eyes to look at the bandits charging toward him.

"Everyone, don't scatter! Try to look out for one another!"

Wu Yu, Gu Ming, Chen Pi, and the others all fixed their gazes on the incoming bandits. Although their faces had turned paler and the blades in their hands were trembling slightly, they did not retreat even half a step.

They could even feel the blood boiling within their bodies, their muscles contracting sharply, and their heart rates accelerating significantly.

"Charge!"

Someone shouted, and the dozen or so young martial disciples charged in unison toward the bandits.

With hot blood rushing to their heads, the courage of youth erupted completely.

The moment they closed in, Lu Yuan raised his blade and slashed down.

Wind-Breaking Blade Technique, Wind-Slaying!

"Puchi!"

The blade light swept past, drawing a spray of blood.

Lu Yuan's blade was not only fast and accurate but also ruthless; he killed one man with every strike, each blow fatal!

In just a few short breaths, three bandits had already fallen under his blade.

"So powerful... is this the might of the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique?"

Seeing this scene, the people around him were greatly encouraged.

They felt that since Lu Yuan, who like them had only recently mastered the entry level of the Five Animals Fist and had not yet mastered the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique, could possess such power, then they naturally could as well.

For a moment, everyone felt as if they had been injected with adrenaline, becoming even more valiant.

Fortunately, although these bandits were all vicious, they were ultimately not even martial artists.

Let alone techniques, they couldn't even trigger a burst of blood energy, so how could they withstand the chaotic blades of Wu Yu and the others?

In particular, Wang Liang, who had already mastered the entry level of the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique, easily slaughtered two bandits in succession.

Before long, a patch of bandits lay dead on the ground.

"Shu!"

Suddenly, a piercing sound of something breaking through the air rang out.

Lu Yuan's pupils constricted, and he instinctively raised his blade to block horizontally.

"Clang!"