Fear

The bandits who had chased after their leader to help surround and kill Dongbo Xueying were all stunned. Their leader was dead just like that?

They had only exchanged a few blows. He had died far too quickly.

Pfft! Dongbo Xueying yanked out his spear and turned his gaze toward the blood-soaked bandits.

"Run!"

"Run!"

All the bandits were terrified. Not one of them was an Heaven-Rank Knight. Even their leader, Gai Bin, could slaughter them all by himself, let alone this young lord, who was even stronger than Gai Bin.

"Scum, you think you can run?" Dongbo Xueying charged at the bandits in an instant. Snowflakes drifted, blood sprayed. Just as the bandits had wantonly slaughtered ordinary civilians, they were now just as helpless before Dongbo Xueying... The three remaining Earth-Rank Knights were killed within a couple of breaths, and wave after wave of bandits were sent flying before crumpling to the ground.

"Run! Run!" The bandits had completely broken. The gap between them was too great. That spear was immensely powerful; even a glancing blow would cost them their lives. Not one bandit could withstand a single move from Dongbo Xueying!

"Die."

"Die."

Dongbo Xueying showed no mercy to these ruthless Curved Blade Alliance bandits. As he killed them, they fled in terror in every direction. Dongbo Xueying knew... he was only one man, after all. He couldn't kill every bandit once they scattered. To wipe out the scourge plaguing Yi Water City, he focused first on those who were stronger.

He made sure to eliminate every knight-level bandit, too.

In just a moment, the bandits had scattered in every direction, leaving more than two hundred corpses on the ground. The Curved Blade Alliance's leader, its Heaven-Rank experts, its Earth-Rank experts—every true pillar of the gang had been wiped out.

The Curved Blade Alliance had been destroyed!

As for the small fry, even the guards of some mountain villages could probably hold them off.

"Spare us! Spare us!" Five bandits were trapped in a corner by Zong Ling, pressed against the cliff wall. None of them dared move, because everyone who had moved was dead.

"Xue Ying!" Zong Ling laughed. "That was satisfying! The Curved Blade Alliance, that great scourge, has been wiped out just like that! I searched Gai Bin and the other experts' bodies and found quite a few treasures. Gai Bin even had a storage treasure on him."

Dongbo Xueying was a little surprised. He actually had a storage treasure?

"This bandit really was loaded," Dongbo Xueying said as he walked over.

"Here." Zong Ling handed him a bundle. It was full of banknotes issued by the Empire Bank. The bandits lived from day to day, so they clearly kept their treasures on them. There was also a ring inside.

The moment Dongbo Xueying took the ring, he sensed it. Battle Qi flowed along his finger and seeped inside, washing through the entire interior. At once, the ring formed a spiritual connection with him! Knights and mages could refine storage treasures with Battle Qi or magic power. Ordinary people, however, needed a mage to help refine them with blood.

"Good heavens." After refining it, Dongbo Xueying was startled. The ring held all kinds of odds and ends, mostly banknotes, gold coins, weapons, and other miscellaneous items. But the storage space was only about two feet across, much smaller than the Storage Pendant his mother had left him.

"So many banknotes." Dongbo Xueying could clearly sense every item in the storage space.

The banknotes were worth a total of eighty-five thousand gold coins! With the other odds and ends, the haul came to about ninety thousand gold coins.

The possessions of the other Heaven-Rank mages, knights, and bandits added up to more than twenty thousand gold coins.

"Bandits sure do get rich," Dongbo Xueying thought to himself.

"You five."

Dongbo Xueying looked at the five terrified bandits. "Lead the way to your lair. If you take us there, I'll spare your lives. If you lead us astray... you'll all die!"

"Yes, yes!"

"Rest assured, my lord. We'll lead you there." The five bandits immediately agreed.

The bandits nervously led the way.

Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling followed behind them.

"Uncle Zong, here." Dongbo Xueying handed the storage ring to Uncle Zong.

"How can I accept this? You were the one who wiped out the Curved Blade Alliance. These should all belong to you." Zong Ling immediately refused.

"Haha, Mother gave me the Storage Pendant long ago. I don't need this," Dongbo Xueying said.

"But you could save it for Qing Shi. Qing Shi is going to become a mage, and a mage needs a storage treasure." Zong Ling shook his head.

Dongbo Xueying shook his head gently. "That's still a long way off. Qing Shi will need at least a few years of studying under his teacher before he becomes a true mage! When the time comes, I'll give him something better. Uncle Zong, don't forget how much we've gained this time."

Zong Ling paused, then smiled.

That was true. The Shadow Leopard and the Silver Moon Wolf King alone were worth more than a hundred thousand gold coins. On top of that, wiping out the Curved Blade Alliance had netted them more than a hundred thousand gold coins. They had indeed made a fortune.

"All right." Zong Ling said no more. He took the storage ring and easily refined it.

"Hm?" Zong Ling was surprised to find a large number of banknotes and gold coins inside. The banknotes alone were worth fifty thousand gold coins.

"The Snow Eagle Territory has all kinds of expenses. Uncle Zong, take these fifty thousand gold coins and use them for now. We'll see what to do when they run out," Dongbo Xueying said quietly. "Once we get back, I'll also find a way to sell the Silver Moon Wolf King's pelt and the Shadow Leopard's corpse."

The Shadow Leopard's corpse was stored in the storage space. With no air inside, it was a complete vacuum, which was extremely good for preserving items.

"Mm." Zong Ling considered it and nodded slightly. Xue Ying's strength would continue to grow, and the Snow Eagle Territory's expenses would naturally rise as well.

They had not gone much farther when...

"My lord, we're almost there." The five bandits were exceedingly respectful and obedient. One of the thin bandits hurriedly added, "Our lair is inside the mountain. An ordinary person could stand right in front of it without noticing anything. The entrance to the mountain is extremely well hidden."

"Lead the way."

Dongbo Xueying held his spear, on guard at all times.

The five bandits advanced with practiced ease, but Dongbo Xueying sensed a faint, terrible threat.

It was as if some terrifying presence lay in wait inside the mountain ahead.

Ever since reaching the Spear Technique Master realm, he had developed an uncanny attunement to the natural world. For instance, he could often sense demonic beasts in advance, and even detect bandits lying in ambush.

"What's going on? I can't sense any aura, but I can't suppress this fear." Dongbo Xueying felt a chill of dread. He abruptly stopped and raised a hand to hold Uncle Zong back.

He stared at the mountain before them. Moss grew across its rocky slopes.

"Xue Ying, what's wrong?" Zong Ling asked, puzzled.

"Something's not right. I have a bad feeling," Dongbo Xueying said quietly. "Let's go. Quickly."

Zong Ling's expression changed, but he did not hesitate.

Whoosh, whoosh.

The two immediately turned and hurried away.

"My lord, the passage into the mountain is hidden. It's behind these rocks. My lord... huh? Where are they?" When the five bandits turned around, they found that Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling, who had been following them, had vanished.

"They left? The young lord of Snow Eagle Territory left?"

"Brothers, the Curved Blade Alliance is finished. Let's grab some treasures and run for our lives!"

The bandits were slippery sorts, too. They quickly slipped into their lair.

Whoosh...

A gigantic face appeared on the mountainside that had stood there through endless ages. Its eyebrows, eyes, and mouth were formed from rock, and it exuded an air of lofty superiority. Its eyes gazed from afar at Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling, now several miles away.

A look of confusion appeared on the enormous face. "Hm? He can actually sense my presence? Such a powerful boy... There may be a human expert backing him."

"I'll have to find another place to watch the humans."

The enormous face on the mountainside soon disappeared, and the rock face returned to normal.

Boom.

Deep underground, a colossal creature quietly left the area and moved elsewhere.

At the camp outside the Destruction Mountain Range.

Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling ran out of the Destruction Mountain Range as fast as they could and reached the camp.

"We're finally out." Dongbo Xueying looked back and still felt a lingering chill of fear.