Clearing out the Wolf Bandits

Xia Yan walked up to the third floor.

He arrived at an elegantly furnished room and sat on a chair carved from yellow rosewood, listening as Yue Yao recounted how the Sylvie Grasslands had been harassed by Wolf Bandits over the years.

The purple gauze curtains swayed gently in the breeze blowing into the room.

Shortly after, a staff member walked in carrying a thick stack of records before respectfully taking their leave.

Yue Yao spread out the map of the Sylvie Grasslands that had been delivered.

It was far more detailed than a standard map, showing the intricate network of rivers and tributaries, as well as the distribution of towns and villages.

Matching the records, she pointed a fair finger toward a river branch:

"This river is called the Twin River. About twenty Wolf Bandits roam here. There were originally over fifty, but after their pack split and fought internally, half were killed or wounded..."

"This is the upper reaches of the Twin River, where about a dozen Wolf Bandits roam..."

"This is the Ke'er Grassland, originally a place for herdsmen to graze their livestock, but later about twenty Wolf Bandits raided it..."

"This is..."

After listing nearly ten locations in succession, Yue Yao marked them one by one.

Finally, "These are all the small-scale Wolf Bandit packs currently in the Sylvie Grasslands."

Xia Yan asked curiously, "There are nearly ten small-scale ones, so how many medium and large-scale ones are there?"

Yue Yao revealed a refreshing smile:

"The last time a large-scale group appeared was a hundred years ago; the empire would send troops to suppress them. As for medium-scale groups, there aren't many—only five. However, they are located in remote areas and don't have much impact on us."

"Different Wolf Bandit packs often harbor grudges against one another, leading to infighting and self-depletion."

"Hunting Wolf Bandits is extremely dangerous. If the Seven Treasure Pavilion can assist you, Young Master, it would be our honor."

She handed the map to Xia Yan, her tone sincere.

Xia Yan stored the map and records into the space within the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.

A flash of certainty crossed Yue Yao's eyes; a storage Soul Tool was not something an ordinary soul master could possess, so Xia Yan's background must be extraordinary.

In the main hall, the dozen or so people were already in an uproar, arguing with flushed faces about Xia Yan's identity, his talent, and how he managed to hunt six Wolf Bandits.

Once they had respectfully seen Xia Yan off, the crowd watched his retreating figure disappear and immediately spread what had just happened in the hall like the wind.

When no one was around, Xia Yan flew toward the nearest location where Wolf Bandits were known to roam.

In the days that followed, his routine was simple: find a Wolf Bandit pack, hunt them, and collect his Gold Soul Coins.

His savings also began to skyrocket at a visible rate.

Previously, he had lived frugally on three Gold Soul Coins a month, and even fighting in the Soul Fighting Arena only netted him ten or twenty Gold Soul Coins.

But now, he could earn three thousand Gold Soul Coins in a single day.

The sea was only two hundred miles away from Songpeikeer City, and because of the proximity, seafood was naturally cheap, as was Whale Rubber.

Xia Yan purchased a large batch of Whale Rubber, spending five thousand Gold Soul Coins in one go.

As he settled his accounts at the Seven Treasure Pavilion each time, his legend grew even more bizarre. From being the core disciple of a hidden sect to a saint of the Martial Soul Hall, to the legendary heir of the Clear Sky Sect... almost every mysterious identity imaginable was projected onto him.

Since he had indeed never displayed his martial soul in public, this only solidified those people's assumptions.

Naturally, the safety of the Sylvie Grasslands improved as well.

Some caravans no longer needed to take detours, the threats were gone, and Yue Yao, representing the Seven Treasures Caravan, solemnly expressed her gratitude to Xia Yan.

Once the small-scale Wolf Bandit packs had been hunted clean, Xia Yan prepared to move to a new location. Setting out from Songpeikeer City toward the southeast, he traveled five thousand miles to reach the Sunset Forest. Continuing further and crossing the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he would arrive at the Mugaoza'er Province.

It also suffered from Wolf Bandit infestations.

Wolf Bandits basically only appeared on the edges of the continent; the Sylvie Grasslands were only two hundred miles from the sea, and the Mugaoza'er Province was also coastal.

Amidst the cloud-shrouded mountains, where peaks stood lush and green, countless pavilions and towers were scattered in an orderly fashion.

Looking toward the mountainside, a hundred-meter-tall seven-story glazed pagoda was carved into the landscape, with white jade stairs a thousand meters long extending all the way to the foot of the mountain.

Along the corridors and small paths, one could vaguely see men and women coming and going sparsely.

Beside the main hall, which featured a seven-story glazed pagoda structure, stood a low-key side hall.

Yet this side hall was the true core of the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, where Sect Master Ning Fengzhi would handle sect affairs.

Inside the side hall, On a carved purple-wood chair, a man wore a white robe trimmed with gold, the cuffs embroidered with a glazed pagoda pattern. His face was as handsome as polished jade, his nose straight and jaw square, possessing a scholarly and elegant temperament.

Ning Fengzhi scrutinized the portrait of Xia Yan in his hand.

He did not know who had drawn it, But it was incredibly vivid, perfectly capturing the characteristics of his physique and appearance.

In Ning Fengzhi's other hand was a report recording more detailed deeds of Xia Yan.

Xia Yan hunting Wolf Bandits in the Sylvie Grasslands was no small matter; perhaps other factions were temporarily unaware due to poor intelligence, But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, renowned for cherishing talent and possessing a vast information network, could not possibly be ignorant.

"Uncle Jian, Uncle Gu, what do you think his intentions are?"

If Xia Yan wanted to earn money, given the talent he had displayed, it would be far too easy. As long as he was willing to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi could gift him a million Gold Soul Coins directly, Because he was worth it.

Yet he chose to hunt Wolf Bandits instead. Although it was unknown what method Xia Yan used to deal with them, no one would dispute that Wolf Bandits were bloodthirsty and extremely dangerous.

If one were to say he did it for fame, that was not the case either.

Xia Yan was extremely low-key. Apart from his recorded visits to the Seven Treasure Pavilion, he had left no other traces; outsiders could not find him even if they tried, Or perhaps...

"Is he doing this for the peace of the continent?"

To the right of Ning Fengzhi, Sat a man with a sharp temperament and shoulder-length gray-white hair. His face was as cold and stern as a blade, with a sword-shaped mark between his brows.

After a moment of contemplation, he said:

"Perhaps that is it..."

Approval flickered in his eyes. As a sword cultivator, one must naturally hone a sharp sword intent, and a selfish, filthy person wallowing in pleasure could never hone such intent.

Therefore, He could only describe Xia Yan's actions as admirable.

There were not many young people nowadays with such talent and character.

Chen Xin did not force everyone to have a heart for the sword, but he would always praise those who did.

Opposite Chen Xin, the gloomy-tempered Bone Douluo, Gu Rong, wrapped in a black robe with dark gold bone patterns embroidered on the hem, said:

"I agree with the view of the Songpeikeer City branch. This kid must be from some hidden sect; otherwise, it makes no sense for a peerless genius to appear out of thin air."

"Clearing out small groups of Wolf Bandits at only level twenty-something? I suspect he must have quite a few treasures on him..."

Ning Fengzhi studied Xia Yan's portrait and shook his head:

"I have already ordered a search for information; perhaps we will be able to find something."

In the days that followed, Xia Yan did the same thing over and over: cultivation, tracking small groups of Wolf Bandits, hunting, cashing in, cultivation...

Wherever his hand reached, the local small groups of Wolf Bandits were plunged into wailing.

His purse also swelled rapidly, Surpassing one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins in the blink of an eye.

Three months later, by which time half a year had passed since Xia Yan left Notting Academy, Tang San finally reached level twenty, It was time to obtain his second Soul Ring.