One Man Destroys a Village

Black Wind Stronghold was located on Little Tiger Mountain, about forty li east of Chen Family Fort.

Little Tiger Mountain was not tall, only a little over two hundred meters high. Its slopes were lush with grass and trees, and the scenery was beautiful.

Black Wind Stronghold's main hall stood on a platform at the mountaintop, while a small stream flowed straight from the summit down to the foot of the mountain.

Lu Yun looked up and could roughly make out the outline of the entire stronghold.

Small groups of bandits guarded several passes, all of them looking lax and listless.

After tying up his horse, he hoisted his long spear onto his shoulder and strode toward the summit of Little Tiger Mountain.

Following the winding path and passing through layers of dense forest, he continued onward.

Before long, he arrived at a fork at the foot of the mountain.

At that moment, the three bandits guarding the mountain spotted Lu Yun as well.

"Where did this bumpkin come from? Do you know what place this is?"

A crooked-mouthed bandit looked at Lu Yun's hostile bearing with utter disdain.

"Die."

Lu Yun could not be bothered with nonsense. He thrust out his spear.

Whoosh...

A flash of cold light streaked past, and the fierce spear shadow instantly pierced through the necks of all three bandits.

"Urgh..."

The three clutched their throats with both hands and fell backward in terror.

"Not good! A formidable enemy is attacking!"

The bandits halfway up the mountain noticed something was wrong as well and began sounding the alarm.

The piercing shriek rang throughout Little Tiger Mountain. Upon receiving the news, bandit after bandit rushed out and charged toward the foot of the mountain.

This group carried all manner of sabers, spears, swords, and halberds, along with several archers.

However, they were all ordinary people and had not entered the Qi-Nurturing Realm.

"Kill."

Violence filled Lu Yun's eyes. He swept his long spear sideways and charged swiftly toward the mountaintop.

With max-level Basic Footwork bolstering him, he moved as fast as a ghost.

Swish, swish, swish...

As his long spear danced madly through the air, bandit after bandit was easily slain. Great quantities of blood gushed out, dyeing the entire stream red.

"Quick, loose the arrows! He's a powerful martial artist, just like the stronghold chief!"

Several minor leaders watched their men fall like wheat beneath a scythe, and all of them were terrified.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

More than twenty bandits drew their bows and loosed their arrows, instantly forming a seamless rain of arrows that fell toward Lu Yun's head.

"Hmph... a mantis arm trying to stop a cart."

With a flicker of his body, Lu Yun easily dodged row after row of arrows.

He moved through the arrow rain like a phantom.

At the same time, the long spear in his hand continued harvesting lives without pause.

"Ahhh!"

The screams of bandit after bandit echoed through the forest. Before long, no one on the field remained standing.

Corpses lay scattered all around, surrounding Lu Yun.

Lu Yun wiped the blood from his spear as though he had merely crushed a swarm of ants.

These bandits committed every kind of evil—bullying men and women, murdering and plundering. Killing them left him without the slightest sense of guilt.

Then, carrying his long spear, he continued toward the mountaintop.

Black Wind Stronghold still had two chiefs left. Today, they would die.

At the mountaintop, in the Hall of Brotherhood.

Zhang Shanxiong sat imposingly in the tiger-skin chair at the head of the hall, his face filled with rage. A young bandit knelt below him.

"What? You're saying someone has fought his way onto Little Tiger Mountain? Alone?"

Zhang Shanxiong thought he had misheard and even dug at his ears.

"Ch-Chief... it's true..."

"That person is definitely a martial artist..."

The young bandit stammered, his body shaking like a sieve.

He had personally witnessed that man make his move atop the mountain just now. Like a demon, he had effortlessly slaughtered all their brothers.

"Go notify the Second Chief. I want to see who has the guts to do this!"

Murderous intent blazed in Zhang Shanxiong's eyes.

Though he was quite confident in his late-stage Qi Nurturing strength, Zhang Shanxiong had always been meticulous. He still sent someone to notify the Second Chief.

With two late-stage Qi Nurturing martial artists joining forces, could their opponent possibly turn the heavens upside down?

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Lu Yun had already fought his way to the open ground at the mountaintop.

At that moment, more than thirty bandits were already waiting in tight formation, glaring at him like tigers eyeing their prey.

The two leaders were tall and burly, long sabers in hand, baleful aura swirling around them.

"Only thirty-odd left?"

Lu Yun casually swept his gaze over them.

He had killed more than a hundred people on the way up. The rest were probably all gathered here.

Little Tiger Mountain was not large, nor could it support too many bandits.

The two leaders were no more than the same sort as Zhang Qinglong. They posed no threat to him whatsoever.

"May I ask your name, sir? Little Tiger Mountain has no grievance with you, does it?"

Zhang Shanxiong spoke in a low voice, his eyes locked firmly onto Lu Yun.

He sensed a powerful threat from the other man.

This man was actually a Qi Nurturing martial artist at consummation! None of the villages within dozens of miles had ever heard of such a formidable figure.

As far as he remembered, Little Tiger Mountain had never offended this man.

That left him deeply puzzled. Even though more than a hundred of his brothers had died, he still did not want to fight the other party.

The Second Chief, Zhang Shanhu, wore an equally grave expression.

The two chiefs exchanged a glance, and each saw the difficulty of the situation in the other's eyes.

"Was Chen Qing'er of Chen Family Fort taken by you?"

Lu Yun suppressed his killing intent, his voice cold enough to pierce bone.

His sharp gaze swept across the crowd, carrying an overwhelming pressure.

Wherever his eyes passed, the bandits did not dare meet his gaze.

Zhang Shanxiong's expression sharpened at his words.

"We never captured any Chen Qing'er."

"However, I've heard that the Canal Gang in the city often goes out and snatches people. As for their purpose, that isn't something people like us would know..."

He felt rather wronged as well.

This was clearly an undeserved calamity. He had never done such a thing.

The Second Chief, Zhang Shanhu, also spoke up. "Let today's matter be a misunderstanding. From now on, we'll keep to our own waters and not trouble each other. How about it?"

In the eyes of the two chiefs, dead men could simply be replaced with new recruits.

There was no way they would risk their lives fighting someone this formidable.

There was nothing to gain even if they won. If they lost, they died.

"How about no."

Lu Yun gave a cold laugh, baleful aura spreading from his body.

These people were doomed to die today.

"Must you insist on making things difficult for us?"

Zhang Shanxiong and the other man forcibly restrained their fury, their knuckles turning white around their saber hilts.

"Aren't you afraid the fish will die and the net will break?"

Lu Yun leveled his spear. "The fish will die, but the net won't break."

"I don't need a reason to kill you!"

Having obtained the information he wanted, he could not be bothered with any more nonsense and immediately prepared to make his move.

"Arrogant!"

Zhang Shanxiong and the other man erupted in fury, murderous intent surging in their eyes.

They were Qi Nurturing martial artists, after all. When had they ever been slighted like this?

The two of them abandoned all illusions and raised their sabers as they charged at Lu Yun.

More than thirty ordinary mountain bandits followed close behind.

The group brandished weapons, murderous intent boiling as they surrounded Lu Yun on all sides.

"Kill."

A fierce battle erupted in an instant.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Lu Yun swept his long spear sideways, like a ferocious tiger charging into a flock of sheep. The spear in his hands became a steel whip; any bandit it touched died at once.

"Argh! Argh! Argh..."

Piercing screams echoed across the mountaintop, made all the more chilling beneath the canopy of shade.

His body moved like a roaming dragon, weaving through the bandits.

Every time he struck, another bandit fell.

"This man has completed Qi Nurturing—his martial skills and footwork have both reached completion!"

Zhang Shanxiong and his companion stared at Lu Yun in utter shock.

They had never imagined that such a tiny place could produce a genius like this.

Reaching completion in a cultivation technique required at least seven or eight years, yet the other party was only around twenty.

Even if he had started cultivating in his mother's womb, this was still too outrageous, wasn't it?

The two of them had cultivated for nearly forty years, yet neither had managed to bring a cultivation technique to completion.

The gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth.

Before long.

The ordinary mountain bandits had all been slaughtered, leaving only Zhang Shanxiong and the other man on the field.

"My lord, spare us... There are still some origin stones and medicinal herbs in our stronghold..."

The two immediately dropped to their knees, none of their earlier arrogance remaining.

They both understood that when facing such a genius, begging for mercy was their only sliver of hope.

Fighting would only make them die faster.

They could only hope that, for the sake of money and valuables, he would spare their lives.

"If I kill you, the things will still be mine."

Lu Yun gave a chilling smile, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.

As soon as he finished speaking.

Whoosh...

A fierce spear light instantly pierced through the heads of Zhang Shanxiong and the other man, leaving only two bowl-sized holes in the tops of their skulls.

The last trace of light gradually vanished from their despairing eyes.

With a single strike, Lu Yun had instantly slain two late-stage Qi Nurturing martial artists.

This was the absolute crushing power brought by martial skills at completion.

Even a low-grade martial skill possessed considerable power once it reached completion.

If it were fused into a mid-grade—or even top-grade—martial skill in the future, its power would likely be even more astounding.