[Uproot the Grass and Eradicate the Roots, Leave None Alive!]

Instructor Duan quickly dispelled that worry.

According to Instructor Duan, when Taixi City had first been built,

Mystic Cultivator Talisman Masters had carved Mystic Pattern Talisman Charms passed down from their ancestors into the foundation stones beneath the walls, all so that evil spirits would stop outside the walls and Demonic Entities would not enter the city.

This was the mystic method employed before most cities were built, truly divine and extraordinary.

Even now, Mystic Cultivator Talisman Masters from the prefectural city came every few years to carry out repairs.

Though there were occasional oversights and they could not prevent evil spirits from arising locally, no major mishaps had occurred in the end.

Shen Xiu thought about it. If the sky fell, there would be taller people to hold it up. If these two Night Watchers could not handle it, there was still the Suspended Sword Division in the prefectural city. Why the hell should he worry about it?

So he stopped caring about such matters and continued training in the Lishui River.

As time passed, tempered continuously by the river water, Shen Xiu's cultivation rose another level, entering the Peak Second Realm.

His aura was full, and force energy coiled around him.

During this time, the Night Watchers of the Suspended Sword Division went out once more, intending to eliminate that White Bone Demon.

But the White Bone Demon seemed to have vanished without a trace. No matter how those two Night Watchers searched, they could not find it. It seemed to have moved elsewhere.

Thus, the Night Watchers of the Suspended Sword Division announced that the White Bone Demon had left Taixi City's territory.

For Taixi City, this was both bad news and good news.

As the news spread, people once again came and went within and beyond Taixi City. The dark clouds hanging over everyone's heads finally dispersed bit by bit. Since the Night Watchers also claimed they would remain for a while, people's lingering worries vanished as well.

In the Lishui River, Shen Xiu continued practicing his fists. The strange undercurrents made his progress especially apparent.

The proficiency of his Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art, after entering the Fifth Realm, increased by another ten-odd percent.

Thus, residents strolling along the Lishui River would see the sight of him kneading whirlpools into existence with his bare hands.

As long as he gathered his force energy in his arms and fists, he could draw forth a powerful aura. When he threw his punches in a particular pattern, ring after ring of whirlpools would erupt.

Shen Xiu stood in the water, more than half his body submerged. After practicing his fists for a while, his movements gradually slowed, and the waves on the surface weakened with them, seeming somewhat gentler.

Only Shen Xiu himself knew that the force energy within him was actually tangled together with his sinews and channels. If one listened closely, there was even a faint creaking twang like a drawn bowstring, brimming with strength.

His power appeared weaker, but the undercurrents beneath the surface grew even more turbulent.

At that moment, his circling palm suddenly clenched into a fist and shot forward with ferocious speed.

A muffled thunderclap rang out. A massive air pocket abruptly appeared beneath the clear water, then transformed into surging force that blasted outward.

The water surface exploded with a bang, like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Water splashed several meters high, droplets bursting everywhere with astonishing momentum.

Shen Xiu looked at his fist and knew that he had climbed another step atop a hundred-foot pole.

After that, Shen Xiu continued diligently training in the Lishui River, further raising his proficiency and strengthening his cultivation.

Sometimes, his fists would blast several large fish unconscious. He would toss them onto the riverbank, build a fire on the spot, set up a wooden rack, and roast them.

At other times, he would blast river crabs, squid, and the like into the air, giving himself a new flavor to try.

Until one day, while Shen Xiu continued training in the water, Jian Shuhao came running excitedly from the martial arts school to tell him there was news of the Crimson Fire Bandits.

Shen Xiu had asked him to keep an eye out for them beforehand.

"Young Brother Shen, I heard from people returning from the city gate that someone saw the Third Boss of the Crimson Fire Bandits leading a group toward Guiyan Town. They say they're going to make a move against the Li Family Manor in Guiyan Town..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xiu, still in the water, sprang out of the river with a whoosh. He put on his shoes and ran toward the martial arts school.

After changing clothes and picking up his Hundred-Refined Saber, he was immediately brimming with murderous intent as he shot out through the city gates like wind and lightning.

Li Family Manor...

It sounded somewhat familiar to him, but that did not matter. What mattered were the Crimson Fire Bandits and that so-called Third Boss. Those words stirred his mind.

Wang Bao, the Third Boss of Crimson Fire Stronghold, was on the wanted posters in the city. He was the scar-faced man Shen Xiu had encountered outside Yang Family Town last time, the one who had given him a slash.

His head was worth fifty taels.

Shen Xiu had remembered that all along.

Last time, Wang Bao, the Third Boss, had wanted to casually hack him to death. What a coincidence—now Shen Xiu wanted the same.

Shen Xiu ran at breakneck speed. The increase in his vitality and blood, along with the improvement in his cultivation, had brought his speed and endurance to inhuman heights.

As he darted forward, a cloud of dust rose behind him, leaving the people traveling through Taixi City stunned.

Outside the Li Family Manor in Guiyan Town, a mounted party of six stood in the sunlight, so dazzling it was hard to look at them directly.

The Horse-Slaying Sabers on their saddles, the distinctive red headscarves on their bodies and heads, and the unmistakable scar-faced man at their head—the marks of the Crimson Fire Bandits could not have been clearer.

At the entrance of the Li Family Manor, Guiyan Town's Town Guard, along with Li Yongnian and several others, stood before them with angry expressions.

"Are you truly determined to leave none alive?"

Li Yongnian's face was dark as he stared at the corpses of two skilled First Realm martial cultivators lying within the manor grounds. His fists clenched in his sleeves as he suppressed the fury in his voice.

"Leave none alive? Wasn't I acting in self-defense? How does that count as leaving none alive? I only wanted to borrow a little silver to spend. Who knew Manor Master Li would be so stingy and insist on making a move?"

Rage welled in Li Yongnian's heart. To make robbery sound so grand and righteous—only the Crimson Fire Bandits could do such a thing.

Just as he was considering how to respond, another rolling cloud of dust swept over from the official road in the distance.

When it drew near, it proved to be an eight-foot-tall man galloping over on a fine black horse, dragging a person along the ground behind him.

The instant Li Yongnian saw the figure on the ground, he froze. Then his eyes nearly split with fury, and he rushed forward—only for a Horse-Slaying Saber to block his way.

"I say, Manor Master Li, you waited until I arrived before sending your son for reinforcements. Isn't that a little late?"

Wang Bao chuckled. The deep scar on his face twisted with his smile like a writhing centipede, making him particularly chilling to behold.

Seeing the situation, Guiyan Town's Town Guard hesitated before stepping forward and cupping his hands toward the scar-faced man.

"Third Boss, my Wind Thunder Martial Arts School accepted the duty of guarding Guiyan Town. We have always kept to our own waters and never crossed paths with Crimson Fire Stronghold. Could you give me a little face?"

Wang Bao glanced at him upon hearing this, then sneered. "Who are you? And you want face? What face does your Wind Thunder Martial Arts School have? Even if your school master came, it would be the same!"

Guiyan Town's Town Guard flushed with anger.

But after weighing the Third Boss's strength and the group behind him, he decided he had no chance of victory at all. With an embarrassed expression, he retreated to the side.

"How much do you want?"

Seeing the Town Guard shrink back and not dare step forward, Li Yongnian's eyes filled with disappointment. His already dark face darkened further as he ground his teeth and spoke.

"I see the Li Family Manor is doing quite well in business. I'll borrow two thousand taels of silver, then!"

Wang Bao smiled as he casually named the sum. The number immediately weighed down on Li Yongnian like a mountain of a thousand tons.

"Fine, I'll give it to you... Here are one thousand taels. If the rest isn't enough, go into the manor and carry it out yourselves..."

He looked deeply at the Town Guard beside him. The man's incompetence had disappointed him beyond measure.

With a heart gone cold, Li Yongnian had the steward bring out a stack of silver notes from the manor and hand them to one of the Crimson Fire Bandits. Then he tremblingly walked toward his son, whose life or death was unknown.

As he walked, his figure beneath the sunlight suddenly seemed much smaller...

Thank goodness, thank goodness...

As long as my son is alive, it's all right...

He turned his son's body over and sensed that faint threadlike breath. The huge stone pressing on his chest finally fell away.

Wang Bao looked at the two people on the ground, a scornful smile hanging from his lips.

"Do you know? I've never agreed with Second Brother's way of thinking. He says that even when you drive someone into a corner, you should leave them a path to live, lest they resist and turn it into a dead end for you as well..."

"That sounds reasonable, but I don't like it..."

"What I like is..."

"Uproot the grass and eradicate the roots! Leave none alive!"

Wang Bao grinned savagely, raising a blade light that devoured men.