Death to Those Who Disrespect My Master

Zhang Yu knocked Xu Yang back with a single punch, then turned and left without further entangling himself with him.

It was already rather abrupt to suddenly take someone as a disciple. But having finally discovered a genius of the sword, he did not want to let him slip away.

He had also left behind a hook. If Xu Yang went to Boundless City to find him, then the two of them were fated to be master and disciple, and Zhang Yu would help him awaken the Frostbound Myriad-Sword Physique.

Xu Yang's cultivation aptitude was excellent, and his comprehension was outstanding. He was fully at the level of a lesser prodigy. If he could awaken the Frostbound Myriad-Sword Physique, he would become a true prodigy standing at the pinnacle of the Western Desolate Continent.

After Zhang Yu returned to the Chu Family's courtyard residence, he did not linger. He directly told Chu Qingwen and Niu Mancang to pack their things and return to Boundless City.

Last night, a carrier pigeon had delivered a letter from the Chu Family branch store in Boundless City. The letter said that Li Yue, Wen Hua, and the others were all well. The Tiger Gang's territory had already been completely divided up, and the other gangs had not caused them trouble. However, the Sima Family had sent a collateral descendant, Sima Rui, to Boundless City.

Naturally, Zhang Yu knew that Li Yue, Wen Hua, and the others had not encountered any danger, because the proficiency of his Clear Wind Stance increased on time every day.

The Clear Wind Stance proficiency Wen Hua added for him each day remained at 12 points.

Li Yue's contribution had risen from 3 points to 5. In a month's time, it had increased by another 2 points. The effect of the Thousand-Hammer Tempering fate far exceeded Zhang Yu's expectations.

[Clear Wind Stance, Mastery (12/1000)]

[Iron Shirt, Mastery (823/1000)]

[Master-Disciple Points: 168]

Zhang Yu's gaze lingered on the master-disciple points for a moment, but in the end, he did not use them. Iron Shirt and Clear Wind Stance were both increasing quickly now.

At the current pace of Clear Wind Stance, it would reach perfection in another two months. For others, a perfected Clear Wind Stance gave only a ten to twenty percent chance of breaking through the barrier and cultivating hidden force. But for Zhang Yu, the chance was one hundred percent. He had the system; as long as his proficiency was sufficient, he would naturally break through the barrier.

That afternoon, Zhang Yu and the other two left Hidden Cloud City by carriage.

They traveled along a Chu Family trade route and flew the banner of the Chu Family Trading Company. Just like on their way there, they encountered no trouble at all.

They had thought their return to Boundless City would be just as smooth, but when they passed Erniu Mountain, they were surrounded by a band of bandits.

"Master, I'll go down and take a look," Chu Qingwen said.

"Mm." Zhang Yu nodded faintly.

Chu Qingwen stepped down from the carriage. Looking at the thirty-odd bandits armed with sabers, spears, clubs, and staves, she felt somewhat nervous. She cupped her fists and said, "Gentlemen, our Chu Family pays Boss Zhao of Erniu Mountain the full toll every month. May I ask why you gentlemen are doing this...?"

"You little yellow-haired girl, who are you? You say you're from the Chu Family, and that makes you from the Chu Family?" the bearded bandit at the front roared.

"Chu Qingwen of the Chu Family." Chu Qingwen took out the Chu Family token and handed it over.

The bearded man glanced at it, then tossed the Chu Family token straight onto the ground. "I can't read. Who knows whether you're really from the Chu Family? If you want to pass through Erniu Mountain today, you'll have to pay five thousand taels of silver."

"Five thousand taels?" Chu Qingwen's brows drew tightly together, and her heart skipped a beat. This was outright robbery.

"Don't want to pay? Damn it, if you don't want to pay, then none of you are leaving today. Boss Zhao happens to be short a wife for his stronghold. Heh heh..." The bearded man stared at Chu Qingwen with ill intent.

Hearing that Chu Qingwen could not handle it, Zhang Yu lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down.

"Oh, this pretty boy isn't bad-looking either. Heh heh." The bearded man looked at Zhang Yu with a lewd gaze. "Pretty boy, our Boss Zhao is also short a male wife for his stronghold. Hahaha..."

Before Zhang Yu could speak, a black shadow suddenly rushed at the bearded man from the side.

"You dared speak disrespectfully to my master! You deserve to die!" Niu Mancang roared.

Ever since Zhang Yu had awakened his Feral Ox Physique—especially after learning that the awakening medicine was worth one hundred thousand taels of gold—Niu Mancang no longer regarded Zhang Yu merely as his master. He regarded him as a master he would swear to serve unto death, an inviolable god.

His honest and simple fate made him exceptionally loyal and kindhearted. As a plain, honest farmer, he believed that even a hundred of his lives were not worth one hundred thousand taels of gold. Yet Zhang Yu had used it on him without even blinking. The impact upon his soul was beyond description.

When he heard the bearded bandit disrespect Zhang Yu just now, Niu Mancang flew into a rage and charged forward.

Seeing the huge, brawny Niu Mancang rushing toward him, the bearded bandit swung his saber and chopped down.

Whoosh...

Niu Mancang had attained mastery in Iron Shirt and successfully broken through, becoming a martial artist of overt force. On top of that, his Feral Ox Physique had awakened. His strength was immeasurable.

He raised his left arm. Golden light flashed across his skin, and with a clang, he blocked the opponent's steel saber with his arm.

This...

The bearded bandit's eyes widened in utter disbelief.

The next second—

Bang!

Like a crazed feral ox, Niu Mancang slammed his entire body directly into the man's chest. With another bang, the bearded bandit was sent flying.

Pfft...

Blood sprayed from his mouth in midair, mixed with shattered pieces of his internal organs. His entire chest had caved in.

His bones were shattered, and his organs had burst apart.

Thud!

After landing, his legs twitched twice before falling still. He was dead!

"And you! You laughed just now too. You dared disrespect my master—die!" After ramming the bearded bandit to death, Niu Mancang turned to look at a skinny monkey-like bandit on his right. With a furious roar, he shielded his head with both arms, hunched over, and charged at him again.

Bang!

Aah!

"And you!"

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Aah! Aah! Aah...

Like a maddened bull, Niu Mancang charged into the bandits. They slashed him with sabers and smashed him with clubs, yet they could not so much as shake his bronze-like skin.

But as long as a bandit was struck by Niu Mancang at close range, he would either die or suffer grave injuries. In the blink of an eye, the bandits lay dead and wounded all over the ground.

"Fuck, run! He's cultivated a hard-body art—we can't cut him!"

The remaining dozen or so bandits were scared out of their wits and fled with all their might.

"Don't chase them," Zhang Yu called out when he saw that Niu Mancang was still pursuing them.

Only then did Niu Mancang let the remaining bandits go.

"Are you hurt?" Zhang Yu looked Niu Mancang over.

"No! They seemed unable to cut me." Niu Mancang scratched his head.

Zhang Yu nodded. "Let's go up the mountain and take a look. Since these bandits don't follow the rules, we'll conveniently clear this obstacle away for the Chu Family today."

In truth, Zhang Yu was short on money. The demon beast meat and blood-nourishing medicinal soups for Niu Mancang, Li Yue, Wen Hua, and the others every day were no small expense.

It was manageable for only a few people, but he was supporting more than a dozen. Ten thousand taels of gold might look like a lot, but it would not last under such spending.

Zhang Yu led Niu Mancang and Chu Qingwen toward the mountain stronghold on Erniu Mountain.

Inside the main hall of the Erniu Mountain stronghold.

Zhao Heizi was listening to the report from a lackey who had fled back. "Boss, there's a guard beside that little Chu Family lady. He's cultivated a hard-body art; sabers can't cut him. Second Boss—the bearded one—and the others have all been beaten to death. The other side is heading for the stronghold."

After hearing the report, Zhao Heizi frowned deeply.

He had indeed intended to abduct Chu Qingwen and extort a large sum of silver from the Chu Family. He had not expected things to turn out like this.

Bang! Bang... Thud! Thud!

Aah... Ow, my leg!

Spare me, hero!

The sounds of smashing and crashing came from outside, along with screams and pleas for mercy.

Zhao Heizi walked out of the Hall of Brotherhood just as Zhang Yu and the other two approached. His subordinates were either dead or wounded, and nearly all lay on the ground groaning in pain.