Bandit Hounds Enter the Mountains, Killing Intent Draws Near, Turmoil Rises Again in the Forest

Night was as black as ink, shrouding the entirety of Azure Radiance Mountain.

Deep within the dense forest, a bonfire crackled and burned. Sparks leaped up from time to time, illuminating several burly bandit silhouettes seated around it.

The men silently gnawed on roasted meat, none daring to speak. Only the faint sounds of crackling firewood and chewing remained in the woods.

After the dead silence had lingered for a long while, the black-clad man seated in the center casually tossed away the scraps of his meal. The chunk of meat hit the ground and kicked up a little dust.

"Something happened."

His voice was low and calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, yet every bandit around the fire froze, their hearts abruptly hanging in their throats.

Everyone knew he was referring to Ma San and Fourth, who had been ordered to plant Demon-Luring Incense outside.

One bandit swallowed down his unease, bowed, and asked in a low voice, "Yu Zhutou, should we enter the mountains to search for them?"

Yu Zhutou before them was one of the strong pillars at the heart of the mountain stronghold.

He did not deliberately release any aura, yet merely sitting there, he was surrounded by a sinister chill tempered through countless killings.

His back was straight as a mountain, his features hard and sharply defined, his eyes dark and still.

The surrounding bandits, who had spent their lives licking blood from knife edges, all fell silent as cicadas in winter beneath his wordless pressure. Even their breathing grew lighter, while deep-rooted fear lingered in their hearts.

Yu Zhutou did not answer. He merely reached one hand into the roaring fire, pushed aside the glowing red charcoal, and casually turned the meat on the rack.

The flames licked at his palm, and the heat was scorching, but his flesh neither flinched nor bore the slightest wound.

With the powerful body of the Tendon Forging Realm, he had long become impervious to water and fire. Ordinary flames could not hurt him in the least.

Only after some time did he slowly speak, his tone indifferent and icy. "Bring the Mountain-Tracking Hound here."

One man did not dare delay and immediately turned to disappear into the deep night.

A moment later, low barking came from afar and drew closer. A pitch-black Mountain-Tracking Hound, as large as a calf, was led over.

The hunting hound bared its fangs, its nose constantly twitching, its gaze vicious.

Yu Zhutou tore off a piece of freshly roasted meat and tossed it onto the ground.

Only when the Mountain-Tracking Hound lowered its head to feed did he speak. His words were brief, but every one of them carried a bone-deep chill.

"Take it into the mountains tomorrow and search. Their deaths are nothing to mourn, but there must not be the slightest mistake in what the First Chief ordered."

Killing intent lay hidden in the latter half of his words. Without needing another word, everyone present understood the consequences.

"Understood!"

Several bandits bowed in unison, not daring to show the slightest negligence.

Silence fell around the bonfire once more. Only the firewood crackled, while a stifling, murderous air quietly enveloped the entire forest.

At dawn the next day, morning mist drifted through the woods.

Liu Yunche woke early and put on the tiger-hide coat that had been thoroughly dried.

The entire tiger hide fitted his frame. Though plain and rough, it did not hinder him in the slightest; stretching, walking, darting about, and drawing his blade all came without obstruction.

He rose and loosened his limbs. His qi and blood flowed smoothly throughout his body, and after a night of rest, he had returned to his peak condition.

He then picked up the remaining scraps of cloth and clothing, slowly left the cave, and continued the arrangements from yesterday.

Whenever he passed through a patch of forest, he scattered scraps of cloth here and there. Whenever he encountered small beasts weaving through the trees, he quietly attached strips of cloth to them, using their movements to thoroughly disrupt any trail.

Layer upon layer of arrangements, all to create the most reliable smokescreen for himself.

Liu Yunche sped lightly through the forest. After several hours, he finally reached the mountain ridge crossroads where he had previously parted ways with Shi Qingyue and the others.

Following the direction Shi Qingyue had taken in his memory, he raced onward.

Within the forest, a Tiger Lord walked upright, his movements nimble. Many demonic beasts caught sight of that flash of yellow and swiftly fled, not daring to approach.

Along the way, traces of martial artists fighting could be seen everywhere in the woods: broken branches and dried bloodstains.

However, Liu Yunche could not be certain whether Shi Qingyue had left them behind.

"It seems there are quite a few martial artists active in this area."

Liu Yunche rubbed a fragment of demonic beast bone between his fingertips. The shard still retained a trace of blood, clearly indicating that the beast had not been dead for long.

He continued in that direction, casually dispatching any demonic beasts at the Skin Tempering level that he encountered.

If they were at the Flesh Tempering level, Liu Yunche generally chose to avoid them.

His purpose on this journey was to reunite with Shi Qingyue and the others, not to earn points.

Still, Liu Yunche had gained a fair amount along the way.

After deliberately avoiding a Flesh Tempering demonic beast, Liu Yunche vaguely heard waves of beastly roars ahead, mixed with the clash of weapons.

He rushed forward, carefully crouched within the woods, and cautiously looked toward the sounds.

On a dried-up riverbed, a Claw-Splitting Bear lay sprawled on the ground. There was a savage wound on each of its right hind leg and forelimb. Blood flowed without stopping, and it could not move.

Beside the demonic beast, two groups faced each other.

Liu Yunche lay on the ground, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes. He recognized both sides.

One side was the group from Flying Bear Martial Arts Hall, with whom Liu Yunche had crossed paths before. Han Xu and Wang Yi were among them.

The people on the other side looked arrogant, and their leader was even more haughty. He was none other than Liu Tianlin of the Liu Household, one of the Three Great Families.

Liu Tianlin's gaze held a trace of indifference. He seemed to stand above all others as he looked at the people from Flying Bear Martial Arts Hall and said blandly, "I want that Claw-Splitting Bear."

After speaking, without waiting for the people from Flying Bear Martial Arts Hall to react, he beckoned for the people behind him to carry the Claw-Splitting Bear over.

Two men stepped out from behind Liu Tianlin, only to have their path instantly blocked by people from Flying Bear Martial Arts Hall.

Seeing someone block his way, Liu Tianlin's eyes turned faintly cold. In an instant, his body moved, and he appeared before the two men barring the path almost immediately.

His palms abruptly turned iron-gray, as if forged from fine iron, and slammed fiercely toward the two men's chests.

At that critical moment, someone also shot out from behind the people of Flying Bear Martial Arts Hall, moving almost at the same instant as Liu Tianlin.

The man raised his fists, which likewise turned iron-gray, and smashed them against the incoming palms.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists and palms collided, and the air roared and burst apart.

The two figures crisscrossed the riverbed. In the span of a few breaths, they had already exchanged several fierce rounds.

After another booming collision, the two finally borrowed the force to separate.

"Who are you?"

Liu Tianlin had failed to gain any advantage in the exchange. He put away his contempt and asked calmly.

"My name is Li Youchen, the fourth disciple of the Flying Bear Martial Arts Hall master. Greetings, Young Master Liu."

Li Youchen clasped his hands in salute. He showed not the slightest displeasure at Liu Tianlin's brazen attack just now.

Only then did the two martial artists who had blocked the path return to the crowd with lingering fear, their gazes toward Liu Tianlin filled with shock.

Liu Tianlin raised a brow slightly. "Li Youchen? I have heard that name before."

He did not take the man to heart, and his expression remained calm.

"That Claw-Splitting Bear, I want it. I said so."

"You!"

Han Xu could no longer stand it. An unhappy look surfaced on his face as he spat out the word.

He had been born with Bear Bone and was deeply favored and valued by Xue Changli. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

Just as he was about to step forward and argue, Li Youchen reached out and pressed a hand onto Han Xu's shoulder. Han Xu felt a tremendous force descend upon him and found himself unable to move.

Wang Yi hurriedly grabbed Han Xu's hand and pulled him behind himself, signaling with his eyes that Han Xu must not act rashly.

Liu Tianlin did not place the small movements of the Flying Bear Martial Arts Hall group in his eyes. He merely stared quietly at Li Youchen.

The smile on Li Youchen's face did not change, but his words carried a trace of decisive refusal. "This Claw-Splitting Bear is of great use to Flying Bear Martial Arts Hall. We absolutely cannot give it to Young Master Liu."

"Oh?"

Liu Tianlin lowered his eyes, and his gaze turned cold. He no longer concealed his aura, allowing it to sweep freely and arrogantly across the entire area, as though he would strike the moment they disagreed.

Just as he was about to lash out, Li Youchen's smiling voice sounded once more.

"However, meeting Young Master Liu today is also a great stroke of fortune."

"As the saying goes, no discord, no concord. This Claw-Splitting Bear perfectly suits Flying Bear Martial Arts Hall's cultivation method, so we cannot give it away."

"I happen to have a piece of Water-Covering Crocodile hide armor here. It would make an excellent inner vest, and I can offer it to Young Master Liu."

With that, he took out a roll of hide armor from his bundle.

Liu Tianlin looked at the rolled hide armor. Under the golden light, it gleamed with a chilling luster, and he nodded inwardly.

"The quality is quite good."

Water-Covering Crocodiles appeared in frigid waters. Their hides had been tempered over time and were excellent materials for crafting inner armor.

Accepting this gift would both suppress the martial arts hall and spare him the trouble of drawing blades. It was killing two birds with one stone, and his mind was made up.

He reached out and accepted the hide armor Li Youchen handed over. With a hearty laugh, the coldness in his eyes vanished.

"Since that is the case, I shall consider you a friend."

With that, Liu Tianlin led the Liu Household disciples away without looking back.

Only after the Liu Household group had gone far away did Li Youchen secretly let out a breath of relief.

At that moment, Han Xu finally shook off Wang Yi and could not help demanding loudly, "Senior Brother Li, why are you afraid of him?"

"Why didn't you dare fight him?"

The smile on Li Youchen's face completely vanished. He asked in a deep voice, "And what would fighting him accomplish?"

"The Liu Household has great wealth and power. There are no shortage of Bone Tempering martial artists, not to mention Blood Exchange experts guarding the clan."

"You might feel satisfied after fighting him."

"But what about all these fellow disciples? Where would they go? And what would Master do?"

"Have you thought about any of that?"

Li Youchen's question after question left Han Xu speechless.

The anger on his face gradually faded. He stood where he was, his gaze falling upon the fellow disciples around him. For the first time, those who had once been warm and enthusiastic avoided his eyes.

Yet his pride remained, and Han Xu still muttered softly, "Even so, we cannot act as we did today..."

Li Youchen finished the words he had left unsaid. "Act so meekly and humbly today?"

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother. Junior Brother Han is merely angry for the moment. He will surely come to understand."

Wang Yi stepped between them with a smile, trying to smooth things over.

Li Youchen let out a heavy sigh and said earnestly, "Junior Brother Han, in this world, having reason does not mean you are right."

"In this world, only this is the truth." As his words fell, he raised his fist.

Li Youchen patted Han Xu on the shoulder, then turned and instructed the others, "Hurry and deal with the Claw-Splitting Bear. Leave this place."

After everyone went to deal with the demonic beast's corpse, Han Xu tightened his grip on his long blade, then loosened it again. He turned and joined the others in cleaning up the scene.

From within the grass pile, Liu Yunche witnessed the entire process.

His peripheral gaze fell upon Li Youchen, and he could not help sighing. "Li Youchen is not someone to be underestimated."