The sudden encounter first left the disciples stunned, then set every one of them rubbing their fists and itching for a fight.
"Horse bandits? They truly did not know whether they lived or died, daring to rob the Azure Dragon Martial Academy."
"Senior Brother Qin, shall we capture those bandit scouts for you?"
Everyone eagerly volunteered.
These disciples were all elites.
Even the weakest were at Liu Meng's level, in the second or third stage of Body Tempering.
The stronger ones had already reached the seventh or eighth stage of Body Tempering, their cultivation ostensibly even higher than Chen Mu's.
Ordinary horse bandits were mostly just sturdy commoners. Martial apprentices who could pass the Hundred-Blood Trial were already qualified to earn themselves a seat among the stockade chiefs.
Many mountain stronghold bosses possessed no more than the cultivation of the fourth or fifth stage of Body Tempering.
Such strength still required ambushes and sneak attacks to deal with the guards when robbing ordinary merchant caravans.
Against an Azure Dragon Martial Academy party personally overseen by Qin Tieya, they might as well have been seeking death.
Thus, the disciples were not the least bit flustered. Instead, they were eager to give their fists and feet a try.
Qin Tieya, however, gave them no opportunity.
He glanced over. After blowing their shrill whistles, the mounted scouts merely lingered far away on the hillside and did not dare approach.
Qin Tieya immediately waved a hand. "Ignore them for now. Spread out and continue north."
The disciples instantly lost interest. Obediently, they spread into a goose-wing formation and escorted the three carriages slowly along the official road.
Chen Mu swept a glance over the horse bandits following them, then withdrew his gaze.
He had once been shot by horse bandits, fallen into a snowy