Blackwind Stronghold's Last Day

It was afternoon. Sunlight streamed through the window, filling the study with light and casting two shadows on the wall.

Lin Chen pondered for a moment, then looked up. "Elder Lin Song, is there anything you need me to do?"

"In three days, the Lin Family will join forces with the Li Family's finest and march on Blackwind Cliff. We'll wipe out Blackwind Stronghold in one strike."

Elder Lin Song's gaze was steady. "I've reached the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm. I'll be going as well."

He paused. "You will hold the Herb Garden in my place and guard against any enemies who might come."

Elder Lin Song walked to the window and looked out over the fields stretching into the distance. "With both families working together, Blackwind Stronghold's fall is certain. But the bandits are cunning. Some may slip through."

"The Herb Garden lies near the Vast Mountains, half a day from Kaiyang City. It's isolated out here. Travel is usually safe, but right now, Blackwind Stronghold's bandits may set their sights on it."

"That's why I need you to hold the Herb Garden."

Lin Chen agreed without hesitation.

A faint smile crossed Lin Song's face.

"I trust your strength. Go back and prepare. Remember, if you can't hold it, retreat at once. There's a hidden passage in the Herb Garden that will let everyone escape safely."

Lin Chen nodded and left the study, leaving Elder Lin Song alone.

Standing by the window, he saw dark clouds gathering on the horizon. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. "I've been idle in this Herb Garden long enough. It's time to stretch my legs."

Three days later, before dawn broke.

More than twenty elite Lin Family fighters set out in Black Armor, blades in hand. Their killing intent lay tightly reined in. At their head stood the family head, Lin Hai, his tenth-level Spirit Martial Realm presence as solid as a mountain.

On the way, the Lin Family fighters joined up with the Li Family's forces.

The two groups merged and swiftly vanished into the forests of the Vast Mountains, creeping toward Blackwind Cliff. Only a trace of killing intent lingered in the wind before dawn.

That day, blood spilled across the summit of Blackwind Cliff. Cries of battle rang out for hours, echoing over the peaks.

By dusk, the setting sun was bloodred.

On a secluded hillside, several gray-clad figures rested beneath a tree. Their eyes kept sweeping their surroundings, alert to the slightest movement.

Their leader was a young man in his twenties. His black clothes were torn in several places, exposing lean, powerful muscle beneath. He was Li Baichuan's son, Li Qianren.

For now, though, his lips were pressed tight, and he said nothing.

They had escaped only because Li Baichuan had held off two tenth-level Spirit Martial Realm fighters from the Lin and Li Families by himself, allowing them to flee down a trail behind the mountain. Whether his father had survived, Li Qianren did not know.

Even so, only four of the original nine had made it through the breakout.

Beside the young man stood another man, past fifty but built like an iron tower. He clamped his right hand over his left shoulder, yet dark red blood still seeped between his fingers. His face was deathly pale. Someone had severed his arm.

He was Mang Shan, Blackwind Stronghold's sixth elder.

"Sixth Elder, Blackwind Cliff has fallen. Where do we go now?"

One of the bandits asked in a low, dispirited voice.

Mang Shan caught his breath and surveyed the terrain. "Head for a branch of the Vast Mountains. The ground is treacherous, and beasts roam there. Once we get inside and cross through, no one will find us."

"What do you think, Young Chief?"

Mang Shan turned to the young man.

"The Vast Mountains..." Li Qianren murmured. He was about to agree when he suddenly looked northwest.

"If I remember right, the Lin Family has a Herb Garden near the Vast Mountains, doesn't it?"

The others froze.

A bandit familiar with the area around Kaiyang City explained:

"You're right, Young Chief. The Lin Family's Herb Garden is about fifty li southeast of here. Elder Lin Song usually guards it, but it seems that old bastard joined the attack on our stronghold."

A savage gleam flashed in Li Qianren's eyes.

"If that old bastard is at Blackwind Cliff, doesn't that leave the Herb Garden undefended?"

Mang Shan frowned. "Young Chief, our priority is to preserve our strength and find somewhere to hide. The Herb Garden may look undefended, but it's important to the Lin Family. They may have prepared for an attack. We should go around it."

"Go around it?" Li Qianren whipped his head toward him, his face contorted. "Blackwind Stronghold was destroyed in a day, and I don't even know if my father is alive! You want me to run into the mountains like a whipped dog?"

"I won't accept it!"

Li Qianren looked at the two men they had left, both capable fighters at the second level of the Spirit Martial Realm. Add the sixth elder, who was wounded but had reached the fifth level, and Li Qianren himself at the fourth level, and they had more than enough strength to take on the Herb Garden without Elder Lin Song guarding it.

"How could I let this go unanswered? With that old Lin Song gone, we can start by making the Herb Garden pay."

"Even if the Lin Family sends help, Kaiyang City is some distance away. By the time they arrive, we'll already be hiding in the Vast Mountains. What can they do to us?"

Mang Shan saw the hatred burning in Li Qianren's eyes. After a moment's silence, he sighed.

"Fine... We'll do as you say, Young Chief. But we strike fast and leave as soon as we're done. No lingering to fight!"

"Of course."

A vicious smile spread across Li Qianren's face. "Move out. Our target is the Lin Family's Herb Garden!"

About ten li east of the Herb Garden lay a dangerous pass between two mountains, with a stream running through it. People called it Hidden Dragon Ravine.

The four arrived silently at the mouth of the ravine, intending to pass through and head straight for the Herb Garden.

Then they saw a boulder blocking the path ahead.

Someone sat atop it.

He wore a blue-green robe, with a longsword propped beside him. He sat with his eyes closed as the mountain wind whipped his clothes.

It was as though he had been sitting there for a long time—or had come specifically to wait for them.

All four stopped. Li Qianren narrowed his eyes and studied the man blocking their way.

Lin Chen opened his eyes. His gaze swept across the four like cold spring water, lingering briefly on Mang Shan and Li Qianren.

That morning, after the two families launched their assault on Blackwind Cliff, Lin Chen had told Lin Tie to post guards at every route. That was how they had spotted these four.

Lin Chen had then come here to intercept them. This was the only way to the Herb Garden. With steep cliffs on both sides and a narrow path through the ravine, it was the perfect place to stop them.

"Four of you?" Lin Chen asked calmly.

"Who are you?"

One bandit fixed him with a sharp stare and barked the question.

"Lin Chen of the Lin Family."

At those words, the air in the ravine seemed to freeze.

Li Qianren's pupils contracted, and his grip tightened on his Ghost Blade. Of course he knew that name.

But why was Lin Chen alone?

An ambush?

Li Qianren instinctively searched the surrounding slopes for hidden Lin Family fighters.

Lin Chen smiled and slowly rose.

"Stop looking. I'm enough to deal with you."

"A pack of stragglers came right to my doorstep. You're not leaving."

"Arrogant fool!"

Once he was sure no one else was lying in wait, Li Qianren relaxed a little, then snarled at Lin Chen's words.

Only Mang Shan grew more guarded. He did not dare make an unnecessary move.

From the moment he had entered the ravine, he had felt an invisible force lock onto him. It sent a chill down his spine and kept him rooted in place.

But how could he be that strong...?

Li Qianren stepped forward and leveled his Ghost-Head Great Saber at Lin Chen.

"Since you've come to me, I'll take your head today and finally ease my hatred."

Before he had finished speaking, the second-level Spirit Martial Realm bandit on his left lunged forward, eager to prove himself.

"Young Chief, let me test him!"