Trouble on the Road Home: The Black Wind Stronghold

After leaving Misty Cloud Mountain, Xiao Yan raced north toward Wutan City.

His Eighth Stage Dou Qi cultivation made him far faster than before. Using Wind Walking Step, he moved like the wind through the forest, light and swift. The scenery rushed past him, and his longing for the Xiao Clan grew ever stronger.

"Father, Mother, Big Brother Xiao Ding, Second Brother Xiao Li... and Xun'er, wait for me."

In this life, he would never again let the Xiao Clan suffer the humiliation it had endured in his previous life, much less let Xun'er fall into danger because of him.

[Ding! Side quest "Protecting the Journey Home" triggered!]

[Quest hint: The Black Wind Stronghold near Wutan City has been running rampant lately. Traveling merchants are frequently robbed, and Xiao Clan caravans are among them.]

[Quest requirements: Wipe out the Black Wind Stronghold, rescue the captives, and protect the Xiao Clan caravans.]

[Quest rewards: Peak Eighth Stage of Dou Qi cultivation, Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Technique "Explosive Step," and 400 points.]

The system notification made Xiao Yan pause, a trace of coldness flashing through his eyes.

Black Wind Stronghold?

He remembered the stronghold. It occupied Black Wind Ridge west of Wutan City, and most of its members were independent cultivators and desperadoes. Its leader was a ruthless bandit with Ninth Stage Dou Qi, and ordinary caravans did not dare provoke them. The Xiao Clan's caravans had suffered at their hands in his previous life, but back then he had been too weak to intervene.

"Perfect. I'll use you to test my skills."

Xiao Yan changed direction and sped toward Black Wind Ridge.

Black Wind Ridge was steep and thickly wooded, its mountain paths rugged and difficult to travel. Relying on his keen senses, Xiao Yan soon found traces of the Black Wind Stronghold in a secluded mountain hollow.

The stronghold's gate was crude but radiated a vicious air. Several bandits armed with sabers and axes lounged on guard at the entrance, Dou Qi fluctuations of varying strength radiating from them. Even the strongest had no more than stage Dou Qi.

Looks like that's all the Black Wind Stronghold amounts to. Xiao Yan understood. He was about to sneak inside when he heard a jumble of footsteps and shouts from outside the hollow.

"Move! All of you, behave yourselves! Try to resist, and I'll cut you down!"

"Hand over everything valuable, or don't blame us for getting rough!"

Xiao Yan looked toward the voices and saw more than a dozen bandits escorting a group of ragged traveling merchants. The clothing worn by several of them bore the unmistakable mark of a Xiao Clan caravan!

Leading the bandits was a burly man with a face full of coarse flesh and a massive broad saber in his hand. He radiated the fierce presence of Seventh Stage Dou Qi and was clearly their leader.

"They're from the Xiao Clan!" Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened. He quietly retreated and slipped into the dense forest.

He spotted several familiar faces among the merchants, all longtime hands in the Xiao Clan caravan. The bandits shoved them along, and their faces were filled with terror and anger, yet they dared not speak out.

"Boss, we've got a nice haul this time. The goods in these few wagons alone will keep the brothers living it up for quite a while!" a bandit said with a fawning grin.

The burly man laughed smugly. "You bet! My word is law on Black Wind Ridge! Once we get these people back to the stronghold, the men can do hard labor, and the women... heh heh!"

The filthy words made the captive merchants tremble, and several of the women turned deathly pale with fright.

"You're courting death!"

Killing intent surged in Xiao Yan's eyes, and he stopped hiding.

He moved like a bolt of blue lightning, shooting out of the forest. Using Wind Walking Step to its limit, he appeared behind the burly man with Seventh Stage Dou Qi in an instant.

"Who's there?!"

The burly man sensed the movement behind him and spun around, his broad saber chopping down with a vicious gust.

But in Xiao Yan's eyes, he was far too slow.

Xiao Yan turned his wrist, and a black iron ruler appeared in his hand. The full power of his Eighth Stage Dou Qi erupted without restraint, and the illusory image of dark red Heavenly Flames appeared once more along the ruler. With the force to burn the heavens and destroy the earth, Flame Splitting Wave Ruler came crashing down!

"Szzzzt!"

The iron ruler collided with the broad saber, and the ruler's image sliced through the fine-iron blade as though it were made of paper! The illusory dark red flames swept downward, grazing the burly man's shoulder.

"Aah-!"

The burly man let out a piercing scream. The clothes on his shoulder caught fire instantly, his flesh was scorched, and blood streamed from the wound. He staggered back several steps and stared at Xiao Yan in disbelief. "You... who are you?!"

The surrounding bandits and captive merchants were all stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"Save... save us!" A Xiao Clan caravan hand recognized Xiao Yan's blue clothing and cried out excitedly.

Xiao Yan ignored the burly man and swept his blade-sharp gaze over the surrounding bandits. "Black Wind Stronghold trash, you dare lay hands on the Xiao Clan? Today is the day you die!"

"Brothers, get him! Kill this brat!" the burly man roared through the pain.

The dozen or so bandits came to their senses and rushed Xiao Yan, brandishing their sabers and axes. Their Dou Qi fluctuations were chaotic and weak; the strongest had no more than Fifth Stage Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan's eyes were cold as he swung his iron ruler. Scarlet ruler shadows swept through the bandits like the Grim Reaper's scythe.

The fire-control mysteries of the Burning Heaven Art were woven into his Dou Technique, and every swing of the ruler carried a wave of scorching heat. The bandits' sabers and axes broke apart at a touch of the ruler's shadow. Those struck by the illusory flames fell screaming, their bodies ablaze.

This was no fight at all, but a one-sided slaughter!

[Ding! Killed a Black Wind Stronghold bandit (Three-Stage Dou Qi). Obtained 5 points!]

[Ding! Killed a Black Wind Stronghold bandit (Four-Stage Dou Qi). Obtained 10 points!]

[...]

System notifications rang out one after another, and Xiao Yan's points rose rapidly. But he paid them no attention; he had only one thought in mind-wipe out these scum!

A short while later, every one of the bandits lay on the ground, dead or wounded. None dared come forward again.

The burly man with Seventh Stage Dou Qi looked at the corpses covering the ground and his screaming subordinates, and his soul nearly fled his body in terror. He no longer dared stay and turned to run.

"Stay right there!"

Xiao Yan snorted coldly and used Wind Walking Step to catch up in an instant. His iron ruler swept through the air with a whistle and struck the burly man squarely in the back.

"Pfft!"

The burly man spewed a mouthful of blood and flew through the air like a kite with its string cut. He hit the ground hard and breathed his last.

[Ding! Killed a Black Wind Stronghold minor leader (Seventh Stage Dou Qi). Obtained 50 points!]

Having dealt with all the bandits, Xiao Yan turned to the still-shaken merchants, particularly the Xiao Clan caravan hands. "Are you all right?"

"W-we're fine! Thank you, Young Master Xiao Yan!" The Xiao Clan hands hurriedly knelt and kowtowed, their faces full of gratitude. The other merchants also thanked him, looking at him with awe.

"Get up." Xiao Yan helped them to their feet. "The Black Wind Stronghold's main force is still inside. I'll be back shortly. Wait here for now."

"Young Master Xiao Yan, the Black Wind Stronghold's leader is a Ninth Stage Dou Qi expert. You..." an old caravan hand said worriedly.

"He's only at the ninth stage. Nothing to fear." Xiao Yan smiled faintly, then turned and sped toward the Black Wind Stronghold.

Inside the stronghold, bandits were drinking and gambling in groups of three or five, utterly unaware that disaster was about to descend upon them.

Xiao Yan slipped into the stronghold like a ghost, swinging his iron ruler and mercilessly reaping the bandits' lives. Their screams soon alerted the entire stronghold.

"Attack! We're under attack!"

"Damn it! He's an expert!"

Amid the chaos, a tall man with a full beard charged out, radiating the formidable pressure of Ninth Stage Dou Qi. He was Hei Xiong, the leader of the Black Wind Stronghold.

"Where did you come from, you little bastard? How dare you break into my Black Wind Stronghold?!" Hei Xiong roared. The pair of massive spiked clubs in his hands whistled through the air as he smashed them toward Xiao Yan.

The pressure of Ninth Stage Dou Qi was indeed much stronger than that of the eighth stage, but in Xiao Yan's eyes, it still was not enough.

He swayed aside to evade the spiked clubs, and the illusory Heavenly Flames on his iron ruler grew more solid. "I'm the one who's here to take your dog life!"

"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler: Burn!"

Once again, he unleashed the Dou Technique that combined the Burning Heaven Art with the simulated Heavenly Flames. Wrapped in dark red fire, the scarlet ruler shadow lunged at Hei Xiong like a fire dragon.

Hei Xiong's expression changed drastically. The scorching heat made fear rise in his heart. He did not dare be careless. Driving his Ninth Stage Dou Qi to its limit, he whirled his spiked clubs in an impenetrable defense.

"Boom!"

The ruler shadow collided with the spiked clubs, sending violent waves of force in every direction. Hei Xiong felt an overbearing force surge toward him. His arms throbbed with unbearable pain, and the clubs nearly flew from his hands. What shocked him even more was that the dark red flames spread along the clubs, burning through his Dou Qi defenses.

"How is that possible?!"

Hei Xiong could hardly believe it. His Ninth Stage Dou Qi defense could not stop those bizarre flames?

Xiao Yan gave him no time to think. Using Wind Walking Step, he circled behind Hei Xiong and brought the iron ruler down hard on the back of his neck with a fierce gust.

"Crack!"

Bone cracked, and Hei Xiong toppled stiffly to the ground without so much as a grunt, completely lifeless.

[Ding! Killed the Black Wind Stronghold leader (Ninth Stage Dou Qi). Obtained 100 points!]

[Ding! Side quest "Protecting the Journey Home" completed!]

[Rewards granted: Cultivation raised to the Peak Eighth Stage of Dou Qi, Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Technique "Explosive Step" unlocked, and 400 points credited!]

A warm current flowed through Xiao Yan's body, stabilizing his cultivation at the peak of the eighth stage. At the same time, information about Explosive Step flooded into his mind. It was a movement Dou Technique that could unleash extreme speed for a short time, and it complemented Wind Walking Step perfectly.

After dealing with all the bandits in the Black Wind Stronghold, Xiao Yan searched the place and distributed the valuables they had plundered among the rescued merchants.

"Thank you, benefactor!" The merchants wept with gratitude, kowtowing and thanking him.

Xiao Yan waved a hand and looked toward distant Wutan City, a trace of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

"Wutan City, I'm back."

This time, he would stand as a powerful man and protect everything he treasured.