"Trying to run?"

Fang Han snorted coldly.

His Wind Shadow Step had already reached Minor Achievement. How could Ba Xiong’s speed and agility possibly compare?

With a push of his feet, he shot forward like an arrow released from its bow, closing the distance in an instant and appearing right behind Ba Xiong.

Flashes of sword light erupted!

"AHH—!"

Ba Xiong let out a blood-curdling scream as the tendons in both his legs were severed, causing him to collapse to the ground.

Immediately after, the edge of the sword slashed across his arms, completely robbing him of his ability to resist.

He lay paralyzed on the ground like a heap of mud, his blood quickly staining the earth red.

"The chief is down! Run!"

When the few remaining bandits saw their strongest leader crippled by Fang Han in just a few moves, they were scared out of their wits. With terrified shouts, they scattered and fled in all directions.

"None of you are getting away!"

Fang Han’s eyes turned cold. His body transformed into a pale cyan whirlwind as he pushed his Minor Achievement Wind Shadow Step to its absolute limit, darting rapidly through the area.

The light from his sword swept past like a bolt of white silk, and one scream followed another.

A short while later, the last bandit—the one who had fled the farthest and already made it into the dense forest—was also run through the heart with a single sword strike, dying on the spot.

’It’s a good thing I assassinated more than ten of them when I snuck in earlier. Otherwise, if all thirty-plus men had scattered at once in this complicated mountain forest, I really might not have been able to get them all.’

HUFF, HUFF—

Fang Han stood with his sword in hand, panting slightly.

The continuous high-intensity battle, especially chasing down the last of the enemies with his Body Technique pushed to the limit, had taken a considerable toll on his Inner Qi and stamina.

He scanned the chaotic scene and the scattered corpses, confirming there were no survivors before walking over to Ba Xiong.

Ba Xiong’s face was deathly pale from blood loss. His eyes were filled with terror and despair as he looked at Fang Han as if staring at a demon.

"Mercy... Brave hero, spare me..."

he pleaded, his voice trembling.

Fang Han ignored his pleas and began carefully searching the bodies of all the bandits, as well as the wooden huts.

After a thorough search, he collected loose silver taels and some gold and silver jewelry, totaling around three thousand-odd taels.

For a bandit gang that had been entrenched for many years with an Eighth Grade Martial Artist in charge, this amount was clearly too little.

Fang Han’s gaze fell icily upon Ba Xiong.

"Speak. Where is the rest of the treasure hidden?"

"There’s... there’s no more. This is all of it..."

Ba Xiong’s eyes darted around as he ground out the words.

With his hands and feet crippled, he knew he had no hope of survival, so naturally, he wasn’t going to confess honestly.

Fang Han wasted no more words. He gently pressed the tip of his Cyan Blade Sword into one of Ba Xiong’s wounds, applying a bit of pressure.

"ARGH—!" Ba Xiong let out a squeal like a stuck pig, his entire body convulsing violently.

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk! In... in the room where I live, under the bed, there’s... there’s a cellar..."

The intense pain instantly shattered his mental defenses.

Following the directions, Fang Han went to Ba Xiong’s relatively spacious wooden hut, moved the bed, and sure enough, discovered a hidden entrance.

He entered the cellar and found several heavy chests and some bundles inside.

Upon opening them, he was nearly blinded by the glittering gold and silver. Inside were neatly stacked gold and silver ingots, along with a considerable amount of jewelry and jade artifacts.

A rough estimate placed the total value at over thirty thousand taels of silver!

"Now this is more like it."

Fang Han nodded in satisfaction and took out all the valuables.

He returned to Ba Xiong, whose eyes were filled with pleading. "Brave hero... give me a quick death..."

Fang Han didn’t refuse. With a flick of his Cyan Blade Sword, Ba Xiong’s head fell to the ground, his face frozen in an expression mixed with relief and terror.

He took out a packet of medicinal powder he had prepared earlier, crushed it, and sprinkled it evenly over the severed neck to act as a preservative. Then, he placed the head in a thick cloth bag and tied it shut.

He had killed quite a few people by now. While such acts still made him a little squeamish, it wasn’t something he found deeply repulsive.

After finishing all this, he summoned the system panel.

[Host: Fang Han]

[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 16x (100,000 silver required for Level 5 Amplification)]

[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 16x (100,000 silver required for Level 5 Amplification)]

[Stepping Talent Amplification: 16x (100,000 silver required for Level 5 Amplification)]

[Wealth Owned: 13,230 silver]

’Recharge,’ he thought.

With a focused thought, the mountain of gold, silver, and jewels on the ground vanished instantly.

The wealth value on the panel began to jump wildly.

[Wealth Owned: 16,230 silver]

[Wealth Owned: 19,230 silver]

...

Finally, the number settled.

[Wealth Owned: 51,975 silver]

A one-time increase of 38,745 taels of silver!

’I’m already more than halfway there!’

A fervent glint flashed in Fang Han’s eyes. He had already completed more than half of his goal of one hundred thousand taels!

He rested for a night at the bandit stronghold. In the morning, he picked up the bag containing Ba Xiong’s head and departed without lingering. With a few leaps and bounds, he plunged into the mountain forest and began his journey back to the Sect.

The forest returned to its silence, with only the scattered corpses and the thick stench of blood left to tell the tale of the previous night’s events.

...

「A day later.」

In the mountain forest beside the main road, Fang Han’s figure moved like a wisp of green smoke, traveling at high speed.

Executing his Minor Achievement Level Wind Shadow Step, he was not only extremely fast but also moved with a natural fluidity as if he were part of the wind. His stamina consumption over long distances was far less than before.

The terrain ahead gradually flattened, and in the distance, the silhouette of a city emerged under the afternoon sun.

Its gray-black walls snaked into the distance, with a towering gatehouse.

He realized it had been seven or eight days since he had left the Sect, and he hadn’t had a proper meal in all that time, surviving solely on dry rations and roasted meat.

Just the thought of it made his mouth water. He decided to enter the city to rest for a bit and treat himself.

He slowed his pace, tidied his slightly disheveled cyan Disciple’s Robe, and followed the sparse stream of people into Heishi City.

The city was livelier than he had expected. The streets were lined with shops, and the calls of street vendors rose and fell in a constant rhythm.

Fang Han had no desire to wander. His eyes swept the area until he found a rather large and impressive-looking restaurant named "Drunken Immortal Tower," and he strode inside.

The restaurant was filled with diners, and the aroma of food and wine mingled with the noisy chatter.

The waiter saw that although Fang Han was travel-worn, he had a calm demeanor and a sword at his waist. Not daring to be neglectful, he quickly led him to a quiet spot by a window on the second floor.

"Sir, what would you like to eat? Our Drunken Immortal Chicken, braised pork knuckle, and steamed sea bass are all specialties!" the waiter asked attentively, wiping down the table.

"Bring me three or four of your signature dishes, a pot of good tea, and a bowl of rice."

Fang Han sat down, placing his sword beside him on the table.

"Right away, sir! It’ll be out in just a moment!"

Before long, the dishes arrived one by one, their colors enticing and their aromas fragrant.

Fang Han picked up his chopsticks and began to eat ravenously.

The food was indeed quite good. Of course, the main reason was that after not having a proper meal for seven or eight days, almost anything that wasn’t outright disgusting would have tasted delicious.

He was so focused on eating that he didn’t notice a small hole had been poked in the screen of a private room on the second floor, through which three pairs of eyes were secretly watching him.

They were three men dressed in the black Disciple’s Robes of the Netherworld Pavilion.

One of them had a gaunt face with slightly drooping eyes. His name was Chen Xiao.

Another was stoutly built, with fierce-looking round eyes. His name was Lei Bao.

The last man was pale and had a somewhat sinister appearance. His name was Han You.

The auras of all three were quite strong; they all had Eighth Grade Cultivation. Furthermore, Chen Xiao and Lei Bao had even reached the Middle Stage of Eighth Grade.

"A disciple of the Qingxuan Sect..."

Chen Xiao whispered, a cruel smirk playing on his lips.

"And he’s alone."

Lei Bao licked his lips, a savage glint flashing in his eyes.

"Heh, looks like his luck has run out, running into us."

"Be careful, he could be bait. Chen Xiao, get a waiter to run an errand. Send a message to Senior Brother Shen You at the inn. Tell him we’ve spotted a ’Cyan Sparrow’ and ask for his decision."

Han You, being more cautious, said in a low voice.

Cyan Sparrow was the code name Netherworld Pavilion disciples used for disciples of the Qingxuan Sect when it was inconvenient to speak their name openly.

Chen Xiao nodded, went to the door of the private room, and waved over a waiter. He returned a moment later and whispered,

"It’s arranged. Senior Brother Shen You should receive the message soon. For now, we’ll keep an eye on him and see what happens."

The three of them stopped talking, their gazes locked on Fang Han through the pinhole in the screen of their private room.

Fang Han remained completely oblivious.

After a hearty meal, he drained the tea in his cup, feeling his stamina fully restored and his spirits high.

He picked up his sword and the cloth bag, stood up, went downstairs, paid his bill, and left the Drunken Immortal Tower.

Behind him, Chen Xiao and the other two immediately settled their bill and silently followed.

Fang Han didn’t linger in the city. He walked straight out of the city gates and onto the main road, preparing to return to the Sect in one go.

Once he was outside the city gates, free from the interference of the dense crowds, his Perception Ability sharpened, and he immediately felt a sense of being watched.

His pace didn’t change, and his expression remained normal, but his mind instantly tensed.

’I’m being... tailed?’

His thoughts raced as he tried to guess who was following him.

His gaze swept over a dirt mound and a dense thicket of bushes on the roadside ahead, formed by rainwater erosion. With a subtle movement, he activated his Wind Shadow Step.

His body abruptly accelerated. He rounded a bend in the road, instantly disappearing from his followers’ line of sight.

The moment he was out of their sight, he slid sideways like a phantom, silently hiding in the bushes behind the dirt mound. He held his breath, his concentration focused, and his Cyan Blade Sword was already half-drawn from its sheath.

Sure enough, only a few breaths later, three figures in Netherworld Pavilion Disciple’s Robes hurried after him—it was Chen Xiao and his companions.

"Hm? Where’d he go?"

Lei Bao was stunned to see the road ahead was empty. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"He was just up ahead. How did he disappear after turning the corner?"

Han You also frowned, his wary eyes scanning the surroundings.

Chen Xiao’s cold gaze swept over the surrounding woods. "Be careful," he said in a raspy voice. "The kid might have noticed us."

Just as the three of them slowed their steps and began to search cautiously—

SHING!

A pale cyan sword light, like a venomous snake that had been lying in wait, erupted without warning from the bushes behind and to the side of Han You.

The strike was fast, ruthless, and precise to the extreme!

Wind Momentum gathered on the blade’s edge, carrying a sharpness that could tear through anything as it aimed for the vital point on Han You’s back—his heart!

"Watch out!"

Chen Xiao was the first to react, crying out in alarm.

After all, Han You was an Early Stage of Eighth Grade Martial Artist. With danger upon him, the hair on his skin stood on end. He desperately twisted his body while swinging the Tang Saber in his hand backward to block.

However, how could an ambush that Fang Han had been building up for so long be so easily parried?

PFFT!

The sword light was like a bolt of lightning. Although the saber deflected it slightly, it still accurately pierced through Han You’s right chest, exiting from his back.

Han You let out a piercing scream, his eyes filled with incredulous horror and pain.

Blood sprayed wildly from his mouth. The Chopper in his hand fell to the ground with a CLANG, and his body collapsed limply, twitching a few times before going still.

One move, an instant kill on an Early Stage of Eighth Grade Martial Artist!