Zhou Ping had never seen anyone like Lu Ye before. He appeared to be just in his early twenties, yet he possessed such profound insight and wisdom that Zhou had never encountered in his life. It could be said that if it weren't for Lu Ye's guidance, Ding'an wouldn't have stabilized so quickly after the City Lord's death.

At the same time, there was something he was very curious about...

After hesitating for a long time, Zhou Ping couldn't suppress the doubts in his heart: "Might I ask about your cultivation, sir?"

"8th orifice!" Lu Ye glanced up at him, considering it nothing he couldn't share.

Escorting Yao Nuan and the others along the way, all the inferior Spirit Stones looted from Great Wind Mountain had been consumed. They ate quite a bit during the journey, so in just a few days, Lu Ye had opened up to the 8th orifice and was now advancing towards the 9th.

"8th orifice..." Zhou Ping's heart trembled. He had thought Lu Ye's cultivation would be higher; he never expected it to be the same as the deceased City Lord.

But with the same cultivation level, why did the former City Lord seem like a helpless chick in front of Lu Ye, utterly defenseless?

"No need to wonder." Lu Ye saw what he was thinking, "Sometimes, cultivation level doesn't mean everything."

"Then..." Zhou Ping was about to ask what could determine strength, when suddenly a soldier rushed over, knelt on one knee, and presented a secret letter with both hands: "City Lord, the reconnaissance team has sent a message!"

Zhou Ping turned abruptly, quickly took the secret letter, opened it, and his face became grave.

"Is the Black Scarf here?" Lu Ye asked.

Zhou Ping nodded: "Yes, they were already fifty miles away half an hour ago, coming fiercely and in large numbers, though it seems to be just the vanguard army."

Lu Ye waved his hand: "Go, I'll take action when necessary." Another batch to deliver Asura Seals.

With Lu Ye backing them, Zhou Ping felt more at ease, cupped his fists in salute, and quickly left. He was clearly going to make some arrangements. Although Lu Ye had previously demonstrated extremely strong personal combat power, this time it wasn't a skirmish, but a large-scale invasion, and he couldn't place the entire city's safety solely on Lu Ye.

After all, human strength has its limits. If Lu Ye couldn't hold them off, the city would still rely on its collective power to defend.

As Zhou Ping left, Lu Ye continued to refine the low-quality Spirit Stones in his hand and checked his own cultivation progress.

These inferior Spirit Stones were found in Ding'an City's warehouse. Naturally, such a large city had some Spirit Stone reserves.

Though his Talent Tree allowed swift refining, the spirit force contained in these stones was terribly thin, so opening the 9th orifice still required accumulation.

It seemed there was no time...

From outside, the sounds of gongs and drums could be heard, and soldiers loudly warned of the Black Scarf's invasion, urging citizens to take shelter.

All of Ding'an was instantly tense and on high alert.

Shortly after, many figures stood on the ten-zhang-high city walls, and the gate on this side had long been shut.

Those defending the city weren't only original soldiers but also some practitioners who joined spontaneously. However, most of them weren't highly cultivated, and whether soldiers or practitioners, they all looked anxious and fearful.

This was a normal reaction for most people; after all, the Black Scarf was notoriously infamous.

Dust clouds billowed from afar, fast approaching.

Moments later, they swept to three miles outside the city, and as the dust cleared, the scene before everyone's eyes made their hearts tighten.

A military formation of no less than a thousand slowly appeared, each donned a black scarf. The leader rode a tall horse, his figure burly, clad in ornate armor, holding a long spear. The horse reared its front half up, neighing loudly. The man sat on the horse, coldly surveying those on the city walls.

Behind him, a flagbearer held aloft a pitch-black banner, emblazoned with a large red "Fang" character, as if written in fresh blood.

"The Black Scarf is coming, the Black Scarf is coming!"

"Oh my god!"

"It's the Man-Eating Demon, Fang Kuang!"

The city walls erupted in chaos. Although Ding'an had mentally prepared for the Black Scarf's invasion, witnessing the thousand-strong formation below left many faint-hearted feeling anxious and uneasy.

Especially since it was one of the Black Scarf's most infamous units, led by Fang Kuang, notorious for his infamous deeds. He had a particular craving for human flesh, especially young children's hearts. This vanguard army included many with similar proclivities.

Whenever the Black Scarf passed through, many were killed and then divided among this army.

It was hard to imagine the fate of Ding'an's citizens if the city fell.

Zhou Ping's expression was also grim. He hadn't expected Fang Kuang to be the first from the Black Scarf to arrive, evidently enraged by Lu Ye's previous actions of executing their scouts.

The horse paced back and forth. On its back, Fang Kuang shouted fiercely: "Where is the City Lord of Ding'an?"

At a distance of three miles, a normal person's voice would struggle to carry, yet Fang Kuang's voice showed no sign of diminishing, resonating in everyone's ears, deafening. This further paled many faces, clearly realizing Fang Kuang's formidable strength.

"Zhou Ping is here!" Zhou Ping responded from atop the city gate.

Fang Kuang looked over, a bit puzzled: "Have you changed City Lords in Ding'an?" He remembered the Ding'an City Lord as a big fat man, but that wasn't his concern. Raising his long spear, he pointed at Zhou Ping: "You really have a lot of nerve, daring to kill my Black Scarf soldiers. Open the gates of Ding'an within two hours, or else after our troops break in, I will slaughter everyone, leaving no one alive in Ding'an!"

Zhou Ping's palms were sweaty, knowing Fang Kuang wasn't bluffing. But he also understood that when armies confront each other, morale must remain high. Especially since he was the City Lord, and at this moment, many saw him as their backbone. He snorted coldly: "The Black Scarf has quite the audacity. If that's the case, I give you one hour to return from whence you came, lest you bring upon yourselves a calamity."

"A calamity!" Fang Kuang's eyes bulged, then he burst into laughter: "It's been a while since I've heard such a hilarious joke. This general wants to see what kind of calamity it is. And as a reward for amusing me... let's change the one hour to one incense stick's time. After that, we attack. Don't blame us for your mistakes!"

Zhou Ping's face changed.

"Open the gate!"

"Open the gate!"

"Open the gate!"

At this moment, the vanguard army behind Fang Kuang shouted in unison, accompanied by the clash of swords and shields, creating a grand and overwhelming momentum that seemed to change the weather.

"Creak..." A heavy sound echoed.

On the city wall, Zhou Ping's face changed: "Who opened the gate?"

The sound just now clearly indicated someone was opening the city gate, which was unbelievable to him because he had specifically ordered no one to open the gate, regardless of what happened. Ding'an City's overall strength was weak; only by defending with maximum effort could they possibly block the Black Scarf Army's attack. Opening the gate was equal to courting death! 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"No need to panic, City Lord, it was the young master who opened the gate." A panting voice came, and Zhou Ping turned to see Yao Nuan rushing over anxiously, evidently here on Lu Ye's orders to notify Zhou Ping.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping's heart stirred, and he hurried to the edge of the city wall, looking down.

Thud, thud, thud... the sound continued, and he indeed saw Lu Ye riding a black horse, carrying a large spear, emerging from the gate.

Behind him, the just-opened gate quickly closed again.

"What's the gentleman up to..." Zhou Ping's face was grave; he couldn't deny that Lu Ye's personal power was strong, stronger than he had ever imagined, but ultimately just at the cultivation level of the 8th orifice. Facing a vanguard unit of the Black Scarf Army single-handedly, how could he expect a good outcome?

Moreover, Zhou Ping faintly heard Lu Ye muttering something at this moment, but Lu Ye's voice was too small to make out.

Lu Ye rode out, his eyes glowing, yet his expression was somewhat troubled.

So many Asura Seals... how could he consume them all?

A team of over a thousand, if he could kill them cleanly, that would truly be a feast; calculating based on each bandit army member being worth two thousand Asura Seals, that would be over two million, and not every bandit army member is only worth two thousand Asura Seals. The leader, Fang Kuang, would be worth nearly ten thousand Asura Seals...

If he could kill them all, there's no doubt he could gather two and a half million Asura Seals, but being alone, it's clearly impossible to kill them all. Others might escape if overwhelmed.

The black horse beneath him moved forward restlessly, clearly sensing the danger as well.

Fang Kuang squinted his eyes, his expression slightly surprised. At this time and age, there aren't many who dare to face the Black Scarf Army alone. The last one got shot dead by a flurry of arrows.

And now, there's another one today.

Yet Fang Kuang vaguely felt that the one seen today is different from the previous one; there's a tranquillity in his expression.

"Who goes there?" Fang Kuang shouted angrily.

Lu Ye remained silent, continuing to advance with the spear on his shoulder. With the spirit force activated, the black horse slowly increased its speed from a walk to a trot, and within a few breaths, it was sprinting forward.

"Bow!" Fang Kuang sneered, raising his hand and shouting.

Within the army formation, the archers immediately stepped forward three steps, drawing their bows and nocking arrows, the strings pulled into full moons.

"Release!" Fang Kuang's hand dropped.

"Whizz, whizz, whizz..." The sound of arrows slicing through the air arose, all forming an arc in the sky and converging into a cluster from afar, resembling a swarm of bees.

The arrows descended, covering the area where Lu Ye was located.

The archers of the Black Scarf Army were experienced hands, and under such coverage, it was nearly impossible for ordinary people to avoid the rain of arrows.

Yet at this moment, the black horse beneath Lu Ye abruptly accelerated, charging forward by more than ten zhang, instantly evading the densest part of the arrow rain. Those few not evaded were all swept aside by Lu Ye's brandished spear.

This round of volleys surprisingly did not harm him at all.

"Oh?" Fang Kuang's eyes lit up. Although he knew Lu Ye certainly possessed cultivation, achieving this level of prowess was truly unexpected.

"Zhao Yuwen," Fang Kuang called.

"Yes, commander." A rider stepped forward, saluting from horseback.

"Go and test him!"

"Yes!" Zhao Yuwen accepted the order, tightened the reins, turned his horse towards Lu Ye, and rapidly closed the distance.

Zhao Yuwen drew two big axes from his back, shouting loudly, "Boy, give me your life!"

The two horses passed each other, neither stopping.

Fang Kuang's face suddenly darkened.

Behind Lu Ye, Zhao Yuwen fell from his horse, a pool of red blood dyeing the earth.