Chapter 513: Roadside Robbery

The Vermilion Bird Tribe was situated in a region of barren and treacherous lands, surrounded by mountains with rugged, difficult roads.

Although with Ye Chen's current speed, the distance to Jade Crane Mountain wasn't actually that far.

The problem was that the journey was extremely arduous.

This would undoubtedly slow Ye Chen down considerably.

Following the map's directions, Ye Chen had just arrived at the foot of a mountain ridge when he was stopped by someone.

This spot was only five or six hundred meters away from the Vermilion Bird Tribe.

Ye Chen hadn't expected to run into robbers so soon.

"Kid, hand over your Storage Ring!"

There were three men blocking his path.

The leader was a large, dark-skinned man wielding a machete. A cold glint rippled along its blade, giving him a formidable aura.

Beside the large man were two others who looked like his underlings. They stared at Ye Chen like tigers eyeing their prey, cruel smiles on their faces.

Although Ye Chen knew the Black Triangle Region was far from peaceful and that roadside robberies were a countless, daily occurrence, he never imagined he would be targeted so quickly after leaving the Vermilion Bird Tribe.

"I'm from the Vermilion Bird Tribe."

Ye Chen said calmly, not a hint of panic on his face.

"Kid, I've never seen your face before. I've been hanging around here for years and I've never seen the likes of you!"

The large man immediately burst out laughing. "Besides, so what if you really are from the Vermilion Bird Tribe? Now that we've stopped you, it wouldn't matter even if you were the son of the Heavenly King himself!"

This puzzled Ye Chen.

'The Vermilion Bird Tribe is under the protection of the Celestial Mountain Sect, so how can they be bullied so easily by outsiders?'

He couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you worried about retaliation from the Celestial Mountain Sect?"

"The Celestial Mountain Sect?"

The large man looked as if he'd heard the funniest thing in the world, unable to contain his smile.

"Don't you know? The Celestial Mountain Sect can't even take care of itself right now. How could they have time to worry about you?"

"Just accept your fate. I just happened to be passing by and ran into a big fish like you... No, 'big fish' isn't right. Seeing as you don't have a shred of cultivation, how much could your belongings possibly be worth?"

"Hurry up and hand them over! If you keep dawdling, I'll make you regret it!"

The large man was growing impatient.

Ye Chen's eyes flickered, but he ignored the large man.

It was said that a dangerous individual had arrived at the Celestial Mountain Sect, throwing the entire sect into an uproar. This was why they had no spare manpower to dispatch to Jade Crane Mountain to occupy the ore vein.

This surprised Ye Chen.

'What kind of person could put the entire Celestial Mountain Sect on such high alert?'

So much so that even a random outsider passing by dared to bully someone from the Vermilion Bird Tribe, clearly holding no regard for the Celestial Mountain Sect's threat.

'No wonder Zhao Tiankuo and the others ran into danger out there.'

Seeing Ye Chen stand there impassively, one of the large man's underlings barked, "Kid, are you deaf? Big Bro told you to take out your Storage Ring. What are you still dawdling for?"

At this, Ye Chen snapped out of his thoughts and spoke with a hint of resignation, "A Storage Ring? I don't have one."

"What did you say?" The underling's gaze turned cold, a shocking killing intent rising in his eyes. "Are you messing with us?"

"I have no cultivation at all. How could I possibly have something like a Storage Ring?"

Ye Chen shook his head and said calmly.

In truth, all his resources were stored within the Imprisoned Dragon Grotto Heaven.

This included the Storage Rings and other spoils of war he had obtained after killing his enemies in Dongxuan Province.

Hearing this, the three men froze.

They stared intently at Ye Chen, and for a moment, they were almost convinced!

'That's right. The kid doesn't seem to have any cultivation. How could he use a Storage Ring?'

"Are you just a mortal?"

"No, that can't be right. I refuse to believe you haven't cultivated at all!"

The large man hesitated, clearly unwilling to let Ye Chen go so easily. "Then let us search you. How about that?"

"You'd better cooperate. If you really can't produce anything that satisfies me, the consequences will be severe!"

His gaze was frigid, and his voice turned to ice.

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh.

He couldn't be bothered to play along anymore. "How about this," he said coolly, "you answer some of my questions, and if I'm satisfied, I'll overlook what you've done."

As soon as he said this, the three men were stunned. They looked at Ye Chen as if he were an idiot.

'Is this kid joking?'

'He's actually turning the tables and threatening the three of us, the robbers? This is outrageous!'

"Big Bro, looks like we're being underestimated!"

"This kid has been so calm from the start. I refuse to believe he really has zero cultivation!"

One of the underlings stepped forward and said in a cold voice, "Let me test his strength..."

Before his voice had even faded, he was already charging at Ye Chen.

But in the next instant, the large man's vision blurred. Ye Chen had stomped his underling to the ground, his entire arm crushed into a gory mess of flesh and bone—a truly bloody and brutal sight.

The man's unending screams were horrifying.

"What?"

"H-how... so fast?!"

The large man was startled. Ye Chen had struck so swiftly and ferociously that even he hadn't seen what happened!

While he was still in shock, Ye Chen had already strode forward, moving in for the kill.

He had no cultivation, but his astonishing speed made the large man's eyelids twitch, and his heart filled with dread and suspicion!

"Damn it, this kid is no ordinary person! We've been tricked!"

The large man roared. Knowing there was no escape today, his eyes grew frantic. He raised his large machete and swung it at Ye Chen.

But he was, after all, only a Blood Coagulation Realm Cultivator.

The machete whistled through the air, its blade glinting coldly as it descended.

Ye Chen simply raised a hand and stopped the blade.

The large man found he couldn't move the blade forward even an inch!

"Is this kid a monster?"

The last remaining underling stared, dumbfounded.

It was the first time he had ever seen someone block a blade with their bare flesh!

To think, the young man before them hadn't used a single shred of Spiritual Power.

He was fighting entirely with his physical body!

With a casual flick of his finger, Ye Chen shattered the blade. The body of the weapon vibrated violently, and the large man couldn't hold on. The webbing between his thumb and forefinger went numb, and the machete flew from his grasp.

"Your blade is so fragile. It seems to be of poor quality."

Ye Chen glanced at the scattered fragments of the blade on the ground and commented idly.

A chill ran down the large man's spine.

'It's not that the blade's quality is poor, it's that this kid is a complete freak!'