Chapter 82 - 79: It’s Not As Simple As Walking Into the Line of Fire...

Chapter 82: Chapter 79: It’s Not As Simple As Walking Into the Line of Fire...

"Let’s go out together. I also want to test... just how powerful my newly developed Realm really is!"

Just how strong was an advanced Dominator Body combined with a Realm? Su Tan had no idea. He wanted to test it out.

Although he knew the cultivation stages in this world were divided into Body Refinement, Grandmaster, Grandmaster, and the King Realm... these were only classifications for the cultivators of this world. Su Tan’s true combat power could not be measured by this standard. He was an anomaly. If weakness and strength were judged by this world’s realms, he would currently only be a minor cultivator in the Body Refinement stage. Theoretically, no matter how strong a Body Refinement cultivator was, it would be extremely difficult for them to crush a cultivator in the Qi Condensation Realm relying purely on physical strength.

"Surround them! Surround the entire courtyard! Don’t let a single fly escape! If we lose the treasure, I’ll skin you all alive!" Outside the courtyard, a rough, violent voice echoed into the sky. It was fierce and tyrannical.

"Yes, Boss!"

"Don’t worry, Boss. Don’t you know how we handle things?"

"You, you, you... and you, take your men and flank them on the left. You, you, you, and you, take your men and follow me to flank on the right. Light up some torches! If the people inside don’t cooperate later, burn the house down!"

This group was highly skilled yet crude in their movements. They reeked of blood, clearly having many lives on their hands. They had done their fair share of looting and pillaging. Like ghosts coming to claim lives, they gave off an oppressive feeling—making others feel like helpless meat on a chopping block.

In an instant, Su Tan’s courtyard was completely surrounded by bandits. The Celestial Wolf Gang was a group of fierce outlaws. As one of the largest outlaw gangs in Celestial Fragrance, they were vicious and cruel, making many villages pale at the mere mention of their name.

They were terrifying, but also incredibly difficult to track down. Because they had no fixed residence, they would rob one place and immediately move to another. For years, they had roamed the borders of Celestial Fragrance and the Feiyue Empire, burning, killing, and looting, bringing immense suffering to the people of the Celestial Fragrance Empire.

Their leading boss was quite powerful, having reached the Grandmaster Realm. Furthermore, the border was a sensitive zone. They might rob in Celestial Fragrance today and flee into Feiyue territory tomorrow. Their high mobility made it extremely difficult to encircle and annihilate them.

Celestial Fragrance had tried many times, all ending in failure. If they dispatched powerful generals with troops to hunt them down, there was no guarantee they would find them. Even if they did, once the bandits crossed into the neighboring country, leading an army over the border could easily cause misunderstandings and even trigger a national war, which wasn’t worth it. But if they did nothing, the gang would remain arrogant, constantly crossing over to cause trouble on a whim. This caused endless headaches for the Celestial Fragrance authorities.

This time, the gang had originally just been passing by on a looting run. Who would have thought they would happen to see the phenomenon triggered by Su Tan? The bright light had been visible from twenty or thirty miles away. Thinking a great treasure had appeared, the bandits, being so close, immediately charged over. They planned to end the battle quickly, snatch the treasure, and flee Celestial Fragrance at top speed.

Once they succeeded, they would be as free as birds and far beyond the emperor’s reach. Even if the Celestial Fragrance Empire and other major factions knew they had taken the treasure, what could they do? The world was so vast; where would anyone even begin to look for them?

Robbery and pillaging were what they did best. If everything went smoothly, they could completely ransack a village in just a few minutes. Their fastest record ever was stripping a village bare in a mere six minutes.

Pillaging a village was simple. They would ride their horses around, setting fires everywhere to force people out of their homes. They would kill the men. As for the women... they took away whoever they could. The old ones and those not pretty enough to fetch a price were killed. Children? Killed. Anyone useless was slaughtered without exception.

Stealing silver taels... only fools would steal silver taels. How much money could a poor mountain village possibly have? A few fragmented silver taels and a couple sacks of grain at most; was that worth all the effort? What they were truly interested in were women. They would capture them, enjoy them for a while, and then sell them off on the black market. Wasn’t that much more lucrative? It was far easier and more profitable than wasting time scavenging for valuables in poor peasant homes. Plus, they wouldn’t have to worry about the authorities catching onto them and bogging them down because they spent too much time searching the village for loot.

A rule from the Celestial Wolf Gang’s Pillaging Guide: Focus entirely on ending battles quickly.

"Hehe... Boss, once you get this treasure, your long-stagnant cultivation will definitely break through to the next level!"

"When that happens, our Celestial Wolf Gang’s position will be even more secure. What can the Celestial Fragrance Empire or the Feiyue Empire do to us then?"

"Our luck is simply too good!"

"That’s right! This is a massive opportunity. No one else ran into it but us. Even the heavens are helping you achieve greatness, Boss!"

"Thank goodness we took this route, otherwise..."

"Otherwise, we’d never have stumbled upon this kind of fortune!"

"Who was it that suggested we take this retreat route during the day? I’m going to reward him heavily!"

"Hehe... it was Black Pockmarks. Of course... I also offered a little bit of advice," a brother beside him said.

Even before succeeding, they were already fantasizing about what they would do after obtaining the treasure. They were completely oblivious to what they were actually facing. They genuinely believed a treasure had just been born into the world. As for the possibility of someone causing this phenomenon through cultivation? How could that be possible...

Could an expert possibly settle down in a small, remote village? Hah... Why would they? There were no resources here, and as for the scenery... it wasn’t exactly one of those Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands. Would an expert come here just to eat dirt?

A place like Chen Family Village... they could destroy it in minutes. They had indeed wiped out many villages of this caliber before. The Celestial Wolf Gang had absolute confidence in that.

"Little lady, hand over the item if you know what’s good for you. Who knows... your days ahead might just be a little more comfortable."

CREAK!

The courtyard gate opened, and Su Tan walked out with the Little White Wolf.

At the entrance stood a group of bandits mounted on tall horses, exuding an intimidating, murderous aura. The three leaders were quite powerful, especially the boss of the Celestial Wolf Gang, who had reached the Grandmaster Realm.

At the distant gate, Yun Chu and Yun Menglong had arrived a step earlier and were blocking the way. The bandits had assumed the two men belonged to this courtyard and shouted at them. However... the two simply ignored them. Their expressions were utterly calm as they stood there quietly.

The bandits thought they had been scared silly. Just as they were about to continue yelling, the courtyard gate opened. Seeing Su Tan open the door, Yun Chu finally moved. He turned around and said, "Mr. Su..."

Su Tan nodded.

Watching their behavior... Song Ying, the boss of the Celestial Wolf Gang, felt that these people were acting incredibly strange. Deep down... he felt an indescribable sense of unease. Palpitations... When truly facing them, he felt an unspeakable sense of dread.

A rule from the Celestial Wolf Gang’s Pillaging Guide: If there is even a one percent chance of danger, do not do it.

However, for the sake of the treasure about to fall into his hands, and... his long-stagnant cultivation, Song Ying comforted himself. It was probably just an illusion, a mere psychological trick.

"You’re the master of this house?" Song Ying sat on his horse, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Su Tan with a playful gaze.

He had already sensed it—Su Tan was just a piece of trash at the Body Refinement Realm, not even worth mentioning. As for the people beside him... they were pure trash with no detectable cultivation whatsoever. Oh... right, there was also that dog. A little puppy, which was also trash. Three pieces of trash and a dog had probably been scared out of their wits upon seeing the powerful lineup of the Celestial Wolf Gang.

"Yes," Su Tan shrugged, his Emperor Dao radiating indifference.

"Heh..." The boss of the Celestial Wolf Gang glanced at Su Tan, highly displeased with his attitude. Who the hell did this punk think he was? He actually wasn’t afraid of them? How could they have any fun like this? He needed to spice things up.

"This guy seems to have a lot of backbone. Suits my taste perfectly. I appreciate a man with some spirit. Men... chop off his arms and legs! Let’s get a good look at this gentleman’s backbone!"

Having been bandits for so many years, they knew the tricks of interrogation perfectly. They had to make the other party fear them. Fear them from the bottom of their hearts. Make their legs go soft at the sight of them, and make them tremble at the sound of their voices. Whether it was physical harm, or screaming and shouting to apply psychological pressure like they just did, it was all part of the interrogation process.

The main goal was to make the other party break down and lose all will to fight. As long as they held the psychological advantage, everything would be easy. A reaction like Su Tan’s... Song Ying absolutely could not allow it.

"Boss, let me do it. I haven’t played this kind of game in a long time." A man whose entire body—even his brain, it seemed—was made of muscle, stepped forward eagerly. Not only was he covered in muscle, but he was also covered in knife scars, the ultimate proof that he had seen blood. It was a terrifying image. Combined with his inexplicable love for gore, it made him seem exceptionally ferocious. If an ordinary person ran into a guy like this, they would likely be scared weak in the knees.

"Mm, go ahead..." The boss of the Celestial Wolf Gang clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back, lying lazily on his horse, ready to enjoy the show.

"Alright!" The muscular bandit was overjoyed. He licked his thick lips, turned around, and flashed a savage grin. "Kid... let’s have some fun..."

"Hyah!"

RUMBLE!

He rode his horse forward, wielding a massive broadsword as he charged at Su Tan. The broadsword was as wide as a door, even larger than the burly man himself. As he swung it, the blade generated powerful gusts of wind.

"Die!"

With lightning speed, he moved in for the kill. Shockingly, his cultivation... had also reached the Grandmaster Realm.

Song Ying acted as if he didn’t care, lying there lazily as if he had no interest in the battle. In reality, he was staring fixedly at Su Tan. His doubts were growing deeper and deeper. He had originally thought the battle was in the bag. But... these people were actually still standing there quietly, entirely expressionless, as if the person charging at them wasn’t a vicious bandit, but nonexistent air. What was going on?

"Mr. Su..." Yun Chu glanced at Su Tan. "You don’t need to deal with this kind of opponent. It would only dirty your hands. Why don’t you let me handle it?"

"It’s fine!"

WHOOSH!

As Su Tan spoke, the bandit arrived right in front of him. At the exact same moment, Su Tan expanded his Realm.

"Stop!"

A burst of power rippled outward, enveloping the surrounding space. ℯ

CRACK!

A miraculous scene unfolded. The muscular man, who had been charging forward at breakneck speed with thousands of pounds of force, came to a dead halt when he was just one meter away from Su Tan! He stopped instantaneously. It was as if a fast-forwarded video had suddenly been paused. He just stopped, entirely frozen! It was incredibly bizarre.

The muscular man had reached the Grandmaster Realm. Although he had only recently broken through, he was still a Grandmaster. His charging momentum could easily shatter a stone monument. What was happening?

SWISH!

Seeing this bizarre sight, Song Ying’s expression drastically changed. His body, which had been lying lazily on the horse, shot up as if spring-loaded.

THUD!

He stood completely straight on horseback.

Oh no... oh no... It seemed... possibly... probably... they had walked right into the line of fire!

"Mountain Lean Strike!"

SQUELCH!

As soon as the words fell, Song Ying felt a massive sphere of blood explode right in front of him. Red liquid splashed back, covering his face.

SWISH!

Song Ying’s expression changed once again, turning deathly pale in an instant. This... this time, it seemed it wasn’t as simple as just walking into the line of fire!!!

But... it defied logic! It was clearly just an ordinary little village, so how... how could there be such a powerful figure?

A rule from the Celestial Wolf Gang’s Pillaging Guide: Only rob remote, desolate mountain villages. Bully the weak and fear the strong, and always avoid clashing with powerful cultivation families.

Yet this time... it seemed they were going to meet their end in Chen Family Village!

"Mr. Su, the Xu Family has come to protect you! Please forgive us for arriving a step late..."

Before Song Ying could even react, Xu Xiuwu led a massive, overwhelming crowd of Xu Family disciples out from the village’s front gate, completely encircling the members of the Celestial Wolf Gang.

What was this now?

"Xu... Xu Xiuwu... Aren’t... aren’t you supposed to be in White Cloud City? Why are you here?" Truth be told, Song Ying was completely dumbfounded. He felt like he had just run into a ghost.