The shuffle of metal-studded boots on the sandy, rock-strewn floor was the only sound that broke the profound silence of the desolate valley.

  Skeletal remains of burnt-down camps littered the landscape, their charred timbers a grim testament to a recent, violent history.

  One of the bandits, a wiry man with a sneer permanently etched onto his face, grinned, the expression a ghastly slash in the harsh sunlight.

  "I can already see the many villages spread throughout these lands," he declared.

  "Boss Yifeng really knows his stuff!"

  "Don't be a fool." The voice was a low, guttural growl from another bandit, his teeth grinding with a sound like stone on stone.

  He clenched his fist, gripping it so tightly that a thin trickle of crimson welled in his palm.

  "Don't you understand why we've come across so many burnt-down camps along the way?! That man... is still active here. He's been destroying our forces."

  A third bandit, a man whose aura pulsed at the absolute peak of the Qi Sensing Realm, let out a disdainful laugh.

  "Heh, that's why he sent us, didn't he?" His thumb jabbed towards the burly man who brought up the rear, a mountain of muscle with a thick beard and a jagged scar that bisected his left eye.

  "You're all in the later stages of the Qi Sensing Realm, and we have a Body Tempering Realm Stage 1 bastard over here! We'll surely kill him-, No, he corrected himself, his grin turning cruel, "we have to torture him first."

  The burly man sneered, a deep rumble of agreement in his chest. "That's the spirit!"

  Laughter, rough and confident, echoed through the valley, easing the tense knot of fear that had begun to form. Still, the burly man rubbed his chin, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.

  It's been weeks since Boss Yifeng has been trying to reclaim this territory, he mused internally.

  Why does he send a small group at a time? Surely after failing so many times, he would come personally with a larger force.

  He shook his head, dismissing the thought. Boss Yifeng always has crazy ideas. Maybe this is one of them. What kind of tactic is he using now? Heh, doesn't matter.

  Once we're finished with that damned bitch, we'll be able to get our hands on the many villages here, expand our territory even!

  A sharp, upraised hand from the leading bandit, a Stage 7 expert, brought them to a halt. "Wait," he whispered, his eyes narrowed. "I think I see a village up ahead."

  The bandits squinted, their gazes following his. Nestled in a small, defensible crook of the valley was a collection of humble huts.

  "Oh! It is!" Smiles, ugly and predatory, plastered themselves across their faces as their discipline completely dissolved.

  "Finally! Look at them, the women! They're so beautiful!" one of them hissed, licking his lips with a lecherous gaze.

  "HAHAHA! I call dibs on that tall one!"

  A smack landed on the back of his head. "Idiot! Why do you like girls taller than you?! You like being dominated?"

  Within the village walls, however, a different scene was unfolding. An elderly villager watched the approaching bandits, his expression grim.

  "It's bandits again," he sighed, the words carrying a weary weight. "Another group." He turned to the others. "Hide your weapons. Look scared. Look pathetic."

  The villagers nodded in perfect, practiced unison. The calm order immediately erupted into a convincing display of chaos.

  People began to run in circles, their faces masks of feigned terror, their cries of panic echoing up the valley walls.

  The bandits’ laughter grew, their confidence swelling into a fatal arrogance. "HAHA! Look! They're already panicking!"

  Excitement, raw and primal, coursed through their bodies. They were at the lowest point of their guard, their minds filled with thoughts of plunder and violation.

  The burly man, the strongest among them, couldn't contain it any longer. He let out a roar of pure, animalistic greed.

  "YES! I'll HAVE THEM!"

  He dashed forward, his powerful legs eating up the ground as he launched himself towards the distant, seemingly helpless village, a human cannonball of lust and violence

  A high-pitched scream of displaced air was the only warning. As the burly bandit launched himself forward, a streak of pure, crimson energy descended from the heavens like a vengeful meteor.

  SHWBOOM!

  The world erupted. The ground where the Body Tempering expert had been standing a moment before was obliterated, a massive crater forming in a blast of dust and splintered rock.

  The shockwave was a physical wall, an invisible hand that slapped the other bandits from their feet, sending them flying in every direction like discarded dolls.

  "W-WHAT?!" one of them screamed, scrambling through the dirt to retrieve his dagger. He pushed himself weakly to his feet, his entire body trembling.

  "S-Shit! A rock hurled against me during the impact! What the hell was that?!"

  The Peak Qi Sensing Realm bandit, his own face pale with a mixture of terror and disbelief, raised his twin blades, gritting his teeth against the ringing in his ears.

  "Hey! Are you alright?!" he shouted into the swirling dust storm.

  Slowly, agonizingly, the dust began to settle. The scene it revealed was a tableau of pure, shocking brutality.

  The burly man's body was a mangled ruin at the bottom of the crater, his chest a gaping, cauterized hole, as if a star had fallen directly upon him. And sitting casually on the edge of the corpse, leaning his face against his palm as if bored, was a young man with hair the color of freshly spilled blood.

  He let out a lazy yawn before a slow, chilling smile spread across his face. "Hello, there," he said, his voice deceptively calm.

  "One down, four to go."

  A peal of manic, unrestrained laughter erupted from him, a sound that cut through the stunned silence and grated on their very souls.

  The Peak Qi Sensing bandit’s fear was instantly incinerated by a surge of pure, unadulterated rage.

  "YOU BASTARD!" he roared, launching himself forward, a blur of motion as he crossed the distance and struck, his twin blades aimed in a perfect, clean slash against the man's chest.

  He expected to feel the satisfying tear of flesh, but instead, his attack was met by an impenetrable wall of tempered muscle.

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  CLANG! SHATTER!

  His blades exploded upon impact, the fine steel disintegrating into a thousand glittering shards.

  In the brief, horrifying reflection of the shattering metal, the bandit saw his own terrified face, and behind it, the widening, manic smile of the crimson-haired man.

  "What?" the man purred, his voice a silken threat. "Do you finally realize how fucked you are?"

  I-It can't be...

  In a motion too swift to be tracked, the crimson-haired man’s hand shot forward, a piston of flesh and bone that pierced the bandit's chest, crushing his heart in a single, brutal impact.

  "K-Khk..." Blood, thick and dark, dripped from the corner of the bandit’s mouth, his eyes glazing over with the finality of death. "Y-You're at... the peak... of..."

  His head fell forward, his body slumping to the ground in a boneless heap. The remaining bandits took a staggered step back, their blades clattering from their numb fingers as a wave of pure, instinctual terror washed over them.

  "That's boring," the crimson-haired man sighed, a look of genuine disappointment on his face.

  "Are all of you giving up already? This early?" Another peal of manic laughter escaped him. And then, he moved.

  He was a whirlwind, a crimson dust storm that tore through the clearing with impossible speed. The remaining bandits had no time to scream, no time to even raise a defense.

  There was a series of wet, percussive pops, and their heads were launched from their shoulders, trailing arcs of red through the air, their bodies crumpling to the earth a second later.

  "Too easy!" he declared to the sudden, profound silence.

  From behind the village walls, a single, hesitant cheer broke the stillness, followed by another, until the entire village erupted in a roar of triumphant, disbelieving joy.

  This was not just a victory, it was a divine intervention.

  The crimson-haired man threw his head back, his own voice joining the chorus, a roar that came from the very depths of his soul, so powerful it created a small shockwave that rippled through the air and shook the very leaves on the trees.

  "HAHA! I CAN'T WAIT TO BREAKTHROUGH!"

  "Haha, there he goes again," the village chief laughed, the sound a mixture of awe and weary fondness as the echoes of the crimson-haired youth’s roar faded across the valley.

  "He's been at it for months now. Such a great hero." He looked out at the distant, shimmering mountains, a new fire of hope in his old eyes.

  "We'll ally with the Jade Pathways Sect soon enough after all. We have materials within these valleys only found here!" He pumped a fist, his heart swelling with a pride he hadn't felt in years.

  "How long has he been here?"

  The question, spoken with a quiet confidence, came from a girl standing beside him. She was wrapped in a practical, dust-covered cloak, her posture straight and her gaze steady.

  "Aye, you really are just a traveler," the chief mused, stroking his chin as he took in the stranger. "If you must know, he's been here for months on end.

  Said he was from the Jade Pathways Sect, across the hills." A small, genuine smile touched the old man’s lips.

  "He was just walking around at first, fighting the beasts here like the sand-reavers and the valley whisperers. But then, he came across our villages. We told him about our situation… about the bandits."

  "Bandits, huh," the cloaked girl murmured, her own expression unreadable.

  The chief cleared his throat. "He went on a rampage," he continued, his voice ringing with the memory of it. "Burned every camp within the vicinity, killed every bandit in sight. He basically liberated us!"

  The surrounding villagers erupted in a chorus of cheers. "Ahh, I remember when my daughter was about to be enslaved!" one man shouted, his voice thick with emotion.

  "Then he came down from the cliffs, almost destroying three houses upon impact!"

  A hearty laugh came from the man standing next to him. "Haha, indeed! I'm forever thankful for him!"

  Amidst the celebration, another villager let out a weary sigh. "I just wonder where he disappeared off to that time."

  The cloaked girl’s head snapped towards him, her brow furrowing. "What? He disappeared?"

  "SHH!" the chief hissed, his eyes wide as he shot the loose-lipped villager a furious glare. "I said don't reveal that! The young master asked us not to mention his disappearance!"

  The cloaked girl stood tall, her confident gaze pinning the chief in place. "You'll do well to tell me," she stated, her tone leaving no room for argument.

  "I'm quite the curious girl."

  An exasperated sigh escaped the chief’s lips. He knew a stubborn will when he saw one. "If you must know… three, maybe four weeks ago, the young master vanished.

  After someone came. We don't know who he was, but there were also a few bandits surrounding that man. They fought, disappearing into the forests."

  The chief’s expression turned grim. "And then, poof. Our young master went two, three days without showing up! We thought it was over for us. The bandits started creeping back. But gladly, he appeared once more, saying he was just… busy dealing with something."

  "I see." The cloaked girl let out a soft sigh of her own, as if a piece of a puzzle had just clicked into place.

  "So that's the kind of person he is. Welp, I'm off. Thanks for letting me stay."

  She gave a casual wave of her hand and turned to leave, her long, brown hair flowing in the wind as she pulled the hood of her cloak back up.

  "What a weird girl," the chief muttered to himself, watching her go.

  "She said she wanted to wait for something when she first came here…

  After days of trudging through the dense, unforgiving wilderness, the sudden appearance of a clear, well-trodden trail was a welcome, if suspicious, sight.

  "Hm, this must be used for trade," Bi Kan mused aloud, his analytical gaze sweeping over the packed earth.

  "Who knew that there'd be a trail like this—"

  Smack.

  The blow to the back of his head was sharp and impactful. He stumbled forward, a pained grunt escaping his lips as he turned to see Ying Xia standing there, her face a mask of pure indignation.

  "YOU IDIOT! I THOUGHT YOU KNEW WHERE WE WERE GOING!"

  Bi Kan let out a small pout, gently massaging the sore spot. "I said I know which way it is, not every single thing we'll find on the path," he grumbled, shaking his head.

  Their argument was cut short by the rhythmic creak of wooden wheels and the soft snort of a horse. Instantly, their training kicked in.

  They melted into the bushes at the side of the trail, their movements silent and fluid.

  "Do you think it's an enemy?" Ying Xia whispered, her hand already on the hilt of her dagger.

  Bi Kan shook his head. "Unlikely. Must be a trader, like I said. It's a trade route."

  A single caravan, piled high with cloth and crates, trundled into view, pulled by a sturdy-looking horse. The merchant guiding it sighed, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.

  "Hahh… How much farther is it going to be…?"

  "Then why are we hiding?" Ying Xia pressed, her eyes narrowing. "He doesn't seem strong."

  "He's from another sect," Bi Kan replied, his tone serious. "That caravan has a crest on it, a golden sun. That isn't ours."

  Ying Xia's eyes widened, a dangerous glint of excitement flashing within them, followed by a wide, predatory grin.

  "So, we're basically near an enemy sect's caravan?! Let's raid them! Teach that sect a lesson! What's their name?"

  Bi Kan’s serious expression dissolved into one of pure confusion. He shrugged. "I don't know."

  Her face almost exploded. "HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW?!"

  "C-Calm down!" Bi Kan held up his hands defensively. "Why should I know? I'm only focused on my own goal—"

  "YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO KNOW!" she hissed, her voice a furious whisper. "KEEP TABS ON POSSIBLE ENEMIES!"

  "Just leave me be, okay?! I'm just a simple Outer Disciple, how would I know this stuff?" he sighed.

  Just then, two figures burst from the opposite side of the trail, their faces desperate, their hands clutching crude, sharpened farming tools.

  "L-Leave the caravan! Now! Or else we'll…"

  The merchant gulped, then his fear was replaced by a sneer. "D-Don't you know I'm delivering this to a sect? Tread lightly, you fiends!"

  "Aren't those bandits?" Ying Xia whispered.

  Bi Kan shook his head, his gaze hardening as he rose to his feet. "No. They're villagers. And they're about to die."

  The merchant, his aura flaring to the 4th Stage of the Qi Sensing Realm, unfurled a wicked-looking Serpent-Spine Whip. It cracked through the air, smacking into the tattered men.

  "K-Kuhk!" "ACK!"

  "You pieces of shit," the merchant snarled, his face red with rage. "You think you can raid me that easily, huh?!" The whip, woven from some kind of spiritual beast hide, glowed faintly as it cut through the air again.

  Bi Kan’s hand shot out, catching the whip mid-strike. A searing, stinging pain shot up his arm. It stings!

  "W-Wha!"

  A pink-tailed whirlwind descended from the bushes behind the merchant. "HYAH!" Ying Xia’s palm connected squarely with the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

  The two villagers slowly pushed themselves up, their eyes wide with gratitude. "No problem," Bi Kan said, nursing his hand. "After all, we're here to help you with the bandit problem. Show us to your village."

  "O-Oh, thank the heavens!" one of them cried.

  Bi Kan crossed his arms. "Take a few materials from the caravan. It isn't right to steal, especially from a sect, but a small tax should be fine. He won't know he's been robbed. My partner's an expert at inducing amnesia."

  A victorious grin plastered itself across Ying Xia’s face. "Yes! My Amnesia Spirit Dragon Fist is very powerful!"

  Okay, too much improv, Xia…

  Near the distant bandit fortress, a new presence arrived. A cloaked figure, his muscles so big and bulky they strained the very fabric of his robes, stood before the high wooden palisade.

  His aura was a crushing weight, the undeniable pressure of a Body Tempering Realm Peak expert.

  "Open the gates," he commanded, his voice a low, final rumble. "Now."

  One of the guards scrambled from his post, his face pale with terror. "H-He's come, boss…"

  Hao Fu had finally returned, a man with a mane of beautiful, flowing gray hair, he rubbed his chin "And who might this guest be…?"

  "B-Boss Hao Yu."

  Hao Fu’s eyes slowly narrowed, creating immense pressure from his body.

  T-This kind of… pressure! one of the guards gulped, the guard's heart felt like it was about to explode!

  If he's here, it means that something's going on. And it isn't good. A flicker of relief passed through him.

  I'm glad I took my daughter away before he appeared.

  The heavy gates slowly groaned open. Hao Yu entered, his yellow eyes glowing as they immediately locked onto the main tent.

  It's been months since you've last visited here, Cousin.