"Attack!"

In the dense forest, a cold glint flashed in Elder Fang Tu’s eyes. He swung his withered hand down sharply and barked a low command.

Including him, five figures shot out from their hiding places like cheetahs that had been lying in wait, charging straight for the mountain stronghold built on the perilous terrain.

All five were Inner Qi Realm Elders. Their speed was immense. With just a few bounds up the steep mountain path, they had already covered half the distance.

"Enemy attack!!!"

High up on the watchtower, the pupils of the bandit on guard duty shrank. He let out a piercing shriek and desperately beat the bronze gong beside him.

"CLANG CLANG CLANG—!"

The ear-piercing alarm instantly shattered the tranquility of the stronghold.

In the very next moment, figures flickered behind the battlements of the stronghold wall as dozens of bandit archers appeared.

They were well-trained. They drew their bows and nocked their arrows. The cold arrowheads glinted in the morning light, locking onto the five rapidly approaching figures below like vipers.

"Fire!"

With a shout, the thrum of bowstrings sounded like a sudden downpour.

A dense volley of arrows tore through the air with shrill whistles, forming a black rain of death that descended upon the five Elders.

"Hmph!"

Elder Fang Tu, an Eighth Grade Martial Artist leading the charge, snorted coldly. Without any visible preparation, the seemingly simple long saber in his hand was suddenly unsheathed.

The blade trembled with a low hum, and a massive, incredibly condensed, pale-green blade of Saber Qi, visible to the naked eye, shot forth from the edge, slashing horizontally forward!

"BOOM—!"

Wherever the blade of Saber Qi passed, the air itself seemed to tear. The dense rain of arrows crashed into it as if hitting an invisible wall of bronze and iron.

Most of the arrows were instantly shredded by the ferocious Saber Qi, exploding into a shower of splintered wood and metal fragments!

At the same time, the other four Elders also made their moves.

Some clapped their palms together, sending powerful Inner Qi out from their bodies to form Palm Seals the size of millstones, swatting away the arrows that slipped through.

Others flicked their sword tips, sending out sharp streams of Sword Qi that precisely shattered the arrows in mid-air.

The five Inner Qi Realm Elders, working together, completely blocked the volley of arrows!

Their speed didn’t decrease in the slightest as they brazenly charged to the base of the stronghold wall.

There was no need to climb. Using a Light Body Technique, they tapped their toes on the rough wall face to propel themselves upward, leaping like goshawks onto the wall dozens of feet high!

"Kill!"

The bandits on the wall tried to resist, but how could they be a match for these Inner Qi Realm Elders?

Flashes of sabers and swords flickered, accompanied by piercing screams. The bandits on the wall were quickly cut down as if they were chopping melons and vegetables.

"Open the gate!"

At Elder Fang Tu’s command, one of the Elders swung his saber and severed the thick gate bar. With a grating "CREAK," the heavy gate slowly swung open.

"Charge!"

Having already taken the opportunity to gather outside the wall, dozens of Fang Family Martial Artists, including Fang Han and Fang Hong, surged into the stronghold like a bursting dam!

"What’s happening?!"

"Damn it, the Fang Family is attacking!"

The three Village Chiefs arrived in a hurry with a large group of bandits, only to find that the wall had been breached and the Fang Family Martial Artists had already poured into the stronghold.

The stronghold that even the Government Office couldn’t breach had been taken just like that. A sense of dread instantly filled their hearts.

What they didn’t know was that the strength of the Liangshui City Government Office lay mainly in its large number of soldiers, suitable for large-scale charges. When it came to high-level Martial Artists, the Government Office was inferior to the Fang Family.

And for dealing with terrain that was easy to defend and hard to attack, high-level Martial Artists were more important than sheer numbers.

"Today, it’s either they die or we’re finished! Fight them to the death!"

The head chief, She Da, roared furiously. Wielding a Nine-Ring Saber, he led the second chief, She Er, and the third chief, She San, to confront Elder Fang Tu and his four companions.

However, there was a clear disparity in strength between the two sides.

Elder Fang Tu was an Eighth Grade Martial Artist, while the strongest of the three Village Chiefs, She Da, was only a Late Ninth Grade Martial Artist.

Moreover, there were four other Ninth Grade Internal Qi Elders. Whether in terms of strength or numbers, the Fang Family held the advantage.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!—"

Saber Qi crisscrossed the air, and Palm Wind howled.

The moment the fight began, the three Village Chiefs were completely suppressed. They could only struggle to hold on; their defeat was just a matter of time.

On the other side, dozens of Fang Family Martial Artists, the weakest of whom were at the Refining Tendons stage, charged toward the bandits.

Fang Han, wielding the Cyan Blade Sword, moved like the wind as he charged the bandits.

"Gentle Breeze Brushing the Willows!"

A light sword flash flickered past. Several bandits, who were only in the Skin Refining and Flesh Refining Realms, felt a chill on their throats and died before they could even get a clear look at their attacker.

In his hands, the Qingfeng Swordsmanship, which had reached the Great Success Realm, became a highly efficient killing technique.

Every strike was incomparably precise, aimed straight for a vital point, with no superfluous flourishes.

"What terrifying Swordsmanship!"

Seeing several of his companions, whose strength was no less than his own, killed in such a short time, a bandit in the Flesh Refining Realm who had intended to charge Fang Han was scared out of his wits.

He hastily retreated, putting distance between himself and Fang Han.

"PFFT—"

Fang Han thrust his sword at the fleeing bandit. The bandit saw that Fang Han’s sword wasn’t long enough and clearly couldn’t reach him.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw a faint, visible burst of Powerful Qi emerge from Fang Han’s sword.

This burst of Powerful Qi shot out like a Hidden Weapon, piercing through his chest and leaving a bloody hole.

Never expecting this Fang Family disciple to have such a technique, his eyes filled with unwillingness as his body fell to the ground with a thud.

"Another one down!"

Fang Han didn’t spare the dead bandit a glance and turned to kill the others.

The Powerful Qi he had just shot out was not External Qi, but rather a force generated by compressing the air, a product of his Great Success Swordsmanship.

When unleashed with his current strength at the Late Stage of Muscle Refining, its power was far inferior to the External Qi of an Inner Qi Realm Martial Artist, but it was still enough to kill a Flesh Refining Realm Martial Artist.

"You’re courting death, kid!"

A minor bandit leader, whose strength had reached the Late Stage of Muscle Refining, noticed Fang Han wreaking havoc.

He roared in anger and, wielding a Ghost Head Saber, brought it down in a heavy, powerful chop.

Sensing that this attacking bandit was no simple foe, Fang Han’s eyes narrowed, and he didn’t dare to be careless.

"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!—"

Channeling the full power of his Late Stage of Muscle Refining, his Cyan Blade Sword became a blur of afterimages. Whether parrying, redirecting, or thrusting, he neutralized his opponent’s ferocious attacks one by one, the sound of clashing metal ringing out incessantly.

The bandit leader’s Saber Technique was vicious and he was highly experienced, but against Fang Han’s fluid and masterful Qingfeng Swordsmanship, which had reached Great Success, he felt as if his strength was failing him.

It was as if every slash of his saber struck empty air, while the unpredictable tip of the sword forced him to retreat again and again.

After more than ten exchanges, the bandit leader overcommitted to a Powerful Slash of Huashan, leaving his chest wide open.

"Now!"

A sharp light burst from Fang Han’s eyes. Seizing the fleeting opportunity, the qi and blood in his body surged as he executed "Gentle Breeze Piercing the Sun" with a swift thrust!

Qi Force condensed on the tip of the sword, its speed reaching an extreme.

"PCHI!"

The Cyan Blade Sword accurately pierced the bandit leader’s heart.

The bandit leader’s forward-charging body froze abruptly, the vicious sneer on his face replaced by incredulous shock.

He looked down at the longsword that had pierced his chest, his eyes quickly dimming before he collapsed to the ground with a "THUD."

A bandit leader at the Late Stage of Muscle Refining had fallen!

Not far away, Elder Fang Tu, though locked in a fierce battle with the three Village Chiefs, kept a part of his attention on the battlefield, especially on the top ten prospects from the Inner Hall.

Seeing Fang Han so cleanly kill a Late Stage of Muscle Refining bandit—a foe at a higher level—a trace of admiration couldn’t help but flash through his eyes.

’Late Stage of Muscle Refining, Great Success in Swordsmanship, calm in actual combat, and precise with his timing. This boy is truly extraordinary!’

The other Elders had also more or less noticed Fang Han’s performance and all nodded in silent approval.

Although they had heard the rumors about the Fang Family’s Qilin’er, they had never seen Fang Han before. Now that they had, they knew the rumors were true.

With a Qilin’er like him, the Fang Family’s future is promising!

The battle was completely one-sided.

The five Elders’ strength was overwhelming. Wounds continuously appeared on the three Village Chiefs, and the signs of their defeat were already showing.

Below, the screams of the bandits rose and fell as they were encircled and annihilated by the group of Fang Family Martial Artists.

Not long after, Elder Fang Tu unleashed an incomparably sharp slash of Saber Qi and beheaded She Da.

Another Elder shattered She Er’s heart meridians with a palm strike.

Finally, the injured but stubbornly resisting She San was also impaled through the throat by an Elder’s longsword.

All three Village Chiefs had been executed!

With the three Village Chiefs dead, the remaining bandits had no will to resist. All were killed; not a single one escaped.

The annihilation campaign against the Black Snake Thieves ended in a complete victory for the Fang Family.

The smell of blood filled the mountain stronghold. Fang Han stood in the middle of the field, his sword in hand. The blood on his Cyan Blade Sword had long since been flicked clean.

He was breathing lightly, looking at the bodies strewn across the ground and smelling the metallic tang of blood in the air.

This was his second time experiencing a life-and-death battle, and he still wasn’t completely used to it. But compared to the first time, when he had nearly vomited, it was undoubtedly much better.