Halfway up Black Mountain stood a strategically important location.

The critical passage leading inside was not only blocked by rows of wooden stakes, but watchtowers stood at regular intervals along the way, giving it quite the atmosphere of a military base.

Jun Changxiao walked through the narrow passage, in no mood to observe his surroundings, muttering darkly to himself: “I killed someone.”

Yes.

He had killed someone—two people, in fact.

Having transmigrated to the Xingyun Continent and become a martial cultivator, this was something he would have to experience sooner or later.

“Strange.”

Jun Changxiao said in confusion: “When I severed Elder Wei’s arm at the Grievance Platform, the sight of blood nearly made me vomit. Why didn’t I have any reaction to killing someone for the first time?”

One sword, one kill—he had slain two bandits, and throughout it all, his mental state had remained stable as could be.

The system explained: “Because the host has already adapted to his new identity and has gained sufficient understanding of the Xingyun Continent’s law of the jungle, you were able to remain unperturbed.”

“Oh.”

Jun Changxiao understood.

Casting aside distracting thoughts, he began to survey his surroundings, thinking to himself: “This place is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with the only entrance sealed layer upon layer. It would be very difficult to capture.”

Indeed it would be.

The authorities and various sects had suffered many setbacks here.

“Move it!”

A bandit ahead coldly urged him forward. Behind him, dozens of bandits holding blades and spears followed, all glaring furiously at Jun Changxiao.

Two of their companions had been killed, and they had wanted to swarm forward and chop this fellow into mincemeat, but the chief had ordered them to bring him into the stronghold, so they could only forcibly suppress their thoughts.

“Third Brother, what’s the chief thinking? Why didn’t he let us brothers take action, but instead let him into the mountain!”

“This guy is the Tiegu Sect Master. The chief probably took his martial world status into consideration, which is why he didn’t let us act.”

“Bah! A piece of trash like this, a sect master?”

“I’ve roamed Qingyang Commandery for so long, and I’ve never seen a sect leader who’s a little brat who hasn’t even grown all his hair yet.”

As the bandits talked, they got onto the subject of Jun Changxiao’s identity as a sect master, unanimously agreeing that this guy was way too young to possibly be the leader of a sect.

“Sigh.”

Grand Sect Master Jun sighed.

At that moment, he wished he could carve the four words ‘I am the Sect Master’ on his forehead to prove that he truly was the leader of the Tiegu Sect!

“Brothers, could this guy be an imposter?”

“If he dares to impersonate someone and the chief exposes him, he’ll definitely wish he were dead.”

“Hehe, I actually hope he is an imposter—that way we can enjoy watching the chief’s methods of torture again!”

Under the escort of dozens of bandits, Jun Changxiao passed through layer after layer of guards and stopped before a large gate constructed of wooden planks, with the three characters ‘Black Wind Stronghold’ carved on it.

Tsk tsk.

The bandits had even established their own mountain stronghold.

“Open the gate!”

“Creak!”

The two wide wooden doors were slowly pushed open. The lead bandit said flatly: “Kid, follow me in.”

Jun Changxiao stepped forward and entered the stronghold.

……

The interior of Black Wind Stronghold was larger than the Tiegu Sect, with many crude wooden houses erected on both sides.

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

Jun Changxiao had just entered when he heard the sound of whipping.

In an open area in the distance stood five wooden posts, each binding a disheveled person. Their hair was tangled and matted, their bodies covered in fresh blood, their torn clothing revealing prominent whip marks one after another.

A bare-chested, muscular bandit vigorously swung his whip, lashing one of them. Only the sound of the whip could be heard—no screams.

Jun Changxiao’s brow furrowed slightly.

He knew that the person being whipped wasn’t screaming because they were already on the verge of death.

“Save… save me…” A weak groan suddenly came from beside his ear.

Jun Changxiao looked down to see a man slowly crawling along the ground. Both his legs had been severed, leaving two long trails of blood. His face was extremely ferocious yet utterly weak, his eyes filled with fear, despair, and pain, as if knowing he was about to die yet still hoping to survive.

“Squelch!”

A large blade fell, and a head rolled away.

A bandit raised his large blade and kicked the head into a brazier full of charcoal ash, cursing: “Legless bastard still crawling around everywhere.”

“Brother Niu, since that guy was going to die sooner or later anyway, why not let him die more painfully?”

“If you ask me, Brother Niu is just soft-hearted and wanted to let him go quickly.”

The nearby bandits joked.

“Soft-hearted my ass!”

The bandit called Brother Niu cursed: “He got the damn ground all dirty—now I have to clean it up.”

“Makes sense, makes sense.”

Everyone roared with laughter.

Jun Changxiao’s brow furrowed even tighter. From these bandits’ eyes, he couldn’t detect even a trace of compassion—all he saw was cold-blooded brutality.

“Hm?”

Brother Niu sheathed his blade and looked over.

The other bandits also jumped down from the platform, staring at Jun Changxiao with mocking gazes.

“Click!” One bandit raised his hand, making a throat-slitting gesture while producing strange sounds, then laughed sinisterly.

Other bandits scattered throughout the stronghold, noticing a stranger had entered, all cast cold, forest-like gazes his way.

For a moment.

Several hundred bandits in the stronghold were all staring at Jun Changxiao.

“Crack crack crack!”

The whip-wielding bandit lashed out viciously a few more times, then grabbed the hair of the person bound to the wooden post and cursed: “Damn it, another one dead. Really can’t take a beating.”

Jun Changxiao said nothing and walked straight ahead.

After just a few dozen steps, he successively saw many people either hanging or suspended, all with their heads lowered—they had clearly stopped breathing.

“Damn it.”

From a crude house on the right side, a bandit emerged pulling up his pants, cursing angrily: “One moment of carelessness and that woman bit off her own tongue and killed herself.”

“Hehe, I’ll go take a look.”

“Damn, Little Eight, how desperate are you? You even dare to do it with a dead person.”

A bandit joked.

The one called Little Eight ducked into the house, his voice carrying out: “I’ve been holding it in for half a year—even if it were a sow, I’d still do it!”

“Hahaha.”

Everyone roared with laughter.

Jun Changxiao walked past them, his gaze gradually turning cold.

This wasn’t a stronghold, nor was it a bandit den—it was a slaughterhouse existing like hell itself. The bandits here were no longer human beings, but a pack of brutal, bloodthirsty beasts.

Jun Changxiao didn’t want to be a good person.

However, seeing the corpses of those tortured and whipped to death along the way, seeing the piles of bones heaped together, nameless fury blazed up within him.

If witnessing the stronghold that resembled a slaughterhouse merely made Jun Changxiao angry…

Then seeing the head that had been kicked into the brazier earlier, seeing the despair, fear, and helplessness contained in that dying gaze, the only thought that arose in his heart was—kill them all!