*A forty-meter blade, letting them run thirty-nine meters first—now that’s refinement, true refinement!*
Zhou Tianba was bound immobile by the overwhelming Pressure Aura, cold sweat pouring from his forehead, the terror in his eyes growing ever stronger.
“It seems,” Jun Changxiao said, “that the Great Chief is also someone who fears death.”
Zhou Tianba wasn’t particularly afraid of death—after all, in the bandit profession, he’d long made peace with the possibility. But under the oppressive aura of the Difficulty Retracting Blade, he experienced an unprecedented terror, as if he were… trapped in hell itself!
Zhou Tianba was frightened. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to survive!
Jun Changxiao continued, “So today, this seat shall cleanse the community on behalf of Qingyang Prefecture’s people, on behalf of those wrongfully killed spirits.”
“No, no, no!” Zhou Tianba hurriedly said, “Sect Leader Jun, I’m willing to release your sect’s disciples!”
“What about the money?”
“I don’t want it anymore, don’t want it!”
With the forty-meter blade ready to fall at any moment, even with ten times the courage he wouldn’t dare demand it. He even regretted—why had he been so confused as to kidnap Ironbone Clang Sect disciples and provoke such a terrifying individual!
Zhou Tianba now had no doubt whatsoever that if this person decided to kill, both himself and his two hundred-plus subordinates would all fall beneath that blade!
Jun Changxiao asked, “Great Chief, this seat is quite curious—how did you come to know my name?”
“This…” Zhou Tianba paused slightly, then said, “Zhou heard something about the recent Hundred Sects Recruitment.”
“Swish!”
Jun Changxiao pressed the blade down, stopping it right before his forehead, his gaze cold and severe. “This seat hopes you can speak the truth.”
The blade was only a palm’s width from his forehead, the overwhelming Pressure Aura bearing down, frightening Zhou Tianba until his face turned green.
At this moment, he couldn’t care about anything else, his voice trembling as he said, “It was… Lingquan Sect! Lingquan Sect gave me a sum of money to kidnap your sect’s disciples and take your life!”
“Time to hit the road,” Jun Changxiao said, having obtained the answer he wanted, and swung his blade.
“Splurt—”
Zhou Tianba’s mouth remained open as his head separated from his body and flew away.
That greedy, cowardly Ironbone Clang Sect disciple had had his head severed by Zhou Tianba; now Jun Changxiao had severed Zhou Tianba’s head in turn—this could be considered karmic retribution.
“Great Chief…”
Witnessing Zhou Tianba’s headless body crash to the ground, the Black Wind Stronghold bandits trembled with fear.
“Swish!”
Jun Changxiao turned around, his gaze radiating endless killing intent.
With all the major and minor leaders dead, Black Wind Stronghold was essentially leaderless. One could say that sparing these bandits would also…
Spare them?
Would those who had been whipped to death while bound to wooden posts agree?
Would those corpses that had been hung up, strung up, and sun-dried into human jerky agree?
Would that head in the brazier, with eyes full of despair, terror, and helplessness, agree?
And finally—would Jun Changxiao agree?
No.
These inhuman beasts—sparing them would be like releasing a tiger back to the mountains. So today, he would borrow this forty-meter blade to seek justice for the dead!
“Die,” Jun Changxiao said darkly.
In that moment, endless killing intent radiated from his entire being.
“No, no…”
Several hundred bandits’ scalps exploded with fear, their faces ashen, as an intense death aura surged into their hearts.
“Swish!”
“Swish!”
Blade light flashed, blood sprayed.
The desperate bandits would never have imagined until their deaths that this person who entered would be a killing god, a demon.
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Flames suddenly rose from the brazier, and the head with despairing, terrified eyes witnessed those beasts die one by one, its face seemingly breaking into a smile as the flames consumed it.
—
At the martial arts training ground, Jun Changxiao stood holding his blade, black hair flowing.
Around him, countless corpses lay scattered, blood pooling into rivers, the air thick with the pungent smell of gore.
Thus it was done.
Black Wind Stronghold’s ten chiefs and over two hundred bandits had all become souls beneath his blade.
“You killed a total of two hundred twenty-six people,” the System said.
Jun Changxiao, who had never killed before, had killed far too many today.
“Did they deserve to die?”
“In the world you came from, no matter how heinous their crimes, they would be judged and punished by law.”
“This is a different world with different rules. Never mind their countless evil deeds—just for abducting and killing my sect’s disciples, they deserved death.”
“The Host has already adapted to Xingyun Continent.”
“Adapting isn’t my style. I’ll make Xingyun Continent adapt to me. Anyone who bullies me, insults me, must pay the price—including… Lingquan Sect.”
—
“Buzz!”
The Difficulty Retracting Blade flashed with light, then shrank from forty meters to half a foot, transforming back into a miniature knife.
“Without it, I truly would have had difficulty rescuing the kidnapped disciples today.”
Jun Changxiao inserted the small knife into its sheath.
“Buzz!”
The moment it closed, the Difficulty Retracting Blade trembled slightly, as if some power had sealed itself between the handle and sheath.
Jun Changxiao said in shock, “Don’t tell me this blade sealed itself again?”
“Correct,” the System said. “The Difficulty Retracting Blade’s power is immense—it’s a double-edged sword that harms both others and oneself. After use, it automatically seals itself. The Host must continue using Unsealing Talismans to unlock it.”
“…”
Jun Changxiao was speechless.
However, thinking about how even he had been somewhat frightened during its use, this fierce divine weapon was indeed better kept sealed, lest he accidentally harm himself.
Wait!
Jun Changxiao said in shock, “Double-edged sword? Harms both others and oneself?”
The System asked, “Don’t you feel tired?”
“Tired? I don’t feel…”
Before he could finish saying “anything,” Jun Changxiao’s body felt completely drained, and he immediately collapsed weakly onto the platform.
The System explained, “After using the Difficulty Retracting Blade, the Host will be weakened for 30 minutes. During this period, you have no strength, no defenses—even a three-year-old child could kill you at will.”
“What a damned design…” Jun Changxiao lay powerlessly on the stone slabs, thinking darkly, “Good thing I killed them all first, or I’d be the dead one.”
—
Thirty minutes passed quickly.
Jun Changxiao gradually recovered from his weakened state, then with a “whoosh” leaped up, rose, and walked through the side door of the hall, soon finding the stone prison behind the mountain.
“Sect Leader?”
“The Sect Leader has come! The Sect Leader came to save us!”
The thirty-plus disciples imprisoned in the stone cells saw Jun Changxiao appear—their first reaction was stunned confusion, then they erupted in joyful shouting!
“Clang!”
The iron chains broke, the cell door opened.
Jun Changxiao withdrew his Frost Edge Sword and smiled, “My treasures, you’ve suffered.”
The key to the Strongest Sect System lay in the disciples—was calling them “treasures” excessive? Not at all excessive, and in fact quite affectionate!
Goosebumps rose on the thirty-plus disciples’ skin, but with the Sect Leader personally coming to rescue them, they were still deeply moved to tears.
—
At the martial arts training ground, the rescued disciples looked at the corpses, at the severed limbs scattered everywhere, at the blood congealed into rivers, their facial muscles stiff, some unable to help but vomit.
“Senior Brother…”
One disciple pointed at Zhou Tianba’s head in shock, “It’s the bandit Great Chief—his head has been severed!”
Everyone looked, drawing sharp breaths.
The bandits on Black Mountain had plagued Qingyang Prefecture for so long that even the authorities and major sects couldn’t deal with them, yet now they were all dead, leaders included—this was simply unbelievable!
“Were they all… killed by the Sect Leader alone?”
“The Sect Leader is the only person in the stronghold—if he didn’t kill them, who else would it be!”
“Good heavens, this is absolutely terrifying!”
In that moment, the thirty-plus disciples’ worship of their Sect Leader flowed endlessly like a mighty river!
Jun Changxiao had no interest in basking in his disciples’ admiration—he was already in Zhou Tianba’s bedroom, having found a secret passage leading underground.
Following the stairs down, a locked iron door blocked the way. He drew his sword to sever the chain, kicked the door open, and treasures of gold, silver, and jewels appeared before his eyes.
“I’m rich, I’m rich!”
Jun Changxiao’s eyes glowed golden as he unceremoniously swept all the valuables inside into his possession.
After returning fully loaded, he also collected the Azure Dragon Halberd leaning against the tiger-skin throne into his spatial ring, then led his disciples out in grand fashion.
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Black Wind Stronghold, which resembled a military base, erupted in roaring flames. The stronghold, wooden posts, watchtowers, and corpse after corpse turned to ash in the fire.
“Ding!”
“Congratulations to the Host for completing the hidden mission [Eliminating Evil for the People], rewarding 50 Contribution Points!”
“Ding!”
“Sect Contribution Points: 50/100.”
“Holy crap!”
On the mountain path down, Jun Changxiao exclaimed in surprise, “Destroying Black Wind Stronghold was actually a hidden mission with such high Contribution Point rewards!”