Kara Moran shook her head. "I have no idea." She hadn't even reached the Innate realm—how could she judge a battle between Heaven-and-Man experts?
"Go! Kill him for me!" Levi Li shouted angrily.
At once, the four corpse puppets roared and lunged at Ian Steele.
"Die!"
Four sword lights flashed, and then four heads flew into the air.
"How... how is this possible?"
Seeing Ian Steele kill four corpse puppets with a single sword strike, Levi Li was instantly overwhelmed by panic. Even though the four corpse puppets had lost an arm each, they still possessed mid Heaven-and-Man strength. To slay four mid Heaven-and-Man experts in one stroke—even a late-stage Heaven-and-Man couldn't do that.
"All of you, go! Kill him!" Levi Li roared.
Hearing their hall master's order, the faces beneath the masks of the seven Corpse-Ghost Hall cultists turned deathly pale. This wasn't an order to kill—it was a death sentence. If Ian Steele could slay four corpse puppets with one sword, how could a bunch of Innate Ninth Layer nobodies stand a chance?
"What, you dare defy my orders?" Levi Li swept his cold gaze over his subordinates.
In the end, cowed by Levi Li’s authority, the seven Corpse-Ghost Hall disciples drew their swords and charged at Ian Steele.
"Chickens and stray dogs."
Ian Steele smirked with disdain, his sword flashing out in seven arcs. Instantly, the seven Corpse-Ghost Hall disciples were decapitated, their bodies collapsing to the ground.
And Levi Li?
He had already unleashed his movement technique to the limit, fleeing desperately toward the rear.
"Die!"
Ian Steele suddenly soared into the air, slashing his sword at Levi Li from hundreds of meters away.
A flash of silver-white sword light appeared behind Levi Li, piercing straight through his body with a wet sound.
Yet his body didn’t stop—he ran on for dozens of meters before finally collapsing to the ground, lifeless.
Landing lightly, Ian Steele sheathed his sword and walked toward Susie and the other two.
"Young Master, are you alright?" Susie hurried over with concern.
"Don't worry, just a few small fry. How could they possibly hurt me?" Ian Steele replied nonchalantly.
"I knew Young Master was the strongest!" Susie said, her face full of admiration.
"The Black Heaven Demonic Cult is infamous for never letting things go. Now that you’ve killed their hall master, they’ll stop at nothing to take revenge!" Kara reminded him.
"Thank you for the reminder, Miss Kara." Ian cupped his fist to her.
…………
News travels fast in the jianghu. In just a few days, word spread throughout the land that Ian Steele had slain the Black Heaven Demonic Cult’s Corpse-Ghost Hall Master and a host of their experts.
Everyone thought the Number One Bandit Under Heaven would lay low for a while, but no one expected him to clash with the Black Heaven Demonic Cult again so soon.
The Three Great Holy Lands were the orthodox leaders, while the Black Heaven Demonic Cult was the top demonic force.
He’d managed to offend both sides—should people marvel at the Number One Bandit’s courage, or his knack for causing trouble?
Skyvale City, Moonview Pavilion—the largest restaurant in town.
At one table sat three women and a man.
Of the three women, one wore green, stunningly beautiful and gentle in demeanor; the second was just as striking, clad in fiery red, her whole bearing bold and heroic.
The third woman was dressed as a maid and didn’t draw much attention.
Anyone who could afford to dine at Moonview Pavilion was either a wealthy merchant, a noble, or a notable figure in the jianghu.
Normally, such people would maintain their dignity in public, but ever since this group arrived, several young martial guests at a neighboring table had been loudly discussing jianghu gossip, glancing at the two beauties after every punchline.
Unfortunately, the two women seemed oblivious to their presence. The green-clad beauty kept serving food and pouring wine for the white-robed scholar, while the red-clad woman looked absent-minded, as if lost in thought.
As for the little maid, she was only interested in the dishes on the table, stuffing herself enthusiastically.
Seeing they couldn’t attract the beauties’ attention, the four young martial guests at the neighboring table grew discouraged. Suddenly, one of them had an idea and called out, "Brother Zhou, Brother Wang, Brother Ma—do you know who’s the hottest topic in the jianghu lately?"
The tall youth surnamed Wang laughed, "Ha, Brother Zhu, that’s too easy. In my opinion, the one in the brightest spotlight right now is the Number One Bandit Under Heaven!"
Hearing the words 'Number One Bandit Under Heaven,' the green-clad beauty paused slightly, clearly interested in the topic.
Noticing this, the Wang youth was instantly excited—he’d finally caught the beauty’s attention! He raised his voice even more: "But in my opinion, the Number One Bandit won’t be rampant for long. Offending the Three Great Holy Lands is one thing—they might not bother with him out of pride. But he dared to mess with the Black Heaven Demonic Cult, and they’re notorious for ruthless revenge. He killed their hall master, so you can bet they’ll go all out to retaliate..."
It seemed the red-clad woman was also drawn in by the topic, no longer lost in thought but wearing a strange expression. The Wang youth grew even more animated, his voice booming as if he were directing the fate of the martial world.
Finally, he concluded, "I’m certain the Number One Bandit will be dead at the hands of the Black Heaven Demonic Cult within a month!"
"Brother Wang, well said! I’ll drink to that!" The other three raised their cups.
"You’re too kind!" Brother Wang replied, clinking glasses.
"Ah, to think the Number One Bandit is so young and already so powerful. If he dies, it would be a real shame," sighed the youth surnamed Zhou.
"Heh, the Number One Bandit isn’t any good anyway. Back at the Sunrise Peak gathering, he forced everyone to give him gifts, then slaughtered martial artists left and right. So if he dies, he’ll deserve it!" Brother Wang sneered.
At these words, the green-clad beauty’s brows furrowed in displeasure, while the red-clad woman looked more amused. She leaned close to the young scholar and whispered, "Hey, they’re talking about you. How can you be so indifferent?"
That’s right—the three women and one man were none other than Ian Steele and his companions.
"It’s his mouth—he can say whatever he wants." Ian Steele calmly picked up his wine cup and took a sip. He had to admit, Moonview Pavilion’s specialty wine was truly excellent. The osmanthus wine he was drinking now cost ten taels a pot, fragrant and mellow, with a long aftertaste.
"Those guys are so annoying, talking about Young Master like that!" Susie fumed.
"No need to get angry, Susie. They’re just calling the grapes sour because they can’t eat them!" Ian Steele chuckled. He saw right through the four young martial artists—they were only trying to attract Susie and Kara’s attention.
Just then, the Wang youth picked up his wine jug and cup and walked over to Ian’s table. "Brother, my name is Wang Yucheng. You look dignified and extraordinary—may I make your acquaintance?" Though he spoke to Ian, his eyes kept drifting to Susie and Kara.
"Scram!"
Ian glanced at him coolly and spat out a single word.