Azure Dragon Emissary and Black Tortoise Emissary

With the descent of the mysterious treasure, the Blackwind Mountains suddenly became famous. Martial artists from various nations and factions flocked to the range.

What was once just a gathering place for bandits and thieves now became the meeting ground for all the martial artists under heaven.

Where there are crowds, there will be conflict.

When the mysterious treasure first descended, everyone was focused on searching for it, ignoring old grudges for the time being.

But ten days have passed, and still no one has found any clues about the treasure. Gradually, many martial artists lost heart for the search.

Without the drive to hunt for treasure, what happens when enemies meet?

Naturally, they start fighting.

Soon, every day in the Blackwind Mountains saw at least a hundred battles, turning the local strongholds upside down. According to reports, nine strongholds were dragged into the chaos and wiped out completely.

Ian Song quietly kept an eye on all this. By now, more than fifty thousand martial artists had entered the mountains, with over a thousand Innate experts among them.

Still, he found it strange—he had clearly seen the mysterious treasure fall in that area, so why couldn’t he find it?

Half a month later.

The first wave of martial artists began to withdraw from the Blackwind Mountains.

After twenty days, ninety percent of the martial artists had withdrawn.

After twenty-five days, fewer than a thousand stubborn treasure-seekers remained in the mountains.

By the twenty-eighth day, all outsiders had left the Blackwind Mountains.

Of the original 108 strongholds in the Blackwind Mountains, only a little over thirty remained. Clearwind Stronghold was one of them.

Clearwind Stronghold sat on the edge of the Blackwind Mountains, some distance from where the treasure fell, so it escaped the chaos. Even so, everyone in the stronghold was uneasy every day.

Of course, Ian Song was the exception.

"Boss, bad news! We’re surrounded by government constables!"

Ian was drinking tea in his newly built courtyard when Old Stick rushed in.

"Don't worry."

Ian set down his teacup and activated his Clairvoyant Vision to look outside. He discovered that more than two hundred government constables had arrived outside the stronghold. Interestingly, behind the constables stood a squad of Thousand-Mechanism Guards.

There were only thirty-three Thousand-Mechanism Guards.

Among them were five familiar faces.

Just then, a figure darted out from within the stronghold and landed in front of the constables—it was Eve Autumn.

After Ian brought her back to the stronghold, he hadn’t used Radiance of Life to heal her injuries. Instead, he gathered herbs from the mountains and brewed decoctions for her.

Ever since he gained the 'Eastern Medicine' skill, Ian hadn’t had a chance to use it. So this time, he treated Eve as a test subject.

But she didn’t get the short end of the stick—injuries that should have taken months to heal were mostly cured after just three days of herbal decoction. With a few more days of rest, she was fully recovered. What surprised Eve even more was that, after her body healed, her cultivation broke through another layer, reaching Innate Seventh Layer.

Because of this, Eve always felt grateful to the bandit chief who forcibly brought her back as a fire-tending maid.

With constables surrounding the stronghold and Thousand-Mechanism Guards in tow, she knew they were here for her.

She didn’t want to drag the bandits into her trouble, so she went out alone to face them.

“Miss Autumn, I never thought you’d end up hiding in a tiny bandit den!” Finn Yu stepped forward, smiling.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect even hiding in a stronghold would let you, the imperial bloodhound, sniff me out!” Eve shot back, not holding back at all.

Finn wasn’t offended by Eve’s sarcasm. He just smiled, “Anyone the Thousand-Mechanism Guard wants to capture can’t escape, not even to the ends of the earth.” Suddenly, his tone sharpened: “Since this stronghold dared to shelter you, it must pay the price. Every bandit—leave none alive!”

“Yes, sir!”

Two hundred constables shouted in unison, drew their sabers, and charged into the stronghold.

“Don’t you dare!”

Eve’s face changed sharply. She drew her sword and flashed to block the stronghold’s main gate.

“What, Miss Autumn wants to protect these bandits?” Finn’s eyes glinted with amusement. “But I won’t give you the chance. Deploy the Seven-Star Saber Formation—trap her!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As soon as Finn finished speaking, seven Thousand-Mechanism Guards sprang forward and attacked Eve all at once.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The clash of blades and swords rang out again and again. Amazingly, Eve managed to hold off all seven attackers by herself.

“I didn’t expect Miss Autumn to reach Innate Seventh Layer. Quite impressive!” Finn’s eyes flashed with jealousy. Eve was barely in her twenties and had already reached Innate Seventh Layer, while he was just now reaching that level in his thirties.

Still, Finn wasn’t worried that Eve could withstand the combined assault of seven elite Guards.

After a dozen exchanges, with subtle footwork and shifting positions, the Seven-Star Saber Formation was nearly complete. Once it was set, not even an Innate Eighth Layer could break free.

Sure enough, after a few more moves, the Seven-Star Saber Formation locked into place.

Eve was trapped inside the saber array.

Seeing this, Finn smiled confidently. His gaze swept over the two hundred constables: “What are you waiting for? Go in and kill every bandit!”

“Yes, sir!”

With Eve trapped in the saber array and gradually pulled away from the gate, the two hundred constables charged straight in, shouting “Kill the bandits!” as they rushed inside.

“Attack!”

At that moment, a chorus of battle cries erupted from inside the stronghold—eighty armored bandits surged forward, each wielding a heavy saber.

In no time, the constables and bandits clashed head-on.

At first, the constables’ greater numbers gave them the edge, and the bandits seemed outmatched. But once they fought, it was clear—the so-called officers were pitifully weak. Using the saber techniques taught by their chief, most bandits could finish a constable in just three moves.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Blood sprayed and screams echoed through the air.

In less than five minutes, the eighty-one bandits seized the absolute advantage, cutting down constables and forcing them into retreat.

All month long, Ian hadn’t let up on the bandits’ training.

After half a month of grueling endurance and strength drills, Ian gave them Evolution Crystals to enhance their bodies. With his reward system in place, the bandits trained desperately.

So after more than a month, the bandits were completely transformed—every one of them had reached the level of a third-rate warrior.

As for the constables, most were only a bit stronger than ordinary people. Only about a dozen were fourth-rate, and just three were third-rate. There was no way they could match eighty-one armored bandits.

“Interesting. Who’d have thought a little bandit stronghold would have all third-rate fighters!”

Finn’s eyes flashed with surprise at the sight.

He immediately ordered two Thousand-Mechanism Guards, “Go, help these useless fools deal with the bandits!”

“Yes, sir!”

Two Thousand-Mechanism Guards at Innate Third Layer drew their sabers and dashed into the stronghold. Their blades flashed with icy light, each swing aimed at several bandits at once.

But just then—

Two pebbles shot through the air, moving so fast they were nearly invisible. Startled, the Guards tried to retreat and slash at the stones, but missed.

Too bad—they missed completely.

As a result, both Guards ended up with thumb-sized bloody holes in their foreheads.

In a blur, Ian appeared outside the stronghold. He looked at Finn Yu with playful mockery. “You’ve got guts, showing up to cause trouble at my stronghold. Are you tired of living?”

Finn didn’t panic at Ian’s challenge. Instead, he showed a hint of joy. “Who would’ve thought a master like you would become a bandit? No wonder I couldn’t track you down!”

“What, here to settle the score from last time?” Ian sneered.

Finn nodded without hesitation, his eyes flashing with venomous hatred. “I haven’t forgotten yesterday’s humiliation. Azure Dragon Emissary, Black Tortoise Emissary—help me take down this bandit!”

As soon as he spoke, a three-zhang-long arc of saber light and a matching sword light shot toward Ian. The attackers were two men in ordinary Thousand-Mechanism Guard uniforms.