Chapter Ten: You Are Ready to Set Forth!

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“Go see whether he has wet himself.”

The bandits burst into laughter. Several of them even fixed their eyes on Chen Xuan’s crotch, eager to see him make a fool of himself.

“Hey, are you all right?” Yang Ying’er asked cautiously, somewhat dazed. How had Chen Xuan, who had been so valiant just moments ago, suddenly become motionless?

Could it be that the bandits were right—that he had been frightened out of his wits?

“Thirteenth Master?”

Yang Xun also turned toward Chen Xuan, but Chen Xuan gave no response, as though he had not heard a thing.

“Oh no, oh no. It seems our young husband is just as unreliable. This time, we sisters really are walking straight into the tiger’s den.”

Inside the carriage, Xu Ruolan was utterly despairing.

Chen Xuan had been so terrified by the bandits that he did not even dare move. What were these helpless women supposed to do now?

The other women immediately fell into a panic.

Li Xiuning sighed softly. She had thought Chen Xuan might possess some ability, but who would have guessed that the bandits would frighten him into a stupor so easily?

“Heh…”

A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of An Ruxue’s lips. Naturally, that mockery was directed at Chen Xuan.

“I see.”

Chen Xuan, who had been standing perfectly still, suddenly murmured to himself. An expression of sudden enlightenment spread across his face.

He had not been frightened senseless. Rather, he had been deducing his newly acquired martial technique, Dragon Claw Technique, within his mind.

At the same time, he had been circulating his inner energy through his body, experiencing the strength of a sixth-stage martial artist. His attention had therefore not been on the world around him.

In that brief span of time, his inner energy had already completed one full cycle, and he had thoroughly comprehended the Dragon Claw Technique.

[Ding!]

[Li Xiuning’s favorability has decreased by 5.]

[Xu Ruolan’s favorability has decreased by 3.]

[Li Xuanxuan’s favorability has increased by 2.]

[An Ruxue’s favorability has decreased by 20.]

…

Suddenly, the system’s notification rang out in Chen Xuan’s mind.

He was stunned.

Damn it! In the brief moment he had been lost in thought, why had all the women around him suddenly lowered their opinions of him?

What had he done to offend them?

“Brat, get over here.”

The One-Eyed Dragon addressed Chen Xuan with a face full of contempt.

“Are you trying to tell me what to do?”

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Chen Xuan’s face darkened at once.

Because the women’s favorability toward him had fallen, he was already in a foul mood and badly needed someone to vent his anger on.

“You mangy cur. You’ve provoked your Grandpa Chen. Today, I’m going to smash your human head into a dog’s head!”

Chen Xuan strode forward without hesitation.

“Thirteenth Master, you mustn’t!”

Yang Xun was alarmed and hurriedly warned him, “Thirteenth Master, this man is the second-in-command of Golden Peak Stronghold, one of the most vicious bandit dens on Bandit Mountain. He is a fifth-stage martial artist. Even I would be at a disadvantage against him.”

“Fifth-stage martial artist?”

Upon hearing that, Chen Xuan immediately smiled.

He was now a sixth-stage martial artist himself!

In the next instant, Chen Xuan strode toward the One-Eyed Dragon with great speed.

“Hey, have you lost your mind?”

Yang Ying’er cried out in alarm and reached for him, but Chen Xuan was moving too quickly. Before her hand could even touch him, he had already gone several paces ahead.

“What is he doing?”

Li Xiuning was stunned. Only moments ago, Chen Xuan had looked as though fear had reduced him to a fool. How had he suddenly charged forward to fight the bandits to the death?

“Oh my, who would have thought our young husband had such spirit? It seems I underestimated him just now.”

Xu Ruolan wore a look of astonishment. Moments earlier, she had still been worried that Chen Xuan might sell them out to save his own life.

“Hmph. He is merely seeking death.”

An Ruxue let out a cold snort.

She had heard Yang Xun’s words. The second-in-command of Golden Peak Stronghold, the One-Eyed Dragon, was a fifth-stage martial artist.

And, as far as she knew, when Chen Xuan had defeated Chen Tian the previous day, he had only possessed the strength of a fourth-stage martial artist.

The martial-artist realm consisted of nine minor stages.

The gap between each stage was immense.

Unless one was a legendary prodigy of martial arts, crossing realms to challenge a stronger opponent was utterly impossible.

As for Chen Xuan, he was the Chen family’s infamous crippled body, incapable of cultivation.

Although no one knew how he had somehow acquired the strength of a fourth-stage martial artist, the difference between the fourth and fifth stages was something an ordinary person could never overcome.

In other words, Chen Xuan had charged forward to fight the One-Eyed Dragon of his own accord. He was simply courting death!

“Heh. You actually dare to come at me and ask for a fight? You must be tired of living!”

Seeing Chen Xuan rushing toward him, the One-Eyed Dragon revealed a mocking grin.

The surrounding bandits also erupted in derisive laughter, as though they were watching a joke.

In their eyes, Chen Nan’s attempt to fight their second-in-command was nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a war chariot—utterly beyond his capabilities.

“You can be on your way to the afterlife.”

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The speed of a sixth-stage martial artist was swift as a soaring dragon. In the blink of an eye, Chen Xuan had arrived before the One-Eyed Dragon.

In the next instant, Chen Xuan shaped his five fingers into a dragon’s claw and struck with explosive force, reaching for the One-Eyed Dragon’s throat.

“What a joke. The one going to the afterlife is you!”

The One-Eyed Dragon sneered and extended a large hand to seize Chen Xuan’s Dragon Claw Technique.

But he was nowhere near as fast as Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan’s claw locked around his wrist and squeezed hard.

Crack!

The sound of breaking bone rang out at once. A fierce, piercing pain shot through the One-Eyed Dragon’s wrist, and he immediately let out a shriek of agony.

The bones in his wrist had been crushed. He had been utterly powerless to resist.

In the next moment, Chen Xuan released the mangled hand and, with a sudden movement, seized the One-Eyed Dragon by the throat.

“You…”

The One-Eyed Dragon’s expression changed drastically, and he tried to speak.

But Chen Xuan’s Dragon Claw Technique had already clamped down around his throat. His windpipe was crushed beneath the grip, leaving him unable to utter a word. Only agonized, rasping sounds escaped his mouth.

“I, Chen, have never been one to make empty threats. I said you were the one who would be going to the afterlife, and so it shall be.”

Crack—

The instant he finished speaking, Chen Xuan snapped the One-Eyed Dragon’s neck without the slightest hesitation, giving him no chance to beg for mercy.

“You—you…”

“You killed our second-in-command?”

The surrounding bandits’ expressions changed drastically.

Those with weaker nerves were so terrified that they collapsed onto the ground.

That had been their second-in-command—a fifth-stage martial artist.

Throughout all of Bandit Mountain, he was considered a formidable expert.

And yet he had been killed by Chen Xuan so effortlessly?

“I’m not only going to kill him. I’m going to kill all of you as well.”

Chen Xuan’s voice was cold, and murderous intent surged through his heart.

The escort agency had suffered devastating losses. He had to make the bandits of Golden Peak Stronghold pay in blood!

In the next instant, Chen Xuan drew his sword.

With every thrust, a spray of blood blossomed, and another life fell.

At first, the bandits shouted that they would avenge their second-in-command.

But within only a few breaths, more than twenty bandits had already fallen beneath Chen Xuan’s sword, and the number continued to rise.

Before long, the bodies twitching at Chen Xuan’s feet had grown into an ever-expanding heap.