Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Chapter 246: Chapter 195: Entering the Bandit’s Den (3)

The three remaining Third Training bandits sneered as they faced Xie Yuan and Lin Cheng.

"Let’s finish these two off quickly, then go back and help the boss. Once they’ve taken down that little chick, we can have some fun with her too!"

Lin Cheng’s expression darkened, and he whispered,

"Junior Brother Zhang, we’re outnumbered. Let’s be careful."

"Understood, Senior Brother Lin."

Seeing that the three disciples on their trial run were a bit nervous in their first real battle, Xie Yuan’s eyes glinted. He engaged one of the Third Training bandits with his Long Sword, kindly leaving the other two for Lin Cheng to practice on.

"Junior... Junior Brother Zhang..."

Lin Cheng was stunned. He had intended to fight alongside Xie Yuan, but seeing him already gleefully clashing away with an enemy—CLANG! CLANG!—he had no choice but to grit his teeth and face the other two alone.

Huang Zifeng was entangled with the Fourth Training bandit nearby. With his level of strength, he only needed to spare a fraction of his focus to handle the fight, and was clearly just toying with his opponent.

The majority of his attention was on the others, and he critiqued them in his mind.

’Junior Sister Lin’s Swordsmanship is well-practiced and her cultivation is solid. But this is her first life-or-death battle, and she’s facing two opponents, so she’s a bit hesitant. That’s normal. However, she’s clearly adapting and is now steadily holding her own. Hmm, very good...’

’As a disciple of the Sword Sect, Junior Brother Pei is struggling against two common thugs. He needs more tempering.’

Even though Pei Yu’s performance was no worse than Lin Zhen’s, his silent evaluation was quite different.

Huang Zifeng then glanced at the other fight.

’Junior Brother Lin’s technique is rigid and by-the-book. For a Third Training disciple to take on two opponents... it’s passable. Huh? Some of his sword moves are actually quite brilliant. Weren’t his aptitudes supposed to be poor?’

He watched a moment longer. He felt that Lin Cheng’s sword moves often had an element of surprise, not something one would expect from a disciple of his stage and aptitude. He gave a slight nod.

’Looks like he has a spark of insight. As for Zhang Mountain...’

’Why is he taking so long in a one-on-one fight? Is his opponent also a Sword Sect disciple? Does he have a master, a Cultivation Technique, and Inner Power?’

Huang Yifeng was greatly displeased, shaking his head again and again.

They were, after all, disciples of a Major Sect. Setting aside their inherited Cultivation Techniques, the mere fact that they possessed Inner Power put them far above these crude practitioners of External Training.

Among the bandits, only their leader had cultivated a sliver of inner energy—better than nothing, but it gave him no advantage against Lin Zhen.

After a few exchanges, the three disciples grew accustomed to the life-or-death struggle. Despite the bandits’ vicious attacks and oppressive killing intent, they began to falter, and their numbers rapidly dwindled.

Unable to win even when outnumbering their opponents, they stood no chance as their ranks thinned. The bandits were instantly routed.

Seeing his comrades fall one after another, Xie Yuan’s opponent was terrified.

’Damn it! We’ve picked a fight with the wrong people! This one in front of me is the weakest. I either run now or take him hostage...’

Just as he had that thought, the seemingly feeble sword before him reached his chest. He tried to swat it away casually as he had done before, only to find the blade wouldn’t budge an inch.

Before he could process what was happening, the Long Sword pierced his chest, running him clean through.

The bandit stared blankly at his opponent. He saw a casual expression and a calm gaze, nothing like a novice. This was a seasoned veteran.

"You..."

Realization dawned on him, but as he opened his mouth to speak, blood gushed out. He collapsed limply to the ground.

"Junior Brother Zhang! Oh... I was just about to help you."

Lin Cheng, having just dealt with his own opponents, turned and saw Xie Yuan finish his at almost the exact same moment. Thinking it a coincidence, he patted his chest in relief.

The three disciples took a few deep breaths. It was their first life-or-death battle, their first time taking a life. The sight of the corpses littering the ground was a shock to their systems.

After a moment, however, they were Sword Sect disciples, and they quickly composed themselves. Only their grips on their swords remained a little too tight.

Huang Zifeng observed them silently, nodding to himself.

’They’re adapting quickly. And this Zhang Mountain is living up to his name, unmoving... I didn’t expect... ah, but his face is still pale. Looks like he’s just a blockhead.’

He had caught Xie Yuan’s final, decisive sword strike out of the corner of his eye. He figured it was a burst of potential brought on by the pressure of a life-or-death situation. His opinion of the boy improved slightly; not completely hopeless, then.

Huang Zifeng watched as the disciples searched the bandits’ bodies, following the methods they were taught in the Outer Sect. They found nothing of value, not even a few copper plates. The bandits were dirt poor.

"So... is the trial considered complete?"

Lin Zhen asked. Having just killed for the first time, they were still trembling slightly, but also a little excited. After all, the fight had been far too easy for them.

Huang Zifeng pondered for a moment.

"This alone is of limited effect. How about this: now that we’ve proven our strength, it should be much safer to return to Fengsha Collection. Let’s go and gather some information. I have a feeling something’s going on around here."

The others all nodded slightly. They had only wandered around the settlement for a short while earlier, barely scratching the surface, and hadn’t gotten a real sense of the place. Now that the trial was mostly complete and they were more composed, it was the perfect time to experience the true martial world.

The five of them returned to Fengsha Collection. Sure enough, they felt the gazes of those around them change, and they couldn’t help but hold their heads high and puff out their chests.

Upon entering "West Desert’s Finest" again, they clearly felt the atmosphere tense. The customers’ eyes sized them up grimly, and the gazes from the shop boy and the proprietress were also strange.

’Didn’t see that coming, did you? We’re not weak!’

The three junior disciples all had similar thoughts.

Huang Zifeng stood back and gestured for Pei Yu to go forward and ask again.

Standing before the counter, he saw the proprietress place her delicate foot near him. He shifted a step to the side, a little unnerved, and said calmly,

"Proprietress, can one actually buy information here or not?"

"Of course. Did I lie to you earlier? Wasn’t my information spot on?"

The proprietress pulled her leg back, her eyes glinting.

"What do you want to know? One hand gives the coin, the other gives the news."

Pei Yu nonchalantly pulled out another gold ingot, making Xie Yuan and the other burly men in the tavern twitch an eye.

’This guy’s too rich... He spends money like it’s water!’

"Has anything been happening around here recently? In or near Fengsha Collection."

Pei Yu asked coolly.

The proprietress’s face lit up. She snatched the gold ingot, bit down on it to confirm it was real, and then said with a wide smile,

"Oh, yes. Of course there is.

"Lu the Third has gotten tired of being chased by Su Xing, so he’s called in his main force of horse bandits to surround the area. He’s sworn to cut off Su Xing’s escape route back to Great Li through Gourd Mouth Pass, and he’s told everyone to stay out of his way."

"Right now, this whole area is crawling with Lu the Third’s men. He’s already taken over Fengsha Collection."

When Xie Yuan heard the name Lu the Third, his eyes narrowed. ’Not this old acquaintance again,’ he thought.

But as he heard the rest, he had a growing feeling that something was wrong.

His expression sank. Suddenly, Huang Zifeng spoke up for the group, his tone grave.

"Fengsha Collection is under Lu the Third’s control? What do you mean by that?"

The proprietress’s grin stretched wider and wider, causing some of the thick white powder on her face to flake off.

"Hehehe, it means everyone here belongs to Lu the Third!

"The people in my inn, the people outside, and the ones you just killed... they’re all his horse bandits!

"You little brats killed his men, and then you dared to walk right back into their main camp. I really don’t know whether to call you foolish... or just plain stupid."

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