Loan Cultivation to Martial Saint

Chapter 105: Chapter 79: Radiant Sunlight Fulong Blade Art

[Attacked. Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill repayment progress +82. Current repayment progress: 2500/2500.]

[’Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill’ repayment completed.]

The small ink-wash characters floating before him instantly invigorated Zheng Jun.

He had finally finished repaying the Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill.

He had to admit, Zhang Kang, wielding his Blade, was quite capable. As a Qi Storage Martial Artist clashing directly against his Broken Jade True Qi, Zhang Kang had actually managed to shatter Zheng Jun’s armor using the Blade Gang of his Blade.

Truly formidable.

However, choosing to become a bandit led to only one outcome: a dead end.

If they were truly righteous heroes enforcing justice on behalf of heaven, sparing them wouldn’t have been an issue. But among bandits, how many true heroes were there? They were all just cowards and trash who robbed homes, too afraid to target the gentry and landlords, only daring to prey on commoners.

”Mercy, my lord! Please spare us!”

Seeing their chief, Zhang Kang, decapitated, the remaining bandits were scared out of their wits. They immediately threw down their weapons and fell to their knees in surrender.

They realized this man was too terrifyingly strong; they were absolutely no match for him!

Du Ding stepped forward, cupped his fists, and bowed to Zheng Jun, his eyes filled with reverence. ”Captain!”

Du Ding felt as if the Captain had simply brought him along to broaden his horizons. He wondered who had ever claimed these bandits were hard to eradicate. This wasn’t difficult at all! Captain Zheng, single-handedly with a single saber, could level the entire stronghold!

The only purpose he and the other Personal Guards served seemed to be forming a Military Array to help Captain Zheng smash open the stronghold gates. Beyond that, they were practically useless. With just his blade, Zheng Jun had subjugated the entire mountain fortress alone.

Compared to him, Du Ding felt that they, the Personal Guards, were just there to cheer for Zheng Jun and gain some experience. They didn’t feel like soldiers fighting a battle at all. For a moment, Du Ding truly believed that as long as they followed Captain Zheng, they would be invincible and unstoppable!

Xu Zhilei, carrying a Yanling Saber over his shoulder and clad in thick Iron Armor, walked up to Zheng Jun. Drenched in blood, he saluted him and asked with palpable excitement, ”Captain, what should we do with the prisoners? Kill them all?”

Xu Zhilei was thrilled. Despite wearing heavy Iron Armor, he possessed the highest Martial Arts Cultivation present, second only to Zheng Jun. Because of this, he had charged at the forefront and even managed to claim a kill. The sensation of unleashing a single Chop to slice through flesh and watching the blood spray out left him utterly intoxicated and deeply exhilarated.

Zheng Jun glanced at Xu Zhilei, his eyes sharp as a falcon’s.

Meeting that piercing gaze, the overexcited Xu Zhilei instantly sobered up and couldn’t help but lower his head.

”Count how many are left and take them all down the mountain,” Zheng Jun said calmly. ”We need to leave a few alive, lest someone accuse us of slaughtering innocents to claim merit.”

He reasoned that if this entire group of the United Righteous Thieves on Black Mountain was wiped out, who would prove that they were the ones who had massacred the Yan Family?

These bandits only knew that their second chief, Zhang Pingteng, had taken over twenty brothers down the mountain to rob the Yan Family. Combined with Zheng Jun’s earlier prolonged roar announcing his arrival, they naturally assumed that the second chief had slaughtered the Yan Family, thereby drawing the authorities here.

Everything was going exactly as planned.

Now, aside from some circulating rumors, no one could officially point any fingers at him. And wasn’t that just how things worked in the Great Zhou Court? As long as the official narrative held up, no one cared about the rest.

”Yes, sir!”

Xu Zhilei immediately cupped his fists in acknowledgment and hurried off to fetch shackles, preparing to escort the surrendered bandits down the mountain.

Zheng Jun looked around and locked eyes with a terrified bandit who had visibly wet his pants. He reached out and beckoned him with a finger. ”You, come here.”

”M-M-My l-lord.”

The singled-out bandit trembled as he stumbled forward, stammering heavily. His face was as pale as a ghost, and his eyes were wide with terror.

”Where is the Government Treasury?” Zheng Jun asked casually, maintaining a very amicable demeanor. ”Just the place where you usually store silver, grain, and the like.”

”It-It’s in the inner courtyard... My lord, please follow me.”

Hearing this, the fear of impending death in the bandit’s heart dissipated significantly. He was still intimidated by Zheng Jun, but for now, he had no choice but to lead the way.

Zheng Jun nodded. Two County Soldiers immediately followed behind him as they walked further inside.

The stronghold was quite spacious. As they walked, Zheng Jun casually asked the bandit a few questions. Shivering, the bandit spilled everything he knew without hesitation.

For example, there were only about fifty brothers in this stronghold, most of whom came from Yunzhou and were not locals of Bozhou. The chief, Zhang Kang, was originally from Black Mountain County in his early years. He later roamed the Jianghu, traveling to many States and Commanderies. Many of the Blood Refining Martial Artists here were sworn brothers he had brought back from the northern States. Initially, there were eight sworn brothers. Later, when Zhang Pingteng arrived, the number grew to eleven.

The bandit also completely confessed what he knew about the other bandit groups on Black Mountain.

However, he didn’t know their exact locations. After all, whenever they interacted, they always met at the Black Mountain Pillar, inside Lu Hao’s United Righteous Hall.

Lu Hao was an Outer Gang powerhouse among the Black Mountain Thieves. Moreover, he was an expert even among Outer Gang martial artists, making him the absolute strongest existence within the Black Mountain Thieves.

He commanded over three hundred men. Rumor had it that he was once an escaped slave from the Northern Demon Court who had fled all the way here, claiming the mountain as his own domain. Having learned some Demon Fiend Cultivation Techniques, his combat prowess was terrifyingly high. He had once even killed an Outer Gang Elder from Xuanzhou’s Linghua Sword Sect. His forces were formidable, boasting five major Qi Storage chiefs and no fewer than fifty Blood Refining Martial Artists under his command.

They were vastly more elite than the Black Mountain Guard.

Zheng Jun nodded thoughtfully.

As for the other seventeen factions, this lowly bandit didn’t know much. He only roughly knew that eight of them were overseen by Qi Storage Martial Artists. The rest were smaller in scale—relying purely on numbers with only Blood Refining Martial Artists as their chiefs. They were the type to live hand-to-mouth on the mountain and would likely be absorbed by other bandit groups within a few months.