Chapter 39: A Brand New Realm

"Alright, all of you get up, go back and prepare yourselves!"

Watching the trembling display of everyone present, the First Leader smiled slightly. A bunch of spineless wretches; they just needed to be whipped into shape from time to time.

Who did they think they were? They were nothing but a crop of leeks—cut one batch, and another would grow. With medicine slaves in hand, cultivating such leeks was an effortless task.

Within the Zhangnan Bandits, there was only one true leader, and there could only ever be one!

Hearing the First Leader's words, the remaining few finally stood up tremblingly, exchanged glances, and left in trepidation. They had arrived with their heads held high, but left one by one with extreme caution.

Shen Yu, on the roof, stopped lingering and drifted away lightly, following right behind the Second Leader. Now that his intent to kill had been stirred, regardless of why he had come today, he was determined to take the Second Leader's life.

It was not because the man's looks were an eyesore, but because he used children to practice his Cultivation Method, which had already crossed Shen Yu's bottom line.

After being made an example of by the First Leader here, who knew if he would vent his frustrations upon returning? Thinking of the two children struggling under his hands, Shen Yu could not remain indifferent, so he would start by cutting him down.

The pitiful Second Leader did not yet know he was being targeted. His ferocious face was full of unease as he hurried toward his private courtyard, lacking the mood to even greet the others or trade barbs.

"Bring me another medicine slave!" Upon returning, the Second Leader ordered those nearby, then plopped down into his seat and poured himself a full bowl of wine, drinking two gulps to calm his nerves first.

"Second Leader, the First Leader has a rule: unless permitted by the First Leader, each leader may only use two medicine slaves per day. You have already used your quota for today!"

"You—hmpf!" He had wanted to fly into a rage, but at the thought of the First Leader, his legs went weak, and he could only swallow his anger. Being a Second Leader was truly stifling!

"Forget it, go bring me those two snacks; I want to use them!"

"Yes, Second Leader!" Soon, the few people outside retreated. In a short while, they brought the two children in again, then left quietly, closing the door behind them.

The two children brought in could only cry loudly in the strange environment, which thoroughly annoyed the already agitated Second Leader, who smashed the wine bowl in his hand hard against the floor.

"Cry, what are you crying for? So annoying!" He grabbed the two children, one in each hand, and hoisted them up. The Second Leader's ferocious face was filled with cruelty.

Just at this moment, the Second Leader felt his eyes stinging, as if tears were streaming down. Tears? How many years had it been since he had those!

"Something's wrong!" Suddenly, the Second Leader felt the strength in his hands wane, unable to even hold the two children up. The two children fell from mid-air, their crying intensified, but those outside took no notice.

Every time children were sent to the Second Leader, they cried miserably. As his subordinates, they were long accustomed to it, and numb.

"Who is it?" Soon, the Second Leader felt as if his whole body could not move. Even if he were a fool, he would have realized by now. This wasn't a mishap in his cultivation; he had been ambushed.

Just then, the window opened, and a breeze seemed to blow through. A sword emerged from the breeze, its light brilliant and swift. In the Second Leader's eyes, only that radiant and magnificent sword light remained.

It was a dazzlingly beautiful strike he could not describe. He had never imagined swordplay could be so eye-catching, descending like lightning and thunder, the bone-chilling killing intent seemingly freezing his very marrow.

"What a beautiful strike!" As he saw the sword light, the cold Sword Qi had already surged madly into his body, shredding his internal organs and thoroughly extinguishing his life force.

"Hmpf, pathetic." Wiping the blade with a white silk cloth, Shen Yu looked at the two children who were still crying and felt a sense of helplessness; he could only knock them unconscious to stop the noise.

Afterward, Shen Yu used his light-body technique to carry them one by one to a safe place, taking the Second Leader along as well to avoid the trouble of his corpse being discovered.

However, Shen Yu was clearly overthinking it. The Zhangnan Bandits had a strict hierarchy. No one dared to enter the rooms of the various leaders without orders. Even if someone didn't come out for three days and three nights, those outside might find it strange, but they wouldn't act on their own to rush in.

"System, check in!"

"Check-in successful, obtained Ten Years of Internal Energy!"

"Ten Years of Internal Energy?" As the system's prompt faded, Shen Yu seemed to see a hazy light in the void surge into his body. Immediately after, he felt as if he were placed in an endless space, sitting cross-legged in silence, practicing diligently without pause.

Time seemed to have passed for a long while—one year, two years, three years...

The True Qi in his dantian and throughout his meridians increased rapidly, surging like a rolling river. That feeling of vaguely becoming one with heaven and earth descended once more, causing a sharp glint to flash in Shen Yu's eyes.

"Now is the time!" Mixing with the suddenly surging power, Shen Yu carried this True Qi and slammed it into his already wavering meridians. With a thunderous boom inside his body, the rolling True Qi formed a complete cycle, circulating rapidly within him.

The True Qi in his body surged again, rapidly transforming into True Essence during the constant circulation, wandering through his meridians and nourishing his entire body. It was continuous, as if infinite.

He opened his eyes abruptly. To the outside world, it was but an instant, but to Shen Yu, it felt like a lifetime. With this step taken, he was completely different from before!

"Innate Realm, is this the Innate Realm? Truly a completely different world!"

Slowly gathering his True Qi, he only realized the terror of this realm after truly experiencing it. The previous Postnatal Realm mainly relied on the power of blood and Qi to nourish True Qi, but now, he was in harmony with heaven and earth, able to draw power from nature, as continuous as a surging river.

If he were to face his former self, Shen Yu could confidently say, I could take ten of them!

Wiping his sword, Shen Yu looked toward the Zhangnan Bandits' stronghold again, a cold smile appearing on his face. Little ones, I want to see how many rounds you can last.

At this moment, Shen Yu's intent to kill was set; he would take the Zhangnan Bandits' leaders one by one. Moreover, he had decided to check in every time he killed one. Although the chance of getting a grand prize was higher if he checked in after killing them all, he couldn't worry about that now.

Even having entered the Innate Realm, Shen Yu still lacked confidence against that unfathomable First Leader. Therefore, he had to try every means to improve himself; he would check in whenever he could, not being picky about what he got!

"The Second Leader has been taken care of, who is next? How about the Third Leader? This Charm Technique combined with the method of Harvesting Yang to Replenish Yin makes her equally deserving of death. Plus, we are old friends, so I must take care of her first!"

If the Third Leader heard Shen Yu's words, she would surely spit in his face. Who is an old friend of yours? I've never even seen you, how did I get targeted by you!

But Shen Yu didn't care what she thought. He flew toward that direction with his sword, his figure like a tree shadow swaying in the wind in the darkness, silent yet bringing with it wisps of cold air.