Chapter 696: Ten Years

The stars shift, the years flow like water.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed.

Xun Heihu had grown into a twenty-five-year-old handsome young man, walking along a country path.

“Ten years… I’ve finally returned.”

He sighed inwardly, gazing at his hometown drawing near, a flicker of unease rising in his chest: “I wonder how Uncle Luo and the others are faring… How many children has Cuihua had?”

A few more steps forward, and he spotted a roadside tea stall.

With the times so turbulent, anyone daring to run a tea stall by the road had some martial skill.

Some even operated only during daylight, rolling up all their belongings at night to hide within the county town.

Xun Heihu found a bench and sat down, eyeing the clearly family-run stall, then addressing the young wife: “Owner, bring one bowl of coarse tea and ten steamed buns—do you have any meat?”

“Yes, yes!”

The wife, though rough-handed, moved swiftly, wiping the table with a coarse cloth: “Sir, you’re lucky—my family just got twenty jin of beef, braised to perfection, perfect with wine…”

“Beef?”

Xun Heihu was slightly startled—cattle were precious assets in ancient times; slaughtering them without permission was illegal.

Of course, with the world in chaos and sects divided, enforcement might be lax—but only powerful clans would occasionally slaughter a cow for a meal.

To find it here, in this remote countryside stall, was truly strange.

“Isn’t it?”

The stall owner was about to say more when a group of men, swords and knives at their belts, clearly martial artists, approached—he hurried forward to greet them: “Gentlemen, please sit…”

His tone was noticeably more courteous than when speaking to Xun Heihu.

Xun Heihu glanced at his own coarse cloth robes and plain sun hat, unconcerned.

But his gaze swept over the newcomers—and he froze.

These martial artists wore brocade robes, but what caught his eye was the fierce bird emblem embroidered on their chests, terrifying in its detail.

“Disciples of the Five Beasts Sect… why are they here?”

“No… wait—could that be… her?”

Xun Heihu quickly turned his back, chewing his buns loudly, occasionally sipping tea.

“Jiang Shijie… with you leading the pursuit of the ‘Black Wolf Eighteen Riders,’ victory is certain.”

One male disciple gazed at Jiang Yuyan, his eyes filled with admiration—and a touch of inferiority.

“Each of the Black Wolf Eighteen Riders is a ranked martial artist; their three leaders possess internal energy—do not underestimate them…”

Jiang Yuyan wore the same brocade robe, yet her figure was perfectly curved—where it should bulge, it bulged; where it should taper, it tapered—her silhouette like a she-panther, her voice steady and powerful.

“I never expected… after ten years, Yuyan has joined the Five Beasts Sect—and she’s not just an ordinary sixth-rank. Has she advanced to fifth-rank?”

Xun Heihu’s heart stirred, a quiet warmth rising for his old friend.

At that moment, he picked up a chopstick of beef and shoved it into his mouth—his eyes suddenly sharpened.

“Ha! Owner, bring out your best wine and dishes!”

Today’s humble countryside stall was unusually busy—another group of burly men entered, shouting for wine.

And men who drank liked to boast:

“Don’t think I’m bragging, but my ‘Heaven-Quelling Hand’ is ranked—too bad the Five Great Academies’ instructors were blind and didn’t take me in…”

“Ha! Big Head is a true ranked martial artist—he’s even friends with Nie Renlong, the top of the New Wind List!”

“Top of the New Wind List, Nie Renlong? You mean the genius with ‘Dragon Tendons and Tiger Bones’ who the Five Beasts Sect overlooked? How many years has it been?”

“Heh, now the Five Beasts Sect are eating crow—the higher Nie Renlong climbs, the more their faces hurt.”

At these words, the Five Beasts Sect disciples could no longer hold back.

Nie Renlong was currently number one on the New Wind List, nicknamed “Dragon Among Men,” but rumor had it that as a child, his bone structure showed no promise, his talent hidden within—until the bone-reading exam missed him entirely, leaving him crushed, even his fiancée breaking off the engagement…

Yet afterward, he took a master, rose swiftly, and ultimately surpassed the Five Beasts Sect’s current top disciple, Du Qiankun—three duels, three defeats for Du, leaving the sect powerless to manipulate rankings internally.

“Jiang Shijie…”

Several disciples turned to Jiang Yuyan—she shook her head, forcing herself to swallow the insult, lowering her head to eat.

At that moment, a thin, shrill voice rang out from among the burly men: “The Five Beasts Sect missing talent isn’t new… Have you heard? The top of the Spirit State’s Dragon’s Nest List, Xun Heihu—he’s said to be from Chuzhou, then driven away into exile…”

Hearing this, Xun Heihu felt a sudden pang of guilt.

He had fled with his parents, settling in Spirit State.

His parents changed their names, bought land in the countryside, and became minor landlords.

He tried to join Spirit State’s top sect, Qinglongmen—but Qinglongmen favored only locals.

To join, he’d have to go through the External Affairs Hall, endure the dirtiest, most grueling tasks first.

If he had no choice, Xun Heihu might have gritted his teeth and endured.

But he held several ancestral transmissions, and the True Martial Talisman—a supreme treasure—so he refused to swallow this humiliation, choosing instead to become a wandering martial hero.

And the truth proved: when it came to talent, no matter how gifted or wealthy, none could match one who had been blessed by fate!

In just ten years, he had claimed the top spot on Spirit State’s Dragon’s Nest List!

Spirit State’s Dragon’s Nest List, like Chuzhou’s New Wind List, ranked only young martial artists—the top were all fourth-rank Taixi cultivators.

And this was only Xun Heihu’s public strength.

“Damn it… you wandering performers dare slander the Chuzhou hegemon? Today I’ll teach you a lesson!”

One disciple could no longer contain himself—he lunged, clawing out with a cry.

Though merely ordinary Eagle Claw Technique, with internal energy behind it, the force was devastating!

Although it was only ordinary Eagle Claw Art, with internal force bolstering it, the power had become overwhelming and devastating!

The burly men roared: “You looking for trouble?”

They immediately clashed with the Five Beasts Sect disciples.

“Hmm… something’s off…”

Xun Heihu murmured inwardly: “Old Man Xun… the beef earlier had an unusual spice—if combined with tea, it accelerates the dissipation of internal energy—though the effect is obvious, and if detected, a high-level cultivator could expel the poison with internal force… but if one is already in combat, with energy rapidly draining, it might go unnoticed…”

Thanks to Old Man Xun’s teachings and years of wandering, Xun Heihu was now a seasoned veteran of the martial arts world—immune to such tricks.

But the Five Beasts Sect disciples? Not so lucky.

But those Five Animals Sect disciples were another matter entirely.

At a precise moment, the burly men exchanged glances—then unleashed unexpected techniques, or drew weapons.

What had been a common brawl escalated instantly into a fight to the death.

This was turning common street brawls directly into life-or-death combat.

Jiang Yuyan sensed something wrong.

At that moment, Jiang Yuyan also sensed something amiss.

A slender silver sword, shaped like a chopstick, materialized in her hand—she flicked it, forming a blossom of light.

Silver flashed like spilled mercury—the stall owner, the peasant woman hiding nearby, clutched her throat and collapsed, blood trickling steadily.

“Shijie? You killed the wrong person…”

One confused Five Beasts Sect disciple cried out.

“No… my internal energy…”

“It’s vanishing too fast—something’s wrong!”

The foolish were few—the Five Beasts Sect disciples now realized the truth, but it was too late.

“Ha! Hidden weapons, now!”

A booming voice rang out—countless hidden projectiles flew through the air.

After the volley, only two or three Five Beasts Sect disciples remained standing.

From the kitchen, an old man and a muscular man emerged, both grinning savagely: “You think internal energy makes you invincible? We’ve killed internal energy experts before—we’re not afraid of you!”

From the back kitchen emerged an elderly man and a sturdy man, both grinning savagely: “Are internal force experts so impressive? You dare come to exterminate our Black Wolf Eighteen Riders? We’ve killed internal force experts before…”

The surviving disciples were stunned—they had ingested “Soul-Draining Powder,” their internal energy nearly nullified.

Now, they were no different from ordinary seventh- or eighth-rank hard-body martial artists.

Against the Black Wolf Eighteen Riders, they had no chance of survival.

“Huh? Still one left?”

Old Black Wolf noticed Xun Heihu still eating, and blinked in surprise: “Kill him quickly—then wipe out these brats and leave. Even if the Five Beasts Sect is powerful, can they cross provinces to hunt us down? We’ll just move elsewhere—we’ll be fine.”

“Heh… Boss is the Boss. Before we set out, we cleaned every village nearby—no more slow and steady this time. Real profits.”

The third boss chuckled.

“Hehe… Boss is boss. Before we set out, we cleaned out every village nearby—no more slow and steady this time. The harvest has been truly substantial.”

Xun Heihu suddenly looked up—his steamed bun fell to the ground.

“Wait… you’re…”

Jiang Yuyan, seeing Xun Heihu, hesitated—her face flickered with uncertainty: “Xun… Heihu?”

“Huh?”

The Black Wolf Eighteen Riders were startled—they had deliberately mentioned Nie Renlong and Xun Heihu to provoke the Five Beasts Sect disciples, hoping to incite conflict.

After all, they weren’t blind—they’d seen the emblems on Jiang Yuyan’s robes…

But they never expected the real target to be sitting right beside them.

Otherwise, they aren’t blind—they can see the marks on Jiang Yuyan’s clothing…

But who would have thought the main target was right beside them?

This is just too much of a coincidence.

“You… raided the surrounding villages?”

Xun Heihu let out a low growl and his figure blurred.

Pufu pufu!

One by one, the Eighteen Black Wolves Riders collapsed without even seeing their attacker.

Even the three masters who possessed inner strength met the same fate.

“What?”

Jiang Yuyan, witnessing this, finally understood the true weight of being the top young hero of a province!

Even though she had trained relentlessly for years and reached the Fifth Rank of Martial Path—Chao Yuan Realm—worthy of being called a peak Post-Heaven expert.

Yet against such a Pre-Heaven master, she would still be cut down like a melon.

If she was this helpless, what more so these bandits?

Bam!

The old man had his throat gripped and slammed against the wall: “Speak… did you rob Bajia Village?”

Xun Heihu’s voice was low.

“Heh…”

Blood trickled from the old man’s lips; he knew he wouldn’t survive today: “Fine… I’ve eaten, I’ve slept—I’ve had my fill!”

Bang!

No sooner had he finished speaking than his neck twisted unnaturally, and his corpse was casually tossed aside…