17: Chapter 17 First Encounter

Chen Fan's laughter was coarse and arrogant.

It inherited the characteristics of the Black Wind Demon.

He pinched Cui Qiao's smooth chin and leaned in with the face belonging to the Black Wind Demon.

"Fear? In my dictionary, the word 'fear' has never existed!"

With the Golden Finger of Substitution Rebirth, even death was no longer terrifying to him.

He threw Cui Qiao onto the bed; the woman let out a startled cry, her clothes becoming even more disheveled.

The temperature inside the stone chamber continued to rise.

Outside the door was the impending slaughter, but inside was another kind of battlefield.

That night, Chen Fan thoroughly experienced the life of a mountain king.

Cui Qiao truly lived up to the title of the bandit wife; she was seductive to the bone.

She was incredibly skilled in various positions and had many strange and exotic ways to play.

It truly allowed Chen Fan to enjoy himself thoroughly.

...

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

Chen Fan woke up from the soft bedding.

Beside him, Honge and Cui Qiao were still sound asleep, their faces showing the exhaustion of satisfaction.

He sat up and stretched his muscles and bones.

There was no headache from a hangover, nor the emptiness of overindulgence.

His entire body was filled with inexhaustible strength.

The faint wisp of Internal Energy in his Dantian seemed to have grown slightly stronger.

This was the body of a Martial Artist.

It was truly wonderful.

Just then, Iron-Armed Monkey's urgent shout came from outside the stone door.

"Big Brother! Big Brother! The government troops have started attacking the mountain!"

Chen Fan put on his clothes and pushed open the stone door.

Iron-Armed Monkey was standing outside, his face showing no sign of nervousness, but instead filled with excitement.

"They've come at just the right time."

Chen Fan yawned, looking like he hadn't fully woken up.

"Act according to the plan."

"Tell the brothers not to let the screams of the soldiers disturb the ladies' sleep."

Iron-Armed Monkey grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Understood! Big Brother, just you wait and see!"

After saying that, he turned and ran towards the front lines of the mountain stronghold.

Chen Fan did not follow him.

He walked to a high platform outside the back hall, where the view was wide, allowing him to see the entire battle situation at the Narrow Pass.

On the mountain path, a dense black mass appeared; it was the County Soldiers sent by Magistrate Zhao De.

They held shields and spears, their formation relatively orderly as they cautiously advanced toward the entrance of the Narrow Pass.

They seemed to have quite an Aura.

Unfortunately, they were facing a group of desperate outlaws.

As the vanguard stepped into that narrow stretch of mountain path, the bandits lying in ambush on the cliffs on both sides acted.

"Crush them!"

With a roar, rolling stones the size of millstones and giant logs as thick as a man's embrace came crashing down from the sky with a momentum of ten thousand tons.

"Boom!"

Screams and the sound of bones shattering instantly rang out together.

The County Soldiers' shield formation was as fragile as paper in the face of such absolute power.

After a round of rolling stones, the narrow mountain path was blocked by corpses and mangled flesh.

The County Soldiers in the back couldn't Move up.

The County Soldiers in the front couldn't retreat.

Following that was a rain of arrows flying through the sky.

Although the bandits' archery was crude, in this environment, there was no need to aim at all.

Every arrow could take a life.

From the very beginning, the battle was a one-sided massacre.

Chen Fan stood on the high platform, watching everything calmly.

There was no excitement, nor was there any pity.

This was war.

Bloody, cruel, and human life was like grass.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the sound of the gong for retreat echoed from the foot of the mountain.

The remaining County Soldiers discarded their armor and fled in panic, leaving behind over a hundred corpses.

The first wave of the attack on Black Wind Mountain was easily dismantled just like that.

Thunderous cheers erupted within the stronghold.

Chen Fan turned and walked back into the stone chamber.

He didn't like this kind of scene.

Dozens of people died in a single confrontation, and those corpses still lay in the mountains; it was very desolate.

He sat cross-legged on the stone bed, closed his eyes, and began to calm his mind to carefully investigate this new body.

The memories of the Black Wind Demon were vast and chaotic.

He needed to sort through them bit by bit, turning the useful things into his own.

First was the martial path.

Following the breathing Mind-Cultivation Technique included with the Gale Saber Technique, he guided the wisp of Internal Energy in his Dantian to flow slowly through his Meridians.

A warm current of air rose from his Dantian and began to circulate along a specific route.

This current of air was Internal Energy.

Although it was only a faint wisp, everywhere it passed, a sense of comfort spread through his entire body.

It was more than a hundred times stronger than Zhao Long's dilapidated body, which couldn't even hold a horse stance steadily.

After the Internal Energy completed one full cycle, Chen Fan opened his eyes.

He had a rough understanding of this body's capabilities.

The Meridians were open, and he could Cultivate the martial path.

However, his Aptitude could only be considered average.

The width of the Meridians was like a dirt road in the countryside, far from being a wide official road; the Internal Energy flowed through them with a slight sluggishness.

The Black Wind Demon had obtained this crude Cultivation Technique from the military and had tempered it for over a decade, yet he had only barely stepped into the Eighth Grade Inner Breath Realm.

It was clear that this body's Foundation was just that.

Mediocre talent.

It couldn't compare to a martial arts genius like Zhang Shan, who was rarely seen in a century.

Chen Fan stood up, walked to the wall, and picked up the heavy ghost-head saber.

As the saber entered his hand, a bloody Evil Qi rushed toward him.

He held the great saber horizontally in front of him, and the Moves of the Gale Saber Technique from the Black Wind Demon's memory naturally surfaced in his mind.

This saber technique didn't have many techniques.

It was bold and vigorous, emphasizing heavy momentum and suppressing others with power.

It was perfectly suited for someone with innate Divine Power like the Black Wind Demon.

Chen Fan took a deep breath and channeled his Internal Energy into his arms.

Holding the saber with both hands, he struck forward fiercely!

Whoosh!

The heavy blade sliced through the air, creating a sharp whistle!

A powerful saber wind caused the tables and chairs in the stone chamber to shake.

What powerful strength!

Feeling the counter-shock force from his arms, Chen Fan felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

This was the strength of an Eighth Grade Martial Artist!

The power of a single strike could actually reach such a level!

Just as he was about to try another strike, the stone door was suddenly pushed open.

The Third Chief, Smiling Tiger, rushed in frantically, his fat face filled with panic.

"Chief! This is bad!"

Chen Fan frowned, somewhat displeased.

"What's the panic! Have the government troops attacked again?"

"No... No!" Smiling Tiger panted heavily, pointing toward the foot of the mountain.

"They... they haven't retreated!"

"Those government troops have set up camp at the foot of the mountain!"

There was a hint of mockery in Smiling Tiger's voice.

"Looking at their posture, they don't plan on leaving until they've leveled our Black Wind Mountain!"