## Section 2: The Barren Dragon Association’s Robbery
By: Gu Zhenren
Date: 2013-02-09
Whether in past or present life, Chu Yun had been fighting. Neither perilous situations nor the cruelty of fate could extinguish his fighting spirit.
Facing the Greedy Wolf, who was in a state of enlightenment, he recalled his life’s experiences and, in an instant, grasped the meaning of eternity.
Thus, under immense pressure, he found his own path.
The Dao of Humans.
Heaven and Earth cannot confine my heart. I will forge ahead courageously, unyielding, and bloom with the glory of the Human Dao.
This might seem like an overnight success, but it was actually the result of Chu Yun’s accumulation over two lifetimes, a powerful eruption after deep cultivation.
The moment he stepped onto this path, Chu Yun faintly understood that it was the most correct one for him.
His exchanges with Erlang Tian Jun further solidified this belief. The Dao of Humans was the path most suited to him. Not borrowing from others, but delving within, questioning his own heart, and forging his own way.
Two more days passed, and the four individuals finally recovered to their peak condition. They then dispersed their battle formation, their boldness undiminished by the risk of revealing their presence, and confidently headed towards the city they had previously discovered.
However, when they were still about fifty li away from Stone Hammer City, they were intercepted by a group of people.
“Halt! Who are you people? If you wish to enter Stone Hammer City, state your origins.” The middle-aged man leading the group, with a stern and icy expression, sat atop a towering Demonic Beast, looking down at the four.
Before he could finish speaking, someone beside him impatiently interjected, “Senior Brother, why waste words on them? These people are clearly outsiders, adventurers entering the Dragon Gate. Each of you hand over half of your gains as a toll. Do you hear us?”
The middle-aged senior brother frowned, but seeing the young age of Chu Yun and his companions, and considering their superior numbers, he fell silent. He merely stared coldly at the group of four, his eyes exuding pressure.
“Oh? You’re from the Barren Dragon Association…” Xiao Xiaoxian remarked, glancing at their attire, his eyebrows raised in amusement.
Xingzhou had eighteen top-tier Wanderer factions. The Barren Dragon Association was one of them, mentioned in the same breath as Yan King Sword Mansion and Nine Nether City.
“Hmph! That’s right, we are members of the Barren Dragon Association. Quickly hand over half of what you’ve obtained in the Dragon Gate. You should be grateful you didn’t run into the Yin Yang Tower’s crew. Those people from Yin Yang Tower don’t bother with conversation; they simply rob. We, the Barren Dragon Association, are benevolent and only demand half of your acquisitions.” A Wanderer from the crowd sneered, looking disdainfully at Chu Yun and his companions.
“So, you’re saying we should be thankful for being robbed by you?” Chu Yun replied with a half-smile.
“It’s the law of the jungle; there’s nothing to be done. Who’s to blame when the Dragon Gate World is within our Great Wilderness Country?” The same Wanderer who spoke earlier spread his hands as if in helplessness. “You lone wanderers deserve to be plundered.”
The Great Wilderness Country, though an Island Country, lacked a unified government. Wanderer sects were numerous within its borders. The two largest behemoths were the Barren Dragon Association and the Yin Yang Tower.
Both were top-tier Wanderer factions and, in essence, the local rulers here.
When the Dragon Gate opened, besides dispatching hunting parties, they would also rob these visiting Wanderers after the Dragon Gate closed.
Especially vulnerable groups like Chu Yun’s, consisting of four young individuals.
“Youngsters, learn from your mistakes. Don’t be reckless; this is the harsh reality.” The leader, a middle-aged man, said this and then noticed Chu Yun and his companions exchanging glances, showing no reaction, and even seeming to harbor a hint of a smile. A sense of unease immediately crept into his heart.
He continued, “Of course, if you were allies of our Barren Dragon Association, it would be a case of ‘the Dragon King’s temple being flooded by water from the Dragon King’s own river.’ We’d let you go without a second word.”
He intended to use this to coax Chu Yun and his group into revealing their origins. Seeing their unperturbed composure, the middle-aged leader feared they might have a powerful background.
Xiao Xiaoxian burst into laughter. “Why such a load of nonsense? We will not hand over our hard-earned gains to freeloaders like you. If you want to rob us, then do it.”
The middle-aged man’s heart skipped a beat; the bad feeling intensified.
But at that moment, his companion beside him could no longer contain himself. “Hmph, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Rob them all! Kill the men, and keep the women!”
Following the roars of the Barren Dragon Association members, three Spirit Monsters and sixteen Great Demons, of various kinds, surged toward Chu Yun and his companions.
“Heh!” Xiao Xiaoxian let out a cold laugh and stepped forward, unleashing his spiritual pressure.
“Jun level spiritual pressure!” Countless people on the opposite side cried out in shock. Their previously aggressive assault suddenly halted, as if a tide meeting a reef.
“Friend, this is all a misunderstanding!” The middle-aged man broke out in a cold sweat and shouted urgently.
“Heh heh heh, I like misunderstandings. Watch my Silver Sword!” Xiao Xiaoxian suddenly roared, tapping his Immortal Pouch. Instantly, a sword rainbow shot out.
This Demonic Beast was none other than the Extreme Sky Flying Sword Fish.
Xiao Xiaoxian had been on the verge of controlling his second Tribulation Demon. After these days of recovery and nourishment from Pills, his spiritual energy had surged dramatically, allowing him to successfully subdue the Extreme Sky Flying Sword Fish for his own use.
As the sword rainbow shot out, its speed was terrifying.
The Extreme Sky Flying Sword Fish carved streaks of silver light in the air, weaving a silver net before everyone’s eyes in an instant.
The net not only enveloped the Demonic Beasts but also the numerous members of the Barren Dragon Association.
Three breaths later, the Extreme Sky Flying Sword Fish returned to Xiao Xiaoxian’s pouch. The scene was met with stunned silence.
“What kind of Demonic Beast is that? What did you do to us?”
“Ha… it’s nothing much. What’s wrong with being Jun level? Our Li Longdi Jun is guarding Stone Hammer City… uh.”
The vociferous shouts abruptly ceased.
The speaker’s body suddenly erupted with countless bloody gashes, and then his entire form exploded, disintegrating into countless pieces of flesh and bone. Blood splattered everywhere, and bone fragments rained down.
Not only him, but all the other Beast Tamers and their Demonic Beasts were also sliced into countless fragments by the sword energy, bursting apart with a bang. It was as if ceramic figurines had shattered, and a pungent smell of blood spread intensely.
Only the middle-aged leader remained.
*Crack, crack, crack…*
The middle-aged leader’s teeth chattered, producing a fine clicking sound.
He was utterly stunned.
His companions’ blood had soaked him from head to toe, making him a literal blood-soaked man.
The young man before him was so ruthless!
A demon, a demon wearing human skin!
This sudden turn of events was too much. The middle-aged leader felt as if he had been doused with a basin of ice water, chilling him to the bone.
Boundless fear enveloped his entire being.
Damn it, how could I be so unlucky as to provoke a Jun level expert?
Kings rarely appeared, Marquis levels were often the leaders of top-tier factions, and Jun levels were the Elders within those sects.
Who could have imagined that this young man before them was actually a Jun level expert?
What was the origin of these youths that they were so ruthless?
What sent an even greater chill down the middle-aged leader’s spine was that amidst the Shura-like hellscape of severed limbs, exposed organs, and pulpy flesh, the four youths stood with calm, even indifferent, expressions.
Bloodthirsty!
They were absolute killers!
“Sect Master?” Xiao Xiaoxian took a step back, bowing, and reported to Chu Yun with a smile.
“What, this young Jun level expert isn’t even the leader?” Upon seeing this, the middle-aged leader’s jaw dropped, his eyes bulging as if someone were boxing behind his pupils.
He was petrified with horror, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Damn it, how could I be so unlucky? Who did I provoke?
“Yes, since you’ve already taken action, deal with him as well,” Chu Yun instructed with a serene expression.
“Yes, Sect Master.” Xiao Xiaoxian bowed in acceptance and then turned to face the middle-aged leader, a smile appearing on his face.
The middle-aged man’s entire body began to shake violently. To him, this smile was nothing short of a devil’s grin.
“Spare me!” He crashed to his knees, wailing, “I was blind and foolish! You mighty lords, ask whatever you wish, and I will not hide anything. Just grant me mercy; I have elders above and children below. Treat me as insignificant and let me go!”
(Hmm, third update. That’s all for today. I spent too much time organizing outlines, character designs, and monster data, and I still haven’t finished. There are definitely over a hundred types of monsters, each unique and with its own characteristics, almost all created by myself. Honestly, it’s quite fulfilling.)
