I'm here in the martial arts world just to find love.

The intelligence displayed by the little stone man was so incredible that Bi Sheng and the others, who had been injured by the bandits, forgot their pain and stepped forward to examine the magical creature.

Shi Gandang was annoyed by the constant harassment, but he could not resist. In desperation, he could only plead with Jiang Chao in a low voice.

Let him discipline these ill-mannered mortals and stop them from toying with it.

Jiang Chao looked quite pleased with himself, and after everyone had finished expressing their surprise, he suggested:

"Let's go, things might change if we delay. Let's deal with those bandits as soon as possible so we can get on our way sooner."

The group returned to the gate of the mountain stronghold.

Behind the gate, the tower that had collapsed had been rebuilt.

A bandit stood on top, keeping watch.

Upon seeing Bi Sheng and his group, the bandit shouted loudly without fear:

"You defeated foe of my king, yet you dare to come and die?"

Bi Sheng snorted and said, "Enough nonsense, let your king come out and face his death!"

The bandit sneered, "My king said that if you bunch of brats are so ignorant as to dare to come and cause trouble again, you will never leave alive and will die without a burial place!"

After saying that, the bandit turned around and struck the gong hanging on the wooden stake behind him.

Ding ding ding ding—

As a series of rapid gong sounds rang out, the sound of bows being drawn and strung echoed throughout the village.

Then, the sound of arrows whistling through the air rang out.

A dense rain of arrows fell from the sky.

Upon seeing this, Bi Sheng and the others' expressions changed slightly. This rain of arrows was far denser than when they had fled earlier.

Moreover, its power was even greater, suggesting it was the work of the elite troops in the mountain stronghold.

"Let me do it."

Just then, Jiang Chao stepped forward, blocking the crowd, and drew his sword.

The next moment, sword light burst forth, and countless sword shadows emerged from in front of the boy.

The rain of arrows was all shot down.

And without exception, those thick arrows were torn to shreds by the sword shadows in mid-air, turning into dust.

The bandits on the tower were terrified when they saw this.

"Your Majesty, this is a tricky situation! Quickly..."

He stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking.

Suddenly, the bandit's head and neck separated.

A fine head flew into the air.

From within the village came a furious roar.

"With repeated provocations, do you really think this great king is easy to bully?!"

A deep, resonant voice came from afar, and a burly figure soared into the sky, leaping over the several-zhang-high stockade wall and landing in front of everyone.

The burly man wielding a silver-ringed broadsword stared intently at Jiang Chao, who held a three-foot-long sword, his eyes blazing with murderous intent as he spoke:

"So you're the leader of this group of dolls?"

Jiang Chao looked at the burly man exuding a murderous aura, shook his head, and said calmly:

"We have no leader."

"We're all just fellow travelers in the martial arts world, friends who help each other out when we see injustice."

Upon hearing this, the burly man snorted coldly, held his silver-ringed broadsword horizontally in front of him, and sneered:

"Friends? I've seen plenty of meddlesome rabble like you. You all look respectable, but you're all full of bad intentions. You'll do anything for fame and fortune!"

"Today, I'll show you what a true hero is!"

Having said that, he swung his long sword horizontally, and a sharp blade of energy whistled out.

Jiang Chao shook his head. "You didn't want to be a proper swordsman in the martial world. Instead, you chose to become an outlaw, a mountain king, and a scourge to the region. You're truly... beyond redemption."

Jiang Chao was having some difficulty dealing with the mountain god, but dealing with a mere bandit was more than enough for him.

In the blink of an eye, a streak of sword light flashed, and the burly man's head fell to the ground.

Jiang Chao sheathed his sword and slowly turned around.

"The rest is up to you."

The young man spoke with the air of a master.

When Bi Sheng and the others saw Jiang Chao make a move for the first time, they were all dumbfounded.

One sword!

With a single sword strike, he killed the bandit leader, whom all five of them were powerless against!

Such strength is simply terrifying!

They had initially held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that everyone was a rising star among the younger generation and that the gap between them wouldn't be too large.

Despite his distinguished background, Jiang Chao seemed unpretentious and easy to get along with.

Seeing the opponent's swift and decisive move, and the strength they displayed, they finally understood the true meaning of the saying, "There are always people more capable than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding."

This is simply monstrous!

With the most threatening bandit leader executed, Bi Sheng and his men had no more worries.

They immediately took action and charged towards the mountain stronghold.

The seemingly sturdy gate collapsed and shattered into pieces before Bi Sheng's twelve-foot wooden stick.

Dong Jiajia and Liu Yu'er followed closely behind and charged in.

Xiao Qiushui and Li Qingyue brought up the rear to prevent any fish from escaping.

In less than 15 minutes, the entire mountain stronghold was wiped out.

They didn't need prisoners, nor did they need to claim rewards from anyone, so after killing all the bandits, they left the stronghold.

Jiang Chao thought for a moment and then suggested:

"Brother Bi, let's bury these bandits' corpses while we're at it, so they don't lie exposed in the wilderness, breed plague, and cause trouble for travelers passing through here in the future."

There was one more thing Jiang Chao didn't say: this place wasn't too far from the mountain where they had previously discovered the little stone man, Shi Gandang.

It's just two valleys and a river in between.

The bandits in the two areas were very likely originally one group.

They were all affected by that great formation, their bodies filled with extremely fierce and malevolent energy, making them completely different from ordinary martial artists.

If the corpses here, like those in that great formation, were to undergo a transformation into zombies, that would be a real problem.

Bi Sheng and his gang originally thought they only needed to kill people, but they didn't expect it to be so troublesome. They even had to collect the bodies of these guys who had harmed countless innocent people.

I was somewhat reluctant.

However, Jiang Chao's words made some sense; it was indeed inappropriate to kill without burying, so they had no choice but to comply.

Jiang Chao and the others were not idle either. Jiang Chao was responsible for collecting the body of the bandit leader he had killed, while Qin Shaoling and the others went to the mountain stronghold to help.

Before we knew it, dusk was falling.

After all that work, it was actually much more tiring than killing bandits.

The group sat together by a campfire lit in the open space in front of the mountain stronghold, and each took out the dry food and water they had brought to eat.

Everyone ate in silence, the atmosphere somewhat somber.

The little stone man, Shi Gandang, sat beside Jiang Chao with a swagger, holding a rabbit he had caught from who-knows-where, and munching on it with relish.

Jiang Chao broke the silence first, looking at the little stone figure and laughing, "Aren't you a stone figure? Why do you need to eat meat to fill your stomach?"

The little stone man chuckled, "Young master, you may not know this, but although I am a naturally born spirit stone, I still need blood to nourish my body. Otherwise, over time, I will lose my spirituality."

Jiang Chao raised an eyebrow. "There's such a saying?"

I was quite surprised. I didn’t expect that a spiritual creature like a stone spirit, born of heaven and earth, would not rely on absorbing the essence of heaven and earth to cultivate itself, but instead need to maintain its spirituality by eating animal blood.