Eight months later.
The entrance to Jade Mountain City.
Luo Tian’s clothes had become strips of rags and he looked no different to a common beggar. He looked up at the city’s gate and faintly smiled: “I’m finally back.”
After unsealing the ancient scroll’s array, Luo Tian didn’t return immediately and chose to stay in the Ghostly Mountain Range to continue training.
Firstly, because he wanted to level up some more.
Secondly, he wanted to also raise the levels of his skills.
The Ghostly Mountain Range was considered as a natural treasure trove containing countless medicinal plants.
Luo Tian’s pill alchemy skill started at level 1, but had risen to level 5 after these eight months. The current him was considered a rank 5 Alchemist. With all the enhancements he received from his Pill Alchemy skill, the pills he concocted would be a level higher than other alchemists at the same level as him.
As for his Engraving Arrays skill, Healing Art, Refining Gu skill, Weapon Refining skill; they had all risen in levels as well.
The current Luo Tian was almost like a Grandmaster jack-of-all trades.
To him, leveling his skills didn’t require any accumulation of skill points. All he had to do was keep training it over and over again and it will automatically level up.
His martial skills rose up quite fast, but…
Eight months. After a full eight months, Luo Tian still hadn’t broken through to the Profound King realm yet.
He was stuck at the Profound Spirit 9th rank!
Luo Tian had killed countless demonic beasts but the experience he received was too pathetic and couldn’t satisfy his leveling requirement. These past eight months was Luo Tian’s slowest leveling time in his entire life. This was also considered one of the darkest periods of his life. Thinking how he couldn’t even level once this past eight months, Luo Tian immediately became annoyed.
He originally planned on breaking through to the Profound King realm before returning home, but the expiration of the S-rank quest was arriving soon.
Luo Tian had no clue about the environment of the Heavenly Sword City.
He also didn’t know where An Chunchun’s mother was at, so he had to head there early to make some preparations.
Also…
Luo Tian missed his brothers in Jade Mountain City, especially Fatty Lei. Who knows what cultivation level this lump of fat had risen to by now?
There was also An Chunchun.
The little fox race girl has most likely grown taller. Her cute expressions and her charming eyes definitely must have enthralled a bunch of people.
Thinking of these things, Luo Tian’s mood started becoming better.
“Gallop~ gallop~…”
“The beggar in front better scram aside for this daddy or else this daddy will smash you to death!”
Suddenly…
A series of horse hoof beats was heard behind Luo Tian. Dozens of fierce looking burly men with long machetes on their backs were riding horses. They all had ferocious expressions on their faces and the yell came from a burly guy glaring at Luo Tian in front most of the pack.
“Quickly run!”
“The Autumn Mountain bandits have come again!”
“They’re all experts at the Profound Grandmaster realm and I heard their leader has already reached the Profound Spirit realm!”
“It seems like the Luo family is going to suffer this time.”
Many passer-bys underwent drastic changes with their expressions as they moved off to the side to give way. They didn’t even dare to look at the bandits on horseback because to them, their little lives couldn’t afford to offend these people.
Luo Tian’s expression hiddenly changed as he said to himself: “Did the Luo family suffer some sort of crisis? Where did these bandits come from?”
————-
The Azure Cloud Sect was destroyed.
In a radius of 100,000 kilometers, this piece of land had become an ownerless territory so many small forces rose up and crowned themselves rulers.
Jade Mountain City wasn’t that big, but it was the only city that one must pass by in order to get to the Ghostly Mountain Range. This was a place where all adventurers had to stop by for necessities, so the city was quite prosperous. There were huge opportunities to make money here so it was a territory that those small forces were fighting for.
“You damn beggar, you’re still not scramming to the side for this daddy?!”
The lead burly bandit glared angrily before pulling out his horse whip. He then directly whipped it towards Luo Tian’s head.
The crowd didn’t dare to continue watching.
“Sigh, the beggar is going to die.”
“What an idiot; he’s still not running away upon seeing the Autumn Mountain bandits? Doesn’t he know the bandits are the overlords of this land here?”
“Who knows where that kid from the Luo family went? If he were still here in Jade Mountain City, most likely the city wouldn’t be in such a mess like it is right now.”
“You’re talking about Luo Tian? He went into the Ghostly Mountain Range for over half a year now without any news. I think most likely he’s been eaten by a demonic beast already. A mere Profound Master like him daring to enter the depths of the Ghostly Mountain Range is simply courting death.”
“So what if that kid was here? The cultivation levels of these bandits are at the Profound Grandmaster realm, and there’s even one at the Profound Spirit realm! Even if that kid was here, he wouldn’t be their opponent. The once domineering four major families are now only left with the Luo family. After today, I’m afraid Jade Mountain City will no longer have traces of the four major families anymore.”
“Eh?”
“Where’s that beggar? How come I don’t see him anymore?”
The crowd was stunned because they all saw the beggar there just a second ago but now his figure had disappeared. What on earth was going on? Did that huge bandit smash him into powder already?
The crowd started looking all over but couldn’t find any traces of Luo Tian.
Even the burly bandit leader had a stunned look. His whip was clearly about to lash the beggar but the guy suddenly disappeared. He only felt a faint breeze. After shaking his head, he said to himself: “Did I see a ghost?”
Immediately after…
His eyes turned grim and shouted: “The Autumn Sect as arrived; death to those that block our path!”
“The Autumn Sect as arrived; death to those that block our path!”
Wherever they rode by, dust would be kicked up. The common citizens would then lower their heads and not dare to make eye contact from being extremely afraid.
A little under a thousand bandits had come to Jade Mountain City and many merchants had been robbed by them. In just a few months, Jade Mountain City had become something similar to a desolate border town. Those living in the city felt that danger was abound and no one dared to resist the bandits.
Except for the Luo family.
They continuously resisted the Autumn Mountain bandits.
The disciples of the Luo family were truly strong, fierce, and ruthless.
They were able to repel dozens of attacks by the Autumn Mountain bandits and managed to kill over a hundred of them. But they too suffered heavy losses – half the Luo family disciples had lost their lives and many of the remaining ones were injured. There was only about thirty something people left that were still capable of fighting.
At the beginning of the street, one could see group after groups of bandits rushing towards the Luo family manor.
Many people shook their head and sighed: “The Luo family is finished, sigh…”
“Even Qiu Badao of the Autumn Mountain bandits have come this time. No matter how strong Song Yannan is, there’s no way he can be an opponent of Qiu Badao.”
“Once the Luo family is destroyed, then Jade Mountain City will truly be in the hands of the Autumn Mountain bandits.”
“Sigh… such a good family is about to disappear just like that.”
Everyone was sighing without exception.
The Luo family was once a huge deal. And the Luo family’s youngest patriarch had shocked many in the radius of a thousand kilometers by becoming a hero in Jade Mountain City.
But now…
Once the Violet organization withdrew from Jade Mountain City, the Luo family started suffering heavy losses.
The current Luo family was at a dead end and was about to be destroyed.
———-
Outside the main hall of the Luo family…
Stood many bandits from the Autumn Mountain. All of them looked as strong as a bear with malicious expressions on their faces. They were all glaring at the members of the Luo family standing outside the main hall.
The Luo manor.
Parts of the walls had collapsed and the main entrance was in a wreck. There were traces of blood all over the martial training ground and more than half the houses where in shambles. The Luo manor was practically in ruins.
“Humph!”
“Song Yannan, if you know what’s best for you, hand over the xuan stones. Don’t make this daddy have to work for it or else this daddy won’t be polite to you!” Yelled the lead bandit with thick brows and big eyes while glaring at Song Yannan.
A voice was suddenly heard off to the side.
“What if we don’t hand it over?”
“Not handing it over? Humph, if you’re not handing it over, then just await your death!”
“Oh?”
“Really? Try touching them and see who dies first.”
Before the voice even faded, a figure had already descended!
It was Luo Tian!
