Top-tier Unruly Master

Chapter 1430 1467: Bandits Appear

The middle-aged man heard the young girl's words and couldn't help but glance over at Ding Fan, frowning slightly, feeling quite shocked. The middle-aged man thought similarly to the young girl; the fact that the other party was walking alone in this remote mountain forest was quite surprising, given the countless Yuan Beasts around! Along the way, they had already encountered numerous Yuan Beasts, and if it weren't for their considerable number, they certainly wouldn't have been able to escape unscathed from those beasts.

The middle-aged man knew that even with seven or eight people on their side working together to deal with those Yuan Beasts, they still sustained a lot of injuries. After all, the Yuan Beasts were incredibly formidable. Despite being a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, facing those beasts wasn't easy. Fortunately, they had only encountered ordinary Yuan Beasts, with the highest grade being a Fifth Grade Yuan Beast.

One must know that a Fifth Grade Yuan Beast is already equivalent to a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Peak, and it's important to note that the power of a Yuan Beast is far greater than that of a cultivator with similar cultivation. Therefore, even though the middle-aged man was at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, handling a Fifth Grade Yuan Beast was not straightforward. The middle-aged man understood that if they were to encounter beasts above the Fifth Grade, it would be challenging for them to manage. Thankfully, not all the beasts above the Fifth Grade appeared in this remote mountain forest.

At this moment, the middle-aged man gazed at Ding Fan. The True Qi in the other party seemed very scarce, with cultivation level appearing to be at the Early Nascent Soul Stage at best. Yet, strangely, the other person's clothes were exceptionally clean and tidy, far from looking like someone who had battled with Yuan Beasts. However, the middle-aged man knew that although the Yuan Beasts here weren't above the Fifth Grade, there were still many lower-grade ones!

The middle-aged man looked at Ding Fan with a bewildered expression, clearly not believing that the other had traversed this remote mountain forest without encountering any Yuan Beasts, which was absolutely impossible. Given their cultivation level, even a Fourth Grade Yuan Beast would be a deadly presence. However, the other's clothes were impeccably clean, making one curious. Evidently, the middle-aged man soon placed a label on Ding Fan: Strange person!

Then the middle-aged man spoke seriously to the young girl or the cultivators behind him:

"In the remote mountains, any kind of danger can exist, so everyone needs to stay vigilant. Moreover, it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble, so be cautious!"

The cultivators in the merchant convoy nodded deeply at the middle-aged man's words, evidently trusting him greatly. At that moment, a few of the cultivator's gazes also fell upon Ding Fan, but they quickly withdrew their gazes. Clearly, they were equally shocked by the sight as Ding Fan. They passed through this forest every year but had never seen anyone traveling alone.

Indeed, it was incredible! The few cultivators recalled the middle-aged man's words and quickly withdrew their gaze from Ding Fan. As expected, anything strange could happen in these mountains, so they had to be cautious and avoid unnecessary conflicts, focusing instead on safely reaching their destination!

Now, Ding Fan glanced at the merchant convoy a few times, and his brows furrowed slightly. Ding Fan felt somewhat uneasy, not because of the few members of the convoy looking at him, but because his Divine Sense detected another Divine Sense spying on them, including himself, from within the merchant convoy. Ding Fan's Divine Sense detected that a group of people was quietly approaching them.

Ding Fan continued walking, maintaining a calm expression, clearly noticing that the convoy beside him wasn't aware of being watched. Ding Fan wasn't overly concerned, sensing that the hidden group mainly targeted the merchant convoy. Ding Fan knew that in such places, a merchant convoy would naturally attract attention.

After some time, when Ding Fan and the convoy reached a narrow path, suddenly a group of cultivators in black outfits, wielding swords and blades, swiftly surrounded the convoy and Ding Fan and the others.

"Leave everything behind, those who don't want to die, scram!"

A muscular man within the group of black-clad individuals, with a scar running from the corner of his eye to the side of his nose, spoke aggressively to the few cultivators in the convoy.

The leading middle-aged man of the convoy reacted with tension, clearly not expecting to encounter bandits. Although they knew that anything might happen in these remote mountains and had anticipated the possibility of running into bandits during their journey, they were still very frightened when faced with actual bandits!

"Taking our things isn't that simple! You'll notice that our cultivator levels are not inferior. If you try to rob us forcefully, I assure you that you won't gain any advantages. Moreover, if our syndicate realizes we haven't returned, they will certainly come for revenge! Your days won't be easy then!"

The leading middle-aged man in the convoy, appearing rather calm under the circumstances, addressed what seemed to be a leader among the black-clad individuals.

Seeing this, Ding Fan felt quite pleased with the middle-aged man's performance in the convoy. Staying calm under such circumstances was quite a challenge, although it was a pity that the bandits clearly outnumbered them. Even though most of the bandits were at the Nascent Soul Stage, their numbers were overwhelming.

The bandit leader, the scar-faced man, had a cultivation level at the Nascent Soul Mid Stage, and his cultivation was notably stronger than that of the middle-aged man from the convoy. Clearly, the convoy's man wasn't a match for the scar-faced man!

"Hahaha... You certainly have some nerve! But my brothers won't come empty-handed; we are determined to take your goods!"

The scar-faced man, hearing the other party's words, suddenly burst into laughter, then abruptly stopped, speaking with a heavy, somber tone.

The middle-aged man, hearing the other party's words, focused his gaze and then said:

"Here's what I suggest: the two of us are the most powerful here, so why not settle this with a duel? If you win, you take the goods! We admit defeat! If you lose, you let us leave, and we owe each other nothing!"

"You still want to challenge me? Hahaha..." The scar-faced man was taken aback by the other's words and then laughed sarcastically!

"Haha! To think you'd want to challenge our boss, you're obviously courting death!"

"Hahaha... utterly ridiculous!"

"Haha..."

...

For a moment, the numerous black-clad men burst into laughter upon hearing this, clearly finding the middle-aged man's words exceedingly laughable and pitiful!

At this moment, the cultivators in the caravan were each solemn, extremely anxious inside. After all, their opponents were many and strong, not something they could easily contend with. Although Team Wu was right, if they really fought with the opponents, they could certainly cause them severe losses, but the cultivators on their side would undoubtedly have to pay the price of total annihilation! When they heard Team Wu's words, everyone couldn't help but feel very worried. Clearly, the strength of that scar-faced man was not weak. Otherwise, he wouldn't be the leader of these bandits!

"Team Wu, we should think of another way..."

"Yeah! They're not simple! Team Wu, you better not go..."

...

A few cultivators in the caravan began to persuade the middle-aged man. Although they knew that Team Wu's strength was formidable, definitely not something they could match, comparing him to the leader of those bandits was clearly a stretch. The other party's cultivation level looked obviously deeper than Team Wu's. Clearly, if the other party agreed, Team Wu would face great danger!

The middle-aged man heard his teammates' words, waved his hand, his face solemn, evidently resolute.

The middle-aged man knew this was the last method they could try, clearly beyond this, all their belongings would end up in the opponents' hands, and even their entire team might perish here!

"Alright! I accept your challenge!"

The scar-faced man directly agreed, his eyes filled with disdain and greed, clearly thinking that once he took care of this leader, killing off the rest of this caravan would be much easier! At this time, neither the scar-faced man nor the other black-clad individuals seemed to have noticed Ding Fan, only considering him a cultivator traveling with the caravan.

At this moment, the middle-aged man in the caravan evidently had no intention of revealing Ding Fan's identity, after all, though there hadn't been much interaction, they were somewhat familiar strangers who had traveled together. The middle-aged man glanced at Ding Fan with indifference, then turned to face the scar-faced man with a determined look, exuding a formidable aura.

Ding Fan obviously noticed the middle-aged man's gaze, and couldn't help but feel a bit more favorable toward him. The middle-aged man had a square face, bright eyes, and a kind expression. Ding Fan felt without a doubt the man was a person of goodwill. Although the bandits were numerous and strong, Ding Fan could easily deal with them, but he clearly didn't want to be too high-profile. Ding Fan still decided not to make a move unless absolutely necessary!

Soon after, the middle-aged man and the scar-faced man each stepped forward, the others stepped back, leaving a circle of several meters for the two of them.

Ho!

The middle-aged man let out a loud shout, then shot his fists towards the scar-faced man, his punches roaring fiercely with considerable power! The middle-aged man's fists were extraordinarily fast, and his strength was astonishing. In just the blink of an eye, he had already thrown more than ten punches, each having the power to break stones, leaving the scar-faced man surrounded by the onslaught and forced into a defensive position!

Seeing this, everyone couldn't help but be shocked, clearly feeling incredibly intimidated by the middle-aged man's fist technique, an offensive so sharp that it wasn't something just anyone could withstand!

At this time, many cultivators among the black-clad bandits who saw the middle-aged man's fist technique had put away their previous disdainful laughter, now wearing serious expressions. Although these bandits didn't have high cultivation, each was a genuine cultivator, feeling utterly shocked by the middle-aged man's technique. However, all of them clearly weren't worried about the scar-faced man, confident that even if the middle-aged man was formidable, he would never be a match for their boss!

After all, their boss was a Nascent Soul Early Stage Peak cultivator; even within the early stage, no one had ever defeated their boss. Although the middle-aged man's fist technique was indeed impressive, defeating their boss was absolutely impossible!