The reason why Duan Lang doesn't want to cultivate Duan Yucheng, aside from the fact that he is not a Double Dragon, is also because of his personality. In the original story, Duan Yucheng easily believed the words of the Da Ming Zun Jiao, wanting to kill the Double Dragon, which is due to Xu Ziling's soft heart, repeatedly sparing him. Otherwise, he would have been eliminated long ago.
In this regard, Duan Yucheng is somewhat similar to Uchiha Obito, in the sense that both misplace their anger. Obito blamed the death of Rin on the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, accusing him of always being late and never being present when needed.
Duan Yucheng, on the other hand, blamed the deaths of his three brothers on the Double Dragon. One must say, the logic of this reasoning is simply extraordinary.
"That really is beautiful. Fortunately, I'm not like that. Maybe I could form a Six Sword Slaves here."
As the kind-hearted mother of the Da Ming Zun Jiao, Sha Fang's beauty and temperament are among the top ranks in this world, not inferior to Zhu Yuyan. Her subordinate, Shui Huo Cha Nu, is also an exceptional beauty. The only pity is that they are not twins, though such a situation is rare and difficult to come by.
"Next, it's time to deal with those bandits."
After giving instructions to Sha Fang and others about what to do next, Duan Lang let them leave, preparing to face the three major bandit groups outside the city. Although the Wolf Bandit was founded by Xu Kaishan, even if he controlled the Da Ming Zun Jiao, he could not make Sha Fang force the Wolf Bandit to leave.
As bandits, the members of the Wolf Bandit are generally greedy. If they weren't, they wouldn't be bandits. They are naturally motivated by profit. This rare opportunity for the three major bandit groups to gather together, if they enter Shanhai County, there is no doubt they would gain a large fortune, and even women.
Such a rare opportunity would not be easily given up by these bandits.
"Quite clever, but this is where it ends."
Watching the three major bandit groups using wood to make simple siege tools, Duan Lang shook his head lightly. Holding the Fang Tian Huaji, reforged from Du Xing's Overlord Axe, he jumped down from the city wall.
In battle, there is no doubt that polearms hold an advantage. While the Overlord Axe could be considered a polearm, Duan Lang wasn't very accustomed to it. More importantly, the Fang Tian Huaji looked cooler.
"Has he gone mad?"
The defenders on the city wall never expected Duan Lang to face the three major bandit groups alone. After all, there were over ten thousand people, and even Bi Xuan, who was revered as a god by the Turks, probably wouldn't dare to do so.
Not only the people in Shanhai County, but even the leaders of the three major bandit groups were stunned at first. Soon, the bandit leaders, such as Huyan Jin from the Khitan and Shen Mo Huan from the Shiwey, were filled with anger. They had seen arrogance before, but never to this extent.
Duan Lang's actions indicated one thing: he completely looked down on them. Even though they were bandits, they were now seething with rage.
"Kill him. We must kill him."
After some discussion, the bandit leaders decided that Shen Mo Huan from the Shiwey would be the one to confront Duan Lang. Though the three major bandit groups had united this time, they had always been wary of one another. If it weren't for the large reward, they would never have joined forces.
In this situation, they could only fight separately. If they were truly to join forces, they might not even need to fight, as their own people could end up fighting amongst themselves.
Shen Mo Huan, after being granted the right to take the first strike, immediately gathered three hundred of his men and led them into battle.
Shen Mo Huan was infamous in the northern desert, known as one of the cruel bandit leaders. He had caused a great deal of harm in the outer territories and had been wanted by many, but due to his cunning and strong strength, no one had ever managed to capture him.
"Are they here? This lineup is still weaker than Ban Ye's."
Seeing the bandits riding toward him like a whirlwind, Duan Lang shook his head lightly. While facing tens of thousands of enemies, Uchiha Madara would face an army united as one. Duan Lang, however, was facing bandits who were scheming against each other and didn't take him seriously.
Despite thinking this, Duan Lang swung his Fang Tian Huaji and charged at the hundreds of bandits coming at him.
"Do you also want to dance?"
Muttering words the bandits couldn't understand, Duan Lang thrust his Fang Tian Huaji forward, unleashing a powerful shockwave that shattered the hundreds of arrows shot at him. Then, a loud explosion rang out, and the first few bandits at the front, along with their horses, were torn apart.
"How is this possible?" This was the last thing Shen Mo Huan said. The reason he volunteered for the attack was because he had a super strong bow, the Feiyun Bow. It was this bow that had allowed him to dominate the northern desert.
Ordinary bows can shoot arrows with a power of thirty stones, which is already considered quite good. Most military archers use bows of this level. However, the Feiyun Bow had a power of about two hundred stones. With such a powerful bow, even someone with slightly weaker strength could still draw it. But once it was fully drawn, it could pose a huge threat to the enemy, even to master-level experts. In the original story, the Double Dragon and Ba Fenghan were able to survive dangerous situations multiple times using super strong bows of the same level as the Feiyun Bow.
Owning such a bow, the ideal enemy would be someone like Duan Lang, who fought head-on. Unfortunately, Shen Mo Huan had miscalculated. A mere two hundred stone bow was no threat to Duan Lang at all.
Ahh!
Swinging his Fang Tian Huaji and charging into the bandit group, Duan Lang was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. Wherever he went, there was no enemy capable of opposing him. Every time his Fang Tian Huaji flashed, several people, along with their horses, fell. Even though Duan Lang didn't use any special moves, just waving it casually, no one could approach his ten-meter radius.
"How is this possible? Is this guy a monster?"
Watching dozens of people and horses fall in the blink of an eye, the bandits surrounding Duan Lang began to feel fear. The bandits' combat style mainly relied on the speed of their horses to gain momentum. This was their unbeatablestrategy. But now, no matter how skilled they were at riding, they would be cleaved in two by a cold flash.
"Boss, I will kill you!"
In the rear, Shen Mo Huan's wife, Mu Ling, had been confidently watching her husband lead the charge against Duan Lang. However, when she suddenly realized that Shen Mo Huan's fate was uncertain, she angrily led hundreds of men to charge forward. Despite being ruthless to everyone else, Shen Mo Huan and Mu Ling shared a deep bond.
However, Duan Lang didn't notice her. In his eyes, these bandits were all the same. Whether it was Shen Mo Huan, Mu Ling, or Huyan Jin of the Khitan, none were a match for him. With a scream, Mu Ling, along with her horse and iron shield, was split in two.
As the leader of the bandits, they were naturally Duan Lang's primary target.
"Damn it! What is this monster? We are no longer doing this deal."
Seeing Duan Lang single-handedly destroy the bandit group, Huyan Jin of the Khitan and the Wolf Bandit immediately regrouped and prepared to retreat. The siege tools they had almost completed building were ignored.
After the death of Shen Mo Huan and Mu Ling, not everyone in their bandit group sought revenge. Thinking they outnumbered their enemies, they thought they could wear Duan Lang down, but after seeing half of their forces decimated with seemingly no effort on Duan Lang's part, they quickly turned tail and fled.
Duan Lang didn't pursue the regular bandits, as it was difficult to capture all of them in the terrain of the plains unless he revealed all his strength. However, the bandit leaders were a different matter.
"Kill."
Duan Lang's display of power didn't just scare the bandits. The people inside Shanhai County were equally shocked. However, some of them opened the city gates and charged at the bandits.
Those who came to Shanhai County to witness the public trial of Xu Kaishan and Du Xing were all people with deep grudges against the bandits. Now that they saw an opportunity, they naturally wanted to take revenge.
Although Shanhai County's people were vastly outnumbered by the bandits, unfortunately for them, Duan Lang had broken their will, and they no longer had the heart to resist. They only thought of escaping amidst the chaos.
To be honest, the number of deaths caused by the bandits' own confusion and infighting was higher than the number Duan Lang had killed.
One person single-handedly defeating nearly ten thousand bandits—such a feat would cause even a regular army to collapse, let alone selfish and divided bandits.
"I really didn't expect that the bandits would attack with their participation. The Buddhist sect really is powerful. Buddhist enemies?"
Duan Lang initially thought that the joint attack by the bandits was primarily because of actions by the Da Ming Zun Jiao. But just as he was preparing to take the bandits' wealth, he realized that there were also traces of the Buddhist sect and Xieli involved. To eliminate Duan Lang, they had provided tempting rewards.
Da Ming Zun Jiao's Sha Fang and others let the Wolf Bandit act, but that was just a distraction.
Shanhai County's strategic location, along with Duan Lang's previous actions, had made it the perfect target for a joint operation by the Buddhist sect and Xieli to eliminate him.
"They will be dealt with by you."
After defeating the bandit group, Duan Lang returned to the city and handed Xu Kaishan and Du Xing over to those who had come to attend the public trial. Among them were relatives of the Anle Gang leader, Lu Ping, who had been killed along with his entire family, but still had distant relatives.
There were also relatives and disciples of the merchants and sects attacked by the Wolf Bandit. With such deep grudges, they naturally wouldn't let Xu Kaishan and Du Xing off easily. After some discussion, they decided to execute them.
"How is this possible?"
The news of Duan Lang single-handedly defeating nearly ten thousand bandits quickly spread, and most people dismissed it as unbelievable. After all, it was simply too incredible.
"That's right. With such power, even Martial Master Bi Xuan couldn't do that, right?"
The reason for their disbelief was simple: if the three great Grandmasters couldn't do it, how could Duan Lang? That would mean his power surpassed theirs.
"Once you reveal your strength, things become much simpler."
Those who hadn't witnessed Duan Lang's battle didn't believe it. But those in Shanhai County who had seen it were completely convinced. As a result, Duan Lang's reforms within Shanhai County proceeded remarkably smoothly. Even though many people were dissatisfied, no one dared to challenge him.
"Indeed, no one fattens without grazing."
Duan Lang wasn't concerned with what others said about him. What mattered to him were the bandit riches, which were a huge fortune. Enough for Daniel Davis to do many things, such as reforming the military system and transitioning from a conscript-based army to a voluntary one, keeping soldiers in a permanent ready state instead of only assembling during wartime.
"Such audacity! To dare do this, let someone report this to Martial Master!"
The reforms in Shanhai County caused a great stir in the outer territories, especially when Xieli heard about them and became extremely angry. This was because most of them targeted him.
Though the DTZ is now divided into two major forces—Xieli and Tuli—Tuli was significantly weaker without the help of the Double Dragon. If it weren't for Martial Master Bi Xuan, Xieli would have long since wiped out Tuli.
"One against ten thousand. Someone, investigate this thoroughly."
Martial Master Bi Xuan quickly received Xieli's report, but he didn't believe it immediately. Instead, he sent his disciples to verify. Though it seemed unbelievable, in certain circumstances, it wasn't impossible for someone to do so. For example, the three Grandmasters could have done so if they had wanted, just like what Fu Cailin had done back in the day.
"Goguryeo, Five Blades, sounds impressive. They can be dealt with together."
Although Duan Lang had dealt with the three major bandit groups, one group had not appeared, which bothered him—the Goguryeo bandits. In fact, this group was not just a band of bandits but also pirates. They were the ones who had colluded with the Eastern Sea Alliance's Kuge to capture people from Central Plains and send them to the northern territories or Goguryeo as slaves.
For such people, Duan Lang would never show mercy.
Speaking of which, none of the three Grandmasters were particularly good. Ning Daoqi, for example, had also been involved with pirates and bandits. For instance, the current leader of the Goguryeo pirates, Han Chaoyan, had a good relationship with Fu Cailin's female disciple.
"Ning Daoqi, you're quite fast. You're truly the Buddhist sect's first dog. What did Fan Qinghui pay this time? By the way, since I solved this big love rival for you, shouldn't you thank me?"
Just as Duan Lang was preparing to deal with Han Chaoyan, an unexpected person interrupted his plans: Ning Daoqi, the first Grandmaster of the Central Plains.
Duan Lang wasn't surprised by Ning Daoqi's appearance. Given what he had done, Fan Qinghui wouldn't have let Ning Daoqi come after him if he hadn't been asked. The reason Ning Daoqi hadn't appeared earlier was simply because Duan Lang had been unpredictable. No matter what, Ning Daoqi was the number one Grandmaster of the Taoist sect, and even helping the Buddhist sect, he wouldn't personally chase down Duan Lang.
Now that Duan Lang had a fixed location, Ning Daoqi had naturally come.
"You."
Duan Lang's words directly caused Ning Daoqi to swallow the words he was about to say, while his eyes flashed with killing intent. Duan Lang was the first to dare say these things to him.
(End of Chapter)
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