As the pampered princess of the Shen family, Shen Lin had always lived a carefree life under her family's protection. Her talent was the most outstanding among them but she had one fatal flaw: she didn't like to cultivate.
"Lin'er, you really won't consider cultivating?" The Shen family head asked softly, his voice as gentle as he could make it.
Shen Lin bit her lip and nodded. Disappointment flashed across his eyes.
"Father, what's the point of cultivating all day long? Cultivators aren't good people. They're cruel and war hungry. I don't want to be one of them." She said with a trace of dissatisfaction.
Middle territory was vast. Although the Shen family couldn't be considered strong but still it was a lower tier second rate power. It had enough influence to stir wind and rain within the Jade Sky Kingdom. Since childhood, Shen Lin had seen too much, cultivators slaughtering each other, looting, destroying sects. Such sights had planted deep aversion in her young heart.
Her older brother was also a genius, already a Heaven Congregation Realm expert at twenty five. Five years ago, he joined the Jade Sky Kingdom's army.
But as a sheltered girl who had never faced true peril, Shen Lin was now tasting fear for the first time. When her green clothed maid was killed before her eyes in a cruel manner, she finally understood the value of strength. She regretted not being strong.
"So…. Strength is always needed not for only fighting, killing, looting and destruction but for protecting one's loved one as well as oneself." As she pointed her sword at the bandits, she found a new resolve within her.
A bandit with a mocking laugh stepped forward. He caught her sword barehanded as the blade bent under his grip.
"Little girl, come with us obediently, i'll make it less painful." His lustful gaze wasn't concealed at all.
Shen Lin felt the last bit of strength leaving her body, she couldn't move at all. Through her horrified gaze she could see their corrupted hands stretching toward her as she closed her eyes in despair.
High above, Shen Shou roared in fury, fighting madly to break free from the bandit leader's entrapment. But he was overpowered, his wounds growing worse by the second.
Then, amidst the stormy night, a humming voice drifted through the rain.
"The wind hums softly through the rain….
Silence lingers where the rivers wane."
The bandits froze. Shen Lin opened her eyes slightly and saw a young man walking toward them step by step with hands behind his back. And as he walked the wind made his wet robe flutter violently. Li Shenrong's gaze was cold and devoid of emotion, swiftly arriving before Shen Lin, his gaze swept over the bandits.
"Where did this brat came from?" One bandit who seemed to have some authority asked. The underlying meaning was, "Did you not kill everyone?"
Raising his hand Li Shenrong spread out his palm, a jade pendant was hanging. The wind made it sway back and forth, left and right. "See? It's too windy, not gentle at all."
Shen Lin recognised the pendant which she lost while escaping.
The bandits blinked, confused. His words made no sense. Impatient, one of them dashed toward Li Shenrong, chopping down with his machete. Under this slash, a body strengthening realm cultivator would be dissected in half instantly.
The incoming attack didn't even make Li Shenong blink as he lifted his left hand, and with two fingers, caught the machete in mid swing. The blade halted abruptly.
Then his eerily calm voice sounded again, "Do you know what's soft and sounds like humming?"
Before the bandit could react, Li Shenrong grabbed his head and pulled with force. The bandit's head was instantly torn off as blood gushed out like fountain. A bone tempering realm cultivator died just like this.
Tossing the head aside, Li Shenrong said flatly, "Your scream of course…" Then his gaze swept toward the next bandit. A faint, devilish smile curved his lips. "Now, who'll scream for me?"
"Brat! How dare you!! Kill him for me…" Bandits one after another shot toward him from all directions, each holding different types of weapon.
Li Shenrong stomped down, a great force propelled him forward like lightning as he arrived before a bandit and threw a punch. His punch created a gaping hole in the bandit's chest as life seeped away.
"Next one.."
A machete was already above his head. Li Shenrong moved slightly, narrowly avoiding the slash, then motioned his palm forward. As soon as his palm met the bandit's chest, his entire body exploded. The bandit didn't even get the chance to scream.
Behind him, an axe swung down toward his back. Li Shenrong straightened suddenly like a pillar, dodging the strike by a hair. The axe missed. The bandit wanted to use the previous motion to launch another attack but Li Shenrong was faster, his leg was already beside his right ear. A direct kick on the head. A dull thud sound echoed as the bandit's head exploded like watermelon and the headless body fell on the muddy ground.
Bodies piled up one after another. Within seconds, over a hundred bandits lay dead. Even Spirit Accumulation Realm cultivators among them had fallen without resistance. The other bandits who had yet to finish their fight against the guards felt a chill.
"Who the hell is this brat! How could he be so strong."
Up until now, the aura fluctuation shown by Li Shenrong was extremely faint, hard to determine his cultivation. From the look of it, his cultivation didn't seem high and the techniques he used are basic fist, kick, punch art. But in his hand, those basic fist, kick and punches became extremely deadly. One hit, you are dead beyond cure. It was as if each strike was equal to being hammered by mountain.
"Too weak… i couldn't even warm up with this." Li Shenrong washed the blood that had splattered on his face and spoke, his tone little regretful. This made the bandits infuriated and angry but they didn't dare to step forward anymore. All they could was glanced at their leader.
She Shou was now caught by neck like chicken. It seemed he was unconscious from the blood-loss. The bandit leader threw down his fat body and stood in air, gaze directly on Li Shenrong.
"Uncle!" Shen Lin cried out, eyes filled with fear.
As their gaze met Li Shenrong raised one eyebrow. "A fiendish cultivator like you shouldn't be mingling with bunch of bandits. Is there something else going on?"
He was curious and sure that this fiend cultivator was concocting something sinister. Or else there was no way a mighty fiend cultivator would team up with ragtag bandits.
"Kid, you are too tender to guess about this one's thoughts." The bandit leader laughed,
Li Shenrong chuckled as well and leapt up high. The fiend cultivator threw a punch. Because of the blood Qi, the power of his punch increased by ten fold. A normal Heaven congregation cultivator would be no match for it.
Without any change in expression, Li Shenrong met his punch. The fiend cultivator's expression changed as he took few steps back.
"Kid… I underestimated you."
Li Shenrong didn't respond. His figure blurred, appearing above the man's head. With a mighty chop, he struck downward. The fiend cultivator snorted, blood red Qi oozing out from his body. He took out a low grade Heavenly King level treasure and defended. It was a shining metal shield which granted both offence and defence. The shield caved in under Li Shenrong's strike. Its glow dimmed almost instantly, cracks like spiderweb spread across it. The fiend cultivator flew backward, blood spraying from his mouth.
Knowing he was no match for Li Shenrong, using the motion of his fall he twisted his body in mid air, wanting to run away.
Seeing this Li Shenrong pulled out a sword. It was just a normal sword but in his hand it shone with shocking sword Qi.
"Heavens edge cutting sword!"
An extremely sharp and domineering sword light shot into the distance and then came a Miserable cry.
Shen Shou had already woken up, taking care of the remaining bandits. The servants quickly tended to the wounds of the guards and mercenaries who were alive.
They were waiting for Li Shenrong to be back. Not long after Li Shenrong came back dragging a bloodied body in his hand.
It was the fiend cultivator. His limbs were chopped off along with several mortal wounds from where intestines were hanging out. He was alive but barely.
"Interrogate him," Li Shenrong said coldly, tossing the body to a guard.
Shen Shou quickly bowed. "I, Shen Shou, thank the young master for saving our lives."
He understood the young man in front of him was an expert stronger than him. So he had to show respect, thus changing the way of address. Behind him, Shen Lin also bowed slightly.
Li Shenrong smiled faintly. "It's no big deal. Caravan Leader Shen is a good and honest man. How could I just stand by and watch you suffer?"
"Fortunately my eyesight is good and invited him to my caravan or else my corpse would've been lying down here." Shen Shou secretly sighed in relief.