In the heart of Anping Town, deep within the fortified headquarters of the Iron Wheel, silence reigned. It was a heavy, pressurized silence, confined within the stone walls of a private cultivation chamber.
Xiao Ke sat cross-legged in the center of the room, his eyes closed, his breathing imperceptible. To an observer, he looked like a statue carved from granite, but inside his body, a tempest was raging. He was mapping the internal geography of his own skeleton, a mental survey of the bone structure that defined a warrior's power.
He focused on his torso. Of the twenty-six vertebrae in his spinal column, every single one had been "illuminated"—infused with raw energy until they glowed in his spiritual vision. His thoracic cage was a work in progress; of the twenty-five ribs and sternal bones, seven now hummed with power. Combined with his innate physical conditioning, his striking force had reached a terrifying six thousand pounds.
For weeks, Xiao Ke had been a monk to the grindstone. He hadn't wasted a single hour. Every day was a cycle of the Tiger Warrior Art, a grueling regimen designed to distill ambient energy into "Origin Force Water." Now, the Qi Sea within his dantian—the energy center just below his navel—was a reservoir brimming with liquid power.
He wasn't here to temper another bone today. He was here to break a ceiling.
As a Commander of Ten Thousand, remaining a Level 5 Warlord was becoming a liability. It wasn't enough to command fear, and in the Lawless Lands, fear was the only currency that mattered. He needed to illuminate the sixth Martial Vein Node. He needed to ascend.
"Rise."
The command was internal, a mental roar that shattered the calm of his meditation.
The reservoir in his dantian exploded. The Origin Force Water, previously still, began to churn violently. It rose like a tsunami, crashing against the spiritual levees of his body. Xiao Ke guided this tidal wave, forcing it into his meridians, driving it through the nodes he had already unlocked, gathering velocity until it slammed into the blockage of the sixth node.
Bang.
The impact rocked his physical body and his spiritual psyche simultaneously. A dull, sickening throb radiated from his chest, a deep ache that felt like his heart was being squeezed by an iron fist. But Xiao Ke's expression didn't flicker. This pain was familiar. It was the price of entry.
Breaking through from Level 5 to Level 6 was a minor ascension within the Warlord rank. It was painful, yes, but manageable. He knew the true test would come later, when he attempted to cross the chasm between a Warlord and a Valiant General. That was a bottleneck that killed men. This? This was just a hurdle.
He had prepared for this moment. He had overfilled his reserves and conditioned his body to its absolute peak.
He didn't stop at one impact. He drove the energy again. And again. Twenty times the tide smashed against the barrier until, with a soundless shatter that echoed only in his soul, the sixth node broke.
Light flooded his system. The blockage dissolved, and the Origin Force rushed through, claiming the new territory.
Xiao Ke exhaled a long, scorching breath. He was now a Level 6 Warlord.
In the brutal mathematics of the Lawless Lands, a standard Level 6 Warlord possessed an Origin Force intensity of roughly 3,000 Cahes. Xiao Ke was an anomaly. His intensity clocked in at 4,500. Combined with his physical strength, his total combat power exceeded 10,000.
He opened his eyes. His skin was slick with sweat, his uniform clinging to his frame. He wasn't just a Warlord anymore; he was a predator capable of hunting Level 7 Valiant Generals. If an enemy judged him by his aura alone, they would die the same way the legendary generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou died at the hands of Guan Yu—slain by their own arrogance.
When Xiao Ke stepped out of the chamber, the air in the corridor felt cool against his flushed skin. Duan Canglong and Luo Hou, his two most loyal lieutenants, snapped to attention. They had been standing guard for hours, a living wall between their commander and the outside world.
Duan Canglong, sensing the shift in atmospheric pressure around his boss, grinned. "Chief, the aura... You broke through?"
Xiao Ke managed a tired smile. "It wasn't easy, but yes."
Duan and Luo were impressive in their own right, both sitting comfortably at Level 5. But they knew the gap between them and Xiao Ke wasn't just a matter of levels; it was a matter of constitution. Xiao Ke was a monster in human skin.
"Congratulations, sir," Luo Hou said, though his expression quickly shifted to business. "Before I forget—Town Lord Liu Feifei is here. She arrived an hour ago, claiming she has urgent intelligence. We told her you were indisposed, so she's been waiting in the side hall."
Xiao Ke raised an eyebrow. Liu Feifei was the astute, calculating owner of the local tavern and the nominal administrator of the town. She was smart enough never to disturb him without a damn good reason.
"Let her wait a little longer," Xiao Ke said, wiping sweat from his brow. "I need to wash the stink of cultivation off me. I'll see her after I've changed."
Two hours after she had arrived, Liu Feifei was still sitting in the side hall. She showed no signs of irritation. When Xiao Ke finally entered, dressed in a fresh Commander's tunic with a saber at his hip, she rose immediately and bowed.
"Subordinate greets Commander Xiao."
"Sit, Town Lord Liu," Xiao Ke said, waving off the ceremony as he took the main seat. He picked up a cup of tea that a servant had just poured. "You waited a long time. I assume the news is worth the delay?"
Liu Feifei sat, her eyes darting briefly toward Duan Canglong and the guards flanking the room.
"Speak freely," Xiao Ke said, catching the look. "These are my brothers. There are no secrets here."
Liu Feifei nodded, her demeanor shifting from deferential to professional. "Commander, as you know, my tavern is a crossroads. We get bounty hunters, merchants, bards, and bandits posing as travelers. My staff are trained to listen. We aren't just selling ale; we're harvesting information."
Xiao Ke chuckled dryly. "So, you're running an intelligence agency out of a taproom."
"In the Lawless Lands, information is worth more than gold," she replied smoothly. "Today, two low-level horse thieves were drinking and talking too loudly. They were lamenting a missed opportunity. There is a caravan moving through the Thousand Needle Stone Forest. They called it 'luxury cargo,' far too heavily guarded for their small gang to touch."
She paused, gauging his reaction. "I recall looking at the tax reports recently, Commander. The Iron Wheel is expanding fast, and our coffers are draining just as quickly. I thought..."
Xiao Ke's face remained impassive. "You thought I might want to turn highwayman? You see me as a bandit, Feifei?"
Liu Feifei froze, realizing she might have overstepped. "Commander, in this land, the strong eat the weak. Is there truly a difference between a warlord and a bandit, other than the size of their army? But," she added quickly, retreating to safer ground, "if the morality offends you, consider the target. The cargo belongs to the Double Eagle Commercial Alliance. It's a Qiao family shipment."
The Qiao family.
The name acted like a spark in a powder keg. Xiao Ke's eyes narrowed into slits.
"The Qiao family of Qilin City?"
"The very same," Liu Feifei confirmed. "Specifically, the branch controlled by Qiao Zhennan. He's been making waves in the Southern Province lately, fighting back the zombie tides alongside Bai Longyin."
The mention of those names brought a cold sneer to Xiao Ke's lips. He had a history with them—a history written in bad blood. Qiao Zhennan had tried to have him assassinated during the Autumn Hunting Tournament. The sniper who had taken shots at him recently? Likely Qiao payroll.
Xiao Ke set his teacup down with a deliberate clink.
"If it's the Qiao family's 'luxury cargo,'" Xiao Ke said, his voice dropping an octave, "then the morality of the situation has changed. Tell me everything."
Three hundred kilometers away, the atmosphere was very different.
Baize City was the jewel of the southern Lawless Lands, though it was a jewel encrusted in grime. Known as the "Paradise of Freedom," it was a sprawling metropolis of five million souls where morality went to die. It was the largest black market in the region, a place where you could buy a slave, a forbidden spell, or a politician with equal ease.
The city was a tangled web of factions, but the Double Eagle Commercial Alliance, backed by the powerful Qiao family, had carved out a significant slice of the pie. They had ambitions that extended beyond the city walls—specifically, toward the South County towns currently held by the Iron Wheel.
In the opulent main hall of the Double Eagle headquarters, a meeting was underway.
"Young Master," began Qin Yue, the Alliance's Chief Manager, addressing the young man at the head of the table. "Xiao Ke has taken Anping Town. His conflict with Song Jiongyang is escalating. This chaos is the perfect ladder for us. We should strike now and seize the South County."
The "Young Master" was Qiao Zi'an, the stepson and heir apparent to the Qiao patriarch. He sat fanning himself, looking every inch the arrogant aristocrat who had been given a position he hadn't earned.
"Old Qin, your logic is sound," Qiao Zi'an said, a lazy smile playing on his lips. "But we are hitting the pause button on the invasion."
The room went silent. The commanders and managers looked at each other in confusion. They were ready for war; why stop now?
Qiao Zi'an gestured to a man standing in the shadows behind him. "Qiao Qing, explain it to them."
Qiao Qing stepped into the light. He was a terrifying figure—gaunt, with high cheekbones and eyes that looked dead. They called him the 'Green Snake,' and looking at him, it was easy to see why.
"The war between Xiao Ke and Song Jiongyang will last a while," Qiao Qing rasped. "The South County isn't going anywhere. But we have a more pressing deadline. A shipment of... special cargo has just arrived in Baize City. It needs to be moved through the Thousand Needle Stone Forest immediately. The buyer is waiting on the other side."
The other side.
The euphemism hung in the air like smoke. In the Lawless Lands, "the other side" meant only one thing: The Fallen Zone. The Kingdom of Zombies.
Qin Yue frowned. "We have a trade agreement with the zombies, yes, but the next shipment isn't due for two months. And we don't have the stock ready."
"I handled it personally," Qiao Qing said, a cruel grin splitting his face. "The Scorpion Tyrant was tired of the garbage you were sending him, Qin. Vagrants? Dying old men? Diseased scavengers? He rejected them. He wants premium stock. He wants clean blood."
Qin Yue turned pale. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying we upgraded the merchandise," Qiao Qing sneered. "Commoners. Civilians. Healthy, young, vibrant humans. Just like we prefer fresh meat, so do they. The Scorpion Tyrant is willing to pay double the Black Crystal Stones for high-quality livestock."
Qin Yue slammed his hand on the table. "This violates the Master's oldest rule! We deal in the dregs of society because no one misses them. If word gets out that the Qiao family is trafficking innocent commoners to feed zombies, the political fallout in the Empire will be catastrophic! It will destroy us!"
"Rules are for people who lack vision," Qiao Qing shot back. "The Master set those rules because he didn't trust you to be discreet. But the Young Master is here now. He needs a win. He needs to show a massive profit to secure his inheritance. We aren't playing it safe anymore."
Qin Yue looked desperately at Qiao Zi'an. "Young Master, please..."
Qiao Zi'an held up a hand, his expression feigning apology, but his eyes were hard. "It's done, Old Qin. The cargo is already here—two thousand men, mostly young and strong. I've already sent word to the Scorpion Tyrant. He isn't waiting in the Fallen Zone; he's sending a detail to the Stone Forest to make the exchange there."
Qiao Zi'an leaned forward, the fan snapping shut in his hand.
"The arrow has left the bow, Qin. We are doing this. The profits will be astronomical. And when we return with that mountain of Black Crystal, no one in the family will care where the meat came from."
He laughed, a sound that echoed hollowly in the room.
"We're going to be rich."