Chapter 20: The Beginning of Bloodshed

"Kid, leave the beauty and get lost."

After everything that had happened, Gu Yan had long become Gu Feng’s reverse scale—his untouchable bottom line. Even a single insulting glance toward Gu Yan would be avenged, let alone words of humiliation.

Gu Feng accelerated suddenly, not even bothering with his weapon. One hand supported Gu Yan’s waist, while the other formed a claw, reaching for the neck of the bandit who had spoken.

The bandit felt a blur before his eyes, a powerful gust rushing at him, the sensation of danger intensifying. He had no time to cry out; in the next instant, his throat tightened, panic flooding him...

Crack!

The sharp, piercing sound jolted the nerves of the four bandits. The one whose neck had been twisted open his eyes wide, blood trickled from his mouth as his hands clutched Gu Feng’s arm, his body convulsing in terror. His strength faded, his struggles ceased, and his life ended.

"Ding! Bandit killed, five experience points gained."

The remaining three bandits, witnessing this scene, stared at Gu Feng like wild beasts, terror etched across their faces. They had never imagined that this slender, tall youth could possess such power.

His speed was astonishing, closing in instantly, his strength immense—lifting a one-hundred-and-fifty-pound man as easily as picking up a toy, without the slightest strain.

Although five experience points was not much, Gu Feng’s face lit up with excitement. He needed five hundred to level up; with four hundred seventy-five remaining, killing these three would bring him to four hundred ninety—just ten points away from advancing. The thought thrilled him.

Gu Feng’s gaze grew cold as he looked at the three surviving bandits.

The bandits, terrified, shouted in unison, "What are you trying to do?" They retreated, then turned to flee.

To Gu Feng, mere bandits slightly stronger than ordinary men were all the same, whether they tried to escape or not.

He accelerated toward one, hammering a fist into the bandit’s back.

With a thud, the bandit fell face-first to the ground, spitting blood, his body convulsing violently.

After a moment, Gu Feng heard the system’s experience notification.

In that time, the other two bandits were dispatched—one with a crushed skull, the other with a broken neck—each becoming a new addition to Gu Feng’s experience.

After killing the three, Gu Feng searched their bodies for valuables, then turned his gaze toward the first small mountain peak ahead. A strange smile appeared on his face as he carried Gu Yan and sped onward.

He quickly reached the slope, where three descending bandits crossed his path. Without a word, Gu Feng slew them all.

With the experience gained, Gu Feng leveled up to six. His strength soared to fifty points. The next level required a thousand experience points, with fifteen remaining.

A thousand points meant he’d have to kill two hundred ordinary bandits.

But within the Thousand Peaks Territory, this didn’t trouble Gu Feng. There were hundreds, even thousands of mountains, many infested with bandits. If he kept killing, how far could he grow? The prospect excited him.

Gu Yan lay on Gu Feng’s back, already accustomed to his killing. Gradually, she began to see it as a kind of scenery.

They continued upward, nearing the first mountain summit, where, from afar, dense forests concealed more than a dozen thatched huts.

Gu Feng was exhilarated. To him, every hut was full of experience points.

With strength waiting to be gained, Gu Feng summoned his steel short sword and rushed forward at full speed.

As he approached the first hut, his luck seemed to run out—he encountered a lecherous bandit urinating against a tree.

The bandit seemed extremely satisfied with his equipment, playing with it as he relieved himself.

Gu Feng glanced instinctively, surprised at its size.

"Not good. Yan’er, close your eyes."

Gu Yan’s cheeks flushed crimson; she saw what she should and shouldn’t, her heartbeat racing.

Gu Feng’s voice startled the bandit.

"Who’s there?"

The bandit spun around to face Gu Feng, his equipment swinging brazenly, utterly shameless.

Upon seeing Gu Feng and Gu Yan, he ignored Gu Feng entirely, his gaze locking onto Gu Yan, exclaiming in awe at her beauty. His heart surged with joy—was this a treasure sent by heaven?

His equipment stood erect, emboldened beneath Gu Feng’s increasingly furious stare.

"Courting death!"

Gu Feng erupted with full speed, charging the lecherous bandit. With a thought, he swung his short sword at the bandit’s equipment.

The bandit saw a blur, Gu Feng and the beauty vanishing. His expression changed sharply—he had underestimated the tall, thin youth’s strength.

He sensed the sword’s trajectory and cursed, "Damn it!" Dodging quickly, he threw himself to the ground, narrowly escaping the fate of being cut.

Gu Feng’s sword missed, and he was momentarily stunned. This brute was surprisingly clever. Not giving him another chance, Gu Feng attacked fiercely.

The bandit cried out, "Help, someone’s attacking!"

He rolled desperately, hoping to evade Gu Feng’s fatal blow. If he could hold out until his comrades arrived, he’d be saved.

Unfortunately, Gu Feng’s strength and speed as a level-six warrior were unmatched. His initial escape had been pure luck; there would be no second chance.

With a squelch, the bandit stared at Gu Feng in terror and resignation, blood pouring from his mouth as his hands clutched the sword piercing his chest.

At that moment, the bandits disturbed by the cries for help finally strolled over from afar.

None of them believed anyone would dare attack the Thousand Peaks Territory. As for the cries for help, they thought it a joke.

Some couldn’t even be bothered to check, busy with their own affairs.

But as a bandit finally approached, he saw his brother’s gruesome death and was stunned.

"Hel—"

Squelch!

He managed to shout only a single syllable before a black-clad figure suddenly darted out and slit his throat.

Blood gushed from his neck as he clutched it in vain, the ground slick with red and the air thick with the scent of blood.

From a distance, another bandit rounded an obstruction and saw the scene, crying out, "Enemy attack!"

Now, all the bandits were alerted.

If one cry could be dismissed as a joke, what about two, three?

Gu Feng had no concern for being exposed. He charged toward the bandit.

The bandit wasn’t foolish; he turned to flee, shouting, "Help!"

"Die!"

Gu Feng was so fast that, in the blink of an eye, he caught up and struck with his sword.

With a slash, the unlucky bandit was cleaved in two, blood spraying as he collapsed, dead on the spot.

"Damn it, who are you to kill my brothers?" came an angry roar from a bandit rapidly approaching from the distance.

Sensing the newcomer, Gu Feng smiled excitedly—a second-level warrior. Not bad. This one should be worth a few experience points.