Chapter 462 - 227: The Age of Turmoil Approaches, the Chaos Has Begun

"You..."

The woman was furious, but before she could act, the bandit leader waved his hand. In an instant, dozens of men surrounded the pair.

Furious, the woman threw a palm strike at the bandit leader.

The bandit leader focused his mind and gathered his Qi, returning a palm strike of his own. A wave of energy erupted between them, causing everyone nearby to stagger.

"Nice move."

The bandit leader’s eyes narrowed. With a slight exertion of force, the woman grunted in pain and stumbled back several steps.

The woman’s face paled instantly. The exchange had made it clear that her strength was a notch below his; he was at least a High Tier Grandmaster Realm Martial Artist.

She couldn’t help but regret her arrogance. She should have tried to escape with her boyfriend at the first opportunity.

"How could you..."

"How could we what? Nobody tells us what to do. We are the law around here."

The bandit leader finished, then raised his head and bellowed, "Seize them! Today’s protection fee is raised to five thousand. Damn it, a bunch of sycophants, trying to curry favor with me."

"If you want to use this road, and you didn’t stop them, then you’re their accomplices."

At these words, the diners who had blocked the couple to curry favor turned deathly pale. They had clearly not expected that after helping the bandits, they would end up having to pay more.

They shot a venomous glare at the couple, blaming them for meddling in others’ business.

"Haha, don’t hurt the woman. I’m going to have fun breaking her in. It’s been a while since I’ve come across such a fiery mare."

With a lecherous grin, the bandit leader rolled up his sleeves and prepared to step forward and capture the woman.

The woman was now fighting the bandits while also trying to protect her boyfriend. She could only use about fifty or sixty percent of her full Power.

Seeing his chance, the bandit leader’s figure blurred. He aimed for an opening and, with a great Capture technique, instantly seized the woman’s wrist.

At the same time, he drove his knee upward and, with a backhand motion, slammed her to the ground.

The woman tried to struggle, but the leader struck her acupoints, grabbed her by the neck, and lifted her up.

Her graceful figure was now on full display for all to see.

"Now that’s a pitiful look that really gets the heart racing."

"Chief, when you’re done, let us have a turn, how about it?"

"Fine. After I’ve had my fill."

The bandit leader said smugly.

"Let her go."

The man coughed up blood. He had clearly been beaten badly by several bandits, but he still struggled, trying to save his girlfriend.

"Don’t kill him. Keep him alive."

The bandit leader laughed, his mood excellent.

"Hurry up and collect the money! I’ve got a beauty to go enjoy."

At his words, his underlings fanned out and began collecting the protection fees from everyone.

SIGH!

Just then, the sound of a sigh echoed.

The sound was soft, yet it reached everyone’s ears with perfect clarity.

"In a small inn like this, the true state of the human heart is laid bare."

The voice spoke again. This time, everyone located the speaker and turned in unison to look.

They saw a handsome young man with an abyssal aura rise from his table and walk toward them, speaking as he advanced.

This was, of course, Zhao Rui. He had been watching coldly for some time, and he was not pleased.

’The war hasn’t even started, yet the world is already descending into chaos.’

’Even desert bandits like these are brazenly looting and extorting protection fees everywhere.’

’Who knows how many times they’ve pillaged, burned, and murdered.’

He was no great saint who could save the world, but he had lived in relatively peaceful times, both in his past life and the first half of his current one.

This weighed heavily on his mind.

’In times of peace, there was still class exploitation, a gap between rich and poor, oppression by the powerful, and even countless other evils.’

’But at least on the surface, ordinary people could live and work in peace. Even in the desolate deserts and gobi, mountains, and dense forests, there were law enforcement officers to protect them.’

’But this is just the beginning of the chaos, and it’s already like this. What will it be like when the whole world is in turmoil?’

’Will human lives be treated like weeds?’

"Oh? You want to interfere?"

The bandit leader’s thick eyebrows knitted together as he spoke in a low voice.

"Oh? Are you saying I shouldn’t collect the fee from you?"

"Which road do you walk, friend? If you’re an old acquaintance, then of course, I won’t collect the fee. I wonder, which sect are you from? Or are you with the authorities...?"

The bandit leader was no fool. Seeing Zhao Rui’s fearless demeanor, he grew more cautious.

Zhao Rui listened and let out a cold laugh. ’As expected, in any era, it’s always the people with power, influence, money, or strong fists who have a voice.’

’Fortunately, in this life, he had one of those things.’

"Enough talk. It’s a waste of breath."

With a carefree smile, Zhao Rui’s figure flickered and vanished from sight.

The sight made everyone’s faces drain of color in terror.

They all frantically looked around.

"Where is he?"

"Where?"

"AHH!"

"He’s over here!"

"He’s over here too!"

A series of cries rang out as the bandits fell to the ground, one after another.

"Spare us, great master! Spare us, young hero!"

Having witnessed Zhao Rui’s skill, the bandits lost all their arrogance. They dropped to their knees, begging Zhao Rui to spare them.

Zhao Rui paid them no mind and, in a flash, struck down all the bandits.

Even the bandit leader, a High Tier Grandmaster, couldn’t withstand a single move before he was knocked to the ground.

Everyone present was stunned by the scene.

The woman, now free, stared in utter astonishment at the elegant and refined-looking man before her.

’Just what is his level of strength?’

’I’m still so far behind. Sigh... so arrogant and shortsighted. I was nearly doomed beyond recovery.’

A sense of relief washed over the woman. Even with her fiery temper and stubborn nature, she couldn’t help but reflect on her actions now.

"Whether you kill them or torture them is up to you."

With that, Zhao Rui grabbed the bandit leader and walked straight toward the doorway, its door long since gone.

In just a few steps, he vanished from the doorway.

"Senior!"

The woman chased after him out the door and looked around, but there was no longer any sign of Zhao Rui.

An indescribable look of disappointment crossed her eyes. Her chest heaved for a moment before she dejectedly returned to the inn.

When she walked back inside and saw the diners who had aided the villains cowering in a corner, a fire ignited in her heart.

Her anger toward them was even deeper than what she felt for the bandit lackeys.

"Heroine, spare us!"

"Spare you? Spare my ass!"

A quarter of an hour later, the camel train outside the inn set off once more.

Only this time, they were heading back toward the Central Plains.

After the woman had guided the camel train away, a group of diners and bandits rushed out of the inn.

The bandits, scared as quails, silently fled toward their lair.

"She actually didn’t kill us, haha, what an idiot. You bitch, just wait until I find a real expert. I’ll make you pay."

The bald bandit was overjoyed as he took off running.

But his joy lasted only a few seconds before his expression froze.

"What’s going on? Where’s my Inner Strength?"

The other bandits looked at each other in confusion, and they too tried to circulate their Inner Strength.

They discovered that they were all unable to operate their Cultivation Techniques.

"My Martial Arts!"

The bald man’s face turned deathly white in an instant.

...

「A thousand miles of gobi, with yellow sand filling the sky.」

Zhao Rui looked down at the region shrouded in yellow dust below, then reached out and pinched the bandit leader he was carrying until he woke up.

"Young... young... young hero, spare me!"

The bandit leader, slowly coming to his senses, groggily looked around. A cold sweat instantly broke out on his skin.

’Is this... ten thousand meters in the air?’

The bandit leader’s eyes flew wide open, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

He was only a Grandmaster Realm Martial Artist; he didn’t have the ability to fly.

"Speak. Your origins, your backer, your objective."

Zhao Rui said coolly as a biting wind whipped against them, causing his clothes to flutter loudly.

"Y-Young Hero! Where do you want me to start?!"

"AHH!"

The moment the words left his mouth, his body suddenly dropped, and he began to plummet through the open air.

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

The bandit leader shrieked, on the verge of fainting, as Zhao Rui’s hand finally grabbed him again.

"Spare me, Young Hero! I’m just a small fry! I take my orders from the chief above me! The chief is a powerful figure from the Great Shang..."

Facing the cold wind, the bandit leader confessed everything he knew, holding nothing back.