Shi Lang stood in the big opening. He was surrounded by darkness. The terran did not know what to do. A spontaneous thought left him in a quagmire for the first time. He did not know if he should kill these people for acting like savages or find a way to integrate them with the outside world.
He shook his head, thinking whether the outside world or these people would accept each other was not up to him. They have grown up in a cruel environment. They have done cruel deeds. It was another thing to say that they did not know better. After all, their ancestor did not leave a good example for them to look up to. Yet, they should have left themselves some way out of this mess.
Shi Lang sighed as he thought. These people had notoriously killed everyone who had ever stepped into their territory. While moving inside the tunnels, he found many hatches that led to the surface. No wonder these people were thriving on plunder.
He could analyze their actions with ease. They hunted at night and killed the cultivators by sneak attack. These people had been living in this place, and they had adapted to the odor of the swamps. The people they ambushed could not differentiate them from the surroundings. Shi Lang was sure that these people were able to observe the targets.
The longer the target spends in this place, the more lax their senses will become. These people did not simply kill the people. They hunted them methodically. Given this point, only calling them savages was an understatement. Shi Lang knew these people had done great damage but could not decide whether to kill them in cold blood.
He never had such hesitations in his mind, but for the first time, he could not understand what to do. The reason behind his hesitation was the number of children that might be dwelling in this place. These children had been living a vicious life. If he were to spare them and take them away, they would grow up with hatred for him, and it would be followed by more.
Shi Lang was thinking about things when he heard a few voices echoing in the tunnel.
“That bastard Mie, who does he think is he? I asked him to sell me his wife, but that bastard denied it. He acts saintly, but do we all not know how he killed her entire family over a dispute and took her as a slave? Also, that woman, why must she be with him?”
“Tch, do you not know her father used to do things to her and twisted her mind at a young age? Why do you have to go after her? There are many people in the village.”
The voices belonged to people who were moving through the tunnels. They held torches, and Shi Lang could see the glow intensifying. However, the words from earlier made him decide what to do next.
He was going to purge the village with his clones. Set up a formation and test the people for demonic nature and thoughts. If they survived, they will have themselves to thank for it. However, if they failed, they could only blame themselves.
The terran cut his hand, a few drops of blood fell to the ground, and clones formed around him. These clones looked like the people he had killed. Shi Lang did not wait for the two people to come over. He rushed in with his clones.
The two people were shocked when a figure flickered before them. Then, they were engulfed in darkness. Shi Lang killed and moved. He had come to understand that this place had no order or moral. If someone were to survive, they would survive the array he was about to set up.
During his last days in the Spirit Heart sect, he had learned demon detection spirit arrays to the best of his capabilities. He was going to use that knowledge and handle things.
The terran moved through the dark and quickly located the village of the bandits. These people were living at the end of the lava duct. At the back of the village was a wall of boulders. Shi Lang could guess what this wall was covering. He predicted that behind the wall must be the lava reservoir.
He waved his hand, and the clones rushed inside the village. From the tunnel’s opening, Shi Lang could see the chaos in the village. He took out an image stone but did not use it just yet.
Suddenly, a loud voice echoed from the village, “Who goes there?”
The people in the village were shocked, and they froze. Shi Lang raised his eyebrow and walked out of the darkness. His clones were embedding the spirit stones in the ground at this moment. The terran said calmly, “My name is Ace. I came here to see if the leader of the Swamp Thorn Bandit is worthy of his name.”
The people in the village could see the young man, and they were shocked to see such a young person barging in their domain. The terran channeled his spirit energy in the image stone, and it began to record everything in the surroundings.
The person who spoke was the leader of the bandits. Shi Lang could sense that the cultivation realm of this guy was the immortal lord realm. After the terran came out of the shadow, the bandits’ leader also came out of the hut in the center.
Shi Lang raised his brow, looked at the man, and could not help but remark, “To think that an expert can cultivate to this level amidst such chaos. You surely deserve your name.”
The bandit leader replied, “My name is Schmile. You are the first person to have ever come this far. Assuming that all the people outside have died in your hands should not be wrong, right?”
Shi Lang nodded and replied, “You are smart. How about it? Would you like to fight it out with me? Or are you going to lean toward the path of reason?”
Schmile shook his head faintly and said, “You must have already decided what to do. Why do you waste time with words?”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “I did make a decision, but I would like to give everyone a fair chance. Can you please tell me why you do not fight?”
Schmile replied calmly, “My strength is not suited for close combat. I can only win with a sneak attack..” 𝗈𝒱𝓛xt.𝗇𝓔t
As he talked, his calm gaze suddenly changed, and he vanished from his position. Then he appeared next to Shi Lang with a dagger aimed at the latter’s throat.
What sort of battle had Shi Lang not seen in his life? How can this guy take him out with such ease? The terran tilted his neck to the side and evaded the attack. While doing so, his right fist moved upward. The blow made contact with Schmile’s guts.
Schmile reeled back from the impact in his guts. He was prepared to receive the next attack from the Terran. However, the usually ferocious Shura was standing in the distance, watching him with a mocking smile on his lips.
Schmile could not understand what was going on. Why did the enemy not attack him? He was about to return and call for his band when Shi Lang said, “Okay, array, rise!”
Schmile turned around and found a golden dome forming over the settlement. He had a bad premonition. He looked at Shi Lang and roared, “What did you do?!”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “You do not have to worry so much. This is the fair chance I was talking about. The Judgement Heart Array now surrounds the village. It is usually used to test if a demonic cultivator still hopes to give up on their way of life and correct it. I am checking if any of your corrupt villagers have the potential to change. If they do, they will live. If they do not, they will die.”
Schmile ground his teeth and charged at Shi Lang. The terran did not need to buy anytime and engaged in combat with this guy. He used no weapons but decided to train his fists and legs.
Ever since he started on the path of martial arts and cultivation, Shi Lang had seldom relied on kicks. However, he realized that the world was vast and people were always above him. Thus, he wished to perfect his skills without leaving any thing out.
His legs turned into shadows as he practiced various styles on Schmile. The bandit leader was not shabby in terms of skills. He looked around forty years old and had a significant killing intent shrouding his body. His fighting skills were meant for killing.
Thus, he could compare with the terran, who was only sparring light-heartedly. Shi Lang was using the skills he had learned on Federation in his classes. Suddenly, Schmile opened a gap between them and said, “You dare to treat me like a whetstone? Fine, I will also not hold back. You righteous piece of scum.”
