Jiang Dali sped back to the Mountain Village on horseback after whipping his horse.
He headed straight for the mountain village atop Black Wind Mountain.
Black Wind Mountain was situated on a gentle plain, where the entire mountain abruptly rose from flat land, creating an imposing presence. The rocks on the mountain were also unique: one type was the black Xuanwu basalt, and the other was the white Quartz Stone.
The top of the mountain had a very open view with large flat areas, and the mountain village of Black Wind was located on the mountain's summit.
At the foot of the mountain, there were about a dozen natural villages.
On normal days, the mountain bandits of Black Wind Village actually relied on the food supplied by these several villages each season and supplemented their diet with a very small amount of tolls paid by passing merchants and the escort agency.
Thus, although the mountain bandits of Black Wind Village led a life of banditry and bloodshed, they were well-fed and lived more comfortably than ordinary people.
When Jiang Dali returned to the village, the mountain bandits who saw him immediately greeted him respectfully as "Third Master," and those who were on good terms with him would come up to mingle and share recent news.
Seeing that there was no red aura indicating hostility on any of these bandits, Jiang Dali relaxed a little.
"It looks like the Great Master doesn't harbor any ill will towards me? Or could it be that these guys haven't been informed about the matter?"
He immediately headed straight to the residence of the Great Master, Xiong Ba, in the mountain village.
As he approached the entrance to the courtyard, he noticed the two guarding bandits became visibly flustered when they saw him, even emitting a faint red glow.
"Third Master, you're back so soon?"
"Where's the Great Master?"
Jiang Dali walked over with a cold expression.
"Th-Third Master, it seems the Great Master has some private matters. He instructed us to guard the gate and ordered that no one should be allowed in."
The two mountain bandits dryly chuckled and tried to stop him with forced smiles.
"Step aside!"
Jiang Dali shouted coldly, his face hard as steel.
"Third Master!"
The two mountain bandits were shocked and immediately tried to intervene.
"How dare you!"
Jiang Dali snorted coldly, his eyes deep and icy, and suddenly reached out his hand. His fingers snapped like a tiger baring its claws.
Bang!
One of the bandits screamed in pain as his chest and collar were torn, then was struck by Jiang Dali's palm, sending him crashing through the courtyard door.
The other bandit was about to intervene.
"Get out of the way!"
Jiang Dali's eyes flashed fiercely, his wrist flicked and he pushed.
The other bandit also screamed as he was pushed away, flying into his companion, and the two collapsed together with bones cracking loudly.
This was precisely the "Boat Pole Strength" from the "Eight-direction Palm!"
Much like how a boat surges forward when a boatman pushes off with a bamboo pole, the force used if executed perfectly can unleash immense power.
"Third Master!"
"Third Master!"
Some mountain bandits who heard the commotion rushed over and were stunned by the scene.
"What are you standing around for? Tie up these two traitors immediately. Later, I'll interrogate them together with the Great Master using the 'Three Cuts and Six Holes' method."
Jiang Dali instructed in a low shout, his eyes fierce and commanding respect naturally.
Although the group of mountain bandits was puzzled, they dared not disobey and immediately complied.
Over the past two years, Jiang Dali had gained more prominence than even the Great or Second Master, achieving many merits, and his martial arts prowess made the naturally respect-commanding bandits hold him in high esteem.
Bang!—
Jiang Dali strode into the courtyard's building, just as a beautiful woman rushed out of the house in panic, her expression growing more agitated upon seeing him.
"Th-Third Young Master!"
"Where are you going in such a hurry, Second Sister-in-law?"
Jiang Dali squinted his eyes at the beautiful young woman in front of him. The faint red glow about her had completely betrayed her.
It turned out she was problematic, too.
"Third Young Master, I—I just heard the sounds of a fight and came out to see what was happening. I didn't expect you to have returned. It's good that you're back, Third Young Master. You must take action for us!"
The woman spoke with increasing desperation, her visage crumbling into tears, as she suddenly flung herself into Jiang Dali's embrace, sobbing, "Just yesterday, Second Young Master suddenly attacked the Great Master and confined us in this room! And the Great Master still remains..."
Swoosh—
A sharp, cold light suddenly streaked out from the woman's sleeve, like a fish darting through moonlight in the night sky, fiercely plunging towards Jiang Dali.
However, there was a muffled "hum."
The sharp knife, as if striking the hard Iron Wood, was abruptly hindered. It merely pierced through the fabric and stuck upon the golden silk armor, unable to penetrate further.
Above Jiang Dali's head appeared the number "-1."
The woman's action abruptly stalled, and she rigidly looked at the knife in her hand. Hardly raising her head, she forced a smile at the expressionless Jiang Dali.
"Thi..."
"Poisonous witch!"
Jiang Dali brutally slapped the woman's face, sending her flying out with her neck cracking and teeth, bloodied, bursting several from her mouth onto the ground.
Several mountain bandits rushed from behind and shivered at the sight of the fallen Second Lady. This was the Great Master's most favored Second Lady indeed.
"Take her into custody!"
At Jiang Dali's command, the gang sprang into action again.
What Second Lady.
Now the Third Master was the real boss.
Jiang Dali stepped into the room and immediately spotted Xiong Ba lying on the bed, resembling a black bear.
Xiong Ba's eyes were still moving, his lips trembling without speaking, his complexion ashen as if he couldn't speak.
"Great Master, you seem to have fallen for the Life-stealing Scholar's venomous plot," Jiang Dali frowned as he approached.
At that moment, an invisible prompt was activated.
"You now have two choices: 1: Kill the Great Master Xiong Ba, become the new Great Master of Black Wind Village, and handle the subsequent matters;
2: Save the Great Master Xiong Ba, continue as Third Master, and Xiong Ba might reward you."
"What crap choices. If I have to choose, I pick a third: to make my own choice!"
Jiang Dali snorted inwardly. Under Xiong Ba's blinking and various signaling eyes, he expressed no emotion and pulled out the antidote he had found on the Life-stealing Scholar, "Second Brother tried to harm me and is already taken care of. This is the antidote I found on him; it should be able to cure you."
Xiong Ba seemed to breathe a sigh of relief immediately, his eyes showing laughter and relaxation.
However, Jiang Dali continued, "However, this time, Second Brother managed to take you down and move against me, which really makes me feel that, as the leader, you truly are on a decline.
I can give you the antidote now, but after I save you, you have two choices.
First, relinquish the leadership to me, you can take the position of deputy, and I will decide the development of the Mountain Village, while you only assist.
Second, relinquish the leadership to me, and you leave the Mountain Village."
As he spoke, Jiang Dali circulated the Inner Qi in his Dantian, and a burst of Inner Qi Realm momentum explosively released.
"Inner Qi Realm? Lao San has reached the Inner Qi Realm so quickly?"
Xiong Ba stalled, then suddenly crinkled the corners of his eyes in a smile, repeatedly blinking in agreement.
"Black Wind Village Great Master, Xiong Ba believes you possess exceptional abilities, perfectly suited for the position of Great Master, and you may choose to take over at any time."
Jiang Dali was surprised.
He hadn't expected Great Master Xiong Ba to be so straightforward and seemingly had a high opinion of him all along.
But this was good as it saved him trouble.
He immediately opened the bottle and administered the antidote directly to Xiong Ba...