With the appearance of the bald, strong man, a pressure as heavy as a mountain fell upon everyone.
All present expressed looks of horror.
Is this the limit of ordinary humans? As divine and demonic as it could be!
A profound sense of dominance arose in the hearts of the people.
They could not help but question themselves.
Could such a person truly be defeated by human strength alone?
Jiang Yuan, who was originally ready to strike, abruptly froze mid-action.
His eyes expressed a rapid shift of emotions.
His heart fell into a moment of hesitation.
At this moment, if he were to threaten Lei Zhan's life, he would inevitably have to face this leader of the Black Wind Stockade.
A strong individual who had achieved unity of spirit, energy, and soul, standing at the peak of ordinary mortals.
At this point, he was not confident in his ability to fight against such an unparalleled master.
The pressure coming from the spiritual level was terrifyingly intense.
He had trained his body to the ninth level, reaching the absolute pinnacle of mortal strength.
Under the high unity of will, every move he made could summon his entire potential.
A casual strike could yield tens of thousands of pounds of force.
He could easily split mountains and rocks.
Such a being could single-handedly attack a fortress.
Even with the enhancement of Innate Destiny he possessed, he was far from reaching such power.
Moreover, under the imposing pressure of his mighty martial arts intention, he could not exert his full strength.
At this moment, a slight breeze swept over everyone.
Suddenly, the pressure dissipated, and the bald strong man in the sky seemed rather ordinary.
He no longer appeared as a Buddha descending to earth.
Or as a deity looking down from above.
At this point, Li Hong's voice echoed faintly in everyone's ears, "Do not panic. Everything you just experienced was an illusion. Your mental strength is too weak to resist the erosion of his martial arts truth."
"Thank you, Your Honor, for your assistance!"
A flash of astonishment passed through the eyes of the crowd, they had not expected that Li Hong was also a person who had reached the peak of ordinary humans.
Just then...
Bang!
A sound like the snap of a bowstring echoed.
In an instant, an arrow carrying a raging wave of Qi shot straight toward the bald man in the sky.
He had made his move!
Everyone's gaze sharpened, attentively looking up at the sky.
This was the first time they had witnessed a battle at the peak of mortal ability.
A few moments later...
High in the sky...
The bald man, seeing the arrow ascending from below, carrying a raging wave of Qi, tracing a perfectly clear white arc across the sky, had a sudden change of expression.
The sound had not reached him, but the arrow had.
This was the skill of an archer, who had honed his body to the ninth level!
His face became intensely grave.
Hovering in mid-air, he was akin to a live target.
In the next moment, he condensed his inner breath and ferociously struck out a palm.
Boom!
A loud rumble reverberated in the sky.
A few droplets of blood rained down from above.
Under this force, the bald man's figure abruptly retreated backward.
"Chief, how dare you - a mere bandit - presume to encroach upon my Lin'an County! Who emboldened you to such audacity?"
Li Hong's voice abruptly resonated.
"Li Hong, you want an irreconcilable feud with me?"
"Irreconcilable, with you? Worthy, are you?"
As his voice fell, he waved his hand.
The man in black at his side once again drew his bow.
Thud—
Another arrow was shot.
Simultaneously, Li Hong's voice rang out, "This is my Sunset Sect's territory, you, a mere outcast of Lanke Temple, dare to swagger here!"
"Do you not know what death means?"
Upon hearing these words.
The bald man's countenance drastically changed.
Li Hong was a disciple of the Sunset Sect!
The Sunset Sect had actually sent disciples to serve as local authorities!
And he knew his identity, this was bad!
Thoughts ran through his mind.
He swatted forward with his palm, instantaneously breaking the incoming arrow into several pieces.
Taking advantage of the force, his figure swiftly retreated toward the outskirts of the city.
A few moments later, a series of arrows shot up from below, aiming straight at him.
Meanwhile.
Within the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.
"Spare me—"
Lei Zhan's eyes were filled with desperation to survive.
"Spare your life? Then who will spare the lives of the people who have died in the Escort Agency?"
Recalling the earlier scene of their family members receiving the bodies of their husbands and sons from the Agency, their hearts torn apart by grief.
Jiang Yuan's heart brimmed with vengeful fury.
His hand descended suddenly, heavily striking Lei Zhan's forehead.
In an instant, his eyes turned vacant.
His body went limp and collapsed motionless on the ground.
Jiang Yuan said, "Thank you for your assistance, local lord!"
Li Hong waved his hand, laughing heartily, "There's no need for such formality, perhaps soon you will have to call me Elder Brother. Besides, he, a mere outcast of the Lanke Temple, dared to be so arrogant here. If I had allowed him to swagger and domineer, it would have been a disgrace to my Sect."
At this point, Li Hong was in high spirits.
Having personally witnessed Jiang Yuan's martial prowess, he was now more confident about him passing the Sect's assessment.
Once Jiang Yuan passed the assessment, he would rise to great heights, becoming an inner disciple of the Sunset Sect.
In the future, he would definitely transcend the ordinary, becoming a celestial being in people's mouths, living a prolonged life.
Unlike him, who had to struggle bitterly to enjoy the cultivation resources of the Sect.
For breaking through the boundary of the mortal world, he had served as the local lord in a small county for over a decade.
For worldly riches, he even had to bear the label of greed.
Also, because this place was under the jurisdiction of the Sect.
He couldn't act recklessly while serving as the local lord here.
Moreover, he had to ensure that the people lived in peace and contentment for the triennial assessment.
All these constraints had made him feel as though he had wasted more than a decade.
Luckily, he had discovered a rare genius in his jurisdiction.
If he could successfully bring a prodigy into the Sect, the rewards would be exceedingly generous.
It was entirely worth the toil of these years.
At this moment.
The surrounding crowd was in turmoil.
The Sunset Sect, Lanke Temple.
These were the Sects they had heard of today.
Especially when they heard that Lin'an County was under the jurisdiction of the Sunset Sect, they were extremely astounded.
According to the county annals, Lin'an County belonged to the Dali Prefecture, which was under the jurisdiction of the Qianyuan Country.
But they just found out from Li Hong.
Lin'an County had been brought under the jurisdiction of the Sunset Sect.
Even the local lord of a county was a disciple sent by the Sect.
This piece of news completely shattered their understanding.
Is this the power of a celestial Sect?
As for Jiang Yuan's performance today, it was long forgotten.
On the other side.
The bald man fell from mid-air and crashed onto the ground.
Just as he landed.
He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood with a "puh".
"What a terrifying archer! If I hadn't fully recovered from my injuries, I would have fallen in Lin'an County today! I didn't expect the current Lin'an County to have disciples from the Sunset Sect."
He whispered to himself, an expression of trepidation flitting across his eyes.
Having once been part of Lanke Temple, he knew all too well the terror of these Sects.
If he made an enemy out of such a Sect, he would surely meet with a dead end!
This local lord Li Hong, being a disciple of the Sunset Sect, must have reached the perfect ninth level of body tempering. His strength would not be weaker than his.
Thinking of all this, he knew he had to return today.
As for the life of his second brother, trapped in Lin'an County.
With Li Hong stepping in, his survival was unlikely.
"Second brother, rest in peace! One day, I will make the entire Zhenyuan Escort Agency pay for your death!"