When Yang Xiaotian returned to Yang Family Manor, he found his parents sitting in the front hall, but the atmosphere was somewhat off.
"Mother, what's wrong?" Yang Xiaotian asked Huang Ying.
"Your father is about to leave for Black Wind Stronghold soon. This journey is fraught with danger. Just now, your father asked your grandfather to borrow the Tiger King Spirit Armor, but your grandfather refused." Huang Ying said this with great agitation, "What's more important, your father's life or the Tiger King Spirit Armor?"
"In your grandfather's eyes, is your father's safety less important than a piece of Tiger King Spirit Armor?"
A weight sank in Yang Xiaotian's heart.
The Tiger King Spirit Armor was an ancestral spiritual-grade armor of Yang Family Manor. If his father wore it, his chances of surviving the Black Wind Stronghold mission would indeed be much higher.
Still, he hadn't expected his grandfather to refuse.
"Enough." Yang Chao waved his hand, interrupting Huang Ying, "The Tiger King Spirit Armor is an ancestral heirloom of Yang Family Manor, and only the manor lord can wear it. It's normal for father to refuse to lend it. Moreover, if the Tiger King Spirit Armor were to be lost because of me, then I would be the sinner of the Yang Family Manor."
However, despite saying this, Yang Chao still felt a chill in his heart at this moment.
After a pause, he said to Yang Xiaotian, "Xiaotian, you're sensible now. If your father is no longer here in the future, you must take care of your mother and sister." Although he hoped to return safe and sound, he had to prepare for the worst.
Yang Xiaotian heard the underlying meaning in his father's words and said, "Father, you won't have any trouble." He would not allow anything to happen to his father.
Yang Chao didn't think too much about it, taking it as his son's words of comfort, and smiled, "Good, when father comes back, he'll buy you pastries from Rice Flower Village."
Moments later, under the watchful eyes of Yang Xiaotian, Huang Ying, Yang Ling'er, and others, Yang Chao and the protectors of Yang Family Manor headed towards Black Wind Stronghold.
Only after Yang Chao's figure had disappeared into the snowy landscape did the group turn back and reenter the courtyard.
As soon as he returned to his room, Yang Xiaotian transformed into a shadowy figure and left Yang Family Manor.
Yang Xiaotian turned into a residual shadow, constantly shuttling through the dense woods.
Now, he needed to get to Black Wind Stronghold before his father and take care of the fourteen Innate experts of the stronghold.
As long as he dealt with the fourteen Innate experts of Black Wind Stronghold, the minor thugs of the stronghold wouldn't pose a threat to his father's safety anymore.
...
Mount Daluo.
Mount Daluo lay to the north of West Zhou in Divine Sea Country, a relatively large mountain range, with Black Wind Stronghold nestled within its depths.
When Yang Xiaotian reached Mount Daluo, the day was already bright, and he could see Black Wind Stronghold's bandits patrolling everywhere on the mountain.
But after becoming a soul, Yang Xiaotian slipped into the darkness, dodging past these patrolling bandits one by one and entering the depths of Black Wind Stronghold.
Deeper inside Black Wind Stronghold, there were far fewer patrolling bandits, and those coming and going were generally the upper echelons of the stronghold.
However, along the way, Yang Xiaotian saw many captured young women. These women, with their clothes in disarray and terror on their faces, were obviously kidnapped.
Their fate in the hands of these Black Wind Stronghold bandits was not hard to imagine.
Besides the women, there were also many people tied to stakes—old people, young people, and even children.
Those bound to the stakes, many covered in bloodstains and tortured to the brink of death, included children as young as four or five years old.
Seeing this, Yang Xiaotian's eyes turned icy.
"Manor Lord, a scout just sent back a message that the Yang Family Manor's people have already set out. They should reach our Black Wind Stronghold in about an hour, but the leader is not Yang Hai, it's Yang Chao," a voice rang out at that moment.
Yang Xiaotian's heart stirred, and he followed the voice to arrive at a courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, Black Wind Stronghold's manor lord Ma Dongping was practicing knife techniques. Hearing the news, he commented, "Yang Hai is really astute to send his brother to die."
"Lord Wei has said, no matter who comes from Yang Family Manor to ask for these minerals, we are to kill them without exception."
Lord Wei? Yang Xiaotian was surprised.
No wonder Black Wind Stronghold dared to rob Yang Family Manor's minerals despite knowing their connection to Chen Yuan of Divine Sword Academy—it turned out there was someone behind the scenes giving orders.
Just as Ma Dongping was about to speak again, he suddenly noticed a seven- or eight-year-old child walking over.
Ma Dongping was taken aback.
Inside the courtyard, the others were also startled.
The child was none other than Yang Xiaotian.
Upon seeing Yang Xiaotian's murderous advance, Ma Dongping, after a moment of stunned reaction, laughed and said to those around him, "Where did this little thing pop out from? Look at the murderous intent on his face. Could he possibly have come to kill me?"
Several people at the scene laughed out loud.
Just then, suddenly, Yang Xiaotian fiercely punched out.
Instantly, the air currents roared.
A True Qi Dragon, accompanying a massive fist imprint, tore through space and, with an unstoppable momentum, exploded right in front of Ma Dongping.
Feeling the overbearing power of the fist imprint, Ma Dongping's face paled completely; without thinking, he swung his broadsword with all his might.
But just as he cut down, the True Qi Dragon bombarded his broadsword.
Clang!
Ma Dongping felt an excruciating pain in his arm as his broadsword was sent flying, and he himself was cast out like a withered leaf, crashing into a stone pillar at the end of the courtyard.
Thud!
The stone pillar shattered into pieces on impact.
Ma Dongping harshly smashed to the ground, continuously spitting out blood.
The laughter from before came to an abrupt end.
A deathly silence filled the scene.
The other Innate Experts from Black Wind Stronghold snapped into action, infuriated, and each of them drew their weapons to attack Yang Xiaotian.
However, Yang Xiaotian was quicker; the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Sword appeared in his hand, and he thrust forth with a stab.
Two sword lights, slicing through layers of air waves.
They penetrated the throats of two Innate Experts from Black Wind Stronghold in an instant.
"One Sword Yin Yang."
Having awakened the True Dragon Power, Yang Xiaotian's sword was faster; the experts from Black Wind Stronghold had only seen the sword lights before their throats were slit open.
After that one strike, Yang Xiaotian didn't stop; the tip of his sword pointed straight to the heavens as if following through.
Hum!
A clear ring of Sword Qi echoed, and the experts from Black Wind Stronghold shockingly looked up. They saw six sword energies roaring down from the Nine Heavens.
They tried to dodge in terror, but they were a step too slow.
The Sword Qi blasted down from above their heads in an instant.
They froze in place.
Then, the two who were first struck down by One Sword Yin Yang fell, with columns of blood spurting from the sword holes in their throats.
The other experts had columns of blood erupt from the tops of their heads, one by one collapsing to the ground.
All of these Black Wind Stronghold experts had their eyes wide open in disbelief, never having imagined that one day they would die at the hands of a seven- or eight-year-old child.
In recent days, Yang Xiaotian had often gone into the forests with the Golden Armored Beast to hunt fierce beasts; he looked at the bloody scene before him without discomfort.
He approached Ma Dongping, sword in hand. Ma Dongping, seeing the seven- or eight-year-old Yang Xiaotian approaching, could not hide the fear on his face.
"Who instructed you to rob the ore materials from Yang Family Manor?" Yang Xiaotian said coldly, staring at the other person, "Who is Lord Wei?"
Yang Family Manor?
Ma Dongping was taken aback; could this child be from Yang Family Manor?
"Who are you?!" Ma Dongping asked in alarmed suspicion.
At that moment, a rush of hurried footsteps sounded, and a large group of Black Wind Stronghold's experts suddenly poured in from outside.
However, when these experts from Black Wind Stronghold saw their Innate Grandmasters lying in pools of blood, they were all dumbfounded.