Volume One: New to the Dao, Chapter Ninety-Five: The Clash

As Ye Junze finished speaking, he dispelled the concealment art that had hidden his form. Then, riding the Void-Glide Sword beneath his feet, he descended toward the ground.

When the sword was still some distance above the earth, Ye Junze abruptly recalled it, restoring it to its usual small-sword appearance. After that, his body simply dropped straight down.

As he fell from the air, he no longer bothered to suppress his aura, so the people below naturally sensed his presence. Among them, Simao Hong, whose cultivation was the highest, noticed the anomaly first. Almost the instant he felt Ye Junze’s aura, he looked up.

Feeling the power radiating from Ye Junze, Simao Hong could not help but start, thinking inwardly, Why do I feel such overwhelming strength from this man? Could it be... Then he shook his head. No, impossible.

The others reacted a little more slowly than Simao Hong, but before long they too discovered Ye Junze hanging in midair.

The adviser at Simao Hong’s side stepped forward and said in a low voice, “Boss, this man’s aura is so formidable that even I am unsettled. I can’t even probe his cultivation level. He must not be underestimated. We must deal with him with the utmost caution.”

Simao Hong waved a hand and said, “I know what matters. For now, we can only see what sort of background this man has. If the intelligence is correct, he should not be someone sent by the Qi family to protect those two brats.”

“He shouldn’t be,” the adviser replied. “In any case, we must not lower our guard.”

While the two were speaking, Ye Junze had already landed on the ground. Dust surged up around him, and he came to a stop right in front of the pair from the Qi family, facing off against the men of the Heaven-Robbing Band.

As the dust settled, Ye Junze’s figure became clear to everyone. At his side hovered a small sword, quiet and still, lending him a few extra traces of heroic bearing.

The others might not have thought much of it, but Simao Hong and the adviser, both seasoned and worldly, had their eyes narrowing at once. The two exchanged a glance, as though each had read something from the other’s expression.

Simao Hong could not help thinking, To wield an object so effortlessly and keep it aloft... could this man’s cultivation be...

Although Simao Hong was confident that he himself could also make a sword hover in the air as Ye Junze had, he could never sustain it for so long. Moreover, the man before him looked utterly relaxed, as if such a feat were no more difficult than drinking water or eating a meal.

“This time, we may have run into a hard one,” Simao Hong thought, though he did not say it aloud.

“Brother Junze!” Wen Yu cried out in delight.

“Yes, it’s me,” Ye Junze answered gently.

Qi Yi looked worried and said anxiously, “Senior, be careful. They are members of the Heaven-Robbing Band, and their leader, Simao Hong, is especially fearsome. His strength is unfathomable.”

Ye Junze waved a hand to show it was nothing and soothed them, saying, “No matter.”

“But...” Qi Yi was about to say more, then seemed to remember something. He shook his head with a bitter smile and said no further.

Yes. Senior is an expert at the Nascent Soul stage. Why would he need us to worry on his behalf?

Simao Hong cast an irritated glance at Ye Junze, apparently not expecting that after appearing, the man had not even spared him a proper look.

With a displeased expression, he said, “You spoke up to stop us, yet now you will not even look our way. Isn’t that a little too arrogant? Do you look down on our Heaven-Robbing Band so much?”

Ye Junze first finished calming Qi Yi and Wen Yu, then said to them, “Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”

“Mm-hm.” Wen Yu smiled and nodded vigorously.

“Thank you for your trouble, Senior,” Qi Yi said, his face still pale.

Only then did Ye Junze turn around and look at Simao Hong, saying impatiently, “What’s all the noise for? Can’t you see I’m talking?”

“You!” Simao Hong blurted out in anger.

But before he could finish, Ye Junze continued, “Though there is one thing you said that is quite true. I really do look down on your so-called Heaven-Robbing Band.”

After speaking with the two of them just now, Ye Junze had also learned about the Heaven-Robbing Band from Qi Yi.

From the name alone, it was obvious: a band of bandits accustomed to arson, murder, plunder, and theft. With Simao Hong at their head, they had committed every evil imaginable across the Shangyang Continent. Countless families had been ruined by them. Such criminals deserved death without pity.

That said, the Heaven-Robbing Band generally only dared to prey on those whose strength was not especially great. Yet this time, for reasons unknown, they had somehow learned the whereabouts of Qi Yi and Wen Yu, and even dared to make enemies of the Qi family. Whether they had some powerful backing or were simply blinded by greed, no one knew.

After learning all this, Ye Junze did not feel much of anything. He merely comforted the two and told them not to think about it any further.

Looking at Simao Hong, Ye Junze said, word by word, “A rabble, nothing more.”

The moment the other members of the Heaven-Robbing Band heard this, they all felt something strange. Though Ye Junze had spoken while looking at their leader, every one of them somehow felt that his careless gaze had swept across each of their faces. Instantly, anger rose on all sides, and they glared at Ye Junze.

Upon hearing this, Simao Hong did not rage. Instead he laughed and said repeatedly, “Good. Good. Very good.”

Then his expression turned cold as he continued, “Since Your Excellency thinks so little of our Heaven-Robbing Band, I imagine you must be quite confident in your own abilities. May I ask whether you truly possess the power to look down on me, Simao Hong, and on my band?”

Ye Junze smiled indifferently and said, “Whether I have that ability or not, wouldn’t a fight settle it?”

Simao Hong’s face darkened as he said coldly, “So Your Excellency insists on making an enemy of our Heaven-Robbing Band?”

“What if I do?” Ye Junze shook his head and went on, “In any case, these two are under my protection today. If you want to fight, then do it directly. Why all the nonsense?”

“Your Excellency is indeed confident, but with so many of us here, and two Core Formation experts besides, even if you are at the late Core Formation stage, you may very well come away alive today but lose a layer of skin,” Simao Hong said, his tone icy and unfriendly.

Hearing that, Ye Junze could not help but laugh. Then he said, “Oh? And who told you I was at Core Formation?”

As he spoke, Ye Junze suddenly unleashed the aura unique to a Nascent Soul cultivator!

The weaker members present, upon feeling such an immense pressure, all dropped to their knees. The sheer force of it was so overwhelming that they could not even remain standing.

Wei Qing, the adviser, and Simao Hong, though not as badly affected as the others, were far from comfortable. Under such a terrifying aura, they could even feel their breathing growing labored, and could only circulate their power to resist.

“Now, does Leader Simao still think what he said earlier can be accomplished?” Ye Junze asked, borrowing Simao Hong’s earlier tone, his voice filled with mockery.

Wei Qing was no longer as composed and calculating as before. Worry filled his expression as he said, “Boss, things may not be so simple now. That kind of presence is far beyond Core Formation. This man may very well be a Nascent Soul cultivator, one of those great experts who have not appeared on the Shangyang Continent for many years.”

“Of course I can see that,” Simao Hong replied anxiously. “But I already said all that. What do you expect me to do now?”

“Why not let me try negotiating?” Wei Qing said after some thought. “At worst, we abandon this haul. As long as we’re still alive and the Heaven-Robbing Band still exists, there will be no shortage of ways to make money.”

Simao Hong’s eyes revealed his unwillingness, but he also knew that against a likely Nascent Soul great cultivator, their Heaven-Robbing Band truly was not enough to matter.

So he could only nod and say, “That’s the only way.”

With that, Wei Qing stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said, “This junior is Wei Qing. We did not realize that Senior was a great cultivator. Our leader offended you just now, and we hope Senior will forgive the lapse.”

“Heh. So now you know my cultivation, and now you know you offended me?” Ye Junze said with undisguised sarcasm. “Then why should I forgive you?”

“It is we who...” Wei Qing began, wanting to continue, but Ye Junze simply waved him off.

Ye Junze said mercilessly, “I see your Leader Simao is very fond of using cultivation to bully others. What a coincidence—I am fond of that as well. So let me say it again: with your mere Core Formation cultivation, are you even worthy?”

“Earlier we did not know these two were Senior’s friends. Now that you are here, we will let them go. We only ask that Senior magnanimously overlook our offense and not lower yourself to our level. From this day on, if there is any place where the Heaven-Robbing Band can be of use to you, we will certainly spare no effort,” Wei Qing said again, bowing respectfully, his tone full of humility.

Ye Junze gave a mocking smile and said, “No need. If I had not been here today, you know perfectly well what would have happened to them, so there is no point pretending before me.”

“Also, after saying so much, are you going to fight or not? Earlier, Leader Simao was so confident that he would make me lose a layer of skin,” Ye Junze said, changing the subject once more.

Wei Qing’s face also turned unsightly, and his voice hardened. “So Senior insists on taking on our Heaven-Robbing Band alone?”

“How many times do I have to say it? You are nothing but rabble. If you are confident, then come and kill me. If you cannot, then you are the ones who will meet a miserable end,” Ye Junze said impatiently.

“Senior!” Wei Qing’s tone sharpened, but just as he was about to continue, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder.

“Enough, Old Wei. Let it be.” Simao Hong stepped forward, saying reluctantly, “It seems this Senior never intended to let us off at all. In that case, we might as well fight for it. We may yet have a sliver of a chance to survive.”

“Alas, then there is nothing else for it,” Wei Qing said with a sigh. He then looked at Ye Junze, his eyes firming with resolve. “Since Senior insists on a fight, then we will accompany you to the end.”

Hearing this, Ye Junze nodded in satisfaction and said, “That would have been much better from the start. You’ve wasted enough time. All of you, come at once.”

“Tell the brothers to form up. Since he is so arrogant, let us show him that our Heaven-Robbing Band’s reputation was not earned for nothing,” Simao Hong said in a low voice.

With that, Wei Qing gave the order, and the others quickly formed their ranks.

Seeing this, Ye Junze nodded and thought to himself, At last, I can get these fellows to fight me. I can use this chance to temper myself a little.

He looked at Simao Hong and Wei Qing, a challenging glint in his eyes, and said, “I’ll let you go first.”

The two exchanged a glance and nodded.

Wei Qing said, “Since Senior is being courteous, we will accept it. Take this!”

The instant his voice fell, the two of them charged from left and right, while simultaneously signaling the surrounding members of the Heaven-Robbing Band to attack together.

Seeing this, Ye Junze merely shook his head in indifference. A trace of scorn curved at the corner of his mouth, and then he rushed straight to meet them.

The battle erupted at once.