Chapter 4: Fierce Battle in the Forest

  It had been fifteen years since Qin Yun last took a life, but as the arrow shot from his hand pierced the bandit's neck and ended his life in an instant, his heart remained calm as still water, without even a ripple.

  In his eyes, these unscrupulous horse thieves and the ferocious beasts in the Yunwu Mountains were no different, all of them were inhumane beasts, not even as good as beasts.

  But the second arrow shot at the majestic bearded man also allowed Qin Yun to see his opponent's strength.

  But what puzzled Qin Yun was that after being attacked by himself, the leader of the horse thieves did not immediately counterattack, but instead drove a group of subordinates who were much weaker to come up.

  He used to follow the Shanglin Village hunting team into the mountains for hunting. If they encountered a formidable beast, it was always the most capable and experienced hunter who took the lead in attacking, while others assisted on the side.

  This was exactly what Qin Yun had expected. He was wary of the notorious horse thief, but he didn't put any psychological pressure on his subordinates.

  Whoosh!

  The tight beast tendon bowstring suddenly popped open, propelling the feathered arrow forward in flight, instantly covering a distance of over ten steps and hitting a horse bandit's throat!

  An arrow shot out from behind his neck, bursting into a cloud of blood, and the horse thief who dodged too late fell backwards.

  Qin Yun's archery skills were among the best in the entire Shanglin Village, and at such a close distance, he could easily achieve a hundred hits out of a hundred shots.

  He shot the horse thief and immediately retreated backwards, using the trees and darkness for cover.

  "He's there, all by himself!"

  "What a little rascal!"

  "He's going to run away, chase him quickly!"

  The bandits shouted and yelled in a state of panic, waving their swords and pursuing relentlessly.

  Ambushed by a half-grown kid, and two comrades were shot dead one after another. For these horse bandits, it was simply a great shame, and they couldn't show their faces in public afterwards.

  They were all furious and resentful, wishing they could catch up with Qin Yun and tear him into pieces.

  However, what these horse thieves did not expect was that Qin Yun never gave them the opportunity to get close to him. He was as slippery as a fish in the forest, and with the darkness of the woods, he escaped from the horse thieves' sight in the blink of an eye.

  "Where's he running off to?"

  "Get out of here!"

  ……

  "Ah!"

  Just as the horse thieves were searching around like headless flies, one of the horse thieves covered his eyes and let out a mournful cry!

  An arrow of unknown origin was stuck in his left eye, and bright red blood gushed out from between his fingers.

  And another horse thief, who had just taken a few steps forward, suddenly felt his ankle tighten, and in an instant he was dangling in mid-air, suspended by a length of rattan rope.

  "Save me quickly!"

  The bandit's ghost was caught off guard and let out a loud shout for help to his companions.

  But his words had hardly fallen when a feathered arrow flew through the air and pierced his throat!

  Two more people were killed!

  The remaining five bandits stopped shouting and turned pale, each hiding behind a tree, no longer daring to run around like before, lest they trigger the mechanism and lose their lives.

  Although they were all fugitives, it didn't mean they weren't afraid of death.

  "Trash, all trash!"

  The burly man with a long beard was furious, and he had never expected Qin Yun to be so troublesome, using the forest to dance around them, even setting up traps in advance.

  His opponent was just a half-grown kid, yet such cunning tactics made this ruthless and brutal horse bandit leader also feel a chill in his heart.

  "Fall back!"

  He turned around and left, surprisingly no longer continuing the search.

  That's the cunning part of being a bandit leader, although he was furious, he didn't lose his mind. He knew that if they continued like this, they would end up losing even more, so leaving quickly was the right choice.

  What's most important is that the bearded big Han is worried that if they drag it out, there will be new pursuers arriving, and he himself is not lightly injured. If they get trapped here, that would truly be a joke.

  He said go and left, ruthlessly throwing off several subordinates, without considering their lives or deaths.

  The five horse thieves were instantly stunned, and two of them panicked and immediately ran out from their hiding place to chase after their boss.

  Whoosh! Whoosh!

  Two more feathered arrows flew in, one after another, shooting down the two horse bandits to the ground!

  Their dying screams made the last three remaining horse thieves' hearts and gallbladders cold, and they actually shrank in place, not daring to move.

  In the dark thicket, Qin Yun's hand grasping the hunting bow was slightly trembling, not with fear but with excitement.

  He never thought that in his first real battle, he would have such an outstanding performance!

  Shot six arrows in front and back, except for one arrow blocked by the whiskered big Han, the remaining five arrows took lives, killing five horse bandits with one breath!

  It's also unclear whether it was because he had broken through the boundary, but in the swirling battle with the enemy, Qin Yun was extremely calm and clear-headed, choosing the timing of his attacks perfectly, and the hunting bow in his hands performed far beyond its normal level.

  But this was not the final victory, Qin Yun was very clear who his real enemy was, he didn't bother with the three remaining horse bandits again, and tightly chased after the leader of the horse bandits who escaped first.

  A burly man with a long beard rushed all the way back to his original place of residence, he swung his sword and cut off the reins that tied up his horse, preparing to ride away.

  But Qin Yun quickly followed, seeing such a scene, immediately raised his bow and shot in succession, shooting out three feathered arrows in one breath.

  "My god! Little rabbit!"

  A burly man with a long beard burst into a torrent of abuse and hastily swung his sword in defense.

  He deflected two feathered arrows, but the third one hit a horse beside him. The poor steed let out a mournful whinny and galloped wildly into the dense forest, disappearing from view.

  Qin Yun drew his bow and shot swiftly without hesitation, aiming at the remaining horses.

  The powerful Han with a long beard managed to protect himself, but couldn't deflect the feathered arrows shot at his horse. In an instant, several of them were killed by Qin Yun's shots.

  "Go die!"

  The furious bandit leader raised his great sword, the shallow copper-colored blade suddenly emitting a bloody glow, and let out a loud roar with eyes wide open.

  His body sank slightly downwards, and the next moment he suddenly charged forward, covering a distance of over ten steps in just one breath, closing in on Qin Yun's front!

  Qin Yun's eyes darkened for a moment, and he was suddenly shocked.

  He was shooting arrows with relish, absolutely not expecting the bearded giant's counterattack to be so fierce and swift.

  Wow!

  The opponent didn't give him any time to think, the giant sword brought a terrifying power that could destroy everything, and it swooped down to slash at him!

  Qin Yun's breathing suddenly stopped, the hairs on his back all stood up, and his pupils rapidly contracted.

  There is great horror between life and death!

  This fear of being on the verge of death was something he had only experienced once before, when he was thirteen and faced a thousand-pound polar bear alone during his first hunting trip.

  It was either out of instinct or the effect of a decade of bitter practice that forged his warrior consciousness, but at the moment when the giant sword was about to fall on him, Qin Yun suddenly let go of his hands, lowered his head and rapidly retreated backwards!

  Whoosh!

  The sword's edge almost grazed his skull as it fell, the wind generated by the sword blowing his hair and making his cheeks sting like needles, its momentum was absolutely fierce.

  If it weren't for the majestic hero's sword energy not yet reaching the realm of external release, this one sword would have been enough to split Qin Yun in two with just its sword energy alone, even if it hadn't directly struck him.

  Even so, a finger-long blood mark still appeared on Qin Yun's forehead.

  Escaped from death, but Qin Yun's crisis has just begun. The burly man with a mustache who had the upper hand would not give him any chance to pull away.

  The giant sword that had fallen was raised once more.

  The two sides were just a step away from each other. Qin Yun was unarmed, and the difference in their strength was not just one move!

  At the moment of life and death, Qin Yun suddenly calmed down. The great fear that had taken hold of his body and mind still existed, but his consciousness seemed to have detached itself from his physical form, facing the danger with unparalleled clarity.

  In the sea of consciousness, that five-colored light ball suddenly burst into brilliant radiance, a huge golden mysterious symbol leapt out and appeared, towering above the sea of consciousness with dazzling brilliance!

  In Qin Yun's eyes, the movements of the burly man in front of him seemed to suddenly slow down, his facial expressions and actions were extremely clear, the dark stubble on his face, the ferocious expression, even the spittle spraying out from his mouth were all vividly visible.

  He also saw the burly man's left shoulder sink, with his high and bulging muscles wriggling incessantly, driving his sturdy arm to rise violently.

  Qin Yun suddenly had a flash of insight in his mind, the opponent was obviously going to swing the big sword from bottom to top, intending to slash through his chest and abdomen!

  He actually anticipated his opponent's means of attack ahead of time!

  Having seen through his opponent's plot, Qin Yun almost didn't hesitate at all, and instead of retreating, he took a step forward, his right hand clenched into a fist and heavily struck towards the burly man's chest.

  This punch is like the giant sword of a mighty warrior, striking later but arriving first, with the contained fist strength bursting out and making the surrounding air scorching hot!

  Akayabane Kenpō no Bōgeki Gekitouken!

  English Translation: Crimson Flame Fist Style's Violent Strike Exploding Fist!

  Qin Yun started training his body from the age of five, internally practicing the Red Flame Heart Technique and externally practicing the Red Flame Fist Method. He immersed himself in this set of fist methods for a full ten years, and the simple twelve-style fist method was practiced countless times, with each move seemingly melting into his blood vessels and bones.

  Qin Yun had not yet opened his meridians before, relying solely on physical strength to punch and break a tree trunk as thick as a bowl mouth. Now that he has reached the critical moment of life and death, this punch is even more exhausting.

  The scarlet true fire accumulated in the Qihai Dantian transformed into a torrent, instantly surging through the martial pulse and arm to the fist. As it heavily struck the chest of the whiskered giant, it burst forth!

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  A burst of muffled sounds erupted, and the burly man's chest was suddenly dented where he had been struck. His massive sword had just risen when his entire body was blown away like a kite with its string cut!

  Although the mighty whiskered Han's strength far surpasses Qin Yun, Qin Yun's explosive fist contains the power of seven true fires. Seven layers of inner energy converge into one strike, unleashing a continuous barrage with extremely strong destructive force.

  And what he attacked was exactly where the whiskered big man and Qin Yang were injured during their fierce battle, and under the heavy blow, it was naturally a wound on top of another.

  This punch, at the very least, shattered three of the burly man's ribs and reopened his unhealed wound, causing fresh blood to spurt out wildly. His internal organs were also severely shaken and displaced, and he fell to the ground, unable to get back up immediately.

  With a swift motion, Qin Yun drew out the hunting knife he always carried with him and pounced forward!