Chapter 2136: I am a robber, I was robbed

The young man didn't speak or approach Inch of Ash. Instead, he bent down and picked up the longsword that Teacher Moyun had just dropped, holding it in his hand. His movements were unhurried and appeared completely natural, as if he hadn't even noticed that he was surrounded by numerous bandits. He exuded a serene composure.

"Boy, you've got guts!" Inch of Ash narrowed his eyes, clearly not expecting this seemingly twenty-something-year-old low-grade deity to be so calm in his presence. *Is he an idiot? I just took down their strongest teacher in two moves, and he's not only unafraid, but he's picking up a sword... Does he think a sword is more important than his life?*

Not only was Inch of Ash stunned, but Teacher Moyun, who had just been captured, was also bewildered. Although his sword was a mid-grade divine artifact and not of low quality, it was still something he had refined. Why pick it up now instead of trying to escape?

"Shhh... don't speak!" Picking up the longsword, Zhang Xuan placed a finger to his lips and looked calmly at them. "Listen closely..."

"Listen closely?" Everyone was dumbfounded.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" one bandit roared furiously, stepping forward and swinging a massive palm directly at him.

Before he could reach the young man, the longsword in the youth's hand suddenly let out a sharp, joyful hum. Refined! This mid-grade divine artifact was refined in the young man's hands in less than two breaths.

*Whoosh!* As the longsword hummed, a beam of sword energy shot straight from its tip. The bandit felt an intense pain in his wrist, and his outstretched hand was already lying on the ground.

"Ah..." The bandit screamed miserably, trembling uncontrollably and nearly fainting from the pain. He had intended to knock out the show-off with a single slap, never dreaming that his opponent would refine the longsword so quickly. The sword had targeted the weakest point of his attack, anticipating his palm's impact. In a single strike, it severed his entire hand.

"You..." Inch of Ash hadn't anticipated such a sudden turn of events. Enraged, he immediately brought his guandao down on the young man. The blade whistled through the air with a crushing force. He expected his opponent to raise his sword and block, just as Teacher Moyun had. Instead, the young man subtly swayed and instantly appeared in front of the steed Inch of Ash was riding. He twirled the longsword, transferring it to his other hand, and then raised his right hand to stroke the horse's forehead. Inch of Ash's guandao could not come down for fear of injuring his mount, as the young man was too close to it.

"Wang Ying!" Zhang Xuan commanded, stroking the horse's face.

Upon hearing the command, Wang Ying darted out, approaching the other bandits' horses and stroking them one by one, just as he had done. Seeing that this person didn't dare to confront him head-on but instead started interfering with the horses, Inch of Ash was nearly driven mad. The other bandits were also dumbfounded. *Brother, you're surrounded, and your heads could roll at any moment! Have some awareness of being our captives, please... Not only are you fighting back, but you dare to mess with our horses? How incredibly bold can you be!*

"Die!" Before the others' shock subsided, Inch of Ash's guandao chopped down again. No matter what the opponent was trying to do, he'd kill him first.

"Neigh..." Before the large blade could descend, the steed beneath him suddenly neighed loudly and reared up. The jump prevented the descending guandao from striking. Zhang Xuan extended his palm, lightly grasping the blade, then slid his left hand over it. The long blade let out a soft hum...

"You..." Inch of Ash was on the verge of madness. This guandao had accompanied him in battles for over twenty years, always serving him perfectly. How could it have submitted to his opponent in the blink of an eye? So completely and decisively! And the steed beneath him—why did it suddenly rear up and thwart his actions? Though shocked, his hands didn't stop. He tried to raise the guandao again, intending to strike down his opponent regardless of who the weapon obeyed. However, he found the large blade in his palm had become impossibly heavy; he could no longer lift it.

He quickly looked down to see the young man calmly looking at him. "This thing is mine. Let go!" After speaking, the longsword in his left hand slid along the blade. Inch of Ash quickly let go, then saw the young man take the guandao into his palm, give it a slight flick, and bring it down on him. He recoiled, just about to dodge, when the horse beneath him took a step forward.

"..." Inch of Ash was nearly insane. *This horse... it's too much of a traitor!* As a result, his dodging maneuver became useless; it was as if he had actively offered his head to the opponent's blade. Guessing the horse might have been tamed by his opponent, and that remaining on its back would be even more dangerous, he could no longer bear it. He abruptly curled his body and rolled off the horse's back.

Having dodged the guandao's attack, Inch of Ash gasped for breath. Just as he thought of getting up and overwhelming the young man with his own strength, he felt an intense pain on his head. A hoof print immediately appeared on his face. Well, no need to guess; this horse, like the guandao, had certainly betrayed him.

"Kill them all!" Inch of Ash shrieked in fury. He couldn't believe that in just a few breaths, this fellow had not only refined Teacher Moyun's longsword and his own guandao but had also tamed the horses. He, a dignified peak mid-grade deity, had suffered such a great loss.

Only then did the bandits react, simultaneously darting out and charging towards the students and Zhao Ya, who were gathered in the center. Before they could reach them, a chorus of horse neighs made them quickly turn their heads, and then each one of them was terrified beyond measure. They saw the steeds that the girl had touched also charging madly towards them, rearing up on their hind legs and fiercely kicking at them with their front hooves. Nearly half of the dozen or so bandits, caught completely off guard, were kicked directly in the back, collapsing to the ground and spitting up large mouthfuls of blood.

"What in the world is going on...?" Inch of Ash was nearly insane. They had come on horseback to rob, intending to strike swiftly and disappear without a trace. How could all these horses have betrayed them?

*Swoosh!* Just as he was at a loss, a sword beam flashed before him, coiling around him like a fishing net in the blink of an eye. Immediately afterward, a cold longsword rested against his neck.

"Stop, all of you..." Feeling the chill from the sword tip, which could pierce his throat at any moment, Inch of Ash dared not say another word. True to their nature as battle-hardened bandits, only a small portion were injured by the horses' surprise attack. More than half still charged into the crowd, quickly knocking Shen Cheng and the others to the ground. Upon hearing the shouted command, they all stopped, their faces filled with humiliation. Dignified bandits, they had come to rob a group of students, expecting an easy victory. They never dreamed that their leader's weapon would be refined by their opponent, followed by their horses... Other people fought with one move after another, divine power roaring... But this guy, he either refined weapons or tamed horses. How on earth did he do it?

"That's more like it..." Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. With his current strength, it wouldn't be difficult to defeat and kill his opponents by fully employing the Thousand Knots Sword Art he had comprehended. However, the spiritual energy in the Divine Realm was sparse, and recovery was too slow. If another group appeared after he dealt with this one, he might truly be out of strength. It was better to be cunning. First, he refined Teacher Moyun's longsword, then tamed his opponent's steed, ultimately capturing him in one fell swoop when his psychological defenses crumbled. In fact, his approach was similar to Teacher Moyun's: "capture the leader to capture the bandits." Once this one was caught, the rest would be simple.

"Tell them to hand over all their weapons!" Zhang Xuan said calmly, the longsword resting against the opponent's neck.

"Hurry up..." Full of humiliation, Inch of Ash dared not object, so he could only reprimand his men.

"Yes..." The dozen or so bandits placed all their weapons on the ground.

"Zhao Ya, each of you take one and try to refine it!" Zhang Xuan said.

"Yes!" Zhao Ya and the others came forward and took all the weapons. They had only just arrived in the Divine Realm, so their previous pseudo-god realm weapons were now useless. These bandits, however, each used low-grade divine artifacts, which would significantly increase their strength if refined.

"Make them hand over all their treasures, divine coins, and anything else they have on them!" Zhang Xuan continued, pressing the longsword forward, drawing a trace of blood on Inch of Ash's neck. Gritting his teeth, Inch of Ash was beside himself with rage. He finally bit out at his men, "Didn't you hear him?" *I'm the damn bandit! This is supposed to be my job...*

"Yes..." The men exchanged glances, then came forward, rummaged through their pockets, and handed over all the divine coins they carried. Earlier, while chatting with Teacher Moyun, he learned that the nine major powers throughout the Divine Realm used divine coins as their unified trade currency. These trading coins were similar to the gold coins of the Master Teacher Continent, except they contained the essence of the Divine Realm, making them nearly impossible to counterfeit. Seeing that the dozen or so bandits had handed over more than two hundred divine coins, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. With a light swipe, he took the storage ring from Inch of Ash's hand. Such items were rare in the Divine Realm; even Teacher Moyun didn't have one. This fellow had likely plundered many wealthy merchants and spent untold sums to acquire it, but now it all benefited Zhang Xuan.

He quickly refined it, collected all the divine coins on the ground, and then instructed Shen Cheng and the others to work with Zhao Ya to tie up all the bandits. After doing all this, he had everyone ride the horses in pairs, taking Teacher Moyun with them, and quickly galloped towards the city.

"These bandits are notorious for their evil deeds; capturing them... could earn a bounty..." Seeing that they were leaving immediately, Teacher Moyun hastily said. These bandits had been wanted by the City Lord for a long time; if caught, there would certainly be a heavy reward.

"No need; someone will handle it later..." Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, controlling the horses to move swiftly forward. With the City Lord's daughter present, he didn't believe she would only have a mid-grade deity as a teacher and no accompanying masters for protection.

Indeed, no sooner had Zhang Xuan and the others left than two shadowy figures appeared before Inch of Ash and his men. Upon seeing the two figures, Inch of Ash was first filled with despair, then he roared loudly. "Are you from the City Lord's Mansion? I want to report something! We are bandits, but we were robbed... The City Lord's Mansion must bring these bad people to justice and restore peace and order to my Night Nether City!"