The Bandits' Raid Begins (Part 1)
The moment my eyes snapped open, a high-pitched scream split the air like a frightened fawn’s cry. I sat up in bed, rubbing sleep from my eyes, and turned toward the mirror.
There stood my wife, Ye-hwa, already dressed in a simple white robe, her graceful posture radiating quiet strength. She turned toward me, her beautiful eyes narrowing into sharp, dangerous slits.
“Y-you… you dirty bastard…!”
Her gaze flicked down to my fully aroused shaft—still stiff from the warm night—and she instinctively shrank back with a tiny, humiliated hiiik.
I grinned lazily and teased her, voice thick with amusement. “Got anything to say for yourself?”
Shaking her head vigorously.
She snatched up her clothes in a frantic mess, rummaged through the wardrobe for fresh undergarments, then bolted out the door without another word. No doubt heading straight for the bathroom to wash away the evidence of our night together.
I shrugged into just my loose trousers, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began my morning qi circulation. In my mind I drew the Supreme Ultimate symbol, and the two streams of pure, dense energy I’d cultivated yesterday and today fused inside my dantian with a loud boing!
That thunderous inner noise was the only one I could hear. The result of their unprecedented purity and volume—the energy they’d harvested had surpassed anything either of them had ever produced on their own.
“Hoo…”
I finished the circulation, closed my eyes, and sank into deep contemplation of the qi surging through my core. If I could still perform the Thunderbolt Nine Revolutions hundreds of times without tiring, I could safely claim I had no reason to fear being dismissed as a mere “third-class trash” on the streets of Murim.
Before I explain my current realm, let me briefly outline how the martial world divides strength.
Third-class — basic internal energy accumulation. Strong enough that ordinary wealthy merchants train these simple techniques for health and can even claim to have “a little bit of power.”
Second-class — they begin reinforcing their body with qi and can learn rapid footwork. This is the minimum anyone can reach and still get stable jobs as guards or rural martial instructors.
First-class — they master full-body reinforcement and can clash with bears or tigers bare-handed.
Peak — sword qi can be projected. The phrase Sword Qi Cuts Man comes to mind; even the strongest martial artists respect them.
Transcendence — they can manifest sword gangs. The Strong Qi they wield is so terrifying that mere humans are slaughtered. The name Strong itself symbolizes the line beyond which no ordinary person can cross.
Transformation Realm — the three flowers gather at the peak and qi becomes as easy to control as breathing. They can easily fight Peak experts.
Profound Realm — the two major meridians are unsealed. Their qi circulates infinitely. Even a hundred Peak experts would be swept away. The Murim Alliance calls them Ten Thousand Enemies and places them on the wanted list. In the entire world, only eight names are known at this realm—including my friend Won-u, the Vajra Fist Buddha, leader of the Murim Alliance.
At the moment, my own cultivation sits at the very beginning of the Transformation Realm. I used to be stuck at the tail end of Transcendence because I lacked the final enlightenment. My regression brought me the future’s realization and broke the barrier.
Ye-hwa and Seo-ryeong both stand at the peak of Transformation and are still one or two steps from Profound. Their physiques, combined with the absolute-level techniques of Heavenly Demon Divine Art and Limitless Sword, allow them to overwhelm even high-grade Peak experts in raw power and subtlety.
Of course, real combat is different. Against a true Profound expert who can replenish qi in real time, we would lose in a long war. Even Peak masters might turn the tide with one desperate move or a lucky strike. Both girls are still lacking in actual battle experience, so they’re vulnerable to sudden chaos.
That’s why I can keep them safely locked away in Luoyang and only release them when I want to train them.
Back before regression, they had been wandering the jianghu for a year, collecting real-world experience. Only a short time later they both reached the Profound Realm. Seo-ryeong returned to the Heavenly Demon Sect, unified the Demon Alliance, and rebuilt the Heavenly Demon Church. Ye-hwa became the captain of the Murim Alliance’s elite force, the Zheng Tian Team, and became a name that shook the world.
As her husband I love them deeply. As a martial artist I also respect them greatly. I didn’t want their growth to slow down again. So for now I keep them here, but I’ll send them out to the jianghu whenever I have the chance—so they can regain the experience they lost in this peaceful life.
Plus, I get to enjoy traveling together… and collect some very private memories.
“Hey, it smells like blood over there.”
Seo-ryeong’s voice suddenly cut through my thoughts. Her sense was so sharp she could detect faint qi fluctuations that normal people never noticed.
“You think so?”
We hurried toward the direction she pointed. In the middle of an artificially cleared mountain path lay scattered corpses and overturned supply carts. A blood-stained flag lay crumpled on the dirt.
“Geumwon Express,” Ye-hwa said quietly. “They were ambushed by bandits.”
Geumwon Express. I’d heard the name before. This merchant guild had its headquarters in Shaanxi and stretched influence across Hunan, Hubei, and Sichuan. They were one of the largest courier companies in the world.
The fact that they’d been attacked by mere bandits was almost unheard of. Usually even the small-time mountain bandits only asked for a toll and let the carts pass.
Then I heard faint voices drifting from the wreckage.
“Please… help… us…”
A chubby man in his early thirties, wearing a luxurious silk robe that only someone of the guild leader’s status could afford, lay slumped against a cart wheel. Blood poured from a deep wound in his abdomen. He was on the verge of death.
I pressed my fingers to the blood veins on his wrist and checked his pulse. His qi was weak but not yet gone. It still flowed through the major meridians, carrying away the spilled blood and replenishing his own essence.
“You’re lucky,” I told him. “I just applied a special healing ointment mixed with anesthetic.”
The man’s breath eased slightly. His voice became clearer. “Thank you… I survived… My name is Ha-hu Bong, leader of Geumwon Express… This kindness… I will never forget it for the rest of my life…”
I asked him, “What happened?”
“The Red Feather Bandits attacked us… and… kuhuk!”
He broke into bitter sobs, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. “They took my wife…”