"War, once begun, never stops until one side is defeated," Te Jiaofei stated, looking at Gan Jin and Mu Ne Zhen Ce. "That's what you both mean, isn't it? Don't worry! One day, someday! King Wusheng will make war disappear entirely!"

Gan Jin gazed at Ba Huang Wusheng, seated atop his horse, struggling to decipher the thoughts of this bandit king from beyond the border. An Undead Monarch bloodline warrior—perhaps possessing a very powerful Awakening level—a Demon capable of dominating a region even among the Demon race.

From Te Jiaofei’s demeanor, the idea of eliminating war didn't seem to belong to this stout man, but rather to the leader of the Wusheng Bandits, Ba Huang Wusheng himself!

These warriors from various races gathered around Ba Huang Wusheng, it seemed, because they believed this Bandit King could achieve the ideal Te Jiaofei spoke of.

"Once a person's mind has been wiped clean..." Mu Ne Zhen Ce sighed softly while watching Ba Huang Wusheng's back. "It's truly terrifying! This Bandit King speaks of such glorious ideals; who knows what his true objectives really are."

"Cough... cough..."

Tie Nan woke up amid a fit of coughing. Gan Jin retrieved another pill from the Battle Realm and slipped it into Tie Nan's mouth. "You are heavily injured. Take this first to suppress your condition. I'll treat you properly once we reach the bandits' encampment, and then I'll leave."

"Bandits... Your Highness..."

Tie Nan became agitated and promptly fainted again.

Mu Ne Zhen Ce looked at Gan Jin in confusion.

"If he doesn't sleep after taking it, it's not conducive to stabilizing his injuries," Gan Jin said lightly. "His injuries aren't considered severe; just two gashes in the lung lobes, four not-too-deep cuts in the liver, a few holes in the intestines, several broken Battle Meridians, and..."

Yi, standing nearby, broke out in a cold sweat listening to the list. These injuries weren't severe? What kind of injuries would be severe?

"You know about potions?" Te Jiaofei asked Gan Jin curiously. "What level are you?"

"Barely enough not to kill anyone." Gan Jin glanced toward Beng Wuzui, still gravely wounded on the wooden cart. "When we get back to the encampment, if I have the materials, I'll concoct some Spring Dew of Rebirth for him."

"Spring Dew of Rebirth?" Te Jiaofei didn't understand and shook his head, then trotted to catch up with Ba Huang Wusheng. "King Wusheng, what is Spring Dew of Rebirth?"

"Spring Dew of Rebirth? A high-grade healing potion rumored to be at the Master level." Ba Huang Wusheng looked at Te Jiaofei in surprise. "That stuff can't even be bought with gold coins. How do you know the name of that potion?"

"Is it difficult to concoct?" Te Jiaofei turned back to look at Gan Jin. "Then why did he say he knows how to make it?"

"What?" Ba Huang Wusheng turned his head, looking at Gan Jin with astonishment. "He knows how to make Spring Dew of Rebirth?"

Te Jiaofei nodded. "That's what he said."

Could it be true? Ba Huang Wusheng kept looking back at Gan Jin. Had he accidentally picked up a treasure even more valuable than he imagined? A Master-level potion? Was he an Alchemist? He should find time to question him properly once they reached the encampment.

And that flying knife! Ba Huang Wusheng turned the flying knife Gan Jin had thrown in his mind. He hadn't returned it primarily because the forging technique was genuinely excellent, but it felt like it wasted too many materials to the touch. He wondered which blacksmith had forged it? Such a craftsman would easily be expelled by the Blacksmiths' Guild; if he had the chance, he should try to recruit this person.

Spring Dew of Rebirth? Yi turned back and gave a few instructions to his subordinates. The bandits of the Second Bandit Group from Beyond the Border shouted and sped off in another direction, leaving only their leader, Yi, to continue following the Wusheng Bandit Group's entourage.

The Ruin!

This wasn't the first time Gan Jin had encountered ruins; he had even seen ruins as vast as the Pan family's, so immense they seemed boundless.

However, Gan Jin had not expected that ruins like this could exist in the world.

Overhead, the earth was clearly layered thousands of meters thick. In a ruin without direct sunlight, which should be filled with darkness even with torches or illumination magic, there would still be many eerie spots.

But when he truly beheld the Wusheng Bandit Group's encampment ruin, Gan Jin couldn't help but marvel that the rumored ruins truly had every kind of marvel.

Above, the thick layer of earth existed, yet it in no way blocked the sunlight; the sunlight from the sky pierced through the thick earth and shone onto the ground of the ruin.

Gan Jin could feel that the light shining upon him was neither so-called magical light nor the light from torches, but genuine sunlight!

The expansive ruin wasn't just filled with bandits practicing combat techniques; nearby, in large tracts of farmland, Demons of the Demon Race and people from the Zhen Ce Dynasty were mingled together, planting crops!

This colossal ruin was a completely separate entity from the conflict raging outside between humans and Demons.

Te Jiaofei proudly glanced back at Gan Jin, while Mu Ne Zhen Ce frowned, observing the surroundings. Peaceful coexistence between a small group of humans and Demons wasn't difficult, but peace between the two great superpowers above ground? Haha...

"Gan Jin, your house is that one. You can take this woman—I can't tell if she's ugly or beautiful, but her figure is excellent—and live there," Te Jiaofei pointed to a very ordinary wooden hut nearby. "As for the matters of our bandit group, I'll come back tomorrow to explain them to you."

Gan Jin nodded, then looked at Yi, who had been following him the entire time! This leader of the Second Bandit Group from Beyond the Border had actually followed the Wusheng Bandit Group all the way here, and Ba Huang Wusheng showed no intention of driving him away.

"Mmm..." Yi felt Gan Jin's gaze and looked somewhat awkward.

"Your old injury?"

Yi quickly nodded. It wasn't a lack of backbone; it was that he had suffered enough over the years. His Battle Soul was stuck at a crucial point, preventing any further breakthroughs. Seven days ago, when he heard Gan Jin claim he knew how to make Spring Dew of Rebirth, he truly wanted to know if it was genuine.

Gan Jin looked at Yi with some difficulty. "It's not that I can't treat you, but..."

"But what?" Yi became nervous. This question had been bottled up for seven days. Even a person with great composure couldn't help but feel anxious when facing a glimpse of salvation. The arrogant aura he possessed when he first met Gan Jin seven days prior was gone.

"But..." Gan Jin sized Yi up. "What are you planning to exchange with me?"

Exchange with what? Yi was stunned; the words sounded incredibly familiar! Seven days ago at the Black Desert Bandit Group headquarters, he had said something similar to Gan Jin. Now, just a few days later, their positions had completely flipped.

Feng Lian Ci Kuang's Battle Qi secret manual was already in Gan Jin's hands, and Feng Lian Ci Kuang himself had become a member of the Wusheng Bandit Group. To forcibly take something now would be tantamount to declaring war on the Wusheng Bandit Group.

Most importantly! If he forcibly robbed them, Yi wouldn't dare use potions concocted by a chemist he had captured. Who knew if the chemist would slip poison into the potion? He could currently suppress the strange toxin inside his body, but if an alchemist brewed a poison that could trigger that toxin, the consequences would be disastrous, extremely disastrous.

"This..."

Yi fell into a dilemma. Despite spending a few days together, he still didn't understand Gan Jin, so he couldn't possibly know his preferences or weaknesses. This meant he might have to pay a very high price.

"You have a Battle Realm, don't you?" Gan Jin suddenly asked Yi.

"I do." Yi nodded, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart, like a frog being targeted by a venomous snake.

"Then... why don't you open your Battle Realm and let me take a look?" Gan Jin looked at Yi with curiosity. "Most of the good things your bandit group has plundered should be inside your Battle Realm, right?"

"Ah?"

Yi hadn't expected Gan Jin to immediately act like the greedy dragon of legend, directly demanding he open his Battle Realm to select items himself!

The Battle Realm! Yi had always been immensely proud of possessing one. It allowed him to secretly store everything plundered. If someone tried to attack and kill him, they had to think twice, knowing that all the treasures and materials would vanish forever into the Battle Realm.

Today, for the first time, Yi hated owning a Battle Realm! This portable treasury, once so secret, now felt completely defenseless against Gan Jin, like a young maiden facing a ruffian.

"Also..." Gan Jin scratched his head. "Since you are so powerful, you must have some Battle Qi scrolls and Martial Skills, right?"

Yi looked at Gan Jin with panic. "What... what are you trying to do?"

"As warriors," Gan Jin shrugged, "a warrior never dislikes having too many Martial Skills or Battle Qi scrolls, wouldn't you agree?"

Yi stared at Gan Jin, tongue-tied. How could this young warrior, who usually seemed rather straightforward, become so business-savvy at this moment?

Gan Jin watched Yi quietly. He never held a good impression of the bandits from beyond the border. The Luo family's goods had been stolen by bandit groups twice. A person who could become the leader of a bandit group, let alone the leader of the second largest one, must have countless lives and bloodshed on his hands.

Now, Yi looked extremely obedient only because he needed a favor!

Gan Jin hadn't forgotten how arrogant the leader of the Second Bandit Group from Beyond the Border had been seven days ago at the Black Wind Bandit Group headquarters, even while pleading for help, laying out all sorts of demands.

Now? It was simply because Yi was currently unable to attack or make threats, not because he had suddenly become honest! He was just a venomous snake frozen stiff by the ice and snow; if Gan Jin kindly warmed it in his embrace, the only result would be being bitten to death by the snake.

"I want all your Martial Skills, and your cultivation methods for Battle Qi scrolls."

"You... You are going too far..." Yi’s breathing became heavy. If opening the Battle Realm and letting Gan Jin pick through the plundered goods was like bloodletting, then handing over his Martial Skills and Battle Qi scroll cultivation methods was akin to demanding his life!

"Then forget it," Gan Jin shrugged. "If you won't give them up, please leave."

"I'll give you one ultimate-level Martial Skill..." Yi stared into Gan Jin's eyes, trying to bargain. "How about that?"