Having slain the petty thief known as "Crimson Under the Moon," Ye Wen didn't dwell too much on any single event. Even when Li Fu was overjoyed and loudly proclaimed Ye Wen a martial arts master from Shushan County, Ye Wen felt no particular surge of excitement.

When he killed earlier, he had already made quite a splash, even mentioning the name of the Shu Mountain Sect and showing off his extraordinary skills. Any clear-sighted person who witnessed today’s events would naturally help spread word of the Shu Mountain Sect; fame was built this way.

As for assisting the yamen in capturing the rogue, it was merely a convenient happenstance. If the thief hadn't been so unlucky as to cross paths with Ye Wen descending the mountain, there were certainly those in Pingzhou who could handle him, though few. They likely wouldn't have bothered descending the mountain just to catch a trifling pilferer of trinkets, unless absolutely necessary.

Ye Wen simply happened upon the situation and ended the wretch’s life with a single sword stroke.

Li Fu did take a moment afterward to ask, "Why not leave the thief alive? If you had brought him in alive, the Provincial Governor would surely have been even more pleased!"

Ye Wen replied, "Such a vile criminal, even captured, would feel no remorse, but rather scheme for revenge. Keeping him alive is just inviting trouble. Furthermore, I despise scoundrels who defile the innocence of others most fiercely! I kill every one I see!"

Hearing this, Li Fu wondered if Ye Wen had some personal tragic history with flower thieves. Then he heard Ye Wen continue, "A real man has countless ways to seek pleasure, yet he resorts to such sordid acts. Then he slips away, leaving the woman he harmed to face ruin and death—a fate far worse than outright murder of her whole family! Why keep such a wicked man around?"

At these words, Li Fu realized that this Great Headmaster Ye inherently looked down upon the act of wanton seduction. But upon reflection, Ye Wen's words held undeniable truth.

How many women harmed by philanderers ever met a good end? Countless committed suicide out of shame; countless others died scorned by their husbands' families. The flower thief enjoyed one night of passion, leaving behind a mess that ruined the lives of countless innocent people.

Considering this, Li Fu unconsciously murmured, "He truly deserved to die!"

Seeing Li Fu agree, Ye Wen stopped speaking. Unexpectedly, Li Fu turned and added, "Should any rapacious thieves be heard of again in the future, I hope Headmaster Ye will lend his mighty assistance. Ah, Headmaster Ye will surely be happy to step forward and ensure the peace of the people of Pingzhou!"

With that single sentence, Li Fu cleverly trapped Ye Wen, leaving him momentarily speechless. However, Ye Wen quickly realized it wasn't a bad thing. Moreover, most such villains didn't possess great martial skill, making it a perfect opportunity to train his own disciples and simultaneously earn prestige for the Shu Mountain Sect. He smiled and agreed, "Even if this Headmaster doesn't personally act, I will dispatch my most favored disciples! If Constable Li requires aid, simply seek out my Shu Mountain Sect!"

This immediately placed a standing commitment upon the Shu Mountain Sect. Li Fu, being shrewd, understood Ye Wen's ambition immediately. Since it didn't clash with his own goals, he readily agreed, nodding with a smile, "With Headmaster Ye's words, the people of Pingzhou will no longer fear petty villains! Such chivalrous actions... The Shu Mountain Sect truly deserves the title of a Righteous School!"

Ye Wen hadn't expected a casual remark to pin the label of a "Prestigious Righteous School" onto his sect. With that, he had no cause for dissatisfaction and chatted even more happily with Constable Li until nightfall before they retired.

There was a good reason for his happiness.

In this era, the greatest shaper of public opinion remained the imperial court. If the court issued a decree that a certain sect was steeped in evil and was a great villain,

it wouldn't take long for the word to spread across the land. Even if the sect wasn't inherently evil, the populace would believe it. If a few wicked examples were cited, other sects might even believe it, leaving that faction unable to recover.

Conversely, if the court declared a certain sect virtuous, one that often performed good deeds and protected the populace—a great paragon—that sect would be branded with the plaque of a Righteous School, whether they boasted about it or not. Fame would no longer be a concern.

The Shu Mountain Sect housed many factions and guilds, but none had ever secured an official endorsement of righteousness from the government. Fundamentally, different kinds of people resided there, and their moral quality was mixed. If Constable Li went back and used his official standing to publicize this event, the Shu Mountain Sect could solidify its reputation as a Righteous School, which would greatly benefit its future development.

After all, once a mountain peak is established, most aspiring disciples hope to join a righteous sect to learn. Rarely do those honestly seeking martial arts sneak into caves or use secret passwords to join evil factions. Given the prevailing trend where evil sects are suppressed by the government and the righteous path, Ye Wen had no reason to stand against the tide by opposing it.

Of course, for the time being, the title of a Righteous School for Shu Mountain could only echo within Pingzhou. To reach the Central Plains martial world, it would likely take some time—or rather, this single incident was far from enough. It would require several more good deeds of a similar scale before the "righteous" factions of the Central Plains would welcome a new little brother.

That night, after deep contemplation, Ye Wen felt that having settled this matter, aside from finding more blacksmiths, perhaps he should also wipe out a few mountain bandit groups with poor reputations. With his current power, he could annihilate them all alone. As it happened, Pingzhou had quite a few bandits, but the trouble was he didn't know the locations of their lairs.

"I'll inquire when I return!"

Thinking this, he turned over and slept. Before dawn the next day, he was already awake. After a brief session of Qi cultivation, he tidied himself up, bid farewell to Constable Li, paid his bill at the inn, and departed.

He didn't leave Linshan County immediately. First, he went to the burial mound of Zhou Zhiruo's mother, cleared the weeds, offered a simple tribute, and only then continued south.

Along this journey, Ye Wen didn't seek trouble, but trouble kept finding him. Because he dressed lavishly, traveled alone, and his countenance didn't suggest ferocity, some foolish petty thieves kept eyeing him.

Those who uttered harsh words were invariably killed by Ye Wen. Only those who were less absolute in their actions and spoke with a degree of politeness were disciplined and then let go.

The journey was a continuous series of skirmishes—clanging sounds almost every step of the way. The people of the Tianle Gang heard news of Ye Wen almost daily: sometimes he killed the second-in-command of Qijia Stronghold; other times, he slaughtered the head of Zhaojia Stronghold.

The farther he moved from Shushan County, the more reckless the thieves became. This was because the Tianle Gang's branch headquarters was located near the border between Pingzhou and Dongzhou. This border region was a place where officials constantly passed responsibility, neither willing to exert themselves to deal with these vicious brigands. Consequently, this area had become a haven for mountain bandits and local tyrants, where many notorious bandits from both provinces established their strongholds.

When Ye Wen arrived here, he also drew the attention of some vicious bandits. However, the killings along the road had already forged him a fearsome reputation. Ordinary robbers, sensing they couldn't handle this great master, ceased coveting him. Only one large stronghold, unwilling to accept this, insisted on confronting Ye Wen.

"Oh? What was the result..."

These days, a major pastime for the Tianle Gang members was tracking how many petty thieves Ye Wen had slain on his southward journey and which strongholds he had targeted.

They had assumed that after this series of killings, the bandits would have learned their lesson and stopped provoking him. Yet, a few days ago, Xiong Jiazhai, who operated mainly in Dongzhou, had loudly declared, "We will definitely let that reckless brat see the might of our great chieftain! We will seek justice for our fallen comrades..."

When Ye Wen entered the territory of Xiongjia Stronghold a couple of days prior, the Tianle Gang members speculated on the outcome: Would a few leaders perish? Would they lose their lives entirely? Or perhaps, relying on superior numbers, would they manage to capture Ye Wen?

In truth, based on past events, Ye Wen should have been fine. But killing the head of Xiongjia Stronghold—they didn't believe that was possible. The Xiongjia Stronghold was scattered across the valleys, with seventeen surrounding strongholds forming a perimeter. While it might not be necessary to destroy all of them to reach the chieftain, one certainly couldn't reach the leader without subduing a few of the outer camps.

Therefore, most people believed Ye Wen would once again teach those bandits a harsh lesson, but that crippling Xiongjia Stronghold would be impossible.

Guo Nu held the same opinion, so when the news arrived, he listened with keen interest, telling the messenger gang member, "Tell me precisely what happened..."

The gang member opened the slip of paper in his hand, read the contents, and then swallowed hard, staring blankly ahead, forgetting to speak.

Guo Nu was calmly sipping tea, waiting, but hearing no sound for a long time. He looked up in confusion to see the gang member in a daze, and snapped, "Are you stupid? What are you standing there for..."

The gang member snapped back to attention under the shout and immediately reported, "Xiongjia Stronghold, including the main family, totaled eighteen camps. All were taken down by Ye Wen. Headman Xiong Batian's head was severed by Ye Wen and thrown directly to the nearest county yamen. The next day, it was hung in the town square as a public display." There was no need to read further. With the leader dead, the Xiongjia Stronghold, even if followers remained, would inevitably fracture. Furthermore, one lone swordsman had single-handedly dismantled eighteen family strongholds. Such a blow—few could endure it.

"Ye Wen holds quite a grudge," Guo Nu could guess that Xiongjia Stronghold would fall this time, but he hadn't expected Ye Wen to eliminate them entirely by himself.

After much thought, the only explanation was that the people of Xiongjia Stronghold had spoken too foully, enraging the Shu Mountain Headmaster.

It wasn't surprising given Ye Wen's cultivation level, but most people wouldn't act this way. At most, they would defeat the bandits blocking their path and kill the ringleaders. Eliminating entire large strongholds one by one before going after the leader, as Ye Wen did, was clearly a public humiliation. Even though the humiliated party was already dead, those who had boasted loudly would likely never dare provoke this killing star again.

"He is establishing authority!" Pei Wei, sitting nearby, understood Ye Wen's intent after a moment of thought.

Besides issuing a warning to those who didn't know their limits, Ye Wen was making a grand, ruthless statement to prevent anyone from looking down on him. With the record of taking down eighteen strongholds, no ignorant petty thief would bother him again.

"Yes, but deliberately choosing a location so close to our Tianle Gang branch headquarters—Ye Wen clearly doesn't hold you or me in high regard..."

Pei Wei offered no reply. After his previous clash with Ye Wen on Shu Mountain, his self-confidence had been severely damaged, leading to a significant misjudgment of Ye Wen's true strength. He didn't know how to respond to Guo Nu's words.

Seeing his silence, Guo Nu realized Pei Wei had been deeply shaken by his encounter on Shu Mountain and didn't press the matter. However, Guo Nu absolutely refused to believe that Ye Wen's skills were as profound as Pei Wei had claimed. He had already decided to test Ye Wen in person upon meeting him, though he planned to keep this intention secret.

As for Ye Wen, the ridicule from the Xiongjia Stronghold people the day before had filled him with anger. Combined with the persistent provocations from petty thieves over the past few days, this accumulated hostile energy finally erupted. Xiongjia Stronghold simply bore the brunt of his pent-up fury. Of course, if the Xiongjia chieftain hadn't spoken so obscenely, even insulting some of Ye Wen's direct relatives, the malice wouldn't have been drawn toward him.

Then, upon hearing that the Xiongjia chieftain dared to issue a challenge for his "comrades," Ye Wen laughed and cursed, "What justice does a mere roadside robber demand? If he wants justice, I'll give him justice!"

Coupled with Ye Wen needing to establish a fearsome reputation against a notorious villain, he proceeded to utterly destroy all eighteen Xiongjia Strongholds in one go—not only slaughtering everyone and specifically targeting the leaders, but also burning the family homes to the ground.

In this brutal fight, he must have gone through countless long swords, picking up a long saber if a sword was unavailable. With his internal energy, even an unfamiliar technique like the Five Tiger Door-Slicing Saber could unleash terrifying destructive power.

By the end, he ran out of suitable weapons and ended up pounding the Xiongjia chieftain to death with his bare palms, then using the chieftain's own weapon to sever his head before setting the place ablaze and leaving swiftly.

After finishing everything, Ye Wen returned to the inn, sat in meditation for a short while, and recovered completely. While the eighteen strongholds seemed numerous, most were just disorganized rabble, capable of intimidating low-ranking martial artists or ordinary people, but nothing more than a setup against a master of his caliber.

Furthermore, since Ye Wen deliberately targeted the managing leaders, once they were killed, the remaining masses were insignificant. When the administrators fell, the entire camp descended into chaos. Eight out of every ten bandits killed in the camps were trampled to death by their own panicked brethren or burned in the ensuing fire.

Having regained his vigor, Ye Wen didn't immediately head south to visit the Tianle Gang. Even though the Gang's location was less than two days' journey away, Ye Wen remained in the inn, focusing on seated meditation, determined to reach his peak condition before continuing.

Moreover, there was another reason: Ye Wen calculated that exactly one month had passed since he last summoned the Purple Qi Heavenly Net. At this critical juncture before meeting the Tianle Gang, acquiring any profound new techniques or martial arts would greatly increase his chances of success.

Having recovered his strength, Ye Wen securely fastened the windows and doors. When the night was deeply quiet, he sat cross-legged on the bed, focusing on circulating his internal energy.

He hadn't expected to receive anything particularly magnificent; after all, the process was much like a lottery draw, dependent entirely on luck. But Ye Wen had overlooked one crucial point: as his cultivation deepened, what he received tended to be fundamentally good material, the only variable being whether he could utilize it.

When he realized this, he was no longer surprised that the manual for the Qi Sword Finger materialized in his possession.

Qi Sword Finger: A martial art from the Lin Family Fort. It involves condensing true Qi onto the fingertips to form Qi swords, which are then used to attack the enemy.

Following this were numerous chants on channeling energy, focusing Qi onto the fingers, and condensing Qi into a sword. Reading the contents, Ye Wen mused, "This seems somewhat different from what I recall..."

This technique, originating from a famous game, he remembered as having effects similar to the Six Meridians Divine Sword. However, as it stood, this technique appeared to be somewhere between the One Yang Finger and the Six Meridians Divine Sword.

While it was indeed a technique for condensing Qi into finger swords, it wasn't a freely discharged barrage of sword energy, like a machine gun. Ye Wen, who initially thought it resembled the Six Meridians Divine Sword, finally grasped the immense difference after obtaining this manual.

Simply put, Qi Sword Finger remained a finger art. The Qi projections condensed by this manual were only infinitesimally close to true sword energy, not actual sword energy. Only upon reaching the deepest level could one condense sword energy on the fingertip, but when released, it would turn into a column of Qi.

After reading the manual, Ye Wen recalled that the Lin Family Fort also possessed a technique called the Seven Precept Sword Qi, which seemed to be the art that released true sword energy—likely an advanced stage of the Qi Sword Finger. This suggested that Qi Sword Finger was intended as a foundational art, first familiarizing the practitioner with condensing solidifying true Qi before contemplating the formation of sword energy, a logical progression.

Opening the manual, Ye Wen practiced according to the instructions. Since his internal energy was sufficient, practicing various martial arts yielded double the results with half the effort. In just one night, he grasped the fundamentals of the Qi Sword Finger, capable of condensing Qi projections at his fingertips and even launching them.

In truth, he was fortunate that the meridians in his right hand had already been thoroughly opened by him. For practice, he only needed to fully clear the meridian corresponding to his middle finger. However, time was short, so he could only master one hand for now; he would deal with his left hand later when time permitted.

The only drawback was that when Ye Wen executed it, the range seemed quite limited—barely reaching things half a zhang away. Beyond that distance, the energy dissipated, losing its cohesion and thus its destructive power.

However, in combat, this range was generally sufficient. The most frustrating aspect for Ye Wen was that no matter how hard he tried, what he released was always a column of Qi. Only when he pressed his fingers together to form a sword could it vaguely function as a true blade.

He could see purple energy swirling around his fingertips, hinting at the embryonic form of sword energy, yet he couldn't project it.

"Damn it! It really is Qi Sword... Finger..."