With a single command from the leader of the knights, all the horsemen roared and raised their scimitars; under the sunlight, the blades reflected a chilling gleam.

The people of the Qilian tribe, though armed, seemed utterly terrified, lacking the will to mount any effective resistance. Indeed, many remained kneeling where they were.

"Aooo~~"

Shouting their war cries, the knights spurred their warhorses and charged into the crowd.

"Such useless trash, unable to even pay the silver debt." The knight leader sat high on his steed, watching the scene with cold indifference. Years of carrying out such tasks—killing—could no longer stir even a ripple in his soul. "Time for blood, isn't it—"

He eagerly anticipated the sight of that first splash of red!

"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"

Heavy, low sounds, like massive hammers striking great drums, suddenly erupted, causing everyone's heart to involuntarily clench. All heads turned towards the source.

And then, blood sprayed forth.

Three warhorses and three knights were violently thrown high into the air. Everyone craned their necks to watch the airborne trio of horses and riders.

"Thud!" The echoing impact sounds as they hit the ground came in quick succession. The three warhorses and three knights crashed heavily to the earth, only managing to force out wisps of bloody bubbles from their mouths before falling silent.

In the blink of an eye, those three horses and their riders were dead!

"Hiss-hiss~~" All the charging knights immediately reined in their mounts, their eyes blazing red as they glared at the figure standing at the very front of the crowd—a person resembling a beggar!

Dressed in tattered padded robes, his long, unbound hair a tangled mess, only his eyes suggested a different being—calm and heart-stoppingly serene, like the 'Heavenly Lake' atop Mount Tianshen.

"Qilian tribe, you dare resist!!! Do you wish for annihilation?" The knight leader roared in fury, his eyes wide to the point where the corners seemed ready to tear.

The tribal chief of the Qilian tribe shook his head frantically: "No, no, that is not one of us—of the Qilian tribe!"

"We don't know him, don't know him!" The young man who had borrowed the silver also shrieked, "It has nothing to do with us, the Qilian tribe, nothing at all!"

At the forefront, Teng Qingshan frowned slightly.

He helped them?

And yet, they were so quick to disassociate themselves from him?

Teng Qingshan turned to glance at Chab; Chab nervously signaled to Teng Qingshan with his eyes, shaking his head frantically, yet utterly afraid to speak.

"Oh, an outsider!" The knight leader stared coldly at Teng Qingshan, as if looking at a corpse.

"Outsider, hear me clearly. Under the light of the Heavenly Radiance, upon the Great Prairie, no one dares move against our Gale Tribe! Anyone who does is utterly annihilated!" The knight sat high, looking down on Teng Qingshan.

The other numerous knights, their eyes bloodshot like maddened wolves, focused entirely on Teng Qingshan.

"To strike one of my Gale Tribe, you are destined to die!!!" the knight leader bellowed.

Teng Qingshan’s gaze swept over the knight leader with cold clarity, his lips parting slightly: "A frog in a well!" Though his words were soft, they echoed in the ears of everyone nearby.

At this declaration, the knights grew even more enraged.

"Kill!" The knight leader swung his scimitar, pointing it at Teng Qingshan, screaming wildly, "Kill him!!!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!!!"

All the knights raised their scimitars, the cold glint of steel reflecting from the blades. As their warhorses galloped forward, they charged toward Teng Qingshan—a surging flood composed of blades and swords rushing toward him. Yet, Teng Qingshan remained like a reef unmoved by a thousand years of impact.

The Qilian tribesmen watching from the side displayed mixed expressions. Some ground their teeth in anger; others lamented with sorrow.

"Brother Huhe, why must you..." Chab clenched his fists.

"Bastard," Slan muttered through clenched teeth, his face twitching.

This brat probably thinks he has some skill. But—how can one provoke the Gale Tribe? To provoke them means certain death, thought the youth who borrowed the silver, Chab's younger brother.

Suddenly—

Astonishment bloomed across every face.

"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"…… A dense, continuous series of drum-like thuds rang out.

It happened in a single breath!

All nine warhorses from the initial wave of the charge were thrown high into the air. Most bizarrely—the nine accompanying knights, seemingly untouched by direct impact, also spewed up mouthfuls of blood.

"Thud!" Teng Qingshan’s palm struck the body of a horse. The entire animal trembled as if in a wave, and that tremor instantly transferred to the knight. The knight's body also convulsed. Even without direct contact from Teng Qingshan's blow, his internal organs were already shattered.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Teng Qingshan’s movements were as fast as lightning, yet his palms appeared slow, like a millstone grinding. But this slowness was only an illusion. In reality, it was terrifyingly swift.

There was only a succession of low, dull "Thud!" "Thud!" sounds as horse after horse and rider were flung away.

If struck, death was certain!

"Stop! Stop!" The knight leader finally reacted, shouting in terror. Their warhorses were premium steeds of the prairie! Horses, cattle, and sheep were abundant on the grasslands, and quality warhorses were not expensive. But when these horses charged, their impact force was easily over ten thousand catties.

Yet, before that 'beggar,' the charging steeds moved like mere mud—one palm strike sent them flying!

"Flee!"

"Run quickly!"

All the knights surrounding Teng Qingshan howled in panic, frantically turning their horses to escape. But turning required time.

Thud! Thud! Thud! The earth-shaking impacts continued, striking terror into the bandits and shattering their morale.

Horse after horse and man were tossed aside. After more than fifty mounts and riders were dead, these knights finally scattered in all directions, fleeing.

Teng Qingshan, still clad in rags, swept his gaze over the fleeing group: "Just this many, and you think you can kill me!"

Compared to the great slaughter he inflicted in the Golden Wolf Kingdom, this was nothing. Back then, Teng Qingshan had slain a full sixteen thousand people and severely injured over three thousand.

That so-called severe injury was merely due to the residual force his qi spread causing internal harm.

"What is the deal with this Qilian tribe?" Teng Qingshan turned and looked towards the rest of the Qilian people.

The entire Qilian tribe stared at Teng Qingshan as if beholding a god!

The terrifying battle had lasted mere moments.

From the beginning, when the knights howled and closed in, the first contact resulted in nine horses being flung away. As the knights stubbornly continued their charge, more than ten others were killed. By the time panic set in and they tried to flee, the mere chaos of turning their mounts resulted in the deaths of over twenty more!

The Qilian tribesmen only saw warhorses and knights being hurled through the air.

That seemingly ordinary palm strike appeared to contain an unbelievable power.

"How is this possible!"

"That palm didn't even touch the man, and he died?"

"Are the people of the Gale Tribe really this weak? They are all being sent flying..."

The Qilian tribe was completely stunned. They had never witnessed such a terrifying individual. Perhaps in their eyes, a hero was merely someone who could skillfully use a scimitar to kill a few common bandits.

As for someone daring to confront the Gale Tribe head-on, they had never seen such a person. Anyone who dared to disregard the Gale Tribe's authority was a figure of the highest standing! Even such figures usually relied on their influence to intimidate the Gale Tribe, not daring to engage them in direct combat.

"Brother Huhe... Lord Huhe!" Chab approached, immediately bowing low.

"Brother Chab, just call me Huhe," Teng Qingshan replied.

The surrounding tribesmen were all nervous; even many children and elders gathered around. Listening to others recount the events, they were filled with awe.

"Uncle Huhe, did you kill all of them?" Chab's son, the cute little child, ran over, looking at Teng Qingshan with shocked admiration.

"Jilan, don't cause trouble," Chab pulled his son back.

Teng Qingshan could feel that this forthright prairie man was now somewhat reserved in his presence. At this moment, Slan, the most valorous man of the Qilian tribe, stepped forward and bowed gratefully, "Lord Huhe, thank you for temporarily saving the Qilian tribe from this calamity."

Teng Qingshan frowned upon hearing that—temporarily saved?

"Lord Huhe! If it weren't for you, many of our Qilian tribesmen would have died today," the Chief also bowed gratefully.

Teng Qingshan remembered clearly—

When he took action, these Qilian tribesmen had all distanced themselves from him.

"Can you tell me what is truly going on?" Teng Qingshan looked at them with confusion.

"Lord Huhe," the man named Slan said respectfully, "You must be an outsider from a distant land! In our Northern Grasslands, there are four strongest tribes. They manage four distinct regions of the Northern Grasslands! And the area we inhabit is governed by the Gale Tribe."

Teng Qingshan frowned: "They are not bandits?"

"No, they are the strongest tribes." Slan replied.

Teng Qingshan shook his head: "If not bandits, they are worse than bandits."

Slan gave a helpless smile: "My Lord, with the four great tribes managing our Northern Grasslands, at least the casualties won't be as high as in the Central Grasslands! As long as we gather enough silver, we can live."

"Doesn't your great Mount Tianshen pay any mind?" Teng Qingshan inquired.

"My Lord, please do not slander Mount Tianshen," Slan said solemnly.

"The Heavenly God is selfless and just!" Chab quickly added, "The Great Heavenly God does not show favoritism to anyone. To replace the four major tribes, one must surpass them! Moreover, the Great Heavenly God also decreed... no matter the reason for killing, slaughter is absolutely forbidden when it involves children! They are the future of the Great Prairie... If anyone defies this, the Heavenly God will send down His punishment."

Teng Qingshan listened silently.

He increasingly felt that this Mount Tianshen must be religious in nature, and the grassland people were likely taught from childhood that the Heavenly God was impartial, just, and so on.

"Tell me, what is the punishment the Gale Tribe speaks of?" Teng Qingshan asked.

Slan grit his teeth in hatred: "If we cannot pay the silver! The Gale Tribe men will kill half of the men in our tribe! And... and..."

Chab beside him added in a low voice, his eyes red: "They will also... humiliate our women! This is the punishment! After the punishment, the silver owed for that year is waived."