Zhao Yunxiao found himself face to face with hundreds of men, all of them having gathered quickly before him after the loud announcement of his arrival.

Their eyes darted between Zhao Yunxiao and Zhao Yunxiao Two, clearly fascinated by how the two of them looked exactly the same.

But when these men noticed Qiao Yulang, who was bound tightly beside Zhao Yunxiao Two, they could not help but frown.

“May I ask who you are, and what Big Brother Qiao has done to offend you?” one of the bandits clasped his fists towards Zhao Yunxiao.

Zhao Yunxiao raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Just like Qiao Yulang, most of the bandits were ungroomed and dressed in clothes that were dirty and ragged.

On the surface, they looked just like the stereotypical bandit.

So, why did they speak in such a well-mannered way?

Qiao Yulang spoke that way earlier, and now this man as well.

It was not exactly a bad thing, but Zhao Yunxiao simply could not get used to this incongruence between their appearance and their mannerism!

“All of that doesn’t matter,” Zhao Yunxiao asked while concealing his thoughts. “Just tell me, where is Jin Kequn?”

“I am Jin Kequn.”

The response came immediately as a young man stepped out from among the crowd.

He had a lean build and looked to be in his mid twenties. His long black hair was tied up neatly in a topknot, a stark contrast to the ragged appearances that the rest of the bandits had.

“I don’t know what Big Brother Qiao did to you, but let’s resolve this with words instead of violence,” Jin Kequn said. “I would really appreciate it if you could let him go first.”

“That’s not impossible,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “Hand over the Moonlight Sutra, and I can exchange it with his life.”

Jin Kequn furrowed his brows and did not answer immediately.

“What? Are you unwilling?” Zhao Yunxiao smirked. “The sutra is just an object. Is it really worth more than your friend’s life?”

“Hand it over to him, Leader!” Qiao Yulang shouted. “We can’t beat him! Even if you refuse, he will just take it away from us by force!”

Zhao Yunxiao could not tell if Qiao Yulang was genuinely advising his leader, or if he was simply afraid that he would lose his life if his leader refused.

“Since things have already reached such a point, I guess there’s no point in trying to hide the existence of the Moonlight Sutra,” Jin Kequn let out a helpless sigh. “Unfortunately, both the Moonlight Sutra and Big Brother Qiao are too important to us. We can’t afford to hand over either.”

“What do you suggest, then?” Zhao Yunxiao asked with a smirk.

“Even though Big Brother Qiao has tried to convince us otherwise, I suppose we have no choice but to test ourselves against your might,” Jin Kequn said.

“Isn’t it something that you bandits have robbed off of someone as well?” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “Why are you making it sound like something that your lives depended on? You were doing fine before obtaining it as well, weren’t you?”

“It might be difficult for you to see this, but we are no longer bandits but champions of the moonlight,” Jin Kequn shook his head. “Because of the sutra, we have changed our ways. It is also because of this change that, if you agree to let him go, we will not hold this against you any further.”

Champions of the moonlight?

Did they rename themselves after the Moonlight Sutra?

Zhao Yunxiao could not help but feel surprised, though he made sure not to let that show.

“You will not hold it against me?” Zhao Yunxiao scoffed. “Don’t you think that your Big Brother Qiao would have warned you not to fight me for good reason?”

“He must have his reasons. But if we were to give up every time we are afraid, then what will be the difference between us and mere beasts?” Jin Kequn shook his head with a smile. “In the end, it is still our character and pride that make us human.”

“Well said,” Zhao Yunxiao praised. “Now then, let’s see if you can walk the talk.”

“In that case, we shall not stand on ceremony,” Jin Kequn said. “Everyone, prepare for battle.”

On his cue, the hundreds of bandits moved in unison, raising their hands to point two fingers at their glabellas.

“Body of Light!”

The darkness of the night was instantly dispelled the very next moment, replaced by the sudden appearance of hundreds of light sources.

Every single one of the bandits present started to emit a dim glow, albeit with varying intensity.

It was evident by now that all of them had been cultivating the same technique, the only difference being the rate of progress.

Each of them might only be emitting a dim glow. But still, with hundreds of them gathered at the same spot, it was almost like a mini sun had descended upon the area, turning night into day.

“Who are we?” Jin Kequn asked.

“Champions of the moonlight!” the bandits yelled in pride.

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“Let’s do this,” Jin Kequn gave the order. “Banner One, advance!”

With that, a dozen bandits rushed forward.

“About time,” Zhao Yunxiao held up a hand, secretly signalling for the yet-to-be-noticed Nie Hanchang to hold back for now.

Next, he threw out three daggers in different directions, aiming at the ground between him and the approaching bandits.

And the moment the daggers hit the ground, a small array on them activated.

Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!

Three balls of fire exploded from the ground, creating a daunting sight that should have stopped any approaching enemy in their tracks.

However, the bandits only paused for a short moment to endure the resulting shockwave, before braving the flames to continue forward once again.

Their glowing bodies protected them against the flames to a certain extent, allowing them to go through rather unscathed.

“Not bad,” Zhao Yunxiao praised before charging forward as well, directly stepping into the centre of the approaching bandits.

His spiritual sense extended out, encompassing not just the dozen bandits surrounding him, but all the hundreds of bandits present.

He could see that apart from the dozen, the rest of them were just standing there and watching, patiently waiting for further instructions from Jin Kequn.

As for the ones around him, their eyes were locked onto Zhao Yunxiao as they ran at him at top speed.

Too slow.

Zhao Yunxiao easily weaved through their punches and kicks.

To him, this was not too different from the second level of the Hundred Puppets Array, except there were far more puppets in the actual array.

As long as he tried, there was nothing too difficult about evading each and every attack that was headed his way.

But Zhao Yunxiao was not intending to simply remain passive.

Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!

A chop to the back of the neck knocked one of the bandits unconscious, and then the next.

While their Body of Light did strengthen their bodies, Zhao Yunxiao’s physique was not to be trifled with, either.

After all, these bandits’ mastery over the technique was far too lacking as compared to Qiao Yulang, and even the latter could not withstand a single punch from Zhao Yunxiao.

Even without using essence energy to strengthen his attack, Zhao Yunxiao was more than capable of knocking them out through pure physical strength!

Before long, all twelve of them were lying motionlessly on the ground.

“Banners Two, Three, and Four, advance!” Jin Kequn instructed. “Banners Five and Six, fill in at will!”

This time, three dozen bandits stepped forward, ready to take on Zhao Yunxiao at the same time. Behind them, another two dozen bandits got into position.

“Anyone who gives up now, I can consider sparing your lives. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not showing mercy,” Zhao Yunxiao was unfazed despite facing such a large number of opponents. “This is my final warning. Are you going to throw away your lives for an item that did not even belong to you in the first place?”

“We are champions of the moonlight! We will not betray our leader for the sake of personal safety!” the bandits shouted in unison.

“Oh?” Zhao Yunxiao could not help but feel surprised.

These bandits actually had this much loyalty towards their leader?

“Wait, stop!” Jin Kequn interjected at this point.

“What is it?” Zhao Yunxiao turned his attention to him.

“Will you really spare everyone if we give it to you?” Jin Kequn asked.

“Oh? Are you telling me that you wish to surrender?” Zhao Yunxiao smiled in amusement.

“...Only if you promise to spare everyone,” Jin Kequn answered hesitantly.

“Leader!” the other bandits exclaimed in shock.

“Silence! Let me speak with him!” Jin Kequn hushed the crowd before turning back to Zhao Yunxiao. “So? What will it be?”

“Why the change of heart?” Zhao Yunxiao asked in return. “Weren’t you saying earlier that it is your character and pride that makes you human, and that giving up will make you no different from mere beasts?”

“I did say that,” Jin Kequn admitted. “However, if I still insist on sending my men to their deaths after already seeing what you are capable of, wouldn’t that make me more of an animal?”

“Heh, that was fast. I thought it would take a bit longer for you to come to this conclusion, but it seems like you have rather keen eyes,” Zhao Yunxiao grinned. “All right. If you hand over the manual, I will promise not to kill any of you under one additional condition – all of you must never fall back to the ways of banditry in the future!”

“That’s simple enough. After all, we have already left the way of the bandit,” Jin Kequn agreed. “Wait here, I will go fetch the manual for you.”

He turned around to head back to his hut, leaving a group of dejected bandits to stand there in silence.

They felt indignant, but they also knew that Jin Kequn was right.

After that first exchange, all of them could tell that there was no way they could take down Zhao Yunxiao.

They had become stronger after practising the Moonlight Sutra, so they were actually confident of taking down almost any opponent.

However, their opponent this time was simply too strong.

There was no doubt about it.

Unlike them, who had merely chanced upon a cultivation manual recently, Zhao Yunxiao was a true blue cultivator!

And that was only considering Zhao Yunxiao himself.

There was still his twin brother waiting behind while holding Qiao Yulang captive. Once he joined the fray as well, there would truly be no chance for victory.

The bandits only hated the fact that they did not have enough time to practise the Moonlight Sutra before these enemies showed up at their door.

If they had more time, perhaps they would be able to learn just enough to drive these enemies away!

“Here, this is the manual for the Moonlight Sutra,” Jin Kequn reappeared after a short while. “I hope you stay true to your earlier promise and let us go.”

“Let me take a look,” Zhao Yunxiao received the book and started flipping through it.

Zhao Yunxiao frequently browsed through various documents during his free time as a sect librarian, and among those were all sorts of technique manuals.

That helped him establish a familiarity with different manuals, which in turn allowed him to quickly ascertain that this was indeed a proper cultivation manual.

As for the profundities within, that was something that would take time to slowly analyse.

Nevertheless, this was good enough.

“Good,” Zhao Yunxiao kept away the manual. “As promised, I will spare your lives for now. But heed my warning, if you were to ever go back to banditry, I will be the first to return for you. And when I do, the result will not be pretty.”

“We understand,” Jin Kequn said with a sigh. “Now then, can I ask you to release Big Brother Qiao?”

“Sure,” Zhao Yunxiao waved his hand, and the earthen chains around Qiao Yulang crumbled to the ground.

“Thank you for keeping your word,” Jin Kequn clasped his fists towards Zhao Yunxiao.

“Don’t worry about it,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “Now that we are done with that, let’s move on to the next matter at hand.”

“Next matter at hand?” Jin Kequn frowned as Qiao Yulang walked back to his side. “What do you mean?”

“Why do you sound surprised?” Zhao Yunxiao let out an evil smirk. “I only said that I would spare your lives. I didn’t say that I would be leaving right after I get the manual, did I?”

Jin Kequn’s frown deepened, and the bandits could not help but exchange worried glances.

Behind Zhao Yunxiao, even Nie Hanchang could not help but raise an eyebrow in surprise while hiding atop the gate.

Zhao Yunxiao had already got the manual and promised to spare their lives, so what exactly was left that he could be aiming for next?