CHAPTER 115: SOARING DRAGON SECT

Elder Hao’s face darkened at their words, his previously amused gaze turning icy.

"So... now even bandits have grown bolder since I retired," he muttered.

He slowly rose to his feet, his frail-looking body swaying slightly with the movement. But there was no fear in his eyes. only fury.

"You little mongrels dare threaten me for some beast cores?" he said coldly. "Fine. Come and take them... if you can."

The leader of the group scoffed. "Big talk for an old dog." He raised his saber. "Kill them both. No need to hold back."

The moment those words fell, the bandits lunged forward, their sabers gleaming with a cold edge.

Igaris calmly stepped forward in front of the carriage, cracking his knuckles.

"Leave them to me, Elder Hao," he said without looking back. "I could use them for warm-up."

The old man raised an eyebrow but didn’t object. He wanted to see how deep this boy’s strength went.

"Kill the cocky brat!"

The bandits came fast and fierce — but they had no idea who they were facing.

"Die!"

The first man slashed downward with a roar, but Igaris stepped to the side with inhuman precision, barely moving his body. His hand lashed out, striking the man’s wrist.

Crack!

The bandit screamed as the bones shattered, his saber clattering to the ground.

Igaris grabbed the man’s head and slammed it into the carriage post with a thud, rendering him unconscious.

With his Legendary Rank power, thus small bandits were like kids to him.

"Swoosh!"

Another came from behind with a sweeping horizontal strike. Without turning around, Igaris ducked low and swept the attacker’s legs.

Thud!

The man hit the ground, only to be knocked out cold with a single chop to the neck.

Two more tried to flank him from both sides.

But...

Igaris’s eyes flickered faintly, calculating every movement. His body spun gracefully between the two attacks like a shadow slipping through blades.

Then bam! and bam!

Two punches. one to the gut, one to the jaw and both men crumpled like broken dolls.

The remaining three bandits hesitated, visibly shaken.

"What... what the hell is he?" one whispered.

"He’s not just some ordinary brat...!"

"Forget this! Run!"

But it was too late.

"Whoosh!"

Igaris dashed forward, appearing in front of them like a phantom.

Three punch strikes. Three gaping holes on their bodies.

Silence returned to the forest path.

Now only one man remained — the one who had issued the first threat. He was trembling head to tow.

Elder Hao stepped toward him slowly, his eyes sharp.

"You said Huo is dead," he said. "Who killed him? Who’s the new leader?"

The man stumbled backward, terrified. "I... I don’t know the details! Just that someone from the Poison Sect challenged him... took over the group after he died!"

"Poison Sect..." Elder Hao muttered grimly behind him.

"Thank you," Igaris said.

Whack.

He killed the man out with the back of his fist.

The bandits lay scattered like bloody leaves on the road. He made sure to killed all of them to nip problem in the bud.

Elder Hao finally stepped forward, chuckling dryly. "Brat, I was planning to test your strength further. Looks like now I don’t have to. You’re fully qualified to join as a Outer disciple. No test is going to stop. Jus make sure you don’t fall for others trickeries."

Igaris exhaled slowly, wiping his hand on a cloth. "You praise me too much, Elder Hao. They were too weak. Nothing special."

The old man gave him a sidelong glance. "Brat, you can’t fool this old man. I know you must have stumbled upon a great opportunity... but I won’t ask. Just don’t bring trouble into the Village."

"I have no intention of causing trouble," Igaris replied with a smile. "But if trouble comes, I’ll bury it."

The two continued their journey.

And far away... in the shadows of the Poison Sect, a mysterious figure received word of Elder Hao’s movement and of the unknown youth who crushed a squad of bandits bare-handed.

He smiled creepily.

"So... a new piece enters the board, huh?let’s see how long he survives."

---

The carriage finally came to a stop the next afternoon.

Igaris and Elder Hao stepped out, finding themselves at the base of a vast mountain range. Each peak rose so high that the tops were swallowed by clouds, giving the entire place a divine and oppressive aura. Wind howled softly through the mountain pass, and the scent of pine and cold stone filled the air.

"This is it, Yuhan," Elder Hao said, placing his hands behind his back as he looked up the long staircase. "Very soon, someone from the sect will come down to give you a test. If you pass, then you’ll officially become an outer disciple of the Soaring Dragon Sect."

Igaris followed the old man’s gaze and narrowed his eyes. The stairway was long, carved into the mountain face, rising like a stone ribbon through the mist. It was difficult to tell where it ended. Clouds draped over the upper parts like a curtain drawn by the heavens themselves.

"What kind of test is it?" Igaris asked, his voice calm but curious.

"I don’t know the exact nature of it," Elder Hao replied honestly. "But most likely, they’ll ask you to climb all the way up those stairs. There are 10,000 steps in it."

Igaris’s eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight. From where they stood, the staircase looked endless, each step carved with precision and age. It truly looked like something out of legend, like the Stairway to Heaven.

It was intimidating, even for someone like him.

Elder Hao noticed the flicker of uncertainty on his face and chuckled lightly.

"Scared? Hah, don’t be. They don’t always require a full climb. Sometimes they set the threshold at a quarter or halfway up. It depends on who’s overseeing the trial. If you’re lucky, they’ll go easy on you."

Igaris let out a breath and nodded slowly. "That’s a relief," he said, though his eyes never left the stairway.

And very soon, he saw a silhouette of a figure was seen descending from the sky.