Wang Brothers

"Ho!"

"Ha!"

"Drink~"

The training ground was bustling with activity in the early morning.

Some of the Teng Village clansmen practiced spear techniques, while others practiced Tiger Fist. Some even sat cross-legged, cultivating Inner Force techniques. Still others lifted stone locks, rolled iron balls, or carried water buckets to temper their strength. Though these folk training methods were simple, they were quite effective.

The clan leader, Teng Yunlong, had already ordered the Hunter Squad to stop hunting temporarily and train within the village for ten days. Quite a few clansmen had already sensed the danger, and under such circumstances, they trained even harder.

The men were not the only ones training; the women were not idle either. Farming, washing clothes, cooking, taking care of the children, and countless other chores all fell to them.

Originally, even the weaker men would have been busy with household tasks. However, after Gu Sheng gave the order for nearly the entire population to become soldiers, every able-bodied man came out to train diligently and guard against any enemies that might appear.

"Clip-clop, clip-clop~~~"

A burst of hurried hoofbeats rang out, and the earth suddenly began to tremble.

"Hoofbeats!"

Almost everyone on the training ground turned to look toward the village entrance. The White Horse Gang collected their annual dues every year, and everyone was already familiar with the commotion caused by their approaching horses.

The tremors clearly came from the hoofbeats. Yet these scattered hoofbeats were obviously different from the White Horse Gang’s well-trained cavalry… This time, the visitors were not from the White Horse Gang!

The members of the Hunter Squad, who had not gone hunting today and were instead training on the grounds, all paled.

It was a cavalry unit. A single glance revealed a vast mass of people—at least six or seven hundred.

"Enemies are here! Everyone, be on guard!"

A shrill shout rang out. Teng Qingshan, who had been cultivating with Vermillion Fruit Wine in one corner of the training ground, shot out two piercing rays of light from his eyes. He strode into the midst of the panicking clansmen and shouted, "Don’t panic! Someone go inform the patriarch and Qinghu. The rest of you, follow me and see what these demons are after!"

"Qingshan!"

"Qingshan is here!"

"Qingshan is right!"

Teng Qingshan’s appearance gave everyone a backbone. One by one, they picked up their weapons and donned the armor they had prepared, then followed Teng Qingshan forward.

"Haha… Boys of Teng Village, open the gate for me!"

A wanton laugh exploded beside everyone’s ears like a rumbling thunderclap. At the very front of the cavalry was a bald, burly man clad in heavy armor. The fine horse beneath him was crimson from head to hoof and stood eight feet tall—a Crimson Fire Steed from Great Rong Province, worth a thousand taels of silver.

Two enormous reddish-copper warhammers hung from the Crimson Fire Steed’s saddle. Each one likely weighed more than a hundred jin, and each hammer was covered in small spikes. It was difficult to imagine what would happen to someone struck by one.

The two heavy copper hammers were connected by an iron chain more than a zhang long. This weapon could apparently also be used as a meteor hammer.

The bald man suddenly leaped from the Crimson Fire Steed. His movements were bizarrely graceful, as though a feather were drifting through the air, displaying his profound Inner Force cultivation.

"Open!"

In midair, the bald man laughed loudly and roared. He swung the large copper hammer in his left hand toward Teng Village’s tightly shut gates.

"Whoosh~"

The copper hammer streaked across the sky like a meteor, producing a terrifying, ear-piercing shriek as it crashed toward Teng Village’s gates.

"Clang~"

Just as the hammer was about to strike the gates, a large stone lock arrived first. It cut across the sky and collided accurately with the copper hammer. The stone lock exploded into a pile of fragments, while the copper hammer was knocked off course. After flying crookedly for a short distance, it smashed into the ground, rolled twice, and came to a stop.

"How is that possible?"

The numerous cavalrymen behind the bald man sucked in a cold breath. This was their Second Master’s attack that had never failed!

The bald man himself was even more shocked. He knew exactly how powerful this move of his was. Even another First-Rate Expert might not be able to receive it, yet someone in this insignificant little mountain village had broken it. He could not help wondering whether they had come to the wrong place.

The three brothers were all famous experts who had made names for themselves across the Nine Provinces. They had returned to their hometown intending to establish a family estate and challenge the White Horse Gang for a foothold in Yicheng. They had only decided to make a quick profit after learning that a small village like Teng Village might be hiding enormous wealth. Who could have guessed that they had run into a tough opponent?

"Giddy-up~"

"Giddy-up~"

Two more men arrived from behind the cavalry, and the riders in front hurriedly made way. The two newcomers brought nearly a hundred elite riders, each clad in armor and a cloak and carrying distinctly different weapons.

The group numbered nearly a thousand in total. They were led by three commanders riding Crimson Fire Steeds: a man holding a Cleaving Mountain Blade in the center, the bald man with a pair of copper hammers on the left, and a grim man holding a long spear on the right.

"I am Wang Tieshan. I have brought my brothers Wang Tiefeng and Wang Tiehai to pay a visit. Please ask the person in charge of Teng Village to come out and meet us!"

The man at the front, holding the Cleaving Mountain Blade, spoke in a clear, resonant voice. His words echoed beside everyone’s ears. His voice was not loud, yet every word was distinct.

"A visit? Do you really need to bring so many people for that?"

Gu Sheng’s voice rang out. Then six phantom images crossed more than ten zhang and crashed onto the empty ground in front of Teng Qingshan and the others.

"Roar~"

"Awooo~ Awooo~~"

Roars of beasts resounded through the heavens. The warhorses outside Teng Village all grew restless, neighing, stamping their hooves, and crying, "Neighhh~~" If the riders had not held their reins tightly, the herd would already have caused a disastrous stampede.

As the dust settled, the figures of the Black Wind Leopard and Blood Shadow Wolf emerged. Gu Sheng sat atop the Black Wind Leopard, coldly staring at the group before him.

The Iron Mountain Gang—the gang that would stir up trouble in Yicheng four years later. They would threaten the White Horse Gang’s position and force Fourth Master Hong to act personally, creating the series of chaotic events in Yicheng.

The future leaders of the Iron Mountain Gang were precisely the Wang Brothers standing before him. The Iron Mountain Gang acted ruthlessly, and in the original story, they even slaughtered an entire village. Although they claimed it was to make an example of others, Gu Sheng could not bring himself to admire them. Bandits who ignored all rules and were cruel and vicious were better off dead to the last man.

"Who might you be?"

Wang Tieshan appeared extremely cautious, putting on a polite expression.

"Teng Village—Teng Qinghu!"

Gu Sheng faced him coldly, a trace of mocking laughter at the corner of his mouth. "There’s no need for pleasantries. Get straight to the point. What do you want with Teng Village?"

"In that case, I’ll speak plainly!"

Wang Tieshan pondered for a moment before speaking in a clear voice. "The three of us have wandered the martial world for many years and made something of a name for ourselves. We’ve also gathered a group of brothers. Now that the fallen leaves have returned to their roots, we intend to return to Yicheng and establish a foundation.

"Unfortunately, the White Horse Gang is too overbearing, and the few of us are too isolated to stand against them. Therefore, we hope to recruit talented people from all sides and gather them together. We heard that Teng Village is the foremost large stronghold in Mount Dayan, so we came especially to invite you to discuss important matters."

Wang Tieshan did not reveal his original intentions. The instant Gu Sheng appeared, he understood that devouring Teng Village in one bite today was absolutely impossible. Having wandered the martial world for many years, how could he have never encountered strange people capable of controlling exotic beasts?

The black leopard and five red wolves were clearly no ordinary creatures. Tamed beasts of this sort were extraordinarily lethal against cavalry. If they forcefully charged the village, they might lose everything the brothers had accumulated.