There was no alternative.
With a knife at his neck, what else could be done but eliminate the threat?
Mo Chen's philosophy was simple: if someone did not offend him, he would not offend them.
But if someone did, he would cut off the root of the problem.
...
Ma Xiaoshan's mind was blank.
Facing the fierce gaze of the young man opposite, his heart trembled.
Having ridden through mountains and forests across the four seas for years, he had never seen a firearm like this in the hands of a youth.
Its power defied imagination.
No need to ignite a fuse, no need to reload between shots.
Didn't all firearms, even muskets, require these steps?
This was beyond Ma Xiaoshan's comprehension.
He could feel fear rising in the hearts of his usually fearless subordinates.
Six brothers, galloping away, had not even grazed the edge of the young man's clothes.
Even Ma Xiaoshan doubted his own senses.
Yet he quickly suppressed his panic.
No matter how powerful the firearm in the young man's hands, he was only one person.
An ordinary person with no martial arts skills.
If that was the case, he could be scared away.
Where would Ma Xiaoshan save face otherwise?
Moreover, the reward on the line was extremely tempting.
"Brothers, don't be afraid! He is alone! Spread out and attack together! Whoever captures him today will be rewarded with 10,000 taels of silver!"
Ma Xiaoshan directly raised the stakes.
Hearing the reward of 10,000 taels, the bandits' eyes burned with desire.
Ten thousand taels!
For a moment, they set aside fear of death.
The Third Master was right.
No matter how powerful that firearm was, the young man was still just one person.
Even if he hit every shot, he could only take down one at a time.
Luck would decide who survived.
The bandits scattered and kept their distance.
Almost simultaneously, they charged forward in perfect harmony.
Mo Chen seemed unaware of the danger.
He simply picked up the golden Desert Eagle, waited for someone to enter range, and fired.
Ten shots. Ten bandits fell from their horses, dead.
The remaining bandits, surprisingly, did not panic.
Instead, they were ecstatic.
They noticed the firearm could only fire ten shots at a time.
Now they were closing in. There was no chance for the young man to reload.
...
"Daddy~"
Sikong Qianluo could not help exclaiming.
Sikong Changfeng felt a twinge of regret.
He wanted to see what backup plan this extraordinary youth had.
But the young man was obviously arrogant, relying solely on his firearm against so many horse thieves.
A foolish dream.
Fortunately, everything was still under control.
Sikong Changfeng gave Sikong Qianluo a reassuring look.
As he circulated Qi through his body, his pupils suddenly shrank.
In his incredulous eyes, the handsome youth jumped from his horse.
Blue electricity coursed all over his body.
In an instant, the current spread rapidly, filling the air.
He resembled a god bathing in thunder and lightning.
The approaching bandits, brandishing sabers, froze in fear.
Horror etched on their faces.
Without giving them a chance to react—
Boom!
A bolt of blue lightning struck.
The deafening thunder accompanied the blinding light.
From afar, it looked like countless electric pythons with bared fangs and claws shot from the void.
Any horse thief struck became a charred corpse.
Even those not directly hit were paralyzed by the spreading current, writhing violently on the ground.
After a moment, many were gasping their last breaths.
Ma Xiaoshan and his trusted men at the outer edge were stunned.
They barely had time to think.
Only one thought remained: escape!
Instinctively, they turned their horses and fled.
After a few breaths, Ma Xiaoshan felt alarm surge.
He grabbed his trusted subordinate, shielding him, and pushed his Iron Shirt technique to the limit.
Boom!
The blinding electric light rendered everything pale and indistinct.
When the onlookers' vision gradually returned, where were the two bandits who had fled?
Only black ash drifted away in the wind.
"Dad, there is no need for us to be so wary of that young man. I don't think he is a bad person."
Sikong Qianluo was dissatisfied with Sikong Changfeng's decision to send someone to investigate the young master.
"Qianluo, I am the Third City Lord of Xueyue City.
I am responsible for the safety of the residents of Xueyue City.
You just saw that young man enter our city.
To be honest, even I have never seen anyone in the world possess such mysterious power.
Do you think I can allow an unstable factor to exist in Xueyue City?"
He had witnessed the battle two hours ago.
Until now, Sikong Changfeng's state of mind, which had been as solid as a rock for many years, still fluctuated.
How could a mortal control the power of thunder and lightning?
Only martial arts masters who have reached the Realm of Free and Unrestrained Heaven can, to some extent, mobilize the power of heaven and earth and trigger lightning.
But what he had just seen.....the young man driving thunder and lightning...was completely different from anything Sikong Changfeng understood about lightning.
Even for a strong cultivator in the Free Heaven Realm, it would be impossible to trigger such a terrifying force of lightning all at once.
Yet in front of this young man, attacking with lightning seemed as easy as activating internal energy...like it was part of his body.
Sikong Changfeng even felt a sense of absurdity.
When the young man drove the thunder, he himself seemed to become thunder and lightning.
How was this possible?
He, Sikong Changfeng, could not do it.