Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

He lifted the top half of the Three Waters Demon Lord’s body.

The flash of his blade had already sliced the Three Waters Demon Lord in two. The man had been dead for some time now.

He casually tossed the half-corpse to the ground.

With a THUD, the body landed, but it felt as if it had struck everyone’s hearts.

Zheng Bainian didn’t know what came over him. His knees simply went weak, and with a THUMP, he fell to the ground.

It was like a signal.

Tan Rong and Hou Ming couldn’t control their legs either, falling to their knees with a series of THUMPS.

The people behind them followed suit, kneeling one after another.

The scene was quite spectacular.

The three of them controlled most of the power in Black Water Stronghold. To see them leading a vast, dark mass of people in kneeling was a truly astonishing sight.

Even Song Hui, standing to the side, was at a loss.

’Should I kneel too?’ a thought surfaced in his mind.

On second thought, Jiang Ran had killed the Three Waters Demon Lord, which meant he had saved his life.

Kneeling to him didn’t seem like a big deal. In fact, it was only natural.

With a THUMP, he knelt as well...

And just like that, the entire Black Water Stronghold was on its knees.

Jiang Ran scratched his head. ’Why did they all kneel?’

He shook his head slightly.

"Alright, get up. What are you kneeling to me for?"

"I only came here to save someone..."

As he spoke, he suddenly noticed something inside the clothes of the Three Waters Demon Lord’s severed torso.

Protected by his deerskin gloves, he casually pulled the object out.

It was an object wrapped in oil paper, shaped like a book.

Jiang Ran hesitated for a moment before putting it away.

Only then did he continue speaking.

"Alright, the Three Waters Demon Lord is dead. Among you, who wants to die, and who wants to live?"

The moment he finished speaking, Zheng Bainian immediately shouted:

"We await the Young Hero’s command!"

"The Young Hero can decide our life and death!"

"Zuo Mingqiu colluded with the Three Waters Demon Lord, acting perversely and against all reason! He is unworthy of being the Grand Chieftain of our Black Water Stronghold."

"Your divine skill is unparalleled, Young Hero! You slew the Three Waters Demon Lord before our very eyes! We wish to recognize you as the Grand Chieftain of our Black Water Stronghold!"

"No, not the Chieftain of Black Water Stronghold, but the Lord of the Three Rivers Water Area!!"

"That’s right! We wish to recognize the Young Hero as the Lord of the Three Rivers Water Area!!"

For a moment, the shouts shook the heavens.

Jiang Ran winced at the noise. He leaped down from the roof and picked up the other half of the Three Waters Demon Lord’s body.

He’d actually regretted tossing it down a moment ago, worried these people might scatter and he’d lose his spoils of war.

He had only wanted to intimidate them, but it seemed he had overdone it.

He glanced back at Ruan Yuqing and Fang Li.

Fang Li was staring, dumbfounded, at the scene unfolding in the Black Water Stronghold.

Ruan Yuqing, however, wore a half-smile.

"Is Young Hero Jiang planning to start a family business?"

"..."

’Family business my ass,’ Jiang Ran thought. ’I’m a perfectly good Assassin. What would I do with a Water Stronghold on some river?’

"A dead man, and an old one at that. It should be fine, right?"

Jiang Ran handed the half-corpse to Ruan Yuqing.

Ruan Yuqing looked disgusted, but after a moment’s hesitation, she prepared to take it.

Jiang Ran then took another deerskin glove from his clothes.

"Put this on first."

"Is it yours?"

"Whose else would it be? Yours?"

"..."

Ruan Yuqing hesitated again, finally sighing after a long moment.

"Fine."

As if resigning herself to her fate, she took the glove, put it on, and then accepted the half-corpse.

Seeing Ruan Yuqing’s disgusted expression, Jiang Ran’s mouth twitched with irritation.

"My gloves aren’t dirty."

After saying that, he glanced back at Zheng Bainian and the others.

"Where is the Centennial Seven-Life Lotus that Fang Li bought today?"

"I’ll send someone to fetch it for the Young Hero at once."

Zheng Bainian didn’t dare to delay. He quickly sent someone to retrieve it. A moment later, a member of the Black Water Stronghold brought over the Centennial Seven-Life Lotus Jiang Ran had asked for.

Jiang Ran opened it for inspection. Seeing that its age was correct and the quality was superb, he nodded, hoisted Fang Li onto his back, and then pulled Zuo Mingqiu up from the ground.

"Let’s go."

He turned to face the crowd from the Black Water Stronghold.

"Move."

"Young Hero!"

Song Hui quickly said:

"What about Zhuo Fei?"

Jiang Ran glanced at Zhuo Fei, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, circulating his energy.

"He probably isn’t in critical condition. At least, he won’t die anytime soon."

"What happens after that will depend on his own fortune."

"Thank you, Young Hero."

Having received his answer, Song Hui didn’t dare to obstruct him further and stepped aside.

As for Zheng Bainian and the others, they scrambled to clear a path without a second thought.

The Three Waters Demon Lord, whom they had seen as their pillar of support, had been effortlessly cleaved in two.

Faced with such a figure, even if they all attacked together, it would likely only change the order in which they died.

The fact that Jiang Ran wasn’t continuing to kill them was already a blessing from the heavens.

How could they dare stand in his way?

And so it was for Jiang Ran and Ruan Yuqing: unstoppable on their way in, and no one dared to bar their way out.

A short while later, they returned to the docks, found their small sampan, and placed everyone aboard. Jiang Ran then activated his Inner Strength and started back toward the Three Rivers Gang.

Seeing Jiang Ran’s calm and composed appearance, Ruan Yuqing couldn’t help but furrow her brow slightly.

"You’re so young, not even as old as me. Where did you get such profound Inner Strength?"

"Are you that old?"

Jiang Ran glanced at Ruan Yuqing.

Ruan Yuqing subconsciously reached up to cover her chest.

"You’re spouting nonsense again!?"

Jiang Ran froze, then saw her gesture and understood. For a moment, he ground his teeth in frustration.

"You woman... you look as pure as ice and jade, but what on earth goes through that head of yours all day?"

"Weren’t you just talking about age? Where did your mind just go?"