Supreme Emperor of Mist

"Report!!!" an officer with Sun Wu Jian's distinct military language and a yellow flag on his hand approached.

"Group Leaders, we've received a report from our scouts from the back saying that there are a few flares fired. Would you like us to check?" the officer reported back to the two half-step Bone Reconstruction Layer experts.

They were two out of the six half-step Bone Layer experts pledging their servitude to Sun Wu Jian.

"En... Send a few men over to take a look and report back before we arrived at the Ten Miles Plain." one of the experts made a hand sign to approves the officer's suggestion.

As for the other one, his eyes remained closed like he was concentration on something.

"Humph!" his eyes were opened suddenly. And as he did, his expression somewhat turned uglier.

"One hundred soldiers to the northwest. Two hundred soldiers to the northeast, now," he said.

The horn to command officers further from their core unit is blown after his order. With a single blue flag pointing at the northwest and two pointing at the northeast, his orders were executed in perfection.

"Blue Flag! Team 11 to 20, follow my lead!" an officer from the northwest responded. Moving about a hundred steps forward, they immediately engaged with a group of bandits in hiding.

The same happened in the northeast. But the only difference is the battle over here is fiercer because a half-step Bone expert is leading the bandits.

"Brother Shun, great job. Let me take the lead to the northeast." one of the two experts under Sun Wu Jian said as he ordered five soldiers to follow him. All of the soldiers were in their peak cultivation of the Flesh Refining Layer.

"I'll be bothering you, brother Xie." the one surname Shun said.

"Let's go!" using the reins in his hand like a whip, the expert named Xie steered his stallion forward.

...

...

...

**Xiu!!!**

"*Aargh!**

Qin Lan killed two of the bandits with a flick of his finger. So far, close to fifteen of those criminals have fallen to his flying hairpins.

"Alchemist Qin, we've captured close to fifty bandits." the officer protecting the supplies carriage and carts came to update Qin Lan with the recent battle report.

"Thank you, officer. Is there any further order from Group Leader Yi?" Qin Lan asked.

"No further orders. Alchemist Qin may act independently as you see fit. My order is to stay guard and support you if necessary." the officer lowered his head slightly as he speaks to show a subservient attitude towards Qin Lan.

"Please convey my gratitude for Senior Yi's trust. I will make sure to ask for your help if needed." Qin Lan placed his palm on the bottom of the officer's cupped fists as he returns the gesture respectfully.

Soon, two groups approach the eastern side carefully. There was a flag with the word "Qin" on them as they came closer.

It turned out to be Huo Zunjie, Yi Feng, and Qiang Shou in a team. As for the other, it was You Qing and Han Xue.

"Young Master." Huo Zunjie said.

"Manager." the four of them greeted Qin Lan using the same title they've been using since pledging their loyalty to Qin Lan from the Spiritual Herb Farm.

"From how you guys looked, it seems the level of Yao Beast here is too low." Qin Lan chuckled. Except for a few claw marks on Qiang Shou, everyone else is unscathed.

"Heh..." all of them chuckled.

"Where Lu Yi?" Qin Lan asked.

"That fellow? He's been running wild after we entered the woods. Based on my understanding about him, he'll be popping up later in front of us when we..." Huo Zunjie was going to finish his sentence, but the sound of a galloping horse heading towards them interrupted him.

"Report!!!" a soldier carrying a yellow flag in hand came to the eastern convoy.

"At ease." the officer beside Qin Lan lowered his guard against the incoming soldier after he recognized the yellow flag in his hand.

"What is the urgent report is all about?" he asked.

"We've surrounded a group of six dressed in Qin Faction's attire. Would Alchemist Qin send someone to clarify their identity, please?" the message delivering soldier said.

"That's Lu Yi... My young master." Huo Zunjie felt like slapping his own forehead.

"Zunjie... Go drag that blockhead back here." Qin Lan shook his head.

"Also... Apologize to senior Yi and the officers while you're dragging him back." Qin Lan added.

"Brother soldier, please lead the way." Huo Zunjie said as the two of them left.

...

**Ding! - Ding!**

Qin Chan's Silver Willow Sword Technique was like a bane to the bandit leader's axe style focused on brute attack.

"Damn! How can a sword that seems easily broken withstand my attack?" the bandit leader complained as his attack was once again diverted to the side.

"I don't believe you can keep this up for long!" the bandit leader got furious. Out of a sudden, he decided to attack using his bare fists.

"Demonic Firefist!" bloody red Spiritual Energy wrapped around the bandit leader's fists. His stance changed remarkably the moment the martial technique was in use.

"Huh?" except for Qin Chan, who's fighting against the bandit leader, Qin Lan was the second person to notice the changes.

"Heavenly Flicking Fingers!" this time, Qin Lan was forced to use all his strength to fire the hairpins. Not one but five hairpins are flying towards the bandit leader carrying his intention to kill.

"Bam! - Bam! - Bam! - Bam! - Bam!" 

All five hairpins were destroyed in a blink of an eye. What's even more surprising is that the eyes of the bandit leader had turned red.

"Second sister, retreat!" Qin Lan took his Eight Transformation Treasured Brush out as he takes a leap using the Mistral Mirage Steps. After a few vanishing silhouettes, he appeared right in between Qin Chan and the bandit leader.

"Lan-Er!!!" Qin Chan was halfway on her third steps backward as Qin Lan landed in front of her.

"Pillar's of Kuangshan!" Qin Lan retaliates using one of his most unique spear martial techniques. But because no Offense Metal was used to materialize his weapon, it is undoubtedly weaker.

"ROAR!" like a wild beast, the bandit leader charged into the attack recklessly.

**Bam!**

Using both hands like a pair of claws, the bandit leader struggled against Qin Lan's martial attack.

"Heh... This guy... No wonder the Hushan Bandits can expand to over a few thousand men strong..." Qin Lan struggled to control his energy spear against an opponent with cultivation a few levels above him.

As a seventh-level Flesh Refining expert, Qin Lan might be formidable to the point he's capable of fighting against those two levels above him. But the situation changed when it comes to fighting against those in a cultivation layer above him.

Each level of a Bone Reconstruction Layer is comparable to an entire layer of Flesh Refining. And the minimal requirement to be recognized as the first level of a Bone Cultivator is to possess a Spiritual Qi equivalent to 10,000 Flesh Foundation Pills.

Although Qin Lan's unique physique allowed him to hold three times more Spiritual Energy than the others, that doesn't mean he's equivalent to a second-level Bone Cultivator.

The reason behind this logic is because the differences in Spiritual Energy's quality are too vast.

It was like comparing a broth of soup made from flesh against another pot of soup boiled from the bones. The former might be fragrant, but it will undoubtedly lack in depth of flavor compared to the latter.

(Recap: The Mistral Flesh Diagram adds 100% of Spiritual Energy Qin Lan can store. Along with his Spiritual Container Physique, that's 200% extra on top of his cultivation. So as a seventh-level cultivator, Qin Lan's body may store 21,000 Spiritual Energy or Flesh Foundation Pill equivalent.

A Bone Reconstruction Cultivator starts with 10,000 plus Spiritual Energy on the first level. Reaching 20,000 is their minimum target to become a second level. So even a 19,999 storage cultivator is still the first-level bone.

Next came the quality. Like it was described, Comparing a bone reconstruction's Spiritual Energy is like comparing a meat broth with a bone broth. Although this lack in certain commonsense, we can assume that a marrow broth is much thicker and nutritious than a mere flesh broth. I hope this explained the differences in a way)

"Aargh! Kill all of them! Demonic Firefist!" the same boxing technique was in use over and over again. In exchange for the sudden strength gain, it clouded all his mind and robbed his sanity away.

"Everyone below seventh-level of cultivation, retreat. My second sister, give me a hand." Qin Lan ordered. As he pulled his energy spear back, there's an evident fingerprint mark all over the speartip, hinting how damaging is the bloody red Spiritual Energy.

"Demonic Firefist!" the bandit leader charged at where Qin Lan is.

Forcefully breaking the energy spear apart, a new energy weapon appeared when Qin Lan focused his Spiritual Energy on the Eight Transformation Treasured Brush.

"What kind of flexible Offensive Treasure is that?" Sun Wu Jian's soldiers and the officer that talked with Qin Lan a little while ago rubbed their eyes as they look at how Qin Lan's energy spear turned into a golden sword.

"Hah..." Qin Lan held the handle of his golden sword with both hands.

"What did Alchemist Qin is trying to do?" they're guessing.

'Mountain Splitting Strike...' Lu Qing Yun whispered.