45:What is the senior?

Shen Hao watched as the bandits charged toward him. Instead of fear, a hint of excitement appeared on his face.

He silently counted the seconds of his hand grenade's fuse in his mind. Once the bandits were close enough, he'd duck into his space and blow them all to hell.

Just as the bandits were almost upon him, a sudden sound of something slicing through the air came from behind them.

The bandits froze, their hairs standing on end. A wave of shock coursed through them.

Without hesitation, they reacted instantly. The leader of the bandits flipped midair, changing his posture. He knew that if he kept going after Shen Hao, he might get hurt. His only option was to evade the attack.

What he didn't expect was that Shen Hao had backup.

In a split second, a single green leaf whizzed past the bandits. The air around it seemed to ripple as it passed.

Despite the bandit leader's swift adjustment, the leaf still sliced through his left arm as if it was cutting through tofu.

His entire left arm was severed cleanly, falling to the ground in a grotesque display.

The leaf didn't stop there; it embedded itself in a large boulder, piercing through it.

Blood gushed from the bandit's left shoulder, soaking through his clothes. The sudden injury, combined with his earlier midair maneuver, left him off-balance, and he crashed to the ground, his face contorted in agony. He almost fainted from the pain.

Meanwhile, Shen Hao, witnessing this, couldn't help but gasp. He quickly snapped out of his shock and seized the opportunity to throw all his grenades at the bandits.

He swiftly leaped backward, taking cover behind a large stone about 8 meters away.

The bandit, still stunned, saw the grenades coming toward him. Though he had no idea what they were, he instinctively reached for his knife to chop them, thinking it was a more manageable attack compared to the previous leaf.

Enduring the pain in his shoulder, he barely managed to grab his weapon, but before he could swing, there was a deafening explosion.

Boom!

Flames shot into the sky, and a violent blast radiated outward from the bandit's position, sending debris flying in every direction.

The bandit raised his knife in a futile defense, but his body was still thrown back by the force of the blast, landing on the ground twitching before he finally succumbed to death.

The explosion had shaken the forest, and birds and animals scattered in every direction.

As the sound of the explosion faded and the smoke cleared, the spot where the bandit had been lying was now a deep, charred crater filled with the stench of explosives.

After a few moments, Shen Hao cautiously peeked from behind the stone. When he saw the bandit's mangled, unrecognizable body a dozen meters away, he let out a grin and raised his M416, unloading a barrage of bullets into the corpse.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

The bullets tore into the body, and their echoes reverberated throughout the Black Tiger Gorge.

After a few seconds, Shen Hao confirmed the bandit was beyond saving. He sighed in relief.

However, his thoughts quickly shifted. Someone had wounded the bandit before him, and Shen Hao wasn't sure whether they were an enemy or an ally. The weapon used had been far more lethal than anything he could imagine, capable of severing an arm without much effort.

Pondering for a moment, Shen Hao concluded that, since the mysterious person seemed to be targeting the bandits, they were likely on his side.

The individual was clearly skilled and wouldn't be easy to escape from. Whether friend or foe, it was better to meet them in person and find out.

With that thought, Shen Hao stood up from behind the stone, keeping his guard up in case of danger. If things went south, he was prepared to flee into his space.

The entire Black Tiger Gorge now felt eerily silent, with only the bandit's corpse left to mark the scene.

Shen Hao cupped his hands and bowed politely. "Thank you, senior, for your timely assistance. I hope you will reveal yourself."

As soon as his words fell, a figure descended from the sky, floating gracefully in mid-air.

What the hell? She's floating in the air!

Shen Hao was shocked. This ability was beyond the reach of mere true origin realm cultivators.

His luck seemed too absurd. He had encountered a figure of such high status in this place.

In the entire Danyang Empire, the only known martial expert of this level was the General of the State, the Fifth Prince, Yang Wuxian.

And now here, in this remote gorge, an unknown expert had appeared.

When he clearly saw the woman's white attire and the veil covering her face, only her bright, captivating eyes were visible. She radiated a cold, noble aura, giving off the unmistakable air of an otherworldly beauty.

Shen Hao's heart skipped a beat. Such a master was probably an absolute beauty.

He hesitated for a moment before cautiously speaking, "Thank you, senior, for saving me."

The woman was none other than Meng Xuanji.

She too was surprised, her gaze lingering on the M416 in Shen Hao's hands. A flicker of curiosity passed through her bright eyes.

Considering the explosion from earlier, she found herself impressed. The force of the blast was something even true origin cultivators would have a hard time reacting to in time.

Shen Hao's weapon had the power and speed to rival the peak of the true origin realm, but it was easier to dodge compared to a direct attack. She wondered if this mysterious device was something only a master could craft, or perhaps it was a product of some otherworldly technology.

Intrigued, Meng Xuanji thought to herself: Could Shen Hao be a master at crafting such weapons? Or did his sect have a weapon-making genius behind it?

She broke her thoughts and, in a soft tone, replied, "If I hadn't intervened, you would have been in danger."

Shen Hao's eyes twinkled. Such a powerful expert would be worth befriending.

With a smile, he said, "Senior is too modest. If it wasn't for your quick action in severing that bandit's arm, he might not have been so easily dealt with. I owe you my life. Is there any way I can repay you?"

Meng Xuanji, maintaining her aloof demeanor, simply replied, "Wine."

Shen Hao blinked, then quickly realized the implication. If it was wine, then it must have something to do with Wen Renyi.

He relaxed, knowing that fulfilling such a request would be simple.

"Of course, if it's wine, that can be arranged."