"Ora Ora Ora!"

Old Wolf completely did not expect that Jojo's rapid punches could be so fast, and he could only manage to block it with an iron rod in front of him before being hit by nearly invisible fist shadows. Aya standing behind could clearly see this guy's face distort in an instant, splattering blood like a sandbag being struck and flying out, just like the door panel that was kicked away before.

"Cough! Cough..."

"Boss?!"

The henchmen behind wanted to rush up but were stopped by Old Wolf coughing up blood on the ground and weakly raising a hand to deter them, "Back off, this is my business!"

"Hmph, didn't expect you to have some backbone."

With the help of his Stand, Jojo leaped several meters to arrive in front of Old Wolf, looking at the gaze in Old Wolf's eyes with some admiration, "But, can you still get up?"

"..."

Old Wolf seemed dazed, propping himself up on the ground with his elbow, not saying a word. The wound on his face continued to bleed, drops falling to the ground quickly forming a small puddle, a sight that was quite gruesome.

"Hey... um, are you alright? We were just sparring, if you can't go on, just surrender and let the guards arrest you for treatment."

Jojo, after all, was just an inexperienced girl who had gained decent strength after practicing the esoteric arts of her Stand, but she had never seen such a miserable sight before, especially when the person at her feet was battered by her barrage of punches. Even though she knew this guy was a villain, it still felt uncomfortable.

Even now, Old Wolf, who could only support himself with the ground, lowered his head and listened to Jojo's voice. In an angle Jojo couldn't see, a fierce smile appeared on the blood-soaked face.

To think she would still feel sorry for her opponent, this little girl truly was just a sheltered heiress who hadn't seen the real world, actually believing in the notion of just sparring?

Guards? If not for themselves, the fragile order in the slums wouldn't even exist, those guys, including the higher officials and authorities, would even be considerably lenient for the sake of maintaining the stability of the entire city of Locend.

Heh... If it were just sparring, he had already lost at this point, but in his eyes, this was a battle to the death.

"Say something!"

Jojo furrowed her brows, attempting to lean in closer to check on Old Wolf. It seemed that all his muscles were tense with pain... wait, that's not right, it seemed like he's not tensing from pain, but gathering strength?

Realizing something was off, Jojo immediately tried to summon her Stand to shield herself, but even though the Stand's movement was swift, the distance between her and Old Wolf was too close.

With his body tensed like a spring, Old Wolf sprang up with astonishing explosiveness, his right hand, prepared for so long, clawed unhesitatingly at Jojo's slender neck.

As Jojo's Stand, almost arriving at the same time in response to her call, was about to land the final blow on Old Wolf's head, it was interrupted as Jojo, who had lost her concentration, was unable to maintain her Stand and the purple-blue towering figure dissipated.

"Gah... Ah..."

Jojo, being choked at her throat, showed a painful expression, her hands subconsciously trying to pry Old Wolf's hand open. But difficulty breathing left her with no strength to do so, only able to stare at the ferocious face before her bursting into maniacal laughter.

"Hmph... Haha! Little girl, you're still too naive!"

Old Wolf was still covered in injuries, but now he was the victor. As for fair play, what mattered was winning, which was consistent with the rules of the battlefield.

These injuries he sustained weren't for nothing. At this moment, this little lass's life was in his hands, a slight increase in force could snap her vertebrae. Of course, Old Wolf had no intention of doing so, as killing her recklessly could only bring bigger trouble before understanding this young miss's identity.

But he could lock her up until that matter was settled, and his identity would be completely different. Even if the young girl was truly from a big family, there was no need to fear.

Moreover...

The old wolf's gaze lingered on Jojo's face for a moment before traveling down her neck. The young girl was also quite beautiful, and it wouldn't hurt to do something to her during the time she was held captive.

"Your lecherous look gives away that you're up to no good... Hey, have you forgotten about me?"

An abrupt voice sounded near the gate, and it was only then that the old wolf remembered there seemed to be another helper beside Jojo.

However, it didn't matter. The old wolf was confident in his heart. Even if this girl, who seemed to be no older than Jojo, was more skilled, he had a hostage in his hands. With this hostage situation and a group of subordinates by his side, how could the Flying Dragon Cavalry lose?

"If you surrender now, I might consider letting her go."

With a slight lift of his hand, Jojo's feet were already forced off the ground, eliciting painful groans.

"As you wish. You can't kill her."

Aya shrugged, indifferent. This child was truly in the throes of adolescence, actually believing what a bandit leader said, completely unaware of the harsh realities of society.

"You?"

At this point, the old wolf hesitated a bit. In his view, Aya was Jojo's bodyguard or some kind of protector, who should prioritize Jojo's safety above all else, allowing him to find a loophole while she was focused on Jojo. But what was with this calm expression and tone?

"Go, take her down!" Gritting his teeth, the old wolf ordered his men, then shouted at Aya, "If you dare to resist, this kid's life is forfeit!"

"Do antagonists always have only these two lines to say when they're holding hostages? Moreover—"

Aya sighed, prepared as if for exercise, and jumped twice on the spot. "I told you, you can't kill her."

Before the words had even settled, a strong wind suddenly swept through the previously calm front yard of the martial arts hall, and Aya's figure disappeared from where she stood.

"What?!"

Almost instinctively, the old wolf exerted force with his right hand. Aya's actions completely exceeded his expectations, as he, just as he had said, almost instinctively tried to kill Jojo.

But at the moment his brain issued this command, his body could not follow through.

Severe pain shot through his shoulder, and the old wolf's entire right arm lost strength, hanging limply. Jojo, powerless, fell down, and Aya caught her securely.

"Goodbye."

Embracing Jojo, Aya pivoted beautifully on her left foot and delivered a roundhouse kick to the old wolf's cheek, sending him flying for the second time, along with a row of bloody teeth flying out.

In complete control. Aya felt as if she were power leveling with a high-level alt account. With the abilities of the Golden Dragon, even just relying on her physical body, she was not someone these grunts could handle. With her movements unseen when the scales of her power were released, and her positioning taking them out in one go, her physical movement speed three times faster than that of ordinary people was simply beyond their ability to follow.

The scales seemed to be getting more and more proficient... After all, she had used it many times before, but she couldn't be completely happy about it. She only used this skill when her powers were sealed, which was quite frustrating.

Aya tapped her toe and pondered for a moment, then lifted her head to look at the remaining grunts. "Hey, why don't you all come at me together."

Slaughtering these weaklings, no cold hands.

...

Heading northwest out of the city of Luo, the terrain gradually transitioned from the plains brought by the river to hills, with a certain increase in altitude. Finally, they arrived at the Tianshan Mountains, the northern gateway to the Western Empire Chu.

A continuous range of mountains formed a natural barrier, but within it lies a corridor about twenty kilometers wide and nearly a hundred kilometers long, which is the key area defended by the Jiangdong military stationed there.

The military fortress, Yanmen Pass, was also built in this area, with the main general guarding the fortress being the unmatched warrior princess of the Western Empire, Chu.

"Is that Lord Xiang Ling, or should I say General Ling, right?"

Ten kilometers outside Yanmen Pass, a messenger responsible for delivering intelligence was knocked off his horse, and the culprit was squatting in front of him with a grin, asking, "Just by appearance, this man... or should I say youth, looks more like a big brother next door, with a gentle smile on his face that is quite affable. But it was this person who just casually cut off the neck of the galloping warhorse."

"Daring to attack soldiers of the Empire, you—"

"Alright, alright, no need for such words. Do you think I'm someone who is unaware of this matter?"

The youth covered the messenger's mouth with his hand, then let go. "I just wanted to ask if General Ling is at Yanmen Pass. I heard the steppe people's attacks have been quite frequent lately, and I don't want to travel all the way to the fortress only to find out that she's fighting the steppe people on the front lines."

"Spit! Addressing the general so casually... Ugh!"

The youth mercilessly stabbed the messenger in the thigh, still smiling on his face. "Sorry, I don't want to hear nonsense, so for every pointless word you say, I'll give you a stab."

"Do you think this kind of approach works against the Jiangdong military?!"

The soldier snorted, despite receiving another stab, but this time, being prepared, he didn't make a sound.

"Tough guy... quite a headache." The youth sheathed his knife. "But I don't want to rashly charge in. If I accidentally anger General Ling, it will be troublesome. I knew I shouldn't have let Saint Spirit go check on the situation at Broken Blue Mountain."

At that moment, a piercing sound cut through the air next to the youth, prompting him to jump back immediately. Following closely was a spear soaring through the air and accurately plunging into the ground where the messenger had been crouching just moments ago.

"This is a warning."

At some point, about a hundred meters away, a figure appeared sitting dignified on a horse, slowly lowering their right hand from the throwing position. The two pheasant feathers on the headpiece fluttered in the wind.

"General Ling, indeed living up to your gallant reputation."

The youth raised both hands slowly. "I truly meant no harm."

"Whether you meant harm is not for you to decide, and on my territory, those who harm my people must pay the price."

The crimson warhorse approached the spear slowly, and the person on the horse took the spear into their hand, staring coldly at the young man who had backed away ten meters.

"I will make reparations, please, General, calm down."

The youth still maintaining a respectful military salute, "Let me introduce myself first, I am Yuan, bringing a trade offer for General Ling."