Five years had passed, and Li Pingfu had grown into an outstanding young man—his strides as powerful as a dragon's, his waist as slender as a wasp's, his arms as long and muscular as an ape's, showcasing explosive strength.
His body stood firm like a boulder, his lower stance as stable as an ancient tree rooted at the mountain's base. A steel-tipped arrow rested on his bowstring, drawn nearly to its full arc. In the next moment, with a resounding twang, the arrow shot forth like a meteor chasing the moon, striking Old Huang—the fastest among them—with pinpoint accuracy.
The arrow pierced Old Huang's neck, blood spurting out as he let out a pained howl and tumbled down the slope.
With careful planning against unprepared foes and the advantage of a ranged attack, even the nimble-footed leader of the beekeepers, who had roamed these wild mountains for years, stood no chance.
Upgrading from a simple leather slingshot to a crossbow, Li Pingfu's opening strike was swift and devastating—cutting off the snake's head first.
His brothers, their blades thirsting for blood, wasted no time. They drew their swords and charged, stabbing wildly at the fallen Old Huang until his blood splattered like a smashed watermelon.
The remaining beekeepers, witnessing this, were scared out of their wits. Without any will to resist, they too were chased down and hacked to pieces.
'If only we had a crossbow...'
Li Pingfu lamented inwardly. At this range, a crossbow bolt could have sent an enemy flying, piercing through them and into the tree behind.
Unfortunately, crossbows were weapons regulated by the imperial court. Privately forging or purchasing one was a capital offense.
"Brother Pingfu, four corpses—none left alive."
The speaker was a well-featured youth ranked "second" among them, named Xie Xiaodao, whose throwing knives were peerless. Wiping blood from his hands, he handed the "loot" to Li Pingfu. "We've searched them and finished the cleanup. Bury them here?"
Under Li Pingfu's repeated emphasis, every brother treated "finishing the job" as the top priority. The four beekeepers had been chopped into mincemeat.
"Bury them here." Li Pingfu counted the spoils—there wasn't much silver, around thirty or forty taels, but they'd found a martial arts manual titled "Shadowless Evasion Technique."
He skimmed through it before closing it disinterestedly.
The longer the name, the worse the technique. This was a common, low-tier manual, far inferior to "White Crane Style."
"Sell the 'Shadowless Evasion Technique' on the black market. Give Little Five and Little Seven five taels each for their injuries. I'll take ten, and the rest is yours to split."
Li Pingfu wasn't stingy with silver. He could have forgone his "ten taels," but a leader who was overly generous risked breeding ambition among his brothers.
Human greed was inevitable—you couldn't withhold meat entirely, but neither could you feed them until they were stuffed.
"Understood!" Xie Xiaodao replied excitedly. Following their big brother truly meant eating well.
After deducting the share for their leader and the medical expenses for Little Five and Little Seven, the remaining five could still divide about three taels each.
As for Little Five and Little Seven, who hadn't contributed to the fight yet received more, Xie Xiaodao felt no resentment. Instead, it made him feel more secure.
If he were ever injured, Big Brother Pingfu would treat him just as generously—never abandoning his brothers.
He quickly shared the good news with the others, and everyone broke into cheerful smiles. As they buried the mangled corpses, they chattered about heading to a tavern for drinks and meat.
"Finally got our revenge!"
"Daring to sic killer bees on Little Five and Little Seven—this is what they deserve!"
Suddenly, Old Six asked, "Huh? Where did the killer bees go?"
"Idiot!" Li Yuan smacked Old Six's head. "Something dangerous must've scared those beekeepers into fleeing, and they just happened to run into us. The killer bees probably scattered too. Or did you want to get stung?"
With some playful banter, the matter was brushed aside.
Li Yuan glanced toward the mountains. Indeed, in these deep, untamed woods, anything could happen.
Li Pingcan wasn't in a hurry to descend the mountain. Instead, he directed the killer bees to surround the smaller honeybees.
He had originally considered contracting a bee colony to boost honey production for the family, but his contract slots were limited, and binding ordinary insects felt wasteful. Whether the contracted insects died in battle or of old age, the contract slot would enter a cooldown period.
Unless the colony reproduced.
For example, if a new queen emerged from the same colony, the contract could be seamlessly transferred without going through a "divorce cooldown."
Holding out for quality over quantity, he had waited—and his patience was rewarded with the killer bee queen.
Now, as the killer bees encircled their prey with predatory intensity, the smaller bees trembled in fear, huddling pitifully in their hive.
"Stockpiling food is pointless compared to stockpiling weapons."
"Why should I bother making honey when I can just command the killer bees to steal it from the smaller bees?"
A brilliant idea struck Li Pingcan.
Wild honey was expensive, prized by noblewomen in town for its beautifying properties—and it bore no trace of "magic."
Of course, to maintain a steady supply, he wouldn't exploit the wild bees too harshly, leaving them enough nectar to survive.
Over these five years, to increase peach tree yields, Li Pingcan had experimented with various grafting methods. But cultivating a stable new variety was still a work in progress—a long and arduous road.
The same went for mushrooms. Even without using "Spore Growth," production could only be maintained at a fixed level.
This made him yearn even more for the "Plant Growth" skill and deepened his admiration for the botanists and agricultural scientists of his past life.
The beekeepers' diluted honey was mediocre, hardly worth taking. With a wave of his hand, Li Pingcan dispersed the killer bees, sparing the smaller bees' lives.
By replacing the "lazy and gluttonous" queen, the swarm had become more spirited and united, capable of acting as a cohesive force—a tremendous asset.
Even if the Bee Alliance caused trouble in the future, the killer bees alone would pose a serious threat to ordinary beekeepers.
But Li Pingcan was pondering something else: Could the killer bee queen form a symbiotic relationship with a treasure-grade plant?
After all, the Blood Qi-grade centipede and the treasure-grade Chonglou had given rise to the Seven-Leaf Purple-Gold treasure herb, catapulting the family's martial arts progress.
The bee queen was already treasure-grade. Paired with a treasure-grade plant, perhaps an even more potent medicinal treasure could be born.
Now that was something to look forward to!
Returning home, Li Pingcan pushed open the courtyard gate to find the entire family in high spirits.
"What's the good news?"
He blinked—he and his elder brother had been gone for less than two hours.
Glancing around, he saw his father striding over with vigorous steps, each movement brimming with an imposing aura, as if surrounded by sharp winds. The short spear at his waist gleamed ominously.
This demeanor was entirely unlike his usual self.
"Father! You've reached Blood Qi peak too?" Li Pingcan immediately realized, his face lighting up with joy.
"Indeed. I never thought I'd see this day in my lifetime."
Li Rongzhou was in excellent spirits, filled with indescribable satisfaction and pride. Twelve years ago, forced to flee disaster, he had spent his family's wealth and lost access to medicinal aids, resigning himself to never advancing further. Yet now, against all odds, he had reached the peak of the Blood Qi realm.
The Seven-Leaf Purple-Gold treasure herb had played an indispensable role.
With three Blood Qi realm martial artists in the family—two of them at peak Blood Qi—there was a real chance of breaking through to the Divine Execution realm.
Li Rongzhou sighed. "My martial talent isn't as good as your elder brother's. I'll likely be stuck at Blood Qi peak for a long time."
It was common knowledge that minor breakthroughs in martial arts came easily, but major barriers required many times more effort to overcome.
Li Pingcan nodded understandingly.
A hopeful smile crossed Li Rongzhou's face. "Once your elder brother breaks through to the Divine Execution realm, our family can open a martial arts school!"