Wu Guang kept himself to the traditions, and after retreating a few paces waited for the response of the Fan brothers.

"I, no we..." The oldest, Fan Shu, began to talk. But suddenly his voice quivered and he stopped. Still, he continued a few moments later

"We will comply to our words, but only we three will surrender to you. Release the qi poison on our brother"

The wording of this phrase was strange, after all, the conditions they proposed themselves already said that only they would surrender, so why again mention that?

Unbeknownst to them, Wu Guang was aware of the reason. The sudden quivering and pause Fan Shun took while speaking was not provoked by the fact they had to surrender. No, it was caused by a qi transmission that reached him right at that moment.

Wu Guang had intercepted it and so knew its contents, which were

"Don't tarnish your honor, surrender as you have agreed before the duel. The process is finished, I will take care of him before he leaves the room and restore your freedom"

Judging from the fact that the transmission was said in a female voice, Wu Guang guessed that the sender was Xia Fan. Still, even his fully extended aura could not find any traces of a 4th level Soul realm cultivator, why was that? If she was so well hidden that even Earth realm cultivators could not sense her, then she either had an extremely rare treasure, something impossible for a simple bandit, or had a wholly different cultivation level.

Wu Guang again analyzed every presence he could sense in the area. The results were similar, except for the fact that only 13 Spirit realm bandits remained in fighting condition. "Hmmm... Wait, could it be that her cultivation was mistaken? And she is that 1st level of the Soul realm cultivator I have been sensing but could not, yet, locate?"

Grasping at this thought, Wu Guang outwardly made it look like he agreed to the surrender terms and began using his aura to dispel the qi poison inside the middle brother. But in fact, he was using the agitation of his aura to analyze every nook and cranny of the cave. His senses told him that this mysterious cultivator was inside but they could not locate it, or her if he was right.

________________________________________________________________________

"Surrender your holding pouches and any concealed weapons you have on. Then follow me" With the poison dispelled, or recalled as it was created from Wu Guang's qi, he commanded.

A few seconds later, he caught the thrown pouches and a pair of long daggers that the youngest, Fan He, had on his body and stored them inside his holding pouch hanging on his belt. This was a deception, as Wu Guang stored everything inside his storage ring. Still, he preferred to make everyone believe he was using a holding pouch, especially as it would be the first thing confiscated or sealed in case he was captured.

"Let's go outside" Saying this, Wu Guang turned around and began moving towards the room's exit at a normal pace. Leaving his back open towards three possible hostiles could be dumb... But even the previous intercepted transmission confirmed that they would not act dishonorably. And they did not... The one who acted was no one else than the so well hidden cultivator Wu Guang had tried to find before.

*Whoosh*

Wu Guang only slightly moved his head to the side to avoid a short spear or javelin, that was meant to kill him.

Without turning back, he spoke up

"Tsk, if surrender was not an option, you three could have just chosen to fight to the death... And I would have gladly obliged. As for you, if your subordinates are so important, and their honor is even more... Then why the hell you simply did not challenge me openly for their freedom? I mean, all this makes me look at your honor talk as something akin to a dog fart"

He did not need to turn around. He had marked the strange qi fluctuations before the duel, and while using his aura after it found out that there was something hidden beneath one of them. Wu Guang cataloged it as something as it did not show signs of life, but had the presence of a cultivator. He did not like to guess about what he would meet, but now, even without turning back, he sensed that it was a golem. A golem with a real soul and consciousness infused into it!

And who's they could be if not for Xia Fan's?

"You had already known that I was here?" A grating, almost metallic, but unmistakenly female voice was heard.

"Obviously... How would I turn my back to three enemies if I did not know that the one to attack would be the fourth one?" Wu Guang remained still, without even turning around. Still, his aura had completely enveloped the room, making him able to react even to the smallest movement.

"You... You are not an imperial warrior, who the fuck are you?!" Xia Fan, as confirmed from her not denying Wu Guang's words about her subordinates, angrily questioned.

"I did introduce myself before. But well, as a lady is asking... I am Wu Guang, part of the force sent here to eliminate you by the 'Black Crow' commander"

"You are not part of the Imperial Army then?"

"No, I am not even from this island. But why do you should care? I am here to hunt your group down. Granted, I did not aim for you, but how could I not do so now that you are here?" Wu Guang inwardly smirked as this line greatly resembled one used by the so common arrogant youngsters that referred to themselves as 'Masters'. Which made it perfect for his current persona.

"I will kill you first!" With a heavy *Thump* the golem behind Wu Guang launched at him.

"Let's see you try then" Continuing with the manner he assumed, Wu Guang only now turned around. And met the golem's punch with one of his own.

*BAM*

It was only when the fists connected that Wu Guang managed to examine his, new, opponent. His senses had not lied to him, and the golem was indeed equivalent to a 1st level Soul realm cultivator in strength and presence. But the point that allowed it, or her, to act so confidently was the material it was made of. Indeed, however surprising it may be, the golem was made from nothing else than Blue Steel!

Blue steel was an amalgamation made from the Blue Iron rock, something mined from sea ground. Not only it was one of the strongest metals around, but it was also considered a decently rare Spirit material. Two things to note about it were that the only discovered mining point was located below the lowest, or first, level of the 'Inverted Tower' and that this metal was considered the best material around for Spirit weapons.

Indeed such material gave the golem an enormous advantage when fighting even against peak Soul realm cultivators. After all, not only it was unbreakable for most attacks, but it would even restore itself slightly every breath.

All of this information surfaced in Wu Guang's mind while he slid a few feet backward after the clash. His strength had been on the same level as the golems, and his skin was not damaged thanks to the strengthening... But the sheer difference in mass and weight placed him on the, slightly, losing side.

"Bluesteel? I wonder what refining grandmaster stepped so low as to work with outcasts" Wu Guang remarked after stopping.

"Regretfully you will be unable to find it out!" Shouted Xie Fan and moved forwards.

"Wait! Please first hear me out!" Wu Guang moved to the side while exclaiming.

"What?!"

"Could you stop speaking? The grating and screeching are making me feel sick" Wu Guang joked, provoking his opponent. Was it a smart move to make? Normally it would not be so against a construct, but he was fighting a golem imbued with a real, practically living, person and so...

"I WILL FUCKING TEAR YOU APART!"

Blue steel was impervious to fire, and would only melt when attacked by a spiritual flame. Regretfully for Xia Fan, Wu Guang was one of the, extremely rare, cultivators that had one inside himself.

"I will even let you attempt it" Wu Guang goaded her into action again while inwardly awakening the 'Ghostflame', as he kept calling it, fused into his body.

And so when the golem moved close enough, Wu Guang took the initiative to attack.

"Melt!" Activating 'Flaming Fist' while infusing the entirety of the 'Ghostflame' inside his qi, he threw out a fire-covered, deep-black, punch.

*Hssssss* *Drip* *Hssssss* *Drip*

With a hissing sound, the black flames began to melt the Bluesteel Golem's body as soon as the punch connected.

Xia Fan could not feel pain after being imbued into a construct, even so, she instantly understood that the situation was bad. Indeed, with a few drops of melted steel already falling to the ground, how could she not?

"Don't move or I will make the flame consume your entire body" Preempting any attempts at her moving away, Wu Guang warned.

"What do you want? I will not give up myself to the Empire, better kill me right away"

"Who said anything about giving up? Granted, I do want you to surrender... But not to the Empire"

"...explain"

"I do not have much time as the soldiers will be entering the cave shortly, so I will only say this once. Listen carefully, all of you!" The soldiers indeed had finished the cleanup of the bandit remnants, and so now were gathering near the entrance of the cave he, and his captives, were in right now.

To make sure that no one nearby could hear them, Wu Guang moved on to qi transmission to explain his, if it could be considered one, deal.

"You, Xie Fan, will serve me. I need a few trump cards, and your Bluesteel body is perfect for what is coming next. As for you three, I will let you honorably end your life on your own"

"Screw you" Xie Fan instantly dismissed the offer

"Mmm, I knew that it would happen..." Wu Guang did not spend any time convincing her and resorted to his mind power. Quite a simple spell, meant to make weaker cultivator lose control over soul and qi. But for Xie Fan who was inside a golem, it meant losing control with the entire construct body. Afterward, he stored the golem in his ring.

Storage rings could not store living beings, but a golem? It was basically a construct and so it could be stored with no problems, after all, it did not require anything to exist. Xie Fan would suffer a strange experience, but it would not provoke any injury or damage to her imbued consciousness and soul.

"Is Xie Fan's body around?"

"...yes" Fan He answered for the three of them.

"Good, tell me where is it so I can spin a story of how she died bravely fighting. As for you, my offer still stands. You will be tortured and executed anyway, so why not die with your honor intact?"

"..."

"..."

Fan Wuhan was the one, and only, to feel this was acceptable. He pointed towards a big rock that served as the only table in the room before saying that the body was hidden below.

"Brother! What are you doing? If we are alive, we shall be able to escape!" Regretfully the other two felt differently, and Fan Shu even exhorted him to surrender and remain alive for now.

________________________________________________________________________

A minute later, a loud explosion sounded from inside the cave, and then smoke and debris filled up the entire tunnel leading towards it.

A few soldiers, led by Zhao Lim, were preparing to enter it at that exact moment and so were forced to retreat to avoid the smoke and debris cloud.

Zhao Lim had no real feelings for Wu Guang, but he was tasked to look, and spy, after him and so he was prepared to go and search for him. Still, this explosion meant that something had gone bad. His assigned mission target could be very well dead!

Such failure was unacceptable for a solider of the Black Empire, and because of this his knees shook while he practically screamed into the tunnel

"Master Wu Guang?"

*Cough*

*Cough* *Cough*

"I'm fine... Almost" Wu Guang's voice responded, and a few moments he appeared. He was covered in soot and had a few burnt spots on the robes, but overall, he looked decently.

"What... What happened?"

"I will explain everything, but first, lit up the signal flare and call for the Vice-Commander. I met all of the targets inside but also found that they had prepared a serious trap against intruders. I am an outsider, so it should be better for a local, and far stronger, expert to look at it"

Hearing this, Zhao Lim instantly acted as instructed. Even though he had no feelings for someone from outside the island, Wu Guang's words and the previous explosion indeed be something important...