The sky was still dark, and the sun barely peaking above the horizon, as the carriage made its way down a winding path in a dew-covered forest. The soft clip-clop of hooves echoing in the silence of the dawn.
Leo was half-asleep, stranded somewhere between reality and dreams. Celeste was still cultivating, siting still as a statue. Due to her ice-type cultivation technique, the morning chill had gathered inside the carriage, causing Leo shiver slightly every now and then.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling cut through the silence. There was a loud thunk as something struck the wood of the carriage. Leo woke up with a start got to his feet, understanding that it was clearly the sound of an arrow. He looked towards the window, searching for the attacker.
Celeste just opened her eyes and coldly said, "Root Opening realm. Six of them. Pathetic."
Footsteps echoed through the forest as a group of men wearing mismatched armor and and holding crude weapons emerged from the treeline. Most had sabers or spears, and a lanky one on the back held a bow. He had his bowstring stretched, and an arrow notched, aiming directly at Celeste through the window.
Leo moved instinctively, putting himself in the arrow's path, as if to protect her. Seeing this, Celeste's ice-mask cracked ever so slightly, and her words lodged themselves in her throat.
The biggest man in the group, definitely the leader, stepped forward and shouted, "Lady, hand over your storage rings and spiritual weapons. Judging by the defense of that carriage, you definitely shouldn't be poor. We are the Bloody Brothers of this Rain Mist Forest, and all of us are in the Root Opening realm. So, unless you want to die, give us your valuables."
By the time the man had finished speaking, Celeste had an a frosty expression on her face. "Threatening me? You have to be qualified first."
The men burst into laughter at her words, and the leader said, "Hahahaha. Do you hear this, brothers? This woman is talking about our qualifications. Alright then, we'll show her our qualifications!"
Saying this, the aura of an Opening Root cultivator burst out from him, as he bounded forwards, his saber raised overhead. Small streams of flame qi could be seen flowing from his body into the blade of his saber.
"Flame Saber!"
With a low shout, the man launched himself in the air, saber chopping down, as if about to cleave the carriage in two.
Celeste didn't show a single change in expression. She just… waved her hand.
Leo shivered as he felt streams of bone-cold Qi flow past him out of the window. He watched with wide eyes as the bandits froze into ice statues in an instant, and immediately disintegrating into powdery snow. There was no blood, no screams, and no fighting. But none of them, not even the leader who had disintegrated midair, survived.
"Damn", was all Leo could manage as he saw the carnage. His eyes were wide seeing the sheer effortlessness with which she annihilated the bandits.
"They were just a bunch of weaklings. Killing them was no trouble for someone like me. Sleep if you can. We will arrive at the Sect in a couple of hours."
Leo just plopped back down on his seat. His eyes were distant. He was thinking, and worrying. This was the first time he had seen how life was truly treated in this world. Celeste had killed those bandits, each more powerful than Leo, with just a wave of her hand. And she had killed them in such a ruthless fashion that not even their bodies remained.
He had just seen someone wave their hand and literally freeze an entire group to death. The only thing he could think of was, That was… terrifying.