Chapter 123: It’s Simple, I Can Do It Too
Buzz…
The air suddenly trembled, rippling out invisible waves, as a terrifying intent flashed past.
In the vegetable market, the sky was shrouded, plunging everything into pitch blackness.
Red Fifth Master, dressed in a black robe, and Lu Jing, standing by the wooden rack, both turned to look toward the County Yamen.
What, another expert who slayed four thieves has appeared?
Lu Jing’s brows suddenly furrowed tightly, a trace of incredulous shock flashing in his eyes.
The waters in Wuqing County are actually this deep?
When did such an expert lurk here?
Red Fifth Master seemed to understand something, a rare smile appearing on his stiff face.
Is it him?
It must be him.
It can only be him.
In just a few short months, his strength has actually grown to this extent?
Red Fifth Master had also investigated this mysterious person who seized the Azure Gang Yang Huo.
Although his whereabouts were erratic and his identity unknown.
But every time he made a move, he revealed a strength gap compared to the previous time that was nearly worlds apart.
Each time, stronger than the last.
Every time, it was almost like a decisive blow!
Xiao Qingchou and the others thought he was hiding his strength, strong against the strong and weak against the weak.
But Red Fifth Master firmly believed that this person…
Was growing stronger at a cultivation speed that defied martial path norms, nearly monstrous!
“I wonder who this young heavenly pride from afar is, but if he’s just too cautious, otherwise introducing him to Big Black Hat, that old fellow would surely be overjoyed and eagerly take him as a disciple.”
Red Fifth Master thought to himself.
On the wooden rack, the hall master’s corpse swayed slightly in the wind, the congealed purple-black blood clots emitting a faint rotten stench.
Lu Jing keenly caught the fleeting smile on Red Fifth Master’s face, his gaze suddenly sharpening as he said coldly,
“I didn’t expect that during your trip to the capital this time, you were secretly hiding such a figure… As expected of Red Fifth Master, who holds the power of life and death in the Guo Lu Society…”
Lu Jing mistakenly thought that person was from my Guo Lu Society?
Since it’s a misunderstanding, let it go all the way.
Red Fifth Master’s mind raced, but his expression remained calm as still water.
“Then it seems I need to fight quickly and decisively.”
Lu Jing slowly unbuttoned his clothes, casually tossing the outer robe to the ground, revealing his flying bear waist, black tiger torso, and bare upper body covered in ghost-like tattoos on his back.
“It’s just a pity that today, not only will you not take this corpse away, but you yourself, and that cloaked slayer of four thieves… all of you will have to stay!”
…
“I don’t believe it!!”
Looking at Chen Shun’an in front of him.
After a brief moment of stunned shock, Nie Zheng’s gaze was filled with uncertainty.
At his realm, he practically had a photographic memory, so upon fixing his eyes on Chen Shun’an’s appearance now, he immediately recalled that this was the fifty-year-old man who had resolutely refused to join the Inner Department at the Martial Arts Hall a few days ago.
He, slayed four thieves?
And I’m a Martial Dao Grandmaster!
There must be something fishy about this!
Perhaps this person practiced some secret technique that could mimic the aura of a slayer of four thieves, but was actually just showy without substance.
“Playing tricks, go die!”
Nie Zheng pushed off with his feet, the stone slab under him exploding into a large pit with cracked fragments, his right fist like a cannon firing from the barrel, carrying a domineering will that crushed everything, smashing straight at Chen Shun’an’s face.
With this Falling Form Eight Extremes Fist, Nie Zheng believed its power had reached an unprecedented peak, body relaxed yet internally solid, spirit restrained, with only fist intent infused within.
Even his damaged meridians in the head seemed to recover normally at this moment, allowing him to grasp a bit of the profound mystery of force penetrating the crown.
However—
Whoosh!
A barely perceptible sound of breaking air swept past.
Nie Zheng’s neck suddenly felt a chill, another thin bloodline appearing.
The force and fist intent Nie Zheng had just mobilized and gathered melted away like early snow under blazing sun, not a drop remaining.
Meanwhile, Chen Shun’an quietly withdrew his leg, the protruding sharp blade on his Python Fang Boots instantly retracting.
“Guh… guh guh…”
Nie Zheng staggered back several steps, futilely clutching his leaking throat, intense coughing mixed with strange hissing, blood gushing from between his fingers.
His face was full of terror.
When?
I couldn’t even react?
This… must be a slayer of four thieves expert.
“Then die together!!”
Nie Zheng’s eyes instantly turned blood-red, like a beast trapped in desperation.
He suddenly raised his hand, fingers exerting force, accompanied by a teeth-gritting “crack,” brutally twisting the severed flesh of his throat together, forming a throbbing horrific flesh tumor!
Even carrying a chilling aura of mutual destruction…
He retreated violently backward at even faster speed.
In the blink of an eye, over ten zhang away.
He turned and fled, decisive and resolute.
He slipped away.
Slaying one more thief, how to fight this?
“Can you escape?”
But Chen Shun’an merely took a step, force surging from his soles, connecting through his whole body, his entire person like a wisp of green smoke skimming the ground, blending into the shadows at the wall corner.
Seeing the alley entrance so close, bright daylight streaming in from outside, Nie Zheng could even smell the acrid smoke permeating the air.
Just one step, just this one step.
As long as he escaped outside.
Since Chen Shun’an was hiding his identity and disguising his strength as a water carrier, he surely wouldn’t dare show his face publicly.
As long as he reached a crowded place… Nie Zheng didn’t believe Chen Shun’an would massacre the city to silence him!
However, just as he was about to rush out of the alley.
A figure suddenly solidified like a ghost, blocking his only path to survival.
Chen Shun’an’s weathered old face once again clearly entered Nie Zheng’s eyes, filled with utmost terror.
Nie Zheng was nearly going mad.
Couldn’t escape, couldn’t win.
Could it be, today he really had to die inexplicably here?!
Everything happening today felt to Nie Zheng like he had bathed and changed, adjusted his state to welcome a supreme enemy, only to be slapped to death by a random passerby on the early morning road…
Absurd!
At this thought, Nie Zheng gritted his teeth, the great dragon on his back twisting section by section, arms like pythons emerging from their cave, with a draw and shake sending qi waves surging, Collapse Fist blasting forth.
And under the cover of this shocking fist technique, a ray of brilliant light suddenly burst from between Nie Zheng’s glabella, accompanied by some insect-like hissing, instantly striking Chen Shun’an’s glabella.
Nie Zheng still had a trump card.
The world thought Nie Zheng had joined the yamen due to damaged head meridians and hidden ailments, seeking stability.
But they didn’t know that due to another opportunity, when he fled to Miao Territory years ago, he had stumbled upon a sealed eerie earthenware pot in an abandoned ancient temple.
Upon opening it, a Qi Eating Insect flew out.
It burrowed into his skull, nesting at the glabella, feeding on Nie Zheng’s qi essence, and could gnaw at his or others’ Niwan Acupoint.
Damage to the Niwan Acupoint brought extreme pain, but perhaps turning misfortune into fortune, it granted him mental strength far surpassing martial artists of the same realm!
“Even if you’re a slayer of four thieves, unless you slayed the mind thief, otherwise…”
But the next moment, all color drained from Nie Zheng’s face, as if he had seen a ghost.
The Qi Eating Insect that had flown out returned to his glabella, listless and weak, emitting low mournful cries.
While Chen Shun’an opposite him looked somewhat puzzled.
“What’s going on, it felt like something just struck my glabella Niwan Acupoint… but it was too weak, with a sweep of intent, it vanished completely before I could even notice.”
Chen Shun’an was baffled but vaguely guessed that Nie Zheng had just used some silent ambush kill move against him.
“You dare resist?!”
Chen Shun’an was shocked and furious, all his intent surging down powerfully, merging into the vast river-like Flying Immortal Strength in his body.
He took one step, his muscles perfectly coordinated, exerting force together, unbound by techniques or joint limits, with no fancy moves.
Just one palm, lightly patted out.
“I’ll die!!”
Nie Zheng’s disheveled hair flew as he was sent tumbling backward by the overwhelming force rushing at him, the noisy firefighting voices and splashing water from outside growing blurred and distant.
Looking at that palm growing closer, filling his entire vision, Nie Zheng only smelled a deathly aura that made his three corpses jump in frenzy.
With this palm, he had no chance of survival.
“I can’t die!! Burn my blood, scorch my intent, destroy my spirit, this is the silence of the martial path!!”
Nie Zheng bit his tongue, the Qi Eating Insect at his glabella as if coughing blood, regurgitating streams of pure qi essence, which under Nie Zheng’s control, spread through his body via some exquisite circulation method.
Nie Zheng’s entire aura began to surge violently, even the horrific wound at his throat rapidly healing.
His intent suddenly solidified, eyes glowing gold, breaths like a whale swallowing, even Chen Shun’an’s qi and blood flow and force mobilization sounds clearly entering his ears.
Nie Zheng roared, his forearms’ muscles twisting tight like hundred-refined steel, fist intent far more tyrannical than before by more than a few degrees!
“Oh? So by having a second power source and following this circulation method, one can achieve the effect of Blood Burning Ascension?”
Chen Shun’an was like discovering something interesting.
Very simple, it seemed… he had learned it?
“Crack crack…”
A series of fine crisp bone sounds rang from within Chen Shun’an’s body.
Chen Shun’an’s hands shot out like golden snakes from their lair, erupting with a unique force distinct from Flying Immortal Strength…
Teng Snake Strength.
Each circulation of Teng Snake Strength in his body was like heavenly thunder igniting earthly fire, fiercely igniting the vast Flying Immortal Strength, causing Chen Shun’an’s aura to climb another level.
In the end, even approaching a slayer of five thieves!
In a daze, Nie Zheng seemed to see a scene.
A purple-red humanoid lingzhi with cloud patterns, extending ferocious snake-like claws, carrying a ferocious aura that nearly suffocated him, smashing down from above!
…
“Strange, why has Nie Zheng been gone so long and not come back?”
Outside the County Yamen, Hong Junxian directed the gang members to fight the fire.
Hong Junxian was experienced, instructing people to quickly clear debris to form a firebreak, preventing the flames from spreading to nearby residences.
He even personally taught everyone a firefighting tool called a “splash tube,” which was a leather bag filled with water, stuffed with a bamboo tube and sealed at the mouth.
Simply squeeze the leather bag hard during use, and water would spray from the bamboo tube, carrying wind to increase firefighting efficiency.
But Hong Junxian kept glancing toward the direction Nie Zheng disappeared, his brows gradually furrowing.
In martial artist battles, victory or defeat in a single move or style was normal.
Even if Nie Zheng had seemed to be inadvertently hit earlier and blasted out of the County Yamen.
But Hong Junxian didn’t believe at all that anything had happened to Nie Zheng, probably not even lightly injured.
