Chapter 80: Reactions From All Sides, Qi Qiang Is Truly A Great Hero!
Chen Shun’an’s figure disappeared into Kui Xing Tower.
Huff! Huff!
The next moment, the world suddenly returned to chaos.
Turbid dust filled the air, entering their nostrils.
Fierce gusts of wind spread, slapping against the walls.
Everyone’s qi and blood churned, mustering their strength, about to continue fighting.
But soon.
Everyone found something was wrong.
Kui Xing Tower, which had stood motionless, silently overlooking all beings for hundreds of years, began to tremble slightly with a humming sound.
An invisible spiral of strength ascended layer by layer.
It erupted with thunderous sounds, initially faint and inaudible, but like trickling river water converging into a vast ocean, gradually building into a surging, sky-pounding momentum.
Peals of thunder sounded, finally reaching three hundred and sixty in number!
Wonderful sounds, three hundred and sixty!
Everyone was shocked.
Where did this come from?
A suppressed grunt came from the top of the tower.
The invisible thread-like energy in the air snapped all at once.
Something seemed to be happening outside, and the intense fighting intensified.
Then, the sky… seemed to be lighting up?
Like the sun gradually rising from the eastern mountains, revealing a sliver of fish-belly white.
The pitch-black surroundings were enveloped in a hazy light, and they could now roughly see things!
He Qiang looked down in confusion, at his steady stance on the ground.
Several companions who had also been shaken off moments ago were either stuck to the wall like paintings, not falling for a long time;
or had rolled to the ground like dogs eating shit, smashing cracks into the bluestone.
They were spitting up fresh blood!
He Qiang subconsciously touched himself, found that he was unharmed and nothing was wrong, and then heaved a sigh of relief.
“So close, so close! Did my strength have a breakthrough in battle? I’m not even injured… Huh? No, where’s my stone bottle?!”
Soon, He Qiang realized something was wrong, and his heart sank.
“Ah!!”
Upstairs, the Yi Zi Hall Master let out a scream, his Caltrop Iron Hammer was immediately shaken away, his wrist felt burning hot, as if roasted by charcoal, and he couldn’t exert any strength.
His eyes showed fear as he looked around.
“An expert?!”
Without hesitation, he repelled Zhou Qing and the others with all his might, then climbed upstairs.
He saw Xiao Qingchou, also in a daze and full of fear.
Xiao Qingchou only had half a Matchlock Gun in his hand.
The other half had fallen to the ground.
The break was as smooth as new, cut cleanly, with almost no burrs or rough edges visible.
“Someone, someone destroyed my…” Xiao Qingchou looked up, his lips moving, his expression dazed.
Both of them were First-rate experts. After a moment of thought, they reacted.
It was certain that a First-rate expert, who had slain Body Thieves and possessed terrifying strength, was hidden in the shadows, interfering.
However, to be able to perform such astonishing feats without anyone noticing, it would only take a moment to take their lives, right?
Both of them instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, this person seemed to have no great malice towards the Guo Lu Society.
It was merely a slight punishment.
Seeing the Yi Zi Hall Master and the other in this state, Zhou Qing and the others were completely bewildered.
Zhou Qing had a faint premonition, a thought crossed his mind, and he stopped his colleagues who were about to pursue.
Lin Shou Zhuo seemed to have some realization, feeling that this scene was somewhat familiar.
As if he had seen it on a certain rainy night.
…
The Yi Zi Hall Master and Xiao Qingchou flew up the tower and reached the top.
They saw the young peddler sitting dejectedly on the ground, his back to them, his two fingers bruised, and the violent Qi and Blood tearing at his fingertips, dripping blood.
“It’s dangerous, let’s go!”
Red Fifth Master’s voice echoed from afar.
The Yi Zi Hall Master moved like lightning, appearing beside the young peddler, grabbing his shoulder blade.
Xiao Qingchou flicked his wrist, and a thin, soft wire flew out, latching onto the ridge of the nearest rooftop.
“Go!”
The three moved like the wind, faster than arrows, stepping on the wire.
The Yi Zi Hall Master shook the dazed young peddler and couldn’t help but ask,
“Did you see anyone come?”
The young peddler turned his head blankly, his eyes seemed to have been pricked by needles, his eyeballs covered in a layer of blood scabs, sticky blood dripping down, incredibly terrifying and chilling.
He murmured, “I can’t see, I really can’t see…”
…
A moment later.
After the Guo Lu Society left behind seven or eight corpses of martial world figures, their own people almost all retreated unscathed.
After all, with Red Fifth Master shielding them and Zhao Guangxi throwing the match, this assassination attempt seemed thrilling.
In reality, it was a one-sided attack targeting the people of the Pounding House, or Zheng Shicheng.
The scene was a mess, and everyone was cleaning up and assessing personnel losses.
San Dezi, Scarred Liu, and other Water Carriers, wearing wooden buckets on their heads, had dismantled the wheels of some merchant’s cart to use as shields.
They now emerged cautiously from under the Imperial Carriage set up by the opera troupe.
When these Water Carriers realized the Guo Lu Society Brothers were targeting the Wanlong Pounding House, they decisively chose to stand by and watch.
Regardless of whether they could see or not, they instinctively shed their Water Station clothes, crouched down, and pretended to be panicked civilians, finding places to hide.
It was only some martial world figures who took advantage of the chaos to commit violence, which resulted in some casualties.
“Where is Old Chen?”
“I regret not listening to Brother Chen’s words… I wouldn’t have taken this punch for nothing! Hiss… It hurts so much!”
San Dezi, Scarred Liu, and the others recalled Chen Shun’an’s advice from before and felt remorse.
A Second-rate Warrior who had previously gone to the Wanlong Pounding House to capture Ah Hua slapped his forehead,
“Old Chen is so vigilant, the best at grabbing treasures, and he’s definitely the first to run. He’s like a dog’s nose… I get it, I’ll follow him wherever he runs from now on, and I won’t be wrong!”
A moment later, the casualty statistics were released.
On the Water Station side, there were four deaths, six severely injured, and several lightly injured. Many, like Chen Shun’an, had already fled when they saw the situation was unfavorable.
On the Wanlong Pounding House side, more than ten people died, including many Second-rate Experts, and even a First-rate Expert was severely injured and beyond saving.
The number of injured was countless, a serious setback.
As for the onlookers, their casualties were controllable.
After all, there was no full stampede, and there were also enthusiastic martial world figures who restored order and rescued civilians; furthermore, the illusion only lasted for less than half an incense stick’s time, so most only sustained minor injuries.
“Lord Liu, the Guo Lu Society is brazen enough to commit murder in broad daylight, you must bring justice for our Pounding House!”
Zheng Shicheng, covering a bloody ear, his eyes red, urgently shouted to Liu Sui.
Liu Sui’s face was still pale with lingering fear. Assisted by Liu Ru Yue, he put on a black satin boot that had fallen off. After hearing the report on civilian casualties from the swift constables, he nodded.
He turned to Zheng Shicheng and said sternly,
“This matter can be classified as a gang conflict, a grudge between your Pounding House and the Water Station against the Guo Lu Society.”
At this point, Liu Sui’s face showed a hint of anger, saying,
“Don’t come to the government offices with every difficulty! The government offices are busy, and maintaining public security is already stretched thin. You have to take responsibility yourself! What kind of situation is this!”
With that, Liu Sui and a group of swift constables left in a hurry.
Zheng Shicheng stood frozen, his expression fluctuating.
Especially the meaningful glances that fell upon him like sword tips.
He felt as if his ears were filled with chalk powder and his heart had formed lumps, making him deaf to what he heard, his blood unable to flow, and his body chilled to the bone.
He looked up at the cold face of Tian Xuan Saint,
“Saint.”
Tian Xuan Saint’s voice was icy, “Pick up your ear.”
Zheng Shicheng, covering his ear, didn’t react.
A cold glint flashed in Tian Xuan Saint’s eyes, and she said sternly,
“I said, pick up your ear!!”
Despite her efforts to protect him, the Guo Lu Society had still succeeded in severing one of Zheng Shicheng’s ears.
Tian Xuan Saint also felt disgraced.
Especially seeing Zheng Shicheng’s incompetent appearance, she became even more irked.
Zheng Shicheng was silent and bent down to pick up his severed ear.
The surviving members of the Pounding House all lowered their heads, not daring to look.
On the other side.
Zhao Guangxi glanced deeply at Tian Xuan Saint, then withdrew his gaze.
This Tian Xuan Saint was different from the Immortals he had imagined, those who could move mountains and fill seas, and cause flowers to bloom in an instant.
Although powerful, her strength was visible and tangible.
Red Fifth Master of the Guo Lu Society was renowned in the martial world, with few extraordinary encounters. He had apprenticed under a Martial Dao Grandmaster, cultivated martial arts for many years, and upon emerging, had defeated numerous Martial World Elders, bringing silence to the martial arts scene in Sichuan and earning fame across a thousand miles.
He was now also a master who had slain four thieves.
However, Tian Xuan Saint could only defeat him, but not kill him, and was even forced into a prolonged struggle.
A blasphemous thought suddenly arose in Zhao Guangxi’s mind.
What kind of Immortal was this?!
“Landlord, just now in Kui Xing Tower…”
Zhou Qing walked up to Zhao Guangxi and Liu Ru Yue, and with Zhao Guangxi’s permission, recounted the events in the tower.
The unusual behavior of the Yi Zi Hall Master and Xiao Qingchou, and the sudden three hundred and sixty wonderful sounds, naturally led Zhou Qing to speculate that others had intervened.
He also suddenly thought of the mysterious Lightness Skill expert that Zhao Guangxi had been investigating for a long time with no leads recently.
On a rainy night, a granary was set ablaze to steal grain.
A mysterious expert ascended like a dragon, stepped through the rain, and scared away the Sickly Big Bug Yang Lu.
Although according to Lin Shou Zhuo’s description, the strength and lightness skill displayed by this mysterious master that night were far inferior to today’s.
But it was impossible for such coincidences to happen repeatedly.
It was likely the same person.
That rainy night, he was merely hiding his strength.
He would be weak against the weak and strong against the strong.
This was very much in line with the eccentricities of some old martial world monsters.
As for the possibility that someone had experienced a surge in strength within a single month, breaking through from Second-rate to First-rate and possessing such terrifying speed…
Zhou Qing hadn’t even considered such a possibility.
It was simply preposterous!
A moment later, Zheng Shicheng, after bandaging his wound, put on a small cap to hide his severed ear and hurried to Zhao Guangxi and Liu Ru Yue.
Although Second-rate Warriors had active qi and blood and abundant marrow, they were far from being able to regrow severed limbs.
Zheng Shicheng could only hope to find a divine doctor in time to reattach his ear.
Zheng Shicheng said, “Two, the Guo Lu Society is so aggressive, we cannot let this go. We must retaliate! Otherwise, how can the two powers of our Pounding House and Water Station establish ourselves in the Capital!”
Zheng Shicheng gritted his teeth.
“The mad dogs of the Guo Lu Society were targeting me, and if I don’t die, they won’t stop! If you two are willing to send troops and generals, then the Lingguan Intercepting Meeting this time will be a loss for our Wanlong Pounding House! Oh, and…”
Zheng Shicheng looked at the Water Station members and said,
“Earlier, I don’t know which brother ascended the tower to capture the thief and broke the Hundred Refinements Strength? Zheng Shicheng thanks you!”
The First-rate experts of the Pounding House were entangled by the Guo Lu Society at the time and couldn’t spare their attention to ascend the tower.
Therefore, they didn’t know what specifically happened inside Kui Xing Tower.
They still thought that Zhou Qing and the others had succeeded in their mission and broken the thread-like dark energy.
Zhao Guangxi and Liu Ru Yue exchanged glances.
Liu Ru Yue nodded silently.
After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Guangxi said with a determined expression,
“To pacify the internal, one must first expel the external. Since Brother Zheng has said so, how can our Water Station stand by idly? They disrupted our Lingguan Intercepting Meeting and injured our brothers, this debt is not settled!”
As he spoke, his gaze passed through the crowd, directly towards He Qiang, who was still searching for his lost stone bottle near Kui Xing Tower.
He Qiang’s heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.
Twelve drops!
A stone bottle filled with twelve drops of Five-wheel Water!
This made He Qiang more distressed than losing his own life!
Zhao Guangxi said softly, “Qiang ah…”
He Qiang quickly walked over, “Landlord.”
Zhao Guangxi pointed at He Qiang, his eyes showing praise, and introduced him to everyone,
“Qiang remained calm in the face of danger, snatched the chestnuts from the fire, and with three hundred and thirty sounds of bone-cracking Wonderful Sound, he broke the Guo Lu Society gangsters’ Cultivation Method. He deserves a reward, deserves praise, he is the great hero of our Water Station!”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at He Qiang in unison.
Their gazes were either filled with awe or envy.
Lin Shou Zhuo’s expression shifted slightly, he vaguely understood something, and remained silent.
The remaining few Water Carriers who went to Kui Xing Tower with him exchanged glances, and wisely did not say more.
He Qiang was stunned for a moment.
I made a move, and ruined Hundred Refinements Strength?
I didn’t know that?
For some reason, a bad premonition arose in He Qiang’s heart.
“However, the immediate priority is still to trouble Qiang to deploy people from the Well to cooperate with the Pounding House’s actions, and find the Guo Lu Society members as soon as possible!
After all, you have made a great contribution, and are likely considered a thorn in the side by the Guo Lu Society. They might take the risk to retaliate against you. Luring the snake out of its hole is also an opportunity for us.”
Zhao Guangxi said slowly.
Of course, Zhao Guangxi’s words were pure nonsense.
It was purely a performance for Zheng Shicheng and outsiders.
However, the crowd did not know the inside story.
They only kept congratulating He Qiang.
He Qiang stood frozen, his mouth wide open, his expression astonished.
“Luring the snake out of its hole, me?”
