Marrow Washing Realm

Zhao Defu stopped three or four steps in front of Lu Chen. Instead of looking at him, he looked behind him.

A swath of corpses lay there.

Zhao Defu's face was ashen, and his eyes were ferocious as he stared coldly at Lu Chen. Suddenly, he gave a cold laugh.

"Hiding your face, yet you dare come to my Black Pole Gang and run wild! Who sent you?"

Zhao Defu did not attack immediately. Instead, he questioned Lu Chen at his leisure.

In his eyes, the man before him was nothing but a turtle trapped in a jar, unable to escape his grasp. He might as well interrogate him thoroughly; he might even dig up some information.

Behind him, people filed down, most of them core members of the Black Pole Gang.

In fact, these were all who remained of the entire Black Pole Gang.

Lu Chen had killed everyone Li Mantun had taken with him earlier.

Then he had killed another batch just now.

There were only a few left.

Zhao Defu still did not know that Lu Chen had killed Li Mantun too. Otherwise, he would never have wasted words with him and would have smashed him into a pulp in a rage long ago!

Lu Chen was still getting used to and adapting to the changes brought about by his upgrade, so naturally, he was more than happy to let Zhao Defu drag things out.

"Sent me? Heaven sent me to carry out justice on its behalf! Beasts like you don't deserve to live in this world!"

Lu Chen spoke coldly, glancing at the people behind Zhao Defu.

Oh, a familiar face had come too.

Kang Mao.

After making a circuit underground, he had come back down.

At the moment, he wore a sneer.

With Zhao Defu there, he had nothing to fear.

Lu Chen was bound to die.

Only core members like them knew that Zhao Defu was not at Organ Refining at all. He had already broken through to Blood Exchange over a year ago.

In all of Sand Lake County Town, aside from those few people in the authorities, no one was his match!

Even the leader of the Green Bamboo Gang, for all that he was the head of the largest gang in Shahu County, was nothing special. By now, he was probably a dead dog too, wasn't he?

"Heh, carrying out justice on Heaven's behalf? Do you know what Heaven is? Here, I am Heaven!"

"Hahahaha!"

The gang members behind him burst out laughing too, their faces full of disdain.

Judging by his voice, the man sounded very young. He seemed inexperienced and far too naive.

Carrying out justice on Heaven's behalf?

What a joke!

Lu Chen's gaze was cold. "Thirteen!"

"What?"

Zhao Defu's eyes were sinister. He froze for a moment at those words, then understood.

"What, are you afraid..."

Before he had finished speaking, he suddenly moved. The Ripe-Copper Staff in his hand flicked upward in an instant, its tip cutting through the air and whipping up a fierce wind as it thrust straight at Lu Chen's chest.

Lu Chen had been watching Zhao Defu all along. Seeing him launch a dishonorable sneak attack without the slightest bearing of a gang leader did not surprise him at all. He darted backward, slashed the copper staff aside with his steel saber, and used the motion to halt his retreat.

Feeling the force transmitted through the staff, Zhao Defu's pupils contracted, and his heart shook.

What tremendous strength! Something's not right about this man's strength!

As the thought crossed his mind, Zhao Defu swung the staff in a full circle with the force of Lu Chen's blow, then spun and swept it fiercely across with a howl.

Lu Chen's gaze sharpened. Rather than meet the move head-on, he stepped aside. Once the attack had spent its force, he swung his arm and tapped the copper staff with his saber tip.

"Clink!"

The metallic collision rang out crisply. Without stopping, Lu Chen took another step forward and slashed ahead with his steel saber.

Head-Splitting Stance!

Zhao Defu felt as though the Ripe-Copper Staff was about to fly out of his hands, and he nearly lost his grip.

Towering waves surged in his heart.

He's not at Organ Refining!

He's not at Blood Exchange either!

This is the Marrow Washing Realm!

With no time to think, Zhao Defu hurriedly pulled back his staff and held it horizontally above his head.

"Clang!"

The steel saber struck the copper staff. Zhao Defu's legs gave way, and he nearly fell to his knees.

His arms trembled, the skin between his thumbs and forefingers split, and blood flowed.

Behind him, the dozen or so men watched with mocking smiles as Zhao Defu pressed Lu Chen hard.

Kang Mao, however, sensed that something was wrong.

What's going on?

For some reason, he had a bad feeling.

Could it be that the boss can't beat this masked man?

How is that possible?

He found it absurd, but heeding his instincts, he quietly took a few steps back.

Lu Chen struck again and again, blow after blow landing on the staff.

Zhao Defu felt his muscles tremble. He gritted his teeth and tried to lift the staff, but he could not withstand the immense force.

"You... are you from the Green Bamboo Gang? That's the Ox-Cleaving Saber Technique!"

Zhao Defu's expression was grim, and he looked puzzled as well.

Wang Hu of the Green Bamboo Gang was only at Organ Refining, and the Ox-Cleaving Saber Technique could only be cultivated to Organ Refining. This man's strength far surpassed Wang Hu's!

Lu Chen did not answer. He changed his move from Chopping to Abdomen-Lifting Strike.

Zhao Defu felt the tremendous force above his head finally disappear and breathed a slight sigh of relief. Then a terrible pain shot through his abdomen.

A chill swept across his belly.

All the strength in his body seemed about to drain away.

He staggered a few steps and looked in disbelief at the huge horizontal gash across his belly, his eyes full of confusion.

Lu Chen beat the drowning dog, lunging forward and using Heart-Piercing. The steel saber, already hopelessly dull, plunged straight into Zhao Defu's chest.

"Pfft!"

Zhao Defu's face turned deathly pale in an instant. He trembled, and the Ripe-Copper Staff fell from his hands with a clatter. Then, like a golden mountain toppling and a jade pillar falling, he crashed to the ground.

Lu Chen swiftly pulled out the saber, pushed off with both feet, and charged toward the dumbstruck core members of the Black Pole Gang behind him.

"Swish!"

Even though the saber was dull and its edge was full of nicks, in Lu Chen's hands it became a scythe that harvested lives, taking theirs with the greatest ease.

As for Kang Mao, he had seen that things were going badly and had fled early. He was already nearly at the door.

Lu Chen had seen his ability to flee before and had been keeping an eye on him. How could he let him escape from his hands a second time? A throwing knife shot out soundlessly, struck Kang Mao squarely in the back, and buried itself deep.

After that exertion, Lu Chen had completely mastered the Ox-Cleaving Saber Technique at the Marrow Washing Realm and the all-around increase it brought. Against a group whose strongest members were only at the Iron Bone Realm, he was like a one-man army, cutting them all down in no time.

He left two alive, merely severing the tendons in their hands and feet, then killed everyone else. He pulled the steel saber from one man's chest, flicked his arm to splatter the blood on the blade against the wall, and strode over to Kang Mao.

Kang Mao was not dead yet. Blood spilled from his mouth as he struggled to crawl up, one hand already gripping the doorframe.

Lu Chen came up behind him.

Hearing movement behind him, Kang Mao turned his head. Despair instantly filled his eyes.

"Don't kill..."

"Pfft!"

The steel saber plunged straight through his neck, pinning him to the ground.

With that, the Black Pole Gang was wiped out, save for the two left alive!

Lu Chen quickly searched the bodies. Aside from some banknotes, he still could not find a single cultivation method.

He had been eyeing the "White Ape Staff Technique" Wang Hu had mentioned, but who would have thought Zhao Defu did not have it on him either?

Good thing I left some alive. I'll ask them!

Lu Chen turned to the two burly men sprawled on the ground, their faces full of terror, and smiled.

[With the host's intervention, the fates of Zhao Defu and the others have changed.]

[Fate Value gained: 1,600. Luck Value gained: 16]

[Total Fate Value: 1,677]

[Total Luck Value: 19]

Seeing Lu Chen walk toward them, the two men were terrified and let out shrill screams. "Don't come over here! Don't come over here!"

As they shouted, they used their elbows to drag themselves backward along the ground.

Lu Chen planted a foot on one man's back and spoke very gently. "Don't be afraid. As long as you tell me what I want to know, I can guarantee I won't kill you this time! Really, I never lie!"