Killed with a Single Palm Strike

Killed with a Single Palm Strike

"What's going on? If you have something to say, say it properly. Don't make such a fuss."

"What do I usually teach you? Stay calm when something happens. Don't panic over nothing."

"What do you mean, 'something bad has happened'? Aren't we all perfectly fine here?"

"What exactly happened? Is the sky going to fall?"

The hall masters spoke one after another.

They had just finished flattering the gang leader when a gang member barged in, shouting and screaming. How utterly tactless.

"What is it? Speak."

Wang Shi's face was dark as well.

"Black... the Black Armored Army, the Black Armored Army has attacked!"

The gang member said in utter panic.

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shi sprang to his feet, his expression changing drastically.

"What did you say? Why would the Black Armored Army suddenly attack the Iron Palm Gang?"

"Could our affairs have been exposed?"

"Could the Horse Bandits have been captured and sold out the Iron Palm Gang?"

"That's impossible. We've kept an eye on the Black Armored Army stationed here all along. They never left the county seat."

The five hall masters who had just berated the gang member for not staying calm all turned pale.

"Kill!"

"Kill them!"

Shouts of battle rang out from outside.

Immediately afterward, dozens of gang members wielding swords and sabers retreated into the assembly hall.

"Wang Shi, the Iron Palm Gang's crimes have been exposed. Surrender obediently and accept your punishment."

Zhou Shan led a group of Black Armored Guards into the Iron Palm Gang's assembly hall with an imposing air.

"My lord, what are you talking about? I don't understand." Wang Shi's face darkened. "Ever since the Black Armored Army took over Ye County, the Iron Palm Gang has conducted business honestly. We have never failed to offer the proper tribute, nor have we ever offended the Black Armored Army. What crime have we committed for my lord to mobilize such a force against us?"

"Gang Leader Wang, you know perfectly well and yet pretend to be confused!" Zhou Shan sneered. "Since you want to know what crimes the Iron Palm Gang committed, I'll let you die knowing. Your Iron Palm Gang disguised yourselves as bandits, burning, killing, and plundering the towns and villages below. You also colluded with Horse Bandits to rob Ye County's merchant caravans. Every single one of these is a capital crime."

"Slander! This is naked slander." Naturally, Wang Shi would not admit to any of it and immediately denied it. "The Iron Palm Gang has never done any of the things my lord mentioned."

"Though the Iron Palm Gang may not be some great power, if you insist on pouring this filth over us and claiming that we did these things, then we can only fight to the death. We will never surrender without resistance."

"You're still stubborn even with death at your doorstep!" Zhou Shan waved a hand, and a Black Armored Guard immediately dragged over the Horse Bandit leader. He said coldly, "Gang Leader Wang, I'm sure this man is no stranger to you!"

"This is..."

The instant Wang Shi saw the man, his pupils contracted.

"The Horse Bandit leader really has been captured."

The Iron Palm Gang's five hall masters exchanged glances, their faces turning deathly pale in an instant.

"This man is the Horse Bandit leader. He has confessed everything, and you still dare deny it?" Zhou Shan said. "Your Iron Palm Gang disguised yourselves as bandits to burn, kill, and plunder. You colluded with Horse Bandits to rob merchant caravans. The evidence is irrefutable, yet you still refuse to confess and submit to the law."

"If you resist arrest, you will be executed on the spot."

The Iron Palm Gang's upper ranks had disguised themselves as bandits and robbed wealthy households in the towns and villages. Countless souls had died by their hands, and their crimes were countless. Not a single one of them was innocent. Even the ordinary gang members likely had blood on their hands.

Even if every member of the Iron Palm Gang were killed, not one would be wronged.

"Either way, death awaits us. Everyone, kill our way out with me!"

At this point, Wang Shi knew there was no use continuing to argue. With a loud roar, he pushed his cultivation to its limit and swung his fan-sized palm at Zhou Shan.

The martial art Wang Shi cultivated was called Iron Palm.

Thus, his hands were twice as large as an ordinary person's, broad and thick like bear paws.

Iron Palm was on the same level as Eagle Claw Iron Shirt. When cultivated to the utmost, both could grant sixty years of cultivation. Moreover, Iron Palm was renowned for its fierce force. At the perfected stage, it could break gold and iron with a palm.

"Kill! Break out with the gang leader!"

"The gang leader is right! We'll die if we fall into the Black Armored Army's hands anyway. We might as well make a desperate last stand!"

"Everyone, attack together and kill our way out of the city!"

"Since Ye County has no place for us, then we might as well rebel!"

"Rebel! Kill our way out of the city!"

"..."

The Iron Palm Gang's five hall masters drew their blades one after another and let out furious roars.

So what if it was the Black Armored Army? It was impossible for them to surrender without resistance.

If they wanted to kill them, they would have to pay the price in blood.

In a fight to the death, perhaps there was still a sliver of hope.

"Kid, die!"

Wang Shi thrust out both palms, every strike aimed at Zhou Shan's vital points, his eyes brimming with hatred.

If not for Zhou Shan, he would still be the Iron Palm Gang's leader, commanding hundreds of gang members and ruling Ye County like a local emperor. Even the three great families would not dare provoke the Iron Palm Gang lightly.

Furthermore, after robbing the goods from the county seat's various merchant caravans, his purse had grown fat. From then on, he could have enjoyed wealth and luxury. Yet before he could savor any of it, everything was about to vanish like bubbles.

Even if he killed Zhou Shan, he would become a wanted criminal, placed on the Black Armored Army's kill-on-sight list, forced to hide from place to place.

But he had no choice. If he did not kill Zhou Shan, then he himself would die.

Clang! Clang! Clang...

In an instant, Wang Shi struck out dozens of times. His palms landed on Zhou Shan's body as if he were striking a great bell. The clangs rang without end, yet he could not break through Zhou Shan's protective golden bell.

Moreover, every palm strike sent a terrifying rebound force surging back at him.

"How is this possible? You're a Superclass Martial Artist?"

Wang Shi's eyes bulged wide, his face filled with disbelief.

Though he had not cultivated Iron Palm to perfection, he was not far from it. Stones were as brittle as tofu in his hands, yet now, even with his Iron Palm unleashed at full force, he could not harm so much as a hair on Zhou Shan's head.

Even a peak first-rate martial artist could not withstand dozens of his palm strikes without injury.

Only a Superclass Martial Artist could possess such cultivation.

"Are you done? Then take one palm strike from me!"

Zhou Shan directly unleashed his full cultivation and slammed a palm fiercely into Wang Shi's chest.

A vast force erupted, and Wang Shi was instantly blasted flying.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, Wang Shi's body slammed violently into the wall behind the assembly hall, shaking the entire hall and nearly bringing the wall down.

Then Wang Shi's body rolled to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth.

Zhou Shan's full-powered palm strike contained more than seventy years of Golden Bell Shield cultivation. It could shatter even steel plates, let alone a body of flesh and blood.

Wang Shi's breastbone was shattered outright, and his heart and lungs could not withstand the force, turning into a pulp. Lying on the ground, he kicked and twitched twice like a toad before breathing his last.

At that moment, Zhou Shan turned his gaze toward the Iron Palm Gang's five hall masters, who had already drawn their blades, and sneered. "What did you just say? I didn't hear it clearly. Say it again."