Opening the Banquet

He Lian Zheng's eyes were about to split open. Before he could even get around the eight-immortal table, Chen Shi had already struck first, killing Third Young Master Zhao and Zhao Xue'e with two chopsticks, igniting his fury.

This time, the Zhao Family's Xuan Ying Mansion had sent Third Young Master Zhao out to find Second Miss Zhao and resolve the case of the missing steward Zhao Ming and Iron Brush Old Man. At the same time, he was ordered to lead the Imperial Guard to protect Zhao Yue and the others.

Although Zhao Yue was the third young master, he had considerable prestige within Xuan Ying Mansion. He was intelligent and studious, having read poetry and books since childhood, and was skilled in music. He was also compassionate, earning the affection of everyone in the mansion.

There were even rumors that if the eldest young master proved disappointing and the second young lady couldn't be found, the master would consider making Zhao Yue the heir.

Beside Zhao Yue was Zhao Xue'e, his full sister. At sixteen, she was in the bloom of youth. Hearing that her third brother was going to find their second sister and avenge Zhao Ming and Iron Brush Old Man, she had happily accompanied him.

She was also a kind-hearted girl, so gentle that she wouldn't even bear to step on an ant.

Who would have thought that a country bumpkin would brutally stab Third Young Master Zhao to death with a chopstick, and then kill Zhao Xue'e with another!

With Zhao Yue and Zhao Xue'e dead, He Lian Zheng would absolutely not escape blame. He would bear the charge of dereliction of duty, and might even be buried with Third Young Master Zhao!

And all of this was thanks to Chen Shi!

"Country bumpkin!"

He Lian Zheng gritted his teeth and charged. Chen Shi, having killed the two with two chopsticks, raised his hand and flipped the dining table. The table flew up with a whoosh, blocking the line of sight of those in front.

As the table flew, Chen Shi retreated rapidly. With a swift movement, his left hand chopped down like a cleaver on the throat of the Imperial Guard behind Zhao Yue.

"Such speed!"

The Imperial Guard felt despair.

He had already sensed something was wrong, but it was too late to dodge. His neck bone snapped.

Second from the right, dead.

Chen Shi turned and threw a punch. The fist whistled through the air, striking the face of the Imperial Guard beside him. The Imperial Guard's head slammed into the wall of the ancient temple, creating a large hole with a dull thud!

The Imperial Guards outside saw the ancient temple wall suddenly bulge outwards, with several bricks flying out, and a cracked skull poking through.

First from the left, dead.

"Enemy attack—"

The other Imperial Guards were stunned for a moment before reacting, rushing towards the ancient temple.

Inside the temple, chaos erupted. Almost everyone moved at that moment. Some were pushing chairs aside, trying to get up, some were tripped by chairs, some tried to charge forward, and some tried to retreat, avoiding Chen Shi, that plague god.

For a moment, they tripped over each other, blocking each other. The other Imperial Guards wanted to act, but there were people everywhere. Recklessly using magic spells would only result in killing their own men.

Not only were their hands and feet in disarray, but their minds were also in chaos. They desperately wanted to throw the people in front of them away, but thinking they were their own men, they could only endure.

Chen Shi, however, was extremely calm.

It was strange. Before he acted, he would analyze the pros and cons and hesitate, but once he acted, his heart would become incredibly peaceful. Every move was both fast and accurate, as if he were born with the means to kill.

His speed was incredibly fast, and his body was small and slippery. He dodged the charging Imperial Guards, raised his fist, with his thumb tucked under his middle finger, and his index finger struck the temple of an Imperial Guard, piercing the fragile skull and driving force into his brain.

The Imperial Guard's right eye immediately became bloodshot, his entire eyeball turning a deep red, with no visible pupil.

The blood vessels in his temple burst, first causing his vision to blur, then the violent shock caused his brain to cease functioning, and finally, blood rushed into his brain, killing him instantly with little pain.

Chen Shi moved like a swimming fish. After delivering this blow, he circled behind the Imperial Guard and stood back-to-back with him. Facing him, he saw Zhao Yan swing a chair down fiercely.

Chen Shi did not dodge. He was struck on the head by the chair, which shattered into pieces with a bang. Zhao Yan was left holding only two chair legs. Chen Shi seized the opportunity to grab the other two chair legs.

Seeing the sharp points of the chair legs, a fierce glint flashed in Zhao Yan's eyes. Just as he was about to use the chair legs as weapons to stab Chen Shi, Chen Shi, before he could react, thrust the chair legs into his throat!

Chen Shi had refined his body. His physical condition was far inferior to Chen Shi's, and his speed was much slower.

Chen Shi ducked, lifted his leg, and kicked an Imperial Guard charging from the side in the groin. He turned and sent his left hand forward, stabbing the other chair leg he held into the abdomen of the Imperial Guard whose face was contorted in pain.

First from the right, second from the left, Zhao Yan.

Dead.

The ancient temple descended into utter chaos. Zhao Yue and Zhao Xue'e had not yet died. The Imperial Guard whose neck bone Chen Shi had severed with his hand had not even fallen yet, and Zhao Yan was still trying to pull the chair leg from his throat. An Imperial Guard had already activated a Yellow Turban Strongman Talisman, his body shining with golden light, possessing immense strength, and charged at Chen Shi like a wild bull, swinging his fist down.

Chen Shi ignored the two chair legs. This was experience gained at the Li Family Camp: weapons stained with blood were particularly slippery and easy to drop.

Therefore, whether it was chopsticks or chair legs, he used them and discarded them, not considering a second use unless it was convenient.

He circulated his Blood Essence, and his right arm instantly became more than twice as thick, his palm as heavy as a bear's paw, meeting the incoming punch.

The Imperial Guard had activated the Yellow Turban Strongman Talisman, and his fist also shone with golden light. The brilliant golden light surrounding him made him look like he was clad in golden armor, like a divine being!

The Strength Talisman could give cultivators an indestructible body and infinite strength in the shortest possible time, making it the best talisman for close combat.

"Crack!"

Their fists collided. The Imperial Guard's palm shattered, his finger bones broke, and he gritted his teeth, raising his left hand to strike again. Chen Shi grabbed his broken right arm and forcefully pushed forward, driving his broken arm into the Imperial Guard's chest.

The Imperial Guard's left hand frantically hammered Chen Shi's face, once, twice, three times!

Chen Shi endured his blows and pushed forward with all his might, slamming him against the wall with a bang. The broken arm bone pierced him.

Chen Shi grabbed his broken bone and pulled it out forcefully. Blood gushed out, and only then did the Imperial Guard breathe his last.

Third from the left, dead.

A Zhao family disciple saw Chen Shi charging at him and, without a second thought, the Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword flew out from the shrine with a sharp whistle. Just as Chen Shi was about to be cut down by this sword energy, he suddenly squatted down.

The sword energy grazed his scalp and flew past. The other Zhao family disciple chasing behind Chen Shi was stunned, his head rolling off his neck to the ground.

That sword energy severed his throat, its momentum unabated as it flew forward. With a loud bang, it carved a deep sword mark into the ancient temple's wall!

Chen Shi hadn't expected anyone to dare use magic spells within this small temple. As he ducked, his hand already grasped the corner of a shattered plate.

The ancient temple's floor was slippery, whether from cooking oil or blood, Chen Shi slid past the Zhao family disciple. He grabbed the disciple's leg with one hand, yanking him to the ground, and with the other, clutched the plate shard, rapidly raising and lowering it, raising and lowering.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Shi stabbed from his leg upwards, over ten times, all the way to his chest. His hand slipped, the porcelain shard didn't come out, and he even cut his own palm.

Chen Shi tumbled, leaping up to dodge the falling Three-Eyed Firearm. He silently thought, There were originally twelve people in the temple, now only two remain. I just need to deal with the remaining two...

The Three-Eyed Firearm bounced off the ground and shot forward, hitting his chest with a thud!

This was a thrusting spear technique, not a jab forward, but a stab meant to pierce through a person, making it far more powerful!

However, He Lian Zheng couldn't turn the firearm around. He could only use this end. If he had used the other end, with its sharp spearhead, he could have already pierced Chen Shi.

Even so, with the firearm weighing over ten pounds, combined with He Lian Zheng's brute strength, being struck in the chest was still incredibly potent. Chen Shi felt as if he'd been hit by a sledgehammer, grunting as he was involuntarily sent flying backward. Mid-air, he saw He Lian Zheng raise the gun with one hand, and the muzzle of the Three-Eyed Firearm flashed with fire!

He slammed into the wall with a bang. Ignoring the searing pain in his chest, he desperately thrust one palm into the wall and exerted force, his body twisting upwards like a great python.

The next moment, where he had just impacted, half the wall exploded. A wave of air surged, bricks and debris flew everywhere, and the wall collapsed by half!

The gunpowder used in the Three-Eyed Firearm was invented by the Daoist medicine sage Sun Simiao during the Great Tang era. It was made from three ingredients, refined into three Yang thunder fire, which unleashed astonishing power upon detonation, capable of damaging the physical body and harming the Primordial Spirit. Even powerful cultivators who had achieved Nascent Soul or Primordial Spirit would be helpless against such a secret Daoist treasure.

He Lian Zheng's Three-Eyed Firearm, using only one and a half taels of black gunpowder and one tael of thunderclap pellets, with five Yang Heavenly Thunder talismans painted inside the barrel, possessed such astonishing power. If more gunpowder were used, its power would naturally be even greater!

He Lian Zheng missed with his shot and raised the firearm again. Chen Shi had already scrambled onto the ancient temple's roof. The roof had no main beams, only a series of hexagonal frames laid out along six small beams.

Chen Shi climbed rapidly, using both hands and feet. He Lian Zheng, carrying the Three-Eyed Firearm, leaped up. The shrine behind his head shone brightly, and a sound of tearing through the air followed. Chen Shi knew it was bad and immediately let go, falling downwards.

Two sword energies whistled, slicing through the roof, and sunlight streamed down.

Chen Shi landed and immediately sprinted, heading straight for the hole blasted by the firearm.

He Lian Zheng was still in mid-air, not yet having landed. The Jia Ma Talismans on his legs had already been activated. The Divine Embryo in the shrine behind his head gathered true qi, transforming into Zi Wu Zhan Xie sword energy. Simultaneously, the firearm pointed downwards, fire erupted from the muzzle, accompanied by a thunderous boom that exploded within the temple like lightning!

The thunderclap pellets fired from this shot exploded around the fleeing Chen Shi, their fragments leaving several bloody gashes on his back.

He Lian Zheng, however, was propelled upwards by the recoil of the shot. He grabbed a small beam on the roof with his palm, flipped through the roof that his sword energy had broken, and landed with both feet sinking slightly onto the ancient temple's roof. He looked down with cold eyes.

However, he couldn't see Chen Shi's figure.

Logically, Chen Shi should have burst out of the temple and exposed himself within his sight, allowing him to seize the opportunity and blast the opponent to death with the firearm!

This brat rushed out of the ancient temple as a feint, and then returned inside!

He Lian Zheng's mind went blank. Young Master Zhao Rui is still inside the temple!

His body sank, and he plummeted through the broken opening of the ancient temple. Before he even landed, he saw Chen Shi pressing down on Young Master Zhao Rui's head and slamming him against the wall with a bang, splattering blood.

The six members of the Zhao family were all eliminated, not a single one left.

Chen Shi let out a breath, his heart feeling steady.

A gentleman does not act without gravitas.

If he couldn't strike them down with heavy blows, how could he establish his authority and deter the Zhao family in the Provincial City?

If Scholar Zhu were here, he would surely be delighted that I have not disgraced Master's teachings!