Righteous Gang Beating

That night, a thousand miles from the Holy City.

Three people left the main road and chose to camp and rest in a small mountain called Clear Wind.

The tall and short men were setting up the tents, while the handsome young man sat on a rock, reading a worn notebook by the light of the campfire. It was nothing valuable.

Chen Guan had never cared for reading before, but after coming to the Dou Qi Continent, he had read a great many books in order to better fit in. Slowly, he had come to enjoy the feeling of quietly enriching himself. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would take one out and read.

"Young Master, it's time to rest," Wang Dalang stepped forward and said softly.

In truth, he found it rather strange. Given their status, there was no need to make things so hard on themselves. Another Half an Hour down the road lay a city. Wouldn't a big inn bed be far better?

Chen Guan nodded, put away the notebook, stretched, and walked towards his tent.

"Rest early. We'll be picking up the pace tomorrow."

After giving his instructions, he ducked into the tent.

Unlike usual, Chen Guan did not cultivate through the night. His mind was unsettled tonight as he waited for something else.

Late at night, just as Chen Guan thought he had waited in vain, a concealed aura entered within a hundred meters and was detected by him immediately.

He's here!

Although Mo Cheng had concealed his aura extremely well, he could not escape Chen Guan's Spiritual Power. Chen Guan had even recognized his identity.

To be honest, Chen Guan was rather disappointed that Mo Cheng had come alone. He had thought the Misty Cloud Sect would get involved as well.

When he left the Imperial Capital that day, he had sensed quite a few people watching him. After all that, it was only this? Mo Cheng was about as strong as Wang Yan and his brother, all Three-Star Dou Spirits. However, with his series of Trump Cards, Chen Guan was confident he could deal with the brothers in a very short time.

If there were no other factors interfering, Mo Cheng would have liked to play cat and mouse for a while longer. But when he thought of the two people who had egged him on from behind the scenes, he did not dare act recklessly and could only put away his twisted thoughts.

In fact, to ensure a swift, decisive, foolproof victory, he had already taken a Blood Burning Pill. At this moment, he was confident he could fight anyone below the Dou Wang realm! With such a tremendous boost in strength, and a nighttime sneak attack at that, he had no idea how he could possibly lose.

Mo Cheng's confidence soared. He put on a mask, confirmed that the Wang brothers were cultivating, then suddenly sprang into action. Activating his movement technique, he rushed towards the target tent at incredible speed.

At the same time, Mo Cheng's left arm spasmed, and his body trembled slightly. A ferocious Hidden Force burst forth, shattering his sleeve.

His left arm was completely exposed to the air. Veins bulged across it like writhing little snakes, while the entire arm grotesquely swelled and thickened. His originally normal nails rapidly grew, turning black and razor-sharp.

It no longer looked like a human arm, but more like the forelimb of a magical beast. Blood surged through it, turning the entire arm crimson red and making it look immensely powerful at a glance.

"Die!"

Mo Cheng held nothing back as the Mountain Breaking Arm unleashed a savage strike.

He knew the target possessed a Dou Ling-level puppet. He had seen it at Yaoye's Coming-of-Age Ceremony, so he was not worried about smashing the target into pulp.

This blow would destroy that puppet and severely injure the target at the same time!

"How dare you!"

"Stop! Black Silver Entanglement!"

The sudden disturbance also woke the two brothers nearby. Both immediately shouted in anger to interfere. The faster Wang Dalang closed in at full speed, while Wang Yan activated a Dou Technique to support him. Having worked together for decades, their coordination was flawless.

Yet despite this, the gap in strength remained enormous. Mo Cheng's speed was too fast at the moment, and they were still one step too late.

Screech—

The tent burst apart under the pressure of Dou Qi Energy. But when they saw the scene inside, Mo Cheng froze, as did the two brothers rushing to protect their master.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten exchanges had ended. Mo Cheng's killing blow had been effortlessly neutralized, and he was sent flying more than twenty steps before finally regaining his footing.

His left arm shook violently, breaking free of the black vines winding around it. In no mood to deal with Wang Yan, Mo Cheng stared blankly at the target tent.

The young man looked as calm as ever, as though nothing had happened. He sat before a small table, drinking by himself. His relaxed, unhurried manner was utterly out of place with the current atmosphere.

Around the young man stood no fewer than seven puppets, guarding him like grim door gods and leaving no openings whatsoever.

Faced with this scene, not only Mo Cheng, but even the two brothers who were single-mindedly protecting their master did not know what to say.

Feeling the powerful pressure emanating from the seven puppets, the brothers unconsciously glanced at the masked creature that had attacked them. There was actually a trace of sympathy in their eyes.

For some reason, they also felt like laughing. "Young Master, are you all right?"

The brothers hurried forward and asked through the wall of puppets.

"I'm fine. Come on, let's keep drinking and enjoy a good show."

With a thought, the seven puppets suddenly charged out, cutting off Mo Cheng's retreat and surrounding him as they launched a righteous gang beating.

Under the night sky, the three drank by candlelight, while not far away, a splendid performance played out. The scene appeared so warm and harmonious.

Mo Cheng was very strong. With the Blood Burning Pill and Mountain Breaking Arm empowering him, none of Chen Guan's Dou Ling-level puppets could match his current strength.

But even an elephant could be bitten to death by ants, and two fists could not fend off four hands. Facing the attacks of seven puppets, he could only barely protect his vital points. Every so often, he would take a hit and let out a shrill scream.

As long as the core and Spiritual Imprint inside the puppets were not destroyed, their attacks would never cease.

Mo Cheng, on the other hand, could only maintain the strength granted by the Blood Burning Pill for a limited time. The Dou Qi in his Dou Crystal was rapidly being drained.

The three watching the show had all foreseen the outcome of this battle.

Without any surprise, after the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Mo Cheng began to falter. His strength rapidly declined, and he could no longer withstand the seven puppets' gang beating. He could only take the blows without resistance.

Seeing Mo Cheng collapse, barely alive and with his life hanging by a thread, Wang Yan opened his mouth, intending to advise them not to kill him for the moment. They could interrogate him before sending him on his way.

However, Chen Guan had no intention of stopping the puppets. Only after personally watching Mo Cheng get beaten into a puddle of tomato paste did he withdraw them.

In Chen Guan's eyes, the matter was already very clear.

He did not possess any Special Physique, so Mo Cheng had absolutely no reason to risk offending the imperial family by attacking him. The reason Mo Cheng had come after him today was surely because someone else had ordered it.

As it happened, Chen Guan knew very well whose dog this Old Fellow was.

The only thing that surprised him was that Mo Cheng's displayed strength clearly came from taking a Fifth-Grade Pill, the Blood Burning Pill. Its aftereffects were easy to identify.

Fifth-Grade Pills were not common goods even in the Misty Cloud Sect. Without the sect leader's approval, it was unlikely that Yun Leng could have mobilized one on his own.

Or perhaps someone else had given Mo Cheng the pill.

As for the possibility that Mo Cheng had acquired it through some fortunate opportunity, Chen Guan did not believe it.

If Mo Cheng truly had the Blood Burning Pill as a Trump Card, he would have used it long ago when Xiao Huohuo came to his door in the Original Trajectory.

Therefore, besides Yun Leng, both Yun Yun and Gu He were suspects.

Deep down, Chen Guan was more inclined toward the latter.

After all, it would not be difficult to learn that he had gone to the Misty Cloud Sect to exchange for Spirit Absorption.

And for an alchemist obsessed with obtaining Heavenly Flames, he would never let any possibility slip away.