Iron Rod

Chen Luo searched the house again, and after confirming he hadn't missed anything, he climbed over the wall and jumped out.

He definitely wasn't going to use the door.

In places that had just experienced turmoil like this, using the main entrance was the easiest way to be ambushed.

After leaving his Master, Crippled Ma's house, Chen Luo turned and walked towards West Street. He remembered Crippled Ma telling him before that his Junior Sister Apprentice, He Min's house was over there. Unlike Chen Luo, his Junior Sister Apprentice He Min's family was involved in a gang, and her father was even a high-level member. It was precisely because of this that He Min was able to get into martial arts from a young age and become a disciple of Crippled Ma.

After passing the alley entrance, the road became noticeably wider.

The road was also much cleaner, and the houses changed from dilapidated thatched huts and low-rise tiled houses to luxurious mansions with private courtyards. The people living here were clearly the more prominent figures in Qingya County. He Min's father was a high-level member of the Sha Lake Gang, so it was natural that their living conditions wouldn't be poor.

In theory, this kind of wealthy area should have been the hardest hit after the bandit soldiers entered the city, but strangely, the damage here was not as severe as in the poor areas. Although there were traces of fire, the houses were basically not collapsed, and there were no bodies displayed outside the doors. Apart from the tightly shut doors, it looked almost the same as before.

This scene made Chen Luo have some conjectures in his heart.

It should be almost there.

Confirming his direction, Chen Luo increased his pace slightly, and with a leap, he reached the corner.

His Junior Sister Apprentice He Min's house was at the very end.

However, just as he rounded the corner, his figure suddenly stopped. He stood at the corner and glanced over.

At the main entrance of the He family's residence, two groups of people were fighting. One group was the Imperial Court's 'suppression' soldiers, and the other group was wearing clothes from the docks, clearly experts from the Sha Lake Gang. The two groups were fighting fiercely, and over a dozen people lay on the ground on either side of the road, with casualties on both sides.

"How did these two groups start fighting?"

Chen Luo pondered, momentarily unsure if he should still go over. According to his earlier conjecture, these people on West Street were likely colluding with the Qingya County officials and soldiers.

"Black Tiger Digging Heart!"

Just as Chen Luo was preparing to observe further, an angry roar sounded, followed by the explosive crack of a punch like thunder. Following the sound, he saw Crippled Ma unleashing the killing move of the Black Tiger Fist. With a single punch, he was like a fierce tiger. The explosive punch force collided with the soldier closest to him.

There was a crisp crack, and the soldier's chest instantly caved in. A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out.

The person was sent flying sideways by the force of the punch, knocking over seven or eight people before stopping.

This scene immediately drew everyone's attention.

After throwing the punch, Crippled Ma's entire body was steaming with heat. The blood in his body was like mercury, actually making a flowing sound. This was because Crippled Ma was crippled; if his legs hadn't been crippled before, he could have even produced the phenomenon of blood and qi smoke.

Now, at most, he could only reach this point.

"How dare you!"

A captain in armor from the Imperial Court side grabbed a large saber and flashed towards Crippled Ma, slashing down.

The timing of this person's attack was extremely precise. At this moment, Crippled Ma had just exhausted his old strength, and his new strength had not yet been generated. Seeing the saber slashing towards him, he subconsciously wanted to dodge, but the killing move just now had consumed too much, making his body completely unable to keep up with his reaction speed. He was about to be decapitated by the enemy.

"Master Ma!"

Among the crowd, the Sha Lake Gang experts who were fighting desperately turned pale at this sight. Other Sha Lake Gang members also wanted to help, but the Imperial Court's people gave them no chance, using twelve points of strength to hold them back.

This scene made everyone present despair.

If Crippled Ma, this expert, died, then every single person present would not be able to escape.

Clang!

An iron rod swept over, blocking the fatal strike with a speed that arrived later but struck first.

The large saber and the iron rod collided, and the powerful force numbed the Imperial Court expert's arms, splitting his tiger's mouth. He raised his hand to look, and his wrist was injured by the impact, with blood dripping down.

"Who?!"

The Imperial Court expert subconsciously roared out.

But before his voice had completely faded, he saw the iron rod change direction, and without a single word of nonsense, it swung towards his face.

"Seeking death!"

The Imperial Court expert was furious and didn't have time to see who had attacked. He instantly mobilized all the Internal Qi in his body. The Mid-stage of the Second Realm Internal Qi gathered on his weapon, stacked with the power of a heavy weapon, and he slashed towards the iron rod with a head-on collision.

This saber strike was extremely powerful. If an expert of the same realm were to encounter it, they would definitely be defeated by the advantage of his equipment. This was also the most commonly used saber technique in the military.

Ruthless, life-risking!

Clang!!!

There was another loud bang. The large saber was even bent, sparks flew everywhere, and the expected scene of being cut in two did not appear. Instead, the force from the iron rod was transmitted over.

Everyone only heard a muffled sound, followed by the sound of bones breaking.

The Imperial Court expert's forehead exploded like tofu brains, blood mixed with brain matter splattered everywhere, and the person was swept flying, hitting the stone wall behind and leaving a large dent. His body was sunken in, and his legs twitched twice outside.

He was dead.

Hiss!!!

Such a ruthless and brutal scene frightened everyone.

The expert in armor was not some small fry. Since the start of the battle, several Sha Lake Gang Hall Masters had died at the hands of this expert. Even Crippled Ma was not his match in a direct confrontation. Such a fierce person was actually smashed to death with an iron rod right in front of everyone.

The entire process took only a few blinks of an eye. It was a complete碾压 (crushing), like a father beating his son.

"Master Ma, are you alright?"

Chen Luo walked out from the nearby alley. He had come to save people in the first place, so it was impossible for him to watch Crippled Ma die in front of him.

The iron rod was one he had picked up from a dead soldier. With Internal Qi infused, it was something that even an Imperial Court expert in the Internal Training Realm couldn't sever.

"You've forged your bones?!"

Crippled Ma plopped onto the ground, staring at Chen Luo who had emerged from the alley entrance.

All the words he had were ultimately reduced to this single exclamation of shock.

A Bone Forging expert!

"Just broke through yesterday," Chen Luo grinned.

As expected of the Master who taught him martial arts, his eyesight was excellent.

Hearing his affirmative reply, everyone nearby was stunned, especially the people from the Imperial Court, who had already started backing away.

A Bone Forging realm expert was enough to change the tide of the battle!

They couldn't have imagined that a small, remote place like Qingya County could produce an expert of this caliber. If he truly had this kind of strength, why wasn't he making a living in the provincial capital? Compared to the Imperial Court's fear, the Sha Lake Gang members were filled with both surprise and joy.

They had thought they were in a desperate situation, but unexpectedly, they found a ray of hope.

With this person stepping in to help, the Sha Lake Gang's disaster today was likely averted.

"Run!!"

Someone in the crowd shouted.

In an instant, the Imperial Court soldiers scattered like birds and beasts, even abandoning their weapons as they fled in all directions. Their disorganized formation was no different from that of bandits, only good for bullying the old, weak, women, and children.

"I'll go take care of this."

Chen Luo picked up the iron rod in his hand and with a flash, chased after them.

Since he had already started killing, he naturally wouldn't leave any alive.

These soldiers weren't good people either. They had killed who knows how many ordinary people in Qingya County, and everyone's hands were stained with blood. Among them, there might even be people he knew, just like Auntie Wang. Thinking of those people's tragic state, Chen Luo swung the iron rod in his hand even faster.