The flames at Red Fish Dock surged skyward, dyeing half the night sky blood-red.
The cries of battle, the screams, and the clanging of colliding weapons intertwined into a symphony of death.
Just as the chaos reached its peak, a red figure plunged from the rooftop, like a phoenix rising through flames, bringing with her a suffocating pressure.
"Red Fish Gang leader, Li Qingyi!"
Someone in the crowd cried out in terror.
Lu Chen stood at the edge of the plaza, his eyes narrowed.
The woman wore a Scarlet Jing Suit. Tall and slender, she gripped a pair of swords as cold as autumn waters.
She didn't land. Instead, she stepped on the shoulder of a Black Water Gang member and sprang off, weaving through the crowd like a phantom.
Swish, swish, swish!
Swordlight flashed, too fast for anyone to follow.
Wherever she passed, several Black Water Gang fighters clutched their throats and fell, blood gushing between their fingers.
Too fast.
Before her, Flesh Refining Realm warriors were lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
"Wicked woman, don't get cocky! Zhao Tieshan is here!"
A thunderous shout rang out.
Zhao Tieshan charged toward Li Qingyi, Ghost Head Saber in hand, his blood and qi blazing like a furnace.
Each step he took split the green stone tiles beneath his feet.
The full force of a Meridian Connecting Realm expert erupted from him. His saber, carrying the might to cleave mountains and shatter stone, came crashing down toward Li Qingyi.
"Hmph. A brute."
Li Qingyi let out a cold, cutting sneer.
Facing Zhao Tieshan's powerful blow, she moved forward instead of retreating. Her toes touched lightly against the ground, and her figure drifted like willow fluff in the wind, dodging the blade by a hair's breadth.
Her swords crossed, striking the side of the Ghost Head Saber at an extremely tricky angle.
Using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.
Zhao Tieshan felt his saber knocked off course. The blow that had been aimed at Li Qingyi instead crashed into the stone lion beside her.
The stone lion split in two, sending rubble flying.
Already, Li Qingyi had used the force of the impact to turn and slip around Zhao Tieshan's side.
Her twin swords darted like venomous snakes, stabbing straight at his vulnerable flank.
"Get lost!"
Zhao Tieshan reacted swiftly, swinging an elbow behind him.
But it struck nothing.
Li Qingyi's movements were far too bizarre. She flickered left and right, impossible to predict.
The two were locked in combat in an instant.
Saber and sword flashed as waves of force crisscrossed the air.
None of the fighters nearby, whether from the Black Water Gang or the Red Fish Gang, dared approach, afraid of being shredded by the shockwaves.
Lu Chen didn't rush in.
He mingled with the crowd, watching the fight closely like a patient, venomous snake.
This was his first time seeing a life-and-death battle between Meridian Connecting Realm experts.
Zhao Tieshan fought with brute force, his attacks wide and powerful, every blow carrying a thousand jun of strength. If one landed cleanly, Li Qingyi would be dead for sure.
But Li Qingyi clearly understood that.
She refused to meet Zhao Tieshan's attacks head-on. Instead, she used her footwork to circle him, aiming her twin swords at his joints, eyes, ears, and other vital points.
Zhao Tieshan's protective blood and qi could fend off ordinary blades, but Li Qingyi's twin swords, infused with internal energy, still left him covered in cuts.
"That woman is a real pain!"
Zhao Tieshan grew more and more frustrated, roaring again and again, yet he couldn't even touch the hem of Li Qingyi's clothes.
Meanwhile, his own stamina was starting to give out under the strain.
"Now."
A glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes.
He'd figured it out.
Li Qingyi's movements were uncanny and her attacks sharp, but strength was her weakness.
Whenever she blocked Zhao Tieshan's attacks, she had to use skill to dissipate the force, and her steps faltered for the briefest moment.
That pause was her opening.
On the battlefield, Zhao Tieshan roared again and unleashed his ultimate move.
"Sweeping Thousand Armies!"
His Ghost Head Saber swept sideways, unleashing a crescent-shaped blade aura that cut off every avenue of escape.
Li Qingyi had nowhere to dodge.
A fierce glint flashed in her eyes. She crossed her swords before her chest, released her internal energy, and took the blow head-on.
Clang!!!
The clash of metal rang out, deafening.
Li Qingyi's delicate body shuddered, and the blow sent her skidding several yards backward, her feet gouging two deep furrows in the ground.
She had blocked the strike, but her blood and qi roiled violently. Her strength was spent, and she hadn't yet recovered.
In that instant,
a shadow darted without warning from the darkness behind her.
No shout. No killing intent.
Only speed pushed to the limit, and ruthlessness pushed just as far.
Lu Chen.
He had waited a long time for this one chance to strike.
He didn't use a saber.
Against an expert of this level, his nicked Mountain Splitting Saber might not pierce her defenses, and it could easily be blocked.
He used his palm.
Stone Crushing Palm, Third Realm—mastery.
All his strength, together with that strange Vibrating Force, converged in his right palm.
His palm turned black as ink from the blood rushing into it, like an Iron Hand.
"Die!"
Lu Chen growled inwardly.
Li Qingyi had just taken Zhao Tieshan's blow and was at her weakest. With her back to Lu Chen, she had no time to turn around.
But the instincts of a Meridian Connecting Realm expert were incredibly sharp.
The moment Lu Chen closed in, she felt a deadly chill shoot straight through her skull.
"How dare you!"
She let out a shrill cry and twisted her waist with force, trying to evade the blow to her vitals.
But it was too late.
A muffled boom rang out.
Lu Chen's palm struck Li Qingyi squarely in the back.
Vibrating Force!
For an instant, Lu Chen felt as if his palm had struck a tough layer of cowhide. It was Li Qingyi's protective internal energy.
But he didn't back down. Instead, his eyes widened with fury, and a low growl rumbled from his throat.
"Break!"
His palm jolted violently.
A formless spiral of force bored through the layer of protective energy like a drill, driving straight into her organs.
"Ugh—!"
Li Qingyi's entire body jolted as though struck by lightning.
She spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of her organs, splattering the ground in front of her.
Her once-cold beauty turned as pale as paper. Her features twisted with agony.
"Damn you, brat!"
She barely managed to turn her head, glaring at Lu Chen with venomous eyes.
If looks could kill, Lu Chen would have been cut to pieces a thousand times over.
Her glare made Lu Chen's scalp prickle, but he didn't stop. His left hand became a claw and reached straight for her throat.
Strike while she's down and finish her off!
"Leader!"
Just then, several Red Fish Gang fanatics charged over, heedless of their lives.
They threw themselves between Lu Chen and Li Qingyi.
Thud, thud!
Lu Chen crushed two of their throats, but they held him up for a moment.
Taking advantage of the opening, Li Qingyi retreated in a flash.
She shot a resentful look at Lu Chen and Zhao Tieshan as he came running over, realizing the tide had turned against her.
"Retreat! Fall back to the Inner Dock!"
She shouted an order and fled deeper into Red Fish Dock, supported by several trusted followers.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Zhao Tieshan started after her, saber in hand.
But the Red Fish Gang members showed astonishing tenacity. They threw themselves at the Black Water Gang, using their own flesh and blood to block the pursuit.
"Don't chase cornered foes!"
After cutting down several men, Zhao Tieshan took in the Inner Dock's complicated terrain and stopped short.
Waterways crisscrossed the Inner Dock, and traps were everywhere. If they charged in recklessly, they might suffer heavy losses.
"Pass down the order. Withdraw!"
Zhao Tieshan waved his hand and ordered the retreat.
The Black Water Gang had won a great victory tonight.
They had burned the granary, destroyed the shipyard, and gravely wounded Li Qingyi. The Red Fish Gang had taken a heavy blow and wouldn't be able to challenge the Black Water Gang again anytime soon.
Cheers thundered across the battlefield.
The Black Water Gang members raised their weapons, celebrating this hard-won victory.
Lu Chen, however, silently withdrew to the back of the crowd.
He looked at his right hand, trembling slightly, and felt a sharp pain in his palm.
The counterforce from a Meridian Connecting Realm expert was indeed brutal.
If he hadn't had his Bronze Skin to protect him, his hand would probably have been ruined.
"Lu Chen!"
Zhao Tieshan strode over, his blood-smeared face brimming with undisguised approval.
"That palm strike was brilliant!"
"If you hadn't caught her by surprise, I might not have been able to take that wicked woman down today."
At his words, the fighters around them all turned to look at Lu Chen.
Their eyes were full of awe.
Li Qingyi, who had even given their leader trouble, had been gravely wounded by a newcomer who'd joined the gang less than two months ago.
After this battle, the name Lu Iron Skin would ring throughout Nujiang County.
Lu Chen cupped his fists and bowed his head, his expression modest.
"You flatter me, Hall Master. I just got lucky."
"If you hadn't kept her occupied head-on, I never would've had a chance to get close."
"Hahaha! Good lad. You're not taking credit for yourself. I like that!"
Zhao Tieshan slapped Lu Chen hard on the shoulder, nearly driving him into the ground.
"Once we're back, you'll receive a generous reward!"
Lu Chen's lips curled into a faint smile.
That was exactly what he wanted to hear.
But he understood that tonight's strike, though it had earned him great merit, had also put him firmly on Li Qingyi's kill list.
Being targeted by a Meridian Connecting Realm expert was no joke.
"I have to get stronger as soon as possible."
Lu Chen glanced at the dark waters deep within Red Fish Dock.
It was as though a pair of venomous eyes lurked there in the darkness, watching him.
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