The two gangs met in an abandoned warehouse district in the western part of the city.
The area was wide open, surrounded by piles of battered wooden crates and bricks. It was the perfect place for murder and arson.
The Red Fish Gang had been standing ready for them. Its members wore red tunics.
At their head was a deputy gang leader, a thick-necked man with a pair of axes in his hands.
"Zhao Tieshan, you brute! We're taking this shipment!"
The deputy gang leader laughed arrogantly.
"Bullshit!"
Zhao Tieshan didn't bother with words. He swung his Ghost Head Saber. "Brothers, hack these red-skinned dogs to death!"
"Kill them!!"
The cries of battle shook the heavens.
The two groups crashed together in an instant, spraying countless blossoms of blood.
The clash of weapons, screams of agony, and curses wove together into a song of death.
Lu Chen stood at the edge of the fighting and didn't charge into the center right away.
That was a battlefield for warriors who had reached the ranks. Their energy crisscrossed the air, and the slightest mistake could get him killed by the shock waves.
He set his sights on a Junior Leader from the Red Fish Gang.
The man was skilled with a saber. He had just cut down a newcomer from the Black Water Gang and was looking around smugly for his next target.
"You'll do."
Lu Chen pushed off the ground and darted forward, his saber slicing through the air as he brought it down on the Junior Leader's skull from behind.
"Cheap shot? You're asking to die!"
The Junior Leader reacted lightning-fast. He pinpointed Lu Chen by the sound of the wind and whipped around to block with his saber.
The two blades collided, spraying sparks in every direction.
The Junior Leader felt immense force surge along the hilt, numbing his tiger's mouth. His saber nearly flew from his grasp.
"What incredible strength!"
He was horrified. Before he could adjust his stance, Lu Chen's second strike was already upon him.
That was Lu Chen's fighting style: simple, brutal, and utterly unreasonable.
If his technique was inferior to yours, he would crush you with sheer strength!
"Born with Divine Strength?"
The Junior Leader gritted his teeth and had no choice but to grip his saber with both hands, desperately fending off Lu Chen's storm of attacks.
Lu Chen's expression remained blank. His strikes came faster and faster, each one heavy with force, driving his opponent back again and again.
Just then, a Red Fish Gang member suddenly burst out from the side.
The man held an iron rod. While Lu Chen had exhausted his previous momentum and hadn't yet built up new force, he swung it hard at Lu Chen's back.
"Watch out!"
A Black Water Gang brother nearby cried out.
But Lu Chen seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He didn't dodge.
The Junior Leader had left himself an opening.
This was a chance to trade injury for a life!
The iron rod slammed squarely into Lu Chen's back.
A hint of delight appeared on the ambusher's face. That blow was enough to break a man's spine!
But the next moment, his smile froze.
Lu Chen's body merely shuddered. The muscles in his back bulged, and he withstood the blow by sheer force.
The Iron Skin trait!
It hurt like hell, but his bones weren't broken!
Riding the force of the impact, Lu Chen roared. His saber grew even faster, becoming a black bolt of lightning.
Spurt!
The Junior Leader's block came half a beat too late. The blade struck his shoulder and cleaved through half his body, spraying blood everywhere.
"You..."
The Junior Leader's eyes widened. He toppled to the ground, unwilling to accept his fate.
After taking down his opponent, Lu Chen spun around. His icy eyes fixed on the ambusher.
"Having fun, were you?"
Lu Chen tossed aside his saber, its edge now curled, and went straight for the man.
The ambusher was terrified by Lu Chen's presence and turned to flee.
But Lu Chen wasn't about to give him the chance.
He took a single step forward, clamped a hand onto the man's shoulder, and tightened his five fingers.
Crack!
The man's shoulder blade was crushed.
"Ah!!"
He let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Lu Chen's expression remained blank as his right palm blurred into a streak and slammed into the man's chest.
Stone Crushing Palm!
The man's chest caved in. Blood mixed with scraps of his innards sprayed from his mouth, and he crumpled to the ground.
Two kills in a row!
Lu Chen's swift, ruthless string of moves stunned everyone around him.
Friend or foe, they instinctively edged away from this baleful presence.
"Who's that kid? He's a monster!"
Not far away, Brother Liu was fighting when he saw the scene and sucked in a sharp breath.
He'd thought Lu Chen was just a hotheaded fool with a lot of strength. He hadn't expected him to be so vicious in a fight. And that Body Cultivation of his was clearly no amateur work.
The battle lasted half an hour.
When Zhao Tieshan sent the Red Fish Gang's deputy leader flying with a single strike, the Red Fish Gang finally couldn't hold out any longer. Its members began to scatter and flee.
"Don't chase the desperate!"
Zhao Tieshan panted heavily. He'd taken a few wounds himself, but his spirits were high.
"Search the battlefield and get our goods back! Tend to the wounded brothers right away!"
Lu Chen stopped and gasped for breath.
His back was burning. That blow hadn't broken any bones, but it had surely left a massive bruise.
Still, when he saw the experience points ticking up on his panel, he thought it was worth it.
Real combat was always the fastest way to improve one's martial arts.
Under the pressure of life and death, Lu Chen had just gained a few more insights into his Stone Crushing Palm. His proficiency had shot up considerably.
Lu Chen walked over to the Junior Leader's corpse. While no one was paying attention, he deftly searched it.
A heavy money pouch, and a bloodstained booklet.
Lu Chen's heart stirred, but he discreetly slipped the items into his clothes.
This was the corpse-looting he'd been after.
The money was secondary. That little booklet might be some kind of martial arts manual.
"Lu Chen, are you all right?"
Brother Liu came over. He looked at the mark from the iron rod on Lu Chen's back, and a trace of awe appeared in his eyes.
"I'm fine. Tough skin and thick flesh. I can take a beating."
Lu Chen grinned. With blood on his face, he looked especially ferocious.
"Good lad. You did a fine job tonight. You killed a Junior Leader. I'll report it to the Hall Master as it happened."
Brother Liu patted Lu Chen on the uninjured shoulder. "Go back and rest up. You won't have to go on any jobs for the next few days."
"Thanks, Brother Liu."
Lu Chen clasped his hands.
In this battle, he'd earned himself a reputation in the gang and gained some tangible rewards.
More importantly, he'd proven his strength.
In this world, where might made right, only hard fists could win respect.
Even in a gang, it was no different.
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