Intercept and Kill

Laiyang City is located in the northwest of Lanzhou, surrounded by mountains on all four sides. To be honest, Laiyang City is essentially a mountain city; it is very difficult for outsiders to get in, and just as difficult for those inside to get out.

The Black Dragon Mountain Range is like a giant dragon coiled upon the earth. Its winding body divides the entire Lanzhou region, serving as both a barrier and an obstacle.

There are many small cities like Laiyang City, all of which are very suitable places for seclusion. Few people would ever cross the perilous Black Dragon Mountain Range to come here.

But if Shen Fan wants to leave, he must inevitably cross the Black Dragon Mountain Range. Even with his current strength, he is very likely to encounter danger. However, there is no other way; if he wants to pursue higher-level Martial Arts techniques, leaving is a necessity.

There was no need for goodbyes. Shen Fan carried a pack on his back and simply left.

After exiting the city gate, Shen Fan chose a direction and walked on.

But after he left, several street vendors suddenly gathered together to whisper to one another, and then a carrier pigeon flew from their hands.

The carrier pigeon flew rapidly across the sky and landed in the hands of a man in black.

Removing the note, Wang Wu and the others read it carefully.

"Haha, brothers, it's time to work. Another fool who doesn't know life from death wants to leave. Let's send him on his way!"

"Haha, Big Brother is right. Rather than letting these guys get eaten by the Demonic Beasts in the mountains, it's better they die by our hands and add a little to our merit!"

Dozens of men in black, filled with murderous intent, laughed one after another.

These people were a force secretly recruited by the City Lord's Mansion. Now, they had only one mission: to never let any Martial Artist leave Laiyang City!

After half a year, the City Lord, Huang Ling, was finally beginning to bare his fangs.

"Third Brother, take a few men and go properly entertain this little bird who yearns for freedom!"

"You got it, Big Brother. Shall I go and have some fun then?" Zhang San agreed readily.

He had been waiting here for days until he was nearly growing mold from boredom. Now that someone had finally come, he would have volunteered even if Wang Wu hadn't said anything.

Zhang San took five men in black and headed in the direction Shen Fan was traveling, while the others remained on standby.

Zhang San himself was an expert at the Organ Refining stage, and the men he brought were at least at the Flesh Refining stage. It could be said that if it were an ordinary Martial Artist, survival would be impossible.

Furthermore, the intelligence provided did not state that the person was an expert, which meant he was likely just a small fry who couldn't make it in Laiyang City!

Since that was the case, Zhang San was completely unconcerned and leisurely blocked the only path Shen Fan had to take to leave the mountains.

Soon, Zhang San saw a tall, handsome youth sprinting toward them. Judging by that speed, his footwork was quite good.

"Halt!" one of his subordinates in black shouted loudly.

Shen Fan frowned, but he still stopped. He looked at the few men before him and suddenly realized something was wrong.

Especially after seeing the weapons behind them, the unease in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

Despite his unease, he forced himself to ask, "May I ask what advice you gentlemen have for me?"

"Advice? Hahaha, Third Brother, look at this kid, he's actually quite polite. Tell me, should I leave his body intact later to show off our local hospitality?"

A man in black laughed without a shred of restraint, but Zhang San, standing behind him, shook his head. "Kid, you're out of luck running into us today. Be more careful in your next life!"

As he spoke, he signaled with his eyes. The men in black beside him understood immediately and swarmed Shen Fan from several directions.

"Kid, prepare to die!"

A man in black at the Bone Forging stage made the first move. The others remained on guard, though they were clearly relaxed, as they could tell Shen Fan was definitely not old.

And being young meant he had spent little time practicing martial arts, so his martial level certainly couldn't be high.

With a Bone Forging expert making a move, this should be a sure thing!

Everyone thought as much, but Shen Fan sighed. Looking at the small fry rushing toward him, he swung his pack and his figure instantly vanished from their sight.

A chill ran down their backs.

"It's over, we've run into an expert!" Their hair stood on end, but it was already too late. Even at the Bone Forging stage, Shen Fan could have toyed with these small-time thugs, let alone now.

At the Organ Refining stage, he didn't even know what level his strength had reached; regardless, he felt almost no sense of threat within the martial arts hall anymore.

He had even secretly approached the place where the hall master, Zhang Longyun, was in seclusion, only to find that the man's aura wasn't particularly strong either.

As for the people before him, only the leader, "Third Brother," was worth a look; the rest were just trash!

In a few blinks, Shen Fan returned to his original spot, but the men who had surrounded him stopped in their tracks, staring at Shen Fan with wide eyes.

Blood trickled slowly from their seven orifices. Without a single cry of agony, they simply toppled over, stiff as boards!

Zhang San, standing to the side, had already sensed the situation going south and tried to slip away, but Shen Fan wasn't in the slightest hurry. Watching Zhang San run further and further away, he smiled faintly.

"Do you think you can run? How naive!"

With that, Shen Fan's figure vanished from the spot, his speed reaching a point where it was difficult for the naked eye to track.

Over the past six months, the techniques Shen Fan had practiced were all highly representative—those with high offense, strong defense, speed boosts, and long-lasting stamina; he truly had it all.

And after mastering these techniques, Shen Fan had naturally become an all-around warrior.

At his current speed, unless someone had also mastered a movement technique to perfection, they would never be able to keep up with him.

Clearly, Zhang San was not such a person. Although his speed was already a bit faster than an average Organ Refining expert, he was still as slow as a snail in front of Shen Fan.

Zhang San suddenly felt a whistling wind beside his ears. He turned his head, only to see that devilish figure standing right before his eyes.

Terrified, Zhang San slid to his knees and hugged Shen Fan's thigh.

"Spare me, master!"

"Tell me everything you know, and I might spare your life," Shen Fan said indifferently.

Seeing a chance to survive, Zhang San naturally seized it firmly. Before long, he had confessed everything he knew.

This included his identity, his background, the mission he was carrying out, and so on.

Looking at the sincere expression on Zhang San's face, Shen Fan subtly pulled his legs free from where they were being clutched.

"The City Lord of Huangling? So, you finally couldn't hold back anymore, could you?"

From Zhang San's mouth, Shen Fan learned of the City Lord Huang Ling's plans. It could be said that over the past six months, Huang Ling's desire to seize sole control of Laiyang City had never waned.

He had secretly contacted the Kaishan Martial Arts School, taken Chang Yuchun under his wing, and used the Kaishan Martial Arts School to continuously weaken the strength of the other martial arts schools.

As of today, the Kaishan Martial Arts School had already absorbed nearly one-third of the disciples from the other schools. If they joined forces with the City Lord's Mansion, they would be fully capable of contending with the other three major martial arts schools!

And this was all without the City Lord Huang Ling even making a move himself. But was that even possible? Huang Ling alone could rival almost all the experts in Laiyang City.

However, nearly half of those people were now under Huang Ling's control. How could the remaining ones possibly be his match?

Therefore, Huang Ling had chosen to strike. He sealed off Laiyang City, intercepted any martial artists attempting to flee, and prepared to catch them like turtles in a jar.

If nothing went wrong, the battle in Laiyang City had likely already begun. And if things proceeded as expected, the martial arts school factions would likely vanish from Laiyang City entirely.