Raging Fire Mad Saber

"Is Tian Ming not long for this world?"

The words made the assembled Jianghu heroes turn their heads in surprise. The speaker was a grim-faced man with a scar across his face. Some recognized him and sneered. "Scarface Liu, you're talking nonsense here. Aren't you afraid Divine Fist Blood Hand will come after you? He's got thousands of bandits under his command now!"

"He's a dead man walking. What have I got to fear?"

Scarface Liu was a fellow of the underworld, and he sneered. "Tian Ming is an ambitious wolf. The remaining mountain strongholds in Nanyang Prefecture won't let him pick them off one by one. They've joined forces and put up a huge sum to hire an elder to deal with him. Tian Ming is as good as dead."

The crowd was astonished, and plenty of people immediately gathered around to ask, "An elder? Which elder? Can he beat Divine Fist Blood Hand?"

"However strong Tian Ming is, he's still just a junior. Once this man makes his move, Tian Ming is finished. The leaders of the various strongholds have already sent people to invite him."

Scarface Liu proudly shared what he knew. "The two sides agreed to a fair fight on Taicang Mountain. If Tian Ming wins, all the remaining bandits will submit to him. If he loses, well, there's nothing more to say. He'll die!"

"Something that big is happening?"

Everyone cried out in astonishment. Someone anxiously asked, "Who exactly did they invite?"

But Scarface Liu fell silent. A perceptive man quickly had someone bring over various pastries, candied fruit, and fine tea, then poured him a cup himself.

Scarface Liu nodded in satisfaction. It wasn't that he coveted such a small benefit; this was about respect. He took a sip of tea and drawled out a title: "Raging Fire Mad Saber!"

"Raging Fire Mad Saber?"

Some people looked bewildered at the name, while others cried out in shock. "It's Raging Fire Mad Saber? Is he still alive?"

"Of course he's alive. If one of the stronghold leaders didn't have some connection with him, they couldn't have hired him for any amount of money."

Scarface Liu said, "No matter how strong Divine Fist Blood Hand Tian Ming is, he can't possibly match Raging Fire Mad Saber. That's why I say he's finished. Heh, the tallest tree catches the wind. If he'd just stayed put, he wouldn't have died. But he wants to be the hegemon? He's asking for it!"

Someone objected. "Is this Raging Fire Mad Saber really that powerful? What makes you say Divine Fist Blood Hand is certain to lose?"

"Divine Fist Blood Hand is powerful, but he really isn't Raging Fire Mad Saber's match."

Quite a few people shook their heads. "You're young. You haven't heard of Raging Fire Mad Saber. Twenty years ago, he was a notorious expert of the demonic path, feared throughout the land. Countless skilled fighters died at his hands. He even stormed the imperial palace, killed a member of the imperial clan, and walked out alive."

"He stormed the imperial palace, killed a member of the imperial clan, and walked out alive? Are you joking?"

Many people cried out in astonishment. The imperial palace was teeming with experts. To get inside, kill a member of the imperial clan, and make it back out alive—he had to be one of the mightiest experts in the world.

"Exactly. The emperor was so furious that he went mad and sent countless people to hunt him down. They chased him all the way from the capital to Nanyang Prefecture, but not only did they fail to kill him, he killed dozens of experts. Even the emperor was cowed and didn't dare send anyone else after him."

Scarface Liu said smugly, "That incident was what earned him the title Raging Fire Mad Saber!"

"Is he really that formidable? If all that's true, then Divine Fist Blood Hand might actually be no match for him."

Now everyone understood just how terrifying Raging Fire Mad Saber was. Still, some remained unconvinced and asked, "If Raging Fire Mad Saber is that powerful, why haven't we heard a word about him in the past twenty years?"

"Because he's been living in seclusion for twenty years and hasn't involved himself in Jianghu affairs. As for the exact reason, it might have something to do with his wife, who was killed by that member of the imperial clan."

Scarface Liu knew quite a lot. He continued, "He was already that powerful back then, and another twenty years have passed. I think that in the world today, apart from Grand Eunuch Cao Dan and top experts like Great Hero of Southern Mountain, there's hardly anyone who could be his match."

Everyone nodded. If someone was in the Body Tempering Realm, their vital energy would decline with age, and their strength would fall sharply. But once someone reached the True Qi Realm, as long as they reached a certain level, their true qi grew deeper with age. Unless Raging Fire Mad Saber had gone twenty years without practicing, he was surely even more terrifying now!

"It seems Divine Fist Blood Hand won't become the next Southern Heavenly King after all. What a pity."

Someone sighed. This time, no one disagreed. Divine Fist Blood Hand was indeed powerful, but only within Nanyang Prefecture. Compared with a renowned elder like Raging Fire Mad Saber, he still fell far short!

Just then, someone said, "By the way, didn't they say the duel would be on Taicang Mountain? When is it? Can we still get there in time to watch?"

Scarface Liu replied, "There's time. The duel is the day after tomorrow, and they haven't forbidden fellow Jianghu practitioners from going to watch. I'm planning to go, too."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The crowd was delighted. They all decided to go watch the battle together and witness the end of Divine Fist Blood Hand!

In a corner, the woman listened quietly to everything, her brows furrowing ever deeper. "Even Raging Fire Mad Saber has come out of seclusion. It seems Senior Brother might be in grave danger this time. But he's always been a loner. Why would he suddenly want to become some kind of hegemon?"

This woman was none other than Blood Hand Tian Ming's junior sister and Great Hero of Southern Mountain's wife, Huang Lei!

Huang Lei hadn't come alone. At her table sat a married couple named Shi Chao and Li Mei, renowned experts in the Jianghu known as Righteousness Twin Swords.

Li Mei asked in a low voice, "Madam, we thought that now your senior brother has founded the Good Men Gang, we'd have more support. But now Raging Fire Mad Saber has appeared. What should we do?"

Huang Lei considered it, then said, "This whole situation is completely beyond what I expected. Let's go to Taicang Mountain and see what happens. If my senior brother wins, then everything will be fine. If he loses, we'll think of something else."

Shi Chao nodded. "That's all we can do for now. Come to think of it, Raging Fire Mad Saber's martial arts are indeed extraordinary. If we could get his help, that matter would be much easier."

Huang Lei frowned at this. Li Mei immediately shot Shi Chao a glare. If Raging Fire Mad Saber won, Tian Ming would die—and Tian Ming was Huang Lei's senior brother. Though the two of them had grown distant because they stood on opposite sides of the divide between righteousness and evil, they couldn't simply go and invite his killer, could they?

Shi Chao realized this, too. He gave an awkward smile and said no more.

"My senior brother is a member of the demonic path, and he has shed a great deal of innocent blood. Good and evil are repaid in kind. I won't hold a grudge. Let's wait and see. In the end, it's all for the sake of All Living Beings!"

Huang Lei sighed and spoke with lofty righteousness. Righteousness Twin Swords were deeply impressed. As expected of Great Hero of Southern Mountain's wife—she truly had a chivalrous heart.

From the conversation between the three of them, it was clear that they had no faith in Divine Fist Blood Hand at all. In fact, most people in the Jianghu felt the same way!

But Zhang Yunhao himself was brimming with confidence!