Cao Dan

"Not only impervious to blades and spears, but he also has a killer move?"

Zhang Yunhao narrowed his eyes. It seemed he'd underestimated Cao the Eunuch. Even Lei Jue, as he was now, was this wary of him.

"That's right, a killer move. For a eunuch to cultivate the Pure Yang Virgin Boy Skill, he has to first gather his own pure yang energy in his dantian and keep it from dispersing."

As an old veteran, Lei Jue knew quite a lot. "That pure yang energy is the foundation of the Pure Yang Virgin Boy Skill. If Cao the Eunuch releases it, his power will multiply several times over in an instant. Then, he'll kill any god he meets and any Buddha he sees. Of course, afterward, he'll die."

"Several times over?"

Zhang Yunhao sucked in a sharp breath. If Cao's power multiplied several times over, how were they supposed to fight him?

This mission really wasn't going to be simple!

Lei Jue added, "If Cao Dan's master hadn't been ambushed after Cao Dan learned his weak point, Cao Dan wouldn't have found it so easy to kill him. If you want to deal with Cao Dan, you'll have to learn where his weak point is and kill him with one strike, or have a divine weapon or something similar. Otherwise, you'll have almost no chance of success."

"Other than Cao Dan himself, I doubt anyone knows where his weak point is. And where are we supposed to find a divine weapon?"

Zhang Yunhao pondered for a moment, then asked, "Senior Lei, what if I attack him with overwhelming force? A hardening skill like that should be unable to withstand the impact of tremendous strength, right?"

"The Pure Yang Virgin Boy Skill uses true qi for defense. It can withstand not just tremendous force, but even soft-force attacks. It's completely different from a martial art like Iron Cloth Shirt, which only makes the skin and muscles tough."

Lei Jue shook his head. Then, as if struck by a thought, he stared straight at Zhang Yunhao. "I was talking about the strength of a normal person. You're clearly not normal, so you might have a chance. But we won't know for sure until you've tried."

Zhang Yunhao said indignantly, "How am I not normal? Do I have an extra arm or an extra eye?"

"You call that kind of strength normal? I'm starting to wonder if you're some kind of monster."

After ribbing him, Lei Jue continued, "Cao the Eunuch is not only powerful, he also has a host of experts under his command. Killing him will be harder than climbing to the heavens!"

"Great Hero of Southern Mountain and the others have gathered a lot of people to assassinate Cao the Eunuch. They must have a complete plan. We'll go and see what happens. If we get the chance, we'll kill Cao the Eunuch. If not, we'll just run."

Zhang Yunhao asked, "So, are you in?"

"You're going, and so is Great Hero of Southern Mountain. This is a grand event for the martial world. Why wouldn't I join?"

Lei Jue took a puff of his pipe. "Besides, if that bastard hadn't levied taxes and seized wealth so ruthlessly, this old man wouldn't have had to come out and raise money to save my village. You've paid me the money for looking after my family. I'll go with you, and I'd like to see if I can cut through the Pure Yang Virgin Boy Skill."

"Fine. Money's no problem. I'll pay you in full upfront, and if everything goes smoothly, I'll double it."

Zhang Yunhao said generously. With Lei Jue's help, their chances this time were even better!

Three days later, Zhang Yunhao set out on horseback for Roaring Dragon Villa with Huang Lei, her three companions, Lei Jue, and six other heroes.

Meanwhile, Scholar Lu and the others Zhang Yunhao had sent out earlier had already galloped to the capital and successfully secured an audience with Director-General Cao. Eunuchs were exceedingly greedy, so as long as you offered enough silver and had some status, it wasn't difficult to meet Cao Dan!

Scholar Lu bowed and presented the letter with both hands, his face full of obsequious smiles. "Director-General Cao, our Gang Leader sincerely wishes to serve the Imperial Court. He sent me with fifty thousand taels of silver as a token of respect, along with a personal letter for you."

"Divine Fist Blood Hand Tian Ming. I've heard the name, but I didn't expect him to be so sensible. Let's see what he wrote."

Cao Dan was an eunuch in his fifties, with white hair but a youthful face, and a smooth, beardless complexion. He took a sip of tea and spoke unhurriedly.

At once, the young eunuch beside him went to fetch the letter. He opened it and checked for poison before handing it to Cao Dan. Naturally, he didn't dare look at its contents.

Cao Dan set down his teacup and took the letter. When he finished reading, his eyes narrowed.

"Interesting. Very interesting."

Cao Dan let out a few mocking laughs. "I've received your Gang Leader's kind offer. The people who came with you can go and rest. I won't treat you poorly."

"Thank you, Director-General!"

Scholar Lu thought it had all gone a little too smoothly, but he didn't dare object. He bowed respectfully and withdrew. As soon as he was gone, Cao Dan sneered, "What great heroes? What experts? In the face of power, they're all nothing but dogs."

"Before my wise, mighty, all-capable godfather, everyone is a dog."

The young eunuch showered him with flattery. Cao Dan smiled and ordered, "Send those people who just arrived to the manor outside the city. Don't let anyone see them, and don't let word of this get out. Above all, don't let Little Wu Zi find out."

The young eunuch was startled. Little Wu Zi was one of Cao Dan's most trusted godsons. Why couldn't he know?

But the young eunuch didn't dare ask. He accepted the order and hurried off.

"How interesting. Great Hero of Southern Mountain was caught in something by Little Wu Zi, so he wants to join me. Now Divine Fist Blood Hand wants to join me too, and he's using Great Hero of Southern Mountain's plan to assassinate me as his token of loyalty. What's true and what's false? Who can say?"

Cao Dan sneered and held the letter to the candle. As he watched it burn, his eyes turned icy. "True or false, I'll be the one who wins. The martial world is too chaotic. It's time to put things in order and see who still dares to storm an execution ground or try to assassinate me."

Roaring Dragon Villa lay in a great mountain not far from the capital. It had a history stretching back several centuries, and every generation had produced a great hero. It was one of the martial world's top powers.

The master of Roaring Dragon Villa in this generation was Great Hero of Southern Mountain. Over the past few days, one martial arts expert after another had made their way through the villa's secret passage and gradually gathered there. They were all renowned masters. Great Hero of Southern Mountain's reputation was no joke; his call truly brought the whole world running.

But the atmosphere among these experts was far from harmonious. Besides righteous martial artists, quite a few villainous martial artists had come as well. The two sides had always been as incompatible as fire and water, so with them gathered in one place, clashes were inevitable.

For example, that very day, the villainous Iron Sword Oddity had gotten into a fight with the righteous Fierce Arhat. After a disagreement, the two had gone straight to blows, and Fierce Arhat had beaten Iron Sword Oddity bloody with a set of powerful Arhat Fist.

The other experts in the villa heard the commotion and came out to see what was happening. Villainous martial artists often fought among themselves, but this time they stood together, facing off against the righteous martial artists and trading insults.

It was right then that Zhang Yunhao and the others followed Huang Lei into Roaring Dragon Villa. Before they could do anything, they heard shouting from the garden. Huang Lei's expression darkened, and she hurriedly led everyone over to investigate.