Fierce Arhat

By the time Zhang Yunhao and the others arrived at the garden, the righteous and evil factions were already poised to clash. Fierce Arhat, who stood a full six feet three inches tall, had a voice like thunder.

"Enough of this nonsense. You villains have committed every kind of evil, and every one of you deserves to die. If you disagree, step up and fight!"

Though Fierce Arhat was a lay disciple of the Buddhist sects, he had a fiery temper and hated evil with a passion. Some of his relatives had also been killed by members of the evil faction, so he showed their masters no courtesy at all. He would have gladly slaughtered every last one of them.

The evil faction's masters were furious, but not one of them stepped forward to accept his challenge. The reason was simple: Fierce Arhat was strong!

Fierce Arhat had been born with divine strength, and even the fairly basic Arhat Fist became devastating in his hands. Otherwise, Iron Sword Oddity wouldn't have suffered such a humiliating defeat earlier.

Of course, the evil faction had masters who could beat Fierce Arhat. The problem was that he had too explosive a temper. He might well fight to the death once things got going, leaving both sides badly injured. The evil faction's masters naturally weren't willing to risk that—they were a selfish lot.

Just then, a cold snort came from the side. "Is this how Great Hero of Southern Mountain treats his guests? Letting a few clowns yap away here?"

Everyone turned to look. Huang Lei had entered with a group of people, and the one who had spoken was a tall, imposing man. Quite a few recognized him and were astonished. How had Blood Hand Tian Ming's whole air changed so much? And how dare he question Great Hero of Southern Mountain?

Fierce Arhat admired Great Hero of Southern Mountain more than anyone. His eyes widened, and he roared, "Blood Hand Tian Ming, who are you calling a clown? And what are you, to dare question Great Hero of Southern Mountain?"

Zhang Yunhao scoffed. "Great Hero of Southern Mountain is the one asking me for help now. Why shouldn't I question him?"

The crowd erupted. It was true that Great Hero of Southern Mountain had invited both the righteous and evil factions here, but it had been an invitation—not a plea for help. How could a great hero like him possibly beg anyone? Wouldn't he incur Great Hero of Southern Mountain's wrath for speaking that way?

"That man really doesn't know when to quit!"

Everyone marveled at his audacity. Even the evil faction was stunned by Zhang Yunhao's arrogance. Quite a few decided to stay far away from him, lest they be dragged down with him. The evil faction had never been united; throwing their own people under the bus was only natural.

In fact, although Blood Hand Tian Ming had become Divine Fist Blood Hand, not many people beyond Nanyang Prefecture knew about it. The reason was simple: transportation in ancient times was poor, and news traveled slowly. This wasn't Zhang Yunhao's previous life, where you could hear about something happening in Antarctica online almost immediately.

Besides, everyone had been staying at Roaring Dragon Villa, preparing for the major undertaking of killing Eunuch Cao. They hadn't gone out, so how could they know what had been happening in the south?

So no one understood why Tian Ming dared to be so arrogant. The righteous faction, besides being baffled, was consumed by fury. They all glared at Zhang Yunhao and began to curse him.

"What are you, to say Great Hero of Southern Mountain begged you to come? You're not worthy!"

"Exactly! Blood Hand Tian Ming, take a look in the mirror. Do you even know what you look like?"

"Kneel and beg for mercy right now, or you'll die here today. No one can protect you!"

Fierce Arhat was even angrier than the other righteous fighters. Every muscle in his body tensed as he lumbered toward Zhang Yunhao, one heavy step after another, like a great bear. His voice brimmed with fury. "Tian Ming, you dared insult Great Hero of Southern Mountain. Kneel and repent, or I'll kill you!"

"You? You're not worth more than a slap."

Zhang Yunhao crooked a finger in disdain, beckoning Fierce Arhat to come at him. Fierce Arhat flew into a rage, his killing intent fully unleashed. This was no longer the righteous faction's original plan of simply putting the evil faction in its place and making them behave, so they wouldn't ruin the mission!

"Tian Ming, you're going to die here today! I'll carry out Heaven's justice!"

Fierce Arhat strode forward, certain he could beat Blood Hand Tian Ming to death.

"Fierce Arhat, kill that arrogant fool! He says you're not worth more than a slap. The man must have been kicked in the head by a donkey."

The other righteous fighters jeered as well. But Huang Lei and the couple known as Righteousness Twin Swords were alarmed. They knew exactly how powerful Divine Fist Blood Hand was.

"Let's talk this out! We're all here for the sake of All Living Beings!"

Huang Lei hurried forward to intervene, but Raging Fire Mad Saber Lei Jue abruptly blocked her path. Meanwhile, the six burly men under Zhang Yunhao stopped Righteousness Twin Swords. It was such a good show—how could they let it end?

Huang Lei was Great Hero of Southern Mountain's wife, but she had little standing among the righteous faction. Fierce Arhat ignored her and lunged forward. His Arhat Subduing Tiger, a fierce, powerful move from Arhat Fist, slammed toward Zhang Yunhao's chest, intent on killing him!

Everyone here knew how strong Fierce Arhat was. The righteous masters sneered, while the evil masters shook their heads, as if they could already see Tian Ming's miserable fate as he was beaten to a pulp.

"With strength like that, you think you can swagger in front of me?"

Just then, Zhang Yunhao gave a cold snort and slapped Fierce Arhat across the face. It wasn't any special technique, but the blow cracked like thunder. Though Zhang Yunhao had struck second, his hand landed before Fierce Arhat's fist could reach him.

A sharp smack rang out. Fierce Arhat flew into the air and spun several times before crashing hard to the ground. One side of his face was completely mangled, and several teeth had flown out. Blood filled his mouth.

Worse, Fierce Arhat's head was still spinning. He couldn't get up for a long time, making a complete spectacle of himself.

Everyone except those who had already known Zhang Yunhao's strength was left gaping. Fierce Arhat had been beaten into this state with a single slap. Just how powerful was Blood Hand Tian Ming?

At last, the evil faction's masters understood why Tian Ming had been so arrogant. His power had clearly advanced by leaps and bounds, giving him good reason to swagger. Tsk, if he could beat Fierce Arhat so effortlessly, his strength might even let him exchange a few blows with Great Hero of Southern Mountain!

"Hahaha! Isn't that Fierce Arhat? How did you turn into a sickly cat? You can't even get up!"

"Not a sickly cat—a toothless one. From now on, he'll have to eat like an old woman."

"Tsk, your righteous faction was so arrogant. How come you can't even take a single slap?"

The evil faction's masters, who had been silent just moments before, now jeered triumphantly. The righteous masters flew into a rage and wanted to fight, but they feared Tian Ming. They could only send a few people over first to help Fierce Arhat up.

"Senior Brother, please do your junior sister a favor and stop making trouble."

Seeing the tension between the two sides rising, Huang Lei panicked and hurriedly pleaded with Zhang Yunhao. She knew how powerful he was, and Raging Fire Mad Saber was nearly his equal. If they truly fought, the battle would be one-sided unless Great Hero of Southern Mountain arrived!

Zhang Yunhao was about to speak when a cold voice rang out. "Sister-in-law, even if he's your senior brother, he still has no right to cause trouble at Roaring Dragon Villa, does he?"