Success

A gun flashed, and a bullet shot from the barrel. Liu Qing'er instinctively leaned aside. The hot bullet grazed a lock of hair from her shoulder, struck the wall, and threw off a spark. At the same moment, Fang Xiu attacked the bodyguard holding the gun.

At such close range, no one but Gu Chen, a Pillaring Vigorous Strength Grandmaster, could track the bullet. He thrust out his palm, and the terrifying internal force of a Pillaring Grandmaster gathered there with the rush of his blood.

Smack!

He caught the ricocheting bullet with a soft snap. It stung like a needle prick, nothing more. The gun was small-caliber, and the bullet had already bounced off the wall, losing much of its force. Only then could his formidable body withstand the impact.

Neither Fang Xiu nor the still-shaken Liu Qing'er noticed the astonishing feat. Gu Chen's secret remained safe.

Thud!

Fang Xiu struck the bodyguard's neck with White Crane Bright Palm. He passed out without a sound, and his gun fell to the floor.

From the moment the bodyguard drew his gun on Liu Qing'er to Gu Chen flicking out a Ceramic Fragment to save her, then Fang Xiu knocking him unconscious, only six or seven seconds had passed.

The earlier gunshot startled Second Master Sun and the Appraiser inside the auction house. Both sensed that something was wrong.

"A-Wen? A-Cai? What's going on...?"

Second Master Sun received no answer. Fear surged through him. Without hesitation, he snatched the Fragmented Ancient Scroll from the table and prepared to flee.

In the corridor, Liu Qing'er quickly recovered from her fright. Seeing Fang Xiu's concerned face, she said, "I'm fine. Boss Beichen is here. The Fragmented Ancient Scroll is what matters! Hurry and get it!"

Fang Xiu was decisive. She rushed into the auction house and immediately spotted Second Master Sun trying to escape. Unfortunately for him, he was stout and rarely exercised. He could not run fast, and she caught him in moments, scaring him half to death.

"Please, spare me, I beg you..."

Fang Xiu had no patience for his pleading. She chopped him across the neck and knocked him out.

She showed no mercy to the trembling Appraiser standing nearby, either. One palm strike knocked him unconscious. She then took the Fragmented Ancient Scroll from Second Master Sun's arms and headed back.

Gu Chen helped Liu Qing'er to her feet. She had recovered from her initial shock and hurried to thank him.

"That was so close! I thought I was going to get shot. Thank goodness you were here, or it would've been awful. Master Beichen, did you train with hidden weapons before? That was incredible!"

Gu Chen smiled at her curiosity. "I practiced a little. Just a hobby, nothing special. It's only a minor trick. Training properly in National Martial Arts is what really matters..."

Fang Xiu and Liu Qing'er both agreed wholeheartedly. Longing showed on their faces as they spoke.

"Exactly. If we could become Transforming Strength Great Boxers, or even Pillaring Grandmasters, we wouldn't have to fear bullets."

"From what I read in Dragon Snake, a Transforming Strength Great Boxer can already use the internal force throughout his body to resist an ordinary handgun to some extent. Getting shot would be like an ordinary person getting nicked by a fruit knife—just a flesh wound. And with the terrifying reflexes of Transforming Strength Great Boxers and Pillaring Grandmasters, a gun can't even get a bead on them.

"The author described it all in such detail. I'm sure he's an incredible National Martial Arts expert, maybe even a Pillaring Grandmaster. He's amazing..."

Hearing the two women praise him, Gu Chen, the author himself, put on an expression of agreement. Being complimented by readers to his face felt rather strange.

"Ahem... Now that we have the scroll, let's get out of here. The longer we stay, the more could go wrong. I wonder whether Ye Zhen and the others succeeded."

The three of them left. As they went, Gu Chen, walking at the rear, casually crushed the bullet into a lump and flicked it into a trash can at the end of the corridor. Fang Xiu and Liu Qing'er, walking ahead, saw none of it. They had no idea the man behind them was the very Pillaring Grandmaster they had just been discussing.

Meanwhile, Ye Zhen, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai were carrying out their part of the plan. Compared with Gu Chen's group, everything went smoothly for them. They encountered no setbacks. Moving quickly, they reached a remote stretch of road and bumped the car ahead. The three tomb robbers inside stopped, their faces dark with anger. Cursing, they got out to check the damage.

At that moment, three masked figures in black sprang from the car behind and rushed them. Ye Zhen, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai were all Manifesting Strength boxers. Caught off guard, the three tomb robbers were no match for them. All three went down in the first exchange.

Ye Zhen grabbed one man by the collar and slapped him five or six times, leaving him dazed. Faced with threats of violence, the three tomb robbers were terrified. They had no real backbone, and under threat of death, they soon broke, spilling everything they knew.

Once they had the leads and information they needed, Ye Zhen, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai each struck a tomb robber in the neck, knocking all three unconscious. They tossed the men back into their car.

With that done, Ye Zhen, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai drove off to meet up with Fang Xiu, Liu Qing'er, and Gu Chen.