The little beggar held out his broken bowl as he went along, begging for alms. Whenever he met a passerby, he stopped and put on a pitiful expression, hoping to win a shred of sympathy and a few copper coins.
Most passersby, however, treated him with cold indifference, as if he were some ill-omened thing, and walked past him with disdain.
The little beggar was already used to it and felt not the slightest sadness. He kept begging, and as he walked, he turned into a secluded alley.
Inside, Han Qi waited. When he saw the little beggar, his eyes lit up. "How did it go?"
"He took the note!"
The little beggar hurried over to Han Qi, looking expectant.
"You did well!"
Han Qi smiled, took out a hundred copper coins, and handed them to the little beggar. "All right, go on your way."
"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"
The little beggar's face lit up with joy. He clutched the coins tightly and turned to run out of the alley. With this much money, he could buy medicine for his sick little sister!
Just as he stepped out of the alley, a dark figure suddenly appeared before him.
Whoosh!
A flash of cold light.
The shadow held a dagger, his eyes as icy as frost.
Thud!
The little beggar's eyes flew wide as he crashed to the ground. The joy froze on his face, and his hands still clutched the coins tightly, refusing to let go.
"Zhu Kai!!"
Han Qi's pupils contracted as he recognized the newcomer. Fear surged through him.
Zhu Kai, a Grade-Entry Realm martial artist!
He was one of the six hall masters of the Green Tiger Gang, a sinister and ruthless man. Many members of the Golden Fish Gang had died at his hands, and he had even ambushed and killed one of their hall masters.
"This is bad!"
Han Qi cursed inwardly.
"Heh heh, you thought that little trick of yours could fool me? I'd long guessed you'd try to contact Liu Chu, so I kept watch outside the martial arts school. Sure enough, I caught you!"
Zhu Kai brought the dagger to his lips and licked the scarlet blood from it. A cruel glint flashed in his eyes.
Meeting Zhu Kai's gaze, Han Qi felt as if a venomous snake had fixed on him. He instinctively took a step back.
"I can only fight to the death!"
Han Qi took a deep breath, grasped the hilt at his waist, and braced himself.
"If I were you, I'd surrender. At least you might leave behind a whole corpse."
Zhu Kai glanced at the hand gripping the hilt, his eyes full of contempt.
Han Qi had studied martial arts, but he had yet to enter the Grade-Entry Realm. How could he possibly match Zhu Kai, a Grade-Entry Realm martial artist?
Just as Zhu Kai tightened his grip on the dagger and prepared to finish Han Qi off—
His eyes narrowed and his expression changed. Sensing a fierce attack from behind, he had no time to think and lunged forward to dodge.
Whoosh!
A claw-shaped shadow appeared out of nowhere, swift as lightning. It raked across the back of his neck, its fingertips like blades, leaving five bloody gashes.
If Zhu Kai hadn't thrown himself forward to dodge, that one claw would have torn his flesh and snapped his tendons and bones!
"A Grade-Entry Realm expert!!"
Shock flashed through Zhu Kai as he sensed that the attacker was a Grade-Entry Realm martial artist!
"Die!"
The moment he landed, he didn't say a word. His toes dug into the ground, force surged up from his feet and into his waist, and in an instant, a burst of power twisted his body around. He swung his dagger and slashed at Liu Chu!
The dagger flashed coldly, slicing through the air like a streak of lightning, and cut straight toward the enemy behind him!
"Oh!"
Liu Chu let out a soft exclamation, surprised that Zhu Kai had dodged his ambush.
Looks like these gang fighters, who've been through life-and-death battles, are a little stronger than Xu Liyuan and the other martial arts school disciples.
If Xu Liyuan, a Grade-Entry Realm martial artist, had faced Liu Chu's sudden attack, he would most likely have been killed on the spot!
But this gang fighter had dodged the attack and escaped with his life despite being caught off guard.
It had to be the extraordinary reflexes forged by years of fighting and killing.
Though Liu Chu was taken aback, he didn't stop his assault.
He had never expected to kill his opponent with a single blow. Now that Zhu Kai had dodged the fatal strike, Liu Chu stepped forward sharply, curled his five fingers into a claw, and pierced through the air toward Zhu Kai's arm.
Zhu Kai's dagger had just swung out and had yet to reach Liu Chu when Liu Chu's fingers clamped firmly around his left arm.
His five fingers were like a tiger's claws. Force surged from them, tearing through flesh and sinking into tendon and bone. With a sharp twist of his wrist, he dragged downward, executing a move that wrenched tendons and dislocated bones.
Crack!
The sound of snapping tendons and bones rang out. Zhu Kai screamed as his entire arm hung limp and bent at a grotesque angle. Five vivid bloody gashes marked it, and severed tendons showed through the wounds.
"Fall back!"
Cold sweat broke out on Zhu Kai's forehead. Knowing he'd met a powerful opponent, he immediately retreated, trying to put distance between himself and Liu Chu.
Liu Chu naturally wouldn't let him get away. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he pounced on Zhu Kai like a tiger released from its cage.
Zhu Kai's pupils shrank. He tried to fight back, swinging his right arm and slashing at Liu Chu with his dagger.
Liu Chu had already seen through his move. Without changing expression, he threw a punch, as if a flood dragon had risen into the sky with a roar, and struck Zhu Kai squarely in the chest.
Zhu Kai's dagger was a fraction too slow. Liu Chu's fist had already hit him.
Dragon-Tiger Force burst from Liu Chu's fist, revealing the full might of his perfected Combat Technique!
Zhu Kai felt his whole body shudder. Though his skin had long since transformed and was hard as stone and iron, he still felt a sharp pain in his chest. His bones cracked, and he was sent stumbling backward.
The dagger slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground!
Liu Chu's shadow clung to him like a burr, closing in once more. He clenched his fist and slammed it into Zhu Kai's throat!
Zhu Kai tried to dodge instinctively, but the agony of his shattered ribs slowed his reactions. He could only watch as Liu Chu's fist struck his throat.
Crack!
His throat shattered. Zhu Kai spat blood and crashed heavily to the ground, never to rise again!
Zhu Kai was dead!
Liu Chu had killed this Ninth Rank Skin Refining martial artist in just a few moves!
"A Chu... is that really you?"
Han Qi stared wide-eyed at Liu Chu, unable to believe what he was seeing. For a moment, he hardly dared acknowledge him.
Zhu Kai, hall master of the Green Tiger Gang, was a ruthless character. He had killed many members of the Golden Fish Gang, and even a Grade-Entry Realm hall master had died at his hands.
Yet such a ruthless man had been killed in just a few moves by Liu Chu—one arm broken, his ribs shattered, and his throat crushed!
It was completely beyond Han Qi's expectations!
Only when he watched Liu Chu bend down to search the corpse did Han Qi finally recover from his shock. He exclaimed excitedly, "A Chu, you really broke through into the Grade-Entry Realm?!"
"One hundred and ten taels of silver... I didn't expect this guy to be so rich!"
After finishing his search, Liu Chu pocketed the dagger and the silver note, then looked up at Han Qi with a smile.
He didn't answer Han Qi's question. Zhu Kai's death was the best answer!
"Wonderful! I knew you'd break through into the Grade-Entry Realm so quickly. I wasn't wrong about you!"
Han Qi was thrilled.
But after a moment, he sighed. "What a pity the Golden Fish Gang was wiped out. I'd been hoping we'd make a name for ourselves together in the Golden Fish Gang!"
Liu Chu had entered the Grade-Entry Realm, but the Green Tiger Gang had wiped out the Golden Fish Gang. Han Qi was torn between joy and grief.
Liu Chu returned the thirty taels he had borrowed to Han Qi, then asked, "What are your plans now?"
"I don't know either. For now, I'll stay with the hall master at the Changle Gang for a while. Maybe I'll join them later..."
Han Qi seemed lost. He looked at Liu Chu and suddenly asked, "By the way, what brought you here?"
"You had that little beggar send me a note saying you were safe. I wasn't reassured, so I followed him to check..."
As he spoke, he glanced at the little beggar's body and sighed. "What a shame."
He had followed the little beggar here, but kept some distance. All he could do was watch Zhu Kai kill him, unable to reach him in time to save him.
"He has a sick little sister. I'll take care of it."
Han Qi sighed too. "I never expected Zhu Kai to be watching the martial arts school from the shadows. Luckily, you'd already entered the Grade-Entry Realm and followed me here. Otherwise, I might have fallen victim to him too!"
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