Tiger Among Sheep

Fifteen minutes later.

Chen Xuan arrived at the Red Sun Gang's Martial Arts Arena.

By then, he had changed into the Red Sun Gang's attire.

Twenty sturdy men were already lined up and waiting, all dressed in fitted gray uniforms with long sabers at their waists and blazing crimson sun emblems embroidered on their cuffs.

When they saw Chen Xuan approach, they all clasped their fists in salute. "Greetings, Branch Master Chen!"

Chen Xuan swept his gaze over them. Their spirit and bearing were both decent, and most of them were at the Third-Level to Fourth Stage of Body Tempering. Among ordinary people, they could already be considered capable fighters.

"Move out."

With a wave of his hand, Chen Xuan led them out of the Martial Arts Arena.

The twenty gang members followed closely behind. The group rode out through Nancheng's gates and headed west along the main road.

Qingshi Town lay roughly thirty li west of Lianshan City. It was one of the eight towns under the Red Sun Gang's jurisdiction and produced a kind of hard-textured Bluestone.

This Bluestone was excellent material for building city walls and houses, bringing the Red Sun Gang several hundred taels of silver in income every month.

For that very reason, Liu Lie, a disciple of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect, had set his sights on this juicy piece of meat. Among the eight branch posts in the towns under the Red Sun Gang, he had chosen to attack Qingshi Town.

Half an hour later.

Chen Xuan reined in his horse and saw the outline of Qingshi Town in the distance.

The small town was built against the mountains, surrounded on all sides by low hills. A stone monument stood at its entrance, engraved with the words "Qingshi Town," though the characters had been weathered blurry by wind and rain.

The town was not large, with only several thousand residents who made their living quarrying stone and carving it. There were only two main streets, forming a cross.

"Branch Master, Qingshi Town is just ahead. Do you have a plan? Should we launch a surprise attack tonight?"

One of the gang members sidled up beside Chen Xuan and spoke in a low voice.

"A nighttime ambush? There's no need for all that trouble." Chen Xuan dismounted, tossed the reins to a gang member behind him, and said blandly, "We'll walk straight in."

"Walk... straight in?" The gang member froze, then hesitated. "Branch Master, the Blood Wolf Gang only just took Qingshi Town. There must be Blood Wolf Gang men guarding the entrance. If we just swagger over there like this..."

"Scared?"

Chen Xuan glanced at him.

"Not scared! If the Branch Master isn't scared, what do we have to fear!"

The gang member hurriedly straightened his back.

"Then let's go."

Chen Xuan strode toward the town entrance.

The twenty gang members exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and followed.

They could only hope that this young Branch Master from the Guiyuan Sect truly had the confidence to handle what came next.

Qingshi Town, town entrance.

Four men in fitted black uniforms, blood-colored wolf heads embroidered on their cuffs, were gathered around a battered table gambling.

"Big! Big! Big!"

"Damn it, small again!"

A pockmarked man cursed as he pushed the dice away. Just as he reached for the copper coins on the table, he caught sight of a group approaching in the distance from the corner of his eye.

"Something's happening!"

The pockmarked brute lifted his head, narrowed his eyes for a look, and instantly rose to his feet.

The other three men also became alert. They grabbed the sabers resting beside the table and stood up.

As Chen Xuan and his men drew closer, the pockmarked brute saw the Red Sun Gang uniforms they wore and immediately revealed a disdainful grin. "Red Sun Gang men? Here to die again? Your previous Branch Master died beneath our Branch Master Liu's blade. What, haven't you died enough yet?"

Chen Xuan did not stop walking and continued forward.

"Stop! Take one more step, and don't blame me for being impolite!"

In an instant, the pockmarked brute drew his saber.

Clang—

The other three brutes also drew their blades.

Whoosh—

Chen Xuan moved, flashing before the pockmarked brute in an instant. Without any fancy movements, he raised his hand and slapped him.

Smack!

The slap was fast and vicious. The pockmarked brute was sent flying sideways, teeth and blood scattering through the air. Then his body slammed violently into the stone monument at the town entrance. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out cold.

The other three Blood Wolf Gang members were so frightened that they nearly lost their grip on their sabers, instinctively stumbling several steps back.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

One of them screamed at the top of his lungs, turned, and ran. The other two were not slow to react either, sprinting into town.

Chen Xuan did not pursue them. He simply continued forward at an unhurried pace.

The twenty Red Sun Gang members followed behind him. They recognized the pockmarked brute who had been sent flying with a single slap—he was at the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering, yet he had not even been able to withstand one move from their own Branch Master.

"Branch Master, what level is that?"

"At least the Seventh Stage of Body Tempering."

"Stop guessing. Just stick close to the Branch Master."

Most of the houses lining Qingshi Town's main streets were built from Bluestone, squat and aged.

There had not been many pedestrians on the streets to begin with. When they saw Chen Xuan's group of Red Sun Gang members carrying blades, they all hurried into their homes, only daring to peer outside through cracks in the windows.

The Blood Wolf Gang had occupied Qingshi Town these past few days. The townsfolk knew the Red Sun Gang would never let the matter rest, and another bloody clash was inevitable.

Thus, at the sight of Red Sun Gang disciples arriving, they hid as far away as possible, afraid of inviting trouble and having blood splash onto themselves.

Chen Xuan reached the crossroads and stopped.

Ahead, in front of a two-story Bluestone building, stood a dense crowd of thirty or forty people.

At their head was a young man in his twenties, tall and broad, with thick brows and large eyes. He held a heavy demon-head saber in his hand.

This man was Liu Lie, an outer disciple of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect and the Blood Wolf Gang's newly appointed Branch Master. He possessed the cultivation of the Seventh Stage of Body Tempering.

The thirty or forty people behind him were all Blood Wolf Gang members. Their cultivation levels varied wildly, with some not even at the Second Level of Body Tempering, but they had strength in numbers. Each held a sharp weapon and stared like tigers eyeing their prey.

Liu Lie rested the demon-head saber on his shoulder and said in a flippant tone, "Your Red Sun Gang's last Branch Master died beneath this blade of mine. It's only been a few days—the first seven days after his death haven't even passed—and the Red Sun Gang is already so eager to send people to accompany him in the grave?"

"You talk too much."

As soon as the words fell, Chen Xuan charged straight at Liu Lie.

"Courting death!" Liu Lie's face darkened. He yanked the demon-head saber from his shoulder and pointed its tip directly at Chen Xuan. "Brothers, get him! Hack this fool who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth to death!"

"Kill!"

The thirty or forty Blood Wolf Gang members behind Liu Lie shouted in unison and charged forward with raised sabers, cold killing intent gleaming amid the flashing blades.

Chen Xuan's expression did not change. His footwork abruptly quickened as he rushed into the crowd.

With one punch, the foremost Blood Wolf Gang member was sent flying backward before he could even scream, crashing into and knocking down five or six men behind him.

With one sweeping kick, another three men were sent flying. The sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.

He did not even use a martial technique. They were merely the simplest punches and kicks, yet the physical strength of the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering was there for all to see. Every punch and kick carried irresistible force.

Thirty or forty people were like paper pasted together before Chen Xuan.

A tiger entering a flock of sheep.

This was a true tiger entering a flock of sheep.

In a single exchange, six or seven men fell.

Then, in another exchange, four or five more were sent flying.

This scene completely broke the remaining Blood Wolf Gang members.

"Monster! He's a monster!"

"Run! We can't beat him at all!"

Several of the gang members had only recently joined the Blood Wolf Gang and possessed no loyalty whatsoever. They turned and ran, even abandoning their sabers.

Only a few breaths had passed.

Of the thirty or forty Blood Wolf Gang members, some had fallen, some had fled, and some had dropped to their knees. Not a single one remained standing.

At the crossroads, people lay scattered in every direction, their cries of pain rising and falling one after another.

The twenty Red Sun Gang members stood rooted to the spot, their mouths wide enough to fit an egg. They knew this newly arrived Branch Master was formidable. Since he had been sent to reclaim Qingshi Town, he had to be at least at the Seventh Stage of Body Tempering.

But judging by this, he was far beyond the Seventh Stage of Body Tempering.

He had likely reached the Eighth Layer of Body Tempering, the Shenyong Realm. His flesh was tough as iron; with a swing of one arm, he possessed a thousand jin of tremendous strength. He could fight bears and tigers, and a casual strike could shatter bones and snap tendons, sending flesh and blood flying. Shenyong was invincible.