Tiger Among Sheep

A quarter of an hour 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 as well.

Twenty sturdy men were already waiting in formation. All wore gray martial outfits, long sabers at their waists, with blazing crimson sun emblems embroidered on their cuffs.

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

Chen Xuan swept his gaze over them. Their vigor and spirit were quite good, and most of their cultivation was between the third and fourth levels of Body Tempering. Among ordinary people, they already counted as capable fighters.

"Set out."

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

The twenty gang members followed close behind. The group mounted their horses, left through the south gate, and headed west along the official road.

Qingshi Town lay roughly thirty li west of Lianshan City. It was one of the eight villages and towns under the Red Sun Gang's jurisdiction, famed for producing a type of hard blue stone.

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

That was precisely why Liu Lie, a disciple of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect, had set his sights on this juicy piece of meat. Among the Red Sun Gang's eight subordinate town branches, he had chosen to attack Qingshi Town.

Half an hour later.

Chen Xuan pulled on the reins and spotted the outline of Qingshi Town in the distance.

The small town had been built against the mountains, surrounded by low hills. A stone stele stood at its entrance, carved with the three words "Qingshi Town," though the writing had been worn somewhat blurry by wind and rain.

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

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

One of the gang members moved close to Chen Xuan and spoke in a low voice.

"A nighttime ambush? There's no need to make it so troublesome." Chen Xuan swung down from his horse, tossed the reins to a gang member behind him, and said calmly, "We'll walk straight in."

"Walk... straight in?" The gang member froze, then said hesitantly, "Branch Master, the Blood Wolf Gang only just seized Qingshi Town. There must be Blood Wolf Gang guards at the entrance right now. If we just swagger over there like this..."

"Afraid?"

Chen Xuan glanced at him.

"Not afraid! If the Branch Master isn't afraid, what are we afraid of?"

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.

All they could do was hope that this young Branch Master from the Guiyuan Sect truly had a way to deal with what came next.

Qingshi Town, town entrance.

Four men in black martial outfits, with blood-red wolf heads embroidered on their cuffs, were gathered around a broken table gambling.

"Big! Big! Big!"

"Damn it, small again!"

A pockmarked man cursed as he pushed the dice aside. Just as he reached for the copper coins on the table, he caught sight of a group approaching from afar.

"Something's happening!"

The pockmarked brute raised his head, narrowed his eyes, and instantly stood up.

The other three men also became alert, grabbing the sabers by the table and rising to their feet.

As Chen Xuan and his men drew closer, the pockmarked brute saw the Red Sun Gang clothing they wore and immediately revealed a disdainful smile. "Red Sun Gang men? You're here to throw your lives away again? Your last Branch Master died under our Branch Master Liu's blade. What, haven't you died enough yet?"

Chen Xuan did not slow his pace and continued forward.

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

In an instant, the pockmarked brute drew his saber.

Clang—

The other three brutes drew their sabers as well.

Whoosh—

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

Smack!

The slap was fast and vicious. The pockmarked brute flew sideways, teeth and blood spraying through the air, before his body crashed hard into the stone stele at the town entrance. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted dead away.

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

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

One of them shouted at the top of his lungs, turned, and ran. The other two reacted quickly as well, sprinting toward the town.

Chen Xuan did not pursue them. He merely 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 level of Body Tempering, yet he could not even withstand one move from their own Branch Master.

"What level is the Branch Master at?"

"At least the seventh level 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 blue stone, low and old.

There had not been many pedestrians on the streets to begin with. Seeing this group of Red Sun Gang members carrying blades, they hurried into their homes, daring only to peek outside through cracks in the windows.

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

Thus, upon seeing Red Sun Gang disciples arrive, they fled as far away as possible, terrified of being dragged into trouble and having blood splatter onto them.

Chen Xuan reached the crossroads and stopped.

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

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

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

The thirty or forty people behind him were all Blood Wolf Gang members. Their cultivation levels varied wildly; some had not even reached the second level of Body Tempering. But they had strength in numbers, each gripping a sharp weapon and glaring like tigers watching their prey.

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

"You talk too much."

The moment those words fell, Chen Xuan charged straight at Liu Lie.

"Courting death!" Liu Lie's expression darkened. He jerked the demon-head broadsword off his shoulder, its tip pointing directly at Chen Xuan. "Brothers, get him! Hack this fool who doesn't know his own limits to death!"

"Kill!"

The thirty or forty Blood Wolf Gang members behind Liu Lie roared in unison and charged with raised sabers, cold killing intent flashing with their blades.

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

With one punch, the foremost Blood Wolf Gang member did not even have time to scream before he flew backward, knocking down five or six people behind him.

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

He did not even use a martial skill. These were merely the simplest punches and kicks, but the physical strength of ninth-level Body Tempering was there for all to see. Every fist and every kick carried irresistible force.

Thirty or forty people were like paper figures 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 people fell.

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

That sight utterly 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 fled, even abandoning their sabers.

Only a few breaths had passed.

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

At the crossroads, people lay scattered in every direction, their groans rising and falling without end.

The twenty Red Sun Gang members stood frozen in place, their mouths wide enough to fit an egg. They knew this newly arrived Branch Master was formidable. Since he had been sent to retake Qingshi Town, he had to be at least at the seventh level of Body Tempering.

But judging by this, he was far beyond the seventh level of Body Tempering.

He had likely reached the eighth-level Shenyong Realm. His flesh was tough as iron; with a swing of one arm, he possessed the strength of a thousand jin. He could wrestle bears and tigers to the death, and a casual strike could shatter bones and tear tendons, sending blood and flesh flying. Shenyong was invincible.