A Lion Hunting a Rabbit, the Hall Master Arrives

Stepping out of the Spirit Snake Pavilion, the sky had turned completely dark.

Shen Han carried a small lantern in his hand, took off his hat, and hurried back toward Three Rivers County along the path he had come.

[I hope readers will remember our domain name, read Taiwan novels on Taiwan Novel Network, t̴̴w̴̴k̴̴̴a̴̴n̴̴.c̴̴o̴̴m̴̴, super smooth]

He hadn't walked many steps when he suddenly stopped.

"You two, you've been following me ever since I left Stone Snake Town. May I ask what your business is?"

Shen Han turned around and spoke coldly toward the woods to his side and rear.

"Hahaha!"

Sure enough, accompanied by a burst of rampant, wild laughter, two men slowly stepped out from the woods.

One wore a mask, and the other was dressed in purple.

Both men gripped long blades about half a zhang in length, their bodies radiating killing intent as they closed in on Shen Han step by step.

These two guys seem to have attended the auction, but they never placed a bid... Shen Han had an impression of them; his heart sank, and he secretly began to gather his strength.

"Kid, since you've laid it all out, then don't blame us."

The Masked Man sneered with a grin.

Shen Han said indifferently, "If I'm not mistaken, you two are after this Ancient Sun Technique manual of mine, right?"

"What a joke!"

The Purple-Clad Man shouted, "A broken manual is worth nothing! Only a sucker like you would spend money to buy it!"

Shen Han remained calm, waiting for what was to come.

The Purple-Clad Man stepped closer and added, "However, a fat sheep like you is exactly what we brothers like!"

"Kid, hand over the silver you have on you!"

The Masked Man moved to flank him from the other side.

Shen Han said in a deep voice, "So you two are after money. It's just that all my silver was used to purchase this manual; I don't have a single copper left on me."

The Purple-Clad Man laughed loudly, "Do you think we'd believe that?"

"It is the truth."

As he spoke, Shen Han assessed the strength of these two men, "Besides, at the auction, that Daoist Xuanyang spent over a thousand taels of silver. Why don't you go rob him?"

The Masked Man gestured wildly, "Do you think we're stupid? Daoist Xuanyang has high-level martial arts; we aren't going to go throw our lives away!

As for you, being able to spend two hundred and fifty taels on a useless, broken manual means you must have more silver on you. If we don't slaughter you, who would we slaughter?

May you have a better reincarnation eighteen years from now."

"So, you two are determined to fight?"

Shen Han had already mobilized his meridians, concentrating all the true qi in his body into his right fist.

The Masked Man laughed, "You could also end it yourself... Hey, what are you doing!"

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Shen Han struck!

And his first move was a thunderous, lethal blow—the Angry Dragon Divine Fist, which he had already mastered to perfection. His right fist carved a strange arc through the air, heading straight for the Masked Man's forehead.

Angry Dragon Divine Fist: Flying Immortal from Beyond!

The Masked Man never expected this kid to take the initiative. In the flash of a spark, he had no time to react and could only frantically raise his long blade, preparing to block the attack.

Clang!

Fist and blade collided.

A harsh, booming sound erupted.

The grass and trees within a zhang of them were snapped at the roots by the shockwave.

"What!"

The Masked Man retreated again and again.

He only steadied himself after several steps, having suffered a major disadvantage by using his blade to block the punch.

His hand holding the blade could not stop trembling.

"Kid, who are you?"

The Masked Man adjusted his breathing, forcing himself to stay calm.

"The one who is going to kill you!"

A smile appeared at the corner of Shen Han's mouth.

From that punch just now, he had tested the Masked Man's strength; it was safe to say this guy didn't even measure up to Kang Zhiwen.

"Go to hell!"

The Masked Man flew into a rage, raised his blade, and slashed toward Shen Han.

Shen Han dodged to the side, a "whoosh" sound marking his effortless evasion of the masked man's blade.

Bang!

At the same time, he unleashed his divine fist once more, turning to strike at the masked man; this time, his fist slammed heavily into the masked man's shoulder.

The Skin Refining Realm combined with the perfected Angry Dragon Divine Fist possessed extraordinary power; even if Kang Zhiwen were alive, he wouldn't be able to withstand it, let alone this masked man.

Clang!

Struck by the fist, the masked man dropped his long blade to the ground.

His mask shattered in an instant, revealing a face full of terror as he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string.

He didn't stop rolling until he had snapped a tree in half.

Spitting out blood, he could no longer stand.

"Senior Brother!"

The sight left the Purple-Clad Man standing nearby in a daze.

He had thought they were dealing with a lamb, yet the target had struck back with such ruthless, heavy blows.

"It's your turn."

Shen Han did not pause, launching another heavy punch toward the Purple-Clad Man.

The Purple-Clad Man had nowhere to hide and raised his blade to meet the attack.

Thud!

Just like the masked man, in a single exchange, the Purple-Clad Man's long blade was knocked away by Shen Han's fierce fist.

The Purple-Clad Man was instantly struck with panic.

"Hey, you..."

"Those who commit many injustices are doomed to destruction!"

Shen Han gave a cold smile, leaped back like a ghost, and then circled his hands in a wide arc. He feinted with his right arm while his left fist condensed a flash of light, striking toward the Purple-Clad Man's chest with lightning speed.

Angry Dragon Divine Fist: Violent Gale!

Boom!

The Purple-Clad Man tried to dodge but couldn't avoid the punch at all, taking the blow squarely in the chest.

"Pfft..."

His sternum shattered instantly, and he flew backward to the ground, vomiting blood with eyes full of disbelief.

"Is that all you've got?"

Shen Han picked up the long blade and thrust it forward, ending the Purple-Clad Man's life.

He then walked over to the already crippled masked man.

"Don't kill me... let's talk this over, I am from the Long Blade..."

Squelch!

Without giving the masked man a chance to finish, Shen Han's long blade pierced his body.

This world was truly not peaceful... After killing the two, Shen Han tossed the long blade aside and took a deep breath.

Fortunately, he had kept his clone taking Qi Condensing Powder and had practiced the Angry Dragon Divine Fist to perfection; otherwise, tonight's battle would never have gone so smoothly.

"Let's see what they have on them..."

Shen Han prepared to loot the bodies; this fine tradition could not be abandoned.

"Not good..."

Suddenly, a dangerous aura surged from the distance.

Shen Han hurriedly held his breath and focused, staring intently at the path ahead by the light of the lantern.

A moment later, a man in his forties appeared.

The man wore black martial attire, a faint, careless smile on his face as he strolled toward Shen Han.

He glanced at the corpses of the masked man and the Purple-Clad Man, his expression turning stern as he sneered, "Kid, who gave you the guts to kill my two disciples?"

"Who are you, senior?"

Shen Han cursed inwardly; he could feel from the man's presence that his cultivation was clearly higher than his own.

As he spoke, he began to think of a way to break the deadlock.

"Hall Master of the Long Blade Sect, Kong Xuan."

The man stepped closer.

This was dangerous... Shen Han slowly retreated.

He never expected that this uninvited guest and the two bandits he had just killed were actually from the Long Blade Sect!

He had heard Guard Zhan mention them before.

In Three Rivers County, besides the one hall and two gangs that stood as the three top powers, there were four mid-tier gangs outside the county seat.

They were the Black Wind Stronghold, the Long Blade Sect, the Cloud Soaring Cave, and the Blood Transformation Temple.

Having killed the masked man and the Purple-Clad Man, Kong Xuan, as their master, would certainly not let the matter rest!

"Hall Master Kong, I had no choice; coming into conflict with your disciples was never my intention."

Shen Han could only offer a dry, awkward laugh as he explained.

"Is that so?"

Kong Xuan casually picked up the blood-stained long blade from the ground. "Since a conflict arose, why didn't you just obediently do as you were told?

I haven't wielded a blade in a long time, so I shall use your head to pay for my disciples' lives!"