By the time Shen Han left the Spirit Snake Pavilion, night had completely fallen.
Holding a small lantern, Shen Han took off his hat and hurried back to Three Rivers County along the road he had come by.
He had only gone a few steps when he suddenly stopped.
"You two have been following me ever since I left Stone Snake Town. May I ask what you want?"
Shen Han turned and addressed the woods behind him, his voice cold.
"Hahahaha!"
Sure enough, accompanied by a burst of wild laughter, two men slowly emerged from the woods.
One wore a mask; the other was dressed in purple.
Each man held a long saber about half a zhang in length. Murderous intent radiated from them as they advanced on Shen Han, step by step.
Those two seemed to have attended the auction, though they hadn't bid on anything... Shen Han remembered them. His heart sank, and he quietly gathered his strength.
"Kid, since we've laid our cards on the table, I'm afraid we'll have to apologize."
The masked man gave a sinister chuckle.
Shen Han said calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, you two want this copy of the Ancient Sun Technique, right?"
"What a joke!"
The Purple-Clad Man barked, "What use is a damaged manual? Only a sucker like you would pay money for it!"
Shen Han remained impassive, waiting for him to continue.
The Purple-Clad Man stepped closer and said, "Still, a fat sheep like you is exactly what my brother and I love!"
"Kid, hand over the silver on you!"
The masked man moved to attack from the other side.
Shen Han said in a low voice, "So you two are after money. But I spent all my silver buying this manual. I don't have a single coin left."
The Purple-Clad Man burst out laughing. "You think we'd believe that?"
"It's the truth."
As he spoke, Shen Han assessed their strength. "Besides, Daoist Xuanyang spent over a thousand taels of silver at the auction. Why don't you rob him?"
The masked man gestured wildly. "You think we're stupid? Daoist Xuanyang is highly skilled. We're not going to throw our lives away!
"As for you, you spent two hundred and fifty taels on a useless piece of trash. You must have even more silver on you. Who else should my brother and I rob?
"Make sure you're born into a better family eighteen years from now."
"So you two insist on fighting?"
Shen Han had already activated his meridians, concentrating all the true energy in his body into his right fist.
The masked man laughed. "You can kill yourself, if you like... Hey, what are you doing?"
In the blink of an eye—
Shen Han struck!
And he went straight for the kill with a thunderous blow: the Angry Dragon Divine Fist, already mastered to perfection. His right fist carved a bizarre arc through the air, shooting straight toward the masked man's head.
Angry Dragon Divine Fist: Flying Immortal from Beyond!
The masked man hadn't expected this kid to take the initiative. In that split second, he had no time to react. He could only raise his saber in a panic, hoping to block the punch.
Clang!
Fist met saber.
The collision rang out with a piercing roar.
The grass and trees within several feet were snapped off at the roots by the shock wave.
"What?!"
The masked man staggered backward.
Only after several steps did he regain his footing. He had tried to block a fist with his saber, and paid dearly for it.
The hand gripping his saber was already trembling uncontrollably.
"Kid, who are you?"
The masked man steadied his breathing and forced himself to remain calm.
"The man who's going to kill you!"
A smile appeared at the corner of Shen Han's mouth.
That first punch had tested the masked man's strength. To put it simply, he wasn't even a match for Kang Zhiwen.
"You'll die!"
Furious, the masked man charged with his saber, hacking at Shen Han.
Shen Han sidestepped with a whoosh, easily dodging the blow.
Thump!
At the same time, he unleashed another divine punch, turning and smashing it toward the masked man. This time, his fist struck the man squarely in the shoulder.
Combined with the Skin Refining Realm, the Angry Dragon Divine Fist mastered to perfection was naturally astonishingly powerful. Even if Kang Zhiwen had come back to life, he wouldn't have been able to withstand it, let alone this masked man.
Clatter!
The masked man took the punch, and his saber fell to the ground.
His mask shattered in an instant. Terror filled his face as he was sent flying like a kite with its string cut.
He didn't stop tumbling until he crashed through a tree.
Blood spewed from his mouth. He couldn't get back up.
"Senior Brother!"
The Purple-Clad Man stared in shock.
He'd thought they had a lamb on their hands. How had the kid hit back so hard—and shown no mercy at all?
"Your turn."
Shen Han didn't pause. He threw another heavy punch at the Purple-Clad Man.
The Purple-Clad Man had nowhere to dodge, so he raised his saber to meet it.
Thunk!
Just like the masked man, his saber was knocked flying by Shen Han's fierce punch in a single exchange.
The Purple-Clad Man's face went pale with shock.
"Hey, you—"
"You reap what you sow!"
Shen Han gave a cold laugh and sprang backward like a phantom. Then he swept both arms in a wide circle, feinting with his right arm while a fist of light coalesced around his left. With lightning speed, he drove it toward the Purple-Clad Man's chest.
Angry Dragon Divine Fist: Violent Gale!
Bang!
The Purple-Clad Man tried to dodge, but couldn't evade the punch at all. It slammed squarely into his chest.
"Pfft..."
His breastbone shattered in an instant. He flew backward and crashed to the ground, spewing blood, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"You two?"
Shen Han picked up the saber and thrust it forward, ending the Purple-Clad Man's life.
Then he walked over to the masked man, who was already crippled.
"Don't kill me... We can talk this out. I'm from the Long—"
Shnk!
Shen Han didn't give the masked man a chance to finish. He drove the saber into his body.
This world really wasn't peaceful... After killing the two men, Shen Han tossed the saber aside and took a deep breath.
Fortunately, he had kept his clone supplied with Qi Condensing Powder and had also trained the Angry Dragon Divine Fist to perfection. Otherwise, tonight's fight would never have gone so smoothly.
"Let's see what they have on them..."
Shen Han prepared to search the bodies. This fine tradition couldn't be abandoned.
"Not good..."
Suddenly, a sense of danger swept toward him from the distance.
Shen Han quickly stilled his breathing and focused, staring hard at the path ahead by the light of his lantern.
A moment later, a man in his forties appeared.
He wore a black short jacket, and his face held a faint, unreadable smile as he strolled toward Shen Han.
He glanced at the bodies of the masked man and the Purple-Clad Man. His expression turned grim, and he sneered, "Kid, who gave you the nerve to kill my two disciples?"
"May I ask who you are, senior?"
Shen Han knew this was bad. From the man's imposing presence, he could tell that his cultivation was clearly higher than his own.
As he spoke, he considered how he might turn the situation around.
"Kong Xuan, Hall Master of the Long Blade Sect."
The newcomer drew closer.
This is bad... Shen Han slowly retreated.
He never would have guessed that the unexpected visitor and the two bandits he'd killed were all members of the Long Blade Sect!
He had heard Guard Zhan mention them.
In Three Rivers County, apart from the top three forces—the one school and two gangs—there were four mid-tier gangs outside the county seat.
They were the Black Wind Stronghold, the Long Blade Sect, Cloud Soaring Cave, and Blood Transformation Temple.
He had killed the masked man and the Purple-Clad Man. As their master, Kong Xuan would never let it go!
"Hall Master Kong, I had no choice. I didn't mean to get into a conflict with your disciples."
Shen Han could only force a dry smile as he explained.
"Is that so?"
Kong Xuan casually picked up the bloodstained saber from the ground. "Since you got into a conflict, why didn't you just do as you were told?
"I haven't wielded my saber in a long time. I'll use your head to pay for my disciples' lives!"
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