Cao Li

"Zhao An is here!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a group of thugs at a nearby tea stall immediately set down their bowls and aggressively blocked the entrance and exit of the alley.

"Oh no, Brother Zhao, someone is plotting against you!" Seeing the retreat blocked, even though he had anticipated trouble, Li Gou'er still panicked instinctively; after all, the opposition was numerous.

Zhao An looked over and the corners of his mouth curled up.

"So, you're all here."

At this moment, the group of thugs blocking them in the alley all had red text hovering above their heads.

The man in the lead had a hideous scar on his face that ran through one eye, his nose bridge, and his lips, leaving him with only one eye to glare at others.

This man was quite well-known; he was a veteran of the Python Gang named Cao Li.

When this man was mentioned, most of the leaders sitting in the main hall of the Tiger Head Gang would change color, feeling a sense of dread in their hearts.

This was simply because the man was notoriously brutal, a madman who cared nothing for his own life.

"It's over, why did Cao Li have to come..." Li Gou'er looked at the hideous scar on the man's face and recognized his identity, his legs turning to jelly from fear.

Cao Li squinted his single eye, also sizing up Zhao An.

"Just a greenhorn, I really don't know how he passed the Three Trials the other day."

"The gang leader has ordered that this Zhao An be hacked to death with blades today!"

Cao Li didn't waste any breath, nor did he have any intention of fighting Zhao An one-on-one. With a wave of his hand, the group of red-named gang thugs charged straight at Zhao An.

Most of them held short clubs, with a few blades mixed in, and they showed no fear of Zhao An.

After all, no matter how capable Zhao An was, passing the Three Trials only proved his ability in single combat.

In a chaotic brawl like this, no matter how much strength Zhao An had, it would be of no use; normally, a few club strikes to the head would be enough to kill him.

The residents in the alley hurriedly bolted their doors and windows, fearing that the upcoming clash between the two gangs would spill over onto them.

Facing the pack of red-named wolves charging at him, Zhao An showed no fear. Instead of dodging, he drew his Big Ring Blade and stepped forward with a calm expression.

As the first member of the Python Gang reached him, Zhao An took a perfectly timed step and swiped his blade, which seemed to graze the man's arm lightly.

The Python Gang member was caught completely off guard as the blade edge slit his throat.

Then, Zhao An's figure tilted abruptly, his long blade swirling in a flourish to slice the throat of another Python Gang member.

Having taken down two men in the blink of an eye, Zhao An's movements grew increasingly ferocious, like a Fierce Tiger stirred into a frenzy by the scent of blood. He pushed off his feet to lunge forward, dodging a heavy barrage of club shadows while swinging his blade with full force.

A single strike sent three men in front of him reeling back!

He turned back with another strike, a clean blow to the head, and another man died!

Zhao An's footwork was highly sophisticated, and the blade techniques he used while maneuvering were incredibly sharp!

After every strike, at least one person would fall to the ground dead!

Hum!

The blade sang like a tiger, a sound that many Python Gang members heard, chilling them to the bone.

Before long, Zhao An had cut through the ranks and arrived before the one-eyed man.

Cao Li's face showed shock, and he suddenly blurted out, "You're a Martial Master?!"

Zhao An did not answer. Before Cao Li could raise his blade to defend, he had already struck.

The strand of internal energy within his body surged through his limbs, flowing into the hand holding the blade and erupting in tandem with his physical strength.

The next moment, the long blade swept past, and Cao Li's body was cleaved in two from the chest, breaking into pieces as his organs and blood spilled all over the ground!

Cao Li's eyes widened; he wanted to say something, but blood flooded his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

He had recognized Zhao An's blade technique, which was like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain—it was clearly Zhou Hu's Fierce Tiger Blade!

But the question was how Zhao An had learned it; he had never heard of Zhou Hu having any intention of passing it on to others.

One had to know that this was a graded martial art; Zhou Hu treasured it immensely, so how could he pass it on as easily as a Martial Master at a martial academy?

Most importantly, before dying, he was certain that this young man had already stepped into the realm of a Martial Master!

"Good lad, to think you hid it so deep..."

Cao Li's mind turned to chaos, and he breathed his last before he could think any further.

[Evil deeds abound, sinful soul contained!]

Another soul was collected into Zhao An's Soul Pool. Together with the nine red-named Python Gang members he had just slain, the number of Soul Slaves he could command would soon increase by ten!

The previously empty Soul Pool gradually began to teem with figures.

For Zhao An, this was naturally excellent.

Only by acquiring more Soul Slaves, especially high-quality ones, could he better assist his strength in soaring continuously!

Although he had now stepped into the ranks of a Martial Master, for him, this was just the beginning.

After all, it had only been a few days since he had transmigrated.

The world was in turmoil, with wars breaking out frequently. Amidst the chaos, countless natural and man-made disasters lay hidden, and ninety-nine percent of people were swept up by the overwhelming tide, destined to sink into the turbulent waves.

Yet, to survive in such circumstances, or even to gain the freedom to make more choices for oneself, the only way was to become stronger.

As long as he was stronger than anyone else, no one could threaten him!

Zhao An felt fortunate that this world allowed for martial arts, and that an individual could possess extraordinary, tyrannical power!

"Brother Zhao!" Zhao Chunzi, clutching a short staff, rushed to Zhao An's side at this moment.

Just as Zhao An had made his move, he had noticed that this younger brother from his same village was desperately following him, actively fighting against the members of the Python Gang.

At this moment, Zhao Chunzi was panting like an ox, blood streaming down his head, and he had been struck several times, looking rather miserable.

As for Li Gou'er, he had initially hesitated, but in the end, he had gritted his teeth and followed Zhao An. He was also wounded, though he looked slightly better than Zhao Chunzi.

Compared to those who ran at the first sign of trouble, these two followers, while ordinary in ability, were decent enough. At the very least, they hadn't fled in panic and were willing to stand by their boss through thick and thin.

"Go and search their bodies for all their money," Zhao An ordered.

"You got it." Zhao Chunzi still had the energy to move, and without a second word, he went to loot the corpses.

Li Gou'er, however, still wore a look of lingering fear, staring at the corpse of Cao Li, which had been severed in two on the ground.

"Brother Zhao, we are truly locked in a life-or-death struggle with the Python Gang now..."

Cao Li held a very high position in the Python Gang. In the eyes of everyone in the gangs, this man had once been a formidable and renowned figure.

Now that he had died under the blade of a junior like Zhao An, it felt almost surreal to Li Gou'er.

Cao Li was just dead like that?!

And once he regained his senses, he realized that there was no room left for negotiation between them and the Python Gang.

The next time someone came knocking, it would likely be Xu Donglai leading dozens or even hundreds of vicious men to hunt them down.

When that time came, if the Tiger Head Gang didn't back them up, would the three of them be able to hold their own?

Not to mention that Xu Donglai was a genuine Martial Master, even those hundred-odd gang thugs could drown the three of them just by spitting on them!

Thinking of this, Li Gou'er grew increasingly panicked.