A Battle Between Martial Masters!

Soon, another stretch of memories appeared in Zhao An's mind.

They came from Soul Slave Liu Gen's five years of painstakingly studying the Golden Scale Pile Driving Technique in the Soul Pool.

Liu Gen had been illiterate in life. If he'd only been allowed to stare at the contents of the booklet, he could've thought himself bald and still gotten nowhere.

But with Meng Wanyi's help, Zhao An had already translated every word in the booklet.

He'd even had Meng Wanyi examine the acupuncture points, meridians, and various postures in the illustrations from a physician's perspective.

Although Meng Wanyi wasn't a martial artist, her explanations had still benefited Zhao An greatly.

He could share all of that relevant information with Soul Slave Liu Gen as well.

Only by understanding the booklet's contents could the soul slave hope to comprehend them. Otherwise, it would be nothing but a pointless waste of time.

A moment later, Zhao An's eyes snapped open!

Soul Slave Liu Gen hadn't comprehended a martial art, but his efforts hadn't been entirely fruitless.

For the first three years, Liu Gen had repeatedly studied it without success, only vaguely grasping a few threads.

Then, in the final two years, perhaps by sheer dumb luck, he'd stumbled upon traces of martial arts in the illustrations spread across the pages.

Unfortunately, that was as far as he'd gotten.

This soul slave's potential was limited. Five years of study were nowhere near enough for him to comprehend a martial art from the booklet.

But at the very least, Zhao An had his answer.

This really was an illustrated manual for a martial art. It was simply too profound and obscure—or perhaps it was missing some preliminary training instructions.

Without guidance, an ordinary person hoping to master the martial art inside this little booklet would find it harder than climbing to heaven!

Cao Li couldn't learn it and had treated it as an erotic picture book to ogle. That was a waste of a treasure. Zhao An, however, was determined to give it a try.

He could vaguely sense that the secrets hidden in the booklet were far more exquisite than his ninth-grade Fierce Tiger Blade Art!

He wouldn't rest until he uncovered them.

After thinking it over, Zhao An chose two more soul slaves to study the Pile Driving Technique alongside the first.

Having multiple soul slaves work on the same task at once was somewhat wasteful. Their deductions would likely overlap in places.

It would be better to assign them one after another, with each soul slave building on the latest progress.

Zhao An was trying several soul slaves at once because he wanted to save time.

Besides, he still had soul slaves to spare in his Soul Pool, and he could obtain more in the future.

If two soul slaves couldn't comprehend the martial art, he'd send four at it together.

As long as he could obtain the martial art, the cost in soul slaves would be nothing.

After all, this world was full of evildoers. Soul slaves were an inexhaustible resource!

The sky darkened. A muffled rumble of thunder split the air, and the sky, which had been fairly clear, abruptly dimmed. Dark clouds converged from every direction as if rushing to a market.

Before long, raindrops pattered onto the bluestone paving and splashed into tiny sprays.

Pedestrians covered their heads and hurried under the eaves for shelter.

A man wearing a bamboo hat walked down the street, paying no heed to the rain.

He stopped in front of a guildhall and raised his hat, revealing a pair of cold, triangular eyes that scanned the characters on the signboard.

Python Gang Headquarters.

Only after confirming he was in the right place did he enter.

"Junior Brother, you're finally here!" Xu Donglai exclaimed, overjoyed at the sight of him. He went up and gave him a bear hug.

The newcomer removed his bamboo hat, revealing a long horse-like face that wasn't particularly handsome. His hair was somewhat unkempt. He nodded without expression.

"Who am I killing this time?" He Song looked at Xu Donglai and got straight to the point.

"Someone from the Tiger Head Gang." Xu Donglai personally poured him tea, his manner warm.

Before he'd even finished speaking, He Song frowned.

"That Zhou Hu?"

"No. Leave that fellow for now. This time it's a young man from the Tiger Head Gang. He's a bit tricky, so I'd like you to go test him." Xu Donglai shook his head.

"A Martial Master?"

"Probably. He's killed quite a few of my men. If you can, do your senior brother a favor and get rid of him." As he spoke, Xu Donglai pulled a large silver ingot from his sleeve and slid it across the table.

"Thirty taels."

He Song took the silver ingot, then rose and headed for the door.

"Junior Brother, you might as well wait for the rain to stop before going..."

"No need. Rainy days make things easier." He Song's figure blurred into the rain and disappeared.

"Boss, can your junior brother really handle it? Zhao An even killed Cao Li!" one of the Python Gang's leaders asked.

"No need to worry. My good junior brother is more capable than I am. He may even have a chance of entering the Silver Snake Sect's inner court one day. Killing a mere Zhao An will be easy." Xu Donglai sipped his tea with calm assurance.

In his view, it wouldn't be long before his junior brother returned with Zhao An's head.

No matter how formidable Zhao An seemed, he was still an untaught nobody, and his age was a factor. He couldn't possibly be that strong.

In the small courtyard.

Zhao Chunzi and Li Gou'er were playing cards out of boredom. Before long, Zhao Chunzi's face turned red with frustration. Li Gou'er had won all his money.

"That's enough. Keep going, and you'll lose the clothes off your back," Li Gou'er snickered.

Zhao An leaned against a doorpost, a blade slung over his shoulder. The sudden downpour had interrupted his blade practice.

"Rainy days do go well with killing..."

He wondered whether to take advantage of the storm and settle things with the Python Gang.

Another crash of thunder sounded. The rain grew heavier, and the sky darkened further.

Just then, Zhao An thought he heard a strange sound from the roof tiles above. He looked up.

Through the curtain of rain, a dark figure suddenly flipped down from the eaves.

The figure locked eyes with Zhao An and raised his left hand.

Only then did Zhao An see what he was holding.

A hand crossbow, with a short bolt loaded and aimed at him.

A chill crept over Zhao An's scalp. Before his mind could react, his body moved first, raising the Big Ring Blade.

A soft click. The trigger was pulled, the bowstring snapped taut, and the bolt shot through the rain toward Zhao An's brow.

Yet, as if by instinct, Zhao An brought his blade down and cleaved the flying bolt from the air.

He Song's gaze sharpened at the sight.

Bolts shot from a hand crossbow were incredibly fast.

To cut one down with a blade under such sudden circumstances was no feat an ordinary person could manage.

Even He Song himself couldn't guarantee he'd be able to intercept a fired bolt from that distance!

Xu Donglai had said the young man was tricky. Now He Song was beginning to believe him.

At the same time, he met Zhao An's gaze.

The ferocity in those eyes was like that of a beast released from its cage!

The next moment, Zhao An burst forward without a word, charging into the rain—and straight at him.