One Against Two

He glanced at the courtyard wall; it wasn't particularly high.

Zhao An channeled his Internal Breath into his feet, lifted his spirit, and leaped, landing silently atop the low wall like a light swallow.

His gaze fell into the courtyard of the Tiger Head Gang's main headquarters.

He saw a figure battling a group of gang members; despite the overwhelming numbers against him, the figure showed no signs of weakness.

The owner of the figure was young and refined in appearance, yet the fist technique he unleashed was incredibly domineering.

Few could withstand a single punch from him.

Any gang member who took a hit was either dead or crippled, collapsing instantly into a deep slumber.

It really is that Shen Boy... Zhao An recognized the young man throwing the punches; he was the only son of the Shen family from Two Wells Alley.

It seemed his prediction had been correct.

The Tiger Head Gang had truly kicked an iron plate this time.

Zhao An was in no rush; his gaze continued to sweep across the courtyard until he spotted the Tiger Head Gang leader, Zhou Hu.

It was this Zhou Hu, who possessed the strength of a Martial Master, that he valued most.

The other lackeys had limited potential as Soul Slaves. If he were to obtain high-grade martial arts manuals in the future that were not meant for ordinary people, these Martial Master-level Soul Slaves would ultimately be the ones he could rely on.

To him, Zhou Hu was a consumable, a precious cultivation resource, and thus, he had to die by his blade.

Besides Zhou Hu, there was another person by his side who caught his attention.

This man looked older, dressed in a Brocade Battle Suit, standing with his hands behind his back, gripping a sheathed long blade.

There was a distinct mark on that blade—it was an Official Blade from the yamen!

Above his head shone a slightly glaring Red Name: Chen Song!

There were four Chief Constables in the Outer City yamen.

His own elder brother was one, and this Chen Song before him was another.

This Chief Constable hadn't participated in the recent suppression of the mountain bandits, yet he appeared at the Tiger Head Gang's headquarters in the dead of night.

Zhao An wasn't particularly surprised by this.

As a former leader of the Tiger Head Gang, he was well aware of the overt and covert collusion between the various Chief Constables and the gangs of the Outer City.

Coming in the dead of night was likely to discuss important matters with Zhou Hu away from prying eyes.

At this moment, Zhou Hu could no longer restrain himself; he grabbed his Great Gold Blade, pushed aside the crowd, and slashed toward the Shen Boy.

He was naturally unleashing his signature Fierce Tiger Blade Art, and combined with the heavy gold blade, the strike felt as if it carried a thousand pounds of force.

Shen Pan, who had been slaughtering his way through the courtyard, was immediately pinned down by Zhou Hu and forced into a bitter struggle.

Zhao An saw at a glance that although the Shen Boy was a Martial Master, he had only recently stepped into this realm and his Internal Breath was a notch weaker than Zhou Hu's; his fists were no match for this Fierce Tiger Blade!

Coupled with the many Tiger Head Gang elites standing around, if this boy couldn't kill Zhou Hu, it would be difficult for him to escape tonight.

Just as Zhao An was calculating when to intervene, the Shen Boy suddenly exerted force, lunging forward to seize an opening, and slammed both fists into Zhou Hu's chest, causing him to grimace in pain.

"What's going on, Zhou Hu? Being beaten so miserably by a mere brat," Chen Song, who had been watching the show from the side, sneered as he drew his long blade.

"Get fifty taels of silver ready; I'll chop this kid down for you!"

Before acting, Chen Song didn't forget to extort a fee, then stepped in without further ado, slashing straight at Shen Pan.

Though his blade art lacked the domineering power of Zhou Hu's, it was sharper and balanced between offense and defense, making him even more troublesome to deal with.

Shen Pan, who had just had a chance to kill Zhou Hu, was suddenly plunged into a precarious situation once again due to Chen Song's interference.

"You're courting death!" After recovering, Zhou Hu was incensed and swung his Great Gold Blade directly at Shen Pan, who was cornered and unable to dodge.

Clang!

A crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out.

Zhou Hu's pupils constricted as he stared fixedly at the person who had suddenly appeared before him, hot air venting from his nose and mouth.

"Zhao An!!"

At the critical moment, Zhao An, who had been observing for a while, chose to enter the fray and caught Zhou Hu's blade.

As their strength clashed, Zhao An did not fall behind in the slightest against his former leader.

"Long time no see," Zhao An said calmly.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen this gang leader since the day he was forced to undergo the Three Trials, nor had he returned to the Tiger Head Gang headquarters since.

"Even you want to go against me?!" With a flick of his blade, Zhou Hu retreated two steps and said angrily.

"Zhou Hu, since this brat delivered himself to our doorstep, it saves us the trouble. Zhao Ke hasn't had a chance to take the money from the Python Gang that he's carrying. As we agreed before, take him down, and the two of us will split it!"

Chen Song, standing to the side, saw Zhao An and his eyes lit up.

"Fine!" Zhou Hu agreed immediately.

He had originally been wary of Zhao An's strength, but with Chen Song here today, it was indeed a good opportunity to get rid of Zhao An.

As for that Shen Boy, he was already wounded; letting the gang's elites stall him for a moment would be enough, he was nothing to worry about.

Zhao An's expression remained unchanged; even when facing these two Martial Masters, his heart was as calm as if he were dealing with two pieces of trash.

"I'll hold one of them off," a voice suddenly drifted over from the side.

It was Shen Pan.

He clutched the wound at his waist, his face as dark as water.

He could have taken the opportunity to scale the wall and escape, yet he chose to stay behind.

Perhaps he was dead set on killing Zhou Hu, or perhaps it was because Zhao An had just saved him, and he did not wish to abandon him.

Zhao An did not waste words with the lad, merely stating.

"No need."

He then raised his blade, locking his gaze onto Zhou Hu.

"Insolent!" Unable to let go of his status as the boss, Zhou Hu glared and launched a fierce attack, his Great Gold Blade sweeping viciously toward Zhao An.

Zhao An did not retreat but advanced to meet him, striking with a blade that was nearly identical, followed by another, and then another, all remarkably similar.

Sparks flew, and after a few exchanges, Zhou Hu was left bewildered.

What Zhao An was displaying was clearly the same Fierce Tiger Blade Art as his own, but the question was, how had Zhao An stolen it?

It couldn't possibly be that he had figured it out himself just from those few moves of the Black Tiger Blade Technique, could it?!

Zhou Hu found it hard to believe, but he had no time to ponder; Zhao An's strikes were lethal, quickly forcing him into a steady retreat.

It was clear that he was the one who had mastered the original Fierce Tiger Blade Art, yet in this duel, he felt like the knockoff...

Fortunately, Chen Song did not stand idly by, joining forces with Zhou Hu to pincer Zhao An.

They had assumed victory was within their grasp, but both were soon shocked to discover that Zhao An, fighting two against one, was not at a disadvantage in the slightest!

In fact, it was Zhou Hu who was the first to be wounded by Zhao An, his brocade gang leader's robes quickly stained crimson with blood.

As Zhou Hu stumbled back, Zhao An leaped into the air like a Fierce Tiger Leaps Over the Ravine, his blade shadow transforming into a Cold Gleam Moon Wheel that descended upon his head.

Unable to parry, Zhou Hu suffered another long gash, running from shoulder to abdomen, nearly slicing him wide open!

"You bastard!" Chen Song cried out in alarm, attacking with his blade.

Zhao An turned, caught the strike with his long blade, and then suddenly unleashed a palm strike like a hidden arrow, utilizing the Silver Snake Hand to strike Chen Song squarely in the chest.

One hundred and seventy wisps of Internal Breath surged through his palm, erupting with the force of a heavy hammer; Chen Song felt his chest tighten, his heart and lungs feeling as if they were about to explode!

A sweetness rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing that Zhou Hu was already attempting to flee, Zhao An flicked his wrist, sending his long blade flying to pierce directly through Zhou Hu's spine, delivering the fatal blow!