The warrior who had just been arrogant and looked down on everyone fell from the third floor like a ragged sack.
He hit the second-floor floorboards with a bang. Blood seeped from his nose and mouth, and after twitching twice, he went still.
The entire second floor—and even the first—fell silent in an instant.
Diners held their chopsticks and wine cups, their faces still bearing traces of their earlier laughter and conversation, now frozen in confusion and terror.
A few breaths later, screams, the clatter of colliding tables and chairs, and the crash of shattered cups and plates erupted all at once!
"Something's wrong!"
Yang Ning's pupils contracted, and alarm bells rang in his heart.
He pushed off with his feet and darted back to his family's table like a hunting leopard.
"Big brother, sister-in-law, take Xiao Hua. We're leaving! Quickly!"
His words were clipped and urgent, leaving no room for argument.
Yang An and Liu Ying didn't understand what was happening, but they saw how grave Yang Ning looked—more so than ever before—and rose without hesitation.
Yang Ning scooped up the still-dazed Xiao Hua and sheltered her in his broad arms. Then he said in a low voice, "Stay close to me!"
The family of four quickly joined the panicked crowd fleeing toward the stairs.
The stairs were packed with people. Cries, curses, and shoving all tangled together.
Yang Ning's gaze remained calm. With one hand shielding his niece, he used the other to subtly redirect people pressing toward his family, moving them aside without hurting anyone or causing further chaos.
The restaurant entrance was right ahead, just a step away!
But then...
A thick, sweet, nauseating stench of blood, like a viscous fog made tangible, suddenly poured in from outside!
Yang Ning skidded to a halt and put himself between his family and the entrance. The extraordinary eyesight of a Body Tempering warrior pierced the dim light and panicked crowd, allowing him to see clearly:
Outside Chunhua Restaurant, a sea of dark figures filled the street!
Dozens of burly men with blood-red headscarves and clubs and butcher knives stood silently around the entrance, blocking every way out.
Their eyes were vicious, their faces expressionless, like a pack of starving wolves waiting to tear into their prey.
Farther down the street, the pedestrians and vendors who had been there just moments ago were nowhere to be seen. The entire street had been cleared in a very short time.
Only the red-scarved men remained, along with the cold glint of the weapons in their hands.
The Blood Ape Gang!
They actually dared to surround one of the busiest restaurants on East Third Street in broad daylight!
"Ah—!"
A timid female diner inside the restaurant finally lost control and let out a piercing scream.
Panic spread through everyone like a plague.
Yang Ning's heart sank. He immediately led his family back to a relatively open corner of the hall, putting a thick load-bearing wooden pillar at their backs as he shielded his brother, sister-in-law, and niece.
His gaze swept sharply over the hall, assessing the situation.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
Several guards who looked like warriors descended from the second floor to the first, surrounding He Xiang and a beautiful woman in purple.
The woman in purple was presumably the Qin Family Miss.
But Yang Ning's attention didn't stay on her for long. The keen intuition Body Tempering had given him fixed his eyes on a figure on the stairs leading to the first floor:
A figure as imposing as an iron tower slowly descended.
The newcomer was extraordinarily tall and broad, nearly nine feet in height, with wide shoulders and a thick back. The muscles in his bare arms knotted like the roots of an ancient tree, straining against his black martial outfit.
His face was rough and ugly, with a vicious scar slashing diagonally from his left eyebrow to his right cheek. He grinned, revealing yellowed teeth, his smile cruel and mocking.
Most striking were his huge, fan-like hands. His knuckles were unusually thick, covered in heavy calluses and tinged an unnatural dark red.
He held a Chunhua Restaurant guard by the neck in each hand. Both guards had already passed out, dangling as casually as chicks.
When he reached the center of the hall, he tossed them onto the floor. They hit with a dull thud, but his gaze remained fixed on the woman in purple being protected by the others.
Body Tempering!
And not just that—he was a Body Tempering warrior at his peak, his blood and qi surging with vitality!
Yang Ning's pupils contracted slightly, and his fist clenched without him realizing.
Compared to this man, Fei Yan from Hundred Herb Hall was like an old dog with dwindling blood and qi.
"Qin Yurong."
The tall man spoke, his voice rasping like sandpaper:
"We haven't even finished our engagement banquet, and you're already in such a hurry to leave, my betrothed?
Are you disrespecting me, Wang Teng, or the Blood Ape Gang?"
Wang Teng!
The Blood Ape Gang leader's son, a notorious brute on East Street!
At his words, the Qin Family warriors changed color, their anger boiling over.
Though the purple-clad woman called Qin Yurong was pale, her gaze remained fairly composed. She raised a hand to quiet her agitated subordinates and spoke in a cool voice:
"Brother Wang, you're joking.
I only came today to meet the new guard warrior our family hired and give him a brief assessment. You suddenly barged in. What engagement banquet are you talking about?
Brother Wang, please don't damage the harmony between our families."
"Harmony?"
Wang Teng scoffed and waved a hand.
"Damn harmony's the last thing I care about!
Qin Yurong, enough nonsense!
Your Qin Family wants to stick its hand into my East Street and grab a share? Fine!
I've heard plenty about your Qin Family's reputation. No need to wait for an auspicious day when we can do it today...
Right here, right now, our families will become in-laws. The Qin Family's eldest daughter will marry me, Wang Teng.
Your Qin Family's businesses will become my businesses. I'll make sure my thousand-plus brothers in the Blood Ape Gang keep a close eye on them!
As for these good-for-nothings..."
He glanced contemptuously at the Qin Family warriors glaring at him.
"Get lost before I have to look at you any longer!"
"You vicious dog, you're asking for it!"
"Protect the miss!"
A servant would die for his master's honor, especially after such blatant humiliation and threats!
Among the Qin Family warriors, three men with the strongest blood and qi—clearly already at the Blood Garment Barrier—roared and charged, ignoring the injuries they had already sustained!
One attacked high, aiming straight for Wang Teng's face.
Another attacked the middle, punching for his heart.
The third crouched low and swept at his legs, going for his lower body.
The three coordinated perfectly, closing off every avenue of escape in an instant!
"A bunch of dirt chickens and mangy dogs. Pathetic."
Wang Teng spat. Facing their combined attack, he didn't dodge. He simply bent his knees, lowered his waist, and settled his hips into a simple, ancient-looking stance.
He raised his arms. The muscles in his forearms instantly tightened like iron, while dark blue veins stood out, emitting a faint hum!
The Wang Family's Iron Wire Fist!
It used the arms like iron wires, channeling strength like a drawn bowstring—fierce and unstoppable, advancing head-on!
"Bang! Bang! Crack!"
In the blink of an eye, three dull impacts and the sound of breaking bones rang out almost simultaneously!
Wang Teng casually deflected the fist aimed at his face with his left arm. The warrior's entire arm bent at an unnatural angle, and he screamed as he flew backward.
The punch aimed at his heart struck Wang Teng squarely in the chest, but it was like hitting steel. The rebounding force shattered the attacker's wrist bone, leaving him horrified.
The warrior sweeping at his legs fared even worse. His shin struck Wang Teng's lower leg, but it was like kicking an iron stake. He clutched his broken leg and rolled away, howling.
In a single exchange, three skilled fighters had been killed or crippled!
Wang Teng stood completely unmoved. He grinned, showing his white teeth.
"Who's next?"
The remaining Qin Family warriors turned ashen and backed away, protecting Qin Yurong until they reached the wall and had nowhere left to retreat.
He Xiang was already terrified, trembling from head to toe as she clung tightly to Qin Yurong's sleeve.
Wang Teng advanced one step at a time. Each heavy footfall seemed to land on everyone's heart.
His gaze swept across the terrified Qin Family members, then over the other diners huddled in the corner. The cruelty and indifference in his eyes chilled them to the bone.
"Qin Yurong, don't expect anyone to come save you."
Wang Teng's voice echoed through the hall.
"Inside and outside Chunyuan Restaurant, it's all my Blood Ape Gang.
No one else will ever find out what happens here tonight."
He paused. His grin grew more vicious as he slowly enunciated each word, clear as day:
"Because, other than you, every single person here is going to die."
"No one can stop me."
Despair, like an icy tide, swallowed everyone. Yang Ning's heart sank as well.
At this moment, it seemed there was no way to stop Wang Teng.
Qin Yurong closed her eyes in despair. He Xiang looked around helplessly, then seemed to remember something.
She whipped around and frantically searched the panicked crowd, until her gaze settled on Yang Ning in the corner.
As if he were the last straw she could grasp, she screamed with all her might, heedless of everything else:
"Yang Ning! Brother Yang Ning!
You're a warrior, an incredibly powerful warrior!
Save us! Save the miss!
Please! I'm begging you!"
Her scream rang out piercingly in the dead-silent hall.
Wang Teng followed her gaze and saw the gray-clad young man sheltering his family, his expression calm. He couldn't help but sneer.
"Yang Ning?
What rat crawled out of a gutter?
Him?
A good-for-nothing who hasn't even reached Body Tempering—what makes him think he can—"
His words came to an abrupt halt.
Because Yang Ning, in the corner, had moved.
Under the worried gazes of his brother and sister-in-law, his niece's confused stare, He Xiang's desperation, Wang Teng's disdain, and the diners' terror, Yang Ning slowly passed the frightened Xiao Hua from his arms to Liu Ying.
He gently patted her back.
Then he reached inside his robe, took out the smooth White Jade Mask, and slowly covered his face with it.
A chill spread from the mask's touch. The noise, fear, and screams of the outside world seemed to be shut away behind a barrier. His mind became as still as an ancient well, while his senses sharpened to an extraordinary degree.
He could hear Wang Teng's heavy breathing and feel the turbulent, slightly restless blood and qi surging inside him. He could see the faintest twitch of his muscles and even predict his next move.
Beneath the Secret Artifact, the White Jade Mask, a pair of eyes lifted calmly to meet Wang Teng's gaze.
There was no anger or fear in them, only a resolve as heavy as iron.
His heart was as hard as iron, and killing intent surged.
He took a step toward the center of the hall.
His pace was unhurried, yet exceptionally steady.
With each step, he seemed to fall in rhythm with his heartbeat and the pulse of the earth.
The blood and qi he had kept tightly concealed began to slowly rise around him.
"Hmm?"
The contempt on Wang Teng's face faded, replaced by surprise and interest.
"You've kept your blood and qi hidden?
That's interesting.
So you're not a rat, but a... little cat hiding its claws?"
Yang Ning didn't answer. He stopped five paces in front of him.
He set his feet slightly apart, like a tiger crouched upon a rocky crag. His waist and back arched slightly, and his spine aligned, each vertebra linked in succession. A faint roar of dragons and tigers seemed to sound within him.
He held his fists loosely at his sides.
The opening stance of Tiger Soul Fist.
"Tiger Fist? Body Tempering?"
Wang Teng licked his lips, his eyes blazing with bloodlust.
"Good! Very good!
At last, someone who can give me a little exercise!
State your name. I don't kill nameless nobodies!"
Behind the White Jade Mask came a voice as calm as still water:
"Yang Ning of East Street."
Before you continue