Gong Tian went straight for Wang Han, the most ferocious and violent of the Blood Ape Gang!
Both were Bone Forging experts. The moment they clashed, their forces collided with a muffled, thunderous boom.
When Hidden Force experts fought, ordinary people could not get close. The onlookers scattered in every direction.
At almost the same moment, the three Patrol Chiefs spurred their horses forward, each taking on one of the Blood Ape Gang's Tendon-Changing leaders. They fought in a tangled melee.
For a time, violent winds swept everywhere, and the clang of blades and swords rang without end.
The nearly hundred constables of the Patrol Bureau formed a simple battle array and steadily pressed toward the disorganized Blood Ape Gang.
Though they were outnumbered, they managed to hold their own against the gang's numerous rabble.
Yang Ning steeled himself, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic battlefield like a cold blade.
At last, he fixed on a figure stealthily closing in on him.
It was a lean, middle-aged man in a scholar's robe, an odd fit among the other gang members.
He was the Blood Ape Gang's deputy leader, "Ghost Abacus" Chen Qi!
Chen Qi's gaze was fixed on Yang Ning. In his hand was a Scholar Iron Fan, clearly no ordinary weapon.
"Yang Ning?"
His voice was hoarse and unpleasant.
"The gang leader ordered me to take your life today, to console the young gang leader's spirit in the afterlife!"
He glided several yards like a ghost. His iron fan snapped open, and the densely packed barbs on it shot straight for Yang Ning's eyes.
His angle was vicious and tricky, his force sharp and fierce. He was clearly at the late stage of Tendon Changing, with Bright Force at great mastery!
Though Gong Tian was locked in a fierce battle with Wang Han, he sensed Chen Qi's move through their connection of qi.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes, but he did not come to Yang Ning's aid. Instead, he sent a secret voice transmission:
"Junior Brother, leave this man to you.
"His Cloudy Force is supple and tenacious, and it specializes in countering powerful, forceful styles. Handle him carefully. He'll make a perfect whetstone for your Tiger Demon Force!"
Hearing his senior brother's words warmed Yang Ning's heart and filled him with boldness.
Facing Chen Qi's sudden assassination attempt, he pressed forward instead of retreating, letting out a low roar like muffled thunder!
He instantly assumed the Tiger Soul Fist stance!
Unlike when he had practiced Body Tempering, the moment his stance took shape, the air around him seemed to still.
A ferocious aura erupted from within him!
Beneath his skin, his sinews writhed and tightened like awakening horned dragons.
His newly formed Tiger Demon Force surged and roared through his meridians, finally gathering in both fists!
He threw both fists forward, meeting Chen Qi's iron fan head-on.
"Bang! Bang!"
Fist and fan collided with muffled clangs like striking metal!
Yang Ning felt a slight tremor in his fists. A strange, supple, sticky force flowed up his arms, impeding the circulation of his qi and blood.
This was Chen Qi's Cloudy Force: soft yet long-lasting, adept at dissipating force and seeping through defenses, specifically designed to break powerful, hard techniques.
Chen Qi did not fare well either. He grunted as immense force surged from the fan, accompanied by a fierce, searing force that rebounded against him.
His arm went numb, and his qi and blood churned.
"What strength! What domineering force!
"Has this brat only just broken through to Tendon Changing?"
Chen Qi was horrified.
He had cultivated Bright Force to great mastery for years and believed his strength had been honed to a fine edge. He never expected to suffer a loss at this brat's hands.
The quality and ferocity of his opponent's force far exceeded his expectations!
But Chen Qi was an old hand. His shock lasted only an instant before he blurred like a ghost and dissipated the force driving him back.
When they clashed again, he no longer met Yang Ning head-on. Instead, he split up his force and wound it around Yang Ning, soft and dense, aiming only to impede and wear him down until he found an opening.
After a dozen exchanges, Yang Ning gradually sensed something was wrong.
Chen Qi's moves seemed to anticipate his every next action!
Whenever Yang Ning was on the verge of changing his fist technique, just before his force was about to erupt, Chen Qi would appear at just the right moment to strike the weak point in his attack.
Yang Ning's Tiger Demon Force clearly had the upper hand, yet the fight felt impossibly awkward. It was as if he had strength to spare but nowhere to use it, constantly being led by the nose.
"Is he calculating my moves?"
Yang Ning's heart tightened.
He thought of Chen Qi's nickname, "Ghost Abacus."
This did not seem like mere combat experience. It was more like some special method that let him see through and predict his opponent's intentions!
After another fierce clash, Chen Qi used the force of the impact to drift back several steps, putting distance between himself and Yang Ning.
He did not immediately attack. His left hand remained free, while the fingers of his right hand moved swiftly and secretly inside his sleeve.
His five fingers seemed to be toying with invisible abacus beads, making an extremely faint clicking sound. A hint of pallor flickered across his face.
Almost no one noticed this detail amid the chaos of the battlefield.
But Yang Ning did!
The White Jade Mask covering his face had heightened his senses.
The instant Chen Qi's fingers moved, Yang Ning seemed to "smell" a faint, extraordinary aura—something akin to the distinctive fluctuation of a Secret Artifact that he had sensed when suppressing the White Jade Mask.
Yang Ning narrowed his eyes and instantly scanned Chen Qi from head to toe.
His gaze finally stopped at Chen Qi's right wrist.
There was a bracelet of black wooden beads around it.
On closer inspection, the beads looked remarkably like abacus beads!
As Chen Qi's fingers moved, the wooden beads on the bracelet seemed to tremble and slide in a peculiar rhythm.
"A Secret Artifact!"
The words exploded in Yang Ning's mind.
That was it!
Chen Qi was no natural prodigy at calculation!
He was relying on a Secret Artifact to aid him in battle.
The artifact could likely help him analyze his opponent's moves and even predict their actions!
That was why he always seemed to anticipate his opponent's moves!
No wonder he kept putting distance between them after exchanging a few blows, all the while moving his fingers.
He was recalculating and adjusting his strategy.
This Secret Artifact must have some limitation or cost.
It could not possibly be used without limit!
With the Destiny System in him, Yang Ning could suppress the backlash from the White Jade Mask.
But Chen Qi clearly could not fully avoid the price of using the Secret Artifact in his possession.
The pallor and labored breathing on his face proved it!
"I've found the opening!"
Yang Ning's mind suddenly cleared, and his fighting spirit soared to the heavens!
Now that he knew the key, how could he give Chen Qi time to calmly calculate?
"Thud—"
Yang Ning did not stop to catch his breath. He planted his foot on the ground, shattering the flagstones, and charged straight at Chen Qi's pale face!
This time, he did not hold back to test the waters. He would break skill with strength and overwhelm slowness with speed!
"Hold him back!"
Chen Qi's expression changed drastically. He shouted as he retreated, his fingers flickering even faster inside his sleeve.
Several fearless leaders rushed at Yang Ning.
Yang Ning struck out with both hands. Tiger Demon Force burst forth, and with several sharp cracks and wet thuds, the leaders screamed as they were sent flying.
That brief delay seemed to give Chen Qi enough time to finish calculating. He prepared to face Yang Ning again.
But Yang Ning gave him no chance!
He abandoned all defense, concentrating his Tiger Demon Force in both fists and fighting as if his life depended on it!
You can predict my moves?
Then I'll use the most brutal, direct, and reckless approach to throw off your rhythm!
"Bang! Pfft!"
Chen Qi's finger jabbed into Yang Ning's left shoulder, and Cloudy Force penetrated it, tearing the flesh apart.
At the same time, Yang Ning's right fist slammed squarely into Chen Qi's right arm!
His ferocious Tiger Demon Force burst through Cloudy Force's resistance.
"Ah!"
Chen Qi let out a bloodcurdling scream. His entire right arm twisted out of shape.
The beads from the bracelet scattered in every direction!
The Secret Artifact broke, and its backlash struck at once!
Chen Qi took a blow as though he had been hit by a heavy hammer. His face turned ashen, and he spat out mouthfuls of blood as his aura plummeted.
Yang Ning pressed his advantage, ignoring the pain in his left shoulder as his left fist shot forward like a tiger's claw, smashing toward Chen Qi's chest!
Chen Qi's eyes were full of despair and unwillingness, but he could no longer block the blow.
"Thud—!"
Like a heavy hammer pounding a drum, Yang Ning's ferocious punch landed squarely over his heart.
Chen Qi slowly lowered his head and looked at his sunken chest. It seemed he wanted to say something, but he could no longer speak.
At last, he collapsed to the ground, dead.
The fifty-second-ranked expert on the Top Hundred Ranking,
"Ghost Abacus" Chen Qi, had died at Yang Ning's hands!
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