Chen Yue forced himself to steady his nerves, trying to make one last appeal. "Chief He, we're just Pearl Households who keep to ourselves. I've also passed the court's County Martial Examination, giving me a promising future and a degree to my name. And if Master Zhou's people really come to your gang..."
"Stubborn fool!"
A cruel, vicious grin spread across He Chong's face. He waved his hand and barked, "You don't know what's good for you! Then don't blame me for being ruthless. Get him! If he resists, kill him!"
"Yes, sir!"
Zhou Qi had been waiting so long that his eyes were bloodshot. At the words, he was the first to roar and charge. The four gang members behind him, all armed with blades, surged forward as well, and murderous intent instantly filled the little courtyard.
"Father! Mother! Get inside! Close the door!"
Chen Yue's pupils contracted. His thunderous shout jolted his stunned parents back to their senses. At the same time, his right hand swept to his waist and drew the rough clam knife. Instead of retreating from the charging figures, he advanced to meet them.
He unleashed Roaming Mountains and Rivers, his figure darting through the cramped courtyard like a ghost, tracing a strange arc. He moved after his opponent, yet arrived first, closing in at once on a gang member with a short knife who was charging from the far right.
Seeing Chen Yue come straight at him, the gang member grinned viciously and swung his blade down!
Chen Yue twisted at the waist and slipped past the edge of the blade by a hair. At the same time, his clam knife flashed upward like a streak of white lightning, slicing with unerring precision through the tendons in the man's knife hand.
"Ah!"
The gang member let out a piercing scream. His short knife clattered to the ground, and blood spurted from his wrist.
Chen Yue didn't pause. He twisted at the waist and lashed out with his right leg like a whip, driving the surging force of the Mountain-Climbing Art into a solid kick to the man's chest!
"Bang!"
"Crack!"
A faint sound of breaking bones rang out. The gang member flew backward like a sandbag, blood and foam spilling from his mouth, and crashed straight into the three men charging close behind him.
All four tumbled together and slammed into the courtyard wall.
Zhou Qi had some martial arts training and quick reflexes. When his companions came crashing toward him, he nimbly jumped aside.
He saw Chen Yue take down a man in an instant, and the hatred and madness in his eyes only grew. Without a second thought, he gripped his blade with both hands and poured all his strength into a plain, direct downward slash.
The gleaming blade whistled through the air, aimed straight at Chen Yue's neck. The strike was vicious and merciless. He was clearly out to take Chen Yue's life!
Chen Yue's gaze turned icy in an instant. Facing the killing blow, he neither dodged nor retreated. He swept his clam knife upward with his right hand and caught the descending blade.
The clam knife was crude, but with the full force of the Mountain-Climbing Art's inner energy behind it, it held firm against the steel blade. The weapons screeched against each other, sparks flying.
The moment he blocked the strike, Chen Yue drove a simple, direct Crushing Fist with his left hand straight into Zhou Qi's unprotected right shoulder joint!
"Thud! Crack!"
The dull thump of fist striking flesh was followed by the unmistakable sound of bones shattering!
Zhou Qi's right shoulder blade and collarbone were crushed and twisted by the punch! He let out a scream that sounded almost inhuman. His right arm hung limply, and the steel blade slipped from his grasp.
There was not a trace of pity in Chen Yue's eyes. He followed through with a sharp kick from his right leg, driving it straight into the center of Zhou Qi's chest!
"Pfft!"
Zhou Qi spat out a great mouthful of blood. He flew backward like a broken sack and crashed into the two gang members who had just struggled to their feet and tried to rush in.
The men tumbled over one another again, unable to get back up for the moment.
From the instant Chen Yue sprang into action to the lightning-fast moment he grievously wounded two men, only a few breaths had passed. Of the six Sea Shark Gang members who had come in full force, only He Chong remained standing unharmed.
The vicious grin had vanished without a trace from Scarface He Chong's face. How could a lowly Pearl Diver have such terrifying skill?
This was far beyond what a few days of secretly practicing crude farmhand moves could achieve. There was definitely something strange about this kid! Could Zhou Qi's suspicion be true? Had his brother really died at Chen Yue's hands?
Shock gave way to a violent fury that consumed him!
To have so many of his men grievously wounded right before his eyes was like grinding He Chong's pride into the dirt!
"Bastard! I'll skin you alive!"
He Chong's eyes were bloodshot. With a furious roar, he stamped down hard and lunged like a tiger breaking out of its cage, bringing the thick-backed cleaver in his hand down at Chen Yue's head with a terrible whistle!
The strike was heavy and sweeping, its reach broad. He clearly intended to overpower Chen Yue and force him to block head-on.
As He Chong charged Chen Yue, one of the less seriously injured gang members saw that their leader had engaged him. A murderous glint flashed in the man's eyes. Enduring the pain in his chest and abdomen, he hunched low and silently rushed toward the shut door of the inner room!
If he could just seize those two old things, the kid could fight all he wanted—he'd still have to kneel!
Chen Yue was dealing with He Chong, but his keen senses kept him aware of everything happening around him. When he saw the man rush toward the inner room, a cold glint flashed in his eyes!
Facing He Chong's powerful downward blow, Chen Yue chose not to meet it head-on. His footwork shifted again. He pushed the Loach Drilling Through Cracks slide from Roaming Mountains and Rivers to its limit, his body slipping like a boneless fish through the narrow gap at the edge of He Chong's sweeping strike.
Not only did he evade the deadly blow, but he twisted with its momentum, surged forward with a burst of speed, and reached the inner-room door before the attacker could. He blocked the entrance.
The gang member's vision blurred. His target had become Chen Yue, standing before him like a demon. Panicking, he brought his blade down wildly.
Chen Yue didn't dodge. His left fist shot out in a simple, direct Iron Mountain Fist, faster than the attacker could move, like a cannonball blasting from its barrel. It slammed into the man's right shoulder.
"Pfft!"
The gang member's forward rush stopped dead. His right shoulder shattered, and a mouthful of scalding blood sprayed from his mouth as he was hurled backward.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
He Chong's cleaver had missed. Seeing Chen Yue wound another man right before his eyes, he was so furious he could have spat blood. He felt humiliated, as though Chen Yue were openly treating him with contempt.
He could see how worried Chen Yue was about his parents, so he immediately changed tactics. Wielding his cleaver, he stopped pursuing Chen Yue and instead brought it down hard against the wooden door of the inner room.
He would force Chen Yue to defend the door, force him into a head-on clash!
Chen Yue's gaze tightened. He knew he couldn't keep dodging. His parents were right behind that door—He Chong absolutely could not be allowed to break in! He flicked up the steel blade from the ground with his toe and caught it in his right hand.
Just as He Chong's blade was about to strike the wooden door, the inner energy of the Mountain-Climbing Art surged through Chen Yue's body and into his right arm. His feet drove him forward in a quick succession of steps, and the steel blade in his hand became a streak of chilling light, sweeping down to meet He Chong's cleaver.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Deafening crashes erupted one after another across the courtyard. Sparks sprayed constantly from the two blades as they clashed with wild force.
He Chong's expression changed completely. It felt as though he wasn't crossing blades with a man, but trying to hold back a mad bull charging at him.
Every time he blocked a strike, the terrifying force numbed his arms. The web of his thumb had already split open, and sticky blood slicked the hilt until it was nearly impossible to hold.
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