Unstoppable

In the blink of an eye, Shi Mu charged through the crowd like a wolf among sheep, knocking down seven or eight men in one go. The other members of the Turbid Water Gang scattered fearfully to either side.

At that moment, Feng Li and Gao Yuan also charged into the crowd, each wielding two iron rods. Their clubs whirled wildly as they fought hard, knocking down another five or six men.

The men watching from behind the Turbid Water Gang could no longer sit back and watch. After their leader, a middle-aged man, gave a low growl of "Fierce Fist," he and two others charged at Shi Mu, while the remaining two separately engaged Feng Li and Gao Yuan. The battle erupted.

The four iron rods in Feng Li and Gao Yuan's hands whooshed without pause. Their moves were strikingly similar, clearly drawn from the same martial art.

Their opponents each wielded a pair of flat, white iron rulers. One fought with weighty, forceful moves, while the other was light on his feet and unpredictable. They clashed with Feng Li and Gao Yuan in a flurry of clanging blows, neither side gaining the upper hand.

On the other side, facing the three blue-clad men who were clearly far more skilled than ordinary gang members, Shi Mu said nothing. He hooked one foot beneath a nearby wooden staff on the ground and flicked it up. With a pop, it sprang into the air and landed firmly in his hand.

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

The middle-aged man leading the charge was the first to reach him. He gripped what looked like two razor-sharp green bamboo blades, one in each hand. The moment he closed in on Shi Mu, he crossed the blades and viciously scissored them toward Shi Mu's chest. Given their keen edges, even though they weren't made of iron, a direct hit would surely have ripped Shi Mu open.

A cold glint flashed in Shi Mu's eyes. He merely flicked his wrist, and the staff in his hand blurred, suddenly splitting into six flashing shadows.

"Ah!"

The middle-aged man cried out in alarm and hastily yanked back his two bamboo blades, whipping them wildly in front of himself to block the attack.

Two sharp cracks rang out.

The man felt both palms jolt. The bamboo blades in his hands snapped into four pieces. Almost at the same instant, a sudden pain struck his chest, and the blow sent him staggering backward. He stumbled and nearly fell flat on his rear.

The other two blue-clad men rushed over. Seeing this, they panicked and thrust their wooden spears straight at Shi Mu with a whistle through the air.

The other man flicked his wrist, sending a leather whip lashing out like a raging serpent.

Shi Mu gave a low growl and swung his arm. The wooden staff in his hand shot forward like a javelin, hurled straight at the spear. A deafening boom rang out.

The spear-wielder had no time to change his stance. The tip of his wooden spear took the full force of the staff hurtling toward him. His hands went numb, and an indescribable force surged down the shaft. The front half of his spear exploded at once, leaving both hands bloodied and utterly numb.

At the same time, Shi Mu's other arm blurred. With a sharp crack, his black-gloved hand seized the incoming whip by its end.

The whip-wielding man's face went pale. He gripped the handle with both hands and desperately yanked it back.

Shi Mu snorted and simply pulled the whip toward himself. The man's body shook violently, and he stumbled forward against his will.

"Oh no!"

The whip-wielder tried in terror to let go of the handle, but it was already too late.

The Silver-Faced Man moved in a flash, covering several paces to appear right in front of him. His fist blurred.

Thud!

The whip-wielder took a heavy punch to the abdomen. His guts churned like a storm-tossed sea, and he fell to his knees, his vision going black.

Shi Mu still showed no sign of stopping. He rolled his shoulders, then sprang into the air like a whirlwind. A leg blurred into view and swept horizontally toward the man.

The whip-wielder's face went deathly pale.

With the terrifying force behind that blow, if it hit him, he might not survive—or he might be left crippled for life. Yet the effects of Shi Mu's previous attack still had him pinned, unable to dodge even an inch.

"Stop! We concede!"

A panicked voice suddenly rang out from the side.

The sweeping leg slowed for an instant, then whistled past above the whip-wielder, stirring a fierce gust of wind. The man's scalp prickled, and he nearly collapsed in terror.

Only after landing did Shi Mu look through the holes in his mask toward the source of the voice.

The one who had spoken was the middle-aged leader of the Turbid Water Gang.

Seeing that the whip-wielder was unharmed, the man finally breathed a sigh of relief. He cupped his hands toward Shi Mu and said with a bitter smile:

"Fierce Fist is every bit as formidable as the rumors claim! With your skills, you must rank among the very best Martial Disciples in all of Feng City. Why bother getting involved in the petty squabbles of us men who are just trying to scrape by?"

Shi Mu stood motionless, his gaze cold, and made no reply. Feng Li, who had also stopped fighting, stepped forward and said bluntly:

"Cut the nonsense! After this contest, your Turbid Water Gang will withdraw from all five streets at once."

"Since we're no match for you, the Turbid Water Gang will naturally give Fierce Fist a wide berth. Let's go!" The gang leader was a decisive man. He answered calmly, waved his hand, and immediately led everyone away in a noisy mass.

In the blink of an eye, only the Black Fox Society and its men remained nearby. The black-clad men erupted in cheers, every one of them jubilant!

Feng Li and Gao Yuan were also riding high. In front of everyone, they ordered their men to begin taking charge of all the arrangements for the new territory. Meanwhile, "Fierce Fist," the identity Shi Mu had assumed, vanished from sight without anyone noticing.

Several days later, Shi Mu returned from the mountains to the estate in the city's outskirts, wearing his new Black Armor, which had been weighted by dozens of pounds. When he saw the graceful young woman standing before him in the courtyard, he couldn't help staring in a daze.

"Master, Miss Zhong returned two days ago. Since I couldn't get in touch with you, I could only let her stay here for the time being," Zhang Suo reported uneasily from beside him.

The estate's steward knew all too well that, despite Young Master Shi's youth, he had a formidable way about him. He had taken it upon himself to let the girl stay, and he didn't know whether his decision would offend his master.

"It's all right. You may leave. I'll speak with Miss Zhong Xiu alone." Shi Mu finally came to his senses and waved Zhang Suo away.

The girl kept her head bowed and said nothing.

After Zhang Suo left, Shi Mu gestured for her to sit, then led her to the bedroom where he lived.

"Miss Zhong, why have you come back here? You must have something to tell me." Shi Mu turned and asked her solemnly.

"Master Shi, there's no need to ask. Do you still need anyone here? If you don't mind, Xiu'er is willing to work here as a serving maid." Zhong Xiu finally lifted her head, biting her lip as she spoke.

"A maid? You're joking, Miss Zhong. I don't know what happened to you at the Wu Family, but when we met, they seemed quite courteous to you. If you can't tell me at least a little about what happened, you'll put me in a difficult position." Shi Mu furrowed his brows and spoke slowly.

"What could happen to an ugly girl like me at the Wu Family? They were willing to take me in before only because they thought I still had some of the Zhong Family's property. Once they learned that the Zhong Family was actually penniless, they naturally stopped honoring any of their old promises. If I didn't leave on my own, was I supposed to wait for them to throw me out? I have no one else in Feng City whom I know and can turn to, so I had no choice but to swallow my pride and come back here." Tears glimmered in Zhong Xiu's eyes, and her voice caught in her throat.

After all, she was only a girl in her teens. First she had suffered the pain of losing her father, then the family she had thought would become her in-laws had turned against her and driven her out. At last, she could no longer maintain her composure.

"I see. This really did happen just as your father predicted... All right, Miss Xiu'er, don't talk about being a maid. Just stay here for now. I may not come from a wealthy family, but feeding one more person is no trouble at all. And you don't need to call me 'Young Master.' Just call me Big Brother Shi. If you ever want to leave, just let me know." Seeing the stubbornness still lingering on the girl's face, Shi Mu found it overlapping with the image of a certain close relative in his memory. Something deep inside him was touched, and he finally made up his mind.

"Thank you, Big Brother Shi!" The girl was both surprised and delighted. She curtsied to Shi Mu and thanked him with heartfelt gratitude.

Later, Shi Mu called Zhang Suo back in and arranged a clean, private room for Zhong Xiu.

Meanwhile, at the Wu Family estate in Feng City, several members of the Wu Family, including the pale-faced man, were gathered in the main hall, discussing something related to Zhong Xiu.

"Second Brother, are you certain that Zhong Ming didn't tell his daughter about it? If you're wrong, our Wu Family could suffer a huge loss." A fifty-something man whose features resembled those of the pale-faced man but who clearly carried far more authority asked gravely.

He was the current head of the Wu Family, Wu Liang, the eldest of the three Wu brothers. He was also the only Martial Artist in the family who had reached the Houtian Great Perfection realm.

"Eldest Brother, don't you trust me? Then at least trust that item. Since it showed no reaction to that little girl, it means she never awakened her bloodline. In that case, what right does a penniless girl have to become a daughter-in-law of the Wu Family? Besides, although the Zhong Family gave us that item, they would have been wiped out long ago without the Wu Family's help over the years. What does breaking off the engagement matter?" Wu Feng, the pale-faced man, replied dismissively.

"Exactly, Uncle. This has nothing to do with whether I like her. I don't want to marry such an ugly girl. The one I've set my sights on is Jin Yuzhen of the Jin Family..." the arrogant young man listening nearby cut in, his face full of reluctance.

"Silence, Hua'er! Who gave you permission to speak here?" The pale-faced man's face darkened as he rebuked him.

The arrogant young man could only shut his mouth in displeasure.

"Hua'er, this isn't about whether you like her. Even if that girl hasn't awakened her bloodline, if she becomes a daughter-in-law of the Wu Family, there's still a chance that one of our descendants will become a Bloodline Martial Artist. For that reason alone, I don't think Second Brother should have let Zhong Xiu leave." Wu Liang continued unhurriedly.

"If Hua'er finds the girl ugly, my son Wu Xun wouldn't mind taking her in. There's no need to drive her away," the third Wu brother, Wu Tong, said with a smile. He was a brocade-clad, middle-aged man, younger-looking than the pale-faced man.