Killing

"Should I test my skills?" Su Yuan was just thinking.

Unexpectedly, Tieniu came running from behind: "Brother Yuan!"

"Tieniu, why aren't you keeping Junior Sister Jiang company?"

"We practiced for a while, but Junior Sister Jiang said it hurt and she couldn't take it, so I came to find you. Brother Yuan, are you in a bad mood?" Tieniu asked.

Su Yuan chuckled: "You really don't know how to go easy on a girl. I'm fine, let's head back to the Martial Academy first."

"Alright."

In the shadows, Zhang Jing was directing the others.

He was a martial artist from the Shan Family Martial Academy, dispatched by Han Gui to carry out an assassination.

There were three Blood Condensing martial artists in this group.

Initially, they felt that dealing with an ordinary person like Su Yuan was making a mountain out of a molehill; any random thug could crush him.

But since Tieniu had arrived, things were a bit troublesome.

"Chen Feng, you go lure Su Tieniu away, and Song An and I will hunt down Su Yuan," Zhang Jing commanded.

Chen Feng frowned; the most difficult task was being assigned to him?

He said with dissatisfaction: "Does it take two people to deal with that waste Su Yuan? That Su Tieniu is a genius with superior bone structure; I can't handle him alone."

Zhang Jing was delighted to hear this: "Then Song An, you go deal with Su Tieniu as well. No need for a death match, just lure him away to create an opening for me."

Chen Feng could tell that Zhang Jing wanted to claim all the credit, so he didn't agree immediately.

The situation reached a stalemate.

At this moment, Song An spoke up: "How about we try to finish off Su Tieniu as well? Killing him would be an even greater achievement. If we can't handle him, I'll go lure him away, you two join forces to hunt Su Yuan, and I'll have the others provide cover."

Song An took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility, and the other two had no objections, acting immediately.

A sharp shout suddenly rang out: "Su Yuan! You traitor who sells out your country for glory and harms your own kin, today I shall act on behalf of Heaven and execute you, this dog of the Liang People!"

Three figures in black lunged from the shadows, heading straight for Su Yuan.

Tieniu let out a cold snort, stepped forward, and blocked the three-way attack with his burly, iron-tower-like frame.

Zhang Jing and the others immediately surrounded Tieniu, fists and palms clashing.

Tieniu practiced a fierce, rigid style of boxing; his fists swung like heavy hammers beating a drum, and he actually held his own against the three, forcing them to retreat repeatedly with his strikes, their arm bones aching from the impact.

"Brother Yuan, I'll hold them off, you run!" Tieniu roared.

Su Yuan wanted to step forward to help, but several more people darted out from the shadows, lunging toward him.

Seeing that Tieniu could handle himself, Su Yuan realized these people were targeting him, so he turned and fled.

Seeing Su Yuan moving away, Zhang Jing gave a signal with his eyes.

He and Chen Feng immediately broke away to pursue Su Yuan, while the men who had previously surrounded Su Yuan turned back to intercept Tieniu.

Tieniu realized he had been tricked, roared in anger, and with a violent swing of his arms, blasted the man in front of him away before rushing toward Su Yuan's direction.

Song An, whose arm ached from trading blows with him, cursed inwardly and urgently ordered the others to step in and entangle him.

Zhang Jing and his companion were swift; one blocked the path back to the Martial Academy while the other drove him forward, forcing Su Yuan to sprint along the alleys until he was cornered at a riverbank.

The water rushed noisily; the path ahead was cut off.

It was the Anlan River that ran through Ji City.

"Su Yuan, from the day you defected to the Liang People, you should have known this day would come! Senior Sister Yun, I will avenge you today!" Zhang Jing, still posing as a member of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall, lunged forward with a palm strike.

At the same time he spoke, Chen Feng had already quietly attacked from the side and rear, sealing off Su Yuan's path to jump into the river.

Beset on both sides, the two attacked from front and back, their palm winds closing in.

Su Yuan stood still, as if waiting for death.

"You are too slow." Su Yuan suddenly looked up, staring straight at Zhang Jing, his eyes as clear and cold as ice.

Zhang Jing felt a strange tremor in his heart: "Hmph, playing tricks!"

Su Yuan moved.

He channeled all his strength into his legs, stomped his right foot hard against the ground, and shot forward like an arrow, driving a fist straight at Zhang Jing's face!

"So fast!" Zhang Jing was shocked, but still met the strike with his palm.

As fist and palm touched, the force in Su Yuan's fist suddenly vanished.

The punch was merely a feint; using the momentum of his charge, he twisted his waist and swung his shoulder, slamming his head into Zhang Jing's chest like an iron hammer.

Zhang Jing sneered, his left palm striking out rapidly, intending to shatter the head that had been delivered to him.

Did he really think he had practiced the Iron Head Skill?

Crack!

A bone-chilling pain shot through his arm!

Zhang Jing's palm force was shattered by that headbutt, and his arm bone snapped with an audible crack.

Before a scream could escape, Su Yuan's forehead had already slammed solidly into his chest.

"Pfft—"

The muffled sound of collapsing ribs.

Zhang Jing's body flew backward like a broken sack, crashing heavily into the rocks along the riverbank, and moved no more.

Though shocked by Zhang Jing's gruesome state, Chen Feng did not hesitate; he turned his palms into claws and seized the opportunity to strike directly at Su Yuan's back!

But Su Yuan's arms were unnaturally coordinated. His other hand reached backward, and as their fingers and palms met, he exerted a sudden force that twisted Chen Feng's hand into a deformed shape.

"Ah!" Chen Feng cried out in pain and retreated rapidly.

"You've actually become a martial artist, and you've mastered multiple martial arts!" Chen Feng was terrified and turned to flee.

Blood flowed from Su Yuan's forehead, trailing down his cheek as he grinned like a malevolent ghost: "You know too much."

He then lunged forward, giving chase to Chen Feng.

With the effects of Flying Horse Leg and Slippery Escape, Chen Feng was no match for Su Yuan and was overtaken in the blink of an eye.

The momentum of offense and defense had reversed.

Horse Head Charge!

"Damn it! He was faking it the whole time!" Chen Feng realized his mistake too late; he should have gone to lure Su Tieniu away.

In a final desperate gamble, he leaped into the river.

However, the moment he jumped, a powerful force struck his back.

The crisp sound of a shattering spine was clearly audible.

"Still, it feels great to 'cos' a big win."

A whisper he couldn't understand drifted into his ears, followed by eternal darkness.

[Slaughter: 45/100 (Entry)]

Su Yuan dragged Chen Feng's corpse back, quickly looted his money, and then tossed the body into the river.

He returned to Zhang Jing's side and did the same, gathering about ten taels of silver in total.

"Are martial artists really this poor?" There was nothing on either of them to prove their identities.

Yet, Su Yuan could conclude that they were definitely not from the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall.

Even if both used palm techniques, the changes brought about by different martial arts were distinct.

Although these martial arts were named after palms, they actually engaged the entire body and influenced one's overall posture; such differences were obvious.

Their postures were actually quite similar to Han Gui's—could they be from the Shan family?

Recalling intelligence on the martial arts of the Liang People, this appeared to be the Wind Horse Palm of the Shan Family Martial Academy.

Familiar, hurried footsteps approached; it was Tieniu.

It seemed he had also dealt with his opponents.

Su Yuan pondered for a moment and leaped into the river.

[Swimming: 245/500 (Minor Achievement)]

Tieniu arrived at the scene to find blood covering the ground. His face turned deathly pale, and he knelt, clutching his head and trembling: "Brother Yuan..."

"Tieniu, I'm still alive!" Hearing the sound, Su Yuan emerged from the water.

"Those two idiots thought I went downstream, but they didn't expect me to hide upstream." Su Yuan splashed in the water.

Seeing that Su Yuan was not dead, Tieniu pulled him onto the bank and hugged him tightly, tears streaming down his face: "Thank goodness... Brother Yuan, you're still alive..."

Su Yuan felt suffocated by the grip and comforted him repeatedly: "Tieniu, let's head back to the martial academy first."

On the way back, several corpses lay on the ground, clearly having perished at Tieniu's hands.

At this moment, a squad of Liang People guards had surrounded the scene. The leader wore a sable-fur helmet, and his features bore a slight resemblance to Young Master Shan.

Shan Xi scanned the surroundings: "What happened here?"

"These people claimed to be from the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall and attacked my elder brother and me. I dealt with them all, but their martial arts style doesn't resemble Great Jing martial arts; it's closer to the Great Liang school," Tieniu reported truthfully.

Shan Xi's gaze turned cold.

He had originally been coordinating with Zhang Jing and the others to clear the area, never expecting Su Tieniu to be so fierce, disposing of everyone so quickly: "Cloud-Striding Martial Hall? This is a serious matter. You will come with me to be interrogated."

Tieniu shook his head: "We need to return to the academy to treat our wounds first."

"You dare defy the orders of the Fierce Horse Army!" Shan Xi sneered.

The Fierce Horse Army was the force stationed by Great Liang in Ji City, wielding immense power; the Liang nobility in the city were all involved with them.

Tieniu did not retreat an inch and produced a token: "I have a personal order from Second Young Master Chai. Even if you wish to interrogate me, you must first obtain his permission."

Seeing the Chai family token, Shan Xi's brows locked together, and he finally said: "Then we shall escort you to the Chai Family Martial Academy first."

After all, one must consider the master before beating the dog.

Su Tieniu actually possessed a Chai Family Token, which explained why he was held in such high regard.

On the way to the Chai Family Martial Academy, a soldier suddenly arrived to report: "Lord Shan Xi! The Xingyun rebels have launched a surprise attack on the Void Cloud Horse Ranch! Our superiors order you to lead your troops back immediately to reinforce and suppress them!"

A sharp glint flashed in Shan Xi's eyes: "So these cowards have finally arrived? Let's go!"

He paid no further mind to Su Yuan and his companion, leading his troops away in a hurry.

Su Yuan looked up to see flames soaring into the sky in the direction of the Void Cloud Horse Ranch, illuminating half of the night horizon.

Tonight was destined to be restless.