Fierce Might!

Hong Yuan did not bother checking whether anyone was still alive. He advanced in a single step and dropped into the side room.

The short staff in his hand thrust forward, and in its spin it connected with the short spear still lodged in the armored soldier's chest. With a crisp "ding," the two fitted together without the slightest gap.

The Life-Taking Throat-Locking Spear was in his hand!

Hong Yuan did not even pull out the spearhead. With a slight lift of his palm, he raised the armored soldier's corpse along with it, then abruptly smashed two soldiers who were rushing up to meet him off their feet.

Before the two could rise, the wind split with two "whoosh, whoosh" sounds.

Two spear thrusts pierced through their throats almost at the same time. The armor plates over their throats, before this cold iron spear, were like torn silk!

Guo Zhen cried out hoarsely in alarm, "I am the Left Commandant of the Jintang Battalion, Guo Zhen! Whoever kills this villain for me, I will recommend him into the Jintang Battalion as a battalion officer!"

His words echoed through the courtyard.

The moment those words were spoken, the remaining martial artists who had originally been cowed by Hong Yuan's brutality, and even the guards at the sides of the other nobles, all began to stir.

A battalion officer of the Jintang Battalion could at the very least command one or two hundred regular soldiers. To martial men like them, it was practically a single step to the heavens.

Third Master Jin of the Canal Gang's expression shifted. Gritting his teeth, he ordered the guards beside him, "Go save Commandant Guo, quickly! Quickly!"

Naturally, he did not care about some battalion officer's post, but if he rescued Commandant Guo, that favor would be far too great. It would be of enormous use in stabilizing his own position in the Canal Gang, and even in taking another step forward.

Before those people could act, a sharp aura suddenly exhaled beneath Hong Yuan's feet, like a venomous snake that had lain hidden for ages, waiting only for the perfect moment to strike.

A long sword flickering with cold light suddenly stabbed out, piercing through the floorboards, striking upward from below, straight toward the vital point beneath Hong Yuan.

As the piercing chill erupted, an indifferent voice rang out: "'Heart-Piercing Sword' Lin Xiu, killing this beast for the Commandant!"

Among the many martial men in this Hero Arena, three had the loudest reputations: Smiling Buddha, "Iron Chain Across the River" Zhao Heng, and "Heart-Piercing Sword" Lin Xiu.

When those few martial artists had earlier thrown themselves at Hong Yuan, Lin Xiu had also moved. Only, he had not leaped onto the terrace to fight him head-on, but had quietly arrived in the side room beneath Guo Zhen.

He had been waiting.

Until this moment, the True Force he had secretly circulated erupted, and surging power gathered onto his long sword.

Lin Xiu had not yet reached the level of "sending and withdrawing at will," but he had already touched the threshold. Now that he erupted, it was truly like a hurricane sweeping wildly through. The floorboards shattered inch by inch, and the sword-light was like a cold bolt of lightning, a startled swan flashing past, arriving in an instant.

A sword strike both fast and venomous, capable of piercing an enemy from below in the blink of an eye.

A savage smile hung on Lin Xiu's face, as if he had already heard his opponent's scream, as if he had already seen himself clad in splendid official robes, ordering others about with a tilt of his chin.

Until there came a "pfft," and that swift sword-light was like a tiny candle flame, gently pinched out.

What pinched out that candle flame was a foot!

Hong Yuan stomped down. That lightning-like sword-light should have pierced through the sole of his foot, but beneath that stomp, the long sword trembled and actually slanted away, before he stepped onto the blade.

In the next instant, a formidable force transmitted through the sword body and spread into Lin Xiu's palm.

Lin Xiu was a young man of around twenty, with an indifferent expression. To have reached such a level in martial arts at this age already made him worthy of being called a talented young hero, with boundless prospects ahead.

But under that vibrating force, Lin Xiu had no time at all to let go and abandon his sword. The sword body became a lever, and with a muffled boom, it pried his entire body up and sent him flying.

He shot straight up to the second-floor side room.

A large hand descended, seized his neck, as if throttling a quacking duck, and lifted him into midair.

"Who did you say you were going to kill?"

Hong Yuan met his gaze, his expression unfriendly.

In the brief delay, several guards at Guo Zhen's side had already smashed through the rear wall and leaped down with Guo Zhen.

Lin Xiu suddenly felt his whole body go limp and weak. Two words squeezed out of his throat: "Spare me..."

"You're a grown man, yet still so childish!"

Hong Yuan's gaze shifted, and he saw a huge, fat figure charging toward Yang Erhu on the terrace.

It was a big monk wearing prayer beads, his smiling face welcoming others—the Smiling Buddha.

This was also the reason Hong Yuan had not gone after Guo Zhen.

His expression did not change. Carrying Lin Xiu, he swept out in a flash. Though he moved later, he arrived first, treating Lin Xiu's entire body as a heavy hammer and smashing him fiercely toward the Smiling Buddha.

Unexpectedly, the Smiling Buddha chuckled, clearly prepared long in advance, and his figure shifted and changed.

Though broad and massive, his footwork was extremely swift and nimble. As his monk's robes fluttered, he was like a huge fat goose flapping its wings.

Swish!

As he deftly avoided the smashing blow, his body moved to Hong Yuan's side, and a fist the size of an alms bowl thundered out, hammering toward his temple!

Lin Xiu's body smashed through the railing, and sharp splinters of wood burst apart, stabbing into his chest.

And following the momentum of Hong Yuan's smash, it was precisely the moment when his new strength had gone and his old strength had not yet been born. From the side came Smiling Buddha's fist breaking through the air, while from behind, a fierce gust of force also attacked.

Clatter-clatter!

A chain rang wildly, whipping in from behind Hong Yuan and lashing toward his neck. It was the last of the three, "Iron Chain Across the River" Zhao Heng, making his move.

The two of them had seen that Hong Yuan and Yang Erhu's relationship was unusual. Their attack on Yang Erhu had merely been a feint; in truth, it was meant to lure him into the trap and strike him from front and back.

At this moment, the two unleashed the attacks they had built up power for, striking at the same time. Both erupted with True Force, absolute killing blows!

"Die!"

Zhao Heng was a dark-skinned middle-aged man. The chain, nearly two zhang long, was half coiled around his arm, one end curling and unfurling like a dragon. In the next instant, that venomous dragon looked ready to swallow his opponent whole.

Hiss!

A flash of silver suddenly cut across the corner of his eye. A streak of silver tore through the air, piercing through the gaps in the chain like a bolt of fierce lightning, boring straight in within a breath.

A chill spread through Zhao Heng's chest. He lowered his head, the ferocity on his face already frozen stiff.

A silver spear had stabbed into his body. As the spearhead was drawn out, it took all the strength from him as well.

Hong Yuan reversed his grip and wielded the spear, taking Zhao Heng's life with a single thrust, while his left hand clenched at the same time, punching out to meet Smiling Buddha's fist.

Whether it was the swordsman Lin Xiu, or Smiling Buddha and Zhao Heng, all of them were in truth extremely experienced in life-and-death fighting, their methods seasoned and vicious.

Even a Minute Subtlety grandmaster, facing these two sneak attacks, would likely suffer some injury even if he did not die.

After all, in the martial path of this world, Minute Subtlety merely meant a stronger physique and deeper transformations of force; there was no essential divide between them and the martial artists below.

As long as one was a mortal of flesh and blood, one could be killed by a sneak attack.

Hong Yuan was naturally also made of mortal flesh, but he had gradually begun to possess a few faintly wondrous qualities. These three men's sneak attacks had long since fallen within the perception of his spiritual sense.

He could even have avoided the great monk's punch with the utmost ease.

But there was no need.

Bang!

Fist struck fist, and Smiling Buddha stopped smiling. His face swelled into the color of pig liver, as if he were about to let out a savage roar, while the sound of bones shattering burst from his massive fist.

It was not only his finger bones that shattered. The powerful force spread upward, and Smiling Buddha's wrist bones were pulverized inch by inch. Just as he was about to unleash a howl, a fist shadow flashed and had already struck his broad, fat face.

Smiling Buddha's body flipped through the air, flying off the terrace and crashing down onto the floor tiles.

The courtyard fell into chaos. The remaining martial artists, the noblemen and magnates in the various side rooms, and the guards at their sides all gaped wide, shocked beyond measure.

Third Master Jin of the Canal Gang had originally sent more than a dozen guards at his side to rescue Guo Zhen, but these men had only run a dozen steps before their strides froze in place, their faces paling.

He wanted them to fight a savage like that?

Was he serious?

Too savage, too ferocious!

When had they ever seen such a vicious figure?

From the moment this man appeared, brutally struck Young Master Hua, killed He Xiaofeng, and then fought the many martial artists who rose up against him, how long had it been from start to finish?

At most a dozen or twenty breaths!

The opponent had slaughtered several armored soldiers and over a dozen highly skilled martial artists as if chopping melons and slicing vegetables. Forget seeing such a savage—none of them had even heard of one. Only the evil demons and fierce ghosts in storybooks possessed such dreadful might. Who would not be afraid?

Who still dared step forward and meet him in battle?

Hong Yuan flicked his wrist. The dark spear tip tapped the chain, and amid the violent rasp of metal, sparks burst outward, falling onto the curtains hanging down to the ground. A mass of flame swiftly caught.

The long spear lifted!

Clatter!

The chain, nearly two zhang long, rolled up and shot into Hong Yuan's left hand. With a slight pinch, he felt that the chain was only about two fingers thick, tough in texture; its material was clearly of the finest quality.

"You like watching people duel and kill each other that much?"

"What's the point of just sitting there and watching?"

"I, Hong, will give you all a little sense of participation. Come play a great escape slaughter together!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Once the chain was in his hand, it surged up with a movement of Hong Yuan's palm like an enraged dragon, then lashed out violently.

Around the arena stood four enormous stone pillars. On each stone pillar sat a huge gilded bronze basin, filled with fire oil. The flames blazed brilliantly, illuminating this vast garden with radiance.

But as that chain came attacking like a dragon, it abruptly whipped the top of one stone pillar until shards of stone exploded outward. A bronze basin loosened in an instant and was swept up into the air by the coiling chain.

Roar!

The bronze basin buzzed and trembled violently, the firelight within it flaring bright. Countless sparks burst out, blooming in midair like fireworks, and then one flower of fire after another fell to the ground, dropping toward the surrounding pavilions.

Hong Yuan still did not stop. The chain spun rapidly in his palm, and before the shattered stones could even hit the ground, he struck them through the air with the chain. Only a continuous series of clangs rang out, sounding like bells and chime stones being struck.

Fire oil splashed from the three bronze fire basins, and blossoms of flame shot in every direction. Some even landed on people fleeing in panic who could not dodge in time, and in an instant, screams of agony filled the air.

At the same time, flames also rose within the surrounding pavilions.

Cries of alarm erupted. Countless figures swayed and scattered, wailing for their fathers and crying for their mothers, all fleeing outward.

Only now did Young Master Hua pull his head out of the floorboards, screaming from the unbearable pain. His once rather handsome face was already a bloody, mangled mess.

All of a sudden, his head sank. A foot once again stomped his skull back in, and a voice was heard saying, "Teacher, why are you here?"