One Against a Hundred (Part 1)

Hong Yuan drifted down and glanced in Yang Erhu's direction.

Yang Erhu had already captured that skinny old man Jia.

Old Man Jia was just short of dropping to his knees, begging over and over, "Master Yang, please just treat this lowly one like a fart and let me go. This lowly one was only following orders. If Young Master Hua hadn't instructed me, how would this lowly one have dared to come pluck at your tiger's whiskers?"

This old man had provoked Yang Erhu repeatedly before, claiming he did not fear death, but that was only because he knew Yang Erhu was wary of Master Qin and did not dare strike.

He had only just been promoted by Hua Feiyun, less than a month ago from start to finish. How could he possibly have enjoyed enough of it?

Even another ten or twenty years would not be enough.

Bang!

Yang Erhu was not even willing to waste more words on Old Man Jia. He struck out with a palm, slamming it onto the crown of the man's head.

In this short span of time, most of the people in the courtyard had finally escaped. A dozen or twenty corpses had been left on the ground, and there were also a few who were not yet dead, still wailing.

Hong Yuan walked straight toward the side room where Wei Zhenzhu was.

The old fat hag had already howled until she had no strength left. Whimpering and moaning sounds came from inside the room.

Hong Yuan did not need to look. With only a slight sensing, he knew Wei Zhenzhu was the only person in the room.

As for that Wang Ai, he had long since blended into the crowd and slipped away to safety!

Wei Zhenzhu's luck was not bad. Fires had already risen on both sides, yet somehow, this one room of hers had not been splashed by any sparks. How could that be allowed?

Hong Yuan did not enter the room either.

Even one extra glance inside would be torture to himself.

He only wanted to add a little incense offering for the "Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue."

Whoosh!

Hong Yuan shook his spear and struck out.

With a dull sound, the other half of the doors and windows shattered with a crash. Splintered wood shot out in a spray, instantly knocking over the oil lamp inside the room and spilling it onto Wei Zhenzhu. As the remaining sparks splashed over, it burst into flame with a whoomph.

By the time the miserable shrieks of a fat pig being roasted rang out, Hong Yuan had already darted away and landed beside Yang Erhu.

At this moment, a clamor rose outside. Bursts of chaotic footsteps sounded, accompanied by the clang, clang of weapons, rapidly drawing closer.

Yang Erhu's ears twitched, and his expression changed greatly.

"We need to leave quickly. If we're late, it'll be too late."

He had fought four fierce battles in the outer courtyard before, so he naturally knew how many people had come.

This Lanyue Garden Hero Arena had gathered many resounding figures from more than ten counties of Linjiang Prefecture, great clans, gentry, gang bosses...

The guards and thugs these people had brought were numerous, and with the dozens of martial artists who had taken part in the arena matches added in, there were probably four or five hundred who could fight and dared to battle.

Such a vast number made one's scalp go numb just thinking about it.

And this was still with Yang Erhu not knowing that Guo Zhen, Commander Guo, had brought not only eight armored soldiers with him, but nearly a hundred more waiting outside...

Even though Yang Erhu had already witnessed Hong Yuan's martial skill earlier, which was truly the greatest he had seen in his life, and even felt that it had already reached the ranks of the very top under heaven.

But to resist several hundred people with the strength of one man, and all of them tough hands who had tempered their tendons and bones and trained in martial arts—under such circumstances, even a master of the microscopic realm would have to flee in panic.

Once surrounded, unless he killed or wounded several dozen people and made the other side scatter in a swarm...

Otherwise, the longer it dragged on, the more his strength would be exhausted, and even one in the microscopic realm would be chopped into meat paste by a flurry of blades.

Several hundred people?

Hong Yuan's gaze flickered. He did not argue, only said, "All right!"

The next moment, his left hand seized Yang Erhu by the shoulder. The Life-Taking Throat-Locking Spear tapped the ground, and amid a crisp sound, Hong Yuan borrowed the force to soar upward, leaping onto a stone pillar two zhang tall at one side of the arena.

Yang Erhu had once mentioned that experts in lightness skill could rise more than a zhang straight up from where they stood.

With Hong Yuan's current martial skill, if he used his full strength to leap forward, he could cover nearly four zhang.

If he leaped straight up, he could also reach a height of five or six feet beyond a zhang, but that relied more on his own formidable physique.

Now, even while holding Yang Erhu, he could still leap two zhang, but that was by borrowing force from touching the ground. The moment his foot landed on the stone pillar, Hong Yuan suddenly exerted strength and sprang up again, pouncing toward the nearby terrace.

The great fire in this pavilion had already begun to spread, and tongues of flame were rising from the terrace as well. Hong Yuan's pounce was like a moth throwing itself into the fire.

Just as Yang Erhu's heart jolted in alarm, Hong Yuan's spear tapped the floor of the terrace, and the two of them rose upward once more.

Amid crisp ding, ding sounds, the spear tip in Hong Yuan's hand tapped repeatedly, just like a frog springing and leaping. In an instant, they were up on the roof ridge.

Whoosh!

A fierce wind whipped up around them.

Yang Erhu only felt his body become like a falling leaf, swept up by that wild gale, drifting along beyond his control. Wind poured past his ears, all of it a furious buzzing, as if hundreds and thousands of bees were beating their wings at the same time.

The surrounding scenery flew backward at high speed. One pavilion and tower after another turned into afterimages in Yang Erhu's eyes. Just as horror filled his heart, the rapidly changing scene suddenly came to a halt.

As far as his eyes could see, they had already arrived in the dense forest outside Lanyue Garden.

This...

Yang Erhu had already been shocked too many times today. At this moment, the look he turned on Hong Yuan had gone somewhat numb; he only felt that no matter what astonishing thing this disciple did next, he would not find it surprising.

"Teacher, find somewhere hidden to recover your strength first. I still have something to do."

Hong Yuan spoke.

Yang Erhu fell silent for a moment, opened his mouth, and only forced out two words: "Be careful!"

His thoughts turned, and he already understood what Hong Yuan meant to do. He wanted to offer advice, but in truth, he had not spent much time with this disciple and did not know him well.

And now he had even been saved by the other man. Having seen the various methods Hong Yuan had displayed, Yang Erhu had even developed an inexplicable awe of him.

Besides, with the movement technique Hong Yuan had revealed—that wind-swift, extreme speed—even if he could not win, he could probably escape with ease.

"Don't worry, Teacher!"

As Hong Yuan's words fell, his figure swayed and vanished into the deep, dark forest.

Inside Lanyue Garden.

Figures darted one after another, rushing swiftly to encircle the burning inner courtyard.

Once the noble guests who had fled outside shook off their terror, they immediately turned furious from shame. Thinking of how so many of them had been frightened by a mere martial man, resulting in such heavy casualties, how could this hatred go unavenged?

They immediately joined forces, shouted orders for the powerful clans in the outer grounds to lend aid, and directed their hired thugs to close in on the inner courtyard together.

"Surround it!"

"Don't let that thug escape!"

"This villain is audacious beyond measure and steeped in sin. He must be killed!"

The noble guests hid among their many guards, issuing order after order. Immediately after, there came the ringing clash of metal, and Commandant Guo arrived with nearly a hundred armored soldiers crowding around him, murderous aura surging.

It was only because horses could not be ridden inside Lanyue Garden; otherwise, he would certainly have galloped in on horseback.

A tremendous rage was also suppressed in Guo Zhen's chest.

With his status, he had been scared into fleeing in panic by a coarse wanderer of the jianghu. Such humiliation—he did not want to wait even a moment. He had to wash it clean at once.

The many guards of the powerful clans, the fierce thugs from the gangs, the martial men of the jianghu, and nearly a hundred armored soldiers advanced rapidly, surrounding the burning inner courtyard so tightly not even water could pass through.

Hong Yuan's figure flickered. Before long, he had already returned to Lanyue Garden, and with several rises and falls, he landed atop a tall artificial mountain. Looking at this scene, he smiled.

It was fortunate he had come back. Otherwise, who knew how this farce would end?

"What are you all looking for? Why don't I help you search?"

A clear voice rang out, resounding across the entire grounds. The clamoring, noisy crowd looked up in astonishment.

Silver-white radiance flowed. Life-Taking Throat-Locking Spear in hand, Hong Yuan stood atop the artificial mountain, his robes snapping and billowing in the wind as he looked down over the several hundred people present.

In Linjiang Prefecture City, Hong Yuan had once taken advantage of the night to ambush gang members, slaughtering hundreds of enemies in one night, but that had been done through clever means.

Today, he wanted to truly test whether he could fight a hundred alone!