The Might of Thunderclap Slash, Qian Wantong!

Afternoon.

Tiger Roar Martial Academy.

"Venomous Snake Gentleman?"

Li Tianhu, clad in a green robe, sat in a pavilion with his brows tightly furrowed, unable to make head or tail of it despite turning it over in his mind a hundred times.

However.

Eight academy disciples had died last night. He had just received another report that five more had died, all their corpses bearing Venomous Snake Gentleman's little iron snake mark. Everyone in the academy was in danger and fear.

He had led people in pursuit for an entire day, yet found nothing.

"Academy Master, bad news... We just received word that four more disciples have died in South City... They all bore the little iron snake. Venomous Snake Gentleman was the one who struck!"

Just then, the steward Zhang Lin hurried over. From three zhang away, he bowed with cupped fists, worry written across his face.

"What? Four more died!"

"Damn it!"

Hearing this, Li Tianhu flew into a rage and smashed his fist into the stone table before him. Force erupted in all directions, and the stone table instantly shattered into pieces!

A powerful aura swept through the surroundings, scattering fallen leaves within five zhang in every direction!

So many disciples had been killed in a single day, leaving everyone in the academy terrified. Who would dare join Tiger Roar Martial Academy in the future?

Steward Zhang Lin remained silent.

"How many new disciples joined today?"

Li Tianhu's aura eased slightly as he asked.

"Reporting to Academy Master, today... there were no new disciples..."

Zhang Lin bowed, his expression troubled.

"I don't recall ever offending Venomous Snake Gentleman, nor do I know anyone like him. Could it be..."

Li Tianhu narrowed his eyes, thinking of a possibility. He said in a low voice, "Steward Zhang, send people to watch Mad Blade Martial Academy and see what they are doing!"

"Academy Master, you mean... this is a scheme by Mad Blade Martial Academy?"

Zhang Lin's eyes widened at once.

"If Tiger Roar Martial Academy keeps losing people every day and everyone lives in fear, the academy will inevitably close down. Then Southern Min City will have only Mad Blade Martial Academy left!"

"There is a strong chance that bastard Qian Wantong is behind this!"

"Go. Watch them closely."

A gloomy glint flashed through Li Tianhu's eyes. Having turned a small martial academy into one of Southern Min City's two great academies, he was naturally no fool. He had grasped the crux of the matter.

"Yes!"

Zhang Lin turned and left.

Lin Changsheng strapped Dawnblade and the Iron-Tire Bow, both wrapped in gray cloth, onto his back and left South City.

Outside South City.

Twenty li from Clearwater River.

The river here was five or six zhang wide and about two zhang deep.

[Cultivation: Martial Grandmaster Realm (1/62500)]

Lin Changsheng stood at the riverbank, Dawnblade in hand. After glancing at the panel, true qi surged from his dantian, filling every meridian in his body and winding around the long saber!

Clang!

Dawnblade let out a ringing saber cry!

"Thunderclap Slash!"

Lin Changsheng slashed out. Vast true qi poured from his dantian, flowed through his meridians, then burst from Dawnblade as a saber radiance five zhang long, radiating peerless sharpness!

Because the true qi was so condensed, the saber radiance was pale blue!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunderclap Slash fell like exploding thunder!!

The five- or six-zhang-wide, two-zhang-deep Clearwater River was instantly severed, its waters cut off from their flow. Even the riverbed was cleaved with a trench over a zhang deep. Dozens of water pillars fifteen or sixteen zhang high exploded upward, while water mist filled an area twenty zhang around!

A fierce pale-blue ring-shaped shockwave of force spread in every direction!

The water plants along the bank were all shredded to dust by the force!

"After advancing to the Martial Grandmaster Realm, Thunderclap Slash is terrifyingly powerful!"

"With my current strength, people like Canglang Saber Warrior, Lightning Saber Zhong Ling, and Situ Zhan of the Minnan Five Tigers would be nothing but vegetables, no matter how many came!"

Seeing the might of his Thunderclap Slash, Lin Changsheng's eyes showed satisfaction.

"Whoosh!"

At a thought, true qi surged beneath Lin Changsheng's feet. His body became an afterimage as he ran across the water, crossing the five- or six-zhang-wide river in a flash!

Like a great bird taking flight, he skimmed over treetops, blade-like grass, and the water's surface. His speed was swift to the utmost, like Fleeting Light and Passing Shadow!

A quarter hour later.

Lin Changsheng stood by the riverbank, drew the Iron-Tire Bow, and loosed an arrow. Thick true qi flooded the shaft, and the feathered arrow gave off a piercing shriek as it tore through the air at tremendous speed!

The arrow struck a massive bluestone over thirty zhang away by the river!

Boom!

The arrow sank into it as though shooting through tofu. Violent true qi exploded, blasting the zhang-wide boulder into fragments!

"Not bad, but this Iron-Tire Bow can no longer keep up with my strength."

Lin Changsheng looked at the Iron-Tire Bow in his hand and thought to himself.

Just now, he had already drawn the bow to its limit, yet used only a little over sixty percent of his strength. If he pulled any farther, the Iron-Tire Bow would likely be ruined.

"Hm? Another harvest?"

"Good things shouldn't go to waste. I'll take it back and stew it for nourishment."

Lin Changsheng was about to return when he spotted an old turtle by the riverbank. Its shell was black as ink and as large as a sea bowl; it lay belly-up, already killed by the shockwave. He immediately picked it up.

At this time.

The sky was gradually darkening.

"Mm, the time is about right. I'll first find a place in the city to eat, then head to Mad Blade Martial Academy!"

"If I can get my hands on Mad Blade Martial Academy's saber techniques, my Thunderclap Slash can probably rise another level!"

Expectation filled Lin Changsheng's eyes. Having made up his mind, he carried Dawnblade and the Iron-Tire Bow on his back, unfolded his movement technique, and sped away like the wind.

Mad Blade Martial Academy.

Within a secluded courtyard.

"In South City, at an abandoned courtyard, two disciples died to Iron Sand Palm at the major mastery stage?"

Qian Wantong, dressed in brocade robes with his hands clasped behind his back, looked at his eldest disciple Zhuge Buping before deeply furrowing his brow.

"Yes, Master. These two junior brothers had their skulls shattered and driven into their chests. We simply do not know who killed them."

Unease stirred within Zhuge Buping as he bowed with cupped fists.

"Iron Sand Palm at major mastery... The Chen Family practices the external cultivation Golden Bell Shield, and quite a few of their clan members also cultivate Iron Sand Palm... Could they have provoked someone from the Chen Family?"

Qian Wantong frowned. The Chen Family was one of Southern Min City's five great lineages. Their descendants all cultivated Golden Bell Shield and possessed formidable physical bodies. They had several First-Rate Masters and were not easy to provoke.

"Master, shall your disciple first send people to observe the Chen Family's movements, then continue carrying out the plan?"

Zhuge Buping bowed.

"Mm, proceed according to the plan."

Qian Wantong nodded.

"By the way, Master, the people this disciple arranged have reported that Tiger Roar Martial Academy is gripped by fear. At our recruitment station today, many young men heard that Venomous Snake Gentleman had come seeking vengeance and immediately turned around and left!"

Zhuge Buping bowed again.

"Oh?"

Qian Wantong's eyes lit up at those words. "Speed up the plan! Go!"

"Yes, Master!"

Zhuge Buping bowed and withdrew.

The night deepened.

Moonlight spread like mercury over Southern Min City.

Quite a few brothels, gambling houses, and taverns still had lights burning.

Mad Blade Martial Academy.

Within a secluded courtyard, lamplight still flickered.

"Sure enough, only by giving can one gain! Spend a great sum, and one can buy even more manuals!"

"People guard their broken brooms like treasures, yet they block themselves from gaining greater opportunities!"

Qian Wantong sat awake in a luxurious side room, holding a booklet in his hands. He muttered, "If I had not given up the Gale Saber Technique and the Five Viscera Guidance Technique, how could I have expanded Mad Blade Martial Academy and obtained such a vast estate?"

"With this Treading Snow Without Trace, my strength will increase by quite a bit again!"

Qian Wantong was exceedingly satisfied. He went to a corner of the room and shifted aside a cabinet. With a press behind it, a hidden compartment appeared. Qian Wantong placed the booklet inside, then moved the cabinet back into place.

"Who is it!?"

Qian Wantong turned around and suddenly saw a black-clad figure in the room, face covered with a black scarf, body bloated, hands clad in black gloves. His heart jolted, and he instinctively reached for the saber on the wall.