Killing a Second-Layer Gate-Breaking Realm Martial Artist

Dou Biao walked into the courtyard. By the dim yellow glow of the lanterns, he looked around and spotted fallen bricks by the courtyard wall.

His brows drew tight. After a few breaths, he suddenly sprinted forward, slammed his right foot against the wall, and used the force to vault onto its top.

The instant he flipped over the wall, Dou Biao had already drawn the dagger from his waist with his right hand and slashed fiercely behind him without looking back.

After landing, Dou Biao immediately pressed his back against the wall of the narrow alley, gripping the dagger in reverse across his chest.

Sweeping his gaze across the alley, Dou Biao saw Lu Hao several steps away.

Lu Hao had covered his face and wrapped his head. With dark clouds obscuring the moon and no lanterns in the alley, Dou Biao could not recognize him.

Seeing that Dou Biao had been lured out, Lu Hao turned and ran. He feared that fighting Dou Biao in the narrow alley would make too much noise and alert the people in Spring Breeze Pavilion, adding unnecessary complications to his attempt to collect Lin Qiniang's debt.

Dou Biao saw Lu Hao fleeing and immediately followed after him.

The two raced through Blue-Robed Lane, one in front and one behind.

Before long, Lu Hao ran out of Blue-Robed Lane, with Dou Biao chasing relentlessly behind him.

Upon reaching a secluded alley, Lu Hao stopped and turned around.

Dou Biao stopped as well, holding his dagger across his chest. He paced slowly, narrowing his eyes at Lu Hao.

While chasing Lu Hao, Dou Biao had not heard a single set of footsteps behind him. There were two guards at each of Spring Breeze Pavilion's front and back entrances, yet none of the four had followed. Dou Biao understood that those four First Gate-Breaking Realm guards had most likely already fallen to Lu Hao.

Lu Hao lowered his waist and sank his stance, bending his legs slightly as he assumed the opening posture of the Tiger-Subduing Form.

Without wasting words, Dou Biao fiercely pushed off with the tip of his right foot, lunged forward, and slanted his dagger upward toward Lu Hao's waist and abdomen.

As the dagger came at him, Lu Hao stomped his right foot and used the momentum to shift half a step to the left. The blade grazed his short tunic, slicing a palm-length tear into it.

After dodging Dou Biao's dagger, Lu Hao threw a Black Tiger Plucks the Heart with his left fist, striking straight for Dou Biao's ribs.

Seeing his strike miss, Dou Biao flicked his wrist and pulled the dagger back in reverse. The blade cut across Lu Hao's left forearm, opening a finger-length wound as blood instantly welled out.

The two each retreated half a step.

Dou Biao's gaze settled on Lu Hao as he narrowed his eyes. "Black Tiger Plucks the Heart! You're using the Black Tiger Fist Technique. Are you from the Black Tiger Gang?"

He snorted coldly. "Your Black Tiger Gang only holds a tiny patch of territory in the west of Bluestone County. Spring Breeze Pavilion belongs to our Golden Saber Gang, and the entire north of the city is Golden Saber Gang territory!"

He paused and stuck out his tongue to lick his lips.

"You Black Tiger Gang have lived peaceful days for too long, it seems. You actually dare set your sights on our Golden Saber Gang! Once I butcher you, I'll settle accounts with the Black Tiger Gang!"

Before Dou Biao could finish speaking, Lu Hao had already used his mind to frantically drive three strands of Qi-Blood through his meridians, channeling all of their force into both fists.

He suddenly rose up, lifted both fists above his head, and, borrowing the force of his descending body, unleashed Black Tiger Descends the Mountain. His fists crashed down toward Dou Biao's head like iron hammers.

Dou Biao had no time to thrust his dagger and could only raise his left arm to block.

With a muffled bang, Dou Biao was smashed back two steps.

Before he could steady himself, Lu Hao twisted his waist and hips, spinning half a circle as his right arm lashed out like a steel whip in a Black Tiger Sweeps Its Tail.

A whipping punch tore through the air and struck Dou Biao squarely in the face with a bang. Dou Biao staggered back another three or four steps and spat out a huge mouthful of blood.

Dou Biao covered his battered cheek and spat onto the ground, blood foam and two back teeth mixed in with it.

He raised his head to look at Lu Hao, his eyes brimming with hatred.

Dou Biao spun the dagger half a turn in his hand, gripped it in reverse, and pressed the blade tightly against his forearm.

He drew a deep breath and suddenly pounced.

Lu Hao retreated two steps, but Dou Biao's dagger clung to him like maggots to a bone.

At times, he thrust straight at Lu Hao's chest; at others, he slanted the blade toward Lu Hao's waist and abdomen. After several exchanges, Lu Hao had taken a cut to both his left shoulder and left arm.

Lu Hao wanted to widen the distance, but Dou Biao stuck to him like a venomous snake.

Lu Hao did not want to drag out the fight with Dou Biao any longer. He feared alarming the nearby residents and causing himself needless trouble.

When Dou Biao's dagger stabbed at him again, Lu Hao did not dodge. Gritting his teeth, he let Dou Biao's dagger plunge into his left shoulder, blood pouring from the wound.

Lu Hao gathered all three strands of Qi-Blood within him into his right fist and landed a Black Tiger Plucks the Heart on Dou Biao's dagger-wielding wrist.

The force of all three strands of Qi-Blood erupted from his fist at once. Dou Biao gave a muffled groan as intense pain shot through his wrist. He could no longer hold the dagger and was knocked back half a step by the punch.

Ignoring the dagger still embedded in his left shoulder, Lu Hao stepped forward, filled his right fist with Qi-Blood force once more, and delivered another Black Tiger Plucks the Heart to Dou Biao's chest.

The tremendous force sent Dou Biao flying more than ten feet away, where he crashed heavily to the ground.

Lying on the ground, Dou Biao coughed violently twice and sprayed out a large mouthful of blood.

Before Dou Biao could rise, Lu Hao had already strode up to him.

Lu Hao planted his left leg forward, bent his right knee slightly, and straddled Dou Biao. Then he drove a Black Tiger Plucks the Heart into Dou Biao's face.

One punch!

Two punches!

Three punches!

With every punch, he poured all three strands of Qi-Blood force into his right fist.

At first, Dou Biao still struggled. After several punches, his hands fell limply to the ground. Only breath left his mouth; none entered.

Lu Hao only stopped once he saw that Dou Biao had gone completely still.

By then, Dou Biao's entire face had been smashed into a bloody pulp. His features had long since twisted out of shape, making his original appearance impossible to discern. His face was covered in blood and fragments of flesh.

Dou Biao's blood had also splattered all over the cloth covering Lu Hao's face and the scarf wrapped around his head.

Lu Hao climbed off Dou Biao, collapsed onto the ground, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

[Skill: Black Tiger Stance Art (Minor Mastery)]

[Progress: 9/1000]

[Skill: Black Tiger Fist Technique (Minor Mastery)]

[Progress: 136/1000]

[Qi-Blood in Body: 2/20]

A powerful wave of exhaustion washed over him, and Lu Hao immediately absorbed the Qi-Blood from the chicken giblets in the system Equipment Slot.

About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later.

[Qi-Blood in Body: 20/20]

Feeling the Qi-Blood force within him fill up once more, Lu Hao found that aside from the faint pain from the wounds cut by the dagger, most of his fatigue had faded.

Looking at the Black Tiger Fist Technique's progress rising by more than a hundred points, Lu Hao had not expected that killing four guards and their captain would grant as much progress as one or two days of hard training.

By comparison, the Black Tiger Stance Art had only gained two points of progress. If he could defend and block more when fighting for his life in the future, his stance art should improve quickly as well.

No wonder they said murder and arson brought golden belts. The enormous gain in Black Tiger Fist Technique progress was an unexpected delight.

At that moment, a burst of pain suddenly came from Lu Hao's left shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he yanked hard and pulled the dagger from his shoulder, blood spurting out.

He tore a strip from his clothes and crudely bound his left shoulder.

Lu Hao tucked the dagger into his waistband, walked over to Dou Biao's corpse, and crouched down. He searched the body and found a money pouch and a booklet.

The night was too dark to make out the writing on the booklet, so Lu Hao casually tucked the manual into his clothes.

Opening the money pouch, he found two taels of silver inside. He pocketed the silver and tossed the pouch onto the ground.

Lu Hao rose to his feet and headed toward Blue-Robed Lane.

When he reached the narrow alley by Spring Breeze Pavilion, he searched the four First Gate-Breaking Realm guards as well.

Each of them also had a booklet tucked into his clothes. Lu Hao guessed they were Golden Saber Gang martial arts manuals, so he did not take them. Altogether, the four guards only had half a tael of silver on them.

After finishing, Lu Hao looked up toward Lin Qiniang's room. It was pitch-black.