Hall Master Fang Is Dead

Fang Mingliang, hall master of the Evergreen Gang, an Innate Minor Achievement warrior.

For someone like Fang Mingliang, the campaign against Flying Cloud Stronghold was a thankless, strenuous undertaking that even carried danger. He would have been better off remaining in Qingfeng County, where, as an Evergreen Gang hall master, he could have lived in comfort and basked in spring breezes.

However.

This campaign against Flying Cloud Stronghold offered a chance to obtain a Great Jade Pill.

The Great Jade Pill could be called the most precious medicinal pill in Qingfeng County. Even Innate Perfection warriors would benefit enormously from it.

With the Great Jade Pill's temptation dangling before him, coupled with the news that Zhao Zhi had consecutively slain two of Flying Cloud Stronghold's chieftains—

Fang Mingliang came.

After a round of campaigning, Zhao Zhi and Cao Yun, the two men from the yamen, had vanished without a trace. Even the Su Family's Xiantian warrior and the Tao Family's Xiantian warrior had failed to appear, leaving command of the expeditionary army in the hands of Fang Mingliang, the Evergreen Gang's hall master.

Fang Mingliang led the expeditionary army into the main stronghold and discovered that Flying Cloud Stronghold's resistance was fierce, yet not one person could pose a threat to him.

Fifth Chieftain Wu Jiu and Fourth Chieftain Ge Zhou were dead.

Third Chieftain Li Muguang was being pursued by Zhao Zhi and Cao Yun.

First Chieftain Ma Zhuo and Second Chieftain Luo Yun had not appeared. Not even a single Innate Warrior remained in Flying Cloud Stronghold.

How could such strength possibly withstand an Innate Minor Achievement warrior like Fang Mingliang?

Slap.

Fang Mingliang struck with his palm, taking the life of a Postnatal Perfection minor leader from Flying Cloud Stronghold. The corners of his mouth curled up in a delighted smile.

Some days ago.

Zhao Zhi had suppressed the Fan Family with astonishing strength, then pleaded for the people in the streets and resolved their troubles, forcing Qingfeng County's local gentry and gangs alike to rein in their former arrogant, overbearing, tyrannical conduct.

Fang Mingliang, the Evergreen Gang's hall master, had been placed under severe restraint. He could only stay obediently at home, his emotions endlessly suppressed.

Now.

Using the campaign against Flying Cloud Stronghold as an opportunity, he could finally vent the emotions he had repressed for so long. How could he not act as wildly and arrogantly as he pleased? He would also seize this chance to thoroughly release the cruel side buried deep within his heart.

Fang Mingliang moved, shooting out like a gust of wind.

In the blink of an eye.

He appeared before a Flying Cloud Stronghold minor leader. His right hand swiftly rose and swept out like a nimble serpent flicking its tongue. Under the minor leader's horrified gaze, it rapidly coiled around his arm, five fingers suddenly clamping down on his shoulder. As his inner qi circulated, it gathered at his fingertips, turning fingers of flesh and blood into steel-forged weapons.

His strength erupted.

Amid a crack.

Fang Mingliang forcibly dislocated the Flying Cloud Stronghold minor leader's arm. His left hand seized the minor leader's wrist with the momentum and bent it backward.

Another sound of shattering bone rang out as the minor leader's arm twisted and snapped.

Yet Fang Mingliang did not stop. With a crossing step, he arrived on the minor leader's other side and repeated the process, dislocating and breaking the other arm.

Martial art: Tendon-Splitting Bone-Wrenching Hand.

This was not a Xiantian martial art, but an utterly ordinary Houtian martial art.

In the hands of an Innate Minor Achievement warrior like Fang Mingliang, this martial art alone was enough to deal with Houtian Warriors. Its brutality allowed Flying Cloud Stronghold's bandits to experience firsthand the terror of snapped tendons and broken bones.

Light gathered in Fang Mingliang's eyes. His mouth split into a smile that bordered on madness.

Twin Peaks Piercing Ears.

He viciously slapped both palms against the Flying Cloud Stronghold minor leader's head. The tremendous force shattered the man's bones and sent blood streaming from his seven orifices. Fang Mingliang did not release his palms, instead grabbing the man's head and forcefully twisting it.

Crack.

The Flying Cloud Stronghold minor leader's scream cut off abruptly. His neck snapped, and his body collapsed limply toward the ground.

Fang Mingliang opened his mouth wide, the unrestrained smile on his face gradually blooming.

But before that smile could fully spread, the mirth in his pupils abruptly froze. Then he saw a fist rapidly enlarging before his eyes, filling his vision in an instant.

Bang.

A fist carrying incomparable power smashed into Fang Mingliang's head. Amid the sound of his skull cracking, a large portion of his head caved in, his face shattered beyond recognition into a bloody mess.

Under that tyrannical force, Fang Mingliang's body flew backward like a worn-out sack. Before it could even crash to the ground, he had already lost his life.

Ma Zhuo glanced at Fang Mingliang's corpse, his expression dark.

What a Fang Mingliang.

His attacks had been vicious and decisive, and every target he chose had been one of Flying Cloud Stronghold's minor leaders—the backbone of its forces.

From what Ma Zhuo had seen after appearing, two Postnatal Perfection minor leaders had already died at Fang Mingliang's hands. Before Ma Zhuo's arrival, there had likely been several more.

This time.

Even if Flying Cloud Stronghold won, its losses would be enormous, enough to wound its sinews and shake its bones.

Fortunately, his master was willing to pass the Little Netherworld Sword on to him. Once he mastered the Little Netherworld Sword and paired it with his Innate Perfection cultivation, he would be enough to dominate Qingfeng County and gain some renown even in Baishui Commandery.

But.

Flying Cloud Stronghold was something he had painstakingly built. It could not suffer excessive losses because of this campaign. He needed to deal with Qingfeng County's expeditionary army as quickly as possible.

To hell with his deal with County Magistrate Lu Guangyi.

Ma Zhuo's gaze flashed like lightning as he swiftly swept across the battlefield in the main stronghold.

After killing Fang Mingliang, two Innate Warriors still remained within the main stronghold. His gaze immediately fell upon one of the Initial Xiantian warriors, and a vicious light burst from his eyes.

"Hall Master Fang is dead."

Within Flying Cloud Stronghold's vast main stronghold, where more than a thousand people fought, one person's death would ordinarily have been difficult to notice.

But Fang Mingliang was different.

He was currently commanding the expeditionary army, and his every movement was in the expeditionary army's sight.

Therefore.

The instant Fang Mingliang hit the ground and died, Evergreen Gang members spotted the scene. Startled and terrified, they cried out.

"Hall Master Fang is dead?"

"Hall Master Fang is dead!"

"Hall Master Fang is dead!"

The cries of alarm rose one after another and gradually spread, drowning out the sounds of the melee. The expeditionary army's morale collapsed, fear sprang up in their hearts, and everyone looked panicked and terrified, wanting only to retreat and flee.

After hearing that Fang Mingliang had died, Fan Xinglou, the Fan Family's Initial Xiantian warrior, shuddered violently. He immediately looked toward the direction where Fang Mingliang had just been slaughtering in all directions.

He did not see Fang Mingliang. Instead, he saw a face that filled him with terror.

Flying Cloud Stronghold's First Chieftain, Ma Zhuo.

A chill surged from Fan Xinglou's tailbone, racing up his spine and straight to the top of his head. His scalp went numb, and his soul nearly fled his body.

Meeting Ma Zhuo's fierce, gleaming eyes, Fan Xinglou did not say a word. He turned and fled.

A deserter?

His life mattered more now.

He fled madly toward the stronghold gate, paying no heed to the gazes of the other expeditionary soldiers. Just as he was about to reach the gate, a group of people abruptly appeared there.

Fan Xinglou halted and looked up at the group standing at the gate. Among them, he spotted a familiar face, and delight immediately surged across his own face.

"Young Master?!"