A killing spree

"Elder Chen, as chief of the Beggars' Sect, I order you to make them stop!"

Hearing Nalan Sheng's words, Qiao Feng could not help clenching his fists as he roared at the long-armed old man.

The long-armed old man ignored Qiao Feng. Instead, he waved his hand and ordered, "Seize them!"

"Since you insist on courting death, don't blame me for showing no mercy."

Just as Mu Wanqing was about to unleash the Six Meridians Divine Sword and force her way out, Nalan Sheng suddenly formed a seal with one hand and summoned four Water Clones.

"S-so many Brother Shengs!"

"What kind of martial art is that?"

"No! Can that even be called a martial art...?"

Nalan Sheng paid no attention to their reactions. He controlled the Water Clones with his mind, sending them scattering in different directions.

All four Water Clones raised both hands at once, aiming at the beggars slowly closing in.

Flintlock Finger, fire!

At Nalan Sheng's thunderous mental command, dazzling tongues of flame erupted from the Water Clones' fingertips, turning into a dense barrage of Flame Bullets that shot toward the beggars.

Pfft, pfft, pfft...

Charred, bloody holes instantly appeared on the bodies of the beggars struck by the Flame Bullets. Like wheat beneath a reaper's sickle, they fell in swathes.

Before the shock could fade from everyone's faces, seventy or eighty beggars had become cold corpses.

As the smell of roasted flesh wafted through the air, Wang Yuyan and the other women turned pale, barely managing not to vomit.

Gulp!

Seeing the Water Clones kill so many Beggars' Sect members in just a few breaths, even an inveterate contrarian like Bao Butong could not help swallowing nervously.

"W-what kind of sorcery is this?"

At the sight, the long-armed old man's expression changed drastically, and even his voice began to tremble.

Nalan Sheng turned toward the long-armed old man and said expressionlessly, "You're next, old man!"

"Y-you lot, stop him! Get in there...!"

Under Nalan Sheng's gaze, which seemed to regard him as a dead man already, the long-armed old man felt his scalp prickle. Instinctively, he grabbed two Beggars' Sect disciples and dragged them in front of himself, all the while shouting at the others.

But the remaining Beggars' Sect disciples were no fools. Having witnessed Nalan Sheng's terrifying strength, none dared step forward to stop him. Instead, they all took a step back.

Under Nalan Sheng's control, the four Water Clones extended their index fingers simultaneously, each firing a fiery bullet at one of the long-armed old man's limbs.

"Arrrgh...!"

Amid his agonized screams, all four of the long-armed old man's limbs were pierced, and he collapsed helplessly.

"What a racket!"

As soon as Nalan Sheng finished speaking, one of the Water Clones appeared beside the long-armed old man as though it had teleported and knocked him unconscious with a kick.

After kicking the long-armed old man unconscious, the Water Clone grabbed his collar and returned to Nalan Sheng's side in a blur.

"Ling'er, his internal energy is yours. We might as well put this trash to use."

"Thank you, Brother Sheng~"

Zhong Ling's eyes lit up at his words. She immediately pressed her small hand against the long-armed old man's dantian and activated the Northern Darkness Divine Skill at full power, drawing out his internal energy.

"Chief Qiao, I've dealt with the ringleader for you. I'll leave the rest in your hands."

"Thank you for your help, Young Master Nalan."

Looking at the Beggars' Sect disciples' corpses strewn across the ground, a flicker of grief passed through Qiao Feng's eyes. Still, he knew Nalan Sheng could not be blamed.

With the strength Nalan Sheng had displayed, killing every Beggars' Sect disciple present would not have taken him much time.

In the end, Nalan Sheng had only killed the disciples who had attacked them. That was already showing Qiao Feng considerable respect.

"Elder Song, do you still intend to fight, even now?"

Qiao Feng turned toward the remaining Three Great Elders, his fierce eyes reddening slightly. "Since I took over as chief, have I ever wronged any of you? Why did you join forces to rebel?

"Today, in your bid to seize the position of chief, you've caused so many brothers to die for nothing. Even if I could forgive you, the sect's rules would not!"

"Qiao Feng, stop playing innocent! Kill us if you want, but don't think you can humiliate us."

Elder Song, who held a steel whip, snorted coldly. "We didn't join forces against you today to fight you for the position of chief. We did it because you conspired with Murong Fu to murder Deputy Chief Ma."

"What? The chief murdered Deputy Chief Ma?"

"How is that possible?"

"I don't believe the chief is that kind of man..."

Hearing this, the Beggars' Sect disciples present could not help breaking into a flurry of discussion.

"Bullshit!"

Qiao Feng roared, "Although Second Brother Ma and I disagreed on how to manage the Beggars' Sect, I always respected him. How could I possibly have conspired with Murong Fu to murder him?"

"I can bear witness to that."

Nalan Sheng suddenly spoke up. "Earlier, when my two wives and I first met Chief Qiao at the Pine Crane Tower in town, he mistook me for Murong Fu.

"If Chief Qiao really had conspired with Murong Fu to murder Deputy Chief Ma, surely he would at least know what Murong Fu looked like?"

"What did you say?!"

The Three Great Elders' expressions changed drastically at his words.

A supreme expert like Nalan Sheng would surely disdain lying about something like this.

But if Nalan Sheng was telling the truth, did that not mean the Four Great Elders had rebelled against the wrong man?

"Elder Song, who exactly told you that I conspired with Murong Fu to murder Second Brother Ma?"

By now, Qiao Feng had also realized something was amiss. The Four Great Elders had clearly been used as weapons by someone else.

Elder Song abruptly turned east and demanded of a refined-looking, middle-aged beggar, "Quan Guannan, you were the one who swore to us that Deputy Chief Ma was murdered by the chief and Murong Fu. You owe us an explanation!"

Quan Guannan, known as the Scholar of the Ten Directions, was resourceful and highly skilled in martial arts. As the Eight-Bag Deputy Chief in charge of the Great Wisdom Branch, his standing in the sect was second only to the Six Great Elders.

"Helm Master Quan, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

After learning that Quan Guannan had incited the Four Great Elders to rebel, Qiao Feng wanted nothing more than to kill him with a single palm strike. Nevertheless, he restrained his anger and said, "If you cannot give us a reasonable explanation, you'll have to pay with your life to atone to our brothers."

Damn it! Where the hell did this fellow come from? He's ruined my plans for nothing. Now my only chance of saving myself is to expose the secret of Qiao Feng's origins first.

Quan Guannan cursed viciously inwardly, but outwardly he feigned lofty righteousness. "Qiao Feng, I rebelled against you because the Beggars' Sect's century-old legacy must never fall into the hands of a barbarian."