Speed Bump

"Hm?"

The sudden blaze surged fiercely, instantly overpowering the torchlight and illuminating the entire rear courtyard.

"How did a fire break out?"

"Why is it burning so fiercely?"

"What are you standing around for? Put it out!"

The Beggar Gang's three leaders rose almost simultaneously, then immediately called out to the gang members nearby.

As its name suggested, the Beggar Gang's ordinary members were hardly well-off. They usually returned to their own lodgings at night, and those who stayed at headquarters were the gang's true core elites.

Though their discipline was far from absolute, they reacted quickly, immediately dividing up the work. Unlike ordinary people, they showed no fear of the fire, and many rushed straight into the gambling house in the front courtyard.

Most of the gamblers screaming in panic out front fled toward the gambling house's exit.

"Anyone who tries to steal the stakes in the chaos gets killed on the spot!"

Liu Da, the "Laughing Maitreya" who normally wore a constant grin, now bellowed a stern command.

Most of those rushing into the blaze weren't meant to fight the fire with their bare bodies, but to secure the valuables before the flames spread farther!

They also had to suppress any gamblers looking to loot during the fire!

Yet when the gang members entered the gambling house, they discovered that the fire covered an enormous area. The flames seemed to cling to the gambling tables, while others flowed across the floor.

Every gambling table was completely engulfed, their dry, decaying wood already ablaze. Waves of heat blasted into their faces!

A nauseating black smoke rose with the flames, and flammable curtains, tablecloths, and gambling chips scattered everywhere, burning as they fell.

It was as though the entire gambling house had become a sea of fire!

The fire had only just started, yet it was already raging fiercely.

Some gang members stripped off their clothes to beat out the flames, but sticky black flecks of fire quickly clung to the fabric and set it alight.

They could only wait for those behind them to bring water, watching helplessly as the screens and carved wooden latticework disappeared into the inferno.

"Fuck!"

Liu Da cursed, his expression darkening.

"Brother, someone set this fire deliberately. They probably used oil, or it couldn't have spread this quickly!"

Liu Ping's expression was grim as well.

"I'd better not find out who did this!"

Lu Wu roared in fury.

Then, in the next instant-rumble!

A succession of violent crashes rang out. The men saw the gambling house in the outer compound shudder twice before collapsing outright!

The heavy tiled roof came crashing down with its beams, as though the supporting pillars had been snapped by brute force.

Amid a thunderous crash and a billowing cloud of dust, the roof smashed to pieces against the ground.

Even the ground shook beneath their feet!

Walls collapsed and wooden splinters flew. Black smoke mingled with swirling dust, while flames occasionally spurted through the shattered roof tiles.

With its wood broken apart, the wooden building caught fire even more readily.

Feeble screams and cries for help drifted from beneath the wreckage. Almost all the gang's elites who had gone in to fight the fire had been caught in one fell swoop!

The sudden turn of events made Liu Da's vision go black and his head spin.

"You animals!"

Watching the gang members he had painstakingly gathered wiped out in an instant, Liu Da felt ready to vomit blood.

These tough, battle-ready members were the true core of the entire Beggar Gang!

Every one of them could lead a group of ordinary members and hold their own. They were the gang's real backbone!

Casualties and replacements among ordinary members didn't matter, but losing so many core members at once practically meant the Beggar Gang would have to start over!

Apart from the three leaders, the only gang members left alive were the five or six fetching and carrying water.

The courtyard suddenly felt deserted, with only them remaining.

Everyone stared at the collapsed roof ahead, the tongues of fire licking out from beneath the broken tiles, and the screams that had yet to stop. Their skin crawled.

"Who the hell are you? Who are you people? Get out here and face me!"

The burly Lu Wu roared and rushed to the weapons rack, drawing a Wrought-Iron Staff. He slammed the staff, which weighed over twenty jin, against the ground with heavy bangs.

He even shattered the stone paving beneath it!

Like a wild beast, he stared fiercely around him. After launching such a coordinated series of attacks, their enemies surely wouldn't remain hidden forever!

Liu Da also spoke coldly.

"Grab your weapons! It's time to fight for our lives!"

He drew two curved sabers with strangely shaped blades.

The remaining gang members hurried to grab their weapons as well, mostly easy-to-use long sabers.

Only "Soul-Severing Leg" remained empty-handed, constantly surveying their surroundings.

"You're still not coming out with an opening like this? The night watchmen have already started shouting. More people will arrive soon, and you'll have no chance left!"

Liu Ping shouted as well.

Then they saw a figure advancing step by step through the thick smoke, treading over the collapsed roof as flames occasionally spattered from beneath it.

The flames had yet to spread over the tiles, with only the occasional tongue of fire bursting through, but sometimes his footsteps squeezed flames out from beneath him.

The firelight behind him blazed brightly in the night. For a moment, none of the three could make out his face. They could only see him holding a staff in one hand, angled behind his back.

Dancing flames illuminated the figure, and the heated air made him appear distorted.

"You're all pretty cautious."

Lin Hao approached through the flames, staff in hand. The enchantment on his heavy hiking boots left him unafraid of the occasional flames beneath his feet, while the heat insulation of his [Mink Coat] offered considerable resistance to the current blaze. His [Ghostfire Helmet] kept out the smoke, allowing him to walk as easily as on level ground.

Yet even though he was alone, his entrance sent a tremor through everyone's hearts.

Combined with the earlier eruption of fire and the building's collapse, it made them feel as though an evil spirit had walked out of the flames!

"It's you!"

Only Greenhide, Luo Hong's cousin who had previously met Lin Hao and whipped the Luo Clan Brothers, vaguely recognized him once he drew closer.

After all, he was one of the very culprits responsible for their gathering here tonight!

"He's that fat sheep from the Martial Arts School! He's the one who fooled me when he entered the market..."

Greenhide spoke hastily.

"Him?"

"The one who only just started learning martial arts?"

"He's alone?!"

The sight of Lin Hao emerging had frightened them, but now everyone understood who had come.

Someone from the Martial Arts School?

Something wasn't right.

The Martial Arts School had never done anything like this. Was he acting on his own?!

"Get him! Chop him into mince!"

Liu Da roared, and the remaining five or six gang members surged forward. The three leaders followed close behind, looking for openings and opportunities.

Every remaining gang member was ruthless. Before entering the staff's reach, they crushed eggshell-like objects in their left hands, instantly scattering great clouds of white powder.

Their throwing technique was highly skilled, directing the densest portion straight at Lin Hao's eyes.

The air filled with the pungent smell of quicklime mixed with something spicy.

"Got him!"

Seeing the powder hit its mark, they all rejoiced, their courage swelling further!

Even a Hidden Force martial master would end up dead by the roadside after taking a trick like that while surrounded!

"Die!"

The nearest gang member brought his saber down in a mighty overhead chop, intending to strike Lin Hao hard within the white cloud.

But all that greeted him was a staff straight to the face!

Bang!

With its greater reach, the staff arrived long before the saber could strike. His [Great Achievement]-level Crouching Tiger Staff was combined with a twenty-kilogram Single Stone Lock enchantment and the increased strength of his own now-established Bright Force cultivation.

That single blow sent the first gang member flying aside like a torn rag, accompanied by the horrifying sound of bones breaking.

Crack!

Clang!

The staff moved like a nimble snake, wholly unaffected by crippling one man. With another flick, it swept through a slight arc and struck a long saber.

Its terrifying force snapped the saber outright before slamming heavily into another gang member's chest!

The space still filled with white powder seemed instead to have become the domain of Lin Hao, the man who should have fallen victim to it!

Smack!

The butt of the staff flicked out and struck another man.

In an instant, more than half the gang members had lost the ability to fight!

"Die!"

Lu Wu roared, abruptly accelerating as he swung his Wrought-Iron Long Staff straight at Lin Hao.

The remaining two gang members also moved to attack him from either side.

Unwilling to face their simultaneous assault, Lin Hao lightly leaped backward, avoiding the flanking gang members as he casually flicked his staff upward.

Yet that seemingly casual flick unleashed tremendous force when it collided with the Wrought-Iron Long Staff!

It actually caught the descending Wrought-Iron Long Staff and even threatened to push it back farther.

Lu Wu felt a searing pain in the webbing of his hands, followed by a warm trickle, and his heart jolted.

He had possessed outstanding strength since childhood, and few could compete with him in sheer power!

Achieving Bright Force had only made him more formidable.

He could wield a Wrought-Iron Long Staff weighing over twenty jin as naturally as his own arm, yet his fully prepared downward strike had been easily flicked back?!

His opponent was even stronger than he was!

And just what material was his opponent's staff made of?

Lu Wu used the force to retreat, calling out loudly as he did.

"He's incredibly strong! We have to attack together!"

But his momentary withdrawal left the two gang members assisting him completely within the sweeping range of Lin Hao's staff.

Taking advantage of his longer reach, Lin Hao swept out and broke both men's legs without letting them touch him. Then, using the staff's rebound, he struck their heads one after the other.

One of them was Greenhide, who had blocked Lin Hao's path back then.

Now, apart from the three leaders and the three unlucky men hanging up above, every gang member had been wiped out!

"Impressive skills! Your use of the Crouching Tiger Staff Technique is extraordinary, unconstrained by its forms. You must be close to reaching [Great Achievement]. And overpowering Brother Lu shows remarkable arm strength! You must have been born with divine strength!"

Liu Da had reached Lu Wu's side, the firelight dancing across his twin curved sabers. Liu Ping had moved to another position, forming a triangle with the other two as they faced Lin Hao.

The gusts raised by their earlier exchanges had dispersed the white quicklime cloud, revealing Lin Hao's face, untouched by the powder.

His clothes and shoulders were clearly dusted with it, yet there wasn't a trace of quicklime above his neck. It was astonishing!

If this young man truly had practiced martial arts for only a little over a month, then both his aptitude for learning and his physical constitution were among the very best!

They had never seen his equal in their lives!

"With talent and potential like yours, why seek death?"

Though Liu Da had praised him moments earlier, murderous intent now ran rampant in his heart.

With talent like that, this moment was the closest the three of them would ever come to matching his strength. If they missed their chance today, they would be doomed beyond redemption!

"Kill!"

Without another word, the seemingly fat Liu Da rolled along the ground. From his extremely low position, his twin curved sabers spun into a blaze of steel as he hurtled toward Lin Hao's feet like a top.

The empty-handed Liu Ping moved even faster. His footwork was exceptional, and he risked leaping straight into the air, raining kicks down upon Lin Hao.

A fighter who willingly took both feet off the ground was either fleeing for his life or staking it all!

Clearly, Liu Ping had chosen the latter!

Meanwhile, Lu Wu came at him again with his heavy Wrought-Iron Staff, having gathered his strength. Their coordinated, simultaneous assault almost completely eliminated every possible variation and evasive movement within the staff's reach.

"Even Great Achievement-level skill is useless if you can't use it!"

Liu Da, using the Ground-rolling Saber to seal off Lin Hao's lower body, steeled his heart.

Although Liu Ping had no weapon, that also made him the fastest, allowing him to seal off the space above.

The Ground-rolling Saber blocked his lower body, and with Lu Wu wielding his Wrought-Iron Staff as well, there was no escape above or below!

You already showed your strength when you deflected Lu Wu. You're stronger, but not enough to overwhelm him!

Now your techniques are sealed off, and all three of us are attacking together. Nothing can save you!

"The three of us have forty years of cultivation between us! What can you possibly use to break through?"

Yet Lin Hao remained extremely calm in the face of their assault. With a thought, he had already swapped the blue staff for another stone lock!

"This blow of mine weighs forty kilograms. I wonder if you can take it..."

He had initially used one hand to swap in the long staff so he could quickly clear out the lackeys.

Now, it was time to fight the bosses...

Whoosh!

There was nothing fancy about it, just a staff brought straight down overhead, whistling through the air.

The most basic move of the Crouching Tiger Staff, [Tiger Leaves the Mountain]. He twisted his waist, abandoned every variation, and gathered the full strength of his Bright Force cultivation solely to deliver this fully charged strike!

Even with his Staff Technique reduced to the [Proficient] level, this most basic strike could still achieve its maximum effect!

But after such an all-out attack, there would be no room left for changes or evasive movement!

The airborne Liu Ping was the first to face it. He raised his arms to block the staff in midair, his feet still kicking incessantly.

The metallic gleam of protective bracers showed faintly on his arms.

He knew his opponent was immensely strong-even Lu Wu had suffered at his hands.

But if I can just hold him off for a moment, he won't be able to change his attack!

Once my teammates' attacks land, I'll be wounded, but I won't die...

Crrrk~

Liu Ping was plastered to the staff like a rag, his entire body twisted out of shape.

Without losing any momentum, the staff struck Lu Wu's Wrought-Iron Long Staff.

The earlier blow had already split the webbing between Lu Wu's thumb and forefinger. When he met this strike, his eyes nearly burst from their sockets.

Not only did he suffer no damage from that last head-on clash, his strength has actually surged again?!

Are your hands made of iron?!

Only then did he finally understand how the gambling den in the front courtyard had collapsed!

But it was already too late!

The Wrought-Iron Long Staff looked as though it had been crushed beneath a hydraulic press. It offered no resistance whatsoever and was swept aside like a chopstick, leaving Lu Wu defenseless as the incoming staff struck his head with ease.

After his head burst like a watermelon, the staff continued downward, smashing into Liu Da just as he was about to reach Lin Hao with his attack.

Liu Da had been wielding his Ground-rolling Saber with ferocious speed, but before he could utter another word, the staff pinned him dead against the stone-tiled floor!

The bluestone floor tiles beneath him cracked in an instant.

Lin Hao flicked the blood and flesh clinging to his staff, while raging flames danced behind him...