"What did that Wei Sheng give you to make you brave such danger and come here to die?"
Seeing the Black-Clad Man surrounded, Snake Eye felt certain of victory. Instead of hurrying, he spoke with a mocking expression.
The Black-Clad Man was Wei Sheng.
He did not answer Snake Eye's question directly.
Instead, he looked around and asked with a frown, "These are the helpers you found?!"
Hearing the disappointment in that hoarse voice, Snake Eye visibly froze.
Wait, what?
What was he disappointed about?!
An inexplicable anger immediately flared in Snake Eye's heart. He stared darkly at Wei Sheng.
"It seems you still haven't grasped the situation.
"You. Are. Surrounded. By. Us!!"
"No!"
Wei Sheng shook his head. "All of you are surrounded by me alone?"
Snake Eye was so furious that he laughed.
"By you alone? We have twenty-five elite gang members here, including martial artists at skin third refinement, and three at the fifth refinement. Even someone at the fifth refinement late-stage wouldn't dare make such wild boasts here!"
"Brother Snake Eye, why waste so many words on him? Cripple him first!"
The tall, thin ascetic to Snake Eye's left, whose face was as long as a donkey's, snorted.
"Exactly. With the three of us working together, no one below six refinements can match us. However strong he is, he'll still die with bitterness in his heart."
The fat ascetic to Snake Eye's right, short and round as a ball, cackled.
"Attack!"
Snake Eye wasted no more words and swept his hand forward.
"Kill!"
At Snake Eye's command, the twenty-five Azure Dragon Hall gang members surrounding Wei Sheng roared and charged him with their clubs.
The man leading them was a saber-wielding third refinement martial artist. His long saber slashed down with an astonishing display of power, whipping up a howling wind as it came straight for the crown of Wei Sheng's head.
If that slash landed, it could have split even stone.
"Die!"
The saber-wielding third refinement martial artist grinned savagely. As an Azure Dragon Hall gang member, he had often hacked down disobedient fishermen just like this.
He had thought this would be no different, that he would chop his opponent up as easily as slicing melons and vegetables, mincing him into pulp.
But he had never expected...
His slash missed!
Wei Sheng turned slightly aside, avoiding the blade while reaching out to seize the saber wielder's wrist.
He squeezed hard!
Crack!
The saber wielder's wrist bones were instantly crushed. Veins bulged on his forehead as he howled hoarsely in pain.
But a moment later, his voice cut off.
Wei Sheng had punched him in the chest, sending him flying over ten meters to crash into the rear wall and die.
At the same time, the other gang members' clubs struck him together. Wei Sheng could not even be bothered to dodge.
With his current skin abyss defenses, let alone these ordinary gang members' clubs, even among fourth refinement experts, few could break through his defenses.
More than twenty clubs came down on him, feeling like nothing more than an itch being scratched. Wei Sheng casually threw a punch, unleashing three thousand jin of force and sending the man in front flying backward. He crashed into four or five men behind him, leaving them vomiting blood and seriously injured.
With his current strength, he could sweep through this group with raw power alone, without using any martial arts.
Bang! Bang!
After several more punches killed seven or eight gang members, the remaining men's faces went white with terror. Clutching their clubs, they backed away trembling, refusing to approach no matter what.
"A bunch of useless trash!"
Snake Eye cursed, knowing he had to act himself. Shaping both hands like snakes, he used Snake-Form Steps, his arms supple and waist agile, and closed in on Wei Sheng in an instant.
Wei Sheng's heart tightened. The instant Snake Eye rushed toward him, he felt as though a venomous snake lurking in the darkness had fixed its gaze on him, making him uncomfortable all over.
"Snake-Form Fist: Snake King Emerges from the Cave!"
The snake-shaped hand followed, relaxed and sinking before springing and trembling, as though a true snake king had emerged from its cave. Its imposing might bore straight down on Wei Sheng's face.
"Ape Emperor Fist!"
Wei Sheng immediately countered with a punch. Since he could not expose his identity, he used neither Savage Bull Fist nor Heart-Breaking Palm. Instead, he combined the force-generating techniques of the Spirit Ape Flesh-Refining Method with Spirit Ape Force to deliver a move resembling monkey boxing.
Boom!
The two bursts of Jin Force collided with a crackling explosion. Snake Eye was driven back two thudding steps by the Spirit Ape Force.
"How is that possible?"
Snake Eye stared in shock at Wei Sheng, who stood completely unmoved.
He was at the fifth refinement mid-stage, yet he had actually come off worse in a contest of Jin Force?
Little did he know that half his Spirit Snake Force had been canceled out by Spirit Ape Force the moment he released it. Part of what remained had been dispersed by Wei Sheng's skin abyss, leaving less than a tenth to actually land on him.
With that little force, let alone injuring Wei Sheng, even driving him back would have been difficult.
Only at a moment like this could Wei Sheng appreciate how terrifying the skin abyss was.
It directly dispersed part of an opponent's Jin Force! With defenses like these, he stood inherently undefeated against martial artists of the same level!
"You're no ordinary fifth refinement martial artist, all right. Luckily, I came prepared too! Brothers, hurry and help me!"
He shouted that last sentence to the fat and thin ascetics behind him.
"Heh heh, don't panic, Brother Snake Eye. We're coming!"
The fat and thin ascetics chuckled. From left and right, one attacked with a palm and the other with a kick, striking at Wei Sheng's head and lower body simultaneously.
"Just what I wanted!"
Rather than alarmed, Wei Sheng was delighted.
He had far too few opportunities to fight opponents of his own level and naturally would not let this one slip by. Instead of dodging, he took the initiative and met them.
After taking the thin ascetic's kick head-on, he drove the fat ascetic back with a punch.
Both men were at the fifth refinement early-stage, but they worked together seamlessly, their palm and leg techniques complementing each other. Together, their fighting strength approached the fifth refinement late-stage.
With Snake Eye launching sneak attacks from the side as well, even a fifth refinement late-stage martial artist facing the three of them would likely die in bitterness.
No wonder they dared boast that they were nearly invincible below six refinements. They do have some ability...
After over a hundred exchanges, Wei Sheng gradually fell behind.
That was because, from beginning to end, he had only used fifth refinement mid-stage Jin Force.
Moreover, he had no systematic set of Jin Force martial arts through which to channel it, so he could not fully bring out his fifth refinement mid-stage Jin Force. That was why the three, with their practiced coordination, had managed to suppress him.
"Heh heh... his Jin Force is almost exhausted. Everyone, push harder..."
Watching Wei Sheng retreat steadily, the fat ascetic could not help letting out a smug, strange laugh.
Jin Force exhausted?
As Wei Sheng watched the fat ascetic charge forward alone, a trace of mockery flashed in his eyes.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
The next instant.
Wei Sheng threw a straightforward punch.
Eight thousand jin of force!
Seventy percent of his Spirit Ape Force!
Combined, even an ordinary punch unleashed destructive power far beyond an all-out strike from a fifth refinement late-stage martial artist.
The punch came too fast and too fiercely. Before the fat ascetic could react, its force engulfed him. His mind went blank in an instant, and he even forgot what he was supposed to do. He could only watch helplessly as the punch descended.
"Watch out..."
Seeing this, the thin ascetic shouted a sharp warning.
The punch landed!
Bang!
The fat ascetic's plump head exploded like a watermelon run over by a car.
He could no longer hear it!
"Damn it! He hid his strength! He's at least at the fifth refinement peak! Run!"
Snake Eye's expression changed drastically. He sensed an intense threat of death in that punch.
Prompted by his warning, the thin ascetic finally reacted and turned to flee, but he was still a step too late.
Bang!
Wei Sheng's next punch landed. The thin ascetic's head exploded, and his headless corpse toppled stiffly to the ground!
"Trying to leave? Take a punch from me first!"
Snake Eye had only just fled into the courtyard when he felt a fierce wind behind his head. Every hair on his body stood on end in fright, and he instinctively turned, raising his arm to block.
Crack!
Enormous force surged into his left arm, bending it at an unnatural angle. Half his body went numb, as though it no longer belonged to him. Snake Eye was so terrified that his soul nearly fled his body.
But he reacted swiftly, using the punch's force to leap out of the courtyard in an instant. Pushing Snake-Form Steps to the limit, he vanished after a few darting twists and leaps.
Wei Sheng glanced at him and did not pursue.
His purpose in coming here was to intimidate Snake Eye.
If he killed Snake Eye, matters would instead become difficult. That would be tantamount to declaring war on Azure Dragon Hall.
It would also expose him, making him the target of every arrow.
When that happened, even with Black Tiger's protection, Azure Dragon Hall's harassment would likely make it difficult for him to live in peace, let alone cultivate undisturbed.
More importantly...
He could disregard Azure Dragon Hall's retaliation, but Wei He could not.
"It's not time for the decisive battle yet. I'll let you live a few more days..."
Wei Sheng turned and killed all the remaining gang members, who had been frightened out of their wits. Then he took their valuables, along with the belongings of the fat and thin ascetics, before leaving at his leisure.
Before you continue