The entire room fell silent for several seconds.
Only then did Snake Eye fix Wei Sheng with a dark stare. "Wei Sheng, you're far too arrogant. You actually dared to kill a disciple of our gang over a disagreement...
Everyone saw it. Wei Sheng struck first, so don't blame our Azure Dragon Hall for showing no mercy. Chen Xiong!"
He shouted those last words toward the outside.
As his voice fell, the door burst open.
An iron-tower figure stood in the doorway. Even his loose clothing could not conceal his knotted muscles. His face was fierce, and standing there, he resembled a wall, exuding an immense sense of pressure.
Now he blocked the doorway, staring at Wei Sheng and rubbing his fists, his gaze hostile.
"Brother Snake Eye, Brother Chen Xiong, please don't fight to the death... Brother Wei, it's only two thousand taels of silver. Money is just a worldly possession. Why throw your life away over it?"
Lan Fei offered seemingly well-intentioned advice.
Wei Sheng sneered inwardly.
One played the villain, the other the peacemaker.
They certainly worked well together.
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Lan Fei belonged to the Azure Dragon Hall.
"So if I refuse, I won't be allowed to leave?"
Wei Sheng asked calmly.
Lan Fei frowned. Wei Sheng's calm, unruffled attitude, especially that ghostlike speed, left him uncertain, and he couldn't help glancing toward the seat of honor.
Seeing Feng Li Dao still sitting there drinking tea, his expression composed, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
With Feng Li Dao holding the fort, never mind a mere Wei Sheng-even if the mysterious expert backing him appeared, he would certainly never leave alive!
Lan Fei sighed softly, shook his head in feigned regret, and turned away.
"Leave? You hired someone to kill my brothers, the Fat and Thin Ascetics, and you still expect to leave alive? Dream on!"
His voice was still echoing when Chen Xiong suddenly leaped up. Swinging his huge-knuckled hand, as broad as a palm-leaf fan, he slammed his palm toward the back of Wei Sheng's head.
The massive palm crashed down, passing straight through Wei Sheng's body without encountering anything solid.
"An afterimage?!"
Chen Xiong was startled. A moment later, his expression shifted slightly, and he struck behind him with a backhanded palm.
Bang!
The two forces collided in an explosive burst. Chen Xiong was instantly blasted away by a punch and slammed deep into the wall.
"What?!"
Snake Eye's pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the scene in disbelief.
That was Chen Xiong, a fifth refinement late-stage fighter who practiced body-hardening martial arts, possessed astonishing physical defenses, and had combat strength rivaling the fifth refinement peak. Yet Wei Sheng had driven him into the wall with a single palm strike?
"Y-you're at the fifth refinement?!"
Snake Eye pointed at Wei Sheng and cried out, "You were the one who ambushed me that night?!"
Wei Sheng ignored him, merely watching in surprise as Chen Xiong climbed up from the ground as though nothing had happened.
"Body-hardening?!"
Wei Sheng raised his eyebrows.
Although he hadn't used his full strength in that palm strike, it had been enough to deal with someone at the fifth refinement peak.
But striking Chen Xiong had felt like striking refined iron. Clearly, this man practiced some form of defensive body-hardening martial art.
"Very good! Since I mastered the Bear-Fighting Hand, you're the first martial artist at my level to push me this far!"
Chen Xiong spat out a mouthful of bloody froth, his eyes utterly savage. "Then I'll show you what I can really do! Bear-Fighting Hand!"
Blood and qi poured into his left arm, reinforced by Jin Force. His arm instantly swelled, becoming thicker than an ordinary person's waist. As he swung it, it truly resembled a giant bear swiping its paw, hammering the empty air with terrifying power.
"Die!"
Chen Xiong's expression twisted viciously.
Wei Sheng used the Golden Goose Art to dodge aside. As Chen Xiong's move reached its limit, he swung his palm like a saber, aiming straight for Chen Xiong's throat.
Chen Xiong's scalp prickled with terror. He hastily swung his other arm up to block, but it could not stop the strike at all. The hand-saber chopped his arm into a bend, and the Jin Force issuing from it cut into his neck.
Crack!
A sharp snap rang out.
Chen Xiong clutched his neck in agony, wanting to say something, but his entire windpipe had been shattered. Unable to make a sound, he could only glare fixedly at Wei Sheng before crashing to the floor, dead!
Wei Sheng withdrew his hand, his expression barely changing.
With his current mastery of the Tiger-Howling Saber Technique, even without drawing his saber, killing experts at his own level using his palm as a blade was no problem.
"Chen Xiong!"
Snake Eye's expression changed in horror.
But before he could grieve over Chen Xiong's death, a thick wave of killing intent enveloped him.
He looked up-
At some point, Wei Sheng had closed in, his hand-saber slicing straight toward Snake Eye's heart.
Snake Eye was instantly terrified out of his wits. He hurriedly roused all the Jin Force in his body, intending to withstand the strike head-on, while crying out, "Brother Feng, save me!"
But even Chen Xiong, a fifth refinement late-stage fighter accomplished in body-hardening, had been unable to block this blade. How could Snake Eye?
Splurt!
The hand-saber cleaved through Snake Eye's skin defenses, and its saber force pierced his heart. Snake Eye spewed blood and slumped to the floor, his face filled with unwillingness.
Whoosh!
After killing Snake Eye, Wei Sheng flashed forward, attacking Lan Fei next.
This time, Lan Fei had seemingly acted as a mediator, but in truth, he had brought the might of six refinements to bear to pressure Wei Sheng into submission. Had Wei Sheng not possessed superior strength, he would likely have already met a murderous end.
Snake Eye, Chen Xiong, and their ilk deserved to die.
But the ill-intentioned Lan Fei deserved death even more!
Having watched Chen Xiong and Snake Eye die one after another, Lan Fei was already alarmed. Now, seeing Wei Sheng charging at him, he was scared out of his soul.
"Brother Dao, save me!" Lan Fei shrieked.
At the critical moment, someone grabbed Lan Fei and pulled him back. A figure appeared where he had stood and likewise thrust a palm toward Wei Sheng.
Hiss!
The two flesh-and-blood palms collided, yet produced a clear ringing like metal striking metal.
Wei Sheng was driven back two steps, while Feng Li Dao remained firmly in place.
"Let this end here."
Feng Li Dao spoke indifferently, his voice carrying a hint of unquestionable authority:
"You've already killed Snake Eye and the others, thoroughly making an enemy of the Azure Dragon Hall. Do you want to make an enemy of the Wind and Cloud Hall too?"
"You can't stop me from killing someone I want dead!" Wei Sheng said coolly.
Feng Li Dao laughed in anger at those words:
"I admit you're very strong. You've only just broken through to the fifth refinement realm, yet you can kill Chen Xiong and Snake Eye. Your strength ranks among the very best within the fifth refinement...
But do you think killing two fifth refinement fighters means you can contend with six refinements?
You overestimate yourself!
To tell you the truth, I only used thirty percent of my strength in that palm strike!"
At this, Wei Sheng smiled. "What a coincidence. I only used thirty percent too."
"Arrogant!" Feng Li Dao's gaze turned cold.
Wei Sheng said nothing, merely striking out with another palm, its power even greater than before!
On the street opposite the Guest-Welcoming Tower, Ding Ying paced anxiously by the entrance.
"That damned Lan Fei actually invited Snake Eye and a six-refinements expert. He's clearly trying to harm the boss!"
"Old Che went to fetch Brother Fire Ox. He's been gone ages. Why isn't he back yet?!"
"And there's not a sound from upstairs. Could something have happened to the boss?"
The more Ding Ying thought about it, the uglier his expression became.
Finally, he shouted, "Brothers, charge upstairs with me and rescue the boss!"
"Charge upstairs!"
The gang members all drew their sabers.
They were just about to charge into the Guest-Welcoming Tower.
Crack!
A street-facing window on the restaurant's third floor suddenly burst apart from within, shattering into pieces. Amid the flying splinters, a figure fell from upstairs!
Before you continue