"They're a talent ability user!"
"Get down!"
Enforcer Number Three shouted and immediately dropped to the ground, covering his head with both hands.
Those who reacted quickly followed suit.
Those a beat too slow were out of luck.
The lightning struck them squarely in the kidneys, scorching them crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, instantly putting them out of the fight.
A flicker of shock crossed Number Three's eyes.
In such a short time, the Circus had actually grown this powerful.
Dharma King quickly untied the ropes binding Brother Biao and hoisted him onto his shoulder.
"You came a little late, but you were still just in time."
Brother Biao looked utterly unruffled.
Dharma King raised an eyebrow.
What the fuck are you talking about?
Dharma King took a sack from his pocket, stuffed Brother Biao inside, and slung him over his shoulder again.
"RPG!"
A strange cry came from the crowd of reporters nearby.
A rocket trailed white smoke as it tore through the sky, heading straight for Dharma King.
Dharma King lashed out with a five-hit lightning whip, detonating the rocket in midair.
"The Blood Hand Gang is conducting business! Everyone else, get out of the way!"
More than twenty martial artists wearing black skull masks jumped out of the crowd, intent on snatching Brother Biao from Dharma King.
"Kid, hand him over quietly, and I'll spare your life."
The Blood Hand Gang was led by three Level One Martial Artists; the rest were all low-tier martial artists.
Dharma King snorted. "So you're the ones trying to steal the Circus's final payment?"
"You're biting off more than you can chew."
"I've got you surrounded. Your grandpa's in a good mood right now, so scram while you can."
The gang leader laughed. "They say talent ability users all look down their noses at everyone. Today I've seen it for myself."
"Brothers, attack! Finish this quickly, and don't hurt our honored guest."
The Blood Hand Gang members swarmed forward.
Dharma King threw a smoke bomb at his feet, and white smoke instantly blanketed the entire little square.
When the smoke cleared, thirteen clones wearing different animal masks appeared behind Dharma King.
"Brothers, let's show them what our Circus can do." Dharma King snapped his fingers.
The gang leader stared, dumbfounded.
Where had all these people sprung from?
Had he conjured living people out of thin air?
Because security on Cloud Mountain was far too tight, Qin Ze had decided to bring the scattered parts together as one.
The clones responsible for fighting had all attached themselves to Dharma King, who brought them into the execution grounds.
"For three million!"
"Demacia!"
"Ura!"
"Little Blacks, charge!"
"..."
The clones shouted all manner of strange slogans, their spirits running high.
The gang leader spat hard on the ground. "Kill!"
The two sides clashed violently in an instant.
Number Three shouted, "Enforcers, follow me and apprehend the criminals!"
The dozen or so enforcers who had weathered the lightning shockwave joined the melee under Number Three's lead, and the whole square descended into a chaotic mess.
The reporters had long since scattered like startled birds and beasts.
Only the cameras remained set up where they were, livestreaming unattended.
[Holy shit! The blood's really flowing like a river!]
[The enforcers are so damn useless. They swagger around acting all high and mighty every day, but when a real fight breaks out, that many of them go down in one exchange.]
[Am I the only one who thinks the Circus is pretty badass?]
[Place your bets! Left if you think Blood Hand will win, right for the Circus, middle for the enforcers.]
[Destroy the tyranny of martial artists, freedom belongs to the people.] (Deleted)
[The Circus is ruthless. When they can't win, they just blow themselves up.]
[They've been brainwashed.]
[Look, Brother Biao's about to be taken away by the minotaur.]
The fight in the little square was soon decided.
Though the Little Blacks were outnumbered, they got right up against their opponents and blew themselves up.
After four or five of them had exploded in succession, both the Blood Hand Gang and the enforcers were scared.
"Lunatics! A bunch of lunatics!"
The gang leader was trembling with fear.
Though they were all low-tier martial artists, the Blood Hand Gang had a slight edge over the Little Blacks in both numbers and average level.
But when the fighting started, the Little Blacks had no method to their attacks whatsoever. They blew themselves up on a whim, treating their own lives as if they meant nothing.
A flurry of wild punches could beat an old master to death. Against this kind of fighting, no number of old masters could hold out.
"Boss, we need to retreat! More than half the brothers are dead or wounded!"
The Blood Hand Gang's morale was gone.
They kept trying to put distance between themselves and the Little Blacks.
But their opponents clung to them like dogskin plaster: for every step they retreated, the little haters advanced, determined to stick close.
The gang leader gritted his teeth. "Retreat!"
You had to be alive to spend money.
At the gang leader's command, the Blood Hand members began pulling out of the fight.
Enforcer Number Three had already suffered for it once and had warned the other enforcers in advance to watch out for self-destruction.
The enforcers were cautious and kept clear of the blasts.
Brother Biao stuck his head out of the sack and said in shock:
"I've only been gone a few months, and your fighting style has already gotten this ferocious?"
"Brother, which group are you from?"
Dharma King grinned. "The Hater Circus."
"Hang on tight, we're leaving!"
Dharma King pushed Brother Biao's head back into the sack and turned into a bolt of blue lightning, racing down the mountain.
The moment Dharma King left, the remaining clones all self-destructed.
With a thunderous boom, the little square shattered, and clouds of dust swept outward in every direction.
Teacher Yao, concealed at the highest point, had watched the entire affair unfold.
"They've taken him away. Should we go after them?" an enforcer beside him asked cautiously.
"Wait for the scouts to return." Teacher Yao frowned.
"We found no trace of the Fairness Society nearby." A short while later, the scout who had been sent out to investigate returned.
"So neither of those two groups was from the Fairness Society?" Teacher Yao asked.
The scout replied, "Blood Hand is a long-established local gang with three Level One Martial Artists."
"As for the Circus, they only appeared recently. So far, we have no information on their exact situation."
Teacher Yao rubbed the spot between his brows. "Go after them. We can't let them take him away."
He had originally planned to use Wang Biao as bait to fish out the Fairness Society.
But now the bait had been eaten, the Fairness Society still hadn't shown itself, and a whole crowd of lunatics calling themselves the Circus had appeared out of nowhere.
It seemed things had gotten a little out of hand.
Dharma King stopped beside a large rock with the sack on his shoulder, panting heavily.
"I'm fucking exhausted!"
Rustle, rustle~
Footsteps sounded.
Dharma King looked up and saw more than a dozen people in black robes.
"This really took me by surprise. You actually managed to bring him out," the tall Person in Black Robes said, astonished.
Dharma King glanced at him. "Weren't we supposed to meet at Black Wind Mountain?"
The tall Person in Black Robes said mildly, "It doesn't matter. We never expected you to bring him out in the first place."
"We only wanted you to muddy the waters so we could fish in them."
Dharma King caught on. "So you hired Blood Hand too?"
The Person in Black Robes nodded. "That's right."
"This is what they call the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it."
"Hand me the sack, and then you can die."
Dharma King set the sack down from his shoulder. "Why do you want to kill me?"
The tall Person in Black Robes grew impatient. "To keep you from learning about the key from Wang Biao."
"The fewer people who know the key exists, the better."
Dharma King was completely baffled.
Seeing the black-robed figures closing in around him, ready to attack, Dharma King suddenly raised both hands.
"Wait, I have a proposal."