With dozens of fierce dogs clearing the way, they advanced at great speed. The gang members, whose strength was only Third-Rate, were either scared off by the dogs' ferocious charge or swallowed up by the pack.
Whenever they encountered the occasional stronger opponent, Wang Hao, following close behind, stepped in to deal with them.
They fought their way onward and soon arrived at a tall tower where a large quantity of fierce fire oil was stored.
But both stopped there, looking at a sinister-faced middle-aged man standing beneath the tower across from them with a judge's brush in hand. Behind him stood dozens of Fierce Tiger Gang members armed with sabers.
"So you really did come for the fierce fire oil!"
The middle-aged man stared coldly at Wang Hao and Qing'er, his chilling murderous intent laid bare without the slightest concealment. Wang Hao's expression turned grave.
This was a powerful fighter who was no weaker than Wang Heihu!
"He's Wang Zihong, the Black Tiger Gang's deputy leader. He's skilled with a pair of judge's brushes and specializes in striking people's acupoints. He's no weaker than Wang Heihu."
Qing'er quietly explained the man's abilities and strength to Wang Hao. After all, she had spent four years in the Black Tiger Gang's core area and naturally knew something about what went on there.
She had even seen Wang Zihong and Wang Heihu spar with her own eyes. Although she could not understand the subtleties, that did not stop her from judging what they had displayed on the surface.
"Use the dogs to hold that guy off first. I'll take out the small fry and then come back to deal with him."
After sizing up the dozens of Fierce Tiger Gang members behind Wang Zihong, Wang Hao's heart sank, but he also came up with a plan.
These dozens of Fierce Tiger Gang members were clearly elite fighters like those who had followed Wang Heihu earlier. The fierce dogs would have a hard time standing up to them, and if they dealt with the dogs on his side, he would be at a disadvantage.
The best tactic now was to follow the example of Tian Ji's horse race and swap opponents. He was the strongest on their side, so he would first make a move and quickly dispose of the gang members before turning back to deal with that guy.
After all, his opponent's weapons were judge's brushes, which were least suited to fighting groups. Using the fierce dogs to hold him down could not have been more appropriate.
"Benefactor, be careful!"
Qing'er nodded and whistled, and the dozens of fierce dogs pounced on Wang Zihong.
At the same time, Wang Hao went around Wang Zihong and charged with his sword at the dozens of Fierce Tiger Gang members guarding the base of the tower.
"Hmph!"
With a cold sneer, Wang Zihong chose not to intercept Wang Hao. Instead, he casually dealt with the dogs lunging at him while keeping a close eye on his surroundings, guarding against any other opponents who might appear.
He had already seen that Wang Hao was just the sort who did not cultivate internal force, and his cultivation appeared to be only Third-Rate. To force his way into the Fierce Tiger Gang with strength like that, he was either a fool or had help hidden in the shadows.
Clearly, he favored the second possibility. In other words, there were still enemies lurking in the dark, and they were the opponents he truly had to face.
Wang Zihong was not the only one who thought so. The dozens of elite Fierce Tiger Gang members behind him thought the same.
Thus, faced with Wang Hao charging toward them, none of them took him seriously. They did not even use their full strength to meet his attack.
"Slash, slash, slash..."
With his greatsword in hand, Wang Hao was truly a tiger among a flock of sheep. He immediately unleashed Sweep Away a Thousand Troops, killing nearly ten Fierce Tiger Gang members on the spot.
Before they could react, Wang Hao stepped forward and used Sweep Away a Thousand Troops again, killing eight Fierce Tiger Gang members.
Only then did the remaining Fierce Tiger Gang members react, hurriedly and cautiously meeting Wang Hao's charge.
Unfortunately for them, although they still had superior numbers, their advantage was no longer overwhelming.
Two uses of Sweep Away a Thousand Troops had disposed of nearly half their number. Even if the rest attacked with all their strength, they could no longer form a sizable force.
Surrounded by men attacking with all their might, Wang Hao wielded his greatsword and unleashed the Ten Stances of Bloody Battle to the fullest. Combined with the footwork Dugu Qiubai had created for it, he was practically a killing machine.
Relying on his formidable hard-body skill, Wang Hao even ignored attacks that lacked sufficient force and devoted himself entirely to offense. The results were remarkable, and the Fierce Tiger Gang's numbers rapidly dwindled.
Only then did Wang Zihong realize something was wrong. He wanted to rush over and stop Wang Hao's slaughter, but dozens of fierce dogs had surrounded him, and his own weapons were judge's brushes, while his strongest martial art was of the type used to strike acupoints.
But what the hell kind of acupoints did these fierce dogs have?!
The pair of judge's brushes in his hands were not even as deadly as a steel saber. He was at a severe disadvantage and could not break free anytime soon.
And so, after a furious assault, Wang Hao finally killed the remaining elite gang members until their ranks collapsed. Two seized the chance to retreat rapidly, but he killed all the rest with a single Sweep Away a Thousand Troops.
By now, Wang Hao was once again drenched in blood. Most of it belonged to others, but a small portion was his own, and he had gained more than ten wounds.
Fortunately, none of the wounds were serious; they were only superficial injuries.
To kill dozens of men so quickly at such a small cost was already an excellent bargain.
It also demonstrated the power of the upgraded Ten Stances of Bloody Battle. It was indeed a battlefield martial art designed specifically for facing group attacks.
Paying no further attention to the two elite gang members who had fled in panic, Wang Hao did not pause for an instant. Greatsword in hand, he charged at Wang Zihong.
Qing'er recalled half the fierce dogs to keep watch over their surroundings while directing the other half to join Wang Hao in a fierce assault on Wang Zihong.
Wang Hao was already no weaker than Wang Zihong, and now that the fierce dogs were tying Wang Zihong down, he was at an even greater disadvantage.
What frustrated Wang Zihong most, enough to make him want to cough up blood, was that Wang Hao primarily cultivated the hard-body skill Iron Cloth Shirt. His defenses were already formidable, and since he had not cultivated internal arts, even having an acupoint struck had little effect on him.
That diminished Wang Zihong's fighting strength yet again.
With all these advantages on his side, Wang Hao's attacks grew ever fiercer. Wang Zihong lasted only a few exchanges before one of his hands was severed. Even when he finally tried to flee, the fierce dogs surrounding him blocked his escape, and Wang Hao killed him with a single slash.
Ignoring Wang Zihong, who had died with his eyes open, Wang Hao took several steps forward and sliced open the tower's locked doors. A pungent, strange odor immediately wafted out, somewhat like gasoline, but far more acrid and sickening.
Clearly, this was fierce fire oil, or rather, crudely processed petroleum, an extremely flammable substance.
A glance showed that the tower was filled with jars two chi by two chi in size, each sealed with fierce fire oil inside.
"Crash!"
He picked up a jar of fierce fire oil, lit it with the fire starter Qing'er had found earlier, and hurled it onto the ground outside. The oil burst across the ground and immediately caught fire, forming a great blaze.
Because of the fierce fire oil's properties, even the pouring rain could not extinguish it. Instead, it floated on the water and burned fiercely, spreading rapidly along the rainwater toward the surrounding buildings.
"Use the dogs to block the entrance for now!"
After giving Qing'er the order, Wang Hao strapped his greatsword to his back and returned inside the tower. Using both hands, he hurled the sealed jars of fierce fire oil one after another at the surrounding buildings, quickly creating a sea of flames.
Although the jars were not small, each weighed only twenty or thirty jin. Wang Hao was already tremendously strong, with a base strength of nearly a thousand jin. On top of that, he used the method of Survival in Desperate Straits from the Ten Stances of Bloody Battle, hurling the jars as though they were longswords.
In this way, he could throw each jar several dozen zhang.
Under such tremendous force, the jars shattered as soon as they hit the ground and were then ignited by the raging fire, causing the area covered by flames to grow ever larger.
Soon, all the jars of fierce fire oil on the first floor had been thrown out. Only then did Wang Hao close the doors, allowing Qing'er to rest.
That was not the end. Wang Hao rushed up to the second floor, kicked open the surrounding windows, and hurled the jars of fierce fire oil through them onto the nearby rooftops, expanding the reach of the flames once more.
Next came the jars on the third floor. Before long, he had thrown out all the fierce fire oil in the seven-story pagoda. The higher he went, the farther he could throw, until at last the jars traveled more than a hundred zhang, covering nearly the entire core area of the manor and turning it into a sea of flames.
As for the Black Tiger Gang's upper ranks and its many members, they could only retreat helplessly to the outskirts, not daring to go inside.
"Can you hold on?"
Back on the first floor, Wang Hao looked at Qing'er, whose whole body was soaked in sweat, and greatly admired the girl's resilience.
Although he had deliberately thrown the jars far away so they would not affect the tower, the fire was now so fierce that it had sent the air temperature here soaring to an outrageous level.
Even he, who had cultivated Iron Cloth Shirt, felt terribly uncomfortable, let alone an ordinary person like Qing'er. Yet the girl was still gritting her teeth and holding on.
She had also used rainwater she had gathered to soak the fur of the dogs around her in preparation for their upcoming escape, and had somehow obtained a straw rain cape soaked with rainwater for herself.
The dogs, meanwhile, lay on the ground like wilted eggplants, panting heavily with their tongues hanging far out.
"I can!"
Qing'er spoke resolutely. She would not fall before she saw Brother Tai.
"I'll carry you out!"
Wang Hao looked at the fire outside and did not think the girl could follow him out on her own.
"Thank you, Benefactor!"
After a moment's hesitation, Qing'er finally put on the straw rain cape and climbed onto Wang Hao's back as he crouched down. At the same time, she called to the dogs lying on the ground and panting heavily, "Dogs, follow us!"
Wang Hao rose with Qing'er on his back and charged out, heading straight for Wang Heihu's bedroom.
The dogs, who had long been unable to bear the heat, immediately mustered their strength and followed. Soon, they arrived at a luxurious room that was nearly surrounded by fire.
It was Wang Heihu's bedroom!
With no time to search carefully for the entrance to the secluded cultivation chamber, Wang Hao used his greatsword to unleash several Sweeps Away a Thousand Troops along the room's walls and floor. He soon found an entrance and shattered the hidden iron door, forged from hundred-refined fine iron, with several slashes, entering the secret chamber within.
The dogs followed close behind, and only after they entered the underground chamber did the scorching sensation finally fade.
"Are you sure there's a secret passage here?"
Wang Hao felt around the area, then turned back to Qing'er with a puzzled question.
It was a secret chamber built from enormous blocks of stone, with a luminous stone set into the ceiling that barely allowed them to make out their surroundings.
The layout was clear at a glance. Apart from a few hidden ventilation openings, there was no sign of a secret passage.
"I once saw Wang Heihu stay in this room for three whole days without leaving. But when he came out, he secretly threw the food the servants had brought him into the kennels. Unless he's an immortal who can go without food or drink, there has to be a secret passage here."
Having caught her breath a little, Qing'er spoke firmly. She was absolutely certain of this.
"Step back a little!"
Wang Hao looked thoughtful, then told Qing'er to move back. He gripped his greatsword once more and began slashing at the surrounding stone walls.
An ordinary longsword forged from hundred-refined fine iron would definitely chip or break if used to strike stone, but thousand-refined fine steel was different. Though it could not slice through stone as easily as mud, leaving a few marks was no problem.
Before long, sword marks covered the surrounding walls. Only then did Wang Hao lower his sword, pry the luminous stone from the ceiling, and carefully examine the marks.
The outside was already surrounded by fire, and outsiders could not possibly force their way in. They had plenty of time to search at their leisure.
Qing'er did not remain idle either. She tended to the injured dogs, tearing her own clothes into strips to give them simple bandages.
Wang Hao saw this and nodded in appreciation. As a dog lover himself, he naturally felt favorably toward someone who loved dogs as well.
Besides, the dogs had truly been a great help just now. If they had not held the enemies back, he could never have dealt with Wang Zihong and his men, much less caused such chaos.
So he acknowledged these dogs.
"Found it!"
Wang Hao soon spotted a sword mark that looked out of place. There was a tiny break in its middle, and the break formed a straight vertical line.
He looked to either side again and, sure enough, found another break three chi to the left. By eye, it appeared to be a door about three chi wide.
With a target, the rest was much easier. He used his greatsword to slash at the gaps around the stone door before him, cutting through the bolt inside. Then he pushed hard, and sure enough, it opened.
"Good grief, this has to be five chi thick!"
After pushing the stone door open, Wang Hao looked at it from the side and clicked his tongue inwardly.
The stone door was only three chi wide, but its thickness reached an astonishing five chi. No wonder he had heard nothing unusual when he tapped on it earlier.
The other party had probably deliberately designed it this way to keep anyone from discovering the secret inside.