15: Fists and palms meet, the power of an elephant

“For what purpose?” Hearing Chen Cuo’s question, Bei Tong was so angered he laughed, “You are on my North Dipper Gang’s territory, killing my North Dipper Gang’s members, and you ask me why I came here?”

“Hall Master Bei, one cannot be so shameless! When did this Hong Family Fort in the suburbs become your North Dipper Gang’s territory? Are you trying to stake a claim in the eastern suburbs as well?” Chen Cuo’s expression was calm and solemn, his gaze fixed on Hong Feng in Bei Tong’s hand.

“Hong Tu, the owner of Hong Family Fort, has already joined the North Dipper Gang, so Hong Family Fort’s territory naturally belongs to the North Dipper Gang. As a Vajra Sect leader, you trespassed into North Dipper Gang territory without cause. Do you wish to start a war?”

“Now, quickly release Second Lord Hong, then kneel and kowtow in apology. If you are truly sincere in seeking forgiveness and pay hundreds of thousands of silver taels, I will spare both your dog lives.” Hearing Chen Cuo’s unyielding words, Bei Tong also grew furious, feeling that this junior was ignorant of his own limitations.

Bei Tong gripped Hong Feng’s neck. Hong Feng’s veins bulged on his face, and his legs thrashed about, seemingly wanting to speak, to tell Chen Cuo not to mind him and to escape quickly, but he could only make incoherent sounds.

“Without cause? It was your North Dipper Gang who first came to my district, injured my subordinates, and abducted my confidant. I merely returned the favor slightly.”

Chen Cuo partially plunged the Chain Blade into Hong Tu’s neck. Blood immediately seeped out, though he hadn’t dealt a fatal blow. He said with a faint smile, “Hall Master Bei, there’s no need for such empty words. How about a negotiation? I release Second Lord Hong, and then I take my brother and leave. How about that?”

“You want to leave? Impossible! First, release Second Lord Hong and follow my conditions, otherwise, neither you nor your subordinates will see tomorrow’s sun.”

Bei Tong could not let Chen Cuo go. Chen Cuo alone dared to invade, violently beat up a newly joined North Dipper Gang leader, and then swagger away. What reputation would his North Dipper Gang have in Wei City in the future? Would any Martial Forest masters be willing to join the North Dipper Gang?

“You old bastard, I gave you face by calling you Hall Master Bei, but don’t you actually think you’re someone important! I said, it was your North Dipper Gang, it was Hong Tu, who first bullied my subordinate. If you dare to harm my brother in the slightest, I will surely exterminate your family in the future, leaving not a single chicken or dog.”

At this moment, half an hour had passed, and Chen Cuo felt even more confident.

Such malicious words reached the ears of the remaining North Dipper Gang members in Hong Family Fort, as well as Bei Tong.

What kind of person was Bei Tong? One of the seven Hall Masters of the North Dipper Gang, the Hall Master of the Tianxuan Star Hall who held supervisory power, nicknamed “Evil Ghost.” In the entire Wei City, hundreds of thousands of people had to defer to his mood. He was also a dignified Lian Zang Realm Martial Artist. Besides the two Gang Leaders of the North Dipper Gang and Vajra Sect, one could say he was a strong individual, second only to two people and above tens of thousands in Wei City.

Someone actually dared to curse him? And it was just a small leader of the Vajra Sect. How many lives did he have?

“You’re courting death!”

“Do you know who you are cursing? You deserve to die!”

While everyone was greatly astonished, Bei Tong was already fuming with rage at Chen Cuo’s words, anger surging, a suffocating feeling in his heart. Only by killing could he feel relief.

But Hong Tu was still firmly held in Chen Cuo’s hand. He then burst into laughter, saying fiercely, with that brutal expression, like a raging lion about to tear Chen Cuo apart.

“Hahahahahahaha! Good, good, good. I’ve truly never seen a junior in the Jianghu as brave as you. It’s not impossible to let you go now. You and I will simultaneously release our hostages, and then you take one punch from me. If you don’t die, I will let you leave.”

This was a Martial Artist’s gamble, and once accepted, there was no going back, or else one wouldn’t be able to stay in the Jianghu. However, this was generally only agreed upon by Martial Artists of the same Realm. Bei Tong had already broken the rules.

But he was already overcome with anger and determined to kill Chen Cuo. If he hadn’t been concerned about Hong Tu’s life, he would have already crushed Hong Feng and struck with a palm.

Chen Cuo’s tone was playful, sarcastically mocking, “You, a Lian Zang Realm Martial Artist, gambling with me, a junior in the Bone Refining Realm, do you even have the decency?”

“You little bastard, are you scared? Then kill Hong Tu, and I’ll kill him, and then I’ll finish you off.” Bei Tong lifted Hong Feng in his hand and shook him.

“I accept. Why wouldn’t I accept? It’s just that you…”

Doubt was revealed in Chen Cuo’s eyes, as if he didn’t believe the conditions Bei Tong had stated.

“I always keep my word and never lie.”

“Alright, you and I will count to one, two, three, and release the people simultaneously!”

Bei Tong nodded in agreement.

Chen Cuo reinserted the Chain Blade into the sheath behind his back: “One, two, three.”

As the word “three” fell, Bei Tong hurled Hong Feng towards Chen Cuo. Seeing this, Chen Cuo pushed away Hong Tu, whom he was holding hostage, and shifted his body, intending to catch Hong Feng.

“You little bastard, die!” Bei Tong’s eyes were filled with venomous malice and brutal killing intent. No one had ever dared to curse him like that. Seeing Hong Tu being led away by his subordinates, he immediately launched a fierce sneak attack. This punch was incredibly powerful. The sharp Qi from his entire body stirred Chen Cuo’s robes. With that speed and power, Chen Cuo vaguely seemed to see a phantom of a star smashing towards him.

The North Dipper Gang Leader’s famous Cultivation Technique, the “North Dipper Seven Kill Fist,” was rumored to use the power of the Big Dipper stars to temper the body. Bei Tong had already Cultivated this method to the Major Achievement Realm. One punch had a strength of eight thousand catties. Even a hundred-year-old tree could be broken by his hand blade.

Furthermore, at the Lian Zang Realm, one could initially release inner strength externally, covering the fist, or even augmenting weapons. Although it was not like the Acquired Realm where inner strength could directly attack enemies, it already possessed unpredictable power.

Various Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills would Cultivate different types of inner strength and True Qi. If Chen Cuo reached the Lian Zang Realm, his Spirit Demon Five Animal Play True Qi would possess five different characteristics: the toughness of a snake, the sharpness of a tiger, the agility of a crane…

Of course, the characteristics of the other two Cultivation Techniques would also be perfectly highlighted. And at this moment, Bei Tong’s North Dipper Seven Kill Fist inner strength was like starlight, penetrating the universe, imbued with the true meaning of slaughter, dealing piercing damage.

In short, his punch was a full eight thousand catties of true damage. This was his rage-filled strike, vowing to kill Chen Cuo here to vent his anger.

How could Chen Cuo be afraid? All the stalling earlier was to buy time, both to wait for support and to wait for…

“Iron Sand Palm Supporting Heaven!” Chen Cuo held Hong Feng with his left hand and met Bei Tong’s fist with his right palm. The overwhelming Aura pressed down, like a giant elephant facing a falling star, completely unafraid.

“A mantis trying to stop a chariot! Die!” As the fist slammed down, the floor tiles beneath Chen Cuo began to crack. He tossed Hong Feng backward and moved two steps forward.

Boom!!

A huge sonic boom sounded, followed by a piercing, screeching friction. The giant elephant was seen catching the star, tearing it apart. The unparalleled Iron Sand Palm, driving the air, created a suffocating feeling of tearing air. It covered Bei Tong, who was descending from the sky. Bei Tong’s entire chest was imprinted with a handprint, and the clothes at the handprint were shattered like a thin, brittle cracker.

Chen Cuo was also hit by Bei Tong’s fist and slammed to the ground, raising a huge cloud of dust.

Chen Cuo saw the surrounding North Dipper Gang members tentatively approaching. He quickly got up from the ground, patted off the dust, coughed a few times, spat out two mouthfuls of blood, and then stared fiercely at Bei Tong. Bei Tong, having taken a palm strike, landed on the ground, swaying and struggling to maintain his posture, “You, you have… the strength of an elephant?”

The strength of an elephant was ten thousand catties. Chen Cuo’s original palm strength was three thousand catties. Later, after Cultivating Snake Form Fist, Tiger Form Fist, and the basic Realms of two other Cultivation Techniques, because none of these Cultivation Techniques primarily focused on Cultivating strength, he only gained two thousand catties of strength, for a total of five thousand catties of palm strength.

But after the Iron Sand Palm, he instantly had ten thousand catties of immense power, which was why he could bend Hong Tu’s Overlord Spear made of refined iron with one palm, break through Bei Tong’s fist force with one palm, and then use his iron armor to block Bei Tong’s fist, exchanging injuries.

However, it seemed that Chen Cuo was more severely injured, but in reality…

Bei Tong could no longer speak, but he knew that the Chen Cuo before him would definitely be a major future threat to the North Dipper Gang. So, with a trembling voice, he said, “Kill him, attack him, kill him! Whoever kills him will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver.”

He assumed Chen Cuo was more severely injured than him and was merely at the end of his rope.

Just as the people around were stirring, a commotion arose outside Hong Family Fort, accompanied by the sound of falling tiles. A loud shout exploded in everyone’s minds: “I’d like to see who dares to move! If anyone touches my Disciple again today, I will raze Hong Family Fort to the ground.”

It was indeed Elder Fan Wufeng who had arrived. But before his words finished, another person appeared beside Bei Tong. That person, dressed in black, tall and slender, said coldly, “Head Leader Fan, your words are too arrogant, aren’t they? I’d like to see how you raze Hong Family Fort to the ground with me here.”