30: The old servant of the Chang family, Lian Chen escapes

Chen Cuo picked up the beast hide and saw only the three characters “Spirit Control Art” written at the beginning. This beast hide should also have come from an exotic beast, its membrane incredibly tough, as the knife had failed to leave even a scratch on it.

He continued to squat down and search through Sparrowhawk’s corpse, taking out another porcelain bottle from his in arms. Inside were two light red Medicinal Pills. Chen Cuo knew at a glance that these were ‘Qi Burst Pills’, used by Martial Artists as a last resort in desperate situations. They had the effect of restoring injuries and forcefully increasing the power of Internal Energy, but came with severe side effects.

Before long, Lei Wen and Lei Wu arrived. Chen Cuo had already finished searching. He also found a pouch on Sparrowhawk, filled with slender needles dipped in potent poison, and a Secret Manual detailing Sparrowhawk's experience with poisons and medicines.

Chen Cuo only handed over the porcelain bottle and the pouch, but he did not mention the beast hide or the exotic small snake.

The two looked at Sparrowhawk, whose clothes were torn, and wisely did not ask further, merely encouraging Chen Cuo a few times. The strength Chen Cuo had displayed earlier was far superior to theirs. Lei Wen and Lei Wu felt that with just that strange movement skill, they were no match.

The three waited for a long time, but Fan Wufeng did not pursue them. Long Jiang, however, came to Chen Cuo and his group, with Hong Feng following behind him.

“Boss, the Old Master has returned to the Qingshui Street mansion, and he wants both Boss Lei and you to return quickly and not go towards the Gang Leader’s side anymore,” Hong Feng said quickly when he saw Chen Cuo.

“Old Ghost Fan is truly living more and more backward. If one could observe a battle between Innate Masters, it would be of great benefit to one’s own Cultivation. Why be so timid? Little ones, if you wish to observe the city center, come with me.”

Long Jiang was in his prime, his ambitions still strong. He was now at Lian Zang Perfection, with great hope of Breaking Through to the Acquired Realm. A battle between two Acquired Perfection Masters was, for him, a living opportunity.

Long Jiang moved like a rabbit and falcon, heading straight for the city center.

Lei Wen and Lei Wu exchanged glances, nodded silently, and followed behind him.

Chen Cuo pondered for a moment. After a night of intense fighting, a glimmer of light had appeared on the horizon. The great battle between the two Gangs would surely have an outcome. It would be good to go and witness it. A battle between Acquired Perfection Masters was definitely a rare sight in this small Wei City.

However, to avoid being caught in the crossfire, Chen Cuo also followed behind Long Jiang, as did Hong Feng. Then, as the two of them approached within three li of the city center, Chen Cuo suddenly stopped, then moved to the top of a pavilion.

Looking around, there were also many others like him, 'gentlemen on the beams.' They were not North Dipper Gang members, but seemed to be foreign Martial Artists.

Chen Cuo ignored them and pulled out a circular disc from his sleeve. After several twists, it transformed into a long tube, leaving Hong Feng beside him stunned.

This was a tube scope he had made using ground glass lenses, assembled by a skilled craftsman, which allowed him to see the city center area.

Chen Cuo looked through it. At this time, there were no signs of battle in the city center, nor the figures of the two Gang Leaders. Just as he was secretly wondering, he noticed that many people around him were looking towards the top of the tallest pavilion in the city, the Starry Pavilion.

Two men stood facing each other from a distance. One of them was Shi Potian, whom Chen Cuo had met. Opposite him was a young man of extraordinary bearing and dashing demeanor, who looked only about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He was none other than the Gang Leader of the North Dipper Gang, Lian Chen.

Lian Chen’s appearance was remarkably handsome, making him look less like a Gang Leader and more like a Young Master from a noble family. In comparison, Shi Potian appeared much more rugged.

“Lian Chen, you have been utterly defeated. How about you hand over the ‘North Dipper Seven Kill Fist’, and I’ll spare your life?” Shi Potian asked coldly, looking at the ruins of the North Dipper Gang, his heart filled with satisfaction. This time, he had used a lightning-fast approach, leveraging Chen Cuo’s arrangement to lure the enemy deep, precisely to unify Wei City in one fell swoop.

Chen Cuo scanned the surroundings with his telescope and found that around the Starry Pavilion, Stone Deficiency and Shi Renhsan, along with the Internal Hall Master Shi Xin, who was Shi Potian's nephew, were jointly attacking the North Dipper Gang's main hall. Inside the main hall lay He Shu's corpse, while Hao Wuyin led the remaining forces in a desperate resistance. Bei Tong was nowhere to be seen.

Hao Wuyin struggled to hold on, nearing his limit. He exclaimed in horror, “Damn it, where are the other Hall Masters? Are they all dead?!”

Hao Wuyin's Qingguang Sword instantly cut down two Vajra Sect Disciples. He was about to retreat into the hall to use its mechanisms against Stone Deficiency and the others.

“Are you talking about them?” Unexpectedly, a ghostly voice suddenly came from beside him. A black-robed old man had inexplicably appeared beside him. The old man held two corpses in his hands, which were the other two Hall Masters of the North Dipper Gang, Luo Yue and Nian Song.

Luo Yue was a female, her pretty face still radiating intense resentment and hatred. Nian Song, however, was dressed as a monk, rumored to be a lay Disciple of Panlong Temple who later joined the North Dipper Gang to make a living. Both were Masters of the Lian Zang Realm, but when Hao Wuyin saw their state of death, it was clear they had no ability to resist, having been twisted and broken at the neck.

“An Acquired Perfection Master!” Hao Wuyin was utterly terrified and cried out in pain, his heart filled with rage. An Acquired Perfection Master, so shameless as to slaughter their juniors.

“Are you from the Chang Family?”

The old man did not answer. He gently threw the two corpses in his hands, sending them crashing towards Hao Wuyin. Hao Wuyin immediately dodged, and the two corpses hit the ground, instantly shattering like glass, turning into two puddles of rotten meat. This showed the power of an Acquired Master.

Chen Cuo shook his head repeatedly, filled with astonishment. This old man was clearly not a strongman who specialized in cultivating strength, but rather a Martial Artist with extraordinary movement skills.

But seeing how easily he threw the two people, his strength must have been at least ten thousand jin.

Then his figure became incredibly ghostly again. Before Hao Wuyin could react, his right hand was already behind Hao Wuyin's neck. With a twist, Hao Wuyin fell straight to the ground.

“Teleportation? No, it should just be incredibly fast. This movement skill is probably extraordinary.” Chen Cuo finished observing the battle and secretly commented, feeling that the movement Martial Skill the old man cultivated should be similar to his ‘Shadow Shifting’, with not much difference in effect.

“Shadow Shifting proficiency + 17.”

Another message popped up on the information panel. Chen Cuo ignored it; he focused on shifting the view to the two Gang Leaders. After the old man killed Hao Wuyin, he didn't bother with the remaining small fries. Instead, he moved swiftly to Lian Chen’s back, cutting off his escape route.

“Chang Family, what a Chang Family! Even aristocratic families are interfering in the Gangs’ game.” Under Lian Chen, six Hall Masters were dead and one was missing. At this point, he was all alone.

Lian Chen suddenly let out a loud roar, “It was you who killed my subordinates, old man! State your name!”

“Chang Family’s Hei Chen, I greet the North Dipper Gang Leader.” The old man stood on the high ground, without the slightest change in expression, but still showed Lian Chen some respect by answering his question.

Lian Chen said, “Shi Potian, don’t you want my Seven Killing Fist? Kill me, and the fist manual is yours. This is a Secret Manual that can Breakthrough beyond Innate!”

Lian Chen took out a bamboo slip and shook it twice, then put it back in his in arms, seemingly wanting to make Shi Potian hesitant.

Shi Potian had been in the Jianghu for many years; how could he not know his trick? When Martial Artists fight to the death, a lion uses its full strength even against a rabbit. There would be no holding back.

Innate is called True Qi, Acquired is called Internal Energy.

Shi Potian took a step forward, his figure moving to attack Lian Chen. Wisps of earthy yellow mist covered his entire body, intertwining and condensing into an earthen armor. His entire being seemed to transform into a stubborn rock.

“Is this what Master said, the ‘Panshi Heart Sutra’ that the Gang Leader Cultivates? It’s truly extraordinary!” Chen Cuo clapped his hands in praise, immediately excited to see Shi Potian unleash his full power.

Hong Feng strained his eyes. At a distance of three li, even with the sky fully bright, he could only see three figures on the high building, unable to discern any details.

The old man, facing Lian Chen, seemed to have lost his previous composure. His Internal Energy also covered him, his hands turned green, and his figure moved quickly, forming a pincer attack with Shi Potian from front and back.

Lian Chen did not evade the two men's offensive. He stood on the rooftop, clenching his fists, letting out a painful wail, and suddenly slammed both fists into his own chest.

The force was visible to the naked eye.

This scene truly baffled everyone. Even Chen Cuo couldn’t understand it. Had the North Dipper Gang Leader given up resistance and intended to commit suicide?

But then Lian Chen spat out two mouthfuls of blood, and his fists turned blood-red, streaked with purple-gold lines.

His face became incredibly grim, yet filled with a hint of joyful smile: “Seven Killing Fist secret art: first injure oneself, then injure the enemy.”

“Forbidden Martial Skill! You Cultivate a Forbidden Martial Skill, and even a forbidden art secret method!” Hei Chen let out a wild roar, retreating rapidly like a scurrying mouse.

Forbidden Martial Skill, rumored to be a type of Secret Manual with immense power but great flaws. Cultivating this Martial Skill would require one to pay a huge price, consuming one's own potential.

But with loss, there is naturally gain. Such Martial Artists are often invincible among their peers and difficult to deal with, especially when accompanied by forbidden arts.

Forbidden art: a Martial Skill that exacts a huge price to unleash immense power, typically causing Martial Artists to lose Cultivation, or even shorten their lifespan, damaging their Origin.

Lian Chen using a forbidden art to fight desperately clearly meant he had gone completely mad, completely disregarding his own condition. Only a fool would clash head-on with him, which is why Hei Chen retreated so quickly.

However, everything seemed futile. Lian Chen, using the forbidden art, was even faster. He quickly caught up to the old man in mid-air and punched him in the back. Hei Chen instantly let out a miserable scream, his body falling straight to the ground, creating a large pit upon impact. He was dead instantly.

He returned, facing Shi Potian, who was like a mountain, and still threw a punch. The purple-gold fist was incredibly large, carrying an invisible, powerful Aura, overbearing.

“Stone Meteorite Fist!” Shi Potian refused to yield, choosing to counterattack. His fist, covered in earthen armor, was incredibly hard, practically invincible in defense. The Seven Killing Fist’s Qi was incredibly sharp, bringing a suffocating stinging sensation.

Chen Cuo felt a pang in his heart from a distance. Looking at the two men’s techniques, he suddenly thought of a saying: “My spear can pierce the hardest things in the world, and my shield can block the sharpest attacks in the world. So, in a battle between the strongest spear and the strongest shield, will the spear break, or will the shield shatter?”

The answer was immediately clear!

A purple-gold Qi directly pierced through the earthy yellow armor. Shi Potian roared in pain and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Shi Potian retreated rapidly, moving away from Lian Chen.

Lian Chen was not feeling well either. He forcefully suppressed a mouthful of blood, preventing it from being spat out, his face constantly flushed. He chose not to pursue; at this moment, he had no support, and dragging it out would surely lead to a loss.

He glared fiercely at Shi Potian, then punched fiercely towards his own hall from a distance, and quickly fled the city center, with no one daring to stop him.