Chapter 364: Chapter 189: A Fierce Man’s Wrathful Punishment
No one answered. A sudden gust of wind swept through, extinguishing all the lamps in the Assembly Hall and plunging the room into pitch-black darkness.
These were all hardened men of the Jianghu, accustomed to life-and-death struggles. Realizing an enemy had launched a sneak attack, they all scrambled to find their weapons.
But they were all half-drunk. How could they find their weapons in the sudden chaos? A clamor erupted as they stumbled around in disarray.
In the darkness, a saber-wielding figure slipped into the Assembly Hall like a phantom.
Wherever the Long Saber passed, heads flew.
SHLICK! SHLICK! SHLICK!
Even the weakest of these dozens of men was a Perfect Martial Artist of the Skin Grinding Realm, yet none could withstand a single blow.
Amidst the sound of the Long Saber slicing through flesh, heads tumbled to the ground one after another like gourds.
Qiu Tianhong was, after all, a Great Success Martial Artist in the Bone Forging Realm. His Perception was formidable. After the sudden plunge into darkness and a moment of blindness, he steadied himself and made out a shadow in the gloom.
He roared, "This is bad! It’s a master who has comprehended a Realm! Quickly, form a Sword Array and face him!"
Vice Gang Leader Qi Wei reacted just as quickly, grabbing a Long Saber and positioning himself to protect Qiu Tianhong.
The seven Incense Masters known as the Seven Blades of East City also reacted swiftly, gathering together to form their Sword Array.
The Blood Saber Gang prided itself on its unbreakable code of brotherhood, but when disaster struck, the leaders’ first thought was still self-preservation.
Huddling around the strongest among them, Gang Leader Qiu Tianhong, was the best way to protect themselves.
If they could just hold out for a moment, the commotion would alert the City Guard Headquarters in the nearby Dongcheng District. The attacker would then be doomed, with no hope of escape.
As for the core members of the gang under their command, they could only be left to their fate.
If they were unlucky enough to be killed, then on next year’s Double Ninth Festival, the gang would simply have more fallen brothers to commemorate.
But the attacker was incredibly fast. Would he really give them that chance?
The thud of rolling heads sounded one after another. In the space of a dozen breaths, the dozens of core members of the Blood Saber Gang were all slaughtered.
Only then did Vice Gang Leader Qi Wei and the seven Incense Masters known as the Seven Blades of East City truly feel the terror of the master of a Realm that Gang Leader Qiu Tianhong had spoken of.
For a moment, their hearts pounded with terror, and they felt as if their souls were about to leave their bodies.
"All together now! Cut him down!"
Qiu Tianhong proved himself a Bone Forging Realm expert. Knowing that a passive defense was futile, he let out a great roar and swung his Long Saber, slashing violently forward.
His strike was wild and domineering, carrying an peerless might—it was Saber Momentum!
The Saber Momentum unleashed by a Great Success Martial Artist of the Bone Forging Realm was naturally extraordinary. The ferocious gale it produced could have torn the Assembly Hall apart on its own.
Vice Gang Leader Qi Wei also slashed forward with his saber!
The seven Incense Masters also swung their Long Sabers and lunged forward. Though they each used a Perfect Level Saber Technique, their movements faintly combined to form a saber technique formation.
Its power was on par with Qiu Tianhong’s Saber Momentum, and even more ferocious than the attack from Qi Wei, the Vice Gang Leader at Muscle Strengthening Realm Perfection!
Three waves of power, like a raging tide, surged forward in an indiscriminate assault!
The entire Assembly Hall filled with a sharp, murderous aura, its intensity comparable to a full-powered strike fueled by Sword Intent!
A single, unified strike could shatter everything within the Assembly Hall and force the attacker back outside!
Once outside, Qiu Tianhong could call upon his gang members to surround and annihilate the intruder.
The invader was none other than Chen Cheng.
But of course, Chen Cheng would not give them a chance to cause such a commotion.
As Qi Blood surged through his body, his Great Power Realm washed over them, carrying a crushing pressure as it swept forward!
Qiu Tianhong and the others felt as if they were caught in the grip of a giant hand. Even as they fully unleashed their Qi Blood Power to execute their Saber Momentum, their movements became sluggish.
Their attacks were only half-formed when they suddenly felt several razor-sharp edges, radiating a brutal, murderous aura, slash violently past them.
SHLICK! SHLICK! SHLICK!
In an instant, all their heads were lopped off and fell to the ground!
If the lamps were relit, one would find their eyes bulging wide, filled with utter shock and horror.
It was clear that at the moment of death, they didn’t even realize they had been beheaded. They died with their eyes wide in disbelief.
’Is this... the power of a master who has comprehended a Realm?’
This was Qiu Tianhong’s final thought.
The thought vanished as the light in his eyes faded to a dull gray, then disappeared entirely.
Chen Cheng’s figure moved in a flash, quickly searching the corpses and stuffing whatever he found into his robes.
Then, with another flicker of movement, he was out of the Assembly Hall.
The commotion inside had already alerted the Blood Saber Gang members standing guard.
Dozens of them brandished their weapons and charged forward to kill him.
A cold glint flashed in Chen Cheng’s eyes. His figure flickered once more, moving like a tiger among sheep. Wherever the light of his saber passed, heads rolled.
A dozen breaths later, these dozens of gang members had also been decapitated.
Only after a dark figure leaped over the compound wall of the Blood Saber Gang’s headquarters did the headless bodies—both inside the Assembly Hall and on the plaza outside—finally begin to topple over one by one.
...
Outside the Zheng Martial Arts Hall, on the main street, several armor-clad Officials from the Inner City Guard Department patrolled leisurely.
Suddenly, the lead officer sensed a faint noise from a nearby courtyard wall. He quickly drew the Long Saber from his waist and barked out a challenge.
"Who’s there?"
There was no answer.
His fellow constables looked around in confusion. The street was empty. There wasn’t a single soul in sight.
One of the constables asked, "Brother Li, did you see someone?"
"Perhaps I was mistaken." Constable Li shook his head. Then he sniffed the air, a puzzled look on his face. "I thought I smelled a strong stench of blood, but it seems to be gone now.
Never mind. Stay sharp. We have orders from above. The Zheng Martial Arts Hall is too important; we can’t afford any more incidents."
"Yes," the constables replied.
...
The person who had just passed by was, of course, Chen Cheng. On his way out, he had deliberately passed by this very group of Inner City Guard Department constables.
They hadn’t noticed a thing.
’On my way back, I was even more careful to hide my presence and made less noise. I can’t believe I was almost discovered.’
’So it was the stench of blood? It seems there’s no way to completely conceal that.’
After muttering to himself, Chen Cheng leaped from a corner by the street and vanished after a few quick flickers of movement.
Inside the Zheng Martial Arts Hall, there were soldiers from the Protectorate Army, Swordsmen from the Shen Family, and the hall’s own Hospital Martial Artists—three layers of security. Not even Chen Cheng could have slipped past them unnoticed.
However, since this was his own turf, it wasn’t a problem.
Chen Cheng simply strolled through the grounds as he usually did.
"Master Chen!"
"Master Chen!"
Soldiers and guards would occasionally emerge from the shadows to greet Chen Cheng respectfully.
To these soldiers and guards, it seemed that Master Chen, the Hospital Chief Steward of the Zheng Martial Arts Hall, had just finished inspecting another area and was now intentionally coming to check on their post.
In this familiar manner, Chen Cheng casually made his way back to his own courtyard.
He stopped at the water vat in the courtyard to wash thoroughly before finally entering his bedroom and falling into a deep sleep.
The Inner City Zheng Martial Arts Hall remained as quiet and peaceful as ever.
However, in the very heart of Dongcheng District, countless lamps and torches suddenly blazed to life.
Officials from the City Guard Department and members of the Blood Saber Gang all rushed toward the gang’s headquarters.
Upon seeing the hundred-odd beheaded corpses in the core of the Blood Saber Gang’s compound, everyone was struck with absolute horror.
Tonight, Linji City would be shaken to its core. For many, it was destined to be a sleepless night.
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