Seeing Chen Tang trapped, with the opponents closing in fiercely, Shen Zhiyuan seized the chaos to remove the human skin mask from his face, wielded his sword, and shouted: "I am Shen Zhiyuan from Langya Pavilion. I wonder which esteemed member of the Imperial Guard seeks to cause us trouble!"

Even though Langya Pavilion is in decline, it remains one of Nanxia’s Two Pavilions, with significant contributions to the founding of Great Xia.

Its influence within the imperial court far surpasses that of any Jianghu force.

Bringing up Langya Pavilion’s name, if the opponent is acting without just cause, it would cause them to hesitate.

Moreover, the Drunken Immortal Tower concerns matters of the Jianghu.

Jianghu matters should be resolved within the Jianghu, without involving the imperial court.

Especially not the Great Xia Imperial Guard.

"Langya Pavilion?"

The grey-robed man’s thick eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

The assault on Shen Zhiyuan and Su Li by the Imperial Guard indeed paused momentarily.

The grey-robed man remained expressionless, raising his voice: "We are under secret orders to capture the Beiqian spy, Chen Tang. Anyone who dares to obstruct, regardless of identity, shall be executed without mercy!"

He was sent here by the Prime Minister mainly to capture Chen Tang and to eliminate the two individuals accompanying him.

However, he hadn’t anticipated that one of them would be from Langya Pavilion.

This was different from the information he had received.

Meanwhile, wherever Chen Tang passed, people and horses were overturned, and blood sprayed forth.

The Imperial Guards were unable to stop Chen Tang’s progress!

"Indeed, he has some skills!"

The grey-robed man’s expression turned cold.

Whenever the Imperial Guard leaves the Capital City, it attracts immense attention.

To avoid alarming their target, only a limited number of personnel were dispatched for this mission.

The grey-robed man selected a hundred elite soldiers from the Imperial Guard, with the lowest cultivation being Fifth Grade, including five Meridian Passage Realm martial artists.

They changed into civilian clothes and left the capital, proceeding swiftly on a long journey, traveling day and night to reach this place.

He would not allow Chen Tang to escape!

The grey-robed man leapt up, his inner qi surging, causing his robes to billow, and in an instant, descended upon Chen Tang from above.

Chen Tang sensed danger, a flash of the blade cutting down another person, while simultaneously raising his left hand with his sword in an upward strike, executing the move ’Caged Bird and Monkey’, with shadowy sword forms like a cage.

Bang!

The grey-robed man, with bare hands, casually deflected Chen Tang’s Qiushui Sword to the side with a seemingly casual slap.

The sword shadows dissipated.

"This person has incredibly strong power!"

Chen Tang felt a chill in his heart.

Just this one move likely rivaled the Earth Ranking masters he encountered before.

The seventy-two Third Grade masters on the Earth Ranking are only a ranking in the Jianghu.

Those holding official positions wouldn’t appear on it.

But within the imperial court, possessing the strength of a Third Grade martial artist, comparable to Earth Ranking masters, is not unusual.

The grey-robed man was just such a person!

From the corner of Chen Tang’s eye, he glimpsed.

What he saw was that from the wide sleeves of the grey-robed man, a pair of large, rough hands emerged.

The hands appeared engorged, looking larger than originally, with black aura swirling on their surface, emitting a metallic sheen, terrifying indeed!

This is a practice of cultivation techniques similar to ’Iron Sand Palm’.

However, this person not only practiced the palm technique focusing on tempering flesh but also combined it with suitable inner strength, integrating internal and external techniques to reach this level.

When not exerting force, the hands show no difference.

Once qi is channeled, these hands become as solid as rock, with tremendous destructive power, capable of splitting stones with one strike!

Although Chen Tang had just slain several people, he felt considerable pressure.

These Imperial Guards came with ill intentions, with not lacking in Fourth and Fifth Grade experts, and even Third Grade Meridian Passage martial artists among them.

After all, he had only opened six apertures and had not yet reached the Peak of Opening Acupoints.

Even using his bloodline to unleash Vast Sea Force, he could not match the strength of an Eight Vein martial artist.

With the addition of the grey-robed man, seemingly just one more person, the situation for Chen Tang was hardly optimistic!

Clang! Clang!

On the street, flashes of blades and swords, and the clash of metal sounded consistently.

Including the grey-robed man, there were already six Third Grade martial artists surrounding him.

Even if Chen Tang, relying on Divine Light Slash, could slay one, he would inevitably be heavily injured by the other few Third Grades, perhaps even die here.

Furthermore, the grey-robed man’s iron palms possessed tremendous power; his palm techniques were exquisite, each attack avoiding blade and sword edges expertly.

The Qiushui Sword, sharp as it was, failed to harm him in the slightest.

If this dragged on until Divine Illumination’s time ran out, he would surely die!

Attacked by dozens of Imperial Guards, Shen Zhiyuan and Su Li could barely manage on their own; Chen Tang needed to make a decision.

With this thought, Chen Tang let out a long cry, using the ’Chasing Shadows’ body technique to repeatedly evade attacks from two Third Grade martial artists, then relied on the Flood Dragon Armor to withstand a sword and a blade.

The blade of the fifth Third Grade martial artist, however, couldn’t be avoided, striking him on the thigh with blood flowing freely.

Chen Tang’s movement halted momentarily, the grey-robed man’s eyes gleamed, seizing the opportunity, his palm thrust forward, hitting Chen Tang squarely on the chest!

Bam!

The palm struck firmly.

Chen Tang, as if struck by lightning, felt a shock through his body.

Yet he seemed unable to feel the pain, his gaze intensified; at the moment of the impact, he raised his hand and slashed towards the grey-robed man’s throat.

This was a flaw he deliberately exposed.

In the midst of a massed assault, to take down a master like the grey-robed man, he had to employ risky tactics, using himself as bait!

"What a fast blade!"

The grey-robed man only saw a flash of the blade, with no time to think, he hastily retreated.

In reality, he was prepared for this.

From the moment Chen Tang raised his hand, he had already begun to avoid it.

Everything was within his calculation.

The blade seemed inches away across his vision, yet it was unattainable!

The corners of the grey-robed man’s mouth curled up slightly, a taunt flickering in his eyes.

Suddenly!

A cracking sound emanated from Chen Tang’s body, his arm suddenly extending a further inch.

A move from the "White Ape Swordsmanship", the Ape Arm Stance.

The seemingly unreachable distance closed instantly!

The grey-robed man seemed to feel a chill at his throat, Chen Tang had already withdrawn his blade, not looking at him again.

Subsequently, Chen Tang struck again, killing one of the Third Grade martial artists, creating an opening, then crashing into a shop by the street, disappearing from view.

"Catch him!"

The grey-robed man barked harshly: "He’s hit by my Great Stone-Smashing Hand, can’t last much longer, longer..."

The grey-robed man’s mouth opened and closed, but he suddenly couldn’t speak further.

"Heh heh..."

The grey-robed man’s expression reflected panic, making a strange noise, as the cut at his throat expanded rapidly, blood gushing forth!

He clutched his throat with both hands but couldn’t stem the bleeding.

The grey-robed man felt his strength rapidly diminishing.

He stared wide-eyed at the hole in the shopfront Chen Tang had broken through, full of unwillingness, taking a few faltering steps, swayed and finally couldn’t hold on, collapsing on the ground, dead!

The remaining four Third Grade experts exchanged glances, hesitated slightly, then pursued with some Imperial Guards in the direction Chen Tang had escaped.

Chen Tang, having sustained a blade and a sword wound and struck by an iron palm, and a cut on his leg, likely wouldn’t get far!

As long as they captured Chen Tang, dead or alive, it would be a significant achievement.