Whether the agreement was actually cursed or not, it didn’t stop him from making a move against the Celestial Break Gang!

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, Ye Shaoning sprinted all the way to Cheng’s Restaurant.

He bent over at the entrance, hands on his knees, gasping for air.

A young man named Cheng Yuanli, of the Earth Branch Lineage, walked out of the Restaurant.

He asked Ye Shaoning, "Young man, is something wrong?"

Ye Shaoning took a deep breath. Once he had calmed down enough to speak, he said haltingly,

"The... the Celestial Break Gang... is... is in trouble! Someone’s... someone’s fighting their way in!"

Hearing this, Cheng Yuanli’s expression changed. "Are you a member of the gang?" he asked.

Ye Shaoning nodded. "I am!"

Cheng Yuanli immediately went inside. A moment later, a plume of signal smoke rose from the Restaurant’s backyard.

Then, several Cheng Family members came out and ran to the nearby Cheng’s Rice Shop and general store to spread the word.

As the signal smoke rose, many people nearby saw it.

In a warehouse courtyard, Zhou Zhendong, who was training with Li Yihuo, noticed the thick, lingering black smoke in the sky out of the corner of his eye.

He froze, quickly pinpointing the direction of the smoke.

His expression changed instantly. He turned to Li Yihuo and said, "Teacher, please take shelter in the warehouse basement."

As he spoke, he grabbed a saber from a nearby table, leaped onto the courtyard wall, and from there to the roof.

After confirming it was the warning signal, Zhou Zhendong used his Lightweight Skill to leap across the rooftops, heading toward the Restaurant.

The signal smoke was the most convenient way to notify everyone immediately. It was their only method of warning.

A moment later, Zhou Zhendong arrived at the Rice Shop. He saw two of the five members of the Earth Branch Lineage waiting there and asked, "What’s going on?"

"That kid said the Celestial Break Gang is in trouble. Yuanli, Yuan Lan, and Yuanfeng already went ahead. We’re waiting for you," replied Cheng Yuange, who was dressed in light blue martial arts attire.

"Did they bring the equipment?" Zhou Zhendong asked, glancing at Ye Shaoning, who stood to the side.

"They did!" Cheng Yuanxin, dressed in khaki martial arts attire, immediately replied.

"Good!" Zhou Zhendong said swiftly. "I’ll go take a look. You two stand guard here. If you see another signal smoke from that direction, it means we can’t hold them off. If that happens, go find the Young Clan Leader!"

"Yes, Steward," Cheng Yuange and Cheng Yuanxin replied in unison.

And so, Zhou Zhendong also rushed toward Southwest City Street.

「At the gang’s headquarters.」

SHRIIIP—

Suddenly, a chill went down He Shujun’s spine. Before he could react, he heard the sound of cloth ripping from his right arm.

Startled, He Shujun leaped back. He glanced over and saw a gash on his right arm, blood already welling from the cut.

’Good, the wound isn’t deep!’

But this only made He Shujun more suspicious, and he watched Li Lu closely.

But Li Lu didn’t pause after wounding He Shujun. He took out his remaining Red Blood Pills, swallowing one to replenish his severely depleted vitality, and launched another attack!

He Shujun dodged again. Finally, his eyes landed on the two bulges at Li Lu’s chest.

"So, that’s how you defeated Liu Chengdong. It’s because of those things you’re carrying," He Shujun said, dodging while trying to distract Li Lu with his words. "No wonder I feel so uncomfortable near you! But you..."

"Die!" Li Lu roared, cutting him off as his speed suddenly increased.

In an instant, he had closed the distance to He Shujun again, his saber slashing horizontally at the man’s waist. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Damn it!" As the distance between them shrank again, He Shujun’s expression changed. He felt that sense of discomfort wash over him once more. He saw the Long Saber sweeping toward him, but his reaction was a fraction too slow. It was too late to retreat.

In the next instant, he unexpectedly closed the distance with Li Lu. As he dodged the slash, an even stronger wave of discomfort washed over him, accompanied by a faint sense of dizziness.

He fought down the discomfort and seized the close-range opportunity. His speed was still immense. His left hand shot out, grabbing the wrist of Li Lu’s saber hand, while his right palm struck Li Lu in the chest, sending him flying.

BAM!

CRASH!

Li Lu’s body flew backward, shattering a window as he crashed into the room!

The dizziness vanished, and He Shujun knew his guess had been correct.

A sharp glint instantly appeared in his eyes.

’What kind of object could affect a Sixth Grade Martial Artist?’

He immediately leaped in through the shattered window, but Li Lu was already back on his feet. The palm strike seemed to have had little effect, as he immediately launched a counterattack.

This infuriated He Shujun.

’That last palm strike was too rushed,’ he thought. ’And we were too close, so there wasn’t much Power behind it. I should have gone for his Weapon first. If it weren’t for that saber, Li Lu would already be dead!’

Having found a working tactic, He Shujun closed in on Li Lu again. He spotted an opening and kicked Li Lu’s right wrist at close range. A sharp pain shot through it, and the Long Saber was sent flying from his grasp!

A look of delight flashed across He Shujun’s face as he turned and lunged for the saber. In the next instant, however, Li Lu wrapped both arms around his waist. From behind, Li Lu used his arms and legs to trap He Shujun, his hands gripping his opponent’s arm joints in a death lock.

With a surge of his body, he slammed He Shujun to the ground!

The Coiling Snake Skill!

It was a close-quarters grappling technique Li Lu had been practicing in his Cultivation recently. Though he wasn’t yet proficient and it was only Basic Martial Arts, it could be used in a pinch.

"You’re courting death!!"

Being pinned to the ground in such a position by an old man felt utterly disgusting to He Shujun. The feeling of contact at his waist and rear made his eyes practically spit fire!

He was even more furious than when he had been overpowered and humiliated by Cheng Zongyang!

However, the constant dizziness interfered with his attempts to break free, disrupting the smooth flow of his vitality.

"Even if I die, I’m taking you with me! We can wait for the Cheng Family to get here together!" Li Lu snarled, forcing the words through his gritted teeth.

"Hah! Cheng Zongyang can’t touch me. Who else among them could possibly be my match!"

As he spoke, He Shujun pushed off the ground with his palms. His body, which had been locked in a snake-like coil by Li Lu, suddenly flipped over. In an instant, their positions were reversed, leaving them looking like a turtle on its back.

"Gang Leader Li!!"

Just then, an anxious shout came from outside.

Hearing the voice, Li Lu’s face lit up. "In here!!" he yelled.

But that one shout seemed to break his concentration. His grip on the Coiling Snake Skill, which he had never fully mastered, faltered.

Seizing the opportunity, He Shujun violently broke free. As he rolled over, his right palm, infused with True Qi and boundless fury, slammed down toward Li Lu’s chest.

If that palm landed, Li Lu’s chances of survival were slim to none.

But just then, a saber came flying straight at him. If he didn’t pull back and dodge, the blade would plunge into his body.

THWACK!

In the end, the Long Saber passed through the space where He Shujun had just been and embedded itself in the wooden cabinet on the opposite wall.

He Shujun had chosen to dodge.

The next moment, three young men burst in through the door and window. They helped Li Lu to his feet before taking out several iron boxes and opening them.

Now, the four of them had He Shujun surrounded.

Just as He Shujun was about to attack, he suddenly staggered. His expression changed dramatically. Without a moment’s hesitation, he smashed through the wall behind him with a single palm strike and fled.

"After him!" Li Lu yelled.

He immediately retrieved his Long Saber and gave chase.

Cheng Yuanli and the other two didn’t hesitate, immediately following suit.

They had been notified by Zhou Zhendong the previous night that they were to make a move against the He Family. They just never expected He Shujun to strike first, catching them completely off guard.

As they burst through the hole in the wall, they saw He Shujun run straight into a cloud of smoke.

Looking up, they saw Zhou Zhendong on the roof, tossing down several more items.

It was the special Confusing Smoke made by Cheng Zongyang!

But He Shujun had already held his breath and burst through the smoke. He didn’t dare to linger.

That feeling back in the room had given him a sense of mortal danger. He had to escape. He had a premonition that if he stayed, he would die there.

’What in the world is the deal with the Cheng Family!’ he thought. ’How can Eighth Grades threaten a Sixth Grade?! And they’re just a bunch of kids!!’ His belief in the cursed agreement grew a little stronger.

’If they have strange methods like this, maybe a cursed agreement that can kill people isn’t so impossible after all!’

However, he hadn’t run far before his path was suddenly blocked by dozens of gang disciples at the mouth of an alley.

With an furious roar, He Shujun charged forward, prepared to go on another killing spree.

However, something unexpected happened yet again. The gang disciples suddenly began to stagger and collapse one after another.

Their blockade crumbled as they were all incapacitated. The sight made He Shujun’s eyes burn with avarice.

’It really is a Treasure!’

He didn’t know what this thing was, but it had even affected him, a Sixth Grade Martial Artist, to such a great extent. ’Otherwise,’ he thought, ’how could mere Seventh and Eighth Grade Martial Artists possibly stand against me!’