"Flying Swallow Skill!" Guan Xiaojie roared.

He instantly recognized the Lightweight Skill used by his attacker, for he too had cultivated the Flying Swallow Skill, which originated from the Cao Family.

In that instant, he knew this was the person he had been searching for—the murderer of Zhang Sishui and his son.

But his opponent’s mastery of the Flying Swallow Skill had reached a terrifying level, allowing him to push off from the air itself.

Guan Xiaojie was scared out of his wits. He had originally planned to use the Flying Swallow Skill to escape, but his opponent’s proficiency far surpassed his own. Fleeing was impossible; he could only fight to the death.

’If you want to kill me, I’ll make sure you don’t get off easy!’

He roared inwardly, ignoring his shattered fist and thrusting both palms forward.

RUMBLE...

The air seemed to churn like a stormy sea as the vast True Qi of a Qi Gathering Perfection expert erupted madly from his body. It gushed forth like a mighty river, kicking up a terrifying gale.

Xu Yang pushed his Vajra Skill to its absolute limit. His fist shot out like a great spear, the power of Mixed Element Unity roaring as it smashed into the torrent of True Qi.

BOOM! With a deafening crash, his powerful fist punched clean through the True Qi. The resulting blast of Vigorous Energy shot out in all directions, striking his body with a series of sharp clangs before shattering harmlessly.

Cries of agony rang out from all around.

The members of the Great River Gang had been hit by the ricocheting True Qi. All of them were coughing up mouthfuls of blood; the unlucky ones, struck in fatal spots like the throat or head, died instantly.

’He has a terrifying Body-Protecting Technique, too. His physical body... it’s probably impervious to blades and spears.’

The backlash from his own True Qi made Guan Xiaojie cough up a large mouthful of blood, his entire body trembling.

He had tried to overwhelm his opponent with the sheer volume of his True Qi, but it was utterly useless.

His opponent’s True Qi might not have been as abundant as his, but his Physique was astonishingly tough, and his True Qi was incomparably pure and tyrannical. It had sliced through the Palm strike containing all his life’s True Qi as easily as a knife.

His entire body felt as if it had been struck by a charging stallion, and he was sent flying backward with a crash into the wall behind him.

BANG!

On impact, the nearly foot-thick brick wall shattered, exploding outward in a cloud of dust and flying masonry.

"Gang Leader..." the Great River Gang members shrieked in terror.

Their powerful Gang Leader had been beaten to within an inch of his life in just two moves.

"I’m from the Cao Family! You dare kill me?"

Guan Xiaojie’s voice, filled with indescribable terror, came from behind the collapsed wall.

Xu Yang, who had already charged into the room after him, heard this but remained unmoved.

’It’s precisely because you’re from the Cao Family that I’m killing you. If you weren’t, I might have spared you.’ 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

A wave of his palm dispersed the dust, revealing Guan Xiaojie bleeding from all seven facial orifices. He was already swaying on his feet; even if he wasn’t dead, he was crippled for life.

The True Qi backlash had already shattered all his meridians.

CRACK!

An iron-like palm landed on his forehead. Brains and blood splattered everywhere as flesh and bone flew through the air.

Guan Xiaojie’s body shuddered once, then crumpled limply to the ground.

"Spare us, great warrior!"

"Guan Xiaojie forced us to do it!"

"I’ve never hurt anyone!"

...

As Xu Yang charged out from the half-demolished building, the remaining members of the Great River Gang cried out for mercy, their faces masks of terror.

He showed no mercy. Flitting about like a phantom in the night, he appeared in one spot after another, and each appearance was accompanied by the sickening crunch of bones as another man fell.

"Run!"

"He’s not human!"

...

Terrified beyond belief, the remaining men stopped begging and scrambled to escape.

Xu Yang flickered and reappeared at the doorway. With a thunderous palm strike, he instantly killed the three men at the front of the pack.

A few breaths later, not a single living person remained.

He began looting the bodies. One by one, he took their money and tossed the corpses into the building. After he had looted all of them, he untied Luo Dehu from the rack and threw him into the house as well.

Then he found some lamp oil and set the place ablaze.

A great fire raged, quickly turning the area into a sea of flames. Carrying the silver taels he had collected, Xu Yang disappeared into the night in a few leaps.

The next day, Cao Gang arrived at the scene with a group of constables from the Government Office. All they found were ruined walls and charred skeletons; there was nothing left to investigate.

"Who could it be?"

Cao Gang roared in fury. The forces secretly backed by the Cao Family were being eliminated one after another. They had sent Guan Xiaojie to investigate, but now he had been killed as well.

Furious but helpless, he could only leave in a rage and post a bounty for the killer.

Firecrackers once again echoed through Bai Shi Workshop.

After his meal, Xu Yang went to Weiyuan Hall to meet up with Sun Tao and the others. They then headed to the Tongbi Fist Hall together to attend the Dragon Assembly.

The Tongbi Fist Hall was one of the top three Martial Arts Halls in Qingyuan, and it was even more impressive than Weiyuan Hall.

The towering gate towers spanned nearly ten feet. Even the courtyard walls were capped with green tiles, featuring upturned eaves and interlocking brackets. Every ten feet, a large, fluttering banner was planted, creating an imposing sight.

Before he started practicing martial arts, Xu Yang had considered the Tongbi Fist Hall, but he immediately dismissed the idea after hearing that the tuition was five silver taels a month.

Unless you were from a wealthy family, you simply couldn’t afford to train here.

"Welcome, brothers from Weiyuan Hall!"

When Xu Yang’s group arrived, Han Xing was already waiting for them with several disciples from the Tongbi Fist Hall.

Dressed in a white robe today, he looked more like a scholar than the expert who had nearly placed in the top three of the Martial Arts Examination.

Of course, he wasn’t specifically there to welcome the disciples from Weiyuan Hall; Weiyuan Hall didn’t have that kind of prestige.

As the host of the Dragon Assembly, he was there to welcome everyone.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Han. Greetings, brothers from the Tongbi Fist Hall. Apologies for keeping you waiting."

Sun Tao walked at the front, smiling as he cupped his fist in greeting. Xu Yang, Lu Ren, and the others followed suit.

Han Xing laughed heartily and said, "It is only right that I do so."

His gaze then fell upon Lu Ren. "I heard that Junior Brother Lu recently comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength. Truly, congratulations are in order."