I Can Strengthen Infinitely-Chapter 41 - 40: Huang Feng’s Four Wolves

Bang!

The crushing scene he had imagined didn’t occur. Instead, Gong Fenghan felt an immense force surge from Qin Yuesheng’s fist—a strength not one bit weaker than his own, even far surpassing the power of his kicking leg.

He immediately shuddered, body involuntarily retreating several steps to put distance between himself and Qin Yuesheng.

"What terrifying punching power." As the uncontrollable trembling of his leg reminded him, Gong Fenghan’s face turned grave, realizing that he had to treat Qin Yuesheng as a true rival.

But Qin Yuesheng didn’t care in the slightest, not putting Gong Fenghan in his eyes at all. He simply swung his blade and charged again, slashing at him once more.

Tonight, Qin Yuesheng came with hostile intent. Gong Fenghan, invited as an ally by Xu San, certainly couldn’t stand by and watch him slaughter Hulao Stronghold’s bandits with impunity.

Thus, Gong Fenghan instantly unleashed his full strength, took up his stance, and kicked toward Qin Yuesheng.

This kick was truly extraordinary, the force audible and clear, sharp as a goat’s horn on a cliff, unleashing three kicks in a single breath, each targeting the weaker spots of Qin Yuesheng’s body.

But Qin Yuesheng’s figure flickered, agile and elusive, easily dodging every technique of Gong Fenghan’s legs, not even allowing a single hair to be harmed.

"What?!" Gong Fenghan was utterly shocked, completely unprepared for the masked man, Qin Yuesheng, to possess such an advanced body technique.

Qin Yuesheng paid no heed to his surprise, instantly slashing out with his saber—one cut landed right in Gong Fenghan’s abdomen, carving out a wound running horizontally across both sides of his waist.

The moment he was wounded, Gong Fenghan’s first instinct was to retreat as far as he could from Qin Yuesheng, bracing against any follow-up attack.

But Qin Yuesheng had no intention of entangling with him further. Without hesitation, he turned and charged into the nearby group of bandit lackeys, his figure quickly disappearing into the distance.

"What is this?" Gong Fenghan clutched his stomach wound, his heart filled with confusion.

He couldn’t fathom why Qin Yuesheng didn’t press his advantage to finish him off—but this was the outcome Gong Fenghan hoped for. Without any hesitation, he spun and ran, intending to escape back to the main stronghold and rally all the Outer Forging experts in Hulao to unite against Qin Yuesheng and capture him.

Yet as Gong Fenghan dashed only several zhang away, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness and suffocation erupt within him; before he could respond, his consciousness faded completely.

A few breaths later, Gong Fenghan was gone from this world, replaced by a bloodthirsty, berserk Celestial Demon.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Everywhere Qin Yuesheng went, severed limbs and broken arms littered the ground, saber flashes following his every move like shadows.

One after another, flags emblazoned with the word ’Tiger’ toppled over; fire basins were kicked to the ground, and blazing coals began to consume the entire stronghold.

But no one cared about that anymore.

Every bandit slain by Qin Yuesheng transformed in death into Celestial Demons, killing for him, soon to crumble into corpse-mud, mixing with the blood flooding the earth.

Surging up the mountain steps and walkways with unstoppable momentum, every bandit who dared to block Qin Yuesheng became a soul claimed by his blade; even in death, they still contributed to his slaughter.

Soon, there were no more bandits to be seen.

They had either fled... or become mud on the ground.

At the peak of Hulao Stronghold, beneath a bronze cauldron spouting fierce flames, stood four figures, each brimming with dragon-like vitality and tiger-like ferocity.

They were all middle-aged, their auras as sharp as swords, steady as mountains. Beneath bulging muscles lay explosive power. At a glance, it was obvious they were masters of Outer Skin Refining.

If Qin Yuesheng had the ’Jiangnan Hundred Notorious Outlaws’ manual on hand, he would see that these four were ranked ninety-first, ninetieth, eighty-seventh, and eighty-fifth—the Huang Feng Four Wolves. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The Huang Feng Four Wolves, four in number, roamed chiefly in the Yunzhou Huangfeng Mountain region. Their mastery of joint battle techniques meant they could even capture and kill opponents stronger than themselves—thus their notorious reputation.

All four were at the Skin Refining stage, but their signature Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Killing Array could subdue even Bone Forging experts. The four lived, ate, and moved as one, inseparable as conjoined twins, making them even trickier than some of the higher-ranked villains.

The only reason their ranking lagged behind was because their individual strength was unremarkable.

Cyan Yang City was at least two or three days’ journey from Huangfeng Mountain, so their appearance here in Hulao Stronghold was definitely intriguing.

"This person’s weapon is exceedingly strange. Anyone injured or killed by that blade soon turns into something neither human nor ghost; beware, be extremely cautious," said the eldest, Yellow Heaven Wolf, hands behind his back, overseeing Qin Yuesheng ascending the walkway.

"Big bro, our Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Killing Array focuses on ’capturing the man,’ ’seizing the weapon,’ and ’dislocating the bones.’ Even if he’s an Outer Skin and Bone Forging martial artist, he can’t escape our encirclement. You’re being too cautious. This is the perfect chance to seize that evil soldier for ourselves," scoffed the third, Yellow Profound Wolf.

Standing to the side, Yellow Earth Wolf added, "Never underestimate martial artists of the world. Arrogant soldiers bring defeat."

When Qin Yuesheng reached the very top of Hulao Stronghold, he found himself on a rounded hilltop with gentle slopes. Ahead lay a training ground, a colossal bronze cauldron at its heart, and beyond that, tier upon tier of wooden houses—clearly the dwellings of the stronghold’s officers. If the one-eyed tiger Xu San was still around, he’d surely be holed up in those buildings.

"Hmm..." Upon spotting the four by the bronze cauldron, Qin Yuesheng narrowed his eyes.

These four radiated an aura nothing like ordinary men.

"You’re the reinforcements invited by Xu San?" Qin Yuesheng asked.

"And who are you, daring to invade Hulao Stronghold alone? Quite a bit of guts," Yellow Heaven Wolf replied, pulling on a pair of chainmail gloves; his three brothers all followed suit.

Qin Yuesheng adjusted his breath, stopped talking, and then leapt forward with giant strides. Tiles beneath his feet sank with each step—he was already standing before the Four Wolves.

Sea One Slash!

The Celestial Demon blade fell from above, a blinding crimson arc cleaving downward. Yellow Heaven Wolf’s twin fists hammered forth, colliding head-on with the saber’s energy. But something unexpected happened—the blade aura, usually able to cleave anything, failed to sever Yellow Heaven Wolf’s fists, or even scratch his chainmail gloves.

Bang!

The next moment, his fists clanged straight into the Celestial Demon’s blade edge, sending sparks flying. Still, those gloves showed no sign of damage.

"Hmph!" Instead, Yellow Heaven Wolf grunted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and nostrils—he simply couldn’t withstand the force of Qin Yuesheng’s attack.

"Big brother!" Upon seeing him wounded, Yellow Earth Wolf hurried to intercept, his palms in a winding grip aiming for Qin Yuesheng’s wrist—the target, the Celestial Demon blade.

They weren’t fools—they knew the Celestial Demon Blade was perilous. Leaving it in Qin Yuesheng’s hands would be a major threat.

To defeat this rakshasa-masked man, the first priority was to disarm him, crippling his strength.

Not just Yellow Earth Wolf, but Yellow Profound Wolf and the fourth, Yellow Yellow Wolf, also flanked him from front and rear—three men each targeting an arm or a leg. If they seized him together, even an Outer Skin-and-Bone master would be doomed to captivity.

Qin Yuesheng stamped down fiercely, borrowing the momentum to leap skywards with ’Galloping Horse Soars over Swallow’, instantly pulling a zhang and a half ahead of the Huang Feng Four Wolves.

Midair, Qin Yuesheng reached into his chest and drew forth a throwing dagger.

Flying Knife Skill!

With a whistling sound, he flicked the knife from his wrist—the dagger shot straight toward Yellow Profound Wolf’s eyes.

Skin Refining realm experts could block ordinary blades and blunt weapons, but fatal weak points—achilles’ heels—remained.

Every martial artist’s weak points were jealously guarded, and though Qin Yuesheng didn’t know the specifics, he did know that eyes and the anus were critical targets for Outer Forging practitioners, never to be taken lightly.

Unless one reached complete achievement in skin, muscles, and bone—all Outer Forging perfected, eyelids hard as iron—no one could ignore a blow to the eyes.

Now, Qin Yuesheng’s Flying Knife Skill was far beyond before: fast and accurate. Frightened, Yellow Profound Wolf hurriedly slapped the dagger aside, sparing his own eyes.

But this disruption broke their Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Killing Array. Qin Yuesheng seized the moment and slashed at the distracted Yellow Profound Wolf.

"Third Brother!" roared Yellow Heaven Wolf. He knew well the power of Qin Yuesheng’s evil soldier—one touch meant a foot in the grave.

Yellow Heaven Wolf shielded his brother, clawing straight at the Celestial Demon blade’s edge bare-handed.

From their earlier exchange, Qin Yuesheng understood the gloves were made of extraordinary material, actually able to resist the Celestial Demon’s edge. If surrounded now, he’d be in serious trouble.

Divide and conquer was the best course of action.

Gripping the saber with both hands, he poured every ounce of strength into it.

If your gloves are that tough, then I won’t cut; I’ll use the saber like a hammer and smash you straight into the ground.

Skin Refining only protected the skin. Bones remained those of ordinary men—face a heavy enough blow, and they’d snap just the same.

At full force, this slash of Qin Yuesheng’s carried a weight of seven or eight hundred jin, at least.

Yellow Heaven Wolf tried to block the Celestial Demon with a single hand—such arrogance would cost him dearly.

Bang!

Both his feet sank deep into the stone tiles. The violent force from the Celestial Demon blade flooded his body, sending shockwaves through every bone.

Crack, crack, crack!

At the faint sound of breaking, Yellow Heaven Wolf’s expression changed drastically.

His metacarpal bones were broken!

Qin Yuesheng didn’t give his enemy time to react—one savage slash after another followed. Even with his years of experience and instinctive dodges, Yellow Heaven Wolf lost both arms, blood spurting everywhere.

Outer Forging martial artists might resist common weapons, but before the Celestial Demon, this cursed blade, they were as vulnerable as ordinary men.