The moonlight bathed the entire alley.
Zhang Rongfang became completely still. It was as if the previous swift movements were all just an illusion.
He gripped the swordsmanâs neck with one hand, his eyes behind the mask meeting those of the Snake King.
"Iâm just a mere Bai Ying, perhaps Iâve made a fool of myself in front of you, Snake King, senior."
Crack.
He casually twisted the swordsmanâs neck, releasing him to let him fall to the ground.
"You!!" The Snake Kingâs eyes widened, not expecting the other to be so disrespectful.
"What? Iâm just a small Bai Ying. I canât kill you, Snake King, so Iâll have to make do with a little here and there..." Zhang Rongfang narrowed his eyes, showing no signs of retreat.
Thatâs just the kind of person he was.
Before things happened, he might consider many issues.
But when itâs time to face them, heâll let go of everything and go all out, fighting with his back against the wall.
Now, having reached the Ninth Grade, his strength had greatly increased, focusing on body technique.
What was there to fear?
"Such courage..." The Snake King tightened his grip on the short knife. "It seems I must discipline one of the subordinates of your Golden-Winged Nine Spirits!"
He stepped forward.
With a light sound, his silhouette vanished, crouching as a shadow rushing toward Zhang Rongfang.
The shadow sped along the wall, shooting, twisting, until it was in front of Zhang Rongfang.
The few meters distance took only a tenth of a second.
So much so that the others didnât even react.
But while others hadnât reacted, Zhang Rongfang was already fully focused.
He raised his hand, bringing his arms together.
Clang!!
The short knife was caught between his palms.
The hard Eagle Claw Skill forcibly wedged the curved blade from the side.
Both froze momentarily, lifting their legs.
Their knees collided with a muffled sound.
But before Zhang Rongfang could catch his breath, the Snake Kingâs other hand suddenly clawed toward his temple from the side.
He quickly dodged.
Bang!
The claw pierced the wall, like a spike into tofu.
The two exchanged blows continuously, Zhang Rongfang clearly at a disadvantage in terms of speed and power at the beginning, retreating repeatedly.
But with occasional attacks using the Limit-Breaking Skill Shrinking Step, utilizing bursts of speed for short times, he could barely withstand the Snake Kingâs speed and power.
The surrounding Black Ten Sect subordinates didnât dare intervene.
The speed of their exchange was too fast, leaving them clueless on how to assist.
At this level of combat, a single mistake could turn into hindrance.
In the alley, the Snake Kingâs sharp claws were like fangs, continuously missing and piercing the walls, pulling out pieces of debris.
Zhang Rongfang occasionally countered with Eagle Claw Skill, but was evidently slowing down, falling into a disadvantage.
He struggled to hold on, unaware that the opponent was even more surprised.
The Snake King had encountered Eagle Level leaders in other citiesâ Golden Wing Pavilions. He knew these Eagle Levels, at most, were about the fourth or fifth grade.
But what was with this guy??
Initially thinking he could handle the opponent with minimal effort.
But now... he was using most of his strength and still couldnât take him down?
This was a bit ridiculous.
This guy.... couldnât possibly be only fourth or fifth grade.... this kind of skill and speed, afraid he could even be Ninth Grade!
Goodness... even an Eagle Level at Ninth Grade! Could this be a Spirit Level posing as one??
Immediately, he hesitated no more, increasing his effort drastically.
With a move like the Black Python Entanglement, his body twisted like a soft maneuver.
In a blink, he flashed from the side, a reverse claw aiming fiercely at Zhang Rongfangâs back.
Poof!
Unexpectedly, Zhang Rongfang also erupted with a Shrinking Step of heavy mountain, the huge strength bringing great speed support, turning, and using both hands with all his might.
Both hands against a single claw.
Eagle claw versus snake fang!
Three hands crossed instantly.
Zhang Rongfang hesitated slightly, his hands shaking, then leaped away.
A few black-bearded ones attempted to block, only to be bypassed smoothly, leaping over their heads.
Before long, his figure vanished into the night.
The Snake King slowly straightened up, turning to look in the direction Zhang Rongfang left.
"The Golden Roc Secret Record doesnât have such perfect Eagle Claw Skills... a mixed Martial Arts ninth grade?"
"My lord, why didnât you forcibly take this man down when he killed Cimu Cuo??" the swordsman on the side couldnât help but ask.
"I was careless." the Snake King said faintly, "But next time wonât be the same. I have already figured out this personâs background."
"May I ask, Snake King, what is his background?" the swordsman urgently inquired.
"This person hasnât trained in the Golden Roc Secret Record. Rather, he mostly uses the Great Dao Teachingâs Talismanic Skill martial arts, and the Limit-Breaking Skill he used earlier is from the Great Dao Teaching, complemented by Eagle Claw Skills, with his body technique also mixed with the Zhenyi Sectâs techniques. Heâs essentially a high-grade mixed martial artist, wasting his potential for nothing.
If this person diligently trained in one superior martial art, he would be much harder to deal with."
The Snake King hadnât expected that someone still walked Han Shisanâs path.
The renowned Han Shisan, who eventually died of heart failure, led many to fear training in multiple martial arts.
Nowadays, one can find those training in two disciplines, with one as primary and another as secondary.
But finding someone training in three, thatâs extremely rare.
And the person from Golden Wing Pavilion earlier, was training in at least three martial arts.
"This person likely comes from a humble background, with future achievements limited to this. No need to worry about him."
The Snake King looked at the fallen swordsman on the ground.
"Remember, only by assisting me in completing the mission can you attain true freedom. Otherwise...."
Another swordsmanâs eyes showed a flash of repression.
After a moment of silence, he lowered his head.
"Yes."
"Letâs go." The Snake King waved, signaling for someone to drag away the body.
Losing a high-grade master put him in quite a bad mood.
Originally thinking he could easily capture the guy, yet he managed to escape.
The Golden Wing Pavilion seems to have sent someone down now to compete for that item.
And that young man earlier deliberately led people here, then drew him in, with malicious intent, wanting to incite a fight.
Now, however, he has vanished without a trace.
Tan Yang City is becoming more interesting indeed...
The Snake King realized he needed to adjust his mindset; he originally didnât pay much attention to this place. Now, as soon as he arrived, someone promptly gave him a tough hit.
"Alright then, let me cause a big uproar next."
The Black Ten Sectâs hidden connections in Tan Yang should also be activated....
"The person just now was injured in the right hand by me, and he primarily practices Great Dao Teaching Martial Arts. He wonât recover within a month. We can use personnel to investigate people with injured right hands; with a little screening, we should gain some results."
"Understood!" Several people beside him quickly responded.
*
*
*
Inside Mingjing Palace.
Zhang Rongfang lightly landed from the wall, took a deep breath, and held his trembling right hand. He quickly stepped inside and checked his injuries under the oil lamp.
His wrist was swollen and red, extremely swollen. Under the lamplight, one could faintly see the skin filled with internal bleeding, bulging outward.
The Snake Kingâs final strike was truly formidable.
With one hand against his two arms, he could still injure his right palm and break his Eagle Claw Skill.
This person is called Super Grade, truly living up to the name.
Later on, he barely managed to hold his ground with continuous use of Limit-Breaking Skills.
But such a forced short burst of power couldnât last. If the time dragged on slightly, he would be unable to maintain it.
Moreover, even with the burst of Limit-Breaking Skills, he still couldnât match the opponent.
Even if he could continuously burst, after ten more moves, it would be his turn to surrender.
"This is indeed the prowess of someone beyond the Nine-Grade System; the Snake King Xue Jinghao truly lives up to the name."
He could even sense that the opponent hadnât used full force, just probing.
This time, he used that box as bait, but unexpectedly, it attracted a great white shark.
As soon as the Snake King of the Black Ten Sect arrived in Tan Yang, he ran into him.
âBut this could be a good thing. After really contending once, I know this personâs actual strength level. Next time I see him, I should turn and leave.â
Zhang Rongfang sighed inwardly.
Looking at his right hand, he carefully distinguished that it seemed to be sprained somewhat.
The opponentâs strength was much greater than his.
It might even significantly exceed the standard Ninth Grade, able to fight both his hands single-handedly and still injure him.
âWith such strength, unless various martial arts are stacked, at least two or three more martial arts of Limit Breaking are needed to achieve this effect. And this doesnât even count whether he used full force.â
Quickly tidying up his injuries, Zhang Rongfang applied ointment and ingested some styptic medicine. Then he lay down to rest.
The next morning, bright and early.
A rapid knocking woke Zhang Rongfang up.
"Who?!" He jumped up alertly and asked coldly toward the outside.
"Senior Brother Zhang Ying, someone has come to inspect last nightâs fugitives. The Dao Palace has already let people in. We apologize for any disturbance. Just cooperate a bit." An official from Mingjing Palace explained.
Through the wall door, Zhang Rongfang was moved, vaguely guessing something.
"Understood, you may leave."
He could guess that the Black Ten Sect was using their connections to find his current hiding place.
Quickly getting up, Zhang Rongfang rummaged through the wardrobe in the room, taking out a Taoist robe from Mingjing Palace and putting it on.
Thump, thump, thump.
Suddenly, a rapid knocking came.
"Who is it!" Zhang Rongfang stepped forward and opened the door.
Outside stood a squad of constables dressed in official uniforms.
Leading them was a bald, burly man with a small mustache, and the top of his shiny, hatless head subtly reflected oil gleams.
"Open up, checking for fugitives!" The bald man impatiently shouted, gripping the knife handle.
"Last night a fugitive injured his right arm, killing indiscriminately, extremely dangerous, have you seen this person?!"
"Huh? Fugitive? Which department are you from?" Zhang Rongfangâs voice sank.
The bald man immediately became angry and was about to shout, but someone beside him quietly reminded him.
He examined the person in front of him, and his expression suddenly changed in shock.
His facial expression changed drastically, recognizing the person before him.
"Ah! Itâs Lord Zhang himself, my apologies, my apologies, since itâs Lord Zhang here, naturally he wouldnât be a fugitive!
I was negligent! I deserve to die!"
Suddenly he fiercely slapped his face.
"Disturbed you, Lord, during your cultivation, Iâll take my leave immediately!"
He dared not look further, turned, and left.
The other team members quickly followed, not daring to say a word.
When they had walked far enough, their steps slowly halted.
Not hearing any voice stopping them from behind, the bald man finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dammit! Why didnât any of you remind me!? If I knew he lived here, would I dare knock on the door?!"
Zhang Yingâs renown at the government office was mainly gained during an incident with the Black Ten Sect.
Surrounded by thousands, he forcibly held the Grand Elder hostage, and led a whole team out unharmed.
Even after that, he wasnât hunted for revenge; that reputation is large enough.
Moreover, he is ruthless enough to dare confront Lin Qixiao from the Lin family.
Before Lin Qixiao lost her martial arts, she was rather fierce.
The people around werenât spared from her bullying.
The bald man was one of them.
When he heard Lin Qixiao had been crippled, he happily celebrated by slaughtering two chickens with his wife at home.
Now, unexpectedly.... he nearly caused trouble for this formidable Zhang Ying while checking fugitives.
"Captain...did you smell the scent of internal styptic medicine just now?" someone beside him quietly asked.
"No! Thereâs no medicine scent, donât talk nonsense!" The bald man sharply reacted, fiercely slapping that person.
"Is this something you can casually talk about? If you want to die donât involve me!"
The person immediately covered his face in grievance, wanting to say something.
But after some quiet explanations from someone beside him, his face instantly turned pale, not daring to speak more.
The team acted like they hadnât smelled anything and continued inspecting the next place.
In Mingjing Palace, ordinary Daoists they really didnât care much about these peopleâs grades, but someone like Zhang Ying, with additional connections in martial cultivation, isnât someone they can afford to provoke.