Chu Xisheng's first instinct was to seek help from the martial arts instructors stationed in the building. However, to his dismay, the two instructors he found along the corridor were very cold and indifferent."Do you have any real evidence that they intend to harm you?""I think you're just being paranoid. They are your fellow brothers, why would they have ill intentions towards you?"
Chu Xisheng could sense a hint of disdain and pity in their eyes. The other young men behind them became even more brazen, each with a gleam of malice in their eyes as they smirked and advanced towards Chu Xisheng.There were a total of nine of them, varying in height and build, but all of them were robust and powerful. Chu Xisheng sighed inwardly, realizing that he could only rely on himself. He picked up a wooden stick used for making scrolls from a nearby bookshelf. It was made of black ironwood, not very wieldy and quite heavy.Meanwhile, his mind raced as he pondered on how to deal with these people. It was clear that confronting them head-on was not an option.
These newly promoted inner disciples were all at a similar level of strength, at the stage of just beginning to comprehend the martial path, with their cultivation not yet surpassing the first level of Yuanqi cultivation.There were a few with exceptionally outstanding talent who could reach the realm of "sub ninth-grade," but they were a rare few. In a one-on-one fight, Chu Xisheng was confident he wouldn't lose, but there were nine opponents to contend with. No matter how fast his swordsmanship was, he couldn't take them all down in an instant. Moreover, he only had a heavy wooden stick in his hand.
Therefore, he needed to find a narrow alleyway to confront the enemy. This way, even if there were many opponents, only one could engage him directly. As long as he maintained a one-on-one situation, he had a chance of winning.If necessary, he could also spend a martial arts point to purchase a "Power Pill" from the martial arts treasure trove. This pill could temporarily double his strength, increase his speed by sixty percent, and enhance his reaction time by sixty percent, enough to make him unbeatable.
With firm determination, Chu Xisheng immediately sprinted away, breaking out of the encirclement of those young men before they could react.The young men were caught off guard and were slow to respond.
"Chase!"
The nine men all followed closely behind, like mad tigers, and quickly caught up on the stairs.After they left, many other inner disciples in the vicinity were also alarmed and gathered around, looking suspiciously at the stairwell and discussing among themselves.
"What's going on?" "I recognize the ones at the back, they're all from the Haiqing Gang at the East City Dock." "The person being chased is called Chu Xisheng, the one who nearly cut off the hand of the second son of the Long family yesterday. These people from the Haiqing Gang must have taken money from the Long family to come cause trouble for Chu Xisheng today." "Chu Xisheng? I heard this guy's swordsmanship is very fast. Master Lei himself personally praised his talent, saying it's not inferior to the chief disciple, Li Fenglai. But this time he's in trouble; those few people are all talented fighters raised by the Haiqing Gang, their strength is close to sub ninth-grade, and it's hard to fight against four hands with just two fists." "It's a pity, this guy might end up disabled. I heard that three years ago, someone offended someone and had two hands broken in the library, but claimed it was from falling down the stairs. Because no one testified for him, the matter had to be dropped." "Don't the instructors in the building care? This seems too unjust." "Shut up, if you don't want to mix in the martial arts school, keep talking."
Chu Xisheng ran to the third floor and headed straight to the left.
He saw a small corridor in the east corner of this floor, about four feet wide at the entrance, allowing passage for only two people at most, making it the most suitable place for him to confront his pursuers.As he ran, Chu Xisheng felt a sense of unease. Along the way, he hadn't seen a single martial arts instructor. All directions were empty, and the eerie silence around him was unsettling. Was there really no one on this floor? Were there no martial arts instructors on duty?
Just as Chu Xisheng reached the corner of the left corridor, the nine aggressive youths also rushed up the stairs one after another. They looked around in all directions, searching for any trace of Chu Xisheng."Where did this guy go?" This was a tall and stout young man, holding a wooden stick in his hand, his eyes cold and fierce as he scanned the surroundings. "The bastard! He's pretty fast."
Another young man with bright eyes and a stubbly face also looked around. "Search all around, he should be on this floor. We didn't hear him go up the stairs just now. Our people are blocking the other two staircases, so he can't go down. Once we find him, don't rush to attack. His swordsmanship is fierce, and we're no match for him in one-on-one combat."The stubbly-faced young man's voice abruptly stopped as they saw a figure emerging from a nearby room.
This was a handsome man with a clean and refined appearance. He wore a red Eguan hat, his face pale as jade, and his lips as red as blood. At the center of his eyebrows, there was a green scar that resembled a sword.
After the man walked out of the room, he looked expressionless as he glanced at them. His gaze seemed to view them as mere obstacles, filled with a hint of boredom.
The stout young man, frustrated by not finding their target, glared at him angrily and shouted, "What are you looking at? Mind your own business, Hailing Gang lackey!"
The man was momentarily taken aback by the words but then chuckled lightly.
Growing even more furious, the stout young man was about to retort when he saw the elegant man extend a hand as white as jade towards him, making a grab in mid-air.
"Snap!"
With a crisp sound of bones breaking, both of the stout young man's hands and lower legs were abruptly folded backward, causing him to collapse onto the ground. He stared blankly, then let out a heart-wrenching scream.The elegant man flicked his sleeve again, and a burly young man who had lunged at him crashed into the wall as if struck by an invisible giant hand. He fell to the ground, his limbs twisted and unconscious.
The stubbly-faced young man witnessed this scene, his expression freezing.Was this the release of True Qi? But shouldn't only cultivators of the sixth stage or above possess such abilities? How could it appear in an inner disciple?
"Who are you—"
He stared fixedly at the elegant man before him, and the scar on his forehead, suddenly recalling someone.Then, a chilling sensation traveled from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, leaving him shivering all over.
This person was Li Daogui of the Blood Wind Sword!
Why would a wanted criminal by the imperial court be inside the library of Zhengyang Martial Hall?As the stubbly-faced youth's mind raced with this thought, his limbs were abruptly twisted backward with tremendous force, causing a crisp cracking sound.
The unimaginable pain instantly interrupted his thoughts, making him let out an incredibly agonizing scream.This continuous wailing not only shocked and amazed the numerous inner disciples on the first floor but also left Chu Xisheng, who was hiding in the narrow corridor, extremely puzzled.
Chu Xisheng was filled with doubt and suspicion. Could these guys be plotting something, trying to lure him out of here?But then he thought again that there was no need for them to do so, given their overwhelming numbers. He cautiously followed the sound.When Chu Xisheng reached the corner, he cautiously peeked outside, and then he froze for a moment.He saw the nine young men lying on the stairs, all with their limbs unnaturally twisted and motionless.What was going on?
Could these guys be dead? Who could have done this?Chu Xisheng looked around and saw no one nearby.After hesitating several times, he finally took a step forward and approached.Upon getting closer, Chu Xisheng realized that although these young men were unconscious, they still had weak breaths.Their injuries were extremely severe, with both hands and feet broken, suffering from the most difficult-to-treat comminuted fractures.
Just as Chu Xisheng was about to poke one of the stout young men's bodies with the stick in his hand, wanting to flip him over and take a look, he heard a series of footsteps coming from the stairwell.Chu Xisheng turned his head and saw several martial arts instructors leading a group of people rushing up from the stairs.Before these people had even stepped out of the stairwell, their expressions became dumbfounded.They glanced at the nine unconscious young men on the ground and then all looked at Chu Xisheng with shocked and terrified expressions.