"Let's go take a look."
The three uncles exchanged a glance, and one of them said in a low voice:
"Whoever's out there doesn't come with good intentions. I'll call the Soaring Snake Martial Arts Hall first to let them know, just in case something unexpected happens!"
The Soaring Snake Martial Arts Hall was one of the four major halls in the East Sea City Martial Arts Alliance. Its territory covered the entire eastern district, and the White Elephant Martial Arts Hall was one of its affiliates.
"Alright. Xiaojiu and I will go out and see who this is." The eldest of the men nodded slightly and led another man out of the main hall. He called for the members of the White Elephant Martial Arts Hall to gather and prepare for a confrontation.
The spring rain grew colder and heavier now. The drops fell from the sky in fine, unending threads. Though the rain was refreshing, it now painted a grim, murderous atmosphere over the martial arts hall.
"Friend outside!" the old man shouted. "East Sea City is fraught with disaster today, and on top of that, it's pouring rain. The White Elephant Martial Arts Hall is not receiving guests. Please come back another day!"
After speaking, the two uncles and the hundred-plus members of the hall stared intently at the cast bronze gate, waiting for a response.
Outside the gate.
"Lu... Lu the Kid, don't be scared, don't be scared!" Butcher Zheng stammered. "Death comes for everyone eventually. It's all about fighting for your dignity! We're not afraid!"
Lu Xuan's face was expressionless. Leaning on the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword with his right hand and carrying Butcher Zheng on his back, he said softly,
"Uncle Zheng, I'm not scared... If you're really afraid, I can put you down here. After I'm done, I'll bring Sister Zheng and the others out to find you."
"What are you talking about!" Although Butcher Zheng was trembling all over, his tone was firm. "How could I be scared? I'm here to save my wife!"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but swallow hard. His heart was resolute, yet also filled with apprehension and doubt.
'Just a moment ago, Lu the Kid was running with me on his back. He was so fast he practically kicked up a gale... Lu the Kid... he's actually a Cultivator, a real master!'
Normally, Butcher Zheng might have taken a moment to marvel at this, but he wasn't in the mood right now. He just kept psyching himself up while saying,
"Lu the Kid, even if we don't make it back from this, I'll be content. It's just a shame about you..."
"We will go back. We'll all go back."
The young man closed his eyes, then added,
"I actually really hate killing. When a life slips away at my own hands, I feel a sense of guilt... but there are always reasons one must kill."
Butcher Zheng froze for a moment. He didn't reply, just listened quietly.
"Why is a peaceful life so difficult to achieve? Why does everyone have to force my hand?"
As his voice fell, Lu Xuan leaned on his sword with his right hand and knocked on the gate again with his left.
Only this time...
DONG!!!
The sound of the knock was like the toll of a great bell, so powerful that the falling raindrops around them seemed to freeze for an instant.
Immediately after, the rain in that small space, along with the cast bronze gate, exploded into pieces!
Dust and smoke rose.
Inside, the two uncles' bodies tensed abruptly. A faint, jade-like luster appeared on the eldest man—the unmistakable sign of Great Success in Marrow Refining!
He let out a low, deep command:
"Form battle lines!"
The hundred-plus members of the hall took their staggered positions. Those without Cultivation stood at the front, while those with Cultivation arrayed themselves in the back, each drawing a sword or saber!
Just then, the heavy rain quickly suppressed the dust and smoke, revealing the figure within. The two uncles and the hundred-plus hall members were all visibly stunned.
It was a young man in tattered clothes, leaning on a longsword with his right hand. He was hunched over, carrying a middle-aged man with broken legs on his back.
"Sir..." The old man started to say something more, but the youth cut him off.
"Uncle Zheng, do you remember who was in the shantytown?"
Butcher Zheng suppressed the terror in his heart and looked carefully, but then gave a bitter smile.
"The rain's too heavy. I can't see clearly."
"Oh." Lu Xuan nodded, then slightly raised his Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword and tapped it lightly on the ground!
VMMMM!!
The sword hummed crisply. A circular ripple spread out from where it touched down, and where it passed, a fierce wind rose, blowing the curtain of rain away!
The two uncles' expressions changed drastically. Butcher Zheng, clinging to Lu Xuan's back, had no time for astonishment. He hurriedly scanned the crowd.
When the curtain of rain fell once more, Butcher Zheng said coldly,
"Nine out of every ten of them were at the shantytown. The two old men at the front, though, they weren't."
"Are you sure?"
"I've been selling pork at the market for years. I have to be familiar with my customers, at least enough to call them by their last names. My memory isn't bad."
"Good. I understand." Lu Xuan looked up through the rain, his icy eyes filled with a bone-chilling killing intent!
"All uninvolved parties, retreat immediately. After ten breaths, I will consider everyone remaining someone who deserves to die."
As his voice fell, a symphony of cracking bones and sinews echoed, like the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound. His body was enveloped in a jade-like shimmer as he unleashed a surging wave of Qi, shaking the nearby peach trees and sending their blossoms scattering!
'A Martial Master at Great Success in Marrow Refining?' The elder uncle's expression was grave, but he also breathed a sigh of relief. 'As long as he's not a Grandmaster, this is manageable!'
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. 'To have reached Great Success in Marrow Refining at such a young age, and to be so relentless... No matter who is backing this boy, he must die here today!'
Thinking this, he roared:
"Activate the White Elephant Array! Kill this beast!"
As his voice fell, the hundred-plus hall members pressed forward in unison. The two uncles, however, watched for an opportunity, intending to use the members as cannon fodder while they waited for the young man to reveal a weakness, at which point they would strike like lightning!
However.
"Ten breaths are up." Lu Xuan closed his eyes. "Since no one has retreated, I will kill you all... I alone will bear the sin of this slaughter."
With that, he did not use the longsword he leaned on with his right hand. Instead, he raised his left hand high, as if holding a Great Seal!
RUMBLE!
It was the sound of his vital energy and blood surging like a great river!
A crimson haze enveloped Lu Xuan, a haze formed from his vital energy and blood. That crimson haze immediately flowed entirely into his left hand, growing denser as it circulated!
"Wood Chop."
The young man visualized the scene of Heaven and Earth Inversion, whispering softly as he flipped his palm and brought it down.
"KILL!!" At that exact moment, the hundred-plus hall members swarmed in to attack, crashing through the curtain of rain and stampeding forward!
THUD!!!
A single muffled thud, and only that one muffled thud.
"Impossible!" The elder uncle's expression changed drastically. The other uncle froze as well, feeling a chill explode from the base of his spine and surge through his entire body!
In the center of the courtyard, the young man, still carrying the burly man on his back, pressed his left hand to the ground. The earth cracked and split open, and a towering wave of soil erupted, engulfing the hundred-plus members of the martial arts hall!
The wave of earth was like a tidal wave, carrying the force of ten thousand catties. One by one, the hall members had their bones shattered and their organs crushed, spraying a torrent of blood into the air!
"Attack together! Don't let him pick us off one by one!"
The elder uncle shouted to the younger one, but he himself did not advance. Instead, he turned and fled!
"You old bastard, wait for me!" The younger uncle stomped his feet in fury and also fled for his life, not daring to even look back.
Lu Xuan lowered his eyelids, raised his left hand again, and once more intoned, "Wood Chop!"
The two uncles felt a terrifying surge of energy from behind, a sensation like the heavens were collapsing. They were locked in place, unable to move!
"The matter of the shantytown has nothing to do with me!" the elder uncle begged loudly. "Spare me!"
His heart was filled with terror, regret, and resentment. 'This boy's aura is clearly that of a Bone Marrow Refining Martial Master, but that technique, like flipping a great seal, is powerful enough to rival a Grandmaster!'
'Where in the world did Bai Kai'an provoke such a monster...'
He wanted to say more, to beg for his life, but the young man's palm didn't pause as it descended lightly.
In the spring rain, two more heads exploded.
Lu Xuan stood amidst the scattered corpses, covered only in rain, not blood. As for Butcher Zheng, he was scared stiff, his whole body rigid as he stared around blankly.
"They're all dead... all dead..."
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He couldn't connect this young man with the polite, smiling Lu the Kid he used to know.
"There are more," Lu Xuan said softly. Following the sound of a heartbeat, he strode forward and pushed open the door to the main hall.
Inside, another old man sat on a large chair, his face deathly pale.
"Where are the people you abducted?" Lu Xuan asked.
"In the secret dungeon underground." The uncle straightened his collar, his voice trembling as he answered.
"Take me there."
"No. Find it yourself."
Lu Xuan frowned. He didn't bother with him further, but simply asked softly,
"Uncle Zheng, was he there?"
"No, he wasn't. But I'm sure he's no good either. I once saw him kill a man in the street at the market, from a distance. It left a deep impression."
"Alright."
Lu Xuan raised his left hand, assuming the "Wood Chop" stance.
This last uncle gave a miserable laugh:
"I've already reported this to the Soaring Snake Martial Arts Hall! Elder Chu won't let you go! He'll crush everyone around you, and in the end, he'll hang your head from the tallest building in the city!"
Lu Xuan remained unmoved and was about to bring his palm down.
"The one who caused trouble in the shantytown is named Bai Kai'an! He should be in the dungeon now! Remember to kill him! You absolutely must kill him!"
The uncle laughed maniacally, his eyes bloodshot:
"This is all trouble he brought upon us!"
"I will."
Lu Xuan's palm fell, and another life was ended.