txolops Chapter 10 Devastating Victory
Chapter 10 Devastating Victory
The sun was blazing, shining brightly on the messy street in front of Jishetang, illuminating the rapidly cooling corpses on the ground, and the lingering smell of blood in the air.
A fine layer of cold sweat seeped from the forehead of the short, stout old man.
He originally thought that no matter how strong Chen Xuan was, he would at least be flustered, get injured, and expend some energy when faced with poisoned crossbow bolts and a carefully selected group of skilled fighters.
But to his utter surprise, the other party dealt with five skilled fighters as easily and casually as swatting a few flies.
What kind of power is that? To withstand a blade head-on, to shatter refined steel with a fist—is this even human?!
The man in blue gripped the black needles in his hand even tighter, his knuckles turning white. His narrow eyes flashed with a cold light, all traces of his previous playfulness and composure gone, replaced by icy vigilance and a hint of barely perceptible horror.
Chen Xuan's strength far exceeded their expectations, and might even... surpass that of Elder Snake!
"This is tough! Let's take it on side-by-side! Use our dark blue guns!"
The short, stout old man shouted shrilly, his voice even more piercing with tension. He knew he couldn't wait any longer; he had to seize the moment when Chen Xuan had just unleashed his power and perhaps had a brief respite to launch his most ferocious attack!
Before the shout had even finished, his obese body suddenly lunged forward with unusual agility. It looked clumsy, but in fact it concealed several follow-up moves. His two fleshy palms turned as black as ink in an instant, bringing with them a foul-smelling palm wind, and slapped towards Chen Xuan's face!
It was the poisonous skill "Black Demon Palm" that he had painstakingly practiced!
At the same time, the man in blue moved. Instead of stepping forward, he slid back three steps like a ghost, flicked his wrist, and three jet-black "Netherworld Needles" formed a triangular shape, silently yet as fast as lightning, shooting towards Chen Xuan's eyes and throat!
The needle tip gleamed with an eerie light, clearly indicating that it had been fed a deadly poison that could kill instantly upon drawing blood.
The two men in black behind them, who had been silent all along and whose temples were bulging, also suddenly jumped up!
One man wielded a pair of Emei daggers, his moves cunning and ruthless, specializing in attacking the lower body; the other man held a bronze staff, his movements powerful and heavy, sweeping across Chen Xuan's waist to block his escape routes.
The four attacked together, using palms, needles, thorns, and sticks—a combined attack from all three directions: upper, middle, and lower—combining ruthlessness and ferocity, almost completely sealing off Chen Xuan's escape routes and means of survival! This was a deadly trap!
Faced with this fierce and overwhelming attack, Chen Xuan finally got serious.
He took a deep breath, and the internal energy of the perfected Yi Jin Jing surged and roared through the twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians at an unprecedented speed, causing his aura to suddenly surge!
An invisible aura of supreme yang and unyielding power spread out from him!
He stepped forward with his left foot, taking a steady, unhurried step onto the bluestone slab. That seemingly casual step caused the entire street to tremble slightly, and the fine pebbles and dust on the ground to flutter and dance.
Facing the short, stout old man's dark, poisonous palm strike, Chen Xuan neither dodged nor evaded. He brought his right hand together, turning his palm into a blade, and delivered a simple, unadorned vertical slash to meet the attack head-on!
A palm strike against a poisonous palm!
"puff--!"
A dull, muffled sound, like the cracking of leather, rang out. The ferocity on the short, stout old man's face instantly turned to horror.
He felt as if his "Black Fiend Palm" power had crashed into a burning copper and iron wall. Not only did it instantly dissipate, but a terrifying, scorching, fierce, and indestructible force surged into his palm through the Laogong acupoint!
"Ah—!" He screamed in agony as the sleeve of his right arm ripped open with a "rip" and burst open, revealing the blood vessels under his skin. Black blood splattered everywhere!
That scorching force was devastating, instantly destroying all the meridians and bones in his entire arm!
His obese body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the brick wall at the alley entrance before sliding limply to the ground. His right arm was twisted at an odd angle, clearly beyond repair.
At the same time, Chen Xuan's left palm strike was still powerful, and he pressed down with perfect precision on the bronze staff that was sweeping towards him!
"clang--!!!"
A deafening clang of metal clashing rang out! The man wielding the staff felt an irresistible force emanating from the staff, his hand instantly tearing open as the bronze staff flew out of his grasp, spinning wildly as it crashed into the brick wall of a street-side shop, penetrating half a foot deep!
His arms went numb and lost all feeling, his chest heaved with blood and qi, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, staggering backward.
Using the recoil from the stick, Chen Xuan's body, pivoting on his left foot, rotated half a circle to the right like a ghost, perfectly dodging the three "Netherworld Needles" aimed at his vital points.
The poisoned needle grazed his temples and neck before embedding itself in the wall behind him, leaving three small holes emitting white smoke.
As he spun, Chen Xuan's right foot lashed out like a scorpion's tail, striking the man with the Emei dagger in the abdomen with lightning speed!
"Bang!"
The man felt as if he had been hit head-on by a raging rhinoceros. He felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen, as if his internal organs had shifted. He was lifted off the ground and crashed into his companion behind him. The two rolled around in a heap and couldn't get up for a while.
From the moment the four launched their combined attack to Chen Xuan crippling the short, stout old man with a single palm strike, kicking away the man wielding daggers, repelling the master of the staff, and dodging the poisoned needles, the entire process was as swift as lightning, happening in the blink of an eye!
On the street, only Chen Xuan and the pale-faced man in blue, who held the poison needle but dared not fire it again, remained.
Chen Xuan slowly turned around and looked at the man in blue.
He remained standing there, his blue robe barely disheveled from the violent movements, except for a small, charred mark on the cuff where the short, stout old man's poisonous palm had grazed it.
"Netherworld Needles?" Chen Xuan glanced at the poison needle holes on the wall, then looked at the one in the blue-robed man's hand. "The Poison Wolf Gang members died from these?"
The man in blue bobbed his Adam's apple and subconsciously took a half step back, his hand holding the needle trembling slightly.
He had never seen such a terrifying opponent, that immense internal energy... This was definitely not the strength a young man who had just had a fortuitous encounter should possess!
This is just like an old monster who has been immersed in martial arts for decades and has long since returned to simplicity!
"Yes...so what?" The man in blue tried to remain calm, but his voice was somewhat unsteady.
"Chen Xuan, I admit your martial arts are superb. But do you think that's all there is to winning? Do you know how vast the power of my Shadow Pavilion is, and how extraordinary our master's methods are?"
"If you dare to touch me today, you will be torn to pieces one day, and your entire Chen family will be wiped out!"
"Noisy." Chen Xuan uttered two words and moved again.
This time, he didn't use that ghostly speed, but walked steadily, step by step, toward the man in blue.
Every step I took felt like stepping on the heart of the man in blue.
An invisible pressure came crashing down like a mountain.
Cold sweat beaded on the man in blue's forehead. He suddenly raised his hand and shot the "Netherworld Needle" in his hand at Chen Xuan with all his might. At the same time, he pushed off with his feet and tried to escape into the depths of the alley behind him!
Chen Xuan simply raised his left hand casually, his index and middle fingers joined together, and in the nick of time, he gently pinched them together in front of him.
"bite."
A barely audible click. The lightning-fast, poisoned "Netherworld Needle" was firmly held between his two fingers!
The needle tip was less than an inch from his fingertip!
The man in blue turned around and caught a glimpse of this scene. He was so frightened that he fled even faster.
Chen Xuan stared at the gleaming poisoned needle at his fingertip, his eyes growing even colder. He flicked his wrist slightly.
"laugh--"
A faint whooshing sound. The "Netherworld Needle" shot back at an even faster speed than it had come, piercing the right knee of the man in blue with perfect accuracy!
"Ah—!" The man in blue screamed in agony as his right leg went numb and he collapsed to the ground. He turned around in horror and saw that the flesh where the poisoned needle had pierced was turning a deathly gray at a visible speed, spreading outwards!
"No...no! The antidote! The antidote is in my arms!" the man in blue screamed frantically, frantically reaching into his robes.
Chen Xuan had already walked up to him and was looking down at him.
Chen Xuan stepped on the man in blue's intact left leg, his voice icy: "What are your names? Who is Elder Snake?"
In excruciating pain, the man in blue, desperate to survive or alleviate his suffering, hissed:
"I...I am a member of the Shadow Pavilion's 'Serpent Envoy,' you can call me 'Zhu Qing'...Serpent Elder is one of the three giants in the pavilion in charge of 'poison, medicine, and punishment,' handling matters that the pavilion master cannot openly intervene in..."
"Why did you silence the Poison Wolf Gang?" Chen Xuan pressed down harder with his feet.
"Tu Laosan... that idiot wasn't on duty that night and overheard the sect leader and Elder Snake's secret conversation... He not only heard 'jade pendant,' but also... he heard the words 'bloodline of the previous dynasty' and 'sacrifice'!"
"Old Snake said this matter concerns the Pavilion Master's grand scheme and must not be leaked in the slightest! They must... they must all die!"
The man in blue was now overwhelmed by excruciating pain and fear, nodding repeatedly, tears streaming down his face.
"Spare me! Let me take the antidote, and I'll tell you everything! Old Snake will arrive tomorrow at noon! He carries the real 'Netherworld Bone-Corroding Powder,' a hundred times more potent than this needle!..."
"Why are you targeting Jishetang? What do you want to gain?"
"Dr. Su often associates with the Chen family, so we've come to teach him a lesson and, incidentally, search for the medical books the Pavilion Master wants. As for the reason... I truly have no idea."
After hearing this, the last trace of warmth in Chen Xuan's eyes vanished.
"You can set off now."
He pointed his fingers like a sword and used the full power of the Yi Jin Jing to strike several points in mid-air.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!"
Several subtle yet sharp finger strikes precisely pierced the foreheads of Zhu Qing, the short, stout old man, and the other men in black. Although Chen Xuan had not learned any specific finger techniques, his finger strikes, condensed from profound internal energy, were more than enough to kill the heavily injured.
The bodies of the men trembled, their eyes lost their light, and they died on the spot.
Keeping them around is pointless; in fact, they could become a source of uncertainty. As for any other bits and pieces of information they might know, Chen Xuan no longer cares.
Whether it's Snake Elder or Shadow Pavilion, since they've already formed a deadly feud, then they'll meet force with force and water with water.
From the moment they decided to target Jishetang and the Chen family, the outcome was already predetermined.
Chen Xuan had no interest in hearing the full confession of a dying man. He already had enough information: Snake Elder, Black-Hearted Old Man, Original Poison…
He turned and looked towards Jishetang. In the back room, Su Wan should have already settled her father. On the street, corpses lay scattered about.
The news will soon spread throughout the city. No, it may already be out.
Chen Xuan walked back to the entrance of Jishetang and said loudly to those inside:
"Miss Su, the bandits have been eliminated. Is your father well?"
The door to the back hall opened, and Su Wan emerged. Her face was still pale, but her eyes were much calmer. However, she still couldn't help but tremble slightly when she saw the mess and corpses scattered on the floor. She bowed deeply to Chen Xuan, her voice choked but clear:
"Thank you so much, Young Master Chen, for saving my life! My father has taken the medicine and his condition has stabilized for now. Here... here..."
"I'll have someone handle this," Chen Xuan said.
"Miss Su, this place is no longer safe. Although my residence is not impregnable, it is still safer than here. Let's make plans after the storm has passed."
Su Wan raised her eyes and looked at the young man in blue robes who had saved her father and daughter's lives and wiped out powerful enemies with swift and decisive action. The calmness and strength between his brows seemed to dispel all gloom.
Without further hesitation, she curtsied once more:
"Everything... is up to Young Master Chen's arrangements. Wan'er and my father are extremely grateful."
Chen Xuan nodded and said gently to Su Wan, "Miss Su, let's go."
He escorted Su Wan and her father onto the carriage, and then got on and sat down himself.
The carriage slowly started moving, driving away from the streets filled with the stench of blood and medicine.
Inside the carriage, Su Wan carefully supported her unconscious father, occasionally stealing glances at Chen Xuan, who was resting with his eyes closed opposite her.
The boy's profile appeared sharply defined in the light filtering through the carriage curtain, his long eyelashes drooping down, concealing all his sharpness and leaving only an almost indifferent calm.
It was as if the fierce battle he had just fought against many opponents and killed several skilled fighters was nothing more than brushing off a speck of dust from his clothes.
Her heart suddenly started racing, and she hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to look any further.
Although Chen Xuan's eyes were closed, his mind remained tense. The massacre in front of Jishetang was a declaration, a warning, and also the spark that ignited the final fuse.
With Shadow Pavilion losing manpower, those so-called Snake Elder and Black-Hearted Old Man will not wait any longer.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked out the car window at the rapidly receding street scene. The setting sun was dyeing the horizon a poignant blood red.
Tonight, no one is destined to sleep.