Save Your Breath, Take My Palm!

The shadow puppeteer had switched to manipulating a living human. With a flick of Elder Shixian's wrist, the Fierce Tiger Gang disciple involuntarily threw a punch straight at Tong Tianba. Tong Tianba had every intention of striking back, but the man was one of his own. Though skewered by the iron rod and moved against his will, Elder Shixian had struck so deftly that the disciple was still very much alive, staring back at Tong Tianba with a face full of terror. He was one of his own men. Striking him felt wrong, but holding back felt just as wrong, leaving Tong Tianba with immense strength and nowhere to vent it. He had no choice but to roar in fury, "Elder Shixian! You are a senior expert who has been renowned across the jianghu for decades. Don't you feel any shame in stooping to such despicable tricks?" Hiding behind the man he was manipulating, Elder Shixian struck at Tong Tianba while crowing smugly, "This old man is nothing more than a humble shadow play actor, using only the craft I rely on to earn my bread. Where would shame come into it? If anything, you are the one who should be ashamed—a young man with no ambition, leading a pack of hoodlums to bully an old, solitary hermit... Aren't you the one who should feel ashamed?" Tong Tianba wanted to retort, but found himself at a loss for words. In the end, he bellowed, "Charge him together!!" This 'shadow puppet' could block what was in front, but not what came from behind. With so many men at his disposal, swarming the old scoundrel would easily pin him down. When that time came, whether to butcher him or skin him alive would be entirely up to Tong Tianba's whim. The escorts from the Lu'an Escort Agency watched in utter disbelief. The Fierce Tiger Gang had originally come to deal with them, so how had things turned in the blink of an eye to a brawl with Elder Shixian, leaving them completely ignored on the sidelines? Lu Guiyan looked toward Fang Shuwen. "Elder Shixian may be a veteran of the jianghu, but Tong Tianba's martial arts are formidable, and with so many Fierce Tiger Gang members surrounding them, I fear he will be no match for Tong Tianba. What should we do now?" "The Young Chief Escort surely already has her mind made up. Why bother asking me?" Fang Shuwen smiled. "Our trek tonight was kept relatively secret, yet the Fierce Tiger Gang managed to set an ambush ahead of time. You should already have some inkling of where the issue lies. That being said, don't you want to know why the Fierce Tiger Gang would have the audacity to lay a hand on guests bound for Feixue City?" Lu Guiyan drew a deep breath. "Are you confident?" "I am." "Then I ask for Young Hero Fang's assistance." Lu Guiyan cupped her hands in a respectful salute. Fang Shuwen smiled. "Very well." The moment that single word fell, he took a step forward, his figure instantly blurring into the midst of the crowd. At that moment, Elder Shixian was having a rough time as well. His martial arts were indeed potent, but Tong Tianba was a cut above him. Where the man had cultivated his copper skin and iron bones was anyone's guess, but his arm strength was peerless, and every gesture carried monstrous power. Once the Fierce Tiger Gang swarmed in, Elder Shixian managed to hold his ground initially, but he quickly found himself hard-pressed and stretched thin. Fang Shuwen's intervention instantly resolved his pressing crisis. With a flick of his palm, two Fierce Tiger Gang disciples who were still besieging Elder Shixian were smashed straight into the earth. Pivoting on his heel, Fang Shuwen drove forward with his shoulder; a disciple who had just turned around before he could even register what was happening was sent flying through the air like a cannonball. Two blades hummed through the air from a pair of Fierce Tiger Gang members, but before their edges could draw near, Fang Shuwen swept his fingers across them. The sword strikes instantly scattered, and with a swift hook and push of his fingers, both men went hurtling backward. From the moment he stepped in, he acted as if no one else were even there. With both the Yijin Jing and the Beiming Divine Art coursing through him, ordinary men simply could not compare. He struck as he walked, and wherever he passed, not a single foe could withstand a single blow. The members of the Lu'an Escort Agency, who had just been preparing to step up and lend a hand on Lu Guiyan's orders, stood dumbfounded. They had seen people skilled in martial arts, but never someone this skilled! Just what kind of monstrous existence was Escort Master Mo's junior brother? Someone stole a glance at Mo Beidou, only to find that Mo Beidou's expression was hardly any different from their own. It was as if not even he had known his junior brother was this capable. The escorts exchanged bewildered glances, completely unsure whether they should step in or not... Wherever Fang Shuwen passed, men were thrown into complete disarray. His strikes were ruthless, leaving no room for survival. In just a few brief breaths, nearly every member of the Fierce Tiger Gang had been killed by him alone. At the same time, Vice Master Xu Yuqing of the East Hall suddenly flicked the tip of his sword. A sharp hiss rang out as a wisp of sword qi skimmed along the ground. This thrust came cunningly and with deadly malice. Fang Shuwen had treated everyone around him as beneath notice, and Xu Yuqing, watching from the shadows, aimed this strike directly at an opening in Fang Shuwen's back. Mo Beidou saw it clearly and was about to cry out to warn Fang Shuwen. Yet Fang Shuwen merely lifted his foot slightly and brought it down in a hard stomp. *Boom! Boom! Boom!* A surge of force ripped along the ground, booming like rolling thunder as it collided straight into the sword qi. In that split-second clash, the sword qi failed to hold out for even half the blink of an eye before being shattered by the force. The momentum did not falter, tearing onward straight toward Xu Yuqing. Xu Yuqing's eyes widened in horror. He retreated step after step until his back slammed against a tree trunk, leaving him with nowhere left to run. Only then did it cross his mind that he could have dodged to the left or right. By then, however, it was far too late. A muffled crash detonated! The concussive force launched Xu Yuqing straight into the air, and even the tree behind him snapped down the middle with a sharp crack. Suspended midair, Xu Yuqing spewed a mouthful of blood, but suddenly felt a colossal force pulling at him from ahead, like a massive whirlpool dragging him helplessly toward its center. Lifting his head, he found himself facing Fang Shuwen, whose back was turned toward him while one hand reached open in his direction. The crown of Xu Yuqing's head fell directly into Fang Shuwen's grasp. In the next instant, the internal force throughout his entire body surged backward like a river flowing upstream, draining completely into Fang Shuwen's body in the blink of an eye. Before Xu Yuqing could even utter a scream, a sickening crack snapped from his head. Fang Shuwen crushed it directly in his grip! Yet throughout the entire process, Fang Shuwen never once looked back at him. It was as if the man were merely a trivial nobody, an ant by the roadside that could be crushed underfoot at any moment—hardly worthy of a second glance. As Xu Yuqing's corpse thumped to the ground, Fang Shuwen stepped up beside Elder Shixian and Tong Tianba. The two had long since ceased their struggle, both staring at Fang Shuwen in astonishment. Elder Shixian secretly rejoiced... His earlier instincts had indeed been right; this kid was a monster. Had he fought him earlier, defeat would have been absolute. Compared to that, putting on a free shadow play was truly nothing. Tong Tianba's eyes felt as if they would tear at the seams with fury. He had watched his subordinates die at Fang Shuwen's hands, and had he not been wary of Elder Shixian, he would have charged forward long ago. Seeing Fang Shuwen approach, he could not hold back an enraged roar. "Who in the world are—" "Save your breath, take my palm!" Fang Shuwen had no interest in wasting time exchanging pleasantries with him. Things had long since reached the point of life and death, so what was there to talk about? Curling his right fingers into a mudra, he struck straight forward with the Demon-Subduing Dharma Seal.