WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH...

The river wind raged, and the cold air bit into everyone's bodies. Yet, it was not as terrifying as the sight of three young geniuses from the Fish and Dragon Association exploding into a mist of blood, their bodies obliterated by a single staff strike.

He trembled! It wasn't the cold that made people shiver. Rather, the scene unfolding before his eyes caused Liu Angxing, the young man from Hongyan Tower, to tremble uncontrollably; he stared at the staff-wielding youth as if gazing upon a peerless, malevolent star.

"A single staff blow!"

One strike had annihilated a Mystic Barrier Third Layer Peak expert and two at the Second Layer.

Just what kind of Ba Wang was this youth from Medicine King Hall, who was only a year or two older than him?

"Ah, is that truly Master Yang Luochen's Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff in his hands!"

Xu Li, the young boss of Ding Hongji, felt his legs go weak from fright, exclaiming in horror, "It's not a replica; it's truly that 12,500 jin Famous Weapon! Heavens above! Could it actually be Master Yang Luochen—the renowned Master Yang—disguised as a young man and here in person?"

"Someone's dead!"

Jiang Mohua, father of Jiang Shaoyou from Tongwen House, felt his heart skip a beat. In previous years, though brawls were common at the riverside assembly, deaths were still rare.

But at this year's riverside assembly...

The young heirs from the three behemoth families, from their very first words, proposed grand schemes aimed at shaking each other's foundations, as if intending to reshape the entire power dynamic.

But none of that compared...

To the heart-stopping impact of this Young Shopkeeper named Chen Ku, who had just killed three young geniuses from the Fish and Dragon Association with a single staff strike!

Huo Xiaoxia stared dumbfoundedly at Junior Brother Chen, who stood not far in front of her.

The Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff in his hands, glinting with bloodstains and golden light under the cold wind and sunlight, made her instinctively turn to look at the ongoing battle on the river between her Eldest Senior Brother Kou Ming and Ma Mingfeng.

Is this why Eldest Senior Brother had such confidence in Junior Brother Chen?

Junior Brother Chen could actually wield Master Yang's 12,500 jin Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff!

「On the river surface.」

WHOOSH... ROAR...

Upon the swiftly flowing, ice-covered river, Kou Ming felt Ma Mingfeng continuously unleash his Spirit Witness skill, attempting to assault his psyche. However, all attempts were neutralized by the Spirit Awakening Pill he had prepared beforehand.

Countering with the ever-changing movement technique of the Five Elements Qi Needle, he left streak after streak of afterimages on the river surface, like wisps of green cloud, relentlessly striking Ma Mingfeng with the divine needle and his Iron Palm.

Ma Mingfeng, relying on his other two Ultimate Skills, the Dragon and Tiger Great Grasping and the Fish and Dragon Transformative Method, in addition to his Spirit Witness skill, parried Kou Ming's attacks.

Yet, at this very moment, both simultaneously witnessed the might of Chen Ku's staff strike from the riverbank!

"My three junior brothers!"

Ma Mingfeng's scalp tingled, his vision darkened, and he roared in disbelief, "My three junior brothers! Aaargh!"

He could never have imagined that the three geniuses from the Fish and Dragon Association—rare talents he had pinned such great hopes on, who were as exceptional as he had been two decades ago—would all be smashed to death by a single staff blow from a seventeen-year-old Medicine King Hall disciple!

And in that split second of Ma Mingfeng's distraction—

RIP!

One of Kou Ming's silver needles tore through the cold wind and instantly pierced Ma Mingfeng's Jianjing acupoint. One of Ma Mingfeng's arms went numb and dropped uselessly to his side, instantly crippled.

Ma Mingfeng was horrified and immediately began dodging frantically across the river surface.

Kou Ming, having seized the advantage due to Chen Ku distracting Ma Mingfeng, launched dozens more silver needles, forcing Ma Mingfeng back several tens of yards. Only then did he look towards the shore, his heart surging with heroic fervor as he let out a long cry, "Junior Brother Chen, after today, your name will resound throughout the entire city! As your elder brother, I share in your glory!"

Kou Ming.

He was a man who excelled at using his intellect. Not only was he adept at navigating the complex social relationships within his own faction, earning the deep affection of all the influential figures on the Council of Seven, but he was also skilled in strategizing. He had been involved in planning various matters for Medicine King Hall for the past seven or eight years.

Therefore, when Chen Ku was being eagerly sought as a disciple by four senior masters simultaneously, Kou Ming had already begun to pay close attention to this junior brother, meticulously assessing his strength.

When Chen Ku, at the Mystic Barrier First Layer Realm, defeated Second Shopkeeper's disciple Zhang Renfeng with a staff and a saber, Kou Ming roughly estimated Chen Ku's true strength to be around the Mystic Barrier Peak.

So, upon returning to Medicine King Hall that day, he had deliberately shaken hands with Chen Ku.

As expected.

When Chen Ku exerted his strength, even Kou Ming, with his Iron Palm, found it difficult to withstand Chen Ku's immense power. At that point, he revised his estimation of Chen Ku's true combat prowess upwards.

But even then, he had, at most, estimated Chen Ku to be a top-tier expert at the Mystic Barrier Peak.

It wasn't until today, when he saw the weapon Chen Ku carried on his back—its design and dimensions identical to his master Yang Luochen's Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff—that...

Kou Ming was finally certain.

This year's riverside assembly would see Medicine King Hall achieve a decisive victory, perhaps even an overwhelming sweep against all opponents.

This was also why he had said that Ma Mingfeng was his to handle, and the others could be confidently left to Chen Ku.

"Junior Brother Chen! Since you've struck, show no mercy! This is a battle for interests, a battle of life and death!"

Just as Chen Ku heard Kou Ming's shout, having slain the three genius Mystic Barrier disciples from the Fish and Dragon Association, he immediately felt four more alerts from the Transformation Diagram:

[Warning: Qu Feng harbors intense hostility towards the Diagram Master and intends to fight you to the death...]

[Warning: Hong Yin harbors intense hostility towards the Diagram Master and intends to fight you to the death...]

[Warning: Young Master Luo harbors intense hostility towards the Diagram Master and intends to fight you to the death...]

[Warning: Ao Yu harbors intense hostility towards the Diagram Master and intends to fight you to the death...]

Chen Ku narrowed his eyes slightly, looking towards the four individuals from Firewood Iron Shop and the Row Gang.

He saw that, after their initial shock and terror, the eyes of these four were now filled with layer upon layer of intense hostility and murderous intent directed at him.

Chen Ku took a deep breath and turned to Qu Feng, with whom he had once fought over control of the docks, saying, "Brother Qu, although you conspired with Zhao Chuanzu against me, I acknowledge that you accepted your defeat gracefully that day. Your family's Thirteen Young Master is also an honorable man. Why seek death?"

In fact, when he struck down the three talents from the Fish and Dragon Association with a single blow, he had realized that this gathering was different from those in the past; the riverside assembly was merely a prelude.

Nevertheless, he had still struck with all his might, partly because of Master Yang Luochen's words: as a disciple of Medicine King Hall, he had to exert his full strength today. Otherwise, from another perspective, he might have been the one killed.

However, he still held a relatively good impression of Xie Qingfeng; after all, the man hadn't hesitated and had directly conceded 20,000 jin of Iron Essence and 80,000 taels in silver notes to him.

But who would have thought?

Qu Feng took a deep breath and said gravely, "Brother Chen, say no more. We each serve our own masters. I'll take it that you intend to spare my life, and I thank you for your kindness. However, your sense of honor is your own affair; I cannot be disloyal. Today is the riverside assembly, and the unspoken rule is that 'the outcome of battles between the younger generation determines the distribution of interests.' If I were to withdraw now out of fear for my life, I would be disregarding the interests of our shop, effectively handing over tens of millions in gold and silver to your Medicine King Hall."

"Brother Chen, since you fought with me over the docks, you should understand: when the interests of our shops are at stake, there was once a barber who wore the Fire-Walking Boots and did not hesitate to die for the Fish and Dragon Association to secure control of the docks.

"Today, there is also Qu Feng, who, knowing full well your staff stands ready, must still fight you!"

"Well said, Junior Brother Qu! Thirteen Young Master's high regard for you is not misplaced. I didn't expect that even though you're the youngest among us four martial brothers, you possess the strongest character."

Hong Yin, a young man barely over one and a half meters tall, spoke with a voice that was nevertheless loud, masculine, and powerful, "That's what it means to be a brother of our Firewood Iron Shop! Today, we fight, win or lose! Besides, who says we can't win? I refuse to believe someone so young can swing that 12,500 jin dragon head staff more than a few times! Even if he hits us, our Firewood Iron Shop's Iron Cloth Shirt is not to be trifled with!"

"Charge!"

In an instant, the four men, attacking from four different directions, simultaneously lunged at Chen Ku with a saber, a spear, a sword, and a halberd.

At that moment, hearing the words of the four brothers from Firewood Iron Shop, the members of Hongyan Tower, Tongwen House, Ding Hongji, and Heyuan Escort Agency, who were watching the battle between the disciples of the three major powers, were all visibly moved.

Chen Ku also raised an eyebrow, feeling the killing intent from the four young masters of Firewood Iron Shop converging on him from all directions.

"You're wrong. It's true I cannot execute more than three ultimate moves with Master's dragon head staff. However, I have absolute confidence I can kill all four of you within those three strikes," he said.

After saying this, Chen Ku planted this 12,500 jin renowned weapon, the Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff, into the ground before him, his expression stern. "But, to show my respect for the four of you, I choose to use my saber. I will grant you the dignity of intact corpses."

As his words fell, facing the combined attack of the four, Chen Ku flicked his saber from its sheath. This common-style saber of sharp weapon grade, which he had purchased for 5,000 taels of silver after learning the blade arts, settled into his palm.

Another moment passed, and Chen Ku's figure disappeared from where he stood.

Hong Yin saw Chen Ku vanish from beneath his great halberd as if teleporting. A sense of dread welled in his heart. Just as he was about to react, he heard an extremely sharp hum of a blade by his ear, followed by a sound like wind chimes—the sound of his blood splattering in the wind.

That sounded like his own blood!

The onlookers from Tongwen House, Hongyan Tower, Heyuan Escort Agency, and Ding Hongji, watching from a distance, only saw Chen Ku use his Piercing Sound Step to disappear...

Then, around the four genius disciples from Firewood Iron Shop who were attacking Chen Ku, streak after streak of Sword Light flashed past!

The speed was extreme!

Then, they saw the necks of those four genius disciples from Firewood Iron Shop simultaneously erupt in a mist of blood as their bodies toppled to the ground!

"What! Isn't Firewood Iron Shop's Ultimate Skill, Iron Cloth Shirt, supposed to be Impervious to Swords and Spears? How could it be useless?" exclaimed Gao Lin, the Young Escort Head of Heyuan Escort Agency, in shock. "These four were all said to have reached the 'Minor Achievement' Level in their Iron Cloth Shirt, a stage where they should be immune to blade edges."

To cultivate the Iron Cloth Shirt to the Minor Achievement Level, achieving Circulation of Qi Throughout the Body to the point of immunity to blade edges, was said to require at least twenty years.

It was divided into four tiers: entry-level, Minor Achievement, Great Achievement, and Perfection.

At entry-level, there are still many Protection Gates on the body, but one can already withstand blows from wooden staves unharmed.

At Minor Achievement, with Circulation of Qi Throughout the Body, most Protection Gates are eliminated, rendering one immune to blade edges.

At Great Achievement, only one Protection Gate remains. It is said that one becomes immune to ordinary flames, their skin and flesh becoming so tough they won't burn even in fire. Qu Feng had not reached this stage previously; otherwise, he would have dared to challenge the Fire-Walking Boots.

But even across the entire Firewood Iron Shop, no more than seven or eight individuals had reached this Great Achievement Level of Iron Cloth Shirt. This was because, like Medicine King Hall's Ultimate Skills, it would take a person of average aptitude at least a sixty-year cycle of dedicated practice to reach Great Achievement.

As for the Perfection Realm, it was said that only the Old Shopkeeper of Firewood Iron Shop had attained it, possessing no Protection Gates anywhere on his body. He could even reflect an opponent's Inner Qi and was truly Impervious to Swords and Spears, and Impervious to Water and Fire.

However, this required a Root Bone of peerless natural talent.

These four genius disciples from Firewood Iron Shop were all under twenty-five. To reach the 'Minor Achievement' Level of Iron Cloth Shirt by that age—a feat that took ordinary people twenty years—already marked them as exceptionally talented.

Yet, they could not withstand Chen Ku's saber.

"There are only two possibilities... One is that Chen Ku knew their Protection Gates. But this was highly improbable, as the Protection Gates of anyone practicing Iron Cloth Shirt were their most guarded secrets, never to be revealed."

Hall Master Jiang sighed softly, "That leaves only the second possibility: Chen Ku's Black Tiger Butcher Knife technique has reached Great Achievement."

Both were Ultimate Skills.

How could a Minor Achievement Iron Cloth Shirt withstand a Great Achievement Black Tiger Butcher Knife?

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

Chen Ku stood behind the four fallen figures, sheathing his saber.

The representatives from the four distant guilds and factions watched the youth sheathe his blade, their hearts filled with shock and awe. Yet, the same thought, echoing Kou Ming's earlier words, arose in all their minds.

After today, Chen Ku was destined to become famous throughout Baojiao City.

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