BANG! BANG! BANG!

Six figures, seething with killing intent, burst through the window. They landed steadily on the second-floor floorboards, their eyes instantly locking onto the figure by the window—Jiangchuan Bridge, clad in a wide black robe and a hat with a hanging veil.

The restaurant fell deathly silent. The patrons were frozen in fear.

The bald leader of the Huashan Three Monsters sized up the disguised figure and sneered.

"Boy, you really gave us a hard time finding you! Almost let you slip away right under our noses. Nice getup, but this is as far as you go!"

Jiangchuan Bridge silently cursed Chen Qing’s cunning. ’He actually used a vicious ploy, wounding himself to escape and leading his pursuers right to me.’

Though he looked down on these six, exposing his identity as a member of the Demon Sect here would bring endless trouble.

He suppressed his rage and tried to explain.

"Ridiculous! The man who just jumped out the window was Chen Qing! Are you blind? Hurry and go after him! Any more delay and he’ll be long gone!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of Ghost Hand from Yidao An flickered under his hat, a hint of suspicion flashing through them.

There were indeed several inconsistencies, but he had no time to ponder them.

The scar on Duanchang Saber’s face twitched as he interrupted in a gruff, mocking voice.

"Hah! Just a trick to throw us off! I’ve seen plenty of these ploys—diversions and frame-ups! We’ll find out the truth once we’ve captured and searched you! If it’s really a misunderstanding, I’ll pay you ten taels of silver for your medical fees!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, his patience ran out. With a "Cang Lang," the long saber at his waist was unsheathed, tracing a vicious arc of light as he lunged at Jiangchuan Bridge!

His Body Technique was incredibly fast and his Saber Momentum ruthless. He slashed straight for Jiangchuan Bridge’s face, clearly operating on the principle of ’better to kill the wrong person than let the right one escape.’

"You’re courting death!"

Jiangchuan Bridge was utterly enraged. Even a saint has his limits, and he was an arrogant master of the Demon Sect.

With the blade flashing toward him, he dropped all pretense.

A sinister, chilling aura suddenly erupted from his body!

The veil of his hat stirred without a breeze. His right hand shot out from beneath his black robe—fingers like hooks, nails sharp, wreathed in a faint black energy. Without dodging, he reached directly for the vicious blade!

"CLANG—!"

An ear-piercing crack, nothing like the sound of clashing metal, rang out!

To the horror of Duanchang Saber and everyone else, his swift saber, forged from the finest steel, was caught firmly in that grayish-green palm! Wisps of white smoke rose where the blade met flesh, accompanied by a SIZZLING, corrosive sound!

"What?!"

"Bone... Bone-Dissolving Poison Palm?! He’s from the Demon Sect!"

There were knowledgeable people among the restaurant patrons, and one immediately cried out in alarm.

"Run!"

The patrons, who had just been watching the spectacle, were scared out of their wits. They screamed and stampeded for the stairs, knocking over tables, chairs, bowls, and plates. The scene descended into chaos.

The expressions of the Huashan Three Monsters and the two remaining assassins from Yidao An changed drastically. They never imagined that while Tracking Chen Qing, they would stumble upon a Demon Sect master of the Astral Force realm in disguise!

"Since you came looking for death, you have no one to blame but yourselves!"

Jiangchuan Bridge’s voice was bone-chilling, thick with murderous intent.

His figure flickered, blurring like a phantom as he easily dodged the bald man’s massive hammer.

Ghost Hand slipped silently to the side and fired several poisoned Shadowless Needles at the vital points on Jiangchuan Bridge’s flank.

But it was as if Jiangchuan Bridge had eyes in the back of his head. He swept his wide sleeve, and a surge of sinister, pliant Gang Qi rolled out, catching all the fine needles. Then, with a backhanded flick...

"SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!"

The Poison Needles shot back, even faster than before!

Horrified, Ghost Hand tried to retreat, but it was too late. Several Poison Needles sank into his thigh and shoulder. He cried out as his entire arm instantly turned black and swelled, and he staggered backward.

"Ghost Hand!"

Shadowless Needle, furious and horrified, rushed forward to help him. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

But Jiangchuan Bridge was already on him like a shadow, his grayish-green palm striking out without a sound.

THUMP!

With a muffled thud, Shadowless Needle’s Protective True Qi was pierced like paper, and the Poison Palm slammed into his chest.

Shadowless Needle’s body went rigid. His eyes bulged, and black blood trickled from his mouth. The clothes on his chest instantly corroded away, leaving a Palm Seal where the bones beneath his skin seemed to be dissolving. He collapsed to the floor without another sound, his breathing stopped.

In the blink of an eye, one of the two assassins from Yidao An was dead and the other severely wounded.

The Huashan Three Monsters felt their scalps tingle as they watched, a chill rising in their hearts.

Jiangchuan Bridge snorted. Executing his Body Technique, he weaved through their three-pronged attack like a wisp of black smoke.

He dodged their blades and shot out a hand, grabbing the sword wrist of the third monster. CRACK! The wrist bone shattered instantly.

As the third monster screamed, Jiangchuan Bridge pulled him forward, using his momentum to silently press his other Poison Palm against the man’s back, right over his heart.

The third monster convulsed violently, spat out a mouthful of black blood, and collapsed, clearly dead.

With an unnatural twist, Jiangchuan Bridge evaded a saber aimed for his head. His Poison Palm struck out like a viper, landing squarely on another monster’s chest.

In an instant, four of the six were down.

Only Duanchang Saber, the severely wounded Ghost Hand, and the red-eyed bald leader remained.

"Go!"

Duanchang Saber was the first to snap out of his stupor. He grabbed the nearly immobile Ghost Hand and, without a moment’s hesitation, smashed through another window to make a desperate escape.

’This Demon Sect master is completely out of our league!’

The bald leader wanted to make a last stand, but Jiangchuan Bridge couldn’t be bothered. He struck out from a distance, and a condensed stream of black Gang Qi, like a venomous dragon, slammed into the Copper Hammer.

BANG!

The bald leader flew back as if he’d been hit by a battering ram, hammer and all. He crashed heavily against a wall and spat out a mouthful of blood before slumping to the floor. While not dead, he was grievously wounded and clinging to life.