Chapter 51 Upholding Justice and Chivalry

Three days later.

In the northern region of Yunzhou.

On one side of a rammed-earth highway, a tiny tea shack stood proudly.

Various carriages and horses passed by, kicking up clouds of dust.

Many Jianghu travelers were resting here, discussing the disastrous defeat of the righteous alliance from a few days ago.

"The finalization of this batch of Black Ranking slots is practically set in stone."

Someone remarked.

"Do you guys think that 'Widow-Maker' will make the list?"

"Need you even ask? The Cui clan has put out a bounty of thirty thousand taels for Chen Xuan's capture, the Longteng Martial Arts Hall has offered fifty thousand taels, and countless other sects and factions lost members in that massive explosion—they've all placed bounties on Chen Xuan as well. His total bounty will definitely break one hundred thousand, perhaps even approaching one hundred and twenty thousand. The hundredth and lowest spot on the Black Ranking belongs to 'Ghost Shadow Sword' Zhang Biao, whose bounty is only eighty-eight thousand taels. Do you think Chen Xuan can make the list?"

Another person replied.

"Hiss! Then he's definitely making it. A bounty exceeding one hundred thousand, and at such a young age—truly a rare sight!"

"Alas, for such a ruthless and vicious individual to emerge among the unorthodox factions is no blessing for the righteous path!"

...

"Hmph, if you ask me, that Chen Xuan is nothing special. If I were to cross paths with him, I could kill him with a single blade strike!"

Suddenly, someone sneered.

Everyone turned to look.

Seated at a side table was a man wearing a bamboo hat and a heavy cloak. His expression was cold, with a sparse beard on his chin that gave him the weathered look of someone battered by wind and sun.

Two others sat with him, both with slightly dark complexions, cold gazes, and an air of quiet arrogance. They seemed to be waiting for someone; from beginning to end, these two had remained silent, their cold faces occasionally glancing toward the main road.

"Who are you people?"

Someone asked.

"Walking the Jianghu does not require one to broadcast their true name. There are plenty of people whose reputations far exceed their actual abilities, so what is the point of even stating one's name?"

The man in the bamboo hat said indifferently.

"That Widow-Maker possesses profound martial arts; even senior expert Fang was killed by him. You think you can defeat him?"

Someone retorted.

The man in the bamboo hat sneered, "He killed Fang Xuanwen merely by using poison. Besides, Fang Xuanwen was already heavily injured beforehand, retaining less than five percent of his strength. With the poison on top of that, he had less than three percent left—nothing worth boasting about. If I encounter him, I will slay him with a single stroke."

Many people felt a secret surge of astonishment, casting assessing glances at the man in the bamboo hat.

He knew so many details.

Could he truly be a supreme expert?

Across from the tea shack.

Beneath the shadow of a large tree.

Chen Xuan sat upon a green slab of stone, clutching a large jar of wine and drowning his sorrows with a gloomy expression.

The alcohol content of the white liquor in this world was generally quite low, tasting very much like the beer of his past life.

Originally, he hadn't intended to drink, but all along the journey, everywhere he went, he heard tales of his foul reputation, painting him almost as a demonic fiend. It had made his lungs nearly burst with anger, prompting him to seek solace in alcohol. Yet he never expected the liquor to be so weak that he had walked and drank all the way without feeling even the slightest buzz.

Outrageous! Simply outrageous!

He had a strong urge to smash the wine jar fiercely onto the ground and shout his defense to everyone present:

I am not the Widow-Maker, I am the Carefree Young Master!

The Carefree Young Master, do you hear me!

"Young brother, the wind is fierce out there. Aren't you going to come into the shack and sit down?"

Several Jianghu travelers suddenly waved at him.

Chen Xuan gloomily continued to gulp down his wine.

I couldn't care less about you lot.

***

Those Jianghu travelers watched the wine constantly spilling from Chen Xuan's chin, and their mouths began to water uncontrollably, their cravings violently stirred.

Unfortunately, this tea shack only sold tea, not wine, which was driving them crazy.

The only reason they invited Chen Xuan over was to sponge a few sips of his wine, but to their surprise, the young man completely ignored them. Left with no choice, they sat back down.

Clop, clop, clop...

The sound of hooves approached from afar, and three men dressed in constable uniforms rode toward them.

As they neared the tea shack, they abruptly pulled on the reins, causing their mounts to rear up with long neighs.

The leading constable had a rough appearance with thick facial hair. His gaze locked onto the wine jar in Chen Xuan's hand, his mouth unbearably dry as he felt his craving spike uncontrollably. Unable to endure it any longer, he spoke up in a thick, authentic regional accent.

"Damn it all, kid, hand me a swig of your little wine."

Chen Xuan glanced at him sideways.

"Mother of God, didn't you hear me? Let old me have a sip, just one sip."

The constable continued.

"Good wine!"

Chen Xuan took another gulp, cast a sideways glance at the constable, and said, "Want some? Well, I'm not giving you any."

"You little turtle's egg, this constable is a dignified ninth-rank yamen runner of the imperial court. What's wrong with having a sip of your tiny jar of wine?"

The constable cursed.

"Truly good wine."

Chen Xuan continued to lament aloud.

"Blast it all, you've got some nerve!"

The constable possessed a stubborn streak. Irritated, he cursed angrily, spurred his horse toward the open-air shack, vaulted out of the saddle, and roared, "Hey! Bring me plenty of tea, mother of God—can't even get a sip of wine."

He found an empty seat and sat down, his face mapped with fury.

The two constables accompanying him quickly took their seats as well.

The previously seated bamboo-hatted man and the two men at his table all flashed their eyes and exchanged glances.

The elderly owner of the tea shack hurriedly approached with a tray, bringing over large bowls of freshly brewed tea and setting them on the table.

The leading constable picked up a tea cup and gulped it down in one go, only to be scalded so badly that he spat the tea right back out, cursing a blue streak in his thick accent.

The other Jianghu travelers shook their heads, looking away to resume their previous discussion.

At that moment, the bamboo-hatted man and the two Jianghu companions at the neighboring table suddenly straightened their postures and walked toward the three constables.

The constable, still cursing furiously from being scalded by the tea, suddenly noticed the three bamboo-hatted men approaching and demanded, "Damn it all, do you bastards want something?"

"Constable, sir, we would like to treat you to something!"

The man in the bamboo hat sneered.

The constable replied, "Treat me to what? Bring it out right now!"

*Splat!*

A flash of blade light, a fountain of fresh blood, and a fine head went flying straight into the air.

Blood gushed from the severed neck, surging several meters high.

The expressions of the other two constables shifted drastically. Before they could react, they were pierced through by swords wielded by the two companions of the bamboo-hatted man, dying instantly.

The surrounding Jianghu travelers were utterly shocked, scrambling to their feet and drawing their swords.

"Kill them all! Not a single one escapes!"

The bamboo-hatted man barked harshly, his figure charging into the crowd first to begin a massacre of blinding speed.

*Splat, splat, splat!*

*Ah! Ah! Ah...*

Cries of agony rang out one after another as blood splattered wildly.

All three of them used swift sword techniques, and their movement arts were exceptionally rare. Most of these Jianghu travelers were merely opportunistic onlookers whose actual combat prowess was negligible. Within moments, everyone inside the tea shack had been slaughtered to the last person.

***

The speed was so astonishing that even Chen Xuan had no time to intervene.

Right at that moment.

One of the men suddenly stamped his foot, his figure shooting out from inside the tea shack like a bolt from a bow. A layer of electric arc flickered along the longsword in his hand as he thrust fiercely toward Chen Xuan beneath the tree outside the shack.

Die!

If even we couldn't drink that wine, you thought you deserved to?

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, Chen Xuan, sitting beneath the large tree, extended his left hand and grabbed straight at the man's fine-steel longsword. Completely unfazed by the internal Qi and lethal poison coating the blade, he caught it as if bare-handedly grabbing a tree branch, and twisted violently.

The entire longsword was twisted into the shape of a cruller in an instant. Following that, Chen Xuan pulled hard, causing the Jianghu traveler's expression to change as his entire body was uncontrollably dragged toward Chen Xuan.

He desperately wanted to let go of the hilt, only to discover that a massive surge of force had manifested at the hilt, firmly gluing it to his palm and making it impossible for him to release his grip. Moreover, this force was bizarre and eerie to the extreme, causing the true qi within his own body to leak away crazily.

Terror gripped his heart.

What kind of martial art is this?

It can actually absorb someone's internal energy?

*Bang!*

His chest took the heavy impact of Chen Xuan's right palm. The power of the Five Poisons True Qi surged into his body, shattering his sternum on the spot, rupturing his internal organs, and causing him to spew a mouthful of dark blood before toxic poison invaded his heart and killed him.

His entire body was blasted backward by Chen Xuan's single palm strike, crashing heavily back inside the tea shack.

The expressions of the other two men, who were currently searching the bodies of the three constables inside the shack, changed dramatically.

"Third Brother!"

They whipped their heads around, stamped their feet to whip up a violent gale of wind—one wielding a saber, the other a sword—and lunged savagely toward Chen Xuan.

The saber techniques were dense as lightning.

The sword techniques were profound, resembling a torrential downpour.

Yet Chen Xuan completely ignored the onslaught. Utilizing the Eight-Step Cicada-Chasing movement art to its absolute peak, he moved with a blur-like velocity, charging frantically toward the bamboo-hatted man.

Focusing solely on one target!

*Clang, clang, clang!*

In an instant, the bamboo-hatted man's saber techniques collided with Chen Xuan's physique over a dozen times in rapid succession. Finally, Chen Xuan seized an opportunity, firmly grabbed the back of the blade, and channeled the power of the Heaven-Absorbing Demonic Art directly along the saber into the bamboo-hatted man's body.

The moment his saber was seized, the bamboo-hatted man's expression shifted drastically. He attempted to vibrate his wrist to shake Chen Xuan off, but was horrified to discover that his own internal energy was leaking away madly, flowing out like a breached river beyond his control.

How is this possible?!

He let out a furious roar, frantically waving his left hand to strike viciously at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan met him with a single palm strike.

*Bang!*

This time, he didn't use the Heaven-Absorbing Demonic Art. Instead, he unleashed thirty-seven years of internal energy combined with one thousand four hundred and twenty catties of physical strength—a terrifying and unfathomable might—striking squarely against the palm of the bamboo-hatted man. The blow shattered the bones in his wrist on the spot. With a miserable shriek and a mouthful of blood, the man was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the distance.

Meanwhile, the remaining man behind him unleashed a sword technique resembling a venomous dragon, taking advantage of Chen Xuan's engagement with the bamboo-hatted man to slash and hack wildly across his entire body. He unleashed over a dozen strikes in a flash, only to leave behind a dozen faint red marks.

The man was already frightened out of his wits.

It was his first time ever witnessing such a terrifying body-refining martial art!

Without a second thought, he leaped backward, spun around, and bolted into the distance to flee.

How could Chen Xuan possibly let him escape?

Unfolding the Eight-Step Cicada-Chasing movement art, he left a trail of afterimages as he instantly gave chase.

Within eight steps, none are faster than I!

*Bang!*

The man was struck squarely in the back by a single palm blow. The Five Poisons True Qi invaded his body, causing him to instantly spew a mouthful of blood, shriek miserably, bleed from all seven orifices, and crash heavily into the ground in the distance, thoroughly dead.