Outside the Hu Clan, Feng Yan and Gu Dan were waiting with the troops from Ikasa’s Private Force. To not draw the attention of passersby, Feng Yan had dispersed the troops. And then they waited.

“What do you know of the Hu Clan, Blacksmith Gu?”

Feng Yan asked, trying to pass the time with mundane chatter.

“Hu Clan was just a small Mercenary group when they arrived in the City many years ago. Twenty years ago, they took an exploration mission. Only the current Clan Master returned with the Dragon Blood Saber and a child.”

Feng Yan became intrigued by the story. A single person had apparently grown the Clan from nothing to one of the strongest powers of the City. He envied the Clan Master Qing for accomplishing something he was unable to do.

Suddenly, he heard hurried movements inside the compound. He sneaked a peek inside. Seeing the guards gathering near the Clan Master’s Hall, Feng Yan realized this was the crisis Ikasa talked about.

He whistled, signaling his hidden troops to gather. As soon as his men gathered, he charged towards the gate.

“Commander, watch out!”

A loud shout from one of his men drew his attention. Without thinking, he rolled to his right, to dodge whatever threatened him.

A split second later he felt something warm splash on his skin. The smell of blood followed soon after.

When he looked up, he saw a severed forearm of a man on the ground beside him. Before him, a young man in his late teens was pressing on his wound, trying to stop the blood from flowing.

In front of the young man stood a man covered in black, from head to toe. In his right hand, he held a saber pointed at the ground. A drop of blood trickled down the saber’s tip into the mud.

Feng Yan slowly reached the eyes of the man. He saw cold indifference in his eyes, unperturbed by the act he had committed.

‘A hardened warrior.’

Feng Yan judged the danger level of this man instantly. He pushed the injured soldier to Gu Dan and faced the man shrouded in dark.

“You are Feng Yan.”

A gruff voice coming from the man fell into Feng Yan’s ears. He could not tell whether it was a statement or a question. However, he realized one thing; He was the target of the man before him.

Feng Yan’s gaze turned solemn as this was the most powerful opponent he had encountered to date. He breathed according to the [Around the Body in 80 Breaths], and aroused his energy.

By this time, his men had encircled the two Sense Trainers. Even though this was their first battle, they passed the test of nerves with splendor.

Even so, Gu Dan forbade them from attacking and quietly watched the two men circle each other like a lion and a tiger. A battle of will had already commenced between them. Hu Bei lost his patience and made the first move.

He slashed his saber wide, trying to cut Feng Yan. The wide swing meant Feng Yan had no other option but to roll on the floor to dodge.

The moment he did so, Hu Bei changed his attack. He took a long step and shortened the distance between the two. With a vertical slash, his saber’s tip sliced the back of his foe open.

Hu Bei drew the first blood with this strike.

Feng Yan stopped hiding his cards and readied himself to use Wind the Way. When another saber slashed at him, he skillfully avoided the attack in the nick of the time. If he was a second later, he would have a deep gash on his torso.

‘Tsk! Even though this Top Grade Cultivation Manual is good, having a weapon would be better.’

Feng Yan cursed as a sweatdrop rolled down his forehead. At this time his eyes met Gu Dan’s, who stood directly behind his opponent, watching the fight as a silent spectator. Treating the fight as a spectacle, he was eating melon seeds!

Seeing his relaxed expression annoyed Feng Yan. Then he had a thought. ‘Why the hell am I treating this fight as a duel?’

Realizing his folly, he immediately shouted, “You bastards, what the fuck are you doing? Attack him!”

His shout jolted the men out of their inaction. Even Hu Bei was startled by Feng Yan’s unscrupulous behavior.

From what he had heard about Feng Yan, Hu Bei had imagined him to be a powerful Second Commander of City Guards who valued honor.

He couldn’t be more wrong as was proven by his current situation. He faced attacks from all sides. Some connected while most went wide.

His only defense was swinging his saber wildly to deter the approaching men. ‘No, I have to get out of here.’

His thoughts moved in the right direction but his body couldn’t. The surrounding men did not allow him to escape their encirclement. He swung his saber horizontally in the circle once more to create some breathing room for himself.

Feng Yan slyly took advantage of this opportunity and executed Gazelle Punch. Timed exactly right, his move hit Hu Bei in the jaw the moment he finished his swing.

Then Feng Yan jumped back to avoid Hu Bei’s instinctive saber slash. But he had achieved his goal.

As soon as the punch connected, Hu Bei saw stars flash before his eyes. Before he could recover, Gu Dan closed the distance and used the low-grade battle technique, Jab, hitting the man in his floating ribs.

The attack was not powerful enough to break his ribs, but it sure caused a lot of pain. Hu Bei hunched, holding his right side with his left hand, his right hand still clenched around the grip of his saber.

At this moment, Feng Yan risked getting slashed at and closed in once again. Avoiding the diagonal half slash, he reached Hu Bei and sucker punched him in his stomach.

Feng Yan found a chance to grab the wrist holding the saber, taking away Hu Bei’s most threatening attack method. Then he used a Nutcracker Kick on Hu Bei’s nuts.

Even after getting hit numerous times, Hu Bei had not uttered a single moan or scream. But when his balls were attacked, a guttural cry came from his throat.

His grip on the saber loosened and he fell to the ground in a fetal position, his hands holding his reascended testicles.

The newbies of Ikasa’s Private Force were left stunned by the outcome they had helped achieve.

An Advanced Sense Realm Expert was a person to dread for Path Forgers all around the world but now one of these dreaded people was lying on the ground before them.

“Beat this bastard up! How dare he cut the arm of Zhong Xi?”

Gu Dan’s incitement washed away the remaining respect they held for the fallen Sense Trainer.

“Fucking Bastard! You dared swing your saber at my brother?”

One of the soldiers took the initiative to kick the man on the ground. With it, any apprehension others had also dissipated. They mobbed around the Hu Bei and rained down punches and kicks; his dignity be damned.

While their men were bruising the poor Sense Trainer black and blue, Gu Dan popped another melon seed in his mouth. He looked at Feng Yan who was watching the scene with perverse pleasure.

“Old Man, aren’t we forgetting something?”

Gu Dan asked, cleaning the shells of melon seeds from his robe. Feng Yan’s face turned pale.

“Shit! Ikasa!”

The realization rescued Hu Bei from his misery. Feng Yan had him tied up and dragged him inside the Hu Clan’s compound. The men formed files as they followed behind the three Sense Trainers.

Soon their intrusion was discovered by the troops gathered around the Clan Master’s hall.

—–

“Hold on, City Lord! Who said he can leave?”

Hearing the arrogance in Clan Master Qing’s voice, Ikasa narrowed his eyes. City Lord’s face darkened at the commanding tone. Still, his footsteps paused.

“Clan Master Qing, don’t be impudent. We may be in your Hu Clan, but this is my City!”

Zhen Wu hissed, gnashing his teeth. With a body riddled with wounds, he was not in a condition to battle. But this was a matter of pride and prestige. He could not bow down.

“Lord Zhen, this person has killed two Sense Realm Experts of our factions. We have the right to administer his due punishment.”

Sect Master Yan put forth a strong reason to support Clan Master Qing. His argument silenced the City Lord when he understood that these two Masters will not back down.

He was conflicted; To support or not to support. He looked at Ikasa from the corner of his eyes and noticed his calm.

‘Does he have the confidence to make it out of this situation alive?’

Zhen Wu wondered. Unfortunately, he had taken too long to make his decision. Ikasa was somewhat disappointed by his shaky backing, but he now knew the extent of their partnership.

Knowing Feng Yan and Gu Dan were outside, Ikasa had no fear when he looked into the eyes of the Clan Master Qing and Sect Master Yan.

With a grin, he said, “If you don’t back down, I don’t mind adding two more tombstones to your cemetery.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep