Chapter 78: Zhuang Shisan, Destroyer of Evil!

Yan City had always been a little tense beneath the surface, but that night, the unease felt almost alive.

Under General Luo Yun’s command, squad after squad of soldiers streamed through the gates of the Xia residence. In no time at all, three thousand elite troops had assembled inside the residence.

Official Xia hurried out to greet them. “General Luo Yun, you have worked hard,” he said, offering a polite smile. Then with a wave of his hand, several attendants stepped forward with a large wooden chest.

Creak…

Official Xia opened the lid, revealing countless ingots. Some of the soldiers could not help but stare.

Official Xia’s smile widened. “General Luo, this is the mobilization fee for the army. If the Myriad Poison Cult is wiped out, you all shall be rewarded again.”

Luo Yun seemed indifferent to the ingots. “Official Xia, I received orders to bring my troops into the city to suppress a rebellion. Anything beyond that does not concern me. Just point me to the rebels.”

Luo Yun wanted nothing to do with this operation. He knew the Myriad Poison Cult was not rebelling; Official Xia was simply desperate to settle a score after finding out they had used the bewildering incense on his daughter to gain control over the Xia Clan.

However, Official Xia had simply gone around him and bought off his superior, and once the order landed on his desk, he had no choice but to obey. As tumultuous as the Da Yu Dynasty was, they still had proper control of their military.

Still, Luo Yun supposed there were worse assignments. Official Xia was generous, and they certainly would not return empty-handed. Besides, the Myriad Poison Cult was far from a virtuous organization, and if Official Xia wanted to spend a fortune to wipe them out, that was also a testament to his strength.

“General Luo, I will lead my guard unit and move with the army,” said Official Xia.

His guard unit had over a hundred men, most of them trained martial artists. Marching alongside the soldiers, Official Xia guided the group to a residential courtyard in the southern part of the city, where the Myriad Poison Cult had established their base.

When they arrived at the base, Luo Yun raised his hand, and three thousand soldiers moved into position, surrounding the base from every direction.

“You rebels inside, listen well!” Luo Yun called out. “Lay down your weapons and kneel on the ground, or you will be killed without mercy.”

His request was met with silence. In fact, the entire courtyard was eerily silent.

Official Xia frowned slightly. He felt that something was amiss.

Luo Yun, however, did not care. As a general who commanded a large army, he was not concerned with the enemy’s hidden plots or schemes.

After a short wait with still no response, Luo Yun gave his command. “Break in. Kill anyone who resists.”

Bang!

The soldiers quickly broke down the gate. At the same time, countless arrows rained down into the courtyard.

“Ghaaaah!”

A wave of pained screams echoed through the air.

A group of martial artists from the Myriad Poison Cult had been hiding behind the gate, prepared to ambush the soldiers who rushed in—but the arrows struck before they could act. One after another, they collapsed to the ground, their bodies covered in so many arrows that they looked like hedgehogs.

After the archers cleared out the courtyard, the sabermen and spearsmen marched forward in tightly coordinated groups of three to five, moving with practiced discipline.

Official Xia’s martial artists watched with grave expressions. This scene made something very clear to them: while a martial artist possessed great personal strength, it meant little when faced with hundreds or thousands of trained soldiers. Without proper armor, even an Organ Refinement martial artist would falter against a hail of arrows.

Of course, this depended entirely on the quality of the troops. A poorly trained soldier would collapse the moment a martial artist charged at them. Luo Yu’’s soldiers, however, were anything but weak. They were disciplined, well trained, and capable of responding to any situation with speed and precision.

As the soldiers pushed deeper into the courtyard, Official Xia and Luo Yun followed close behind. But when they stepped into the main hall, it was completely empty.

“Where is everyone?” Luo Yun turned to Official Xia with a puzzled look.

Official Xia’s brow tightened. According to the Xia Clan’s intelligence, this place was undoubtedly the base of the Myriad Poison Cult.

Whoosh…

A sudden gust of wind stirred the air inside the hall, carrying with it a faint sweetness that reached every nose. One of the Organ Refinement martial artists in the guard unit stiffened. He clamped a hand over his mouth and nose.

“Poison!” he shouted.

But his warning had come too late. The hundreds of soldiers who had entered the hall were already collapsing to the floor, their legs giving out as if all strength had been siphoned from their bodies.

However, none of them died. In a space this large, the fumes would never be concentrated enough to kill so many at once, but they were more than enough to drain a person’s strength. This was a common toxin used by the Myriad Poison Cult. After all, they were masters of poison.

Luo Yun and the other martial artists had also been poisoned, but as Organ Refinement martial artists, their bodies were strong enough to resist a portion of the toxin. As for Official Xia, he immediately took out an antidote pill from his robes and swallowed it, which allowed him to also resist the toxin.

Whoosh!

At that moment, dozens of figures surged out from the depths of the main hall, with the Right Emissary, Wang Feng, leading them.

Wang Feng let out a cold laugh. “Official Xia, you truly have both wealth and courage. You actually mobilized imperial troops for this. But it doesn’t make a difference. Your fate was sealed the moment you set foot in here.”

Seeing this, Luo Yun immediately ordered his men to retreat. “Fall back!”

There were still thousands of soldiers waiting outside, and as long as they didn’t step into the main hall, the cult’s poisons would not reach them.

But before anyone could move, two enormous cauldrons crashed down behind the group. Everyone spun around. An elderly man in his fifties stood there, holding a cauldron in each hand as if they were feathers.

The elderly man set the two cauldrons down and blocked the gate. Then he dragged over several more cauldrons and stacked them tightly against the first two, sealing the entrance. This completely cut Luo Yun and the others off from the more than two thousand soldiers outside.

“This overwhelming strength could only be of the Divine Strength Realm… Who are you?” Luo Yun asked. Apart from serving as a general in the imperial army, he was also an experienced Organ Refinement martial artist. He knew immediately from that display of power that this elderly man was a Divine Strength martial artist.

The man answered in a calm, almost leisurely voice. “I am the Guardian Elder of the Myriad Poison Cult, Zhao Wuji.”

“Zhao Wuji?” Luo Yun steadied his breath and slowly drew his saber. He had brought three thousand soldiers with him this time, yet he had never imagined he would face a Divine Strength martial artist.

To kill a Divine Strength martial artist, they needed a large army to overwhelm him with sheer numbers. But with more than two thousand soldiers sealed outside the hall and only a few left within, their situation was dire beyond measure.

“Greetings to the Guardian Elder.” Wang Feng bowed deeply, and the other cult members followed his lead.

“Wang Feng, you have ruined this entire operation,” Zhao Wuji growled.

Wang Feng’s stomach sank. He knew exactly how disastrous this outcome was. Even if the Guardian Elder wiped out Luo Yun and the others, the Myriad Poison Cult had lost any chance of controlling the Xia Clan. In fact, after slaughtering imperial troops, remaining in Yan City would be impossible.

Knowing full well that severe punishment awaited him for this failure, Wang Feng attempted to justify himself. “Elder, please allow me to explain. Everything went wrong because of that physician from Nanyang City, Lu Changsheng. I have already sent men to intercept and kill him.”

Zhao Wuji made no response. He simply stared at Wang Feng with a cold, unreadable expression. At this point, explanations held no value. Killing the physician or slaughtering the Official Xia and the others now would not change the final outcome.

Noticing the Elder’s silence, Wang Feng realized he would not be able to shift the blame. “I am willing to return to the cult and accept my punishment,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Good. Mistakes should be acknowledged,” the Zhao Wuji finally said, seeming satisfied with Wang Feng’s apology. “I will speak on your behalf when we return to lighten your punishment.”

He then turned to Luo Yun and the others, a murderous light flickered in his eyes. “As for these people… Well, anyone who disrupts the grand plans of the Myriad Poison Cult must pay with their life.”

Zhao Wuji cared nothing for imperial officials or high-ranking generals. Their status meant nothing to him.

Boom!

Zhao Wuji stepped forward, the ground trembling beneath him. A terrifying aura crashed down on everyone present. Even the Organ Refinement martial artists felt as if they were trapped in thick mud, their bodies so heavy they could barely move.

This was the power of a Divine Strength martial artist—far beyond anything an Organ Refinement martial artist could match.

At that moment, one of the massive cauldrons blocking the entrance suddenly rose into the air and shot straight toward Zhao Wuji’s back. Zhao Wuji reacted at once, twisting with startling speed and slamming his palm into the cauldron.

Clang!

A deafening metallic ring filled the hall as the cauldron was knocked away and sent flying back toward the entrance.

“Who goes there?” Zhao Wuji roared.

Clang!

Another loud metallic ring rang out, but this time, the cauldron came to a stop. Cracks spread across its bronze surface, then it shattered entirely, exploding into countless fragments. As the pieces clattered to the ground, a towering figure with broad shoulders and one fist still extended came into view.

Everyone stared at the unknown martial artist with a mixture of fear and disbelief. How had he reduced a bronze cauldron to pieces when such a feat usually required strength far beyond that of an ordinary martial artist?

Zhao Wuji’s expression darkened. “Sir, who exactly are you?” he asked cautiously.

Lu Changsheng did not answer. He simply reached behind him, grabbed a corpse by the collar, and flung it toward Zhao Wuji.

“Do you recognize him?” Lu Changsheng asked coldly.

Zhao Wuji’s eyes narrowed. “Tan Kong?”

Realization flashed across Zhao Wuji and Wang Feng’s faces. Tan Kong had been sent out of the city to ambush and kill Lu Changsheng, but now it became apparent that he had failed.

“To think the Myriad Poison Cult would send their men to kill a humble physician who has devoted his life to healing. Shame on you. Fortunately, I, Zhuang Shisan, happened to be passing through. Seeing the cruelty your men were about to commit, I could not stay idle, so I cut them down.”

Upon hearing this, something seemed to click in Zhao Wuji’s mind.

“So you’re the famous Great Hero Zhuang who has shaken Nanyang recently. After seizing the Four-Eyed Toad and killing the chief of the Blackwater Gang, Zhang Tianwu, you now wish to meddle in the affairs of the Myriad Poison Cult. Tell me, Great Hero Zhuang, do you think we are as weak as the Blackwater Gang?”

At this moment, just as Lu Changsheng had hoped, Zhao Wuji quietly accepted the idea that Zhuang Shisan had been the one to save the humble physician.

The life or death of an ordinary physician like Lu Changsheng meant little to Zhao Wuji. Zhuang Shisan, however, was a different story. Zhao Wuji had heard the stories of Zhuang Shisan killing Zhang Tianwu, a Divine Strength martial artist like himself, and so he remained cautious. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he had no desire to face someone of Zhuang Shisan’s caliber.

“Zhao Wuji, are you threatening me?” Lu Changsheng stepped forward, his tone filled with righteous indignation. “Since I am here, I will involve myself in the affairs of your Myriad Poison Cult. In fact, I intend to wipe you out completely. I have always hated evil with a burning passion. If fate hadn’t brought me here today, that would be another matter. But since it has, I refuse to stand aside and do nothing.”

Zhuang Shisan’s declaration rolled through the hall as his aura rose sharply. All the onlookers were trembling.

His reputation had spread far and wide, and everyone present had heard tales of this great hero. They knew he single-handedly annihilated the Desert Thirteen Riders and eliminated the bandits who terrorized Nanyang prefecture. Even when he defeated Zhang Tianwu to seize the Four-Eyed Toad, he had done so in an open and honorable manner. Everything about him marked him as a righteous hero of the jianghu.

The jianghu had fallen into chaos in recent years, but people like Zhuang Shisan still held fast to its principles. There were a few others as well, such as Long Fei, known as Slayer’s Saber, and Li Yikong, the Soul Chasing Swordsman. Like Zhuang Shisan, they honored the code of chivalry that defined the jianghu.

By now, everyone had more or less pieced together the situation, or at least what Lu Changsheng wanted them to believe the situation to be.

Zhuang Shisan had taken the Four-Eyed Toad and set off to leave the city. Outside the walls, he came across a helpless physician under attack and stepped in to rescue him. When he discovered that the attackers were members of the Myriad Poison Cult, he came straight to this base, determined to bring justice upon them and wipe them out entirely.

“Zhuang Shisan, do you really think I fear you?” Zhao Wuji frowned. He truly did not want to waste his energy on someone like Zhuang Shisan. To him, killing these so-called great heroes brought no benefit and could even invite unwanted trouble.

“Well, when I went against Zhang Tianwu, he turned out to be a big disappointment. Zhao Wuji, I hope you won’t disappoint me too.”

Voosh!

Lu Changsheng’s aura surged to its absolute peak. His blood qi burst outward with a violent rush, and as he stepped forward the entire hall trembled. Even the heavy cauldrons stacked at the entrance rattled against one another. In the next moment, the blood qi around him writhed like living tendrils, stretching out and wrapping themselves around the cauldrons.

“Die!”

With a powerful heave, several cauldrons roared through the air, all of them flying straight toward Zhao Wuji. Lu Changsheng leapt immediately after them, closing onto his enemy.

“Zhuang Shisan, I will grant your death wish!” Zhao Wuji erupted in fury.

As a renowned martial artist in the jianghu, Zhao Wuji had absolute confidence in his abilities. He had already given Zhuang Shisan several chances to retreat, but the man refused to yield. Zhao Wuji felt his patience evaporate. He would no longer hold back.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Zhao Wuji swept his arms up and down, unleashing a flurry of palm strikes against the flying cauldrons, knocking them aside with explosive force. At the same moment, Zhao Wuji sprang into the air, his fist driving straight toward Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng planted his foot on the rim of a spinning cauldron, using it as a springboard, and launched his own punch to collide with Zhao Wuji’s incoming strike.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep