Chapter 21: Lending a Helping Hand

“Don't you dare act so arrogant! Fine, we'll do it your way—a duel. Three against three. That way, you'll have no excuses when you lose, and the losing side must kneel and beg for mercy!” the youth in fine clothes leading the Black Tiger Gang shouted angrily.

“Yes, Senior Brother Zhao!” A burly youth holding a large ring blade stepped out from the crowd, jeering at the people of the Thunder Blade Sect, “Grandchildren of the Thunder Blade Sect, who dares to fight me!”

“Let's fight then. Tao Chong, tear this brat's mouth apart in a moment. Let him learn the consequences of having such a foul mouth,” Shi Qingshan sneered.

“Yes, Senior Brother Shi. I will definitely use my blade to slash his filthy mouth open and teach him the price of his insolence.”

Tao Chong was a slender youth wielding willow-leaf blades in both hands. Though small in stature, his steps were light, and he appeared to be quite fast.

With a light shout from both sides, they clashed, and for a moment, the air was filled with the flashes of blades and swords. Wang Zhong of the Black Tiger Gang fought with grand, sweeping movements, his heavy strikes making a whistling sound as he swung his great blade, looking quite formidable. However, Tao Chong was being pushed into a defensive position by Wang Zhong; after taking two hits, he focused entirely on evasion.

The members of the Black Tiger Gang cheered incessantly.

“Quick, Senior Brother Wang! Cut him down with one blow and show the Thunder Blade Sect our prowess!”

“Senior Brother Wang is amazing!”

Meanwhile, the people of the Thunder Blade Sect were breaking into a cold sweat, though Shi Qingshan appeared perfectly composed. Lu Xiaotian watched this martial contest with great interest. Previously, whenever he passed the Thunder Blade Sect's training grounds, he had felt that the disciples' techniques were incredibly powerful and their movements dizzying, some even too fast to see clearly.

However, in the duel before him, the movements of both sides appeared somewhat clumsy in his eyes. Even Tao Chong, who was clearly following a light and agile style, was obviously using his speed to wear down the stamina of the Black Tiger Gang disciple, Wang Zhong.

Lu Xiaotian saw through Shi Qingshan's intention at a glance. It seemed Shi Qingshan had also spotted Wang Zhong's weakness, which was why he had sent him out. However, in Lu Xiaotian's view, Wang Zhong's footwork was not fast. Despite Tao Chong's frantic jumping and agility, Lu Xiaotian knew he would only need a single strike to seal off Tao Chong's path.

It seemed that cultivators were indeed incomparable to ordinary martial artists. Previously, he couldn't see these patterns clearly, and Lu Xiaotian felt a surge of joy. He was currently only at the first level of Qi Refinement; if he reached the second level, he would likely become even more perceptive.

“Senior Brother Shi, what should we do? It looks like Tao Chong won't be able to hold out against the Black Tiger Gang,” a young girl in white said to Shi Qingshan with a worried expression.

“No rush. The best part is yet to come,” Shi Qingshan replied, looking entirely unconcerned.

Sure enough, just as Shi Qingshan and Lu Xiaotian predicted, after about twenty moves, Wang Zhong's grand and continuous offensive failed to yield results. He was now drenched in sweat and clearly losing strength; his strikes were noticeably slower than before. Tao Chong, who had been circling, dodged one of the opponent's blows and seized the opportunity to press forward. His short blades flashed rapidly toward Wang Zhong's face. Panicked, Wang Zhong jerked his head back, but he still couldn't avoid it entirely, resulting in a bloodied gash several inches wide across the corner of his mouth.

“Haha! The Black Tiger Gang only knows how to talk big; they're useless once they actually start fighting!”

The disciples of the Thunder Blade Sect breathed a sigh of relief and burst into laughter.

“Three rounds, best of two! There are still two matches left, so the outcome is still uncertain. What are you so proud of!” the youth in fine clothes bellowed. Having already lost one round, he could not afford to lose the second, or the third wouldn't even need to be fought. He stepped forward boldly. “I'll take the second round. Which of you wants to step up and die?”

“Is the Black Tiger Gang only capable of empty boasts?” Shi Qingshan unsheathed his long blade, pointing it directly at the youth, and delivered a sudden strike.

The youth in fine clothes hurriedly parried.

*Clang! Clang!*

A series of clashing metal sounds rang out. The youth's martial arts were comparable to Shi Qingshan's, but Shi Qingshan's blade techniques were more fierce and even carried a hint of killing intent, backed by more combat experience. The youth's movements, by contrast, were often somewhat flashy but impractical, wasting unnecessary energy. After six or seven exchanges, Shi Qingshan seized an opening and unleashed a combo technique: the Rushing Thunder Blade Style. Four consecutive strikes sent the youth stumbling backward.

The longsword in the youth's hand was nearly knocked loose. Terrified and realizing he was no match for Shi Qingshan, the youth grew furious. “What are you standing there for? All of you, get him! Beat these Thunder Blade Sect bastards into the ground!”

“Kill!”

Following the youth's command, over a dozen other Black Tiger Gang disciples drew their weapons and rushed toward the Thunder Blade Sect members.

“Despicable! Senior Brother Shi, watch out!”

The Thunder Blade Sect disciples shouted in anger as the two sides clashed. Overall, the Thunder Blade Sect members were slightly superior to the Black Tiger Gang, but the gang had the advantage of numbers. They began fighting two-on-one, and Shi Qingshan was specifically targeted by the youth in fine clothes and two other disciples. Struggling against the three-man siege, two disciples were wounded by the Black Tiger Gang in short order, and even Shi Qingshan sustained a stinging blade wound on his back.

It seemed he had no choice but to intervene. He could ignore others, but Shi Qingshan was his childhood friend and had looked after him quite well in the Thunder Blade Sect. However, if a mere handyman who originally knew no martial arts suddenly transformed into a powerful warrior, it would inevitably attract attention if word got out. He could handle ordinary martial artists, but who could guarantee there weren't other cultivators in Pingwu County?

With this thought, Lu Xiaotian tore a piece of coarse cloth from his clothes to mask his face. Drawing the short sword from his waist, he charged forward rapidly.

“Haha! You Thunder Blade Sect pups! Today, I'll show you what I'm made of!” The youth in fine clothes, his face contorted, thrust his sword toward Shi Qingshan's abdomen. He was a dominant figure among the younger generation of the Black Tiger Gang, yet he couldn't last ten moves against this man. He had to repay this humiliation twofold, or his resentment would never be eased.

“Senior Brother Shi!” the girl in white cried out. Seeing that Shi Qingshan had just parried two others and was now exhausted with no momentum left to recover, this thrust was impossible to avoid.

*Clang!*

A gray figure flashed past. The youth's sword was knocked aside, and his vision blurred. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted in his abdomen as he was sent flying by a kick.

The gray figure did not stop after kicking the youth away. He lunged with incredible agility toward another Black Tiger Gang disciple. After two quick exchanges, he wounded the man's arm with a sword thrust.

In a matter of moments, the gray figure had wounded seven people; not a single one could last a single move against him.

“Run!” The Black Tiger Gang disciples were terrified. The youth in fine clothes, his face deathly pale, hurriedly shouted an order and led his men in a frantic retreat.

“Thank you, brother, for your assistance! If not for you, we might not have made it back safely today. May I ask your name? The Thunder Blade Sect will surely repay you!” Shi Qingshan said, looking at the gray-clad youth with deep admiration. To wound seven people so effortlessly—even a first-rate martial arts expert might only be capable of such a feat.

“No need for repayment. The Black Tiger Gang disciples have suffered a loss; they will likely bring experts back for revenge soon. This is no place to linger. You should leave quickly.” After speaking, Lu Xiaotian leaped onto a nearby rooftop and vanished from their sight.

Once off the roof, Lu Xiaotian pulled off the coarse cloth and shook his slightly sore wrist. He had clashed with the Black Tiger Gang disciples several times, and his wrist felt a bit numb. These were merely gang disciples; if he had faced long-renowned first-rate or even peerless martial artists, he might have been outmatched. It seemed that after practicing the *Primordial Chaos Sutra*, the increase in physical strength was secondary; his true advantage lay in his vision and his heightened perception of his surroundings, which were far superior to those of a martial artist. In terms of raw power, he was likely still inferior to a first-rate expert.

***

Inside a luxurious guest room at the Dongyang Inn in Pingwu County. A dignified, square-faced middle-aged man slammed his palm onto a table. With a loud crash, the thick wooden table splintered into a pile of debris.

“This is outrageous! The Black Tiger Gang ignored the code of the martial world and dared to ambush our disciples. This debt must be settled!”

“Junior Brother Qian, there is no need for such anger. If this were Qingzhu County, we could simply march to their gates, but this is Pingwu County. The Black Tiger Gang are the local powers, so they are naturally more arrogant. Fortunately, Qingshan and the others were not seriously injured. This gathering of Liangzhou sects is a mixed bag, and our Sect Leader has not yet arrived. We should wait and see. When the Martial Arts Assembly is held, we can denounce the Black Tiger Gang in front of all the sects and issue a challenge to dampen their spirits.” A white-haired elder sitting nearby shook his head.

“Very well. We shall wait for the Sect Leader's arrival to decide. But what is this about a masked swordsman coming to the rescue?” The square-faced man, Zhou Lie, was the Head of the Thunder Blade Sect's Disciplinary Hall and Shi Qingshan's master.

“This disciple does not know either. The person's martial arts were extremely high, but he used cloth to mask his face and seemed unwilling to reveal his identity. He wounded seven Black Tiger Gang disciples in succession and scared off the rest, allowing us to escape safely. Otherwise, under their siege, we would have been at their mercy.” Mentioning the masked man, Shi Qingshan spoke with gratitude, but then added, “However, judging by his build, he should not be much older than us disciples.”

“What? He has such skill and is not much older than you?” Zhou Lie and the white-haired elder were both shocked. “To defeat six or seven members of the Black Tiger Gang without sustaining a single scratch... he must be at least at the level of a first-rate expert. In the younger generation of the martial world, those with such ability are few and far between; he should be at least nearly thirty.”

“I did not expect Pingwu County to be such a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. But since the man is unwilling to reveal his identity, let it be. From this incident, it seems he is a friend, not an enemy. This is ultimately a good thing for us,” the white-haired elder said, shaking his head.

(End of Chapter)