“Ding!”
With a crispy clink, the silver blade hit Tong Shan’s foot and bounced off. It was as if it had landed on an iron pipe.
“Shit!”
Ding Pen was set back on his heels.
He was well known for his skills in throwing knives. He could have penetrated a wall with just a regular fruit peeler, much less the silver blade he used. That blade was made from a special alloy that combined iron with zinc, nickel and many other elements. It was extremely sharp and was able to slice through even a few layers of metal sheets. However, the fact that it bounced right off of Tong Shan’s foot proved the giant’s power.
The set back made Ding Pen waver. He took a few steps back and retreated back into the shadow.
However, Second Lord Xin and Mad Sun didn’t mind Ding Pen’s failure. Second Lord Xin shouted: “Let’s do away with this big guy. He is an Internal Force user or an External Force master at the best. Once he is dead, Chen Beixuan will be defenseless.”
It turned out that he didn’t have to spell their tactics out loud as everyone else had already focused their attention on Tong Shan.
Tong Shan stood still, his large body loomed before everyone like an iron pagoda. It was hard not to take him seriously.
“Shit, shit! Big Cousin is not going to ward them off.” Lu Yanxue’s face paled.
She knew the power of these martial artists. However, strong an ordinary person was, he could not withstand a blow that was infused with internal force. Having grown up in a martial arts family, she had seen many cases where a Sanshou champion was defeated by an internal force martial artist with ease.
“Don’t worry, Tong Shan will take care of them.” Chen Fan remained calm as he spoke lightly.
By then, Mad Sun was already at Tong Shan.
He punched at Tong Shan with abandon. His belligerent fist rumbled across the air. Halfway through his punch, he suddenly changed the direction and swept his attacking hand sideways like swinging an ax at a tree. Then, his attack sped up and a trailing gust was created behind. In the end, he took advantage of the built-up force and momentum and changed his sweep attack into a jab. His fists transformed into the venomous mouth of a drake that threatened to pierce into Tong Shang’s chest.
By then, Mad Sun had displayed all four basic forms of the Xing Yi Fist: Pao, Pi, Heng, Beng. The final transformation, the jabbing attack was the epitome of everything that made Xing Yi Fist a legend. If any ordinary Xing Yi Fist practitioner had witnessed his moves, they would bound to be impressed.
“This attack should hurt him.”
Mad Sun thought to himself confidently.
The very last jabbing attack was particularly effective against people with extraordinary external force attainment. It focused all the force onto a small impact area and thereby increasing the depth of penetration.
“Bang!”
To Mad Sun’s utter surprise, his fisted landed on Tong Shan’s chest but caused not even a dent. Instead, his fingers were hurt by the force that bounced back.
“Impossible!”
Mad Sun was shocked by the development.
Even as he tried to gather himself, Tong Shan had delivered a punch at him.
Tong Shan’s attack seemed ordinary and mundane. It looked no different than a punch from an average person. However, Tong Shan’s immeasurable strength made up for his lack of fitness. His punch was so powerful that it was able to go through a minivan.
It was too late for Mad Sun to evade completely; therefore he spun sideways to avoid a frontal impact.
Tong Shan’s blow caught Mad Sun’s side, and the latter immediately let out a painful howl. His body was blown away and landed a half a dozen meters away. “He is… strong…”
Second Lord Xin and the others were taken aback by Mad Sun’s defeat.
Mad Sun was a Xing Yi Fist master with Initial Success in Internal Force cultivation. He had mastered the art of Xing Yi Fist, yet he was still no match against Tong Shan.
“Move!”
Ding Pen shouted, trying to alert Second Lord Xin.
Second Lord Xin was startled by the shout at first when he finally gathered himself, he saw Tong Shan was already charging at him.
Seenly, he opened up all pores on his skin as his heart raced and thumped heavily in his chest. He mustered all the energy in his body and pushed himself backward a few dozen meters. As soon as his body left the ground, Tong Shan’s large body filled up the space right away.
“Kaboom!”
The ground where Second Lord Xin was standing crumbled under Tong Shan’s weight and then caved in. The pavement cracked, creating many fissures that spat pebbles and rocks in all directions.
“This dude is terrifying.”
Second Lord Xin’s back was drenched in sweat. If the attack had landed on him, he would have turned into a pulp. He didn’t dare to underestimate Tong Shan and therefore he had brought help with him. However, it occurred to him that even his conservative estimate of Tong Shan’s power was a far cry from his real strength.
“Ah!”
Another painful howling came up from somewhere in the darkness.
Even as Second Lord Xin tried to steady himself, one of the martial artists that followed him here was snatched up by Tong Shan like a little chick and Tong Shan slammed the poor guy on the ground repeatedly.
“Peng! Peng!”
The ground was fractured by the repeated impact, while the man in Tong Chan’s clutch was already reduced to a featureless stump.
“This is crazy! let’s get out of there!”
The last martial artist who was unharmed trembled at the terrifying sight as the life drained away from his face.
Tong Shan didn’t use any fancy techniques. His moves were simple but effective and extremely deadly.
These Martial Artists were all dominating figures in their local area and owned sizeable fortunes. However, before Tong Shan, they were as fragile as clay dolls.
“Let me try him.”
The brawny man from the Diamond Temple shouted as the air around him started to hum. In a blink, his body increased the size and his height reached two meters, the same height as Tong Shan’s shoulder.
Golden sparkling lights bounced off his body, it was as if he had dipped himself in a pool of gold glitter.
“The Diamond Body of the Diamond Temple?”
A sliver of hope flashed in Second Lord Xin’s eyes.
The Diamond Temple was well known for its external strength since that was all they practiced day and night.
Once a martial artist reached the highest level in the Art of Diamond Body, he would be unharmed by bullets nor blades. Even ten years after he was dead, his body would be perfectly preserved.
The brawny man was one of the most powerful martial artists among the ambushers. He had dedicated his entire life to strengthening his body, by then, his power could have rivaled a Phenomenal Success level Internal Force user. Therefore, no one protested when he demanded the Body Tempering Pill for himself.
However, during the time it took for the brawny man to muster his energy, Tong Shan had caught up with the fleeting martial artist and stamped his feet on his body. The poor soul was crushed to death like a balloon.
“Pop.”
Tong Shan made one more hole in the ground and another big bloody mess.
In less than thirty seconds, the five perpetrators were reduced to only two: The brawny man and Second Lord Xin.
“Bravo! I never expect anyone outside of the Diamond Temple could achieve such a powerful External Force.”
The brawny man smiled broadly.
After he finished his words, he charged at Tong Shan.
Every step of the brawny man left a sizable dent on the pavement as the hulking frame charged out like a mad beast. During a confrontation of two external force experts, techniques played a much smaller role than pure strength. Whoever threw the hardest punch would win the match.
“He is a mad man!”
Second Lord Xin cursed in his mind, however, the sight had also given him hope. If the brawny man was able to defeat Tong Shan, he wouldn’t have to run away like he had been planning to. However, what he saw next made his heart dropped to the bottom.
He watched as Tong Shan shot out two giant hands and seized the brawny man’s shoulder, holding him fast. Then Tong Shan jerked his arms in opposite directions.
“Kacha!”
The brawny man’s skeletal frame was split in half from the middle.
Second Lord Xin was paralyzed by the turn of the event. The thoughts about the Diamond Body and the Diamond Temple melted together in his mind and turned into a big joke. The Diamond was crushed and kneaded like a piece of dough.
In less than one minute, four out of five martial artists that followed Second Lord Xin here were either dead or passed out; no one knew where Ding Peng was.
Second Lord Xin was all by himself now, standing in the middle of the road, suddenly, the path became pin-drop quiet.
Miao Xiaoqian and Lu Yanxue huddled together and covered their mouths in surprise. They thought their eyes had deceived them.
They had been terrified by the six martial artists who surrounded them, but Tong Shan had come in and saved the day with ease. Large holes were scattered all over the paved path, and near them, a large frame erected before them like a demon god. The sight was surreal, and Lu Yanxue was no longer sure if she was in reality or a dream.
What the heck happened? Wasn’t Chen Fan just an ordinary boy and his Big Cousin an average joe with a slightly challenged mind? How did they become so powerful?
“Bam!”
Even as the girls tried to make sense of things, Second Lord Xin dropped to his knees before Chen Fan.
“Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen! I am sorry! I won’t do this again! Please, for old times sake, forgive me! I will be your dog for the rest of my life…”
He pleaded as he kowtowed to Chen Fan, hitting his forehead vigorously at the hard pavement until it let out a dull thump. It wasn’t long before his skin was cut open and blood started to drip. However, the pain and the blood didn’t slow down his kowtows. He was terrified by Tong Shan’s power. He swore that it was the most horrible thing he had ever seen during his career as a martial artist.
“Bang!” “Bang!”
Heavy and imperious footsteps approached him. Second Lord Xin didn’t even dare to look up at the person before him, instead, he kowtowed even faster. The blood that seeped into the cracks in the pavement had filled the hole up and started to pool.
“I have told you that if you worked for me, I would give you the Physic Refining Pill, didn’t I? Why would you still do this?” Chen Fan heaved a sigh.
“Mr. Chen… I am sorry.. sorry…”
Second Lord Xin dared not to explain himself, the best thing he could do was to kowtow repeatedly.
“Well, you do have a better attitude than most of the others, plus, you do have some use for me.” Chen Fan’s tone softened a little.
Second Lord Xin finally found a shred of hope. Even Lu Yanxue thought that Chen Fan would let him go.
However, Chen Fan continued: “But that doesn’t mean I won’t punish you.”
“What?”
Second Lord Xin was set back on his heels again.
Before Chen Fan finished talking, Second Lord Xin sprung up like a loaded spring and darted away. However, before he took a second step, his vision turned black.
Tong Shan’s giant hand wrapped around Second Lord’s head and covered his eyes.
“Bang!”
With a slight clenching of the giant’s fingers, Second Lord Xin passed out.
Then and only then, Chen Fan continued: “No one would get away with offending me: Chen Beixuan!”
Lu Yanxue couldn’t believe her eyes.
She had never thought the night would end like this
The path that hugged the lake was now riddled with holes. A demon like giant stood in the middle of the path with a lifeless stare. Two girls huddled together, shaking uncontrollably. It was a sight of an eerie nightmare.
Chen Fan stood under a wash of street light, linking his hands behind his back. In his eyes, the scene was not all that bad, in fact, he thought it was rather quaint.