“The Mad Sun you had murdered was Elder Sun’s great nephew.
“Elder Sun is not here for revenge, he is simply excited to meet a Physique Refinement Master. Beside him is the elder invited here by the Medicine God Valley Sect. My Sect has deep connections with many sects around the world, it was easy for us to request one or two martial arts masters.”
Elder Qi said confidently. He made it sound like they had already defeated Chen Fan.” Chen Beixuan, hand over your recipes and maybe I will consider sparing your life. Otherwise, I will make you suffer so much that death is a mercy.”
The two Internal Force experts closed in onto Chen Fan.
Behind the two was a peak level spellcaster as well as many martial artists from Diamond Temple and Medicine God Valley Sect. Even Grandmasters would not be able to escape unharmed from such a crisis.
“What does the Lu family say about this?”
Chen Fan looked to Lu Tianlong and Lu Haixuan, who were standing by watching everything.
Lu Tianlong looked up into the sky to avoid eye contact with Chen Fan. Lu Haixuan let out a warm smile and said: “Master Chen, part of my offer still stands. If you had over your recipes, we would give you the elder title in the Lu family. However, the other offers, such as the company shares and our family lord’s favor, would have to be rescinded.”
“So at the end of the day, you, like the others, only care about the recipes!”
Chen Fan exclaimed.
He finally reckoned that he had underestimated the importance of his recipes to mortals. To be precise, he had underestimated the importance of the Body-Tempering-Pill, while The Essence Enhancing Pill required many rare ingredients, and it also required specialized skills to create them.
On the other hand, the Body-Tempering-Pill called for only the most commonly available ingredients, and anyone could have created it according to the recipe. Even though it only worked on External Force users, it was highly sought after on earth where External Force users were abundant.
Of all the Martial Artists from the Lu family, ninety-nine percent of them were of initial success in their Internal Force cultivation. If they could add a few more Physique Refinement cultivators who also achieved initial success, they would improve their overall strength by leaps and bounds. So much so, Chen Fan wagered that by then, the might of the Lu family should be comparable to that of a Physique Refinement Master.
Chen Fan had given the recipe of the Body-Tempering-Pill to the military, and they knew better than Chen Fan how valuable it was. That explained why the military had thought so highly of him.
“What made you so confident that you would be able to capture me?” Chen Fan asked calmly
“Well, let’s see.” Elder Qi cracked a smug smile.
The situation was well under his control. He had orchestrated this attack, pulling everyone and getting them to the right place at the right time. Let it be the Diamond Temple, Lu family, or the Xin Yi Sect, they were all after the recipe. Whoever got the recipes would end up on his doorstep, asking him to help them brew the elixirs. The Medicine God Valley Sect would win regardless of who gained those pieces of paper.
“Your only protector was Tong Shan. Let’s see if you will still be so confident after we do away with him first.” Elder Qi gave the people around him a commanding look.
The Medicine God Valley Sect Elder and Su Wudi picked up on the cue and threw themselves at Tong Shan.
They were confident that victory was already in the bag for them. Chen Fan was trapped with nowhere to escape. Even if the rumors were true that Chen Fan really was a Dao-Reaching Level master, they should still be able to defeat him with the support of Lu Tianlong. Already, Lu Tianlong linked his hands behind his back and was on alert, ready to lash out at Chen Fan should the situation call for his assistant.
“In less than ten moves, I will make you into history!”
Such was the pride of an Internal Force expert.
Jin Yi heaved a sigh. She liked Chen Fan and thought of introducing him to the Medicine God Valley Sect. If she was successful, not only the sect would gain two more elixir recipes, but also a future alchemy Grandmaster. However, Chen Fan had been refusing her invitation ever since the ambush. That piece of Spirit Wood she planned to give Chen Fan as a token of her goodwill was also the final warning, an ultimatum. She eventually gave up and called in the muscle after Chen Fan refused her gift.
However, Jin Yi was taken aback by the confidence in Chen Fan. Standing before Chen Fan were three internal force experts, one Physique Refinement Master, and a powerful Spellcaster. In her estimation, the force that surrounded Chen Fan would even be a headcase for her Sect Master.
“What is your trump card? Use it now before it is too late.” Jin Yi murmured to herself.
By then, Su Wudi and Tong Shan were already at each other’s throats.
When Su Wudi was still a few paces away from Tong Shan, he shot a jabbing fist out at Tong Shan. The force in his punch compressed the air, turning it into liquid. His fist came at Tong Shan like a loaded crossbow being released at point blank, it landed squarely on Tong Shan’s back. For the first time, Tong Shan stumbled.
“Direct Internal Force attack?” Lu Tianlong exclaimed. “No wonder Su Wudi was considered the strongest person below the Grandmaster level. He was only a small step away from Transcendent State.”
“I wonder if he dukes it out with grandpa Long, who would win?” Lu Haixuan asked.
“Haha, I am quite a long way away from him. I wager that only the Semi-Grandmaster from the Gu family would be his worthy opponent.” Lu Tianlong heaved a long sigh and changed his tone.” However, powerful Su Wudi is, he is no match against our family lord. A Grandmasters’s power was beyond any ordinary people’s imagination. His power was transcendental, like the power of a formidable dragon. No ordinary Internal Force user would be able to overcome the power of a Grandmaster.”
“I still haven’t got a chance to see our family lord in action yet.” Lu Haixuan lamented.
“The time will come, I promise you. By then, you will finally understand the definition of invincible.” Lu Tianlong said longingly.
Meanwhile, the battle was turning up the heat.
The arrival of Master Hen Tian’s helpers had freed up his hands. By then, the scrawny old man was bleeding from his nose, and his internal organs had shifted and turned upside down. However, he still threw himself at his opponent repetitively as if he was enjoying the battle.
Su Wudi and the Medicine God Valley Sect Elder worked in lockstep, one engaged Tong Shan in close range, while the other shot spells at the boy from afar.
Su Wudi’s fist came at Tong Shan belligerently like angry waves of the sea. His fist transformed in between many forms: Beng, Pi, Heng, Zuan, in the end, all forms became one, the Cannon form. When he delivered the attack, it made a defining blare that startled many spectators.
“Boom!”
It sounded like cannon fire at close range. The force compressed the air around the fist and turned it into almost liquid-like. Suddenly, a downpour of punches came at Tong Shan. Around the hulking frame, tables, chairs, vases all shattered into pieces, some attacks even landed on the wall, leaving many deep holes.
He was still half a step away from becoming a Transcendent Master, yet he already commanded such deadly force. It was hard to imagine what a Transcendent Master, the earth equivalent of a Grandmaster was capable of.
The Medicine God Valley Sect Elder, the man with a menacing air, swam amidst this teammates attacks, weaving in and out like a sea snake. With a final sprint, he leaped to the back side of Tong Shan and suddenly, as if out of nowhere a dark dagger appeared in his hand. The edge flashed in the air as the dagger landed on Tong Shan’s back.
“Clank!”
Despite Tong Shan’s iron-like body, the dagger was able to cut through his skin.
“Huh?”
The menacing looking man was taken aback at first. He had attacked with full force; however, the dagger was able to able to cut through Tong Shan’s skin but didn’t cause any life-threatening damage. He quickly gathered himself, and channeled more energy into the glinting edge and started to slash to Tong Shan’s back like a mad dog. In a blink, Tong Shan’s back was covered with small but painful wounds. The man attacked with near surgical precision as every attack landed right on Tong Shan’s spine.
“Arrrr!”
For the first time, Tong Shan snarled out his pain and anger.
He spread out his arms and swept at his attackers. Master Hen Tian was right in front of him and was caught by the sweeping attack. The old man was sent flying once again. Su Wudi was about ten paces away from Tong Shan and had been attacking him with his internal energy, so he was unharmed by the sweep. The menacing looking man was slippery as a fish, and he had easily evaded Tong Shan’s simple counter-attack.
“How’s it now, Chen Beixuan? Do you still think you can escape?” Elder Qi asked confidently.
By then, Tong Shan was on the brink of succumbing to his attackers. Meanwhile, Lu Tianlong stared at Chen Fan watchfully, ready to tie him down if the boy decided to help his big friend.
“Mr. Chen, just surrender already.” Jin Yi muttered.
The audience was convinced that Chen Fan was going to lose. They shook their heads and lamented Chen Fan’s foolish decision of butting heads with the Lu family and Medicine God Valley Sect in the first place. The tide of the battle was clearly not in favor of Chen Fan, and there was nothing he could do about it.
“He is ramming into a brick wall.” Someone lamented with a long sigh.
The development gave everyone a fearful look. It showed them how helpless an individual was before the combined might of powerful family clans.
“Who said that I am going to lose?” To everyone’s surprise, a strange smile surfaced on Chen Fan’s face.
He looked to Tong Shan with a great measure of confidence. The Tiger Demon’s Physique Refinement Art was a secret art of the Tiger Demon’s royal family, its power was unimaginable.
Lo and behold, Tong Shan grunted heavily, and then a tiger’s roar suddenly came out of his throat.
“Arrrr!”
A phantom in the shape of a human with a tiger’s head appeared behind Tong Shan. As the phantom plunged into Tong Shan’s body, many dark streaks covered Tong Shan’s face, making him look like a real tiger.
“Tiger Demon Claw!” Tong Shan’s fingers curled into claws, and he racked them in the air.
“Sssth-Wack!”
Creating powerful gusts of wind, his claw tore open every fabric of reality. The air became a blur where his claw whizzed through. Tong Shan’s attack was ten times faster than his previous attacks, and it was as fast as the speed of sound.
“Ah!”
Before the menacing looking man realized what had happened, he was dealt a blow by the claw. The claw caught his side and went through his body like butter. An Internal Force Master was laid low by Tong Shan with ease.
Tong Shan followed his first attack with another one.
Su Wudi shrieked and hurried to get out of harm’s way.
Master Hen Tian had already made his way to the forefront. There was no time for him to evade, so he raised both fists to cushion the blow. He was still confident that his iron-like body should protect him from this attack. He had sustained so many blows from Tong Shan, what made this one different?
However, to his surprise and dismay, his arms, previously unbreakable, were wrung out like clothes.
After a serious of stomach-churning snaps. Master Hen Tian’s limbs were twisted into soft strands of cheese. He was then tossed onto the ground like a discarded plaything.
The courtyard suddenly became quiet again.
No one had expected such an outcome.
Lu Haixuan rounded his eyes in disbelief.
Lu Tianlong gasped, his body trembled uncontrollably. The confidence on Elder Qi’s face was gone, Tong Shan had ruined his master plan.
Jin Yi heaved a sigh in her mind as she lamented her elder’s miscalculation. It was the biggest mistake he ever made