Chapter 187: Number One Under Heaven

Will he be hated for this? Bai Lang didn't care at all; he had only killed a scholar‑turned‑thief, and his position as the Ming Dynasty Crown Prince's Junior Guard could easily bear such a small grudge. "Slave chief, keep your skull intact; I'll come to collect it on a day when I have leisure!" Bai Lang said this as he rode the current downstream. After all, this is just a world that Yu Yu brought him to traverse, and a world without any missions is more suitable for his cultivation.

The downstream speed was very fast, but Bai Lang could not evade the Eagle Claw Sun's tracking. That day his boat set out on the river, and several small boats hurriedly closed in on him, while the Yangtze River Navy's vessels also gradually approached. The boat's owner was terrified, not realizing that this passenger was actually a great rebel; he was even pondering where to treat the lone passenger to sliced‑knife noodles or wonton noodles.

A lone, flaunting‑wealth passenger is indeed dangerous; good people who pilot small boats are few. This boat was only a little over three zhang long, and with the owner and four oarsmen, they felt confident handling a single passenger. The problem was the passenger was unpredictable, tall and fierce‑looking, clearly not to be trifled with, so they hadn't dared to act. Now, the Yangtze River Navy's ships began to close in.

The first small boat that closed in let out a roar, "Rebel! Where are you going?" Someone, confident in his Lightness Skill, leapt from his boat a yard away. He was full of spirit and looked like an Imperial Inner Court Expert, spreading his arms like a hawk, aiming to land directly on Bai Lang's boat. Bai Lang burst out laughing, "In such a hurry to be reborn?" After speaking, the boat's canopy ripped open, and Bai Lang delivered a flying kick, "Even the Southern Dipper bones will be gnawed!"

The kick landed perfectly, completely shattering the opponent's Eagle‑Claw technique; the man exploded like fireworks, splintering into pieces and falling into the water. Bai Lang's Southern Dipper Prison‑Butcher Fist flying kick continued its upward arc, and when it finished it naturally landed on the opponent's small boat. When Bai Lang hit the boat, it felt like a ten‑thousand‑jin bronze bell dropping, and the boat snapped and was pierced through.

Amid the screams of those inside, Bai Lang sprang up, twisting in the air and, like a wish‑fulfilling ribbon, surged forward with a gale toward the second ship. The person turned into a horizontal Tornado, sweeping from bow to stern, completely shredding the vessel, and the people inside were reduced to flesh and blood scattered on the river. If there had been an Imperial Inner Court Expert, he would now also be spread across the river surface. Bai Lang's toe pierced the broken planks, and, seizing the moment, he employed the Ten‑Thousand‑Mile Solo Lightness Skill, leaping three to four zhang across to land on the Navy ship.

This level of Lightness Skill had long shocked the world and was no longer passed down. Bai Lang leapt onto the Navy ship and immediately began slaughtering. Many sailors on the deck were tossed straight into the river; as they were seized, the Internal Force that penetrated their bodies tore them apart, leaving heads smashed or chests and abdomens ripped open. Bai Lang's killing speed was so swift that his opponents barely had time to feel fear and scatter.

It took him less than a minute to wipe out everyone on that ship; during the Qianlong era the military equipment had become lax, the border troops were already a joke, and the Yangtze River Navy was essentially rotten. Bai Lang exterminated the unlucky souls on the vessel before they could even jump into the river. Then he simply set down the small boat's skiff, tore off its canvas awning, and walked away.

Because of the hull's obstruction, the other Navy vessels and the small boat hadn't yet realized what had happened; they only managed to seize the ship that Bai Lang had hired.

Bai Lang fled, and no one dared to chase. Afterwards, the boat's owner and the three oarsmen had their heads cut off… that could be considered Bai Lang's fault. Three Imperial Inner Court Experts died, all without a single piece of their bodies left, and now Bai Lang's reputation on the streets became quite renowned—because his record of killing officials placed him at the top as the number one rebel in the world. Whether it's the Heaven and Earth Society or the Red Flower Society, who is so ruthless?

They had rules for opposing the Qing: proceed slowly and gently, preferably letting their brothers get rich—Chen Jin Nan had said that well back then, but Bai Lang didn't want to repeat his words. Since he used a small boat and, as an Innate Expert, could minimize his needs for food, drink, and rest, his movement speed was great; he slipped past the encirclement silently and reached the mouth of the Yangtze River. He built a hut there and began diligently training his martial arts.

"This is actually the homeland of the Southern Dipper and the Northern Dipper," Bai Lang said, trying to suppress a laugh; his relaxed mood seemed to quicken his cultivation progress. The Golden Bell Shield Divine Skill might be able to attempt the Fifth Barrier in this world—originally it should have been broken before achieving the Innate stage, but Bai Lang's strange fate turned it around. Now a benefit is that he possesses the sharp Internal Force of the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist.

Just call it the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist; whatever the big brother says is law. The sharp Internal Force of this Southern Dipper Sacred Fist blends perfectly with the lethal intent cultivated through his White Tiger Illusion Tiger Form Fist, possibly producing a special effect when striking the Golden Bell Shield's barrier. The Golden Bell Shield Divine Skill now struggles to manifest its illusion, but when Bai Lang exerts his vigor, a spot on his flesh swells and moves with the airflow, looking both wondrous and terrifying.

The Southern Dipper Sacred Fist devours the Arhat Benevolent King Fist much more quickly; the Arhat Benevolent King Fist's Internal Force trains flesh and skin, allowing the body to grow, but Bai Lang's practice does not do that—instead it strengthens his Tiger Form True Meaning's wind‑control ability. After this fist is consumed by the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist, the latter can generate sharp vacuum wind blades within its palm and fist power—essentially, isn't that the Southern Dipper Water‑Bird Fist?

The vacuum wind blade Bai Lang forged is not a Water‑Bird Fist; it manifests as an axe, a spear, a siege‑cone, a war hammer—only never as a thin, sharp blade. Moreover, Bai Lang's attacks are not limited to hands and feet; his entire body can launch assaults, including coiling wind blades. His elbows and knees serve as siege‑cones.

Bai Lang trains rigorously on this island, almost never interacting with outsiders. Need rice, oil, or salt? That's easy—just hijack a transport ship on the river. Clothes are unimportant; Bai Lang fears neither heat nor cold, his body like gold and iron, naturally unafraid of insects or poisons, and practicing naked is fine—after all, there are hardly any people for miles around where he resides.

One day Bai Lang summoned the Southern Dipper Internal Force; as a result of his cultivation, the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist gradually assimilated the Golden Bell Shield's Internal Force, so his current practice can no longer be simply called the Golden Bell Shield. Bai Lang's Internal Force flows through his meridians like a long river bristling with blades, and he thought, "This painful yet exhilarating feeling… I love cultivation!"