Chapter 242

Cold wind billowed, fallen leaves rustled.

In the northwest of Heaven River Prefecture, amidst rolling mountains, a troop marched mightily along the mountain path.

The leader wore a great cloak, rode a reddish-brown horse over eight feet tall at the shoulder, had crane-white hair and a youthful face, his eyes deep as an abyss,

yet he was precisely the Elder of the Giant Whale Gang——

Meng Qianche.

Behind him followed dozens of Giant Whale Gang elites carrying several sandalwood chests filled with gold, silver, precious medicines, spiritual materials, and weapons.

Though the procession made no grand show, it still carried an imposing aura.

Meng Elder,

Behind Meng Qianche, a young disciple glanced at the Iron Sword Gate perched on the cliff and, unable to help himself, lowered his voice to say:

This Iron Sword Gate is utterly ungrateful.

Our chief has invited them repeatedly, yet Tie Hengliu keeps refusing, acting as if he were someone important.

Quite right,

Another stern-faced disciple interjected, 'The Iron Sword Gate is merely a second-rate sect; only because it has taken root in Heaven River Prefecture for years and gained some fame does it deserve our Giant Whale Gang's humble courtesy.'

That cannot be said.

Meng Qianche raised his hand, signaling everyone to pause, then spoke slowly:

Although the Iron Sword Gate is not a top power in Heaven River Prefecture, Tie Hengliu himself is a rare talent.

He only broke through Visceral Refinement near fifty, yet he completed it in just a few short years.

He also cultivated the Iron Sword Gate's supreme art, Profound Iron Hundred-forged Body, to an extraordinarily profound and terrifying level.

Throughout Heaven River Prefecture's martial world, it is said his bodily hardening rivals that of the Dragon Elephant Monk of old.

Such a person, if recruited into our Giant Whale Gang, would surely become a great asset.

Moreover, Meng Qianche paused, mountain spirits run rampant in Heaven River Prefecture, powers interlock like teeth; though our Giant Whale Gang dominates here, to truly become the lord of Heaven River Prefecture we must maintain good relations with these local sects.

The disciples heard this, though still dissatisfied, they said no more.

After a brief rest, the horse troop resumed its march.

Soon they arrived at the foot of the cliff where the Iron Sword Gate stood.

Something's wrong.

Looking up at the summit, Meng Qianche's brows knit, and the other Giant Whale Gang disciples twitched their noses, sensing something amiss.

A smell of blood?

Meng Qianche dismounted, and the other Giant Whale Gang disciples quickly followed.

Before long, they reached the gate of the Iron Sword Gate.

The once‑high‑hanging 'Iron Sword Gate' plaque was askew and broken, the gate half‑collapsed, and the stone steps were stained with blood.

The stone lions guarding the gate were shattered, and several disciples in Iron Sword Gate attire lay fallen at their feet, bodies already stiff.

Time of death no more than three days……

An experienced Giant Whale Gang disciple stepped forward, examined carefully, and drew a conclusion.

Everyone stay alert, split into teams of three to search; report any findings immediately. Meng Qianche ordered in a low voice.

Yes.

All the Giant Whale Gang disciples dispersed,

only a few young disciples remained, staying by Meng Qianche's side.

They were promising young elites the Gang intended to cultivate,

This time they were sent to ally with the Iron Sword Gate, and also to let them follow Meng Qianche out to gain experience.

Not long after, the disciples sent to scout returned and described what they had seen inside the Iron Sword Gate.

Three hundred thirty‑seven corpses; all elders and disciples are dead.

The killer is highly skilled in archery, his methods extremely cruel; the vast majority of bodies were killed by an arrow to the head……

Only a few Iron Sword Gate elders were beaten to death bare‑handed; the rest never even got to fight the killer before being mercilessly shot……

From the archery technique and power, the killer appears to be a single person!

Meng Qianche listened to his subordinates' report, mentally replaying the possible scene of the killer's massacre of the Iron Sword Gate that day.

The Iron Sword Gate clearly expected the enemy's arrival, so they had already set up a sword formation to wait,

but they did not expect the attacker's martial skill to be so high, his archery so strong that one man with one bow would rout their sword formation utterly.

Divine Archer!

And a Divine Archer who has mastered Visceral Refinement!

This person not only has superb archery, his speed is also extremely fast.

The Iron Sword Gate had over three hundred members; aside from the few guarding the gate, not a single one escaped, all dying on the mountain.

This was not a battle but a one‑sided massacre!

Yet the killer was only one person—where did he get so many arrows?

Meng Qianche's expression grew grave.

The Iron Sword Gate's disciples were all martial artists with accomplished inner strength; though most had only minor attainment, they were far from ordinary.

He reckoned that even if he acted himself, he could not possibly wipe them all out within the gate.

The whole sect was exterminated, not a single survivor.

What kind of enemy did the Iron Sword Gate provoke to meet such a fate!

Several young prodigies of the Giant Whale Gang felt a chill in their hearts.

The exterminator was also too vicious—one person, one bow, actually exterminated over three hundred members of the Iron Sword Sect, up and down.

Such strength is far beyond what they can now imagine or attain.

"Report! The corpse of Tie Hengliu was discovered in the rear courtyard of the mountain gate."

At that moment, the last team of Giant Whale Gang disciples sent to investigate also returned, reporting their findings.

"Tie Hengliu is dead too?"

Several young prodigies' expressions changed drastically, their faces filled with shock.

Only Meng Qianche remained silent, walking in the lead, heading toward the rear courtyard.

Along the way, corpses lay strewn across the field, death and injury everywhere.

The air of the entire Iron Sword Sect was permeated with a pungent smell of blood, even the mountain wind seemed to stagnate.

The most shocking thing was those corpses—either their heads were blown apart by a single arrow, or their hearts were pierced through by a single arrow,

Everyone died from a single arrow!

"No wonder the elders repeatedly stressed that among people of the jianghu, divine archers are the hardest to provoke.

Such miraculous archery is simply impossible to defend against!"

Several young prodigies felt creeped out, calculating in their minds how likely they would be to escape if they encountered such a divine archer.

The answer is, it's absolutely impossible to escape!

When they saw, before the Iron Sword Sect hall, the few Iron Sword Sect elders who had exchanged blows with the killer but were beaten to pieces, all the Giant Whale Gang disciples' faces changed.

"Just the same—one strike kills!

The killer not only masters archery, but his fist technique is equally astonishing, tyrannical and unmatched.

These several Iron Sword Sect elders, each versed in external training, could not withstand even a single punch from that person, their bones and tendons shattered into dregs—too terrifying!"

After closely examining the gruesome death of an Iron Sword Sect elder, Meng Qianche slowly exhaled a turbid breath and stated his conclusion:

"This person's martial arts are probably not inferior to mine!"

Hiss~

Upon hearing this, all the Giant Whale Gang disciples accompanying him sucked in a breath of cold air.

Although Meng Qianche is merely one of the six chief executives elders of the Giant Whale Gang, his strength is not to be underestimated.

Looking across the entire Cloud Prefecture, he is also a renowned and formidable expert.

In the eyes of the Giant Whale Gang disciples, Elder Meng's strength is only slightly inferior to that of the gang leader.

That the perpetrator could stand shoulder to shoulder with Elder Meng is truly shocking.

"Huh?"

Meng Qianche, walking at the front, suddenly halted his steps, fiercely flicked his sleeve, raising a sheet of gust that blew away the fallen leaves piled under a large tree, revealing a furry corpse.

"A mountain ghost?"

Meng Qianche's eyelid twitched, almost causing his eyeballs to pop out of his eyes.

How could there be such a ghostly thing inside the Iron Sword Sect?

Moreover, judging from its death state, it too was shot by that mysterious person.

Could it be that the Iron Sword Sect also has dealings with the Ghost Mother Sect?

If that is indeed the case, then their Giant Whale Gang's generous invitation this time would be tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house.

In an instant, Meng Qianche's back was drenched in cold sweat.

He felt relieved that the Iron Sword Sect had been annihilated; otherwise, letting it join the Giant Whale Gang would have unthinkable consequences.

Thinking thus, everyone had already arrived at the rear courtyard.

Upon seeing the Iron Sword Sect sect leader, Tie Hengliu, clad in heavy black-iron armor yet still pierced through the chest by a single punch, everyone stood stunned.

Is this Tie Hengliu?

Reputed as a Visceral Tempering Great Perfection master whose external training rivals the Dragon Elephant Monk of the Great Dragon Temple?

This death state…

Is also too miserable!

His black-iron armor was as thick as a palm, yet it was as fragile as paper, shattered through by a single punch, his bones shattered into fragments, his spine broken into seven or eight sections—extremely miserable!

"What a tyrannical fist technique!"

Meng Qianche's heart turned icy cold.

The martial arts of the person who made the move are not merely not inferior to mine—they are clearly far superior!

One punch breaks gusts, armor, and external training…

And can shake a person's viscera, muscles, and bones into this state!

Such a fist technique, such martial arts!

He is probably already on par with the gang's Three Chief Elders!