Chapter 22: Breakthrough! Fourth Stage of Heaven!

Li Xiangyang, boss of the Blood Wolf Gang.

The Green Snake Gang had six major leaders; half of them died in one go.

How could Han Qing not rage?

In his fury, Han Qing refused to hear any advice.

Li Wenzhong was merely an advisor, yet an old man by Han Qing's side, and he knew Han Qing's mood—only by venting could he recover.

How to vent?

Kill!

……

The corpses of Liang Feng, Wang Gui, and Zhang Baohua had not yet been collected.

Under Han Qing's furious leadership, the Green Snake Gang crossed the border and stormed into the Blood Wolf Gang's territory.

By the time Li Xiangyang received the news and arrived with his men, Han Qing had already killed two major leaders, nine minor leaders, and one hall master of the Blood Wolf Gang!

"Han! Qing!"

With a roar, Li Xiangyang, his entire body enveloped in qi, surged forward in an instant, covering ten meters to stand before Han Qing, his black palm smashing through the air with a muffled boom.

Huu~~

Bang!!

The sharp whistling mixed with violent explosions sent out massive shockwaves, hurling nearby members of both the Blood Wolf and Green Snake Gangs to the ground or forcing them back.

Han Qing, who had taken Li Xiangyang's palm head-on, was thrown backward uncontrollably, retreating five steps before stopping—his hands trembled, his face grim.

"Fourth Stage of Heaven?!"

Han Qing's voice, low and hoarse, growled, "No wonder you dared send someone to assassinate my Green Snake Gang—you've broken through!"

As his words ended, he stamped his foot, crushing a clear imprint into the blue stone tiles, then launched himself forward with the rebound, attacking Li Xiangyang.

Bang bang bang~

Li Xiangyang's eyes blazed with fury; his strikes left no mercy, his internal force surging, lifting the hem of his robe.

Everyone around retreated.

Only Han Qing, at Eighth Stage of Heaven, held his ground against the assault.

Though his realm was one level lower, Han Qing's combat strength was no weakling—especially fueled by rage, he fought like a madman, reckless with life!

Li Xiangyang was furious, but his mind remained clear.

As he fought, he shouted, "What assassination? You were the one who led your men to attack first!"

"Li Xiangyang, don't play the big shot!"

Han Qing launched furious attacks, roaring, "'Wu Sihai' killed three of my major leaders—wasn't that your order?"

Bang bang bang~

Qi swept across, flinging shattered stones.

Li Xiangyang struck continuously; hearing Han Qing's roar, he kept attacking while frowning, "Wu Sihai? He went missing—I never ordered him to assassinate your Green Snake Gang!"

Bang~

Crack!

A sharp crack of breaking bone—Li Xiangyang's palm struck Han Qing's chest, snapping two ribs, and the force sent Han Qing tumbling backward again, uncontrollable.

Li Xiangyang halted his attack, coldly stating, "Though I, Li Xiangyang, am no good man, my words are always reliable—one is one, two is two!"

"If I had ordered Wu Sihai to kill you, I'd admit it without hesitation!"

…… Han Qing, now stopped, blood trickling from his lip, breathed heavily as his expression shifted rapidly.

After a long silence, he muttered, "Are you telling the truth?"

……

……

Whether true or false, it no longer mattered!

Chen Mu, wearing a human-skin mask, disheveled and hidden among the chaotic fighters, listened to Han Qing and Li Xiangyang's exchange, a faint smile curling at his lips.

The goal of impersonating "Wu Sihai" and inciting the slaughter between the Green Snake Gang and the Blood Wolf Gang had been achieved!

Moving through the crowd, he collected over thirty cards—among them, one cultivation card with a two-year duration, and three more internal force cards.

Their respective internal force values: two and a half months, one and a half months, and two months.

Combined with the three internal force cards obtained from killing Wang Gui and Liang Feng, it was enough to break through.

Thinking of this,

Chen Mu decisively withdrew from the chaotic fight, slipped into an alley, left the Blood Wolf Gang's territory, and returned to Changping Fang.

Back home,

He informed Huang Feiyang that Xu Chong and Liang Feng had been dealt with.

Then he entered his room and took out the internal force cards.

He used them one by one—each activated, a new mass of internal force spontaneously formed within him, driving the Rolling Cloud Art to churn and strike at the bottleneck.

One, two, three…

When he used the fifth internal force card, totaling seven months of internal force, a soft "click" echoed inside him—the threshold between Third Stage of Heaven and Fourth Stage of Heaven shattered.

Hua la la~

His blood instantly surged faster.

His skin, flesh, tendons, and bones all strengthened and transformed comprehensively.

Chen Mu sat motionless, mist rising from his head and body.

His surging blood qi made his body burn hot.

After a long while, the mist dispersed, his qi and blood settled, and his breathing steadied.

Whoosh~

He stood up, took a step inside the room, and without channeling any internal force, threw a simple punch.

"Whizz~~~"

Boom!

The punch let out a howl, its explosion like thunder.

Fourth Stage of Heaven!

"It's done."

Chen Mu slowly exhaled, calming his agitated heart.

At the Fourth Stage of Heaven, the strength of his physical body alone could blast apart the air.

In a burst of sprinting, even without the aid of any lightness skill or movement technique, he could catch up to a galloping warhorse.

As for endurance, it depended on the individual.

Within the three great gangs — Green Snake Gang, Blood Wolf Gang, and Great Blade Gang — only high-ranking members at hall master level possessed this realm.

Fourth Stage of Heaven, or perhaps Fifth or Sixth.

And the gang leaders were at least Seventh Stage of Heaven!

Blood Wolf Gang's leader, Li Xiangyang, had broken through to the Ninth Stage of Heaven — Chen Mu had only just learned of this.

……

Knock knock~

The door was knocked.

"Huzi, asleep yet?" Huang Feiyang called out anxiously from outside the door.

"Not yet."

Chen Mu reined in his aura, walked over, and opened the door. "What's wrong, Brother?"

"Green Snake Gang and Blood Wolf Gang just had a brawl on the street. The two gang leaders, Li Xiangyang and Han Qing, both entered the fray personally and fought viciously. They say it started because some Blood Wolf Gang members ambushed and killed three big bosses of Green Snake Gang, Liang Feng included — you…"

"It was me."

Before Huang Feiyang could finish, Chen Mu calmly cut him off and admitted, "I used the human-skin mask Master gave me to disguise myself as a Blood Wolf Gang big boss called 'Wu Sihai', ambushed and killed Liang Feng and the others, and triggered another all-out fight between Green Snake Gang and Blood Wolf Gang."

"Earlier I was on the scene and counted the numbers. Both Green Snake and Blood Wolf lost quite a few hands. Two big bosses died, and one hall master too."

"Brother, you could suggest to Boss Xie that he persuade the gang leader to take the chance to swallow up some more territory!"

"……" Huang Feiyang gaped, dumbfounded in the doorway.

A pair of eyes stared fixedly at Chen Mu, filled at once with shock, astonishment, horror, and disbelief, and yet also brimming with relief and joy.

It was true!

Having just received the news, he had guessed that the one who triggered the all-out fight between Green Snake and Blood Wolf was most likely Chen Mu.

That was why he had hurried back to ask.

And it really was Chen Mu!

For a moment, Huang Feiyang was so stunned he couldn't speak, his head still a little dizzy.

After a long while……

"Huu~"

Drawing a deep breath, Huang Feiyang steadied his mind and asked carefully, "Huzi, what realm are you at now?"