Chapter 77: Defeat the Four Evils

“I beg the young friend to tell me the source of this information.”

After scolding Yue Laosan, Duan Yanqing continued to ask.

Zhang Jie smiled faintly: “What if I don’t want to say?”

“Young master, don’t be ungrateful.”

Ye Erniang studied Zhang Jie’s elegant and outstanding demeanor, and giggled dreamily:

“Such a handsome face—if scarred, it would be a pity.”

‘Damn! Is Ye Erniang insane?’

Seeing Ye Erniang suddenly act a bit unhinged, Zhang Jie felt a thousand grassy horses gallop through his mind.

He knew Ye Erniang loved torturing and killing infants, but he never knew she also enjoyed torturing handsome youths.

Yet Zhang Jie thought again:

‘Perhaps she went mad after Xiao Yuanshan stole her child.’

And madmen are capable of any monstrous act.

“Have you considered my offer, young friend?”

Duan Yanqing showed great patience.

It wasn’t that years of cultivation had softened his temper,

but that this information was of utmost importance to him.

“If Duan Yanqing wishes to know, come and take it yourself.”

Zhang Jie casually tossed the chess piece back into the box and took one step forward.

“You insolent brat!”

This time, the fiery-tempered Yue Laosan could no longer hold back.

He raised his crocodile shears high and charged at Zhang Jie like a frenzied crocodile.

This time, Duan Yanqing said nothing, tacitly approving Yue Laosan’s action.

His patience had its limits!

“Don’t be so arrogant!”

Fan Bailing raised his chessboard and stepped forward to meet Yue Laosan.

Chi ！

The chessboard clashed with the crocodile shears, sparking a cascade of sparks.

Fan Bailing’s chessboard was clearly forged from metal!

While Fan Bailing and Yue Laosan fought fiercely,

Ye Erniang and Yun Zhonghe made no move, allowing Duan Yanqing to slowly approach Zhang Jie.

In their eyes, their boss, the leader of the Four Evils, capturing a mere youth like Zhang Jie was as easy as reaching into a pocket.

“Since the young friend refuses the cup of wine and chooses the cup of punishment, don’t blame old man.”

Duan Yanqing advanced slowly, speaking through ventriloquism.

“Duan Yanqing, feel free to act.”

Zhang Jie still wore a smile.

He didn’t seek out the Four Evils for a dinner invitation!

At that moment, Zhang Jie’s body shifted slightly, and in the blink of an eye, he moved several steps sideways.

Earlier, while Zhang Jie was replying, Duan Yanqing had secretly raised his iron cane with his right hand and pointed at Zhang Jie from afar.

Ci ～

The cliff wall behind Zhang Jie emitted a sound like tearing leather.

A hole, as thick as a thumb and of unknown depth, appeared on its surface.

If this had struck a vital point, even a top-tier expert would die instantly!

“Duan Yanqing’s One Yang Finger is truly divine!”

Zhang Jie praised calmly, as if the attack had not been aimed at him at all.

Zhang Jie genuinely admired it—after his disability, Duan Yanqing had forged a new path,

using his iron cane forged from strange metal to channel One Yang Finger power,

generating finger energy nearly identical to the Six Meridians Divine Sword—truly a paragon of perseverance despite physical ruin.

Cici ～

Duan Yanqing said nothing, thrusting out several cane strikes in rapid succession.

He refused to believe Zhang Jie could dodge all these attacks at once!

Yet, mindful that Zhang Jie was the only one who knew the source of the information,

none of these strikes targeted Zhang Jie’s head or heart—

they aimed only at limbs, seeking to cripple his mobility.

“Northern Darkness Divine Art!”

Facing the incoming finger energy, Zhang Jie stirred his spirit,

and nearly solid Northern Darkness qi formed a vortex around him.

Cici ～

Duan Yanqing’s once-certain finger strikes vanished like oxen sinking into the sea, neutralized before reaching within three feet of Zhang Jie.

"Body Shielding Qi!"

Duan Yanqing’s pupils contracted.

Top-tier experts’ internal force gradually reached perfection, allowing each punch and kick to carry the weight of a thousand jin.

Supreme experts had begun to explore heaven and earth, transforming internal force into true qi that could extend several feet beyond the body without dissipating.

Under Body Shielding Qi, supreme experts were as if armored in black iron plates,

and until the Qi was exhausted, no blade, weapon, fire, or water could harm them.

Ye Erniang stood frozen beside them, stunned.

Had it not been for the Supreme Hall of Western Xia, where the Four Evils served, possessing one supreme expert,

she would have thought supreme experts had vanished from the world.

Even the man she had yearned for over decades remained merely a top-tier expert.

Yun Zhonghe, already near the battlefield’s edge, sensed the tide turning and began edging backward.

Had Duan Yanqing not held such deep authority over him, and had Zhang Jie not seemed so young, he would have already fled.

“Hah!”

Facing Zhang Jie, whose realm surpassed his own, Duan Yanqing did not retreat—he advanced,

swinging his twin iron canes with a whistling rush of force toward Zhang Jie.

“Strike Three Thousand Li!”

Zhang Jie did not dodge or evade; his jade-like right hand formed a fist seal—neither claw nor imprint—

ready to clash head-on with Duan Yanqing.

Xiu ！

A sound like shattering gold and splitting stone pierced Duan Yanqing’s ears.

In a daze, he seemed to see a giant roc, thousands of li wide,

its wings stretching like clouds hanging from heaven, its talons as massive as Mount Tai, lunging toward him.

This was a martial art Zhang Jie had specially devised for the Northern Darkness Divine Art.

Northern Darkness—the Abyssal Sea!

Within Northern Darkness, the mightiest of all was the Kun-Peng, which transformed from a fish in the sea into a bird of heaven.

“Hah!”

Realizing Zhang Jie’s power had invaded his mind, Duan Yanqing gritted his teeth hard, using pain to shatter the illusion.

Yet the instant Zhang Jie’s fist seal met his iron cane,

he felt a titanic force surge through him like a tidal wave.

“Hah!”

Knowing this was the moment of life or death, Duan Yanqing squeezed every ounce of strength from his body.

Crack. Crack.

The rocks beneath his feet shattered into powder under the overwhelming force.

For a moment, the two seemed locked in stalemate.

“Opportunity!”

Yun Zhonghe’s eyes flickered.

If he had a chance, he wouldn’t mind aiding his boss Duan Yanqing to defeat Zhang Jie.

‘Such a genius—today he dies by my hand, Yun Zhonghe!’

Dark thoughts flashed through Yun Zhonghe’s mind.

Filled with the thrill of slaying a prodigy, he stepped forward, preparing to circle behind Zhang Jie.

“One Yang Finger is indeed extraordinary—but it’s time to end this.”

Zhang Jie, aware of everything around him, saw Yun Zhonghe’s movement and increased his power by another third.

Hssst.

Under this sudden force, Duan Yanqing’s iron cane began to bend.

Under the shadow of Zhang Jie’s fist intent, he “saw the roc” once more.

But now, the roc leapt into the air and transformed into a fish, countless li in length.

“Kun!”

For no reason, Duan Yanqing suddenly knew the fish’s name.

Crack. Crack.

The iron cane in Duan Yanqing’s hand shattered piece by piece.

Zhang Jie brushed his hand over Duan Yanqing’s head, and he immediately rolled his eyes back, fainting.

‘Cannot fight him directly!’

Seeing their leader defeated in one move by Zhang Jie, Yun Zhonghe’s courage shattered—he knew Zhang Jie was not someone he could provoke.

He spun his body, like a crane spreading its wings, vanishing dozens of meters in an instant as he drifted down the mountain.

Clang!

The crocodile shears in Yue Lao San’s hand fell to the ground.

Knowing his lightness skill was the worst and escape impossible, he gave up resistance.

Ye Erniang also tried to flee, but her lightness skill was no match for Zhang Jie’s.

Zhang Jie stepped with Lingbo Microsteps, arriving before her in a few strides, and pinned her with a single finger.

“Disciple-nephew, watch over them.”

Zhang Jie handed the unconscious Duan Yanqing and the immobilized Ye Erniang to Fan Bailing.

“Yes, Master-uncle.”

Fan Bailing, awestruck by Zhang Jie, bowed respectfully in reply.

“Yue Lao San, you won’t run, will you?”

Zhang Jie turned his gaze to Yue Lao San.

“No, no!”

Yue Lao San shook his head frantically.

Running from a master like this is no different from walking into death.

“Good.”

Zhang Jie nodded, then strolled leisurely down the mountain.

"Fan Brother, could you introduce our sect master to Old Three?"

Yue Lao San grinned and tried to cozy up to Fan Bailing.

Though not particularly clever, his instincts told him:

Winning favor with a powerhouse like Zhang Jie would benefit him greatly.

Knowing more meant he wouldn’t accidentally offend such a master.

He didn’t want to be killed one day just because he stepped out with his left foot first.

"I'll tell you—our Xiaoyao Sect's sect master..."

Having been stunned twice—by chess and martial arts—

Fan Bailing, now a devoted admirer of Zhang Jie, began boasting about him to Yue Lao San.

…

“Breathe, breathe!”

“Has that guy not chased after me yet?”

Though only a stick of incense had passed, Yun Zhonghe, gasping and sprinting to the foot of Leigu Mountain, kept glancing back, terrified Zhang Jie would appear.

“Maybe I should rest for a bit?”

Exhausted, his legs heavy as lead, Yun Zhonghe prepared to pause.

“Yun Zhonghe, your lightness skill is good—but your stamina seems lacking!”

At that moment, a mocking voice reached Yun Zhonghe’s ears.

At that moment, a voice laced with mockery reached Yunzhonghe’s ears.

“I, Yun Zhonghe, am full of vigor—how could my stamina be lacking?”

Touching on a man’s dignity, Yun Zhonghe instinctively retorted.

Besides, he was a flower-plucking rogue!

To say a flower-plucker lacks stamina is like saying a fisherman never catches a single fish!

But the next second, he felt something was off—why did that voice sound so familiar?

Yun Zhonghe turned his neck stiffly—and there, behind him, stood the one person he least wanted to see.

Yun Zhonghe forced a weak smile:

“Eh! Can we make peace?”

“What do you think?”

Zhang Jie asked calmly.

“Can you spare my life? Even if you want the Song imperial princess or the Western Xia’s princess, I can get them for you.”

Sensing Zhang Jie was also a cultured scoundrel, Yun Zhonghe launched his beauty offensive.

Even if you want an imperial princess of Great Song or a princess of Western Xia, I can find one for you.

“You’re slandering me, slandering me!”

Seeing Yun Zhonghe’s “kindred spirit” demeanor, Zhang Jie flew into a rage.

He, Zhang Jie, intended to learn from Prince Duan—but that didn’t mean he wanted to become a flower-plucking rogue!

A gentleman of charm leaves affection everywhere; a base man leaves gold everywhere.

Zhang Jie merely intended to be a charming, not base, romantic wanderer.

Moreover, Yun Zhonghe, this flower-plucking rogue,

Was the lowest of the low—the kind every man must kill!

Enraged, Zhang Jie moved like lightning, striking Yun Zhonghe’s third eye before he could react, sending him into infantile slumber.

He is the lowest of the low, one whom everyone has the right to kill!

Furious, Zhang Jie moved like lightning, striking the center of Yunzhonghe’s forehead before the man could react, sending him into infantile sleep.