Chapter 274: Returning in Triumph

Zhou You struck the opponent's shoulder with his palm, feeling as if he had hit an immovable stone monument; it was both hard and heavy, and he was slightly startled.

This guy's Hard Qigong is also extremely formidable! Although the Poison Sand Palm relies on Palm Poison for lethality, its force is not something an ordinary person can withstand with their physical body alone.

Suddenly, a hot wind rushed toward his face, and a pair of Iron Palms rapidly enlarged in his vision, the gleam of the metal particles becoming increasingly blinding.

Slap! The palms collided, as if touching a red-hot branding iron!

White mist rose from Zhou You's palms, his skin scorched black, and a vigorous force came surging over.

"Stupid, right? As a disciple of the Iron Palm Sect, besides slapping iron sand daily, I also use my palm force to temper my entire body; my defensive Hard Qigong is also second to none."

Wu Zhuifeng's Qi and blood roared like a gale, burning the originally damp cave until it was dry and scorching! Zhou You retreated a few steps, clutching his arm and sneering, "It's done."

"What's done?"

Seeing him stop attacking, Wu Zhuifeng, who had already gained the upper hand, was even less willing to let it go.

"I hide in this sunless place, only able to catch some villagers to practice my palms, and it was not easy to finally catch a Qi and blood warrior."

"Kid, you must be a Bounty Martial Artist from the city too!"

"Thanks to you all for being my side dish, my Fire Poison Iron Sand Palm has been practiced to perfection step by step."

He rubbed his palms together, clanging like metal objects colliding, and clusters of blinding sparks burst forth in the hot wind.

Wu Zhuifeng grinned hideously, then suddenly coughed a few times, feeling something extra in his mouth, and spat it into his palm...

In a large pool of blood lay half a piece of a tattered, rotting lung.

"Damn, I'm poisoned!"

The world spun before Wu Zhuifeng's eyes, his internal organs churned like porridge, and the Qi and blood throughout his body boiled in chaotic currents, showing signs of slipping out of his control.

"I am Lu Zhigang, I take money to do a job, and I'm here to take your dog life!"

"Bastard, so what if you are the Poison Goose? Can your low-class poisoning methods compare to my Fire Poison Iron Sand Palm?"

Wu Zhuifeng still refused to give up, scorching wind erupting from his palms as he attempted to injure Zhou You and turn the tables.

Zhou You used his Lightness Skill to dodge easily, then swung out two more palms, striking the opponent's remaining hand and legs respectively.

The ultimate technique of the Ten Thousand Poisons Channel easily penetrated his iron-skin defense, sending the terrifying Palm Poison deep into his flesh, blood, and marrow! "I'll count to three, you can count along."

"1, 2, 3, off you go!"

Wu Zhuifeng only felt a stinging pain on his body, and his arms and legs detached from the roots, as if ripe fruit were leaving the branch.

In the blink of an eye, his limbs were melted off by the Palm Poison, and he became a human trunk.

"Haha, come with me, let's go back to Fucheng to collect the reward."

Zhou You raised a palm and struck him on the mouth, knocking out every single tooth and even breaking the hyoid bone, so he couldn't even bite his tongue to commit suicide.

He grabbed Wu Zhuifeng by the collar and strode away as if carrying a dead dog.

Capturing this beast alive and returning in triumph was far more shocking than bringing back a corpse, and the effect it caused was even more sensational! After a long while, the youth and children on the ground woke up, and the villain had already vanished without a trace.

At the entrance of the Thousand Faces Hall...

Several disciples of the Iron Sand Martial Arts Hall were whispering to each other, asking about the news they had received.

It had been many days since Du Yan Lu Zhigang left, and there had been no news.

According to past patterns, he must have encountered Wu Zhuifeng and died at the opponent's hands.

Although his character was vile and he was a madman, everyone had to admit that Wu Zhuifeng was exceptionally gifted, even able to find a new path and create a unique method of integrating fire poison into the Iron Sand Palm.

Although Lu Zhigang's Poison Sand Palm was powerful, it was an obscure poison palm, far incomparable to the currently popular Iron Sand Palm.

The receptionist at the nearby Information House was just waiting for the news of Lu Zhigang's death to arrive so they could update the data, changing the number 47 to 48.

48 people—this was the number of Bounty Martial Artists who had died at the hands of Wu Zhuifeng.

"What are you all looking at?"

Zhang Huaimin had a loud voice, "My sworn brother is no ordinary person; he will definitely be able to take down Wu Zhuifeng." The surrounding martial artists were somewhat dismissive; everyone was just doing it for his sake, otherwise, who would look up to someone who practiced a poison palm?

As everyone knew, the poison palm was an evil path for quick success; it had immense power in the early stages, but once one reached the later stages of Qi and blood, they would be entering the gates of hell.

The Palm Poison takes advantage of the Qi and blood flowing through the whole body, and if one is not careful and it enters the brain or invades the marrow, the outcome is too horrible to look at.

In Fucheng, those who can practice a poison palm to the level of a Martial Master can be counted on one hand!

Seeing that the crowd wouldn't speak, Zhang Huaimin felt angry, "Looking down on people, are you? Just you wait!"

The next moment, a surprised voice came from the street, "Brother, why are you here? Waiting for me?"

Exclamations erupted in the crowd, from near to far, one after another they turned to look, and without exception, they all showed expressions of shock.

They saw 'Lu Zhigang' carrying a piece of a 'human trunk', walking with a light step toward the front of the Thousand Faces Hall.

"Good brother, I knew you could do it."

Zhang Huaimin glanced sideways into the Thousand Faces Hall, "Hurry up and come out to verify his identity."

Wu Zhuifeng looked miserably wretched; all four limbs were broken, and his mouth was smashed into a pulp, making wailing sounds but unable to speak.

Several disciples of the Iron Sand Martial Arts Hall stepped forward to confirm the face was real, then checked the features on his body.

Although the palms were gone, the iron-skin characteristics on his body were obvious, and his eyeballs were bloodshot—a clear sign of fire poison entering the body.

"That's right, it's that dog thief Wu Zhuifeng."

A disciple cupped his hands toward Zhou You, "Many thanks."

Having said that, he stepped on Wu Zhuifeng's throat, the force of the kick so ruthless that the neck bone snapped on the spot, and a head rolled to the ground a few times.

The surroundings were silent at first, then quickly became an uproar.

Wu Zhuifeng, at the 9th stage of Qi and blood, had been killed, and Du Yan Lu Zhigang had proven with actual combat that no one below the level of a Martial Master was his match.

Incredible; from now on, at the level of Qi and blood, no one would dare to provoke Lu Zhigang.

The receptionist at the Information House was stunned for a long time, and when they finally came to their senses, they quickly put pen to paper to record: On such and such a day of such and such a month of such and such a year, Du Yan Lu Zhigang captured Wu Zhuifeng alive and returned, successfully completing the bounty mission.

And the number of people who died from this bounty would remain fixed at 47 forever.

"I want to accept the mission to kill the Winged Tiger Zhou You, and furthermore, I want to take this mission exclusively."

The crowd had only just recovered from their shock when they heard Zhou You speak domineeringly to the staff of the Thousand Faces Hall.

What, monopolizing the mission?

This is clearly hogging the spoils and forbidding others from interfering; how arrogant!

If it were before today, had Poison Goose dared to say such a thing, someone surely would have opened his eyes for him and let him know that Fucheng does not tolerate such insolence.

However...

The corpse of Wu Zhuifeng had not even been cleared away yet, and he had been captured alive!

As everyone knows, such a result as capturing someone alive usually only occurs when there is a massive gap between the two sides.

In other words, Lu Zhigang could take down a peak Blood-Qi expert without a scratch; such an enemy is too terrifying!

"I'll give you all one more chance; if you're dissatisfied with me monopolizing the mission, feel free to come find me, Lu Zhigang."

"If anyone dares to go around me and snatch my target, once I find out, I won't spare them."

Zhou You generously issued his threats to the crowd in front of the door, and seeing no one object after sweeping his gaze around, he turned to Zhang Huaimin, "Brother, it has been a long time; let me treat you to a drink."

"Since we've come to Fucheng, I should be the host; let me treat you to wine, big brother."

The two sworn brothers walked off with their arms around each other's shoulders, disappearing from the crowd's sight in a display of intimacy.

(End of chapter)