Chapter 398: Killing the Woundless Guest

"Master, many people on the opposite side have left; there must be a major move coming."

Qi Qingdi kept a constant watch on the movements of the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall and, discovering that many hall masters were making excuses to disappear, immediately returned to report.

Zhou You spat out a smooth cow bone. "There must be a major move; otherwise, why delay for an entire night?"

"They wouldn't dare flip the table openly; they will only resort to some underhanded, petty tricks."

The panel clearly listed the latest mission:

"Trial Project (Five-Star): Successfully challenge a martial arts hall and own a martial arts hall under your name."

There was no indication of a group battle, and the panel had not opened the Battlefield Perspective for him; clearly, the other side was still observing the most basic rules, and the highest intensity to follow would be a gauntlet of duels.

In the hurried night, countless people in Fucheng could not sleep.

The Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall was brightly lit all night, with a large number of Apprentices and Disciples patrolling inside and outside the gates, fearing that Zhou You would launch a surprise raid.

The big shots of the Fucheng martial arts circle, although they did not show their faces, all sent trusted aides to watch the battle.

This battle was highly likely to trigger a huge change in the boxing and martial arts circle.

If Zhou You won, it would surely lead countless people to follow suit; challenging martial arts halls would become a trend, impossible to stop.

As for the noble families, their attitude was worth pondering; it was quite like they were letting the situation develop.

Precisely because of this, Zhou You's hall-challenging journey had not been interfered with or called off by the upper echelons and continued to proceed.

The next morning...

The drumbeat for the opening of the city gates sounded, representing the start of the residents' daily labor.

The entrance to the martial arts hall was packed with heads; many people had rushed over overnight to watch the excitement.

Qi Qingdi, Zuo Shier, and others beside Zhou You were somewhat nervous; the opponent's lethal move was about to appear.

"Make way, make way!"

The crowd erupted in a clamor, suddenly parting like waves broken by a ship's bow, surging to both sides.

Pushing into the crowd was someone with a wild and overbearing personality who, ignoring the complaints and cursing in the crowd, used their arms to push the crowd over like a collapsing mountain, with arms and thighs pressed together and heads bumping into backsides.

*Snap! * Someone actually couldn't bear the load and had their bones crushed by the immense force.

"Who is that?"

This was too overbearing; didn't they know that in such a crowded situation, casualties were hard to control?

"It's the 'Woundless Guest' Cao Daya!"

Cao Daya, a lone martial artist, made a living from the bounties of the Thousand Faces Hall, never taking any job worth less than ten thousand taels.

His nickname, Woundless Guest, came from the fact that his strikes were ruthless; those who were defeated by him only ended up dead, never wounded.

This person was a top expert among Primary Martial Masters, and because of his innate talent, his overall strength rivaled that of an Intermediate Martial Master.

Why had he come to watch the excitement too?

One had to know that Cao Daya loved money like his own life and was always busy with bounties; he had no interest in other matters.

"Haha, I didn't arrive too early!"

Cao Daya hurried forward and suddenly knelt before Bo Xiaolin.

"Daya has drifted for half a lifetime without meeting a famous teacher; today, having met Buguanzhu, I am willing to take you as my master."

An uproar broke out.

How could Cao Daya, a bounty hunter, have anything to do with the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall?

Besides, he had his own boxing inheritance, and his strength was no weaker than Bo Xiaolin's; how could he take him as a master?

Bo Xiaolin was slightly surprised but soon calmed down; he knew this was an arrangement by the other hall masters.

Cao Daya captured people for bounties and earned money by licking blood off a blade; his combat ability was no weaker than an average Intermediate Martial Master, making him a strong reinforcement.

By joining the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall under the guise of apprenticeship, he was qualified to fight on behalf of his master against Zhou You, who was 'challenging the hall.'

"Despicable, shameless!" Qin Liehuo's explosive temper flared up, and he began to curse loudly.

This cheating was too blatant; if they had any regard for their reputation, they wouldn't have been so undisguised.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Cao Daya's admiration and apprenticeship were all scripted lines and excuses, yet one couldn't point out a single flaw in the procedure.

"Haha, congratulations, Old Bo, for gaining such a fine disciple!"

The surrounding hall masters offered their congratulations one after another.

Cao Daya presented a gift for the apprenticeship, Bo Xiaolin rewarded him with a red envelope, and the hurried and brief apprenticeship ceremony was thus completed.

With this, the lone bounty hunter Cao Daya officially became a member of the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall.

"Zhou You, you want to challenge the hall, right?"

Cao Daya grinned. "What a coincidence, your bounty is still hanging on the shadow wall of the Thousand Faces Hall."

"No matter how small a mosquito's leg is, it's still meat; I'll gladly accept your bounty."

As expected of a bounty hunter who loved money like his life, he actually wanted to kill two birds with one stone and take Zhou You's bounty along the way.

"."

Zhou You took a deep breath to regulate his Qi flow; the sound of a tiger's roar was like hidden wind and thunder, brewing his momentum.

Cao Daya gripped a handful of steel leaves, and sharp spikes emerged from between his fingers; this was his Qi-Blood Divine Weapon, and its power multiplied when combined with his boxing techniques.

"Please!"

Seven or eight silver lines streaked across the flat ground; a hitching stone by the street was grazed and instantly shattered into four or five pieces, the cut as smooth as a mirror.

Cao Daya had launched a lethal move in silence, ruthless and without mercy, his entire body merging into the wind and disappearing from sight.

"Impressive; it's said he once beat an Intermediate Martial Master to death and even refined the remains into his Qi-Blood Divine Weapon to increase its power."

"Hmm, the helper Bo Xiaolin invited is formidable; Zhou You is in danger."

In a brief moment, Cao Daya's fists, tipped with steel spikes, were filled with murderous intent and terrifying momentum, cutting the battlefield where the two stood into pieces, like thousands of meat-grinding blades swirling; anything of flesh and blood that entered would be turned into minced meat.

Many martial artists watched, feeling inexplicably suffocated; although they were not in the middle of it, they only had to imagine being in that situation to know they would inevitably be dismembered and shredded, ending up with no corpse left intact.

I have to admit, Cao Daya's strength has far exceeded the Primary Martial Master realm.

Cao Daya is not very optimistic, because he has exhausted his killing moves, and any ordinary enemy would have already fallen.

Yet Zhou You is still jumping around, his movement technique flickering near and far, always dodging his fatal attacks, and he can even counterattack in passing, forcing him to change moves in a hurry to protect himself.

"This money is not easy to earn!"

Cao Daya finally realizes why Zhou You's bounty has been posted for so long without anyone ever taking it.

Even someone as strong as Du Yan Lu Zhigang has been unable to take him down for so long; it is clear that this abandoned tiger's fist technique is extraordinary!

"Zhou You, I have taken the money; if you don't die, how can I get the final payment?"

Cao Daya suddenly unleashes his ultimate move, "Ten Thousand Willow Leaves Like Blades!"

One could see his pair of arms instantly split into ten thousand afterimages, like weeping willows stretching wantonly in the spring breeze; the steel spikes between his fingers were shockingly like sharp willow leaves, and a *zi-zi-zi* sound of breaking wind followed.

Ten thousand willow branches, each with hundreds of willow leaves—stacked together, there are more than a million sharp edges filling every corner of the battlefield.

A sky-covering, earth-shattering lethal slaughter instantly enveloped Zhou You.

"Iron-Clad Garment, Primordial Qi!"

Zhou You crosses his arms, twisting his clothes into a grip in front of him, and an iron-gray air current emerges around his body.

*Ding-dang-dang*, the iron spikes strike his body and sparks fly everywhere; his 2x steel physique reveals a ferocious and terrifyingly astonishing defense.

He stares at the steel rain, moves against it, and sweeps his arms forward, striking Cao Daya square in the chest.

This bounty hunter's chest snaps, and his two-part corpse falls to the ground in a pile, surrounded by broken willow-leaf steel spikes.

(End of this chapter)