Chapter 150: Four Directions Rise with Murderous Intent

Standing on the top floor of the clock tower, Li Fei gazed into the distance and could clearly see several vehicles suddenly start up and drive toward the direction of the Qingyuan District.

In this era, especially in a place like Xingcheng, automobiles were rare commodities.

With cars heading toward the Qingyuan District at this time, they were undoubtedly reinforcements sent out by the Tiger Blade Gang.

Seeing this, Li Fei immediately had Xu Si send two new messages in succession.

On the motorcade's side, not long after Zhang Mingze had just ordered a reserve unit to head to the Qingyuan District, a subordinate came to deliver a message again:

"Private Secretary, we have received word that a team has charged out from the Kaiping District! The number of people is around one hundred!"

"Kaiping District? The Chen family's side?"

Zhang Mingze was somewhat surprised.

Since the Great Leader of the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold had made a move, it proved that the Green-Faced Ghost was indeed one of their people, and the Chen family's suspicion could be ruled out.

Then why would the Chen family come to join the fun at this time?

"Has there been any report from the spies arranged at the Chen family's side?"

Zhang Mingze asked.

He had sent people to keep an eye on the Chen family's experts several days in advance; this morning, before he set off, the spies' report was that all the Chen family's experts were inside the Kaiping District, with no unusual movements.

Therefore, the only people who could have charged out from the Kaiping District at this time were the Chen family's people.

"Not yet, but there are also gunshots ringing out from the direction of the Kaiping District; our people have indeed detected movement."

Zhang Mingze narrowed his eyes: "Immediately send a team to the clock tower and see if there is any trouble there."

"Yes."

"Forget it, no need!"

But Zhang Mingze suddenly withdrew this order.

"Private Secretary?"

"... end another reserve unit to the Kaiping District; if the intelligence is confirmed to be false, have them rush to my side immediately."

Zhang Mingze issued a new order.

At this time, there were only a few families that could pose a threat to him; if it really was the Chen family that had sent people to attack, the forces he had arranged on the perimeter had to move in advance and rush over to block them, otherwise it might be too late.

"Yes!"

After the messenger left, Zhang Mingze turned his head to look at the window on the other side.

Through the window, he could faintly see the clock tower standing in the distance.

"Interesting."

The corners of Zhang Mingze's mouth curled upward.

His right eye had been slashed open by Li Fei's blade back then, so now he only had one eye left.

Missing an eye to see the world made Zhang Mingze feel very unaccustomed.

As it turned out, less than a minute later, the messenger ran to the car again:

"Private Secretary, the message from the clock tower says that a large force has also charged out from the Jin'an District, at least two hundred people!"

Hearing this news, Zhang Mingze's expression finally changed.

The Jin'an District was the direction where the Martial Arts Hall was located, and the people he had arranged there were those from the Gu Chang lineage.

Considering the relationship between Hao Yi and the Great Leader of the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold, it was possible for the other side to make a move today as well, so Zhang Mingze and Gu Zhenhui had discussed that the Tiger Blade Gang would block one Dao Foundation realm powerhouse, while the remaining Dao Foundation realm powerhouse would be handled by the Chief's lineage.

Gu Zhenhui's side held the moral high ground and had the official status of the government, which was more useful for dealing with people like Hao Yi than the Tiger Blade Gang; this was also in Zhang Mingze's calculations.

But now there was trouble at the Martial Arts Hall as well?

Was the Chief's lineage also going to make a move against him?

But if the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold and the Chen family both had motives, how could the Chief's lineage not have one?

Could one naively think that because they were currently cooperating with the other side, everyone was truly good brothers?

"Ha!"

Zhang Mingze suddenly laughed.

"Private Secretary?"

Yang Xuan, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look at him.

A murderous intent appeared in Zhang Mingze's only remaining left eye, "I really did underestimate this Green-Faced Ghost!"

Yang Xuan was startled upon hearing this: "Could it be that he can simultaneously unite the Chen family and the Chief's lineage to have both sides move against us?"

"How is that possible?!"

Zhang Mingze sneered.

But he still turned his head and said to the people outside the car: "Send out all the remaining reserve units and go to the direction of the Jin'an District to take a look. The same applies: if the intelligence is incorrect, have them rush to my side immediately."

"Yes!"

The messenger took the order and left.

"Private Secretary?"

Yang Xuan looked at Zhang Mingze in confusion.

Since he felt it was impossible for the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold, the Chen family, and the Chief's lineage to join forces against the Tiger Blade Gang, why send out all the reserve units at his disposal to guard against these three parties?

"The Qingyuan Fist Stronghold could not have possibly colluded with the Chen family and the Chief's lineage to join forces without the Tiger Blade Gang noticing, and compared to an all-out war with the Tiger Blade Gang, it is clearly a better choice to join forces to take down the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold first."

Zhang Mingze said, "But whether it is the Chen family or the Chief's lineage, they do indeed possess the motive to move against the Tiger Blade Gang. I have to guard against it; this is an overt scheme."

The message delivered from the clock tower was actually not important; what was important was the 'motive'.

Zhang Mingze did not arrange heavy troops to guard the clock tower; firstly, he truly could not spare more manpower to guard that place.

Secondly, it was of little significance.

Even if the message from the clock tower was that everything was normal and no one had come from any of the directions, but movements were reported from all these directions, would Zhang Mingze dare not to guard against it?

What if the Chen family and the Chief's lineage really had entered the game and sent people to attack him? Wouldn't he have a bunch of 'chess pieces' sitting uselessly on the side, only to be directly 'checkmated' by the opponent?

That is why Zhang Mingze said this was an overt scheme.

"The greatest possibility is that the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold arranged for some ordinary people to wait in those directions with firearms, and when the time came, they deliberately made a big commotion to mislead me. I know this is bluffing, and the other side knows that I know, but I have to respond to this move."

Zhang Mingze's only remaining eye stared fixedly at the clock tower in the distance, "But what is the point of this? All the chess pieces on the board have been guarded against by me, and you can no longer conjure up new ones. Now that you are just a lone pawn that has crossed the river, do you still want to kill the General?"

Now, all the chess pieces in the entire Xingcheng that could pose a threat to him had been guarded against, leaving only the Green-Faced Ghost who had yet to appear.

Although he no longer had any chess pieces to use, could a single Green-Faced Ghost really break through the defensive forces of his motorcade?

Furthermore, fake is fake after all; as soon as those reserve units sent out confirm the intelligence is false, they will immediately rush to Zhang Mingze's side. If the Green-Faced Ghost really charges in then, he will be a turtle in a jar!

On the clock tower, after having Xu Si send two messages in a row, Li Fei soon saw two motorcades appear, heading toward the Kaiping District and the Jin'an District respectively.

He smiled slightly; it was finally his turn to enter the stage.

"You can start running for your life."

Li Fei said to Xu Si, then leaped toward the outside of the clock tower, jumping straight out!

He held a rope in his hand, the other end of which had already been tied to a pillar on the top floor of the clock tower in advance.

After falling to a certain height, the rope in his hand suddenly went taut, and Li Fei exerted force with both hands, bringing his body to a sudden stop in mid-air.

Then he completed a turn in the air, facing the body of the clock tower, and kicked his legs heavily against the iron wall, leaping out with the borrowed force.

On the street below the clock tower, pedestrians saw a figure leap from the clock tower and then use a rope to jump onto the roof of a building across the street, unable to help but let out exclamations.

Li Fei landed heavily on the eaves, crushing a few bricks and tiles; he didn't even dissipate the force, but stepped forward to continue running, then aimed for the direction and distance, and with another leap, jumped from one rooftop to another.

After his steel implant continued to strengthen, his body's tolerance limit also increased accordingly; he could now withstand the 'Blood Rage' unleashed by 7 Blood Souls!

At this moment, surging power flowed within Li Fei; this power had already surpassed that of the 'Dragon General' Ling Yong, who had used the 【Tiger Pattern】 implant back then.

Relying on this power, Li Fei adopted the same method of travel as that Honorable Chief Yan, leaping continuously on the rooftops, quickly crossing street after street, and charging toward Zhang Mingze's motorcade in almost a straight line!

Zhang Mingze's deduction was correct; Li Fei was indeed left on his own now, with no other forces to rely on.

Moreover, he had to reach Zhang Mingze, kill him, and retreat unscathed before those reserve units returned.

In fact, if Zhang Mingze had chosen not to send out the reserve units but to pull them all back to defend and concentrate them around himself, Li Fei would have been helpless and could only have abandoned this assassination.

But if this Private Secretary Zhang were the type to make such a choice, there would have been no need to set up this trap from the beginning.

What Li Fei was betting on was that the opponent was confident enough to dare to give him an opportunity.

Now, he had won the bet.

So the rest was simple: charge over and kill him!

At this time, the location of the motorcade was relatively close to the clock tower in a straight line. Li Fei flew over eaves and walked on walls, relying on his powerful explosive force to jump over ultra-long distances time and again, catching up to Zhang Mingze's motorcade in less than three minutes.

And at this time, the reserve unit sent to the Qingyuan District had already confirmed the intelligence was false and had begun to turn back.

Bang!

With a thunderous explosion, the stone-paved ground was shattered once again, and gravel flew everywhere.

Two figures separated.

One of them held a long sword flickering with golden light; this long sword was not a physical object but was condensed from internal energy.

This person was none other than the Honorable Chief of the Stop-Conflict Academy, Yan Yichen. He condensed his sword with Metal-Stone Energy, and a single strike could pierce through a ten-millimeter-thick steel plate; the power of every move and style was greater than a bullet!

And the one exchanging blows with him was naturally Shangguan Xiao.

At this time, the black martial robe on Shangguan Xiao's body had been slashed in many places, revealing the dark red protective clothing underneath, and there were several gashes on the protective clothing as well.

The green evil ghost mask on her face had also been shattered, revealing her true appearance.

Yan Yichen looked even more disheveled than her; not only was his outer blue robe completely destroyed, but there were scorched marks on his body, face, and head, making him look dusty and disgraced—where was there any trace of the dignity of the Honorable Chief of the Stop-Conflict Academy?

Martial artists already possessed speed and strength far exceeding ordinary people, and martial masters blessed with innate Qi could even dismantle houses with their bare hands.

The destructive power of two Dao Foundation realm powerhouses was naturally even more terrifying; the stone-paved North City Street was full of pits and bumps, with gravel everywhere, looking as if it had been bombarded by artillery shells!

On the roofs of the shops on both sides of the street stood many people holding firearms or heavy crossbows; these people were all martial artists, as only then would they have sufficient reaction speed to aim and shoot.

However, in the vast majority of cases, they could not find an opportunity to shoot and could only maintain a deterrent presence on the perimeter.

"I must have you dead today, old man!"

Yan Yichen looked at Shangguan Xiao before him in anger and shouted sternly.

As his voice fell, he raised his sword and charged forward again.

Not only that, but three official martial masters from the Zhige Academy and six martial masters at the early stage of Qi Transformation also surrounded her.

Defeating someone at the Dao Foundation realm and killing someone at the Dao Foundation realm are completely different in difficulty.

That is why almost all the elites of the Zhige Academy were out today!

Ten against one, with dozens of archers on the perimeter—this was the situation Shangguan Xiao faced.

Yet Shangguan Xiao looked completely unruffled; as the group charged at her again, she suddenly flicked her hand, scattering a large cloud of white powder in all directions!

"Lime powder?"

Yan Yichen looked stunned, easily blew away the incoming powder with a palm strike, and then sneered:

"You really are desperate, how laughable!"

However, the next second, a violent gust of wind erupted from Shangguan Xiao as the center, and a large amount of white powder mixed into the wind.

Under the force of the strong wind, Yan Yichen and the others inevitably inhaled some of the powder.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

A chorus of coughing erupted.

"Is this useful?!"

Yan Yichen roared and thrust his sword toward Shangguan Xiao, the longsword in his hand shimmering with golden light, condensing a sword momentum capable of piercing through everything.

Meeting this sword strike was a dazzling ball of electric light.

Bang—

The group of experts clashed again, yet a few seconds later, someone noticed something was wrong.

"Cough, cough, cough! She poisoned us!"

"There is poison in the powder!"

Several martial masters shouted one after another.

This poison acted very quickly and violently; even though martial masters had strong physiques and would not be poisoned to death, they felt difficulty breathing, their blood and Qi surged, their bodies itched, and they felt extremely uncomfortable!

"Shameless!"

One martial master shouted while his nose bled.

Shangguan Xiao struck him with a palm, and taking advantage of his disrupted blood and Qi, she broke his defense in one move and sent him flying.

"Ten against one, and you have the nerve to call me shameless?"

Shangguan Xiao sneered, turned around, and killed a martial master who had already been injured with another palm strike.

This poison was naturally given to her by Li Fei.

This was the brand-new Nether Spring Poison that Li Fei had concocted himself; besides the pill form he took himself, there was also this powder form that Shangguan Xiao was using at this moment.

Combining the poison with lime powder was the alternative solution Li Fei chose after failing to create a colorless and odorless poison.

The powdered poison was indeed a bit conspicuous, but if one could make others mistake it for lime powder, then there would be an opportunity to poison them.

For the pill form of the Nether Spring Poison, Li Fei pursued the maximum total toxicity to cause the greatest degree of damage to the body.

But for this powder form of the Nether Spring Poison, Li Fei pursued the most potent toxicity, capable of taking effect in the shortest amount of time.

To ensure Shangguan Xiao's safety, Li Fei had given most of the powdered Nether Spring Poison he had on him to her before the operation.

Now that Shangguan Xiao suddenly used it, combined with her Storm Qi Force, it indeed had a miraculous effect!

"Is it this effective?"

The corners of Shangguan Xiao's mouth curled up, and she suddenly remembered that when she called her senior brother earlier, he had proactively mentioned Li Fei.

At the time, her senior brother said that the student he had taken in this time was honest, humble, polite, and full of righteousness, and he was very satisfied.

"I wonder what kind of expression senior brother would have if he knew about all this?"

Shangguan Xiao laughed loudly while continuing to scatter the poison.

On the other side, Li Fei had also caught up to Zhang Mingze's motorcade.

He dared to come here alone, besides the Nether Spring Poison on his person, he naturally had other reliance.

Back when he was still on the clock tower, the Ten Thousand Blood Bead had already absorbed enough energy and successfully upgraded:

【Level: 9, 1%

Blood Soul: 102

Blood Soul Skills: Blood Rage, Blood Fiend

Transformation Skill: Blood Demon】

After reaching level 9, the Blood Souls increased by 16 at once, and Li Fei's total number of Blood Souls exceeded 100.

And just as he had guessed, this time the Ten Thousand Blood Bead unlocked a new ability again.

It was just that he did not expect that what was unlocked this time was not a Blood Soul skill.

It was a transformation skill—Blood Demon!

(End of this chapter)