Urban Martial Saint

Seeing that Snake had not died, everyone was astonished.

Of course, some were pleasantly surprised. They were all happy that Snake was alive. On the other hand, another group of people were in absolute terror, for these individuals had been bribed by Xu Cunxiao, and they had intended to set Snake up to be killed. Now that Snake was alive, one could imagine how they were feeling!

The eyes of these people widened, standing still, and although Snake didn’t say anything, their bodies couldn’t help trembling involuntarily. Even idiots could tell that things had gone beyond their expectations. Moreover, Snake had almost certainly realized something—how could they not be afraid?

At this time, in the courtyard ahead, several people from Western Province were still confronting those from the Killing Gate. The conversation overheard through the listening device was crystal clear to everyone. People from the Killing Gate were quite calm, but Xu Cunxiao was extremely pale. The words heard from the device made him understand once more Ye Qing’s plan, realizing that from the beginning he had fallen into Ye Qing’s scheme, and he was nearly driven mad by this.

Among the people from Western Province, Xu Cunxiao was recognized as a sage full of schemes, and he was quite proud of this fact himself. Most of the matters planned by the Western Province over twenty years were strategized by him. Among these Western Province folks, his influence was almost on par with Wang Tian’an. He would never have imagined that in terms of schemes, he would actually be outplayed by Ye Qing, something he found wholly unacceptable. Because he believed that in this world, no one could ever outwit him in strategy!

”Xu Cunxiao, I think you’d better just surrender peacefully!” Cui Yu said with a faint smile: ”People from the seven sects are on their way here, and when they arrive, perhaps we won’t even need to make a move. If it really comes to a fight, can you few stand against forty or fifty masters? Instead of being beaten to death by a disorderly crowd, it’s better to surrender now—you might even keep your life!”

”Impossible!” Xu Cunxiao shook his head firmly and said in a deep voice: ”Even if I, Xu Cunxiao, die here today, I would never surrender to you lot!”

”Then it seems you really will die here today!” Black Asura sneered.

”Third Brother, what... what should we do?” Mr. Wu asked anxiously, feeling genuine fear in the face of such a situation.

”Don’t worry, I have a way!” Xu Cunxiao said calmly.

”Really?” Mr. Wu was delighted and quickly took a few steps towards Xu Cunxiao, urging anxiously: ”Third Brother, you...”

Just as he spoke those words, Xu Cunxiao suddenly made a move, grabbing Mr. Wu’s cheek. Mr. Wu’s mouth opened wide, unable to close it for a moment, as Xu Cunxiao took something and stuffed it into his mouth, slapping it down his throat.

Mr. Wu was taken aback, completely unprepared for Xu Cunxiao to suddenly attack him. He quickly extended both hands, trying his best to push Xu Cunxiao away and wanted to back off. But Xu Cunxiao did not continue to pursue him; instead, he kicked him, sending Mr. Wu flying toward Black Asura.

The people from the Killing Gate, having just heard that Xu Cunxiao had a plan, were all immediately alert, watchful for any tricks from Xu Cunxiao. They did not expect such a sudden move from Xu Cunxiao, and seeing Mr. Wu coming their way, Black Asura frowned and also kicked out, intending to send Mr. Wu flying. However, before his foot even touched Mr. Wu, Mr. Wu suddenly exploded with a loud bang, flesh and blood flying everywhere in a horrific sight. The tremendous force of the blast sent Black Asura flying backward, slamming into the wall behind him, vomiting several mouthfuls of blood, unable to even stand up.

Witnessing such a scene, people from the Killing Gate were shocked, and Cui Yu shouted loudly: ”It’s a bomb, everyone be careful!”

With that, Cui Yu swiftly moved toward Xu Cunxiao, attempting to intercept him before he could act. However, Xu Cunxiao was already holding several objects identical to the one before, and he threw them directly at the people from the Killing Gate.

Having just witnessed Black Asura being blown away, the people from the Killing Gate didn’t dare to be careless and quickly turned to dodge. Cui Yu also didn’t dare to intercept them and hastily retreated several steps. After all, who would dare to face a bomb head-on?

Luckily, the recent incident with Black Asura had made everyone aware of the bomb’s power, so no one dared to be negligent, dodging in time to avoid the new bombs. However, Xu Cunxiao took this opportunity to sprint out of the courtyard, ready to scale the wall to escape.

Cui Yu and the others barely managed to dodge the bomb, only to realize that the bombs that fell on the ground did not explode. This left everyone stunned again, wondering what was going on.

”He only had one bomb, the rest were fakes, don’t be afraid,” Cui Yu, coming back to his senses, immediately yelled: ”Stop him, don’t let him get away!”

The people from the Killing Gate immediately turned and gave chase, with Ghost King Li Ruoyuan being the fastest. In a few strides, he caught up to Xu Cunxiao, laughing eerily as he reached for Xu Cunxiao’s shoulder.

At this hairbreadth moment, Xu Cunxiao suddenly flung a handful of white powder backwards, which nearly enveloped the Ghost King Li Ruoyuan. Just at this critical juncture, the Ghost King’s exceptional speed came into play. With a strange cry, he contorted his body in mid-air and took several steps back, narrowly evading the white powder. However, Xu Cunxiao seized the opportunity to leap out and escape from the courtyard!

Just then, an alarmed shout from Cui Yu arrived: ”Be careful, that’s Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder!”

The pursuers from the Killing Gate immediately halted in their tracks, withdrawing hastily to avoid the white powder. During their time at Xihang Shen Family Manor, they had suffered from the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder and now were utterly terrified by it, daring not to come into contact with it again.

Luckily, the crowd retreated swiftly and weren’t touched by the powder. Instead, members of the Snake Form Gate who entered, found themselves dusted by the white powder.

”What is this stuff?” a person from the Snake Form Gate wondered, as the others waved their hands trying to shake off the white powder.

”Don’t touch that!” Cui Yu urgently warned: ”That is the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder!”

His warning came too late; most were already dusted by the powder, wearing looks of surprise on their faces.

”Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder, what is that?” Song Yuanwu asked in surprise, never having heard of such a thing.

”Yeah, it sounds quite peculiar. Is it a poison?” another person inquired.

Cui Yu was stunned once more when he saw that everyone who came in seemed unaffected, then he slapped his thigh, cursing: ”Xu Cunxiao, that bastard, he’s tricking us again!”

Earlier, Xu Cunxiao used the first bomb to blast the Black Asura away, leading everyone to believe he had many more. In reality, he had no more bombs; he just intimidated the crowd for a moment, buying himself an opportunity to escape into the courtyard. Afterward, he scattered this powder to mislead others into thinking it was Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder when it was not. But, this also bought him the time he needed to make his getaway!

”Xu Cunxiao is notoriously full of tricks, blurring the lines between reality and illusion. It is truly difficult to tell,” the Netherworld Taoist sighed, ”Seeing as he’s escaped unscathed tonight, we shouldn’t blame ourselves. We must be very careful in dealing with people from the Western Province, that is the key!”

The members of the Killing Gate nodded in agreement; after suffering a loss at the hands of people from the Western Province, they remained exceedingly vigilant, not daring to let their guard down.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing entered from outside, having already heard about the situation inside; he knew that Xu Cunxiao had escaped. He did not pursue, knowing that he couldn’t possibly catch up. Besides, Xu Cunxiao was full of cunning; whether he could be caught was doubtful, and it would not be worth it to possibly fall into his ambush during the night!

Members from the Snake Form Gate and those from the six other Sects walked in to witness the scene, displaying faces full of astonishment. Mr. Wu had been blown to pieces, his flesh strewn across the floor, presenting quite the horrific sight. Several people from the Western Province were still present, looking terrified and weak-kneed. They were only minor characters, of no significant use. Among those from the Western Province, only Xu Cunxiao, who had fled, and Mr. Wu, who was killed in the explosion, were of importance; the rest mattered little.

However, Snake clearly noticed that among them were the two men who had accompanied Mr. Wu on the previous visit. This affirmed his suspicion that these people had long been scheming against the Snake Form Gate, hoping to incite conflict between them and Ye Qing.

As Song Yuanwu entered and caught sight of Cui Yu, he registered mild surprise. Instead of immediately dealing with those from the Western Province, he stood silent for a while, then slowly stepped forward and gave a respectful bow to Cui Yu, saying: ”Could you be the Ghost-faced Judge Mr. Cui from the tea house?”

”Indeed, it is I,” replied Cui Yu calmly, his mask effectively revealing his identity.

”It really is Mr. Cui!” Song Yuanwu’s expression shifted, for the reputation of the Ghost-faced Judge Cui Yu was not far behind that of Tie Yongwen in Shenchuan City among the Martial Artists. While Song Yuanwu had seen Tie Yongwen several times, he had never met the Ghost-faced Judge. He did not expect to encounter Cui Yu here today, which was completely unexpected.

The others too were shocked, coming forward to greet Cui Yu. Most had heard of his reputation but had never seen him in person. The realization left them bewildered. They couldn’t grasp why the Ghost-faced Judge Cui Yu would appear here?

Yet, when they learned that the people accompanying Cui Yu were actually from the Killing Gate Seven Hidden, their astonishment grew. Having lived through the era that forged the reputation of the Killing Gate Seven Hidden, they could well imagine the significance of six of its members coming here together!