Promise!

Chapter 155, A Last Stand

'Sure enough, I sensed something was off when I first saw him. Fu Honggang's aura was somewhat similar to mine; it turns out he's mastered both the Black Fiend Palm and his movement techniques. In that case, even if Sun Mingbi is wearing top-grade Xuan-level beast hide armor, he's probably no match for him… Looks like I can't hide anymore today!'

Zhuang Jin sighed inwardly and looked at Zhu Xi opposite him: "You're right, today we're going to fight to the death, you die, I live!"

"What a loud tone!"

Zhu Xi, still shaken and wary of Zhuang Jin after their previous exchange, was even more vigilant upon hearing this. He remained outwardly calm, but retorted defiantly, "Has Commander Zhuang forgotten how I chased you like a rat last time..."

The rest of the words were not that he didn't want to say them, but that he simply couldn't bring himself to say them.

boom!
Zhuang Jin lightly touched the ground with her toes and floated over. Her speed was so fast that Zhu Xi could not react at all. She slapped the other party's stomach with the back of her hand, causing Zhu Xi to arch her body like a shrimp and be lifted off the ground.

The next instant, he appeared behind the other man, struck Zhu Xi in the lower back with his elbow, freezing the man's movements, and then delivered a final chop to his neck.

Snapped!
Zhu Xi landed, his body crashing heavily to the ground, his eyes wide open in death.

—In just three moves, an eleventh-level martial artist was killed by Zhuang Jin!

The other garrison commanders were not far from the battlefield of the Medicine King Gang's deacons, and they were all horrified when they saw this scene.

Zhuang Jin remained calm and showed no surprise whatsoever.

The perfected Black Fiend Palm technique exhibits a unique characteristic: targeting weaknesses. This allows the user to identify flaws in the opponent's attacks, and to concentrate and focus their power on a single point, achieving maximum effect with minimal effort, making everything seem effortless...

These three moves can be said to be the culmination of his full strength, achieved by combining his cultivation at the Twelve Meridians Realm with the perfected Black Fiend Palm and the perfected Gale Step, resulting in such a stunning effect.

—Yes, Zhuang Jin's Swift Wind Step has also reached perfection! Before Sun Mingbi revealed his plan to deal with Fu Honggang, out of caution, he focused on obtaining meat from a fully refined beast and prioritizing perfecting his Swift Wind Step before beginning his accumulation of Twelve Meridian Realms cultivation. Compared to the weakness-based attack characteristic of the perfected Black Fiend Palm, perfecting Swift Wind Step allows Zhuang Jin to sense wind and air currents, harnessing them for his own use, making him faster than other martial artists at the Twelve Meridian Realms and perfected movement techniques.

The next moment, Zhuang Jin lightly touched the ground with her toes and rushed towards Fu Honggang.

Fu Honggang suddenly felt his hair stand on end. He forced Sun Mingbi back with a palm strike, dodged Zhuang Jin's attack to the side, and looked at him with a solemn expression: "You've broken through to the Twelve Meridians Realm? That's truly unexpected!"

"What will surprise you even more is yet to come."

As Zhuang Jin spoke, he glanced at Sun Mingbi, who was equally shocked and whose face was flushed due to unstable blood and qi, and said, "Lord Sun, please take a moment to calm your breathing. I will exchange a few blows with this person."

Bang bang bang!

In an instant, Zhuang Jin and Fu Honggang were engaged in combat. Because the two were moving so fast, each collision seemed to be delayed by a moment before the air exploded.

Both men possessed the Black Fiend Palm technique at the perfect level, which could be perfectly combined with their perfect level movement techniques. Because their movement techniques were different, their fighting styles were quite different: Fu Honggang's movement technique was the Vajra Tiger Subduing Step, making him appear like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, ruthless and sharp; Zhuang Jin's movement technique was the Swift Wind Step, making him appear light and graceful, sensing the wind and airflow, weaving and cutting into them like a skilled butcher dissecting an ox, with a speed that was noticeably slightly faster.

Fu Honggang pounced like a tiger time and time again. Each attack shattered the bluestone slabs, left footprints on the ground, and kicked up billowing dust. Zhuang Jin's figure was agile, elusive in the hazy moonlight, as if she had created a clone.

The two fought with an inexplicable elegance, as if they were coordinating on a stage, attacking and dodging, lunging and retreating, like a rigged match... But only those with discerning eyes could see the hidden killing intent beneath the surface, each move extremely dangerous, a single mistake could mean death.

In less than ten breaths, dozens or even hundreds of moves were exchanged. In the final collision, with a loud bang, they each struck the other's shoulder.

Wow!
Zhuang Jin's clothes burst open at the shoulder, revealing the Xuan-grade top-quality beast hide armor beneath, which shimmered with supernatural power. He turned around, swept his right foot across the ground to stabilize himself, and a flush appeared on his face.

Pound! Pound! Pound! Pound!
Fu Honggang retreated step by step, leaving a series of clear footprints on the ground. With blood dripping, his shoulder was already torn open and bloody. Then, the hidden force that had invaded his body erupted, making his face turn pale and causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood.

Both men possessed the Black Fiend Palm technique and perfected movement skills. Zhuang Jin's Swift Wind Step movement skill surpassed ordinary movement skills, while Fu Hong had just completed the accumulation of the Twelve Meridians realm, which somewhat offset each other. However, Zhuang Jin also possessed a Xuan-grade top-quality exotic beast hide armor, which gave him an advantage. —Don't be fooled by Zhuang Jin and Sun Mingbi's Xuan-grade top-quality exotic beast hide armor; this is because the Shen family is an old and powerful clan in the prefecture, with deep roots. The Medicine King Gang, a newly risen, impoverished force, shouldn't even think about competing with them.

"Lord Sun, have you finished your breathing? Let's join forces and kill this man!" After their previous exchange, Zhuang Jin secretly estimated that it would cost him a considerable price to take down Fu Honggang on his own, so he immediately used the Great Summoning Technique.

"Zhuang Zhenshou, you've given me quite a surprise tonight! Here I come!" Sun Mingbi, having already calmed his injuries, darted into the battlefield.

……

On the clock tower, two miles away.

"Excellent! What incredible talent and comprehension! Not only did Zhuang Jin break through to the Twelve Meridians Realm so quickly, but he also simultaneously raised both the Black Fiend Palm and his movement techniques to the perfect level?!"

The unexpected reversal of the situation below made Shi Yin's face darken, and he gritted his teeth.

"He is indeed a promising talent, a genius like Master Shi." Zhong Yi said with a hint of sarcasm.

Shi Yin naturally understood the other party's implication: breaking the rules would make him, a genius, the first to be punished, so he shouldn't do anything foolish.

"However, no matter what, he is still only at the Qi Condensation Realm, not at our level. This one step is a world of difference... Hall Master Shi, there's no need to worry too much. Come, let's drink!"

Zhong Yi raised his hand and slapped it, sending the wine gourd spinning away.

Wow!
Shi Yin raised his hand to catch it, and with a tremor of his wrist, the wine inside surged out. With just this one move, he knew that his strength was inferior to his opponent's, and he completely extinguished that dark thought in his heart.

……

On this side, Zhuang Jin was already one step ahead of Fu Honggang, and with Sun Mingbi joining in, it became a two-on-one situation, making Fu Honggang's predicament even more dangerous.

To make matters worse, Zhuang Jin was faster than him, and Fu Honggang couldn't escape even if he wanted to. What's even more heartbreaking is that because of the top-grade Xuan-level beast hide armor they were wearing, even if he wanted to take someone down with him when he was about to die, he couldn't.

Not long after, Fu Honggang suffered more than a dozen serious injuries, and his combat strength was severely reduced.

"Damn it! If I had a top-grade Xuan-level beast hide armor, I wouldn't be in this situation!" Fu Honggang roared, his face filled with resentment.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain; what's the point of saying more?"

Zhuang Jin rushed forward, caught the man's hands, and smoothly slid them down, crippling the man's hand meridians amidst Fu Honggang's screams. Then, he joined his fingers into a claw and slashed the man's legs, crippling the foot meridians.

"Lord Sun, as agreed, this person is now yours." After doing this, he darted off to another battlefield.

"Zhuang, the town's magistrate, is a kind and honest man; he truly keeps his word."

Sun Mingbi sighed inwardly, withdrew his gaze, and stepped forward with a cold smile: "President Fu, may you have a safe journey!"

……

On the night of October 14th, Zhuang Jin displayed the power of the Twelve Meridians Realm, turning the tide of the battle and joining forces with Sun Mingbi to fight Fu Honggang. In the end, Fu Honggang died at the hands of Sun Mingbi... Afterwards, they pressed their advantage and that night, the Medicine King Gang suffered a crushing defeat!

The news spread like wildfire, shocking the Shen family, the Medicine King Gang, and the entire city!
……

(End of this chapter)