Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

The backyard was deathly silent. Chen Zhan openly exposed his chest and abdomen. His white clothes made his skin look firm. He did not have the bulging muscles of a martial arts master, but rather a refined texture.

Judging by his physique alone, he's at best an average person with some training.

The muscles aren't very big.

Seeing this, Ji Qian waved his hand behind him.

"Great courage! I'll go first."

A burly man with a bronze dagger at his waist and a face full of scars strode out. He was the leader of a large ship of the Canal Gang, and had killed many people in the martial arts world. He had also mastered the external martial arts.

As he walked, he pulled a dagger from his pocket; the blade was gleaming and shone with a cold light.

The rule of "three cuts and six holes" in the martial arts world was originally a self-punishment method for gang members who did wrong. It emphasizes that every cut should leave a hole but not a vital organ. Using a large sword is easy to lose control and kill, so short daggers have always been used. This is the tacit understanding of the martial arts world in Tianjin.

The man stopped three steps in front of Chen Zhan, a fierce smile plastered on his face. He deliberately spoke provocatively, trying to disrupt Chen Zhan's composure:
"You've caused such a commotion, turning Tianjin upside down. I thought you were a three-headed, six-armed dragon, capable of carrying mountains and chasing the moon, and catching turtles in the five oceans. Turns out you're just a mortal."

As he spoke, he raised his eyes and stared intently into Chen Zhan's eyes, trying to intimidate him with his imposing presence and gain the upper hand before making a move.

He had expected to see Chen Zhan's fearful expression, but instead he saw an indifferent gaze, the terror of which was indescribable.

The moment their eyes met, the man's smile froze, and his blood seemed to freeze instantly.

Chen Zhan's eyes remained completely calm.

God beats.

The art of divine strikes has existed since ancient times.

The difference in strength was too great. A single glance was enough to end the fight; their mental fortitude was shattered, and any further combat would mean certain death.

Moreover, Chen Zhan possessed a spiritual aura honed through countless life-or-death battles, and an aura of chilling killing intent as fierce as mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

The man felt as if he could see corpses scattered all over the ground, and heard shrill screams in his ears. His hair stood on end, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his inner shirt.

"Boom boom boom!"

He stumbled back three steps uncontrollably, then staggered and fell heavily into the mud, cold sweat mingling with the rain streaming down his face.

Even the hand holding the knife was trembling incessantly, and all traces of ferocity had vanished.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding crowd immediately stood up in an uproar, and Meng Zhenshan and Chen Heting, who had been sitting upright, both stood up.

The gunmen lying in ambush on the eaves of the backyard instantly tensed up, like cats with their fur standing on end, all pointing their guns at Chen Zhan, and the atmosphere instantly became extremely tense.

Lian Shanyue tightened his grip on Qin Ming's hand, his knuckles digging into Qin Ming's flesh. The steel knife against Qin Ming's neck pressed down further, and blood seeped from the cut, trickling down his neck.

He is the godson of Cao Taisui. He studied martial arts at various martial arts schools since childhood. At the age of thirty-five, he mastered the Huajin skill and became a top-ranked master in the Tianjin martial arts world. He came here this time to stabilize the situation.

The foreigners gave him a death order, and the livelihoods of thousands of people in the canal gang were in their hands. He had no choice but to resort to underhanded methods of coercing his subordinates.

He would never act this way in a normal martial arts encounter.

Seeing his men intimidated by Chen Zhan's gaze, he immediately shouted in a deep voice, "Mr. Chen, are you disregarding the lives of your men?"

Chen Zhan stood motionless, his gaze slowly turning to Lian Shanyue: "I haven't moved an inch, what do you want me to do?"

Everyone subconsciously looked at Chen Zhan's hands, which remained hanging at his sides, and he did not make any move.

The entire room fell silent instantly; no one could explain what had just happened.

The man who had fallen to the ground regained his senses, struggled to his feet, patted the mud off his body, and felt utterly humiliated. He was both angry and scared, but could only force himself to remain calm and snort coldly, "That was an accident. Let's try again."

He gripped the dagger tightly, rushed to Chen Zhan in a few steps, ignored Chen Zhan, lowered his head and gritted his teeth as he stabbed the dagger toward Chen Zhan's lower abdomen.

The knife avoided vital organs, but it struck the soft flesh of the lower abdomen; such an attack would have been a serious injury.

Chen Zhan did not dodge, but instead relaxed his abdominal muscles, allowing the dagger to pierce his muscles.

"puff--"

The soft sound of the blade piercing flesh was clearly heard, and blood instantly soaked through the white clothes, flowing down the lower abdomen.

Chen Zhan glanced down at the wound, then raised his hand to press down on the man's wrist holding the knife, his tone calm:

"One person, one knife. Okay, I'll borrow your knife."

The man was still in a daze from his success and hadn't reacted at all.

He had heard countless legends about Chen Zhan: killing Yinmian Liu, toying with the two Vajra Kings, suppressing Qingyitang and the Caobang, and even defeating experts from the capital.

He thought Chen Zhan wouldn't be easily injured by him, but he succeeded.

Before he could think any further, a tremendous force suddenly came from his wrist, and Chen Zhan snatched the dagger away in an instant.

The dagger, about four or five inches long, had already pierced Chen Zhan's lower abdomen. Even if it hadn't damaged his internal organs, it was still a serious injury, with blood gushing out, a horrifying sight.

Chen Zhan raised his hand and gave a gentle push. The man staggered back more than ten steps as if struck by a heavy hammer, falling back to Ji Qian's side. He no longer dared to look up at Chen Zhan.

"next."

Chen Zhan raised his hand and wiped away the blood from his lower abdomen, letting the blood drip down his fingertips without doing anything to stop the bleeding.

He deliberately let the blood show, making everyone think he was seriously injured and his fighting ability was greatly reduced, thus lowering their guard.

Ji Qian looked at Chen Zhan's bleeding wound with a smug smile, then turned to the constables beside him, signaling with his eyes that it was their turn to take action.

The constables exchanged glances. They were just there to make up the numbers, had only a superficial understanding of the rules of the martial arts world, and didn't want to offend a ruthless person like Chen Zhan.

One of the older constables forced himself to step forward and approach Chen Zhan, his tone tinged with apology: "Mr. Chen, we're just doing our jobs. Our whole families are in Tianjin, we really have no choice..."

"It's alright, hurry up." Chen Zhan interrupted him and handed him the dagger he had taken.

The constable gripped the dagger, his palms sweating profusely, and hesitated to strike.

Seeing this, Chen Zhan took a step forward and brought his lower abdomen close to the dagger.

"puff."

There was another soft sound, and this time the dagger only pierced a shallow inch of skin, with hardly any blood flowing out.

Chen Zhan said calmly, "This isn't my fault, is it?"

It's because the constables themselves didn't dare to kill, and showed mercy; they can't blame others.

Upon seeing this, Ji Qian's face instantly darkened, and he sneered, "The dignified government of Tianjin has now reduced all it to is eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers. How laughable."

The constable's face turned red, and he dared not refute. He gripped his dagger and quickly retreated, leaving the area to the remaining people.

In the Wuji Pavilion camp on the far left, the young disciple behind Meng Zhenshan clenched his fists, wanting to step forward and take over. Just as he took a step, Meng Zhenshan grabbed him and threw him back into the crowd.

"I will come in person."

Meng Zhenshan, nearing sixty, was still robust and powerful. Though his vitality was not what it used to be, it was undiminished. He walked steadily and with a powerful stride to Chen Zhan. Clearly, he too possessed the cultivation of the Transformation Realm.

He solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Chen Zhan, expressing his stance through his actions without uttering any further words.

Chen Zhan glanced at him, said nothing, and simply nodded slightly.

Meng Zhenshan took the dagger, deliberately turned his body to the side to block Ji Qian and the others' view, and suddenly exerted force with his wrist, seemingly fiercely stabbing the dagger towards Chen Zhan's side abdomen.

The white clothes were instantly torn, the blade piercing into the flesh along the skin. It seemed to penetrate quite deeply, but in reality, it only cut through the surface and didn't even pierce the flesh.

Only he and Chen Zhan knew the angle of the slash. Meng Zhenshan was making his stance clear: he had been forced to come and had no intention of becoming Chen Zhan's enemy. This slash was merely a show for others.

Chen Zhan understood immediately and tightened his side abdomen accordingly.

His gaze shifted to Ji Qian, his tone icy: "There's one last blow. Let's make this clear. If you go back on your word and refuse to release my people, I'll wipe you out completely. You can take a gamble and see if I have the ability."

Meng Zhenshan stood beside him and clearly felt the killing intent emanating from Chen Zhan. He quickly spoke up to smooth things over: "In the world of martial arts, a promise is a promise. Since we've made a promise, we won't go back on it. Don't worry, Mr. Chen."

"Better so."

Chen Zhan withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "There's only one left, hurry up."

From within the Crane Martial Hall camp, a middle-aged disciple stepped out from beside Chen Heting.

This person is Ye Qing, Chen Heting's eldest disciple. He has already mastered the White Crane Fist, and his figure is as upright as a crane. He moves lightly and gracefully, and he is clearly a skilled and agile practitioner.

"Master, let me do it." Ye Qing bowed to Chen Heting.

Chen Heting's expression was solemn as he slowly nodded. He had already decided to help the foreigners, and this was a move that had to be ruthless.

Ye Qing had only taken two steps when Ji Qian's cold voice came, carrying a coercive tone: "Ye Qing, the livelihoods of thousands of disciples from the Cao Gang, Wuji Hall, and Hewu Hall all depend on this game. Have you thought it through?"

Ye Qing paused, her face pale, but she could only grit her teeth and nod, walking up to Chen Zhan and taking the dagger.

He dared not meet Chen Zhan's gaze, gripped the dagger tightly, and with all his might, stabbed Chen Zhan hard in the lower abdomen.

This strike was delivered without any restraint; the blade pierced more than three inches deep, and blood gushed out instantly, flowing down the hilt of the sword.

Ye Qing gripped the dagger for a moment, then hurriedly let go and backed away to Chen Heting's side, her palms covered in cold sweat.

After the four cuts were completed, Chen Zhan's white clothes were already soaked with blood, and a small pool of blood had accumulated on the ground.

He wiped the blood from his wound again and looked at Ji Qian: "Is that enough? Let my three little brothers go."

Looking at Chen Zhan covered in blood, Lian Shanyue's face flashed with genuine admiration.

He knew he couldn't bring himself to endure such brutal torture for a few men he'd only recently met; such loyalty and righteousness were truly rare.

Qin Ming had a white cloth stuffed in his mouth and his hands and feet were bound with hemp rope. He could only let out muffled cries, his voice hoarse, almost exhausted. Tears mixed with blood smeared his face, filled with self-blame and grief.

Ji Qian stared at Chen Zhan's bleeding abdomen, feeling somewhat hesitant.

He clearly saw that Chen Zhan was seriously injured, but the other's eyes remained calm, showing no sign of weakness, making it impossible for him to discern the truth.

He had to capture Chen Zhan to appease the foreigners, but he couldn't openly violate the rules of the underworld.

They could only try to stall for time, waiting for Chen Zhan to lose too much blood and his combat strength to decline before making a move.

Upon seeing this, Meng Zhenshan immediately slammed his hand on the table and stood up, pointing at Ji Qian and shouting sternly, "Ji Qian! Your gang brought up the three cuts and six holes yourselves, and now Mr. Chen has already suffered four cuts. Do you want to go back on your word in public?!"

Ji Qian was speechless after being rebuked. Just as he was about to speak up in his defense, Lian Shanyue took the initiative to put down the steel knife in his hand, flicked his wrist, and cut the hemp rope binding Qin Ming.

He respected Chen Zhan's loyalty and was unwilling to betray him or take advantage of his vulnerability.

Qin Ming broke free of his restraints and scrambled to Chen Zhan's side. His legs buckled, and he was about to kneel down when his voice choked with sobs: "Mr. Chen, you shouldn't have come back. We don't deserve this..."

Chen Zhan raised his hand and pushed him away with a gentle force, sending him directly towards the two men: "Stop talking nonsense and take them away quickly."

Qin Ming quickly turned around, untied the two men from their bonds, helped them to their feet, and looked back at Chen Zhan with concern, hesitating to take a step.

Chen Zhan's eyes flashed sharply: "You really don't want to live anymore? Stop being so wishy-washy. Do you really think they can kill me?"

As he spoke, Chen Zhan took two steps forward, leaned close to Qin Ming's ear, and whispered a few words.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming's eyes widened in surprise. He then nodded emphatically, gritted his teeth, and, supporting the two shop assistants, turned and walked out of the pawnshop.

Upon seeing this, the crowd of people from the canal gang automatically parted to make way for the three of them to leave.

Lian Shanyue ordered them to leave, and no one dared to stop him. Ji Qian could only grimly agree to let them go.

As Qin Ming and his two companions disappeared from the pawnshop entrance, the atmosphere in the backyard instantly plummeted to freezing point, filled with murderous intent.

Chen Zhan stopped pretending, reached out and tore off a strip of cloth from his outer garment, tied it tightly around his waist, and used it to cover the wound in his abdomen.

Immediately afterwards, he sat on his hips with his hands on his hips, and the blood and qi in his body were transported, instantly slowing down the bleeding from the wound and forcibly stopping most of the bleeding.

Dan Jin can control the flow of Qi and blood and regulate the body's structure.

Chen Zhan slowly moved his neck, his bones making a slight cracking sound, and an invisible pressure enveloped the entire backyard.

Chen Zhan scanned the entire area and found that there were no foreign musketeers stationed there.

The foreigners had clearly learned from their previous experience and knew that muskets were not effective in the narrow alleys of the backyard and would only become a hindrance.

Therefore, they only sent martial arts masters and members of the Canal Gang to surround and intercept him, hoping to take him down using Jianghu methods.

Seeing Chen Zhan's actions, Ji Qian assumed he was making a last-ditch effort and said calmly, "Does Your Excellency still intend to resist? You are already seriously injured and cannot escape today. The foreigners do not want you alive either."

In his view, Chen Zhan had been stabbed four times in the abdomen, greatly reducing his combat power, while there were three masters of the Transformation Realm in the field: Lian Shanyue, Meng Zhenshan, and Chen Heting.

There were also more than a dozen muskets on the eaves and hundreds of strong young men; Chen Zhan had absolutely no chance of winning.

Chen Zhan nodded slowly, took two steps forward, and revealed his gleaming white teeth.

"Walk?"

"Did I say I was leaving? I'll kill you all."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhan was about to make a move when Lian Shanyue swept his broadsword in front of Chen Zhan.

Gunshots suddenly rang out from the eaves, and gunpowder filled the air, instantly enveloping the spot where Chen Zhan stood.

Lian Shanyue pulled Ji Qian back several meters to avoid the line of fire.

He didn't like Ji Qian, but he couldn't just watch him die.

Chen Zhan moved through the rain, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder.

The courtyard was not large to begin with, and the smoke from these muskets was so thick that most of the space was shrouded in smoke.

There's no one in sight anymore. (End of Chapter)