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

Chen Heting straightened his arms, his White Crane Fist stance tightly protecting his chest, and squeezed out a broken question from his throat:

"You're not hurt?"

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Zhan pointed his fingertip at his chest. This finger strike did not have the force of a powerful punch, but its power penetrated straight into his muscles, instantly exploding his internal organs.

Chen Heting's body froze on the spot, not flying backward, but his clothes ripped apart at the chest, and flesh and bone fragments shot out from his chest, leaving a deep, bone-revealing hole.

His pupils slowly dilated, his body swayed twice, and he fell straight to the ground, completely lifeless.

Chen Zhan withdrew his finger, the blood droplets on his fingertip being shaken off: "Injury is injury, but it also depends on who you're dealing with."

In a short while, the two top martial arts masters in Tianjin, both ranked among the best, were killed by Chen Zhan, not even lasting ten moves.

Ultimately, the difference in their levels of skill was too vast to be bridged simply by varying degrees of power.

Lian Shanyue has only been at the level of Huajin for a few short years. His foundation is shallow. He has only touched the threshold of Huajin and has not been able to experience the wonderful effects of Huajin in condensing qi and blood and perceiving subtle details. His physical body has not completed a complete transformation.

When faced with overwhelming force from someone at the Core Formation stage, they have no chance to fight back.

Although Chen Heting was a veteran of the Hua Jin technique, he was defeated by age. Over sixty years old, his Qi and blood had long since declined, and he could no longer retain his essence and spirit. His power flow was always sluggish, and no matter how exquisite his moves were, they could not withstand the depletion of his life force.

When martial arts are practiced to their highest level, only by embracing the elixir can one achieve a perfect harmony of essence, energy, and spirit, sinking all mental strength, blood, and power into the dantian furnace and locking it away.

Even as one ages and one's vital energy naturally declines, as long as one detonates the golden core in the dantian, one can still unleash peak combat power and have the confidence to fight to the death.

This is also the reason why the veteran martial arts master who has mastered the Dan technique was able to die peacefully. Even though others knew that he was old and frail, no one dared to provoke him easily.

No one wants to gamble on the other's dying move of unleashing their golden core and perishing together.

Even if both Shan Yue and Chen Heting were at the peak of the Transformation Realm, the difference between them and Chen Zhan would be that they could only withstand a few more moves.

Ultimately, it could not escape its fate of defeat and destruction.

His strength, agility, mental state, and realm were all completely suppressed. Even though Chen Zhan was wounded by a knife, he had no chance of winning.

To counterbalance him, one would need to invite a master of the same Nascent Soul realm to help, otherwise there would be little chance of victory.

As for Meng Zhenshan, the third master of the Transformation Realm, he had already used the pretext of a feigned fight to escape with the disciples of Wuji Pavilion without a trace.

The battle situation took a sudden turn. There were still dozens of men left in the backyard, but they had already completely panicked.

With Chen Heting dead, the Crane Martial Hall completely lost its backbone. The dozen or so disciples were in chaos. Some were red-eyed and wanted to rush up to take revenge, while others were so scared that their legs went weak and they only wanted to escape. The formation collapsed instantly.

Chen Zhan gave them no time to panic. He used the Bagua Walking Step, his figure flickering in the rain and mist, and rushed straight into the dispersing crowd.

Palm strikes, elbow strikes to the chest, and grappling to break bones—every move is aimed at a vital point.

Without any hesitation, screams rang out one after another as disciples of the Crane Martial Hall fell to the ground.

The Cao Gang reacted relatively quickly. Ji Qian, as the Grand Master, had mediocre martial arts skills, but he was quick-witted and extremely shrewd.

The moment Lian Shanyue died tragically, he realized that the situation was completely out of control. Chen Zhan's combat strength far exceeded expectations and was simply beyond human control.

He immediately waved his hand, signaling the canal gang gunmen behind him, armed with foreign guns, to step forward and block him, while he himself retreated, shrinking towards the back gate, clearly intending to sacrifice the pawn to save the king.

"Fire!"

At Ji Qian's command, the gunmen pulled the triggers, and a burst of gunfire erupted instantly, indiscriminately firing regardless of whether there were their own gang members among the crowd.

The wooden door and earthen wall in the backyard were riddled with bullet holes, and clods of earth fell down. Smoke filled the air again, just as the continuous drizzle stopped completely. The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder, blood, and damp earth.

A volley of fire followed immediately by another, the sound of gunfire deafening.

Ji Qian stood at the door, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his eyes icy, and his heart already chilled to the bone.

He had seen countless ruthless martial arts masters, but he had never seen anyone like Chen Zhan. Despite being wounded by a knife and surrounded, he could still calmly deflect the gunfire and attacks. Such composure was something that ordinary people could not do.

He knew in his heart that the musket might not be able to kill Chen Zhan.

"Let's go, retreat!"

Ji Qian made a decisive move, leaving behind the Cao Gang members as cannon fodder to block Chen Zhan's advance, while he himself, with two close followers, quickly fled towards the back door.

Upon seeing this, the constables of the yamen and the remaining disciples of the Crane Martial Hall also fled outwards.

After escaping the black and white pawnshop, the entire black market was deathly silent; not a single human voice could be heard.

The gunshots inside the pawnshop started sporadically, then became as frequent as drumbeats, and the black market merchants had long sensed that something was seriously wrong.

Anyone with a modicum of sense hid in their own cellar, not daring to make the slightest noise, for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Ji Qian led his men in a frantic run through the muddy alley. The gunfire behind them gradually subsided, becoming less intense, and finally fading into complete silence.

His heart sank to the bottom.

The gunfire stopped, meaning that all the gang members who were trying to stop them had been killed, and Chen Zhan could catch up at any moment.

The road was slippery and difficult to walk on after the rain. Ji Qian panicked and didn't know which way to go. Suddenly, his foot slipped, his body tilted, and he almost fell into the mud.

He did possess some rudimentary martial arts skills; using one hand to brace himself against the ground, he sprang up quickly, not daring to pause for a moment, and growled at his attendants beside him:

"Go quickly, and don't look back!"

But there was no response, only deathly silence.

The air was damp and chilly after the rain, but Ji Qian suddenly felt a scorching wave of heat coming from his side.

He turned his head stiffly, only to see Chen Zhan's figure slowly passing by, strolling leisurely.

Ji Qian still harbored a sliver of hope, thinking that Chen Zhan, busy cleaning up the battlefield, would let him, the one who had slipped through the net, go.

But the next second, his gaze fell on the knife in Chen Zhan's hand. It was a short knife with a sharkskin sheath and the mark of the Caobang was engraved on the blade. It was clearly Lian Shanyue's sword.

He clearly remembered that when Lian Shanyue fought Chen Zhan just now, he didn't even have time to draw his sword.

Whose blood was flowing down that knife?
Before the thought could even finish, a piercing pain shot through my lower back and abdomen, instantly engulfing my entire body, as if my internal organs were being shredded.

Ji Qian's thoughts came to an abrupt halt. His body crashed heavily into the mud and water, twitched twice, and then fell completely silent.

Chen Zhan withdrew his short sword and, without pausing, began his pursuit. His direction was clear: he headed north, straight towards Qingyi Hall, where Cheng Shaojiu was.

Time had dragged on for far too long, and the sky was gradually darkening.

The rain stopped, night was about to fall, and the sun completely disappeared behind the clouds, never to reappear.

The Green Right Hall was far from the black market, spanning most of Tianjin's old city. Along the way, the streets and alleys became increasingly deserted, and the occasional patrolling soldiers all hid under the eaves. The Green Right Hall was one of the top gang halls in Tianjin. Ma Liu had seized a large area of ​​courtyards by trickery and force and transformed it into a magnificent main hall.

Two pairs of stone lions stand guard at the entrance, flanking the main gate, which is vermilion and has bronze doors. It is always guarded by gang members, giving it an impressive appearance.

When Chen Zhan arrived, the vermilion gate of Qingyi Hall had already shattered on the ground, the door panel was covered with dense bullet holes, the courtyard was quiet, without a sound, not even a light, it was eerily silent.

With a leap, he silently slipped into the courtyard, spreading his divine senses to investigate the surrounding movements.

There was no ambush, no sign of life, and the entire hall was deserted.

Several corpses were scattered in the courtyard. He squatted down to examine them and found that they were all unfamiliar henchmen, not the twelve brothers under Cheng Shaojiu.

He had met all thirteen people before. When he treated the third brother's injuries, everyone stood by and he remembered their faces clearly. None of them were among them.

Although there were signs of foreigners and gunmen breaking into the courtyard, and a faint smell of gunpowder lingered in the air, there were no signs of a large-scale bloodbath.

There was no blood, no remains of a fight, so there was clearly no deadly battle.

Cheng Shaojiu's twelve men were all masters of internal strength, each with agile skills, several times stronger than Lu Jun's brothers. If they were to be surrounded and killed by the musketeers, they would not be able to be subdued without leaving any trace.

Chen Zhan walked slowly through the courtyard, checking each room one by one. Every room was ransacked, with tables and chairs overturned, cabinets smashed, and clothes and miscellaneous items scattered all over the ground.

There were no signs of a struggle, no bloodstains, no broken weapons, only a messy scene of deliberate searching.

Walking all the way to the study in the backyard, I found it to be the most chaotic place. The tables and chairs were smashed, the bookshelves were overturned, the walls were pitted and uneven, and even some of the blue bricks on the ground had been pried off. It was a complete mess.

Even so, there was still no bloodstains or signs of a struggle in the study, only traces of searching.

After a moment's thought, Chen Zhan instantly grasped the key point.

Ma Liu's gang, having been rooted in Tianjin for many years, must have dug hidden passageways for refuge and escape.

Cheng Shaojiu and his group evacuated through the secret passage ahead of time. When the foreigners arrived, they found nothing and could only frantically search for the entrance to the secret passage, but to no avail.

If the foreigners had found the secret passage, there's no reason why they wouldn't be able to find it now, much less restore it to its original state.

After searching through all the rooms, Chen Zhan returned to the most chaotic study, recalling the secret code he had previously agreed upon with Cheng Shaojiu.

To prepare for unforeseen circumstances, the two devised a code. The code would vary depending on the situation, and Cheng Shaojiu might leave a trace.

He searched the study carefully, his eyes scanning every corner, and finally found a faint engraving on the pillar in the center of the study.

A hammer-shaped mark with sharp edges.

It is the symbol of the Three Emperors Cannon Fist and also the secret code agreed upon by the two.

The Three Emperors Cannon Fist is Cheng Shaojiu's signature fist technique. When the hammerhead points downwards, it is a signal to retreat.

At this moment, the hammer mark on the pillar was pointing downwards, indicating that Cheng Shaojiu had evacuated as agreed.

Just an evacuation?

No other code?

In this situation, they definitely had to leave; Chen Zhan knew this, and Cheng Shaojiu understood it too.

Since everyone knows they need to evacuate, there's no need to leave this code word alone, otherwise there's a risk of being exposed.

There must be another deeper meaning.

He stared at the mark on the pillar and examined it repeatedly. The pillar was located in the very center of the study, which was also in the center of the second courtyard of the entire courtyard house, making its location extremely important.

The hammerhead was pointed at the original desk in the study, but the desk had already been smashed, the bookshelves had been overturned, and there were no traces of a secret passage on the ground, so there was obviously no entrance to the room.

Chen Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze shifting from the hammer head to the hammer handle, which was pointing straight outwards, directly towards the direction of the third courtyard.

The courtyard with the study is the second courtyard.

He walked quickly to the last courtyard, where there were only two rooms: a council hall and Ma Liu's bedroom. The signs of searching were very light, indicating that the foreigners had not found any clues here, nor any secret passage entrance.

Chen Zhan stood in the center of the courtyard and looked in the direction of the hammer handle. Dozens of meters away, in a corner, there was a well.

He walked to the well. The sky was dark, and the well was pitch black, so he couldn't see the depth at all.

Chen Zhan bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it into the well.

"Ta-da!"

A crisp, clanging sound came from within; there was no sound of water, only the sound of stones hitting blue bricks. It was a dry well.

Chen Zhan understood instantly.

He did not rush into the well; confirming that Cheng Shaojiu and his group had safely evacuated was enough.

Cheng Shaojiu left the coded message so that he would know his whereabouts. There would definitely be follow-up marks after the secret passage, so that they could eventually meet up.

The two had agreed that if anything went wrong, they would all evacuate to the countryside, where the area was vast and no one would be able to find them.

As Chen Zhan left Qingyi Hall, he immediately sensed several subtle gazes. Clearly, the foreigners had left people behind to keep a close watch on the empty hall.

This time he didn't kill. Instead, he used his movement technique to disappear into the deep alley. After several twists and turns, he quickly made the sentries lose sight of him.

He then took a detour to the Four Gates Inn, but the inn was already deserted, with its doors and windows tightly shut, devoid of any sign of life. Clearly, Old Zhang had also sensed the danger and had evacuated with his men in advance.

A pang of guilt rose in Chen Zhan's heart. He had forcibly dragged Zhang Laojiao into this turmoil to fight against the foreigners, but all his efforts had been in vain.

The situation is now in chaos, and he has no idea where Zhang Laojiao is or whether he is safe.

He had never been to Zhang Laojiao's residence, and in the vast expanse of Tianjin, there was no way to find him in a short time.

The streets were nearly deserted after the rain, and the main streets and alleys were filled with foreigners' spies and the eyes and ears of the canal gangs. Any slight movement would be noticed.

As Chen Zhan walked down the street, he could sense the gazes he was being watched from time to time. He used his agility to shake off several waves of eyes, but before long, new eyes would surround him again, and he could never shake them off completely.

After a moment's thought, he stopped wandering the streets and alleys, turned around and went into a secluded alley, heading straight for the Ruyu Opium Den deep inside the alley.

This was the largest opium den in Tianjin, involving foreigners, government officials, and other powerful figures—a veritable melting pot.

Chen Zhan slipped into the backyard of the opium den, avoiding the thugs guarding the gate, and found a secluded corner to practice his Bone-Changing Technique.

By pressing their knuckles against their cheekbones and brow bones, and adjusting their shoulders and back, they can change their appearance in a short time, transforming themselves into people with high cheekbones, prominent brow bones, and a sharp face, making them look completely different from their previous appearance.

Even if it's someone you know in person, it would be difficult to recognize them. (End of Chapter)