The SSSSSSSS-level Mad Dragon is released from prison!

Xiao Ding stared at the cracked teacup on the table, his eyelids twitching twice.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear the hissing sound of tea seeping through the cup.

He withdrew his hand and his gaze swept over Jiang Chen three times.

There is no true qi.

Not even a tiny bit.

This guy's meridians were like a stagnant pool, completely blocked. He couldn't even use his internal energy to injure people, let alone be as good as an ordinary first-rate martial artist.

"Oh."

Xiao Ding suddenly burst out laughing, the laughter growing louder and louder, shaking the dust off the roof beams.

He tucked the folding fan into his waistband, a ruthless mockery gleaming in his peach blossom eyes.

"You're quite the actor."

Xiao Ding took a step forward, and several fine cracks appeared on the bluestone slab beneath his feet.

"For a moment just now, I really thought you were some kind of amazing expert."

He raised his right hand, his five fingers forming hooks, and a faint blue light emanated from his fingertips—the protective aura unique to a Grandmaster of Internal Energy.

"A piece of trash whose dantian is ruined dares to play the empty city ploy with me in the Xiao family's main hall?"

Xiao Ding's smile vanished abruptly, and his right hand, like an eagle swooping down on a rabbit, shot straight for Jiang Chen's throat with a piercing shriek that tore through the air.

If that claw had landed firmly, Jiang Chen's throat would have been ripped out on the spot.

Xiao Ruoye cried out in shock, "Xiao Ding, how dare you!"

She wanted to draw her sword, but as soon as her hand touched the empty scabbard at her waist, she remembered that the sword had been knocked away by the head of the family.

Jiang Chen sat in the chair without moving.

He even had the leisure to push the cracked teacup towards the center of the table to prevent it from being spilled and falling to the ground.

Xiao Ding's fingers were only three inches away from Jiang Chen's face.

The sharp gust of wind made Jiang Chen's bangs fly backward.

In that very instant.

Jiang Chen's right index finger twitched.

There was no fluctuation of true energy, and no flash of light.

That finger was like an iron nail that appeared out of thin air, striking Xiao Ding's Laogong acupoint with perfect accuracy.

"Click."

A sharp, teeth-grinding crack drowned out all the breathing in the hall.

Xiao Dingqian's momentum came to an abrupt halt.

His hand, which was covered in protective aura, was now broken off at an odd angle towards the back of his hand, with his fingertips almost touching his own wrist.

"ah--!"

The piercing screams had just begun.

Jiang Chen stood up.

His movements were slow, and he even seemed somewhat nonchalant.

But as he stood up, his left shoulder slumped slightly, and then he leaned forward abruptly.

Stick to the mountain.

The most unadorned, yet most violent, move.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

Xiao Ding's body, weighing over 100 pounds, was as if he had been hit by a speeding truck. His feet left the ground, and he flew backward seven or eight meters away.

"Boom!"

The redwood screen wall in the center of the hall, which was carved with the words "Xiao Family Tradition," had a large hole shaped like a human being smashed in it.

Wood chips flew everywhere.

Xiao Ding lay sprawled in the pile of rubble like a dead dog, spitting out blood and foam. His twisted right hand hung limply at his side, clearly useless.

The entire room fell silent.

The elders sitting at the head of the table couldn't even hold their teacups properly, spilling tea all over their crotches.

"This...how is this possible?"

The Third Elder's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

A useless person without any internal energy broke the bones of a master of internal energy transformation with a single finger.

This completely violates the common sense of martial arts!

"What are you still looking at! Get them!"

Seated in the main seat, Xiao Wanshan slammed his hand on the armrest, shattering it. His face was ashen. "Dare to commit violence in the Xiao family? Kill them on the spot!"

Before he could finish speaking...

The dozen or so law enforcement officers who had been waiting on both sides of the hall drew their long swords at the same time.

A cold light gleamed.

A dozen swords wove together into an impenetrable net, descending upon Jiang Chen's head.

Although these retainers were not as powerful as Xiao Ding, they were all experts who had mastered internal strength. Their combined power was such that even grandmasters would have to avoid their sharp edge.

Shen Suxin turned pale with fright and instinctively reached for the poison powder in her sleeve.

"Stand still."

Jiang Chen's voice rang in her ears.

The next second, Jiang Chen rushed into the Sword Net.

Instead of retreating, he charged headlong into the sword's edge.

"court death!"

The leader, a dark-faced retainer, grinned maliciously and thrust his longsword straight at Jiang Chen's chest.

Jiang Chen slightly turned his body, and the sword blade grazed his clothes, tearing the already loose-fitting tracksuit.

Just as the two passed each other...

Jiang Chen grabbed the other man's wrist, which was holding the sword.

No need for internal energy.

Once the fulcrum of the joint is found, a sufficiently large force can be applied.

"Click."

The black-faced retainer's wrist snapped like a withered tree branch, and his longsword fell from his hand.

Jiang Chen caught the longsword in mid-air and drew it with a backhand motion.

The sword slammed hard into the face of another worshipper who rushed up.

Half of the man's face was sunken, his teeth were mixed with blood and water, and he fainted without even uttering a sound.

This was a one-sided massacre.

Jiang Chen was like a sophisticated killing machine, weaving through the crowd.

He doesn't use internal energy or rely on his inner strength.

Each strike targets the most vulnerable joints, cartilage, and nerve nodes in the human body.

This was an instinct he had developed during his five years in the prison, through countless life-or-death battles.

Every human being has weaknesses.

As long as a bone is still a bone, it can be broken.

"Ah! My leg!"

"My hand is broken!"

"No...don't come any closer! You're a devil!"

Less than thirty seconds.

The dozen or so worshippers who had initially appeared so imposing were now all lying on the ground.

Some clutched their broken legs and wailed, while others rolled around clutching their deformed arms.

There was no corpse, but there was also no one still standing.

There wasn't much blood on the floor tiles in the hall, but it felt even more terrifying than a river of blood.

Jiang Chen stood in the center of the hall and casually tossed aside the longsword in his hand, whose blade had already been dulled.

Clang.

The longsword landed and bounced twice.

He patted non-existent dust off his hands, his gaze sweeping over the pale-faced elders before finally settling on Xiao Wanshan.

"Is this how the Xiao family treats its guests?"

Jiang Chen pulled a flattened cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth, but didn't light it. "This is so disappointing."

"Arrogant!"

A roar exploded like thunder.

The Third Elder, who had been sitting on the left without moving, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Xiao Ding is his own grandson, and now he lies in a pile of wood, his life hanging in the balance. If he, as the grandfather, doesn't take action, how will he maintain his standing in the Xiao family?

"boom!"

A scorching wave of air erupted from the Third Elder.

Half-step Grandmaster!

The Third Elder's beard and hair stood on end, and his palms turned crimson red like branding irons, distorting the surrounding air with intense heat.

"Fire Cloud Palm! The Third Elder is getting serious!"

Someone nearby exclaimed in surprise.

This is one of the Xiao family's secret techniques, extremely powerful and yang; if struck by it, the internal organs of the person will be burned to ashes.

"Boy, prepare to die!"

The Third Elder stomped on the floor tiles, his figure as fast as lightning, bringing with him a suffocating heat wave, and struck Jiang Chen's crown with a palm.

This palm strike was unleashed with rage, showing no mercy whatsoever.

He really intended to kill Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes.

Feeling the heat wave rushing towards him, the blood in his body began to flow faster.

Without using one's true energy, one cannot withstand this palm strike.

Although his physical body was strong, it was not strong enough to withstand a full-force attack from a half-step Grandmaster.

The seal must be broken.

Although forcibly breaking through Shen Suxin's poison gas blockade would worsen his injuries and might even cause his recently calmed poisonous body to lose control again.

But I can't worry about that now.

Jiang Chen slightly raised his right hand, his fingertips pressing against the Laogong acupoint in his palm.

As soon as this finger is pressed down, the poison gas barrier inside the body will be forcibly torn open.

Even a three-second burst of true energy would be enough for him to twist the old man's head off.

Just as Jiang Chen was about to fight to the death.

A figure suddenly rushed out from the side.

Without any hesitation.

There were no fancy moves.

The figure spread its arms wide, blocking Jiang Chen's path.

Xiao Ruoye.

Her eyes were closed, her face was deathly pale, and her eyelashes were trembling, but she did not retreat an inch.

"stop!"

She shouted those two words with all her might.

The Third Elder's hand, burning with crimson true energy, abruptly stopped in mid-air.

It was only an inch away from Xiao Ruoye's forehead.

The scorching palm wind singed Xiao Ruoye's bangs, leaving a few strands of hair curly, dry, and yellow, emitting an unpleasant burnt smell.

The hall was eerily quiet.

The Third Elder's hands were trembling.

If that palm strike lands, the eldest daughter of the Xiao family will be dead.

Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to kill the patriarch's own niece in public.

"Wakaba! Are you crazy?!"

"Do you want to rebel?!"

Xiao Wanshan, who had been sitting in a high position, suddenly stood up, crushing the two iron walnuts in his hands into iron discs.

His roar echoed through the hall, making the paper windows rattle.

Xiao Ruoye slowly opened her eyes.

She stared at the deadly hand so close to her, panting heavily, her back soaked with cold sweat.

But her eyes were unusually fierce.

She stared intently at the Third Elder, then turned to look at her aloof and superior uncle.

"I am the eldest daughter of the Xiao family."

Xiao Ruoye's voice trembled, but every word was like a nail popping out from between her teeth.

"As long as I'm here today."

"Nobody can touch him."