Republic of China: From Street Performer to War God in a Chaotic Era

Take a breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths passed.

The cold wind blew through the bare trees in the yard, making a "whooshing" sound.

Lu Guan remained standing quietly with his hands tucked into his sleeves, without even blinking.

"How is that possible?!"

The smile on the man in blue froze, and he shook the bell frantically a few more times in disbelief.

"Ring ring, ring ring!"

"Stop shaking it, it's too noisy."

Lu Guan finally moved, slowly pulling his hands out of his sleeves, a mocking smile on his lips.

"Do you really think you can just feed me some garbage mixed with fox urine like pig feed?"

"When I, Lu Guan, eat meat, I only eat the clean parts."

Upon hearing this, the man in blue was struck dumb, and Iron Claw's expression changed drastically.

"Damn it, he didn't take that batch of drugs. That kid saw through our scheme a long time ago."

Iron Claw roared, "Attack! All of you, don't hold back!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed his full power, his claws whistling as they tore through the air, like a vicious wolf descending from the mountain, charging straight at Lu Guan's face.

Two other strongmen from Zhengjin Pass also flanked Lu Guan from both sides, blocking all his escape routes.

"Now that you've entered through this door, none of you are going to leave."

Lu Guan said coldly, taking a deep breath.

"boom."

The terrifying blood and qi that had been suppressed within his body for many days suddenly erupted at this moment, and a layer of bluish-black net-like texture appeared beneath his skin.

The skin is like leather, and the blood and qi form a network!

"Minor mastery of Ming Jin?"

The iron claw at the forefront suddenly contracted its pupils to the extreme. How could this be!

How could a poor boy who was buying cheap pork everywhere just a few days ago possibly reach the Lesser Mastery of the Ming Jin realm in such a short time?

But he had nowhere left to retreat.

"Die!"

With a gritted teeth, Iron Claw's steel finger guards viciously clawed at Lu Guan's throat.

Lu Guan neither dodged nor avoided, but stomped his foot hard.

"Bang!"

The bluestone slab underfoot cracked instantly.

Lu Guan's right arm veins bulged as he delivered a simple, unadorned punch, smashing it fiercely against the steel finger guard.

"Click."

Iron Claw's steel finger guards were like a cheap tin toy, instantly deforming and shattering before Lu Guan's Beng Quan, which gathered the essence of "Dragon Tendons and Tiger Bones" and the minor achievement of Ming Jin Qi.

The terrifying force penetrated deep into the iron claw, directly shattering its forearm bone.

"ah--"

Iron Claw let out a scream, flying backward and crashing heavily against the courtyard wall, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the snow.

At the same time, the two strong men from the strong pass had already attacked Lu Guan from the left and right.

"Too slow."

Lu Guan snorted coldly, and the [Rat Concealment] ability instantly took over his body.

He swayed, his left hand transforming into a blade, delivering a "Facing the Sun Palm" strike that slashed squarely across the neck of the burly man on his left.

"Thump."

The burly man didn't even have time to scream before his cervical vertebrae were severed, and he fell to the ground like a piece of rotten wood.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Guan twisted his waist sharply, and his right leg, like a steel whip, lashed hard into the waist of the blue-clad man holding the bell on his right.

"boom."

The man in blue was folded in mid-air, his internal organs shattered by the terrifying force. Along with the strange copper bell in his hand, he was flung to the corner of the wall and smashed into a pile of mud.

Two were killed instantly, and one was severely injured!

The whole process happened in the blink of an eye.

The old blind man, who had collapsed in the ruins, was completely stunned by the terrifying explosions and the sound of flesh and bone shattering, even though he couldn't see.

Ignoring the old blind man's shock, Lu Guan slowly walked to the base of the wall and looked down at the still twitching iron claw.

"You, what kind of monster are you..." Iron Claw's mouth was full of blood.

He, a veteran master of Ming Jin, couldn't even withstand a single move from this young man.

Lu Guan's eyes were icy cold. Without uttering a single word, he raised his foot, ready to crush his throat.

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Lu Guan, are you there?"

The clear, crisp female voice carried a hint of urgency.

Lu Guan paused, his brows furrowing slightly.

It was Su Ruoxue, and there was also a steady footstep, which must have been Zhao Linchuan.

Why did they come at this time?

Lu Guan's eyes flashed, and he slightly reduced the force of his foot, but still stomped heavily on Iron Claw's chest. With a few "crack" sounds, several of Iron Claw's ribs broke. Although he didn't die, he was completely knocked unconscious.

"Squeak—"

The courtyard gate, which was already half collapsed, was pushed open, and Su Ruoxue and Zhao Linchuan walked in through the snow.

However, when they saw the scene in the courtyard, both of them froze in their tracks.

The place was a complete mess.

The charcoal brazier overturned, and the wooden door shattered.

Two dead bodies lay on the ground, and a burly man, seemingly lifeless, lay sprawled in the corner.

A strong stench of blood, mixed with the pungent, foxy smell emanating from the smashed copper bell, filled the air.

Su Ruoxue's gaze instantly locked onto Lu Guan.

At this moment, although Lu Guan was standing amidst a pile of corpses, his aura was extremely stable, and the powerful fluctuations of the minor Ming Jin that had just erupted on his body were rapidly receding back into his body.

"This is……"

Zhao Linchuan's eyesight was much sharper; he saw through the three people on the ground at a glance.

"Two peak-level experts in whole-force, and one master of manifest-force!"

Zhao Linchuan strode over to Iron Claw's side, and upon seeing his face clearly, he couldn't help but gasp.

"That was 'Iron Claw' from the underground gambling dens in Nanshi. He's a ruthless character whose skills I've seen firsthand, and yet... you crippled him?"

Zhao Linchuan raised his head, and the contempt in his eyes when he looked at Lu Guan was gone.

Moreover, Zhao Linchuan's gaze fell on the shattered [Hu Men's Soul-Slaying Bell], and his brows furrowed tightly.

"This bell is imbued with evil spirits."

"Lu Guan, the people you killed weren't just martial artists, they also knew dark and evil magic?"

Su Ruoxue quickly went to the old blind man's side, helped him up, and looked at the injuries on his face. She turned to look at Lu Guan, her eyes filled with shock as well as a hint of relief.

"I was worried that you might have gone astray these past few days because you haven't been seen. I was concerned that you might have actually tried some kind of unorthodox medicine in order to break through your cultivation, just like Senior Brother Zhao said."

"I was really worried about you today, so I dragged Senior Brother Zhao along to come and see you. I never expected that you would be targeted by such a gangster who knows evil magic."

Seeing the pure worry in Su Ruoxue's eyes, Lu Guan's killing intent subsided slightly.

This woman, though sometimes a bit naive, is not a bad person at heart.

His mind raced.

Killing these three people is tantamount to completely breaking ties with the "wildcat" behind the scenes and the mysterious force that worships fox spirits.

The fact that the opponent can casually send out a master of Ming Jin like Iron Claw shows that their backing is definitely not to be underestimated.

In Tianjin, relying solely on one's fists, one might be able to carve a bloody path, but one is also extremely vulnerable to being ambushed or attracting endless pursuit.

He needs a shield.

He needs a "legitimacy" that will make the other side hesitant to act rashly and dare not openly use gang power to besiege him.

Thinking of this, Lu Guan lowered his eyelids slightly, pretending to be exhausted and barely able to hold on, and let out a long sigh.

"Miss Su, Brother Zhao, please excuse my poor manners."

Lu Guan pointed to the corpse on the ground.

"These people somehow found out that I had some belongings left by my master for protection, so they tried to rob me."

"If they hadn't underestimated me and been caught off guard by my deadly secret technique passed down by my master, I'm afraid Blind Master and I would be dead on the spot today."