My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

It's a dead end, surrounded by high walls on three sides.

Sunlight couldn't penetrate here; thick moss grew at the base of the walls, and there were puddles of blackened water on the ground, emitting a stench of urine and mold.

Li Chen stopped in his tracks. In front of him were rows of solid brick walls; there was no way forward.

He had his back to the two people behind him and didn't turn around.

The sound of wooden clogs stepping on puddles came from behind.

"Pat, pat."

"Where is your priceless treasure?"

The Japanese leader urged him on impatiently, his hand resting on the hilt of his short sword at his waist. The alley was too dark, and he felt a little wary.

Another Japanese man took two steps forward, his eyes greedily fixed on Li Chen's wide, moon-white sleeves.

The blueprints of the Tang Dynasty, the recipes of the Tang Dynasty.

As long as they get their hands on it and bring it back to the other side of the sea, they will be heroes of Japan.

Li Chen didn't answer. He lowered his head and looked at a bluestone slab overgrown with weeds at his feet.

His right hand slowly reached into the wide sleeve on his left side.

The Divine Soul Space is now open.

Inside, there was a jumble of random things. He didn't take his flying sword or any magical artifacts. With a thought, he locked onto a white ash wood pole used to prop up a tent in the corner.

Solid hardwood. About the thickness of a duck egg and more than two feet long.

Li Chen's fingers gripped one end of the wooden stick. He pulled it out.

The wooden stick was hidden under the sleeve, concealed by the large fabric.

"My darling."

Li Chen turned around, his fawning and mercenary expression completely gone.

He looked at the two short men in front of him, who were barely up to his chest, and grinned, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth.

This is a laugh that absolutely does not belong to a prince of the Tang Dynasty.

It exudes the viciousness of a street thug who would kill.

"Here you go."

Before the words had even finished, the words were spoken.

Li Chen suddenly pulled his right hand out of his sleeve.

Swing it around directly.

Without warning or any unnecessary words, the ash wood stick tore through the dark air of the alley, bringing with it a muffled, sharp whistling sound.

"Waaah—"

The lead Japanese man's pupils contracted instantly.

He didn't even have time to draw his knife, or even to parry; the alarm bells had just gone off in his head when the dark wooden stick was already in front of him.

"Bang!"

A dull thud that made your teeth ache.

The stick hit him squarely in the mouth.

The immense impact knocked his jaw askew, his lips instantly split open, and a dozen yellowish-black teeth, mixed with a mouthful of thick blood, spurted out of his mouth like a shower of flowers.

It sprayed onto the adjacent blue brick wall. Drop by drop.

"Well--!"

The Japanese didn't even get a chance to scream.

His vocal cords were blocked by blood and broken teeth that had flowed back into his throat, and he could only let out a strange, muffled groan like a broken bellows leaking air.

The force of the blow sent him flying off the ground, sideways, crashing heavily into the moss-covered wall before sliding into the puddles like a lump of mud.

His body was curled up in agony like a shrimp, his hands tightly covering his rotten mouth, blood gushing out from between his fingers.

The excruciating pain was so intense that his whole body convulsed, and his eyes rolled back.

The second Japanese man standing next to him was dumbfounded.

A few drops of his companion's blood splattered on his cheek; they were hot.

One moment they were talking about an unparalleled treasure, the next, half of their companion's head was almost smashed.

He was stunned for half a breath.

This is fatal.

"eight--"

He opened his mouth, about to roar, and desperately tried to draw the short knife from his waist with his right hand.

Li Chen didn't give him a chance.

With a swing of the stick, Li Chen flipped his wrist, using the recoil to make the stick draw a semicircle in mid-air.

Backhand, then smash again.

"Bang!"

The blow struck the second Japanese man squarely on the right cheek.

The crisp sound of a cheekbone shattering could be clearly heard in the deathly silent alley.

He pulled out half of his dagger and left it stuck in the scabbard. He spun around like a top for half a turn before collapsing headfirst into a muddy puddle.

Mud and water splashed everywhere.

First, slap their mouth.

This was the tactic Li Chen had devised.

By smashing their teeth and dislocating their jaws, they wouldn't be able to shout for help, nor would they attract the attention of the military inspectors (called "Wuhou" by the Tang Dynasty) on the street. Later, they would strike their legs to prevent them from escaping.

The alleyway became a closed slaughterhouse.

Li Chen was carrying a wooden stick, one end of which was stained with blood, and drops of blood were dripping down the wood grain.

"Plop." It dripped into a puddle.

He shook his numb right hand, the web of his hand.

"This little bastard is pretty tough! It made my hand tremble." Li Chen muttered to himself.

The two Japanese men on the ground are still alive.

Those who could drift at sea for months to reach the Tang Dynasty were all rigorously trained warriors with strong resilience.

The first Japanese man whose mouth was smashed rolled around in the mud for a while, and the intense pain brought him back to his senses.

His face was covered in blood, and his narrow eyes gleamed with a ferocious and vicious light, like those of a wild beast.

He stared at Li Chen.

His left hand braced against the ground. His right hand gripped the hilt of the short knife tightly.

This is a dead end in the Tang Dynasty. Kill this person, escape, and blend into the crowd in the West Market to be safe.

With a flick of the thumb.

"Clang." The blade was drawn a third of the way out of its sheath, revealing a glint of cold light.

Li Chen saw it.

His smile widened.

Take a step forward and lift your right foot, which is wearing white cloth shoes.

Stomp down hard.

"Click."

The sole of the shoe landed precisely on the Japanese man's right hand, which was holding a sword.

Li Chen did not hold back; even without activating their true essence, the pure power of a Golden Core cultivator's physical body is extremely terrifying.

With that kick, the joints of several fingers dislocated and shattered on the spot.

"Waaaaah!!!"

The Japanese man writhed in pain, uttering pitiful whimpers from his rotten mouth.

The dagger fell completely into the muddy water.

"Still want to draw your sword?"

Li Chen snorted coldly.

Hold the ash wood stick with both hands and raise it high above your head.

Without any hesitation, he aimed at the Japanese soldier's right knee.

Smash.

"Snap!"

The kneecap was fractured. The right leg was twisted and bent at an unnatural angle.

Next is the left leg.

"Bang!"

"Snap!"

Two clean, decisive blows in quick succession.

The first Japanese soldier's legs were crippled; he would never be able to stand up again. His escape route was completely cut off.

Li Chen turned around.

He walked up to the second Japanese man who had just gotten halfway up.

Do the same.

He raised a stick and struck the knee.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

A heart-wrenching groan echoed through the alley.

The two Japanese envoys to Tang China, who had just been so arrogant on the street, trampling on the stalls of ordinary Tang Dynasty citizens, now resembled two mangy dogs with broken legs, writhing in agony on the muddy, urine-smelling paving stones.

The blood stained the puddles on the ground.

Li Chen stopped. He planted the blood-stained stick on the ground and placed his hands on the end of the stick, one on top of the other.

Looking down at the two lumps of rotten flesh on the ground, he let out a long breath.

The pent-up frustration that had been building up in his chest for who knows how long was released in that moment, releasing most of it.

"Cool."

Li Chen uttered a single word.

He turned his head and glanced at the square sky above the alley. The sky was gray and hazy.

"The Tang Dynasty was the best."

Li Chen sighed softly, his voice carrying an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

"Don't worry about any damn international repercussions. Don't worry about any diplomatic relations between the two countries."

"If you've been hit, you've been hit; if you're crippled, you're crippled."

"In later generations, I could only vent my frustrations by typing on a keyboard online. I never imagined that after coming to this Tang Dynasty, I would actually be able to become a hero who fights against Japanese pirates."

Li Chen withdrew his gaze and looked back at the two people on the ground.

He lifted his foot.

He stomped on the first Japanese man's face, grinding that mud- and blood-stained face against the bluestone slab.

Come on.

Li Chen bent down and looked at him with icy eyes.

"Resist!"

"Weren't you quite arrogant on the street just now? Didn't you call yourself some kind of envoy from the great Japanese Empire?"

"Stomping on the old man's lacquer box and making him pay for it, that's pretty impressive."

Li Chen stomped his feet, and the Japanese man's nasal bone made a faint cracking sound as he struggled to bear the weight.

"Why aren't you drawing your sword?"

"Why aren't you cursing anymore?"

"Don't hold back just because I'm handsome! Stand up and fight me!"

Quiet.

The only sounds in the alley were heavy breathing and painful sobs.