Chapter 119 - 83: Absolutely Unrivaled Below Outer Gang!

Chapter 119: Chapter 83: Absolutely Unrivaled Below Outer Gang!

Obviously, Yuan Yaoyang had drawn his sword.

Seeing this, Lu San realized they were under attack. Panic set in immediately. "Where are the guardians?! Eldest, fetch my saber! Hurry and back them up!"

Hearing this, the eldest Lu son hurried to fetch the broadsword.

Saber in hand, Lu San marched toward the front gate without a word.

Beside him, Huo Erlang and Liu Wulang were even more panicked. Only one thought occupied their minds.

They wondered if the Great Righteous King had attacked.

Ahead, Lu San stepped out of the courtyard gates with his saber, only to see soldiers constantly scaling the walls of his dock fortress amid deafening battle cries.

As for Yaoyang...

He glanced around but couldn’t spot Yuan Yaoyang among those still standing.

"What’s going on?"

Terrified, Lu San was about to say something when he suddenly heard Yuan Yaoyang’s weak, low voice. "Brother Lu, run! It’s Zheng San!"

Yuan Yaoyang was in a miserable state. His longsword was shattered, and a long gash across his body was spurting blood—a clear sign of a saber slash. Beneath the gruesome wound on his chest, his pale ribs were faintly visible.

This slash had clearly severed Yuan Yaoyang’s heart meridians.

Yuan Yaoyang knew he wasn’t going to survive.

The only reason he wasn’t dead yet was a single breath of True Qi sustaining his life. Relying on this True Qi to temporarily prop up his blood vessels and heart meridians allowed him to live just a little longer.

A strange True Qi was wreaking havoc inside his body. If he couldn’t expel it within a two-hour period, or find wonderful pills that could ’raise the dead and flesh out bare bones,’ he would undoubtedly die.

But right now, he obviously couldn’t find such wonderful pills, nor could he dissipate this strange True Qi.

"Zheng San?!"

Hearing this name, Lu San froze and blurted out, "What is he doing here? Why would he come for us? Was my scheme exposed?! Wait, I haven’t even gone to buy that ’thin horse’ yet!"

Hearing this, Yuan Yaoyang was somewhat confused. "What thin horse?"

"Nothing. It’s nothing."

Lu San immediately denied it, then asked in a panic, "Where is Zheng Jun? It’s not like we can’t talk this out..."

"I don’t know."

Yuan Yaoyang offered a bitter smile. "I sensed someone attacking just now and called out to intimidate them. I never expected a slash to suddenly come from outside. Caught off guard, I took a direct hit.

"If not for the courtyard gate and fortress wall acting as a buffer to absorb some of the slash’s momentum, I fear I would have been cleaved in two and died on the spot!"

Yuan Yaoyang felt somewhat dejected and terrified.

He knew his current condition very well; he was a dying man.

Who wouldn’t fear death?

However, his dejection stemmed from the fact that he never expected Zheng Jun would only need one slash to destroy him.

He wondered if the gap between them was truly as vast as a heavenly chasm.

Previously, after hearing of Zheng Jun’s battle records, Yuan Yaoyang felt inferior but still believed he could at least exchange a couple of blows.

He never expected he wouldn’t even withstand a single move.

It felt as if his thirty years of martial arts training had been in vain.

Meanwhile, Lu San completely ignored the dying Yuan Yaoyang. Instead, he stared at the soldiers swarming into his home like wolves and tigers. Not daring to fight back, he forced down his rising anger and plastered on an apologetic smile. "Sirs, please stop fighting! Stop fighting!

"Where is Captain Zheng? I am Lu San, the master of this dock fortress. If Captain Zheng has any business, he can come out and talk! Tell me what crime my family has committed, and I will gladly accept the punishment!"

Three or four guardians at the gate were already dead, but what could Lu San do? Take up arms against the Court?

Impossible.

He could only consider their deaths in vain.

As for Yaoyang, his impending death was also in vain.

Years of investment had gone down the drain!

After speaking, he suddenly thought of Yuan Yaoyang beside him and immediately asked in a low voice, "Yaoyang, how strong... is this Zheng Jun exactly?"

"Below the Outer Gang realm, he has absolutely no rival!"

Yuan Yaoyang spoke with absolute certainty, blood already spilling from the corners of his mouth. "In fact... you can’t even limit it to below the Outer Gang realm. Even an ordinary Outer Gang martial artist would probably only have a fifty-fifty chance against him!"

That earlier slash had shocked Yuan Yaoyang immensely.

It simply didn’t feel like a slash from a Qi Storage martial artist, but rather one from an Outer Gang expert!

Hearing Yuan Yaoyang’s assessment, Lu San took a deep breath.

"If I survive this crisis, will I just buy a ten thousand taels one?" he thought. "No, I’ll buy one for thirty thousand fucking taels!"

He would liquidate his entire fortune to bring back the most expensive "thin horse" in Jinzhou!

Then, he would disguise her as his niece.

As for the juniors at the birthday banquet just now who knew of his plan...

Murderous intent already permeated Lu San’s eyes.

He would slaughter all these intended "partners" halfway and frame the Black Mountain Thieves.

This was exactly what Lu San had done on the roads in his earlier years.

After all, he originated from the Black Mountain Thieves, so he was naturally adept at such deeds.

"I heard someone was looking for me?"

Suddenly, Zheng Jun’s indifferent voice echoed from outside. Stepping through the main gate of the dock fortress, he scrutinized the surroundings and couldn’t help but click his tongue in marvel. "Well-built," he remarked casually. "It’s just that there are too few guards. If there were over fifty people defending this place, even I would need at least a hundred men to breach this dock fortress, and we’d suffer over twenty casualties."

"You flatter us, Captain Zheng."

Lu San had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward. "May I ask what brings Captain Zheng to my home this time?"

"Our Captain received intelligence that you, Lu San, are colluding with Southern Chu in an attempt to rebel. We are here to confiscate your property!"

Before Zheng Jun could speak, Du Ding, clad in iron armor beside him, shouted sternly. "Old Thief Lu, surrender at once!"

"What?!"

Hearing Du Ding’s words, Lu San’s head instantly started buzzing.

Colluding... colluding with Southern Chu?

"Captain Zheng, I am innocent!"

Lu San dropped to his knees with a THUD and pleaded aggrievedly, "This is a frame-up! Our Lu family is unswervingly loyal to the Court. We have absolutely no ties to the remnants of Southern Chu, nor any intent to rebel!

"You absolutely must not listen to the slander of those petty villains who only know how to frame others!"

Lu San felt incredibly wronged.

Colluding with Southern Chu? Where would he get the guts for that?

Zheng Jun ignored Lu San’s pleas. Stepping forward, he asked, "Where is the Lotus Water Sword, Yuan Yaoyang?"

Lu San turned to look at Yaoyang, only to find him slumped on the ground, seemingly devoid of life.

Bracing himself, Lu San replied, "Your might is truly divine, Captain. That slash of yours earlier has already slain Yaoyang."

"Huh?"

Zheng Jun blanked. "Yuan Yaoyang is dead?"

He was utterly bewildered.

Why?

Because he hadn’t slashed Yuan Yaoyang!

Since arriving, he had only unleashed a single slash.

He had consolidated the military array, channeling the strength of a hundred men to deliver a single strike that blasted a breach in the dock fortress, allowing them to swarm in.

Could Yuan Yaoyang have been so unlucky as to be caught in that crossfire?

Zheng Jun’s expression turned somewhat peculiar. "No wonder my repayment progress suddenly skyrocketed by over ninety," he thought. "I assumed it was because I breached the dock fortress. I almost decided to act as a demolition crew and tear this whole place down..."

Zheng Jun was very disappointed.

He had rushed over with great enthusiasm, expecting the Lotus Water Sword, Yuan Yaoyang, to be a master. After all, Xu Tianfang claimed he was the number one Qi Storage martial artist in Black Mountain.

Looking at it now, Yuan Yaoyang’s skill was incredibly mediocre. Among Qi Storage martial artists, Zheng Jun felt he was even inferior to the likes of Li Bao, whom he had previously slain. He was probably on par with Tian Zhenyuan.

Still, once the Beirong Saber was drawn, someone had to be cut down.

At this thought, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but sigh. He took a step forward, looking at the apologetically smiling Lu San, and spoke calmly in a low voice, "Back then, you colluded with Xu Heng to frame a local butcher for murder. This butcher had elderly parents and young children and made an honest living through his trade. Yet, simply because he was an eyewitness, you and Xu Heng used him as a scapegoat.

"Now, I’m framing you for this rebellion. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?"

Lu San’s pupils violently contracted.

Before Lu San could utter a word, Zheng Jun continued, "Rest assured, a massive amount of Broken Jade True Qi will be detected on your corpse. This will prove that you secretly cultivated it to the Qi Storage realm. You laid low and fortified this dock fortress, all while waiting to respond to the rebel Zhang Qingyu’s call.

"Unexpectedly, Zhang Qingyu died, so you decided to take matters into your own hands and attack the Black Mountain Guard. However, I discovered your plot, leading to the execution of your entire clan."

With that, Lu San felt a tyrannical True Qi abruptly erupt from Zheng Jun.

A flash of saber light illuminated the air. Carrying the momentum of a landslide and a tsunami, the Beirong Saber was drawn and slashed straight at Lu San.

In an instant, Lu San’s head fell to the ground.

As his head hit the dirt, a final thought flashed through Lu San’s mind.

What tyrannical True Qi! What a domineering Saber Technique!

Even his former boss on Black Mountain—a bandit leader with half a foot in the Outer Gang realm—could never unleash such powerful True Qi and Saber Technique.

Yaoyang had spoken the truth.

Below the Outer Gang realm, Zheng Jun truly had no rival!