Chapter 350: An Unwelcome Visitor Comes Calling

Li Na had already received a warning from her boss, Wangchuan.

She had learned that the boss of Black River Studio was the helm leader of the Five Poisons Sect branch helm, and that he was currently working together with the Beggar Sect against the Caobang hall in Qinghe Commandery, posing a direct threat to the operation of their own studio.

Li Na immediately consulted the 《spirit realm》 Online Guidance Center on how conflicts between studios should be handled.

The reply from above was simple:

Jianghu matters should be settled in the Jianghu.

Since the two studios stood in openly hostile camps, both sides had their own positions and reasons. There was no possibility of one side voluntarily backing down.

Let the studio bosses step forward and fight it out!

Whoever had the harder fist would have the final say.

Li Na relayed those exact words to her boss.

Wangchuan accepted them.

Very soon, the boss of Black River Studio arrived in a murderous rage with four members of his studio and waited in the training grounds.

The moment Wangchuan opened the door, he found Li Na already standing there waiting for him.

She kept it brief, her words crisp and direct:

“Boss, be careful.”

“I checked with the center and looked into the situation of the Black River Studio boss.”

“Xiao He is a seasoned third-rank martial artist. He entered 《spirit realm》 two years earlier than most, has extensive experience, and is ruthless in his methods. It is said that in the real world he raised a Life-Bound Spider. Its venom is extremely potent. One bite is enough to cause paralysis of the human nervous system, which makes him effectively stronger than an ordinary third-rank martial artist by virtue of having an extra helper. He is very difficult to deal with.”

Li Na delivered the intelligence report.

Wangchuan nodded.

“Mm. Is there anything else?”

“He has recently been cultivating 《Five Poisons Palm》. This fourth-rank martial art has reportedly been under cultivation for quite some time, so its realm is likely not low…”

It had to be said that this was the most troublesome crisis Wangchuan had encountered since entering 《spirit realm》, and Xiao He was the greatest threat he had faced.

But he had no intention of retreating.

Four master copies of martial arts manuals!

More than two thousand seven hundred taels of gold,

plus jewels, silver, weapons, poisons, and other spoils worth roughly another five hundred taels of gold…

All of those spoils had already been registered by the hall. There was no way they could be returned.

Besides!

The man was his natural enemy! Weakening the enemy was the same as protecting himself.

Today, even if he had to give everything he had, he would defeat Xiao He and send the people of Black River Studio crawling back to wherever they had come from.

The other man had experience, but Wangchuan had his own hidden cards and advantages as well.

《Xuanwu Art》 at Perfect Mastery.

《Archery》 and 《Five-Finger Rapid Flick Technique》 at Perfect Mastery.

《Dragon-Elephant Body-Protection Technique》 at Integration.

《Water-Moon Sword Art》 at Entry-Level Mastery.

Wangchuan and Li Na stepped into the elevator.

Twentieth floor!

The elevator arrived at the training grounds.

Wangchuan stepped out first.

Li Na followed close behind, her expression grave and solemn, yet still carrying the composed authority of a polished professional woman.

Wang Yuehui, Lin Jiahe, Chen Gang, and Li Xiangyang were already waiting at the entrance. Without saying a word, they fell in behind them.

The moment the group stepped into the training grounds,

a pair of furious eyes, brimming with killing intent and razor-sharp hostility, slowly lifted and fixed themselves viciously on Wangchuan’s face.

Xiao He, the boss of Black River Studio, wore a face as cold and cruel as ice. A murderous edge curled at the corner of his mouth, radiating immense pressure.

Most of all, there was the grotesque, vividly colored poisonous spider crawling around his neck. It was as large as a fist. Its savage, jagged mouthparts twitched and worked as though chewing, and it seemed to sense the fury and murderous intent of its master, locking onto the newcomers with perfect understanding.

Behind Xiao He stood four second-rank martial artists. Each one stood firm and steady, and from their eyes and bearing alone, none of them looked like someone to be underestimated.

But…

what caught the people of Black River Studio off guard was that the four men who had entered behind Wangchuan were all second-rank martial artists as well.

Lin Jiahe in particular walked with steady steps, deep-set eyes, long and even breathing, and an aura refined to an extraordinary degree. The feeling he gave off was clearly above the other three, second only to the much younger Su Wangchuan.

“Damn it.”

“Why does this Sanjiang Studio have two third-ranks?”

Xiao He frowned slightly.

And yet…

he did not take Lin Jiahe seriously.

At most, Lin Jiahe was only a newly advanced third-rank martial artist.

His true target was Su Wangchuan.

The Deputy Hall Master of the Caobang Sanhe Commandery hall! The man who had killed Snake Elder and the former branch helm leader.

When enemies met, their hatred burned all the brighter.

“Boss Su.”

“You’ve finally shown up.”

Xiao He slowly rose to his feet. Each word came out like a blade, sharp enough to cut to the bone.

“You killed my people… destroyed my branch helm… looted my wealth! Hmph! Give me an explanation!!”

Su Wangchuan stopped before Xiao He, the distance between them less than three meters.

“The Five Poisons Sect killed my Caobang disciples and plundered my Caobang convoy… how should that account be settled?”

There was no way Su Wangchuan would yield, nor let the other man reclaim all the spoils with a single sentence.

Xiao He narrowed his eyes slightly, and killing intent flashed across them. His voice grew colder still.

“So… there’s nothing to negotiate, then.”

At that moment, a sharp-featured man stepped out from behind Xiao He and pushed up the frame of his glasses.

“According to the center’s rules, the studio bosses will spar once. The loser yields.”

This man was the handler of Black River Studio, Lin Tao. His glasses were linked to video and connected directly to the online guidance center.

As soon as Lin Tao stepped forward on behalf of Black River Studio, Li Na also moved into position on the opposite side.

The two of them would be responsible for monitoring and uploading the footage.

The 《spirit realm》 Online Guidance Center would act as referee.

“Fine.”

“The winner gets to speak.”

Su Wangchuan held out his hand.

Wang Yuehui scooped up a longsword and tossed it over.

Xiao He did not take up a weapon. Instead, he shoved both hands into his pockets, as though feeling around for something inside.

Su Wangchuan had cultivated 《Poison Sand Palm》 himself. The moment he saw Xiao He’s movements, he knew the man was laying the groundwork for 《Five Poisons Palm》. He silently activated 《Xuanwu Art》 and 《Dragon-Elephant Body-Protection Technique》.

Sure enough!

When Xiao He withdrew his hands from his pockets, both palms were a shocking purplish-black, and a faint, fishy stench began to spread from his body.

Su Wangchuan had already stopped his breathing in advance!

《Five Poisons Palm》 was different from 《Poison Sand Palm》.

The latter required contact in order to drive poisonous force into the enemy’s body and poison them.

The former filled the body with venom, then used internal force to make it seep into the air, constantly releasing poisonous fumes and thereby poisoning the enemy.

Of course,

this kind of poisonous vapor was only effective within a certain range.

In that regard, 《Five Poisons Palm》 was more vicious, more sinister, and far harder to guard against than 《Poison Sand Palm》.

That was precisely why Xiao He dared to come calling and issue a challenge!

Relying on the fact that he had already cultivated 《Five Poisons Palm》 to Integration, making him capable of suppressing ordinary third-rank martial artists and even threatening fourth-rank martial artists, he simply had not taken the boss of this new studio seriously.

As 《Five Poisons Palm》 circulated, poisonous fumes diffused into the air.

A savage smile spread across Xiao He’s face.

During this recent stretch of time, he had killed no small number of wild beasts in the mountains and forests, including the wild boars of his own studio, and had pushed 《Five Poisons Palm》 all the way to Integration. The attack range of 《Five Poisons Palm》 had already extended to a full radius of… six meters!