Chapter 363: Chapter 209: Surround and Capture (Part 2)

The intense dizziness and nausea already had him stumbling. In the corner of his eye, he saw Li Lu place something on Ding Wu before charging at him again!

Under this immense mental strain, he couldn’t help but roar. Like a cornered beast making its final stand, he unleashed his last ounce of strength and charged toward Li Lu!

His heart seethed with resentment!

’I started as a side-branch disciple with mediocre Talent, only stumbling upon the path of Martial Arts by accidentally obtaining the artifacts of a Poison Physician!’

’I schemed for so long, climbing all the way from the Ninth Grade to the Seventh! I finally seized the chance to use Lu Yan to cultivate the Heart-devouring Gu and broke through to the Sixth Grade!’

’I’m only in my thirties! I still have my best years ahead of me, plenty of time to push for the Fifth Grade! I can still forge my own branch of the He Family, letting it expand and flourish, leading it to become a Middle Third Grade Family, or even one of the Upper Three Grades!’

’And now, it’s all going to end because of some inexplicable trick? I’m going to die at the hands of these kids and a Seventh Grade Martial Artist?’

How could he possibly accept this?

’Even if I have to die, I’m taking one of them with me!’

At this moment, Li Lu was also filled with extreme rage!

Dozens of his gang members had been killed, and even Xiao Bing, who had been with him all this time, had died by his hand! If not for the influence of the two Geomagnetic Stones and the support from Zhou Zhendong and the others, the Celestial Break Gang would have been slaughtered once again!

Now, seeing He Shujun charging at him like a madman despite the effects of the Geomagnetic Stones, he also brandished his Long Saber and rushed forward.

Seeing this, the nearby Zhou Zhendong also moved to attack He Shujun from behind.

No matter the situation, fighting one-on-one was foolish. The most important goal was always to eliminate the enemy as quickly and efficiently as possible.

This was something Cheng Zongyang had always told them!

Thus, as He Shujun charged toward Li Lu, Zhou Zhendong and his three companions swarmed in for the kill!

He Shujun threw a full-powered palm strike at Li Lu. But at that exact moment, Li Lu suddenly slid in close to the ground, swinging his Long Saber in a sweeping upward arc. With a *PFFT*, a right hand was instantly severed and sent flying high into the air!

"AHH!!!"

Dazed, He Shujun was struck by the excruciating pain of his severed arm and let out a bloodcurdling scream. However, the sheer intensity of the pain actually suppressed the negative effects of the Geomagnetic Stones!

His eyes bulged like copper bells, a towering rage practically erupting from them. Enduring the agonizing pain, he used the moment when the agony overrode his dizziness to whip his right leg like a lash at Li Lu, who hadn’t had time to get up!

In his haste, Li Lu crossed his arms in front of him to block the whip-like kick. A sharp *CRACK* of breaking bones echoed from his arms. The next instant, his body was sent flying like a stone, tumbling diagonally for thirty or forty meters down the street before finally crashing into an empty storefront, sending wood splinters flying!

"PFFT~"

"PFFT!"

"..."

Suddenly, the sound of sharp blades tearing through flesh rang out three times in quick succession!

Zhou Zhendong and the others had pierced He Shujun’s feet and his remaining hand with their blades, then pulled them out and severed his tendons, disabling him completely! 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Seeing that He Shujun had completely lost the ability to fight back, Zhou Zhendong quickly said to Cheng Yuanli, "Stop the bleeding! The Young Clan Leader still has a use for him! He can’t die."

"Right!" Cheng Yuanli immediately took out a packet of White Medicine Powder from his robes and began to staunch the bleeding!

At the same time, he also gagged He Shujun to prevent him from saying anything.

He Shujun could only make muffled sounds, unable to speak a single word.

He looked up at the Li Courtyard, just a few hundred meters away, but it had become an impassable chasm!

The chase finally came to an end, thanks to Ding Wu’s interception and the powerful influence of the six Geomagnetic Stones.

Zhou Zhendong had already helped Li Lu out. Both of his arms had suffered comminuted fractures.

He Shujun’s furious kick had nearly crippled both of Li Lu’s arms and also caused an Internal Injury. Fortunately, his arms had absorbed most of the force, so the Internal Injury wasn’t severe.

In addition, his face was a bloody, terrifying mess from being scraped across the ground as he tumbled.

"You three, take them back first. Then go find the Young Clan Leader," Zhou Zhendong instructed Cheng Yuanli and the others to take He Shujun and Li Lu back to their base.

"Yes."

The three of them didn’t linger. One hoisted He Shujun, one carried Li Lu on his back, and the third gathered up the things that had been dropped.

"Patriarch Ding, we owe you a great debt for today’s events." Zhou Zhendong walked up to Ding Wu and cupped his fist in thanks. "If you hadn’t intercepted He Shujun, we wouldn’t have been able to capture him. I will report this to our Young Clan Leader."

"You’re too kind," Ding Wu said politely, looking at Zhou Zhendong. "I just figured we’re partners, so it’s only natural to help out when needed. As long as my help was useful, the trip wasn’t wasted."

"Good. In that case, I won’t stay any longer. I still have matters to attend to. Farewell." Zhou Zhendong cupped his fist, then glanced toward the Li Courtyard one last time.

Over there, it looked like two people were standing at the entrance, watching everything that had transpired.

Zhou Zhendong knew what that place was. With a grave expression, he turned and headed back to West City.

Ding Wu watched the group of youths leave, the shock in his heart still not subsiding.

’Just these four... their methods and their way of doing things are so decisive and ruthless, yet they’re all younger than my own sons. But they’re stronger than my boys in every respect.’

’The ones I’ve seen are basically all teenagers. What about the adults of the Cheng Family? What kind of power must the elders have to raise descendants like this?’

For a moment, Ding Wu was incredibly glad he had chosen to intercept He Shujun.

He had a premonition—perhaps the Ding Family’s position in the County Town was now secure!

At the entrance to the Li Courtyard, Li Tonghua looked at Li Mingxin beside him and asked, "Should we bring He Shujun back?"

Li Mingxin shook his head slightly. "There’s no need. Since he couldn’t make it to the Li Courtyard, the Li Courtyard will not interfere in their affairs. However... what did the Cheng Family and the Celestial Break Gang use? How could it affect everyone in the vicinity?"

Li Tonghua also frowned. "That is indeed strange. If not for that method, He Shujun wouldn’t have been chased into such a state by a few juniors, ending up in this predicament. Liu Chengdong must have died to the same method. I will investigate."

This time, Li Mingxin did not stop him.

Something that could affect one’s movements like that was indeed a threat to him as well. But he wasn’t worried about being threatened.

Who would dare provoke the Royal Family? Unless they no longer wished to live, or no longer wished to remain within the Royal Family’s territory!

He was merely curious.

The two of them didn’t watch any longer and turned to enter the Li Courtyard.

"Patriarch Ding!"

Out on the street, Ding Wu, who was still lost in thought, was snapped back to reality by a loud voice.

He was startled. He hadn’t even realized he’d been spacing out on the street. If someone had ambushed him, he would have only had himself to blame for his death.

As he turned, he saw Xu Tieshan and Qiu Fengxing rushing over with their weapons drawn.

Xu Tieshan took in the surroundings, noted the injuries on Ding Wu, and frowned. "What’s the situation? Where is he?"

Ding Wu glanced around, smiled faintly, and said, "It’s over."

"Over?" Qiu Fengxing’s brow furrowed. "What was the outcome?"

Ding Wu sighed. "The Cheng Family sent four people. Along with Li Lu, the five of them chased He Shujun here. In the end, Li Lu cut off He Shujun’s hand with his saber but was also seriously injured. As for He Shujun, the four from the Cheng Family crippled his limbs and captured him alive. Oh, and those four were all just young lads. Ai~"

At this, the two men stared at each other, their faces filled with disbelief.

"He Shujun is a Sixth Grade Martial Artist, and he ended up in such a state!" Qiu Fengxing’s frown deepened. "They actually did it!"

Xu Tieshan said nothing, merely scanning the area. He saw the shattered storefront, the numerous bloodstains on the ground, and a severed arm!

"Gentlemen, I need to go back and tend to my wounds, so I’ll be taking my leave."

Ding Wu gave a slight nod. His hand had also been injured from He Shujun’s relentless attacks, though it wasn’t as severe as Li Lu’s.

"Alright. We’ll have tea sometime," Qiu Fengxing said with a smile, cupping his fist.

After Ding Wu left, Xu Tieshan spoke in a calm tone, "It seems it was all true. But why did He Shujun run in this direction?"

He seemed to be muttering to himself, but then he looked toward the Li Courtyard and understood instantly!

"He Shujun was being hunted! He didn’t go home for help. He ran towards the Li Courtyard to seek protection, or perhaps mediation?"

Qiu Fengxing had also heard Xu Tieshan’s muttering and said bitterly, "A few Eighth Grades hunting down a Sixth Grade... who would believe it if they were told? And yet, it really happened."

"The Ding Family’s position is secure," Xu Tieshan said suddenly.

Qiu Fengxing was taken aback for a moment. He thought about it and instantly understood, his expression growing even more bitter. "We came for nothing. Ding Wu was in South City and just happened to run into them on his way north."

They weren’t stupid; they could piece together the general situation from the clues.

Ding Wu, heading north to provide support, had seen He Shujun running towards the Li Courtyard. The fact that He Shujun had managed to run this far without being caught, only to be cornered after encountering Ding Wu, meant that Ding Wu’s contribution was undeniable.