The sudden development made Qin Fang’s pupils constrict. He retreated almost instinctively, his hand diving inside his robes to grasp his Darts.

Xu Meng was clearly startled by the sudden attack as well. His pupils constricted, but his reaction was incredibly fast. He twisted aside in an instant. The gleam of a blade sliced down, barely grazing his nose, but he had dodged it.

"Cut them down!!"

Shouts echoed around them. The next moment, a dozen or so figures burst from the night’s shadows, immediately launching an assault on Xu Meng and his men.

"Brother Xu!"

The men behind Xu Meng reacted, their expressions changing drastically. Then, with the sound of SHING, SHING, SHING, each of them drew a short knife from their waist and immediately dove into a melee with the dozen or so charging assailants.

After dodging the first strike, a look of shocked fury filled Xu Meng’s eyes. He reached behind his back and, to one’s surprise, also produced a short knife from his waist. Turning the blade horizontally, he blocked the second slash that came for him.

CLANG!

The two blades clashed in midair, erupting in a shower of sparks.

Qin Fang could now see that the sudden assailants were all masked with black cloth, their faces obscured. But their eyes were vicious; they were clearly here to kill.

As he watched, the sound of footsteps and rushing air came from behind. Qin Fang’s heart sank. He whipped his head around just in time to see someone charging straight for him.

’...Dammit!’

He’d heard his senior martial brothers talk about how dangerous this market was... but he never imagined it would be *this* dangerous.

’I just got here and I’ve already run into this kind of mess?’

His expression was grim, but he knew he couldn’t just stand aside. To the attackers, he was clearly with Xu Meng’s party.

Seeing the man slash down at him, a vicious glint appeared in Qin Fang’s eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced. He powered his frame, naturally employing the Wild Bull Stance. With a twist of his waist, he surged forward, swiftly closing the distance and getting inside his opponent’s guard before the blade could land.

The man’s face was also masked in black. His exposed eyes widened in shock at Qin Fang’s decision to advance rather than retreat.

But a moment later, Qin Fang’s right hand shot up from below, thrusting into the side of the man’s neck.

PTHWACK!

The man’s body went rigid, his eyes wide with disbelief...

A Dart had been driven through the side of his neck and into his mouth!

Blood gurgled up into his throat. Shock and panic filled his eyes.

But before the man could do anything else, Qin Fang viciously yanked the Dart free, tearing the wound wider in the process. In an instant, a huge gash was ripped across his neck and jaw, and blood GUSHED out.

The man stumbled backward, his short knife falling from a nerveless hand. He clutched his throat, terror filling his eyes as he collapsed to the ground.

It was clear he wasn’t going to make it.

His eyes sharp and cold, Qin Fang scanned the area after the kill and saw another man rushing toward him.

Qin Fang’s swift and brutal efficiency clearly startled the newcomer. The man’s charge faltered, and he stared at Qin Fang in horror, hesitating to approach any further.

Qin Fang seized the opportunity to scan the battlefield. On Xu Meng’s side, one of his men was already down. The injured man was on the ground, being hacked to pieces by several masked figures, his screams cut short.

Xu Meng was locked in combat with his initial attacker. The movements of these two were clearly much faster than anyone else’s. Amid their exchanges, Qin Fang could hear a series of "THUMP THUMP" sounds... mostly when they launched their attacks.

’Is that...’

’The Skin Membrane Drum Sound!’

’Xu Meng and that man... are they both Mingjin Martial Artists?’

As this realization shocked Qin Fang, he also noticed two or three other men circling Xu Meng, clearly waiting for an opening to land a vicious, cheap shot.

Qin Fang’s heart sank. ’Wasn’t this market supposed to be Xu Meng’s territory? How could he be cornered and targeted for assassination right on his own turf?’

Meanwhile, under the relentless assault, Xu Meng’s right arm was starting to go numb. His opponent’s strikes were heavy and powerful. Caught completely unprepared by the ambush, he had naturally been forced onto the defensive.

The fact that his opponent’s men were circling like vultures added immense psychological pressure. After only a short while, beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead.

He was growing desperate.

He roared in anger, "Deng Chuan! If you have the guts to show up, why bother hiding your face?!"

Even though his opponent was masked, Xu Meng recognized his fighting style after just a few exchanges.

The man attacking him was slightly shorter but packed with sinewy muscle. Hearing his name called out, his blade didn’t slow in the slightest; if anything, it became even faster.

A cold, sinister laugh rang out. "Brother Xu, it wasn’t easy finding an opportunity to catch you alone. That’s right, it’s me... Today, you’re a dead man!"

Xu Meng was about to retort, but one of the circling swordsmen suddenly lunged. Just as Xu Meng was retreating, a blade stabbed straight for his waist!

Xu Meng’s expression changed. His retreat faltered for a split second as he barely managed to twist aside.

The swordsman’s strike missed, and he immediately pulled back, but Deng Chuan seized the opening, unleashing a flurry of slashes.

Xu Meng couldn’t even get a word out. He managed to parry two or three of the blows, but the final strike sent him sprawling to the ground.

His right arm was so numb he couldn’t muster any strength, and his knife clattered to the side.

’It’s over!’

A look of utter despair washed over Xu Meng’s face.

"Brother Xu, farewell!"

Deng Chuan’s eyes glinted with bloodlust. He raised his blade high and brought it down in a vicious chop aimed at Xu Meng’s head.

SWOOSH!

But just then, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.

The instant before his blade fell, Deng Chuan’s expression changed dramatically. He snapped his head up, his pupils contracting to pinpricks.

The next moment...

SQUELCH!

A soft thud.

Deng Chuan let out a muffled grunt.

Under the moonlight, a spray of blood erupted from his neck...

THUD!

With a dull thud.

The corpse collapsed to the ground.

’...He’s dead? Just like that?!’

It wasn’t just Xu Meng on the ground who was stunned.

The black-clad men surrounding Xu Meng were equally frozen in shock.

Then, almost as one, they instinctively looked in the same direction...

Qin Fang, another Dart already pinched between his fingers, was watching them with cold eyes.

Xu Meng’s pupils constricted. ’It was him?’

The swordsmen were bewildered. ’What’s going on?’

But Qin Fang had no intention of explaining. The next moment, he raised his hand again.

PTHWACK!!

Another sharp whistle tore through the air.

The next instant, one of the dazed swordsmen’s heads snapped back, and he collapsed as if his strings had been cut.

As the others stared in a daze, they saw... the man’s skull had been shattered by a Dart!

Then...

A terrified scream shattered the silence.

"They have an Expert in Hidden Weapons!! The boss is dead!! Run!!!"

The swordsmen snapped out of their stupor and scrambled to turn and flee.

’Their boss was dead, the battle was lost. What were they waiting for? Why wouldn’t they run?’

But then...

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Three sharp whistles sounded, like the devil’s own music chasing them down.

The next moment, the fleeing men watched in horror as three of their comrades pitched forward simultaneously, collapsing to the ground, never to rise again.

The remaining swordsmen’s faces went pale with terror.

As for Xu Meng, he could only stare, his eyes wide.

He was utterly dumbfounded.

’Master Zhou’s seemingly frail junior martial brother... actually possessed such an incredible mastery of Hidden Weapons?!’

’That’s practically... perfect accuracy, isn’t it?!’

’Achieving perfect accuracy with Hidden Weapons... is no easy feat!’

While Xu Meng was still staring blankly, Qin Fang’s voice cut through his daze.

"Brother Xu, you must cut the weeds at the root."

Xu Meng snapped back to his senses. "Right, right!"

He scrambled to grab his short knife and got back on his feet.

"You think you can come and go as you please? What do you take this place for?!"

His face hardening with resolve, he gave chase.

As he moved, the "THUMP THUMP" sound emanated from his body once more, like the booming of war drums.

He charged after the desperately fleeing swordsmen.

His speed was incredible.

Far faster than any of the swordsmen.

It was a display of the terrifying Physique of a Mingjin Martial Artist...