The clown retreated, holding up a hand to stop Zhao Rong. "Big Bro, if you dare shoot me with that shotgun, I’ll go to the police station and report you! I’ll report you for illegal possession of a firearm, misuse of a weapon, and assault on an innocent person..."

Hearing the clown’s words, Zhao Rong immediately pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The clown fell to the ground. However, to everyone’s surprise, the shotgun in Zhao Rong’s hand hadn’t fired bullets, but a large, sturdy net. It enveloped the clown completely, trapping him securely.

When the assistant and the three women saw that the shotgun had fired a net, they burst into laughter, mocking the clown on the ground. "Clown, you’ve been tricked again, haven’t you? Let me tell you, our Brother Zhao Rong is a master of strategy! He lures you in, then catches you completely off guard to take you down..."

Seeing that he hadn’t been shot and was instead caught in a net, the clown said with lingering fear, "Brother, thank goodness your shotgun fired a net instead of bullets... otherwise, I’d definitely be dead by now..."

After Zhao Rong dealt with the clown using the ordinary shotgun, they tied him to a large nearby rock and continued toward the fourth challenge.

When Zhao Rong’s group of five arrived at the fourth challenge, they immediately saw a monk sweeping the ground with a broom in the distance.

Seeing the sweeping monk, the assistant standing behind Zhao Rong involuntarily drew a sharp breath. "In the martial arts novels of Jin Yong and Gu Long," he warned, "this kind of unassuming, detached sweeping monk is usually a hidden master. Everyone, be careful..."

Lili also grew tense and reminded Zhao Rong, "Brother Zhao Rong, this guy looks a lot like that major villain from *Legend of the Condor Heroes*. You have to be extremely careful..."

Yu Lan observed the sweeping monk’s every move and whispered, "This sweeping monk must have cultivated for hundreds of years at the Shaolin Temple... Otherwise, he wouldn’t seem so composed."

Meanwhile, Xuelian took two cans of pepper spray from her pocket. As she approached, she said, "No matter how formidable this sweeping monk is, he can’t possibly withstand the two cans of pepper spray in my pocket..."

With that, Xuelian aimed the two cans and sprayed them toward the monk.

However, just as she did, the monk swiftly swept his broom across the ground, kicking up a wall of dust that completely blocked the pepper spray. The dust cloud was so thick that it left Xuelian choking and gasping for air, forcing her to retreat quickly.

When Zhao Rong saw that the sweeping monk had a few tricks up his sleeve, he stepped forward and said politely, "Master, please step aside. We must pass through Badahu Alley to find the criminals Hong Ju and Zhou Xiaoer of Xijing City."

Hearing this, the monk lowered his broom and said calmly, "I take money to solve problems for my patrons. If you wish to find our bosses, Hong Ju and Zhou Xiaoer, you’ll have to get past me first."

As he spoke, the sweeping monk waved his broom through the air, assuming a combat stance. "I may be just a humble sweeping monk, but with this broom in my hands, ordinary people are no match for me. If you five are scared, you can scram now. But if you want to try your luck, I’ll show you just how formidable this sweeping monk can be!"

When the assistant saw the monk waving a battered old broom in the air, he took a running start and launched a flying kick at him. But just as his foot was about to connect, the monk furiously swept his broom across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that completely engulfed the assistant.

Caught in the dust, the assistant immediately began to choke, unable to breathe. Without air, muscles can’t get oxygen, and the body rapidly loses all its strength. He immediately dropped from mid-air, left half-dead from the choking dust.

"Damn it," the assistant staggered over, coughing violently. "I never thought... this monk’s dust could actually choke a man to death..." After that, he collapsed into a fit of frantic coughing.

Lili, refusing to believe this trickery, picked up a wooden stick from the ground and charged at the monk. Just as she reached him and was about to swing the stick to knock him unconscious, the monk swept his broom furiously across the ground again, raising another cloud of dust that enveloped her. Instantly, Lili was choking, unable to breathe, feeling a terrifying sense of suffocation. She hurriedly dropped the stick and scrambled out of the dust cloud.

"Damn it!" she coughed. "It turns out this monk has no real kung fu at all! His only move is to use that broom to kick up dust and choke out anyone who challenges him..."

Hearing how bizarre the monk’s technique was, Yu Lan immediately took a face mask from her pocket and put it on. "I’m wearing a mask now," she declared, charging forward. "Let’s see if the dust he kicks up can still choke me!"

Picking up a cobblestone, Yu Lan rushed at the monk, preparing to knock him down with it. As she closed in, the monk simply repeated his earlier move, sweeping his broom fiercely across the ground and sending a cloud of dust directly at her.

Because she was wearing a mask, Yu Lan wasn’t afraid. However, she had completely underestimated the dust; it was so fine and powerful that it penetrated right through her mask, flooding her nose and mouth. Instantly, she was choked by the dust, unable to breathe and overwhelmed by excruciating pain. With great effort, Yu Lan struggled out of the cloud and fled back to Zhao Rong’s side.

At this point, realizing the monk could use dust to incapacitate everyone, Zhao Rong suddenly had an idea.

"Sweeping Monk," he said, "I’ll ask you one last time: are you going to let us pass or not?"