Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 159: Conflict

“Nothing to do with you?” A savage expression appeared on Zhuo Bao’s face. “It has nothing to do with you just because you said so? You’re not going anywhere until you find the murderer.” He pointed at Chen Chuan with the cigarette between his fingers. “If you can’t, then you’re going to take his place.”

“So, you’re going down the unreasonable route?” Chen Chuan gave him an unimpressed look.

Zhuo Bao scoffed, the way someone who didn't care about anything would. “When has the Blood Scars Gang ever cared about being reasonable?”

“True, and the way you’re acting now actually fits my idea of what gangsters are like,” Chen Chuan stated.

Zhuo Bao was pissed, because Chen Chuan’s relaxed and calm expression made it evident that his threats and intimidation had no effect on him. He felt a need to bend Chen Chuan to his will.

“Do you think that I’m all bark and no bite? Forget it...”

He brought the cigarette to his mouth and took a long drag. The remaining part of the cigarette suddenly turned red and started burning before scattering into sparks and ashes. He looked up and stared at Chen Chuan with great malice. “You’re the murderer!”

The man at the door looked panicked. “Oh no! The boss is having an episode!”

Zhuo Bao was also known as the Mad Leopard. He appeared calm and quiet, but he was prone to losing control over his emotions and attacking anyone within his vicinity, be it friend or foe. If not for the fact that he was a really good martial artist, no one in the gang would have tolerated his presence.

He charged toward Chen Chuan so quickly that the other gang members only saw a blur. Their eyes could not follow his movements at all.

A moment later, they heard a dull thud, and they finally saw Zhuo Bao. He had leapt into the air. With his body still in the stance of his charge, he pushed a hand forward.

Yet even though he had poured all his strength and momentum into his palm strike, Chen Chuan grabbed it with just one hand and remained standing firmly on the floor. He didn’t budge an inch. Even though Zhuo Bao’s attack had the power from his charge, he didn’t manage to make Chen Chuan stumble back.

The tendons on Zhuo Bao’s face bulged, a sign that his mutated tissue was unleashing its strength to push forward with the singular goal of making Chen Chuan fall.

But he felt as if he had run into a thick wall that refused to budge. Zhuo Bao’s own elbow started bending, and his body trembled because of all the strength he was unleashing.

Chen Chuan met his gaze calmly, and Zhuo Bao snarled, only to have his world suddenly spin.

The gang members heard a loud crash, and Zhuo Bao was sent flying backward. The sofas and decorations in his path collapsed as if a whirlwind had visited the place.

Then, Chen Chuan slowly lowered his leg.

Zhuo Bao crashed into the wall with a dull thud. His body was stuck against it for a while before he stumbled two steps forward, as if the wall had pushed him off.

He bent his back a bit before straightening up and staring at Chen Chuan. He also twisted his neck, making it clear that he was uninjured, but the glare in his eyes grew even more dangerous, and the bloody tattoo on his chest became brighter and more eye-catching.

Once Chen Chuan sent Zhuo Bao flying, he quickly regulated his breathing. After reaching the Second Limit, a martial artist could summon power from both his mutated organs and fascia, but Chen Chuan had only just reached the Second Limit and couldn’t mobilize all his power in an instant. He needed a bit of time to gather his strength.

Using his breathing technique was the most effective way to do it.

After a few breaths, all his mutated tissue woke up from dormancy. This time, instead of waiting for Zhuo Bao to come over, Chen Chuan approached him.

As one of the best martial artists in the Blood Scars Gang and one of the Five Claws, Zhuo Bao had also reached the Second Limit. Most skilled martial artists were at that level.

But this just meant that they had grown a certain amount of mutated tissue. It wasn’t a measurement for strength, especially since most martial artists only strengthened certain organs, unlike Chen Chuan, who strengthened all of them.

Chen Chuan had yet to draw the Frost King Saber. He held it in his left hand as he approached Zhuo Bao. The man crouched down and spread his arms while keeping his eyes fixed on him. As he breathed, his body rose and fell faintly, as if there was some sort of energy carrying him, giving off the feeling that if he braced himself, he could leap into the air.

Chen Chuan stopped and raised his wrist to bring the Frost King Saber up diagonally. Even if he didn’t draw it out of its sheath, he could shatter Zhuo Bao’s tendons and bones without much effort.

Zhuo Bao was prepared for it. He hopped back, only to find the saber’s trajectory change as well. It turned into a downward slash halfway through. Zhuo Bao had not landed at this point, but he brought his legs up to plant them against the wall behind him. At the same time, he curled up, as if he was stuck to the wall, and the Frost King Saber swung down right in front of his face.

Suddenly, he pressed his right hand’s fingers together into the shape of a saber. With a stomp, he charged forward right after Chen Chuan missed his attack.

He still had the tip of a foot against the wall while he uncurled his body and reached forward with his arm. It made him look like a jumping leopard.

Chen Chuan could see something wriggling under his skin. It traveled up from his ankle all the way to the back of his hand. At the same time, the skin of his arm started turning red and hot. White wisps of steam flowed out of the sides of his hand, like he had torn apart the air itself. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Even so, Chen Chuan watched him calmly. He shifted his center of gravity while pulling his front foot back. His left hand was dragged back along with the momentum, and the Frost King Saber parried the attack coming from Chen Chuan’s upper right.

The slash and this parry allowed a small section of the saber to come out of its sheath. A snow-white flash shone in the lounge just as Zhuo Bao’s fingers touched Chen Chuan’s chest, and Zhuo Bao’s toned forearm was cut clean through.

Yet Zhuo Bao showed no emotion on his face. He didn’t even blink as he continued charging forward. Both of his legs were about to leave the wall. When he was about to completely jump off, he tapped against the wall with his toes for one last push.

At the same time, he braced himself. It was as if a stream of energy rose from his stomach, and even his chest expanded outward as he opened his mouth slightly.

That energy was the refined force from his mutated lungs. If he released that breath at someone’s face at point-blank range, he could blast them to pieces and give them a concussion, thus ending the fight.

Before he could release that breath, a fist rammed into his face. The sound of teeth and bones breaking echoed through the room. Not only had Zhuo Bao’s entire face become contorted from his breath stuck in his throat, but the punch’s force also sent him tumbling back in an arc until he slammed against a faraway corner of the room.

This time, a powerful refined force charged into his brain, causing him to lose consciousness instantly. His eyes were rolled back, he was face down on the floor, but his lower body was turned around. He even had one leg over an overturned sofa. Altogether, it was a bizarre pose.

Since Zhuo Bao could no longer fight, Chen Chuan stopped paying attention to him. To think that he would dare to fight him barehanded, even after seeing the saber. He had to have a few screws loose in his head.

Fighting with a weapon and without one made a world of difference. Even if someone who was a whole level stronger than him fought him barehanded, Chen Chuan could end the fight within just a few moves.

He resheathed the Frost King Saber and went to the door. Once he put his hand on the handle, he turned it and opened it, but before he could walk out, the other gang members snapped out of their daze. They instinctively drew their guns and aimed at his back.

Chen Chuan stopped and cast them an unamused look. Since they had drawn their guns, there was no room for any further talking between them. With a light push, the door shut with a click.

Right then, shrill alarms rang out outside the underground fighting ring.

A large number of armored vehicles from the Constabulary surrounded the gang members on the square, and the constables pointed GD-Rifles at them. They herded them to the center of the square and ordered them to lower their weapons.

The constables parted to form a path, and Wei Laohu walked forward with his pistol raised as he roared, “Freeze! If any of them so much as snarls, shoot them!”

“Roger!” a unified stream of shouts answered him.

When the senior-ranking members saw this, they quickly told their people to lower their weapons.

On any other day, they might have dared to go up against the Constabulary due to their vast numbers, but a few of their leaders had died over the past few days, and they had just fought against the Chain Links Gang, so they didn’t want to add the Constabulary to their list of problems. It wouldn’t do them any good.

Wei Laohu scrutinized them a bit before handing things over to his vice captain while he led a team into the underground fighting ring. They quickly split up and took over the entrances and viewing platforms. As for Wei Laohu, he brought a few constables upstairs. When he saw that the door was shut, he told the constables to guard the sides while he went up to the door with his pistol drawn.

Before he could kick the door down, the door opened on its own, and Chen Chuan came out with the Frost King Saber and not a wrinkle on his clothes. He looked really relaxed.

Wei Laohu lowered his pistol and gave him a once-over before asking, “Are you okay, Xiao Chuan?”

“I’m alright, Uncle Wei,” Chen Chuan answered with a smile before making way for them.

Wei Laohu went up and looked inside. Bullet shells covered the floor, and bullet holes were all over the walls. His expression turned dark. “Those bastards fired at you?”

“Yeah,” Chen Chuan answered with a nod.

“Then there’s nothing left to say. Even if we killed them, it’d be fine.” Wei Laohu glared coldly at the dozen gang members sprawled all over the floor.

The laws of the Great Shun Republic stated that all those who dared to fire guns in the city without a weapons permit were to be executed. Anyone could enforce this law without repercussions, even normal citizens, and that was even more true for Chen Chuan, a first-class student of Martial Valor University with a weapons permit.

“By the way, where’s Zhuo Bao?”

While on his way, Wei Laohu had received word that Zhuo Bao was in the underground fighting ring. He had also received a phone call from Chen Chuan, so he paid extra attention to this case. He even requested a large squad be mobilized.

Chen Chuan pointed at Zhuo Bao. “He’s in the corner.”

Wei Laohu turned to take a look. After observing him closely, he recognized the unconscious man as Zhuo Bao, and he was shocked. Zhuo Bao was one of the Five Claws of the Blood Scars Gang. He was infamous for being arrogant and troublesome, but he had ended up in such a sorry state.

“Did you do this, Xiao Chuan? Not bad! You even managed to defeat Zhuo Bao! Is he dead?”

Chen Chuan thought about his answer and said, “Probably still breathing.”

“Not bad, Xiao Chuan! Zhuo Bao has always been an arrogant asshole. Whenever he did something wrong, he always had a lawyer to bail him out. This time, I’m going to make sure he suffers!” Wei Laohu smacked Chen Chuan’s shoulder and cackled.

“Okay, if you don’t need me here, I’ll be heading back now, Uncle Wei,” Chen Chuan answered.

“Go on.” Wei Laohu shooed him off and looked at the gang members sprawled at his feet. He started rolling his sleeves up. “Head back to rest. I’ll take care of this.”