The shadow puppeteer was now using living puppets.

With but a faint tremble of Elder Shixian’s wrist, the Fierce Tiger Gang disciple’s body moved against his will, sending a fist flying toward Tong Tianba.

Tong Tianba wanted to strike back, but the attacker was one of his own men.

Though run through with an iron rod and unable to control his own body, the man wasn’t dead—Elder Shixian’s strike had been too clever for that. He could only stare at Tong Tianba in sheer panic.

They were his own men. He couldn’t strike them, but he couldn’t just stand there either. It was a maddening situation, leaving him with a mountain of strength he had no way to unleash.

He could only roar in fury:

"Elder Shixian, you’re a senior master who has been renowned in the Jianghu for years. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for resorting to such despicable tactics?"

Hidden behind the man he controlled, Elder Shixian continued his assault on Tong Tianba, crowing smugly:

"I am but a humble shadow puppet performer, and these are merely the skills I use to earn my keep. What is there to be ashamed of?

"You, on the other hand, are young yet you lack ambition, leading a gang of thugs and ruffians to bully a lonely old widower like me...

"Shouldn’t *you* be the one who’s ashamed?"

Tong Tianba wanted to fire back a retort, but he was at a loss for words.

In the end, he could only let out a furious roar:

"All of you, get him!"

’This "living puppet" could block attacks from the front, but not from the back. With so many men, if they all rushed forward, they could surely pin down this old degenerate.’

’Once they had him, they could kill or torture him as they pleased.’

The men from the Lu’an Escort Agency were completely dumbfounded.

’The Fierce Tiger Gang was supposed to be here for us. How did they end up fighting Elder Shixian in the blink of an eye, leaving us completely on the sidelines?’

Lu Guiyan looked at Fang Shuwen.

"Elder Shixian may be a famed master of the Jianghu, but Tong Tianba’s Martial Arts are formidable, and he’s surrounded by so many men from the Fierce Tiger Gang. I fear the Elder is no match for him. What should we do?"

"I’m sure you already have a decision in mind, Young Chief of the Escort. Why ask me?"

Fang Shuwen said with a smile:

"Our movements tonight were meant to be discreet, yet the Fierce Tiger Gang managed to set an ambush in advance. I’m sure you have your suspicions as to how that happened, Young Chief of the Escort.

"But aren’t you curious? Why would the Fierce Tiger Gang have the audacity to attack guests of Flying Snow City?"

Lu Guiyan took a deep breath.

"Are you confident you can handle them?"

"I am."

"Then I must ask for your help, Young Hero Fang."

Lu Guiyan cupped her fist in her hand.

Fang Shuwen smiled.

"Very well."

The word had barely left his lips before he took a step, his form blurring as he shot into the crowd.

Meanwhile, Elder Shixian was not having an easy time of it. His Martial Arts were certainly not weak, but Tong Tianba was a cut above him.

It was unclear where Tong Tianba had acquired his Copper Skin and Iron Bones, but his physical strength was unparalleled, and every move he made contained immense power.

When the men of the Fierce Tiger Gang swarmed him, Elder Shixian was able to hold his own for a moment, but he quickly found himself stretched thin.

Fang Shuwen’s intervention came just in time to save him from this dire predicament.

With a single palm strike from Fang Shuwen, two Fierce Tiger Gang disciples who had been attacking Elder Shixian were instantly slammed into the ground.

He pivoted on his heel and rammed into another Fierce Tiger Gang disciple who had just turned around. Before the man could react, he was sent flying like a cannonball.

Two blades hummed as they sliced through the air, courtesy of two more Fierce Tiger Gang disciples. But before their weapons could even get close, Fang Shuwen flicked his fingers, disrupting their attack. With another hook and push of his hand, he sent both men flying backward.

He fought with an air of absolute dominance, as if no one there was his equal.

After all, wielding two great Divine Techniques, the Muscle Strengthening Scripture and the North Nether Divine Technique, he was simply beyond comparison to ordinary men.

He struck as he moved, and no one in his path could withstand a single blow.

His display left the men of the Lu’an Escort Agency, who were just about to rush forward and help on Lu Guiyan’s command, utterly dumbfounded.

’They’d seen masters of Martial Arts before, but never anyone this powerful!’

’Just what kind of man was Darts Leader Mo’s junior martial brother?’

Someone snuck a glance at Mo Beidou, only to find that his expression was just as shocked as theirs.

It was as if even he had no idea his junior martial brother was this formidable.

The men looked at each other, unsure if they should even step forward anymore. Everywhere Fang Shuwen went, chaos erupted. His attacks were vicious, and he showed absolutely no mercy.

In just the space of a few breaths, he had single-handedly killed nearly every member of the Fierce Tiger Gang.

At that exact moment, Xu Yuqing, the Vice Hall Master of the East Hall, suddenly flicked the tip of his sword.

With a HISS, a strand of Sword Qi shot out, hugging the ground.

The timing of his strike was as clever as it was insidious. While Fang Shuwen was focused on the grunts, Xu Yuqing had been secretly observing, and this attack was aimed squarely at a blind spot on his back.

Mo Beidou saw it all unfold and was about to cry out a warning to Fang Shuwen.

But he saw Fang Shuwen simply lift his foot slightly before stomping it down hard.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A wave of force shot across the ground, sending tremors through the earth as it collided head-on with the strand of Sword Qi.

In the instant they clashed, the Sword Qi was obliterated by the force, not even lasting for half the blink of an eye.

The force, its momentum unchecked, continued straight toward Xu Yuqing.

Xu Yuqing’s eyes bulged as he backpedaled frantically until his back slammed into a tree. With nowhere left to retreat, he finally remembered he could have dodged to the side.

But by then, it was already too late.

There was a dull THUD!

Xu Yuqing was blasted into the air by the force. Even the tree behind him split in two with a loud CRACK.

While still in midair, coughing up a spray of blood, Xu Yuqing suddenly felt a powerful pull from ahead, like a massive whirlpool.

It dragged his body irresistibly toward its center.

He looked up and saw Fang Shuwen, who still had his back to him, but whose five fingers were spread wide, aimed in his direction.

The top of his head landed in Fang Shuwen’s palm. In the next instant, his body’s entire supply of Inner Strength reversed course like a flooding river, flowing completely into Fang Shuwen’s body in the blink of an eye.

Xu Yuqing didn’t even have time to scream before his head gave a sickening CRACK.

Fang Shuwen had crushed it!

Throughout the entire process, Fang Shuwen never once turned to look at him. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

It was as if Xu Yuqing was just an insignificant nobody, no different from an ant on the roadside that could be squashed at any moment.

He wasn’t even worthy of a moment’s notice.

As Xu Yuqing’s body hit the ground, Fang Shuwen arrived at the side of Elder Shixian and Tong Tianba.

The two of them had already stopped fighting and were now both staring at Fang Shuwen.

’Elder Shixian was secretly relieved. ’My earlier feeling was right, this kid is a monster.’

’If I had fought him earlier, I would have undoubtedly lost.’

’Putting on a little shadow puppet show for free is nothing by comparison.’

Tong Tianba’s eyes were practically splitting with rage. He had watched helplessly as his men died at Fang Shuwen’s hands. If he hadn’t been wary of Elder Shixian, he would have charged forward long ago.

Now, seeing him approach, Tong Tianba couldn’t stop himself from roaring in fury:

"Just who in the world are you—"

"Who am I? Take this palm strike and find out!"

’This has been a fight to the death from the start, so what’s the point of talking?’

His right hand formed a seal, and he unleashed the Demon-Suppressing Seal.