The youth sheathed his knife.

The several powers present just stared at the corpses at his feet, not only terrified by the fearsome strength Chen Ku had revealed but also shaken by the two speculations of Tongwen House's Owner, Jiang Mohua.

That's right. As a disciple of Medicine King Hall, Chen Ku could not possibly have known the location of the Protection Gate on any of the four prodigious disciples from the Firewood Iron Shop. Thus, there was only one possibility. He had cultivated Medicine King Hall's other ultimate bladesmanship skill, the Black Tiger Butcher Knife, to the level of great achievement. Breaking minor achievement with great achievement. A matter of course!

However, Jiang Mohua and the others felt their hearts pounding like drums even more because of this.

To cultivate two ultimate skills to the level of great achievement at such a young age! How much fortune must the ancestors of Medicine King Hall have accumulated in their past lives to have such an Outstanding, one like a dragon, join their ranks.

Regarding Chen Ku, the guild Shopkeepers and Owners present knew varying amounts about him. But because this was the Riverside council, they had all, to varying extents, obtained information about Chen Ku's identity from their respective channels. The intelligence they received about him was spotless, his background clear. Without exception, it all indicated that Chen Ku was merely an Herbalist from a small rural village in Snake Fish Town, Baojiao County.

But who could have imagined that a commoner with an Herbalist's background could, in just over half a year, transform and possess the terrifying strength to completely crush all the younger generation of the county's three major factions? Over half a year to go from Strength Training, Force Transforming, and Inner Qi, all the way to the Mystic Barrier realm—what kind of outstanding talent was this?

Sixty years ago, the city produced Yang Luochen; fifteen years ago, Xie Qingfeng emerged. And now, we have another Chen Ku, Jiang Mohua marveled, speechless.

He then looked at the seven corpses at Chen Ku's feet.

At this Riverside council, Chen Ku, by his own power, had nipped all the young geniuses of the Fish and Dragon Association and the Firewood Iron Shop in the bud. Without a doubt, this would cause Medicine King Hall, the Firewood Iron Shop, and the Fish and Dragon Association to completely fall out and become bitter enemies.

But on the other hand, accomplishing this task in one fell swoop—slaying seven young disciples of the two major factions in a single day—would ensure that the Firewood Iron Shop and the Fish and Dragon Association would face a gap in their upcoming generation for the next twenty or thirty years.

If Ma Mingfeng were also killed, then it was almost certain that for the next twenty or thirty years in Baojiao County, until Chen Ku and Kou Ming had fully matured, the Fish and Dragon Association and the Firewood Iron Shop would be completely devoid of a younger generation capable of contending with these two. Furthermore, by the time Chen Ku and Kou Ming reached their prime, the two factions would likely be utterly crushed by Chen Ku.

In that instant, a similar thought flashed through the minds of the representatives of the four powers present.

The premise is... that the Fish and Dragon Association and Firewood Iron Shop truly have no means or ability to counter after today? That's impossible.

But one thing is certain. Seizing the opportunity today to strike down Ma Mingfeng would be tantamount to completely severing the Fish and Dragon Association's future prospects.

Almost as these people were thinking this, Chen Ku had a similar mindset.

Since I've gone for the kill, I shouldn't do it halfheartedly. I must thoroughly eliminate all young rivals from the two factions. From the implications in Kou Ming's words, he had already discerned it. All of this is Medicine King Hall's intention; they aren't afraid of turning against the other two factions. Even my master, Yang Luochen, had Senior Brother relay the message that it would be best to kill!

From the shockingly aggressive terms laid out by the three factions today, Chen Ku had caught a whiff of the truth behind matters. I'm afraid each of the factions harbors the desire to annex the others. At this juncture, whoever strikes first will gain the upper hand in the major conflict, the true fiery merger to come.

WHOOSH.

The Shopkeepers, young Owners, and escort leaders from the four powers had not expected Chen Ku to be so decisively ruthless. After sheathing his knife, he picked up the Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff, pounced towards the ice surface, and shouted, "Senior Brother!"

How could Kou Ming not understand Chen Ku's intention at this moment? It was for him to drive Ma Mingfeng onto the shore so they could join forces and kill this young leader of the Fish and Dragon Association.

The culmination of Medicine King Hall's hundred years of effort hinges on today! First, we'll cripple both of those factions! Kou Ming resolved, his eyes clear and deep as an abyss. He was well aware of the secret plot by the Firewood Iron Shop and the government to annex both Medicine King Hall and the Fish and Dragon Association. Initially, he had wanted to test the Fish and Dragon Association's intentions, to see if they could stand together against the Firewood Iron Shop. Unexpectedly, the Fish and Dragon Association's arrangements today clearly showed they had similar preparations.

In that case, no more words are needed. Whether Baojiao County will henceforth belong to 'Medicine King,' 'Fish and Dragon,' or 'Firewood Iron' will all depend on the capabilities each faction displays from this day forward!

"A Myriad of Changes! Five Elements Qi Needle!"

In that instant, Kou Ming unleashed the hundreds of silver needles stored in his sleeves, sending them showering down like a torrential rain towards Ma Mingfeng on the river surface.

WHIZZ! WHIZZ!

Feeling the needle rain enveloping him like relentless droplets, trying to force him towards the shore, Ma Mingfeng simultaneously sensed the wind from Chen Ku's staff rushing towards him from the bank. It was as if Chen Ku was waiting for the very moment he reached the shore to smash down with the staff.

Ma Mingfeng had clearly seen Chen Ku kill his three junior brothers with a single strike of that staff; how could he not know the power of Yang Luochen's Famous Weapon wielded by Chen Ku? He absolutely dared not approach the shore! Yet, faced with the pressure of Kou Ming's needle assault, he was being forced towards it.

"Medicine King Hall! Kou Ming! Chen Ku!" Ma Mingfeng tilted his head back and let out a long howl. "Today, both the Fish and Dragon Association and the Firewood Iron Shop have lost! But don't think Medicine King Hall will have the last laugh! The one to ultimately unify Baojiao County will definitely be my Fish and Dragon Association!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Mingfeng suddenly shot forward, charging directly at Chen Ku on the bank, who was swinging his staff at him.

This stance was clearly a death-seeking one!

However, Kou Ming instantly discerned Ma Mingfeng's intentions. His expression changed drastically, and he urgently shouted, "Junior Brother Chen, be careful of the Spirit Witness!"

Chen Ku received a warning even more timely than Kou Ming's—it came from the Transformation Diagram.

[Subject Ma Mingfeng intends to use Spirit Witness on the Diagram Master, detrimental to the Master...]

Indeed, he sensed the warning. His expression changed slightly as he reacted in time, instinctively about to close his eyes. But his reaction still couldn't keep up with the gaze. In an instant, he was captured by Ma Mingfeng's eyes.

Chen Ku's body, in the motion of swinging the staff, shuddered. In the split second before his eyes fully closed, he met a gaze through the narrow slit of his eyelids.

Cold!

Cold!

Cold!

Chen Ku felt as if he could hear his own skin groaning. The bone-chilling cold seemed to freeze him from the very depths of his marrow, as if he were suddenly naked in a world of ice and snow, about to be frozen to death!

Is this the Spirit Witness? An attack on the spiritual and mental level? Enslaving body and mind? Creating illusions for my five senses? He immediately clenched his teeth. He instantly understood a fraction of how terrifying this Skill of Witnessing was. His consciousness was perfectly clear, knowing he must be under a spiritual illusion, yet his body uncontrollably felt the cold. This coldness is surely false, but if my consciousness believes it to be real, and my brain accepts this signal, I'll be frozen alive in this 'coldness'!

BOOM!

Just as Chen Ku was desperately holding on, the coldness suddenly receded, replaced by heat—scorching heat! It was like being immolated by fierce flames, like being thrown into a wok of boiling oil! The extreme shift between cold and heat made him experience a true ordeal of ice and fire in that instant, as if this torture inflicted upon his body and mind would torment him to death.

Chen Ku's extremely sensitive mind registered a sense of panic. If this state continues and my spirit collapses, even if the sensations of cold and heat don't kill me, Ma Mingfeng will cut my throat with his sword while I'm mentally incapacitated!

Switch for me! Chen Ku's heart blazed. In that instant, he cast aside all other concerns. With a thought, three of the four transformations on the Transformation Diagram in his vision were dismantled and replaced in one go with those of Ling, Yan Longhao, and the Peace Path Demon Person, Wang Mao.

Instantly, the spiritual power of three human experts surged into his mind, reinforcing him. It immediately dispelled half of the Spirit Witness's power inflicted by Ma Mingfeng, allowing Chen Ku's vision to clear considerably. He looked at the lunging Ma Mingfeng, his gaze mostly lucid.

His face contorted ferociously. Seizing the moment his reason returned, he unhesitatingly smashed his staff towards Ma Mingfeng.

Hm? He could actually... Ma Mingfeng's eyes flashed with disbelief.

Since opening the Mystic Gate in the Mystic Barrier Realm and receiving a gift of spiritual power from it, he had practiced the Skill of Spirit Witness. Though it was not a Spiritual Skill of Ultimate Skill Level, with this technique, he could make even a Mystic Barrier Peak expert, or a Third Realm Jade Skin Expert, lose focus for a moment or two. Though only for a moment or two, in a life-or-death battle between experts, that was already enough.

That Kou Ming was cunning and slippery; he had long known Ma Mingfeng possessed this secret technique, so he always carried a Dust-Avoiding Rhinoceros Horn, which made facing Kou Ming tantamount to fighting with one arm tied behind his back. But he figured Chen Ku most likely didn't have a spare Dust-Avoiding Rhinoceros Horn. He knew this item was a rare treasure even in Qiu Dragon Mansion, and unheard of in Baojiao County. That was why Ma Mingfeng had gambled on getting close to Chen Ku to use this technique on him. Ideally, he could seize this chance to directly kill this 'number one young expert in the city'—who truly lived up to the name—right here on the banks of the Dragon River.

Yet, how could he have expected this... He could feel that Chen Ku possessed no treasure to counteract spiritual power. However, in the very instant he was attacked by the skill, it seemed as if a burst of spiritual power had forcibly erupted from within Chen Ku's body, barbarically resisting his Spirit Witness and allowing him to regain clarity.

At the same time, Ma Mingfeng also felt that Chen Ku's staff strike seemed, for some reason, to have lost some of its force.

He had no time to consider whether Chen Ku's attack had weakened due to the spiritual influence or some other reason. However, even a weakened strike from that ten-thousand-jin Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff was definitely not something he could withstand head-on. Moreover, the wolf-like Kou Ming was closing in from behind.

In that instant, as expected of Ma Mingfeng, whose spirit was far superior to any Third Layer Peak Mystic Barrier cultivator, his mind raced at a speed many times that of others.

Faced with Chen Ku's staff in front and Kou Ming charging across the ice from behind, intent on killing him.

At this crucial moment, he actually managed to carve out a path to survival for himself from this deadly pincer attack.

Just then, under the dual assault of the sweeping staff from the front and the Iron Palm from behind, Ma Mingfeng suddenly executed a 'Thousand Jin Drop' in mid-air. His body plummeted like a falling star, smashing a large crater into the ice surface.

SWOOSH!

Ma Mingfeng plunged through the ice into the river and, like a nimble fish, darted away.

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