Zou Feng could curse all he wanted in his head, but he didn’t dare underestimate these Elite Disciples from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect.
He had no idea what kind of Cultivation Skills these guys practiced, but they were genuinely strong!
The key was that all the Celestial Essence Sword Sect disciples he had seen so far looked quite young, at least on the surface.
This clearly meant they still had a lot of potential, and their chances of advancing to the Sixth Grade Gang Qi Realm in the future were quite high.
So, if the Celestial Essence Sword Sect had so many talented geniuses at the Low Grade stages, how terrifyingly powerful must the old geezers in the Sect be?
No wonder he’d heard that the power of these Major Sects even surpassed that of the Great Yan Court. It certainly seemed to be the case now.
Although he had yet to see a true High Grade Martial Artist, he felt that the power of these guys was probably not much different from the Cultivators of legends...
As he thought about all this, Zou Feng grew more and more excited.
’After all, who wouldn’t want to become an Immortal, gain eternal life, and have the chance to cultivate the Great Dao with a true Fairy?’
’And as someone with a cheat, as long as nothing unexpected happens, advancing to a High Grade in the future and discovering an even wider world should be well within reach.’
’However, since a titan of the Righteous Dao like the Celestial Essence Sword Sect exists, then corresponding Demonic Sects should also exist, right?’
Just as he was pondering this, a furious shout echoed from nearby.
"Who dares harm my gang brothers!"
Wielding two Large Round Hammers, the exceptionally petite Bian Yixia arrived in a flurry.
Her entrance wasn’t as graceful as that of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect’s Elite Disciple, but it was just as stunning.
Bian Yixia hadn’t come along the road. Instead, she had smashed directly through a series of shacks, forcefully blocking the path of the Ten Directions Sect remnants.
Although they were shacks, the walls of many were built from very sturdy packed earth and stone.
Thus, Bian Yixia’s method of clearing a path with her head in a reckless charge was indeed quite a visual spectacle.
It also demonstrated Bian Yixia’s considerable prowess in both her Protective Qi Force and her Body Refining Skill.
With his escape route suddenly blocked by Bian Yixia, a look of utter despair finally appeared in the eyes of the Ten Directions Sect remnant.
The outcome of the ensuing battle was, naturally, without suspense.
The Elite Disciple from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect, seemingly disdaining the dishonorable act of ganging up with Bian Yixia on a mere Eighth Grade opponent, turned and left without hesitation, returning to the intersection he was assigned to guard.
Bian Yixia, long accustomed to this, paid it no mind. She instead focused on hammering the two Ten Directions Cultists into a pair of meat patties.
Yes, meat patties.
Bian Yixia swung her Double Hammers with such force that they seemed to whistle through the air.
Even after "Summoning Gods," the Eighth Grade Ten Directions Cultist only lasted seven or eight rounds before a hammer smashed down on his head, sending his eyeballs flying.
And don’t be fooled by Bian Yixia’s appearance as a little girl; her methods were nothing short of vicious.
Amidst a series of terrifying, muffled thuds, she brought her hammer down again and again, not even sparing the female cultist who had already been severely injured by Zou Feng.
Soon, two bloody meat patties were all that was left on the ground.
Zou Feng even saw that as Bian Yixia continuously pounded the meat patties, her expression was filled with an abnormal fervor, and she would stick her tongue out from time to time.
’Another psycho...’
Having finished the "tenderizing," Bian Yixia paid the results no more mind and walked straight over to Zou Feng.
"How are you?" Her tone was filled with deep concern.
’She’s a psycho, but she really values the camaraderie emphasized in the gang’s rules?’
"I’m fine, Miss... HSSS—"
Before he could finish speaking, he sucked in a sharp breath from the "excruciating pain" radiating from his wound.
In the eyes of others, for someone at the Ninth Grade Realm to take a direct slash from a Ten Directions Cultist who had used "Summoning Gods" and not die was a blessing in disguise.
It also proved that this Zou Incense Master had a solid foundation, truly worthy of being the only person in the Black Flood Dragon Gang who dared to practice the Tribulation-Indestructible Body.
This was precisely the effect Zou Feng wanted to create.
’First, by getting "injured" again, I couldn’t appear too pathetic, nor could the act be too fake.’
’I had to put on a show of having fought my hardest against the Ten Directions Cultists, only to be overwhelmed by their superior strength, resulting in these grave injuries and a narrow escape from death.’
’What’s even more brilliant is that I was the first one to discover that the female cultist was disguised as a widow hiding here.’
’Not only did I see through her disguise, but I also indirectly flushed out that big fish—the Eighth Grade one. While tangling with him, I used my Karmic Fire Red Lotus Palm to inflict heavy damage on the female cultist.’
’In the end, I successfully stalled for time until reinforcements arrived.’
’That’s a huge contribution!’
’But in the process of earning this merit, I was unfortunately "severely injured" again. This allows me to smoothly retreat to the rear lines and switch back to recovery mode.’
’No one could possibly find fault with it.’
’In any case, it’s really best not to participate in these kinds of extermination missions too often.’
’This time was actually manageable; the one who popped out was only an Eighth Grade.’
’But if my luck runs out and I provoke a Seventh Grade cultist, or someone even more powerful, I’ll be in for more than I can handle. Even using my brothers as human shields would be useless.’
Seeing Zou Feng grimace in "pain," Bian Yixia knelt down, placed her small hand on his chest, and began transferring her Inner Strength to him to alleviate his internal injuries.
At the same time, she took a small bottle from her robes with her other hand and poured a gray powder onto the ghastly gash on Zou Feng’s arm.
Zou Feng immediately felt a cool sensation spread from the wound on his arm, and the bleeding stopped at once.
Evidently, this was a high-quality medicinal powder for external wounds.
After a moment, seeing the color return to Zou Feng’s face, Bian Yixia spoke. "It doesn’t feel too severe. You know medicine, what do you think?"
Zou Feng nodded, "forcing" himself. "Yes, thank you for your help, Miss. My injuries... indeed aren’t too severe. HSSS—"
Bian Yixia shook her head slightly. "Stop trying to act tough. Get out of here. You need rest and observation!"
"Miss, there’s no need. I can actually still..."
"I told you to get out!"
Bian Yixia’s brows furrowed. She turned and pointed at the still-dazed Xie Yang and Lu Zhenbang. "What are you two standing around for? Hurry up and get Zou Incense Master out of here!"
"Uh... Yes!"
"As you command!"
As if waking from a dream, Xie Yang and Lu Zhenbang hurried over and helped Zou Feng to his feet, supporting him on either side.
Of course, Zou Feng didn’t assume that Bian Yixia was giving him special treatment because she had taken a liking to him.
After all, at the last gathering on the Dragon Gate Boat, Wang Xingjian had already told him that Bian Yixia was an extremely popular figure within the gang.
She had always maintained an image of being loyal, righteous, forthright, and honest toward her gang brothers.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be the candidate with the most support to become the next Gang Leader of the Black Flood Dragon Gang.
But that wasn’t surprising. After all, the Black Flood Dragon Gang was a group that placed a special emphasis on camaraderie.
Besides, with so many people in the gang, surely not all of them could be like the Sixth Young Master—the type who, upon seeing a gang brother meet an unfortunate end, would immediately take the man’s wife back to his residence to "diligently care for her," just so his departed brother could rest in peace more easily...
PS: There will be another update this evening.