We're practicing all martial arts, so why did you switch to easy mode?

Chapter 142 Rebuilding the Six Harmonies Gang, Secret Guards and Open Assassinations
The elite bodyguards, each having reached the Bone Forging Realm, possess extraordinary strength and cultivate the core killing techniques of the Hong Clan.

A top-tier bodyguard is enough to kill a martial artist who has reached the peak of the Bone Forging stage.

Two elite bodyguards are enough to kill a martial artist with five jade bones.

The three elite bodyguards could hold their own even against a Blood Transformation Realm expert, and with a bit of luck, they might even be able to kill him.

The secret guards are one of the Hong family's many trump cards, walking a tightrope and acting as a deterrent to the entire Qinzhou for the Hong family.

Generally speaking, the Hong family rarely sends out their secret guards to deal with a single person, especially their top-ranking secret guards.

Each of the top-tier bodyguards was trained at the expense of a significant amount of the Hong family's resources. It is no exaggeration to say that they are all among the Hong family's most prized martial artists.

However, there was no way around it. The successive deaths of so many Blood-Transfer Warriors greatly diminished the prestige of the Hong Clan and also stirred up the ambitions of those hostile forces.

They must find ways to deter all forces.

Originally, Su Chen was not part of this operation, but since Hong Jinnian brought it up, Hong Jinfeng, as the clan leader, went along with his wishes.

Either way, death is inevitable; killing sooner or later makes no difference.

As for the government?

As Hong Jinnian said, if you give me face, you are the government; if you don't, you are no different from those forces that can be easily destroyed.

In addition, there is a secondary reason.

When Su Chen killed Hong Qi last time, they didn't know Su Chen's true strength.

They assumed Su Chen was at the peak of the Bone Forging Realm. Although they had murderous intent, they were unable to act for the time being due to various reasons.

However, Hong Ke's message clearly stated that Su Chen was only a minor master of Bone Forging, which means that Su Chen killed Hong Qi, who was at the peak of Bone Forging, when he was at the minor mastery stage of Bone Forging.

A minor breakthrough in Bone Forging turns into a major defeat in Bone Forging Perfection?

If the person who wrote this letter wasn't Hong Ke, they would only think that the other party was joking with them.

Within the Bone Forging Realm, the strength differences between each stage are enormous.

In particular, Hong Qi had also condensed two sections of jade bone, making him even stronger than an ordinary person at the peak of bone forging.

At the peak of the Bone Forging Realm, one can condense a total of five jade bone segments, corresponding to the hands, feet, and spine respectively. Each time a jade bone segment is condensed, the strength doubles.

Furthermore, the gap in strength can widen further depending on individual physical conditions.

Given that Hong Qi has reached the level of the second-stage jade bone at such a young age, his true combat strength is comparable to that of the third-stage jade bone.

Even so, he still died at the hands of Su Chen, who had just completed the minor stage of Bone Forging.

This alone was enough to attract their attention, and just in case, Hung Kam-Fung simply sent out three top-notch bodyguards.

Neither Hong Jingrui nor Hong Jinnian had any objections to this; the three of them did not believe that the three top-tier bodyguards would fail to kill Su Chen.

The three were unaware that Su Chen had only just entered the Bone Forging stage when he killed Hong Qi, and they were even less aware that Hong Ke had deliberately downplayed Su Chen's true strength by one level in the letter in order to save face for herself.

……

Qiao Mansion.

"Young master, the master requests your presence."

Qiao Qiliang had just returned to the manor from Su Chen's villa when the steward approached him respectfully and said...

He nodded and then went to the lobby. Qiao Renzhou was handling official business. When he saw Qiao Qiliang come in, he handed him a letter.

Upon seeing this, Qiao Qiliang picked it up and examined it. His brows gradually furrowed, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Hong Ke is dead?"

"Yes, on the very day you returned to the city," Qiao Renzhou nodded calmly.

"This……"

Upon learning this time, Qiao Qiliang's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "Do you know who the murderer is?"

“The Hong family believes it was the mysterious leader of the Rebirth Sect who beheaded Hong Ke with a single blow, and his death was gruesome,” Qiao Renzhou replied.

For some reason, when Qiao Qiliang heard this news, Su Chen's image inadvertently appeared in his mind.

The light dissipated only after Qiao Renzhou replied, a smile appearing on his face: "It's better that he's dead."

Qiao Renzhou remained noncommittal, looked at his son, and said, "There's another matter I wanted to discuss with you today."

"What is it?" Qiao Qiliang asked.

"Regarding the matter of rebuilding the Six Harmonies Gang."

Seeing Qiao Qiliang's blank expression, Qiao Renzhou explained, "To be precise, it's about recreating a second 'Six Harmonies Gang' to prevent the Hong family from becoming too powerful."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Qiliang nodded slightly: "What do you need me to do?"

"I've already arranged most of the things. What you need to do is recruit the alchemists from the former Six Harmonies Gang. We need them to refine pills."

As he spoke, he handed the list to Qiao Qiliang; these were all former alchemists of the Six Harmonies Gang.

Qiao Qiliang took the list, glanced at it a few times, and then stopped paying attention. He asked, "Father, even if we find these alchemists, without pills comparable to the Qi and Blood Pill, even if we eventually succeed in creating a second Six Harmonies Gang, their fate will probably be the same as before!"

Low-level martial artists can obtain Qi and Blood Pills through various means, but martial artists above the Refining Organs level basically have to rely on Qi and Blood Pills for cultivation. Without pills comparable to Qi and Blood Pills, they will eventually be bound to the Hong Clan.

Like the previous Liuhe Gang, although they were secretly affiliated with the government, they actually had an unclear relationship with the Hong family. Even Cai Liuhe himself had to buy Qi and Blood Pills from the Hong family.

Furthermore, even if they were capable of rebuilding a second Liuhe Gang, the Hong family had gone to great lengths to eliminate the Liuhe Gang with the help of the Chu family. How could they possibly allow a second Liuhe Gang to appear in Dafeng City? They might even face obstruction from the Hong family before they could rebuild it.

Qiao Renzhou naturally understood these principles. He said, "The problem of pills can be solved in a while. We have already made contact with the Chu family. Once someone from the Chu family refines the Qi and Blood Pill, we will buy it from them. In the meantime, let's find an alchemist first."

This was a last resort; if the Xuan Shui Gang were to completely take control of Dafeng City, the City Lord's Mansion would face an even more difficult situation.

"The Chu family?" Qiao Qiliang understood the implication in Qiao Renzhou's words: the Hong family had handed over the pill formula to the Chu family?
Qiao Renzhou's next words confirmed his guess: "The Chu family announced the marriage alliance with the Hong family, so they must have already sent the pill formula."

"Father, if we had the Qi and Blood Pill, would we no longer be subject to the Hong family?"

Suddenly, Qiao Qiliang seemed to think of something and couldn't help but ask a question, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

“That’s natural, at least we don’t have to be like this now. However, finding a substitute for the Qi and Blood Pill is easier said than done!” Qiao Renzhou sighed.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Qiao Qiliang leave in a hurry, and couldn't help but ask.

"I'm going to find the elixir!"

Qiao Renzhou: "...!"

……

into the night.

Su Chen emerged from the secret room, took a shower, changed his clothes, and had a simple dinner.

A day of research yielded only a few lessons learned from failures, offering very limited help to the progress of Qi and Blood Pill research.

He didn't care; little by little, it would add up.

After dinner, Su Chen did not enter the secret room again; he planned to cultivate that night.

Since the Iron Shirt skill was upgraded to the seventh level, Su Chen has not been able to fully test its power. He might as well take advantage of this free time to familiarize himself with it.

The seventh level of Iron Shirt has a far superior total force, and it can easily cover the whole body with Iron Shirt force alone.

"The seventh layer of Iron Shirt has given me enough strength to face a Blood Transformation Realm warrior without being at a disadvantage, and even to kill him."

After a simple test, Su Chen summarized his experience.

Of course, this refers to overall strength, and it cannot be achieved solely through the Iron Shirt technique.

Whoohoo!
Just as Su Chen was familiarizing himself with the internal energy in the backyard, a gust of wind suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw three men dressed in black standing on the courtyard wall, looking down at Su Chen.

"Someone from the Hong family?" Su Chen guessed.

As if they knew Su Chen was watching them, the three of them spread their arms and took flight like swallows. Then they swooped down and, with lightning speed, arrived in front of Su Chen in an instant, forming a triangle that surrounded him.

"kill!"

One of the men in black uttered a single word before charging towards Su Chen, while the other two men in black didn't waste any words either, directly attacking Su Chen.

Su Chen was somewhat surprised; he had never seen such a brazen assassin.

But for some reason, he felt that these three people in front of him were the real killers. Who said that only those who stand in the dark are killers?
Dangdang Dangdang!
Su Chen drew his steel knife and became entangled with the three men.

The three were agile, their swordsmanship sharp and ruthless, their teamwork perfect, forming a complete blockade against Su Chen.

"These three are very strong!" After only a few exchanges, Su Chen's expression became serious, and he dared not underestimate the three's killing skills.

They were born killers; every move they made seemed designed for slaughter.

Sizzle!

Even though Su Chen dared not be careless, he was still caught off guard by the three people's combined attack and slashed across his chest.

Fortunately, Su Chen was tough and unharmed.

But this also made Su Chen even more solemn, knowing that he had just gone all out, and even so, he was still injured by the three of them.

"Just now I was confident that I would not be at a disadvantage in facing the Blood-Moving Warriors, but in the blink of an eye I was slapped in the face by reality. These three people in front of me are at most Bone Forging Perfection Warriors, but they almost injured me."

Su Chen suddenly exerted his strength, brandishing his steel blade as he retreated. However, the three men followed closely behind, like a leech, their bodies radiating a chilling killing intent.

Seeing this, Su Chen's eyes narrowed, and his mind began to race:
"The three of them working together are even stronger than me. To deal with them, I can only take them down one by one. The space here is too large, which is not my advantage!"

The three attacked again, their ghostly figures moving back and forth, creating confusion while also delivering deadly moves.

However, at that moment, Su Chen moved swiftly and escaped into the room.

The three exchanged glances, their eyes communicating in an instant, before they dashed off and entered the room.

"there!"

Upon entering the room, they quickly spotted Su Chen. Seeing the secret passage beside the bed, the three of them entered without hesitation.

Rumble!
There was a faint candlelight in the secret passage, which Su Chen noticed the moment the three entered. He quickly closed the passage.

The three of them naturally heard the voice behind them, but they didn't pay any attention to it. Instead, they turned their attention to Su Chen.

Even with death looming, Su Chen was still smiling.

boom!
The stone door to the secret passage slammed shut.

The air was filled with the mixed smells of various medicinal herbs, which made people feel nauseous.

All three were experienced individuals, so upon entering the secret passage, they held their breath, fearing that Su Chen might poison them.

Before they could launch their attack, Su Chen took the initiative to strike at the three of them.

Upon seeing this, the three men's eyes gleamed with danger. They then swarmed forward, transforming into three black shadows as they attacked Su Chen once more.

In the sealed chamber, the sounds of metal clashing rang out one after another, and four figures intertwined in the light and shadow, appearing chaotic.

Being in a secret room did affect the three's combat strength, but it wasn't very noticeable.

They continued to suppress Su Chen with their agile movements and deadly sword techniques.

Bang bang bang!
After the violent collision, Su Chen's clothes were tattered and he looked quite disheveled.

However, the three on the other side were not in good shape either. Compared to Su Chen's disheveled state, all three of them were injured by Su Chen, with wounds of varying sizes dripping blood.

"Do you know why I brought you to the secret room?" Su Chen took a few steps back, his eyes sharp, and asked calmly.

The three didn't reply, and Su Chen didn't care. Instead, he muttered to himself, "That's because this way you can't escape!"

After speaking, Su Chen leaped into the air, his speed suddenly increasing, and shot towards the three of them.

Without hesitation, the three rushed forward, splitting into three groups, their imposing presence and murderous aura palpable.

"Sword Drawing Technique!"

Su Chen uttered a soft command, his eyes sharp and piercing. In a flash, he aimed at a man in black, and the steel blade in his hand whistled through the air like lightning.

A sharp sound suddenly rang out, and then the blade collided head-on with the black-clad man's curved blade. The two blades clashed, creating a powerful gust of wind.

"A hidden dagger!"

However, at that moment, Su Chen flicked his sleeve, and a cold glint appeared, filling the black-clad man's entire pupil in the candlelight, as if freezing his entire gaze.

With a single stroke, head and body were severed!
After killing one of the men in black, Su Chen did not stop. He put away his goose-feather blade and turned to the other two.

The two were slightly dazed at this moment, clearly not expecting their companion to be killed by Su Chen so suddenly. It wasn't until Su Chen's figure arrived that they came back to their senses.

This time, the situation has reversed.

After losing one of the men in black, the two were clearly no match for Su Chen.

Click.

Without needing a hidden dagger, a single slash unleashed four layers of blade shadows that surged forth like a tidal wave, catching the attacker off guard and claiming the life of another man in black.

"run!"

Seeing this, the last remaining man in black turned and ran without saying a word. He was incredibly fast and arrived in front of the stone gate in an instant. He slashed down with his sword, but the stone gate trembled violently before falling silent.

"not good!"

The man in black immediately realized something was wrong and turned around sharply, only to see Su Chen silently appear less than three meters behind him, looking at him with a smile.

Upon seeing this, the man in black's eyes narrowed sharply. He no longer aimed the curved knife at Su Chen, but instead slashed it towards his own neck, clearly preparing to commit suicide.

Su Chen's gaze darkened, and he rushed out. At the critical moment, he raised his steel knife and gently flicked the curved blade away from the man in black's hand. However, to Su Chen's surprise, black blood dripped from the corner of the man in black's mouth.

In no time at all, the man in black died of poisoning right in front of Su Chen.

This made Su Chen's expression slightly unpleasant. He had planned to spare one of them, but he didn't expect that all three of them would rather die than submit.

Su Chen carried the three bodies out and placed them in the courtyard, trying to find clues on their bodies. Unfortunately, their bodies were smoother than a scimitar.

Although I suspected they were from the Hong family, it was just a guess, and I wasn't sure.

"Huh? What happened?"

Suddenly, footsteps came from the doorway. Qiao Qiliang had just entered the courtyard when he saw three corpses and was taken aback.

Immediately, his expression changed slightly. He strode forward and asked in a deep voice, "Was it the person who assassinated you?"

Su Chen nodded upon hearing this.

Qiao Qiliang stepped forward and carefully examined him for a moment. His expression gradually became serious as he looked at Su Chen: "These are the Hong family's secret guards!"

"As expected, they are from the Hong family." Su Chen raised an eyebrow and lowered his eyes.

The Hong family is truly a persistent ghost!

"Three secret guards, the Hong family really spared no expense. It's a pity you killed them. They'll probably be heartbroken when they find out."

Having confirmed the identities of the three men, Qiao Qiliang chuckled. If he knew that the three men in front of him were top-tier bodyguards, he probably wouldn't be laughing.

He thought the Hong family had only sent three ordinary guards to assassinate Su Chen, but he never expected that the Hong family would send three top-tier guards.

"Do you want revenge?"

Ignoring the three corpses, Qiao Qiliang suddenly asked with a smile.

Su Chen looked at Qiao Qiliang.

Then, Qiao Qiliang told Su Chen the purpose of his trip: "...In other words, as long as you refine the Qi and Blood Pill, you can deal a heavy blow to the Hong Clan!"

After he finished speaking, he asked, "By the way, how's your progress going?"

"There hasn't been much progress yet."

Su Chen replied casually, his mind completely focused on Qiao Qiliang's words.

"That's alright." Qiao Qiliang waved his hand and asked again, "So, are you interested in coming with me?"

Seeing Su Chen remain silent, he continued, "Actually, as long as you refine the Qi and Blood Pill, the government will not need to worry too much about the Hong family. Once the opportunity arises, they will drive out the Hong family with lightning speed and eliminate this cancer."

"Don't forget, even if we develop the Qi and Blood Pill, we may not be able to use it extensively. If the Hong family finds out, they will hold us accountable." Su Chen glanced at Qiao Qiliang.

"This..." Qiao Qiliang looked troubled upon hearing this; it was indeed a problem.

Anyone with eyes can see that the pills refined by the government have the same effect as the Qi and Blood Pills, not to mention the Hong family. When the Hong family discovers this, they will surely be able to connect it to the attack on the team and trace it back to them.

"Sigh, then we'll have to think of another way." Qiao Qiliang had planned to discuss it with Su Chen and then tell his father, Qiao Renzhou, about it to give him a surprise, but after hearing what Su Chen said, he felt a little disappointed.

"It's not that there's no way," Su Chen pondered.

"What method?" Qiao Qiliang asked anxiously.

"We can reduce the potency of the medicine, or change its name, but all of this will have to wait until the pill is refined."

Su Chen offered his idea, then looked at Qiao Qiliang and asked, "By the way, when will the reconstruction begin?"

(End of this chapter)