Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

The five men present were all pillars of the Green Gang in Shanghai.

Zhao Dehai, the second-in-command, is 65 years old and manages the properties in the French Concession. He is the most senior member of the gang, having joined at the end of the Qing Dynasty and established himself in Shanghai during the Xinhai Revolution.

Ma Chengen, the third leader, is 53 years old. He manages the International Settlement, comes from a business background, owns the most properties, and is the most shrewd person. He never argues with anyone in the gang.

Qian Baotian, the fifth-ranking official, is fifty-six years old and manages the docks and warehouses in Pudong. He is the only one who has the right to speak and has the most subordinates.

Meng Huchen, the seventh-ranking official, is 49 years old and in charge of Nanshi. He is Lü Desheng's direct superior and has the fiercest temper. In his youth, he killed more than 20 people at the docks, and his temper has not been tempered even after he got to this position.

Shen Henian, a 62-year-old man with a folding fan, is the strategist of the Green Gang in Shanghai. Although he does not hold the position of leader, he makes many decisions when Du Yuesheng is not in Shanghai.

The youngest of the five is almost fifty, and having lived through the late Qing Dynasty, they have seen all sorts of situations.

They endured police guns pointed at their foreheads, Japanese bayonets held to their necks, and even the warlord era.

But tonight's scene is different.

The commotion outside came too quickly. First, there was a loud shout, then several gunshots, several muffled thuds, and a scream, before everything fell silent in an instant.

From the first sound to silence, it took less than ten breaths.

Six of their most trusted and skilled fighters are gone just like that.

Before the five people could even stand up, the door opened.

Before the visitor entered, Shen Henian had already whispered to a servant beside him to go out through the back door and invite Master Guan. The servant slipped out through the back door with his back bent, unnoticed by anyone.

This is the Green Gang's backup plan; the Green Gang has a trump card in Shanghai.

Master Guan, also known as Guan Chongde, is an old man from a previous generation. He has been retired for many years and lives in a small house in the backyard of the headquarters. He usually doesn't see anyone and is known for being eccentric.

Chen Zhan walked into the main hall and sat on the dragon-carved armchair.

Du Yuesheng's position.

All five were intelligent men. Looking at the experts lying on the ground in the courtyard, and then at the middle-aged man in front of them whose clothes were clean and not stained with a drop of blood, their minds were already racing.

To be able to single-handedly storm the Green Gang headquarters and take down six guards in ten breaths—you won't find another person in Shanghai with that kind of strength.

Considering how Lü Desheng died, everyone present guessed what had happened.

This person is the murderer.

"No more nonsense. I'll ask you questions, and you'll answer. Whoever makes a move, I'll kill them."

Before the words had even finished,

"Snapped!"

Meng Huchen slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

He had been in the Green Gang for thirty years, killing people and setting fires. He had never been afraid of anyone in his life. Lu Desheng was his man, but he died outside. Now the murderer was sitting arrogantly in the big boss's chair, giving orders.

He couldn't swallow it: "Damn it, you killed my dockworkers?"

The moment he stood up, the gun at his waist was already in his hand.

Chen Zhan looked over.

The next instant, the armchair was empty.

Without any movement of getting up, without taking a step, without even a gust of wind, the person who was sitting suddenly disappeared.

Then he appeared in front of Meng Huchen.

With two fingers brought together, he struck Meng Huchen on each side of his neck with lightning speed.

Just click and go.

The person had returned to the armchair, sat down, and assumed the exact same posture as before, as if they had never left that chair.

Throughout the entire process, the four people present only saw a fleeting afterimage.

"I told you, I'll kill anyone who touches me. Do you think we're playing house?"

When Chen Zhan said this, his tone was very calm, even a little bored.

Meng Huchen was still standing.

His mouth was agape, his gun was still raised, his eyes were wide open, and his expression was frozen in that moment of rage.

Then blood started gushing from his neck.

Two finger holes, one on each side, about the thickness of a finger, blood gushed out of the holes, pouring into the collar and staining the front of the shirt red.

"Snoring—"

A series of bubbles popped in my throat; it was the sound of blood rushing back into my trachea.

His hand was still pointing at Chen Zhan. He leaned back and lay down in the armchair behind him. His head tilted to the side, and the gun slipped from his hand, falling to the ground with a clatter.

There was no sound.

The hall was deathly silent.

The teacup was still steaming, and incense smoke curled up in front of the ancestral tablets.

But Meng Huchen's body was leaning against the chair, blood still flowing from his neck, dripping down the armrest and onto the blue brick floor.

The four living people remained motionless.

Zhao Dehai's hands trembled slightly on his knees, while Ma Chengen's face was deathly pale and his lips were quivering.

The silence lasted for a few breaths.

Qian Baotian spoke up. He was the Fifth Dragon Head, in charge of the Pudong Wharf. He had the most subordinates and was a tough nut to crack in the Green Gang.

He didn't slam his fist on the table, nor did he draw his gun, but he pointed at Chen Zhan and said, "Do you really think we're the Green Gang—"

He hadn't finished speaking.

A streak of dark light flew from between Chen Zhan's fingers, extremely thin and fast, its trajectory almost invisible under the light.

Swallow Dart.

The dart tip pierced Qian Baotian's throat, exited through the back of his neck, and embedded itself in the beam behind him. The tail of the dart was still trembling slightly and making a buzzing sound.

Qian Baotian's mouth was still open, and his hand was still pointing at Chen Zhan, but he had already stopped making a sound.

His eyes slowly lost focus, his body slid off the chair, and he fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Both leading companies have failed.

The three people in the hall, Zhao Dehai, Ma Chengen, and Shen Henian, sat in armchairs. None of them moved or spoke, and they even held their breath.

Chen Zhan sat in the central armchair, his tone calm.

"Anyone else want to speak? I don't mind if there's only one left in the end."

No one spoke.

"Since no one spoke, I asked."

His gaze fell on Shen Henian, the old man holding a folding fan, who hadn't said a word or made a single unnecessary movement from beginning to end.

The smartest one out of the five.

"Tell me, what has the Military Intelligence Bureau been doing lately?"

Shen Henian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He was indeed the smartest of the five. From the moment Chen Zhan entered, he made a judgment: this person's purpose was not to wipe out the entire family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sat down to ask questions; he would have just killed them all.

He wants things, he wants information.

If you give him what he wants, the rest of the people will survive.

Shen Henian unfolded his folding fan, fanned himself twice to calm his mind, and then...
Speak freely and without reservation.

The Military Intelligence Bureau's recent major operation in Shanghai: a comprehensive purge of civilian gangs, investigation of suspicious individuals, and cooperation with the Green Gang in a manhunt.

Lu Desheng's death doubled the intensity of the purge, with door-to-door checks conducted in Nanshi and Zhabei.

At the same time, the Military Intelligence Bureau transferred two top-notch agents from Nanjing. They were twins surnamed Qin, and their backgrounds were unclear, but they were known to be very capable. They were currently stationed in the guesthouse inside the Garrison Command compound.

Chen Zhan listened without interrupting.

After saying all this, Shen Henian remembered something else.

"By the way, the Military Intelligence Bureau sent a message this morning."

He glanced at Chen Zhan and spoke. "Something happened at the Garrison Command last night. Someone broke in and set off a grenade, blowing up an entire floor. The Military Intelligence Bureau arrested someone inside—the mastermind behind the assassination operation. She's a woman, at the peak of the Transformation Realm, with excellent marksmanship. She's currently being held in the underground interrogation room of the small building on the east side of the Garrison Command."

Chen Zhan sat in the armchair, his body pausing slightly.

A woman at the peak of the Transformation Realm, with exceptional marksmanship, she was the mastermind behind the assassination.

His eyes narrowed slightly for a moment.

"Where are you being held? Tell me in detail." The voice was a little more urgent than before.

Shen Henian noticed the change in tone, but he couldn't say anything else; he didn't know...
What is the Green Gang compared to the Military Intelligence Bureau? It's just a gang that can be used. Even Du Yuesheng had to bow and scrape when he went to the Military Intelligence Bureau building.

"I really don't know."
Chen Zhan placed his hands on the armrests of the armchair, about to get up.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three gunshots rang out simultaneously.

The bullet flew in through the window on the side of the main hall, heading straight for Chen Zhan.

These were the people Shen Henian had arranged beforehand. By the time the three bullets arrived, Chen Zhan was no longer in his chair.

The gun, of course, couldn't hit him.

When the mind is empty and the spirit is sincere, one avoids danger without knowing or being aware.

With one step, he reached one side of the main hall. The bullet struck the back of the grand master's chair, piercing two holes in the carved sandalwood, sending wood chips flying.

The man outside the window had excellent composure. Seeing that he had missed, he immediately adjusted his gun, aimed at Chen Zhan's current position, and pulled the trigger halfway.

The gun was in his hand, but his hand was no longer on his body.

Chen Zhan had already reached the window.

One hand rested on the man's gun, and the other patted his wrist.

The gun barrel was crushed, the marks of five fingers clearly imprinted on the metal. The wrist was shattered at the same time, the sound of bones breaking mixed with the sound of metal deforming, making it impossible to distinguish which was which.

The man screamed and fell down, his gun and hand falling out of the window.

The other two people at the window saw this and their guns trembled. One of them pulled the trigger, but the bullet went astray and embedded itself in the window frame.

The other one turned and tried to run away.

Chen Zhan leaned half his body out of the window, casually waved his right hand, and the two of them flew out at the same time, crashing into the courtyard wall. Brick dust fell all over the ground, and the two slid down and collapsed against the wall, unable to move.

From the sound of the gunshot to the end, three breaths.

Chen Zhan returned to the center of the main hall, and there was still not a drop of blood on his clothes.

He glanced at Shen Henian.

Shen Henian's face was covered in even more sweat, and his folding fan fell to the ground, but he didn't dare to bend down to pick it up.

Just as Chen Zhan was about to speak, his gaze suddenly turned to the corridor behind the main hall.

There was a person standing in the corridor.

It appeared out of nowhere, without a sound of footsteps or breathing, just standing there in the shadows.

His hair was disheveled and completely white. He was tall but hunched over, wearing an old gray cloth robe and cloth shoes with one side of the sole worn through.

He looks like a crazy old beggar.

But his eyes, behind his disheveled white hair, shone like two lamps.

Turbid yet clear, mad yet lucid.

This kind of gaze can only be found in those who have reached the deepest level of martial arts training. They see everything as if they are studying the principles of boxing, and all things in the world as if they are observing the flow of boxing intent.

The old man stared at Chen Zhan, his mouth splitting into a grin, revealing half a set of broken teeth.

"You! You're a master! Excellent, excellent, truly a master!"

"Little Sun Lutang, I couldn't beat Sun Lutang back then, but it's worth killing you today, hehehe."

His voice was hoarse and his tone was uneven, as if he were talking to himself, or as if he were talking to Chen Zhan.

When Shen Henian saw this person, the expression on his face changed from fear to something else; he breathed a sigh of relief, but was also filled with worry.

Lord Guan.

Guan Chongde was a figure from the previous generation of the Green Gang.

When Du Yuesheng joined the gang, he was still a teenager. According to seniority, all the gang leaders present had to call him "Fifth Master".

In his youth, he was the top henchman of the Green Gang, his iron fists dominating Shanghai. At the peak of his internal strength, he dared to challenge masters of external strength. Later, he broke through to the level of external strength, and then entered the level of embracing the elixir, but no one knows exactly how far he went.

Because he's gone mad.

Thirty years ago, Guan Chongde met Sun Lutang in Beiping.

Sun Lutang, who combined Xingyi, Bagua, and Taiji into one style, was known as "the best hand in the world." Guan Chongde, in his prime and possessing profound internal energy, came to challenge him.

The two fought.

Guan Chongde and Sun Lutang exchanged dozens of blows, fighting from the courtyard to the alley, and from the alley to the street, shattering blue bricks all over the ground, and the onlookers retreated several streets away.

The final move failed.

Sun Lutang struck him in the chest with a palm, holding back some force, so as not to kill him.

This is an insult.

In a duel between two top-tier masters, the opponent held back his strength until the very end, sparing his life, whereas Guan Chongde had aimed to kill, yet Sun Lutang spared his life.
Guan Chongde accepted his defeat wholeheartedly.

For thirty years, he has repeatedly recalled, pondered, and practiced that palm strike.

After practicing for thirty years, his hair turned white, and he went mad.

He doesn't fight with anyone, doesn't concern himself with gang affairs, locks himself in a small room in the backyard of the headquarters, talks to himself all day, draws the direction of energy on the wall, and uses his fingers to draw fist techniques on the ground.

But Shen Henian knew that Master Guan's martial arts skills had not decreased but increased.

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Guan Wu walked out of the corridor laughing, his steps unsteady as if he were drunk, but his feet landed on the blue bricks with even force and without any unnecessary wobbling.

In a state of intoxication, he displayed extremely refined stance training.

He stopped five steps away from Chen Zhan, tilted his head and looked at Chen Zhan as if he were looking at something new and interesting.

"You're so strong! That's great!"

Chen Zhan looked at him, his gaze now more serious.

This old man had extremely keen senses; he could discern the quality of force simply by observing its aura. This level of skill was far beyond that of an ordinary cultivator who had reached the Dantian stage.

Guan Wu's mouth grinned again: "Just one hit? Just one hit? I'd be willing to be killed!"

Before Chen Zhan could answer, Guan Wu had already made his move.

Without warning, without any build-up, there was no transition between standing and throwing a punch; it was like a taut spring suddenly snapping open.

He punched Chen Zhan in the chest.

This punch looked crooked and unorthodox, as if it were thrown out casually.

But halfway through the punch, the force suddenly shifts, moving from the fist to the back of the fist, and from the back of the fist to the elbow, changing from a straight line to an arc, with a tricky angle.

The force constantly changes its path during the strike, making it impossible for the opponent to predict where the force will ultimately land.

Chen Zhan raised his right hand to receive it.

"Oh!"

With a tremor, the beam shook, and Guan Wulian staggered back several steps.

The moment his palm touched his fist, Chen Zhan's brow twitched slightly.

It is seasoned, pure, and perfectly rounded, without a trace of impurity, the essence of boxing honed over decades.

This force contains elements of Bagua and Xingyi, but it is neither; it is a mixture, yet it also has its own unique characteristics.

But it doesn't matter.

Let alone him, even if Master Sun were to be reborn and return to his peak form, he would certainly not be a match for me.

Chen Zhan was confident. (End of Chapter)