Let the true energy circulate for a while

……

Big Mouth approached slowly, cautiously, fearing that Master Shi might have a backup plan. He knew about this poison; some masters who could project their true energy were not so easily poisoned. When traveling the martial world, everyone had some trump cards to save their lives.

Seeing that Shi Lei appeared to be healing himself while his expression remained unchanged, he became worried that he had fallen for Shi Lei's trick.

Big Mouth switched from holding the knife with one hand to two, raised the knife in a slashing posture, his ears twitched slightly, and suddenly turned around, blocking with his knife horizontally. A clanging sound of metal clashing rang out.

The thick blade knocked away a throwing knife from his back.

Among the bandit-suppressing heroes, a thin young man suddenly rose up, taking advantage of Da Zui's attack to strike from behind. His breathing returned to normal, either he had suppressed the poison with his internal energy or he hadn't been poisoned at all. He was a master!

The slender young man threw three flying knives in succession, while simultaneously leaping sideways to grab the advisor.

Big Mouth parried with his sword.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. A short knife was pressed against the clerk's neck, and the thin man, holding the clerk hostage, said coldly, "Don't move!"

The tip of the knife pierced the skin on the clerk's neck, and a few drops of blood flowed down.

The advisor cried out in alarm, "Big Mouth, Big Mouth, don't move! Don't move!"

Not far away, Yu Ying, mounted on his horse, called out loudly, "Who are you, sir?"

The gaunt man tore off his human skin mask and roared, "Big Brother!"

Yu Ying was shocked: "Third Brother!!"

Back then, Song Ping, Yu Ying, and Zhang Junyan swore brotherhood at Woniu Ridge and cooperated with the government. They needed to submit a pledge of loyalty. The county magistrate wanted them to choose one of them to be a hostage in the government dungeon.

The situation was urgent at the time, and the three men were not yet a threat. They were surrounded by the county magistrate's troops, and the only options were to be captured and beheaded or to sacrifice one of their brothers.

Left with no other choice, Yu Ying sacrificed his third brother Zhang Junyan, who was the most skilled in martial arts, leaving behind Song Ping, whose martial arts skills were average but who was good at brainwashing the bandits.

In hindsight, Yu Ying's approach was correct. Song Ping's sweet talk transformed the robbery into an act of righteousness, giving the bandits a sense of returning home.

This situation arose because the Great Yong Dynasty, under the centralized rule of Confucianism, had a rigid class system, with some suffering from drought and others from floods. This gave rise to many military men who resented the court's empty rhetoric of benevolence and morality, which judged people solely based on their family background.

Yu Ying had his own selfish reasons for handing Zhang Junyan over; he was afraid that the other party would be able to overpower him in terms of martial arts.

Wasn't Zhang Junyan in the dungeon? How did he end up mixed up with the bandit-suppressing heroes?

At this moment, Zhang Junyan held a throwing knife to the clerk's throat, his eyes blazing with rage as he stared at Yu Ying, his teeth clenched in hatred.

"Brother, it's been three years! Do you know what it's like to be a rat in the dungeon of Liuxia City?!"

Yu Ying shouted, "Junyan, don't be impulsive!"

"Junyan is dead. You made the choice, brother!"

If the clerk dies, the county magistrate will inevitably become suspicious, and then there will only be a desperate situation.

Yu Ying said bitterly, "Junyan, are we really going to kill each other? If I had chosen your second brother back then, would you have been sad?"

Zhang Junyan vented his grievances, angrily saying, "Why didn't the three of us brothers fight to the death back then!"

Yu Ying roared, "My internal energy was in disarray at the time, I couldn't win!!"

The clerk glanced at the knife tip against his neck and cautiously asked, "How did you escape from the dungeon?"

Zhang Junyan kicked the advisor's kneecap, shattering it. The latter screamed in agony and kept begging for mercy.

"Ah~ I'm just a clerk. It's all the county magistrate's idea, all the county magistrate's ideas."

Zhang Junyan ripped off a handful of the clerk's hair, tearing off a piece of scalp along with it, leaving it bloody. He suppressed the urge to slap the clerk for fear of killing him, and then ripped off another handful of hair!

The advisor was in so much pain that he was screaming and screaming, too afraid to move.

The man with the knife, Big Mouth, rushed over in a few steps, shouting angrily, "You're not playing by the rules, are you? I didn't fucking move!"

Zhang Junyan held the dagger to the advisor's neck again. "You moved!!"

Wang Dazui stopped moving: "..."

The advisor pleaded repeatedly, "Big Mouth, Big Mouth, don't move, don't move! I can't die, I really can't die! Big Mouth, there's still a chance, there's still a chance!"

The man with the blunt stick was dumbfounded. He turned his head and asked, "What do we do now? Watch them fight amongst themselves?"

This question stumped Chen Ye as well. "Let's see how it goes. It's tough for this guy to be betrayed by his own brother."

Zhang Junyan said coldly, "The antidote?!"

The clerk, trembling, took out a gourd, pleading, "Antidote, antidote..."

Zhang Junyan hooked his toes and used a clever trick to kick the gourd towards the blunt weapon.

"Master Shi, take the antidote quickly."

Men Gun was completely stunned. The other person meant well and was trying to recruit comrades for him, but Men Gun wasn't poisoned at all. Taking the antidote might be bad for his health.

He stood up with a thud and declared loudly, "This mere poison is nothing to worry about!"

Chen Ye stood up confidently, took the gourd, and tossed it to another bandit fighter. The latter weakly picked it up, opened it, poured out a few pills, and asked, "How many do you want?"

The advisor: "Two!"

Zhang Junyan roared, "You're talking nonsense!!" After saying that, he tore off another piece of the advisor's hair.

The clerk almost cried: "There really are two!! There really are two."

Feeling a bit better, Zhang Junyan said expressionlessly, "Oh, looks like there are two. Brother, eat them quickly."

Besides the two people who were just killed, among the bandits, two with low martial arts skills had already died from the poison, and four others took the antidote and used their internal energy to heal their wounds.

Seeing that Men Gun and his entourage had not taken the antidote and were still full of energy, Zhang Junyan immediately exclaimed in admiration, "Master Shi is indeed a man of great skill who does not reveal his abilities. I admire him."

He then turned to the handsome young man with long hair, "My name is Zhang Junyan, and this young man's name is..."

Chen Ye didn't speak, but nodded slightly. The four men, now cured of the poison, gathered together, gripping their weapons. They were ready to fight these bandits to the death.

Two government servants and two anti-bandit heroes stood back to back, protecting Zhang Junyan, while Men Gun and Chen Ye stood together.

Men Gun took out a submachine gun from his bag and stood warily.

Everyone noticed that Master Shi's weapon was quite unique; it was black and something none of them had ever seen before.

Yu Ying whistled loudly, and a large number of bandits emerged from the forest, numbering about seventy or eighty in total, who surrounded the group.

The advisor exclaimed in alarm, "Yu Ying, you mustn't act rashly!"

Yu Ying said in a deep voice, "Our clerk was taken hostage by the enemy. For the sake of the county magistrate and the people, he committed suicide. Brothers of Liuzi Village and Baijiao Village, heed my command! Avenge our clerk!"

The encirclement, filled with deafening shouts of battle, gradually shrank.

The group stood back to back, adopting a defensive posture, their expressions tense.

The clerk was horrified and cried out repeatedly, "I have a secret! I have a secret! Can you spare my life? I can make you the county magistrate..."

Zhang Junyan swiftly plunged the dagger into the back of the clerk's head, the blade protruding from his mouth. He then kicked the clerk to the ground, angrily shouting:

"Still lying!! Everyone, if we are lucky enough to fight our way out today, is there anyone willing to come with me to the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Demons and seek refuge with the Holy Maiden!"

Someone said, "The Holy Maiden of the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Demons is rumored to be Zhao Youzhen, the exiled princess of the Ming Dynasty. Would anyone even bother with you?"

"Zhao Youzhen was already dead during the turmoil in Yun'an City!"

"Yes, she's dead. She died outside Yun'an City!"

Zhang Junyan said in a deep voice, "Zhao Youzhen isn't dead. She's the one who saved my life from that dark prison!"

Chen Ye's heart raced, as if struck by lightning. Zhao Youzhen, Zhao Youzhen was still alive?

"Be careful!"

At that moment, an arrow pierced the air! It shot towards Zhang Junyan!

Chen Ye lunged forward, blocking Zhang Junyan's path. His true energy surged forth, and he thrust his palms forward with fierce force!

A sudden gust of wind arose like a raging tide, whipping everyone's hair and clothes into disarray, while a tiger's roar emanated from their palms, echoing across the surrounding area.

The arrow shattered instantly upon contact with the gale.

The remaining force of the palm strike surged toward the archer, the transparent air waves churning and twisting, as if it were faintly stepping into the threshold of transformation.

Yu Ying was horrified and leaped from his horse. His mount neighed and whinnied in agony, struck by the fierce wind, its body sliding backward and crashing into the mountainside, where it collapsed and died!

Zhang Junyan was shocked: "Releasing true energy outwards?! Who are you, sir?"

Chen Ye turned around. "Where is Zhao Youzhen?"

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P.S.: Requesting [monthly votes and recommendation votes]

This book has a major suspense storyline that spans two worlds. It's not just about crossing between worlds and mindlessly crushing enemies with guns, although there will be some crushing! Only a corner of this martial arts world has been revealed so far.