ShāFēiyìng's residence was not in the main hall of the Golden Moon Alley but in the adjacent Bright Moon Alley.Almost half of the Bright Moon Alley was under ShāFēiyìng's direct control,and the elite disciples he trained were also stationed there.
On the way back from the main hall,ShāFēiyìng remained silent,leaving ShāYuándōng,who followed closely behind,exceptionally fearful.Seeing the current situation,ShāYuándōng understood that things had escalated.It had been a long time since he had seen ShāFēiyìng so serious.
Back in the courtyard of Bright Moon Alley,ShāFēiyìng instructed everyone else to leave,leaving only ShāYuándōng.
Approaching a wall,ShāFēiyìng gently turned a vase in the corner,and the wall in front of him started to rotate,revealing a secret chamber large enough for one person.
ShāYuándōng's eyes widened as he realized there was a hidden chamber here,something he had never known about.
Inside the secret chamber,there was nothing but a box,showing signs of aging.
ShāFēiyìng opened the box,revealing only a knife and a token.The knife was the Yanling Blade,with intricate patterns on its slender blade,stained with faint red marks—blood rust.The blood rust,accumulated over the years,couldn't be wiped away.
Picking up the Yanling Blade,ShāFēiyìng's thoughts seemed to return to decades ago,the days when he roamed Henan with the gang leader,living carefreely and wielding his blade.
Unfortunately,he couldn't let go of the hatred in his heart back then,insisting on returning to Changning Prefecture.After decades of struggle,he had achieved everything he dreamed of,but the Yanling Blade had been untouched for nearly ten years.
"Yuándōng,if something happens to me this time,go to Henan,find any mountain stronghold,and present this token to them.They will naturally take you to see someone who will ensure the rest of your life is worry-free."
ShāFēiyìng handed the bronze token to ShāYuándōng.The token had a simple design,devoid of unnecessary decoration.On it were two bold characters written with vigorous strokes:Taihang!Taihang Mountain's Taihang!The Taihang stronghold in Henan,the most formidable among the notorious strongholds!Taihang's thirty-six strongholds,thirty-six knife halls,tens of thousands of knife-wielding experts,at its peak,even Buddhist and Taoist sects would have to step back.
The back of the token also bore two large characters:Twenty-three,simple strokes that seemed to be carved with a knife,cold and compelling.
Seeing ShāFēiyìng speaking so seriously,ShāYuándōng couldn't help but ask,"Father,Su Xin's group is not as strong as you.They are just a bunch of nobodies.Is it necessary to make it sound so serious?"
ShāFēiyìng shook his head,"You don't understand.I am already old,and Su Xin is still young.Moreover,regardless of the outcome this time,the Feiying Gang will inevitably decline.Even if I can eliminate the unstable factors within the gang,without these major leaders and hall masters,the gang's strength will plummet to the bottom.By then,other gangs will surely have designs on us.So,keep this token.If something happens,leave immediately.As long as you reach Henan,you'll be completely safe."
There was one more thing ShāFēiyìng didn't say—he had completely given up on his son.With his personality,he couldn't control the Feiying Gang.Even if he reluctantly became the gang leader,without his intimidating presence,the final result would likely be similar to Wei Feng of the Green Bamboo Gang.
ShāFēiyìng knew he was old and wouldn't live for many more years.Therefore,he had to leave a stable path for his son.
"Let's go.Now,I will clear out the Feiying Gang for you.Whether you can secure the position of the gang leader depends on yourself."
Taking up the Yanling Blade,ShāFēiyìng walked out of the courtyard,where over a hundred carefully trained disciples were already waiting outside.The strongest among them had reached the early stages of the Second Heavenly Realm,and even the weakest had opened more than ten acupuncture points.
They were the true strongest force of the Feiying Gang.Apart from combat experience,they were much stronger than the disciples in the war halls.
Most importantly,they were loyal.Since the moment ShāFēiyìng started training them,he instilled in them one idea:their loyalty was not to the Feiying Gang but to ShāFēiyìng.
"Let's go!"
ShāFēiyìng waved his hand,and over a hundred people followed him out of the courtyard.However,as soon as they reached the main street,ShāFēiyìng felt something was amiss.
The usually bustling street was now eerily quiet,with no pedestrians in sight.Shops that were open a moment ago were all closed.
"Come out.I didn't expect you to dare strike first.Who led the charge?Lín Fúhǔwouldn't dare,Dǒng Chéngwǔhas the intention but lacks the courage,Zhuāng Líis too cautious.Among those who ambushed me at my doorstep,it can only be you."
Su Xin walked out from a corner,with LǐHuài closely following him,and Huáng Bǐngchéng leading Su Xin's subordinates had long been lying in ambush around Bright Moon Alley.
Starting from the day he accepted the mission,ShāFēiyìng had to die.There can't be two tigers on one mountain.From now on,the Feiying Gang would be surnamed Su,not Shā!
Seeing Su Xin,ShāFēiyìng sighed,"Indeed,it's you.I guessed it would be you.Do you know what I regret the most now?Regret why,when you killed Hóu Tōng back then,I didn't enforce the gang rules on you and directly crippled you!"
Su Xin's mouth curled into a slight smile,"Not just you,many people have thought the same,but unfortunately,they were all too late."
This sense of regret was not exclusive to Sha Feiying;Tiger Third Master felt it too.They were not foolish,so why did they tolerate Su Xin initially?It was simply due to the inertia of human thinking.They never anticipated that Su Xin could grow so rapidly,to a terrifying extent!
Whether Tiger Third Master or Sha Feiying,they tended to project themselves onto Su Xin when facing him.If they couldn't do something,they believed Su Xin couldn't either.Many people had this habit,but they underestimated Su Xin,and the consequences were fatal.
Sha Yuandong,standing behind Sha Feiying,shouted,"Su Xin!How dare you lay hands on the gang leader?This is simply unforgivable!"
"The emperor takes turns,this year it's my turn.Even the position of the highest authority can change at will.What does the leader of a gang count for?"Su Xin mocked.
Sha Feiying drew the Yanling Blade from his back,sternly commanding,"Stand down!"
"Come on,let's see what confidence you have to attempt murder here!"
Although he hadn't used it in a decade,the feeling of Sha Feiying's hand on the Yanling Blade was incredibly familiar.
"Buzz!"
The long blade unsheathed,and Sha Feiying dragged the blade on the ground,swiftly advancing towards Su Xin with a heavy momentum.
Su Xin squinted;Sha Feiying's movements were peculiar.Dragging the blade was typically a move used with a heavy broadsword,not with a slender and relatively lightweight blade like the Yanling Blade.
"Step back.If someone on Sha Feiying's side makes a move,you make a move too,"Su Xin instructed Li Huai.
Huang Bingcheng and his men were already hidden in the surrounding streets.Even though they were outnumbered,five hundred against one hundred,it was more than enough to wipe them out.
"Slash!"
Suddenly,Sha Feiying roared,and the Yanling Blade cleaved through the air,carrying a heavy force,pressing down on Su Xin.
A purple aura appeared in Su Xin's hand as his long sword slashed three times in quick succession,neutralizing the attack.Now he understood why Sha Feiying had that strange dragging motion earlier.This attack indeed employed the technique of a broadsword,but the power was formidable.Despite the use of the agile Yanling Blade,it carried the force of a broadsword!
However,Sha Feiying was more horrified than Su Xin realized.His previous attack,learned from a powerful knife expert in the Taihang Thirty-Six Knife Hall in Henan,was a move that placed his spirit and energy at their peak,an overwhelmingly powerful preemptive strike.
When Sha Feiying left Changning Prefecture and joined one of the Taihang Thirty-Six Strongholds in Henan,he encountered the most powerful knife experts in the entire martial world.Although the move he used was just a technique the expert taught him out of boredom,it made Sha Feiying peerless among those of the same level.
Now,that attack had been blocked by Su Xin's three consecutive sword strikes.Even the force transmitted through the Yanling Blade left his wrist tingling.
Sha Feiying was stunned,but Su Xin was not idle.His internal energy,driven by the Purple Haze Divine Art,continuously attached itself to the long sword,creating a faint purple shadow as he thrust it towards Sha Feiying's neck.
"Ding ding,"two sounds rang out as Sha Feiying's Yanling Blade swept horizontally.The continuous and unbroken force overwhelmed Su Xin's long sword,dispersing the attack.Su Xin,however,remained calm and agile,taking advantage of his quick swordplay.
After just one round of combat,Su Xin had already identified Sha Feiying's weakness.He was too old,and his vitality was on the decline,while Su Xin was like the rising sun,constantly advancing.
Although the Purple Haze Divine Art was mainly for neutralizing foreign energies and had limited assistance in combat,the internal energy it cultivated was dozens of times more powerful than Su Xin's previous energy.
Moreover,Su Xin had now reached the first level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art,and in terms of pure strength,he was not much inferior to a peak Second Heavenly Realm cultivator;in fact,he might be even stronger.
In the ongoing battle,Su Xin and Sha Feiying were surprisingly evenly matched,with Su Xin not falling behind.Sha Feiying had rich combat experience,having dealt with disciples from major sects in his early years when he roamed the martial world.However,Su Xin immediately sensed the danger at the beginning of the skirmish and changed his tactics.
Sha Feiying felt something was amiss in Su Xin's agile swordplay,immediately switching his tactics.He swung the Yanling Blade like a raging storm,sweeping towards Su Xin!
A powerful pressure swept over,and Su Xin swiftly retreated.No matter how fast the sword was,there still needed to be an opportunity to strike.Right now,Sha Feiying obviously didn't want to give him any chances!
