Luo Zhen's strength exceeded Su Xin's expectations.
Su Xin speculated that Luo Zhen had opened at least seventy acupoints,nearing the breakthrough to the late-stage Houtian!
"Kid,no wonder Daichong died at your hands.His death wasn't in vain,"Luo Zhen's eyes revealed a sense of admiration.
Although Luo Zhen currently had the upper hand in suppressing Su Xin,Su Xin's defense was formidable,and he was only slightly at a disadvantage.
Considering Su Xin's age and the length of time Luo Zhen had practiced martial arts compared to Su Xin's years,Luo Zhen felt no pride in his achievement.
At this point in the battle,a fighting spirit ignited within Luo Zhen.He shouted loudly,and his wrought-iron spear thrust out,making five rapid points within a small range,resembling a sea dragon emerging.It lunged towards Su Xin!
"Soul-Locking Spear's Hidden Dragon Emerges!"
The sharp sound of metal echoed,Su Xin retreated several steps,and his hands felt numb.
This was the first time Su Xin had witnessed someone mastering spear techniques to this extent.
In Su Xin's evaluation,Luo Zhen's spear technique was at most a one-star level,even inferior to his advanced Daosheng Sword Style.However,Luo Zhen had truly mastered this spear technique,and his proficiency had reached one hundred percent.
While Su Xin had somewhat overlooked the importance of proficiency before,today he witnessed the terrifying aspect of a martial skill with one hundred percent proficiency.
Setting aside the difference in internal strength,this one-star Soul-Locking Spear completely suppressed Su Xin's one-and-a-half-star Daosheng Sword Style.
Now Su Xin understood why the system included consumable items as an option.
A martial skill with one hundred percent proficiency compared to one with only five percent proficiency was like night and day.
"Nine Heavens Thunderfall!"
Luo Zhen roared,leaping into the air.His wrought-iron spear,like thunder,crashed down towards the ground.
Su Xin dodged,and the spearhead forcefully plunged into the bluestone slab on the ground,shattering the five-finger-thick stone.
"Opportunity!"
Su Xin directly hurled his heavy sword at Luo Zhen and,with a thin sword at his waist,pounced towards Luo Zhen along the trajectory of the long spear.
Ducking to avoid the heavy sword,Luo Zhen,holding the spear with one hand,immediately retreated.
One inch longer,one inch stronger,one inch shorter,one inch riskier.Those using long weapons feared close combat the most.
The long spear continued to shake,but Su Xin,like a persistent maggot,pressed against the long spear,forcing Luo Zhen to retract it and hold it horizontally in front of him.
Even Huang Bingcheng could see now that Luo Zhen had made a strategic mistake.
The advantage of long weapons lies in distance.Now,with Luo Zhen holding the spear horizontally for defense,the advantage of distance was lost.Swinging the wrought-iron spear horizontally seemed awkward and clumsy!
However,as bystanders,they didn't understand the pressure Luo Zhen was currently under.
Jing Wuming's swift sword was the purest killing weapon—a single strike to kill,a single move to defeat the enemy.
Su Xin's sword,unused but menacing,exuded a powerful killing intent and intimidation.It made Luo Zhen's heart pound as if Su Xin's sword could pierce out at any moment.
If Su Xin had attacked directly,Luo Zhen wouldn't be so tense,but Su Xin concealed this lethal move in his hand,which was despicable.
The sheathed sword is the deadliest!
Unable to withstand such immense pressure,Luo Zhen,who had switched to defensive mode with his spear,now faced Su Xin's swift attack.In the blink of an eye,Su Xin's left-hand sword stabbed at his chest!
Luo Zhen withdrew the spear and stepped back.Holding the middle of the wrought-iron spear,he swept it forward directly.If this blow landed,with the powerful force of the wrought-iron spear,it could have smashed Su Xin's head!
Huang Bingcheng exclaimed,but Li Huai breathed a sigh of relief,saying,"The boss won."
"Huh?"Huang Bingcheng turned to look at Li Huai in surprise.
By now,the outcome had already been decided during the split second Huang Bingcheng turned around.
Luo Zhen's spear didn't smash Su Xin's head,and Su Xin's sword didn't pierce Luo Zhen's chest.
In the final moment,Luo Zhen executed a somersault,his body bending abruptly.The thin sword only managed to scratch his clothes.
Looking at the torn clothes on his chest,Luo Zhen smiled bitterly,"I said,young man,can't you dodge?I already said we're fighting for victory,so why insist on life and death?
If I hadn't dodged just now,the final result would have been me smashing your head,and you killing me with a single sword."
Su Xin shook his head,"No,you're wrong.My sword is faster than you think."
Luo Zhen smiled bitterly and shook his head,"Alright,you win.Yongle Alley is yours."
With that,Luo Zhen slung his long spear and,along with his brothers,briskly turned away.However,as he turned,he muttered,"Are all young people nowadays so vigorous?Impressive."
"Boss is mighty!"Huang Bingcheng cheered loudly,and other gang members joined in the excited shouts.
Before,they had only heard about scenes like this in storytelling,never expecting to witness a real-life version today.
For these rookies in martial arts,the duel between Su Xin and Luo Zhen was quite spectacular.
After the cheers,Huang Bingcheng walked to Su Xin's side and asked in confusion,"Boss,did that guy really leave?He has six or seven hundred men under him;he could easily swallow us.Did he leave just because he lost a fight?Could there be some trap?"
"No need to worry.Luo Zhen's goal is simple;he doesn't want to fight unnecessary battles.Although I have just over a hundred men now,if Luo Zhen wanted to take us down,he would have to risk significant losses.
He's a straightforward and idealistic person.With his strength,he could compete for the position of the third deputy gang leader in the Green Bamboo Gang.But,considering his personality,he can only be a boss.Even then,it's only because of his decent strength and the absence of any rebellious intentions.
Su Xin doesn't agree with Luo Zhen's approach.He considers his men as brothers,carrying everything for them.However,in the end,he can only cultivate a bunch of useless individuals.
If Luo Zhen dies,his subordinates will likely scatter,and those who survive will have a worse fate than before.
Moreover,what he's doing now is like creating a small faction within the Green Bamboo Gang.It's strange to think that the old leader of the Green Bamboo Gang would promote him.
Given Luo Zhen's character,he can only be a big boss for the rest of his life.This is considering his good strength and the absence of rebellious intentions.
"Boss Huang,have someone take over Yongle Alley.I need to go back and rest a bit,"Su Xin handed his thin sword to Huang Bingcheng.
The intense clash with the iron spear had left Su Xin's hands numb,and even his tiger's mouth had some cracks.Now that the battle was over,he even lacked the strength to hold the sword.
"Boss,you can rest assured with me in charge,"Huang Bingcheng assured,patting his chest.He also had Li Huai escort Su Xin back.
This was a critical moment in the gang war.If,by any chance,an assassin from the Green Bamboo Gang appeared,Su Xin,in his current state,would be in trouble.
Although the probability was extremely low,it was better to be cautious.
Back home,seeing that Xin'er had already gone to sleep,Su Xin didn't disturb her.Instead,he went to the side room and slept for the night.
Today's battle not only brought Su Xin combat experience but also unexpectedly helped him open an acupoint.
"During a battle,blood circulation accelerates,and the frequent mobilization of internal force is faster than breakthroughs in bitter cultivation during the later stage of the Houtian."
Now Su Xin understood why Tiger Third and the others,despite their old age,hadn't broken through to the later stages of the Houtian.
One reason was their aptitude,and the other was their comfortable lifestyle.They rarely engaged in physical combat,relying solely on bitter cultivation,resulting in average progress.
The next morning,while Su Xin was still asleep,he heard urgent knocking on the door.He could vaguely hear Huang Bingcheng's voice.
Su Xin glanced at the sky;it was just beginning to brighten.If it weren't for something significant,Huang Bingcheng wouldn't have disturbed him at this hour.
Putting on clothes and opening the door,Su Xin saw Huang Bingcheng with dark circles under his eyes and quickly said,"Boss,something's wrong!Our men have clashed with Tang Taihan!"
Su Xin frowned,"What exactly happened?Take it slow.Who is this Tang Taihan?"
Huang Bingcheng took a breath,then slowly recounted the whole story.
Tang Taihan was a small leader under Tiger Third,somewhat favored by him,commanding more than two hundred men.
After Su Xin left,Huang Bingcheng and his men scattered to take control of the entire Yongle Alley.
Several gang members wanted to take over the territory near Shunyi Alley,only to find it occupied by Tang Taihan and his people.
The territory that their boss had fought so hard for,Tang Taihan's group just came in,occupied it,and ignored them.How could such a good thing happen in the world?
Those gang members went up to argue,only to be beaten by Tang Taihan,and their men were detained.
Knowing the news,Huang Bingcheng didn't dare to tell Li Huai,fearing that his violent temper might lead to direct killings.So,he brought his people to find Su Xin.
One Tang Taihan might not be a big deal,but with Tiger Third behind him,Huang Bingcheng had to be careful.
After listening to Huang Bingcheng's narration,Su Xin's mouth revealed a cold smile.
Did they really think he,Su Xin,was someone they could trample on at will?He dared to come here and tread on him?
"Boss Huang,don't worry about those territories for now.Gather our men for me.I want to see who this favored little leader of my adoptive father is and what he's made of."
