Clap! Clap! Clap!
The sound of applause, drawing closer from afar.
A tall, burly figure strode forward.
He was unarmed, his muscles bulging so powerfully they stretched the ill-fitting uniform of the Sin Ward Commander to its limits.
Though he merely clapped lightly, the sound shook the entire long street.
Even without any other movement, it seemed the whole street swayed with his every step.
Zhu Weiwo gripped the spear shaft, eyes lifting slightly to look straight at the man.
The enforcer of order in this Unredeemable City was naturally the Sin Ward.
The Vice Commander of the Sin Ward was Lian Heng, at the peak of the Soaring Dragon realm.
And the burly man who had appeared now was none other than the Sin Ward Commander, Kui Shan!
He approached, ceased his applause, and regarded Zhu Weiwo with keen interest. "A young man has the capital to be ignorant of the rules."
"I'll give you a chance," he said. "Pay the ransom for these four, and I'll let you go."
Zhu Weiwo didn't need to ask to know what an astronomical sum the life-gold ransom for the four Bone Masks of the Bone Path would be. And magnifying that figure ten thousand times would be a number any power would find painful.
The Unredeemable City had amassed untold wealth over the years through this system of life-gold ransoms.
But regardless, the State of Zhuang could never pay such a price. There was no reason for paying money to hunt down one's own national traitors—no argument could justify it.
Even if the State of Zhuang were ultimately willing to pay, it would never be to pursue those four Bone Path Bone Masks, but only to ransom Zhu Weiwo himself.
But Zhu Weiwo wouldn't ask either.
"No," he said flatly.
"No?" Kui Shan seemed not to have heard clearly. "Can't pay, or won't pay?"
"Can't pay, and won't pay."
"Listen here, boy—are you treating this place like the State of Zhuang?" Kui Shan's expression darkened. "If your Zhuang's Du Ruhui came in person, this Commander might give him some respect. But what are you?"
The Emperor of Zhuang was the true ruler of the State of Zhuang, and also its strongest current combatant.
But to the world at large, when the State of Zhuang was mentioned, the name that inspired the most widespread fame and fear was still Du Ruhui.
This was an authority forged by the passage of time, impossible to simply transfer.
Zhu Weiwo merely continued to gaze at him quietly, his eyes devoid of either fear or timidity. "Giving some respect is fine. But if you met Chancellor Du, you would be dead."
"Arrogant!" Kui Shan took a single step forward. "If you can survive my three punches without dying, what does it matter if I spare your life?"
His fist hammered down with the force of a collapsing mountain and shattering boulder.
Zhu Weiwo's grip tightened. Using the point where his spear tip pierced the ground as a fulcrum, the paving stones flipped up in a long line, like a green dragon soaring into the sky.
"Then let us fight with everything we have! What is there to fear?"
The green flagstones connected into a great green dragon, resembling an enormous spear thrust from where Zhu Weiwo stood towards Kui Shan at the other end.
Boom!
Kui Shan's fist hammered down. Where it struck, the flagstones imbued with Zhu Weiwo's Dao essence spear energy shattered into powder.
A trail of dust fell as Kui Shan closed in.
He had punched clean through the massive flagstone spear, his momentum undiminished.
And the tip of the Candle-Burning Spear was already pressed against the surface of his fist.
Kui Shan halted.
Crack!
Zhu Weiwo stamped down, shattering the flagstones beneath his foot as he sank into the ground.
The immense force bent the entire spear nearly in half.
Then the spear sprang back, and Zhu Weiwo was forced backward involuntarily.
Using his rear foot as the center, the green bricks shattered and flew, carving a deep trench in the ground.
With a single punch, Kui Shan had sent Zhu Weiwo flying from one end of the long street to the other.
The Sin Ward Commander of the Unredeemable City walked the path of a pure martial artist.
Moreover, he was a martial powerhouse who had reached the fifteenth heavenly layer, comparable to a cultivator of the Inner Fane realm.
Zhu Weiwo swung his spear, long hair falling across his forehead. "Again!"
His voice had just fallen when—
Clang!
Zhu Weiwo held the spear horizontally before him, but Kui Shan's punch had already struck the spear shaft, bending it into an arc. The force continued through the shaft and slammed into Zhu Weiwo's chest, sending him hurtling upward.
Crack.
Zhu Weiwo heard the clear sound of his breastbone fracturing, the broken bone even piercing into his lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
His body was like drifting fluff, as if weightless.
The crowd watching the battle all raised their eyes as Kui Shan's second punch sent the arrogant young man hurtling high into the sky.
Those with poor eyesight could only see a tiny black dot in the distance above.
Dead, perhaps? Some thought.
"Will... there even be a whole body left?" someone asked aloud.
Those living in the Unredeemable City all knew the strength of Sin Ward Commander Lian Heng, but few had ever seen Kui Shan in action.
Moreover, he was one who had overturned the conventional cultivation system, a powerhouse on the martial path.
Compared to the vast majority of extraordinary cultivators, those who walked this path were destined for a difficult journey. Because to this day, no one had successfully traversed this road to its end. Whether it was the Dao, Confucianism, or any other school, there were those who had reached the pinnacle. But no one could prove that continuing onward in the direction of pure martial arts truly led anywhere.
Because of the rarity of such martial powerhouses, a battle scene like this was incredibly precious to all onlookers.
At that moment, people heard a sound.
Violent, scorching—what was that sound rushing closer through the air?
Everyone looked up at the sky.
The small black dot high above had turned into a red dot.
The person sent hurtling upward was ablaze like a human torch.
And that human torch twisted in midair, spear tip pointing downward.
A counter-thrust from the sky towards Kui Shan!
Zhu Weiwo was not only still alive—he had chosen to fight back.
This spear was like burning firewood, its fuel unspent after thirty years.
This man was Zhu Weiwo, one who had never lost to anyone in his life!
This thrust was incomparably scorching, incomparably violent.
Man and spear became one.
The sun was behind him.
He seemed to become a new sun.
At this moment, the light was blinding. At this moment, the heat and brilliance were infinite.
Kui Shan stamped down, the ground sinking several meters.
Using that force, he punched upward to meet the charge.
Even as powerful as Kui Shan, this was the first time he had used the ground's force to power his punch. Even a powerhouse like him, facing such a dazzling spear from Zhu Weiwo, felt the pressure.
Fist and spear collided in midair.
Zhu Weiwo descended from above, Kui Shan rose from below.
Sound itself was annihilated for a brief instant.
Kui Shan landed. Zhu Weiwo flipped and drifted to a position opposite him.
He said nothing, only lightly wiping the blood from the corner of his lips.
The onlookers all held their breath instinctively.
Because three punches had passed...
And Zhu Weiwo was still alive.
Kui Shan was about to speak when he suddenly heard a familiar female voice in his ear.
"The dignity of the Unredeemable City brooks no provocation. Hold nothing back. Kill him."
He didn't hesitate. "Apologies, but I must break our agreement. You must die here."
Compared to the command of Sin Lord Huang Jinmo, his personal honor and disgrace were insignificant.
Regardless of what the onlookers thought in their hearts.
Zhu Weiwo actually smiled. "I said you needn't hold back."
"I respect the rules of this place. I came here empty-handed to kill, and I'm prepared to die here."
"Come and kill me then—give it everything you have, hold nothing back."
"If you fail to kill me this time, I won't seek revenge for it later. So, don't hold back. You must give it your absolute all."
He looked at Kui Shan, his fighting spirit soaring.
His attitude was not that of the weak challenging the strong, but rather filled with a defiant, overwhelming boldness.
"If you don't give it your all, how can you be worthy of the Candle-Burning Spear in my hand?"
Kui Shan clenched both fists, his entire body's bones cracking.
"Clear the area," he said.
Vice Commander Lian Heng immediately led his men and cleared the entire long street, leaving not a single onlooker behind.
When the clearing was done.
Kui Shan looked at the young man standing alone with his spear. "Zhu Weiwo—I will remember your name."
"You deserve my full and absolute respect."
---
At the same moment, in a mining camp courtyard ten thousand miles away.
Jiang Chen sat cross-legged, gazing quietly outside the hut.
The sudden downpour he had been waiting for...
Finally came pouring down.