Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 198: It’s Hard to Avoid Direct Attacks

Perhaps hooligans in other places wouldn’t draw Chu Tianyu’s attention at all, but Dali was a different story. Moreover, the situation this time was quite strange. Usually, it was those hooligans who started trouble first; it was rare for ordinary people to bully them, especially when it came to one person facing a group of them. Clearly, this situation indicated something unusual.

So Chu Tianyu immediately greeted his senior brother and signaled him to go take a look. If it was a minor issue, they could let them resolve it on their own. If the person was a cultivator, they might be able to mediate, as Chu Tianyu still owed them a favor from the Tianmo Sect.

If Tianmo Sect’s Wei Yanqing knew of Chu Tianyu’s plan, he would surely exclaim three times “Long live!”—not for Chu Tianyu, but for his wise decision at that moment.

There were no other people around those hooligans. Ordinary people kept their distance from them, assuming they were just fighting among themselves. Who would have thought that these usually arrogant hooligans could be bullied by others?

As Chu Tianyu and his senior brother approached, they heard intense conversations between the two sides.

“One last chance for you. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” said a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression, his voice deep and hoarse.

“Friend, what are you talking about? We don’t know anything. We’re just ordinary hooligans trying to make a living. We’re convinced by what that guy just showed us, but we really don’t know anything about the Tianmo Sect or the Dima Sect. We’re not filming martial arts dramas…” said one of the thirty-year-old hooligans in a slick manner.

“You’re the ringleader?” the man asked, frowning slightly, showing signs of impatience.

That hooligan had been in the criminal world for years. While he might not be good at anything else, he was an expert at reading people and judging situations—otherwise, he wouldn’t have become the leader of this area. He knew that the man’s questions implied he might attack him soon. After all, the old saying holds true: to catch a thief, catch its leader first.

So the hooligan quickly tried to defuse the situation with jokes: “No. I’m not the ringleader. We’re just a few friends hanging out, hehe, just having fun…”

“Known as Razor, his real name is Li Qiufu. He is the second-in-command of the Tianmo Gate and is responsible for all intelligence gathering and external defense in this area. He is a man of meticulous thinking. Unattractive in appearance, he is good at hiding. His martial skills are average, but he excels at assassination, and he’s quite skilled with a tiger claw dagger…” The middle-aged man spoke calmly, yet his gaze was cold as he fixed it on the leader of the gangsters.

Hearing this, the gangster didn’t wait for him to continue and immediately replied, “It seems you’ve come prepared. Indeed, I am Li Qiufu. Just call me Razor. But to your question just now, I still say the same thing—I know nothing!”

Clearly, Razor and his gang had suffered a great loss before this, otherwise they wouldn’t be so low-key. Looking at the underlings behind Razor, although each of them was skilled in martial arts, they didn’t dare breathe loudly, staring at the middle-aged man with wariness.

“Actually, I admire you guys from Tianmo Gate. On my way here, just to find out your whereabouts and situation, I crushed the throats of nineteen people…”

Before he could finish speaking, two burly men with strong muscles behind Razor roared and rushed out to either side, unleashing fierce punches at the middle-aged man.

Although Razor was also filled with anger, facing this man, he knew every word he said wasn’t a threat. His eighteen brothers, not including the traitor who revealed his location, were all brave. And he didn’t think the one who betrayed him would end up well—surely that traitor was among the nineteen.

But now wasn’t the time for impulsiveness. From the moment this man appeared, his aura had enveloped all of their brothers—a killing intent that he could sense. For the other brothers, it might have just been an instinctive feeling that he was someone best not to provoke.

So when they heard their brothers in danger, two of them, driven by rage, rushed forward without hesitation to attack. But the outcome was obvious—chances of survival were slim. Because at that moment, they could already see the middle-aged man’s mocking smile and the killing intent in his eyes.

At this point, even if he knew how formidable that middle-aged man was and that they might perish here tonight, they would still fight to the death. So as the two brothers charged forward, Shaver wasn’t idle either—he gritted his teeth, gave a quick command, and simultaneously made a feinting strike with his hand. Coupling this with the attacks from his two companions, he crouched low and stabbed at the middle-aged man’s lower body. Their only hope now was to rely on their numbers, using their usual tactic of overwhelming the opponent, to seize one last chance.

The brothers behind him and their leader had long worked together, so they understood the leader’s intentions perfectly. They too drew weapons like pipes or chains and joined the attack.

These men, who could follow Shaver, were far from ordinary thugs; some of them even possessed considerable martial skills. In particular, the two giants who had attacked earlier emitted a low rumbling sound from their punches, showing immense strength. Having fought countless battles, they were skilled in combat. An ordinary martial artist might not be able to withstand such ruthless attacks.

Yet the opponent they faced was clearly no ordinary martial artist. Faced with the fierce attacks from all sides, the middle-aged man didn’t retreat but advanced instead. He shifted to the right, moving like a ghost before everyone could react. A few soft thuds were heard, followed by cries of shock.

After the chaos, when Shaver retracted his stabbing hand, he noticed two extra people in the scene. One of them was a muscular young man with extraordinary explosive strength and a wild aura, yet he seemed unburdened at all. He was holding the middle-aged man’s throat tightly with one hand. It seemed, just as the middle-aged man had said, his windpipe could be crushed at any moment—revenge indeed came swiftly!

The other man, in his forties, stood aside with an air of serenity, a kind smile on his face as he stroked his beard and watched them.

On their side, the two giants who had attacked first were slumped on the ground, clutching their throats and coughing violently, clearly suffering from the severe punishment they had just endured. The other henchmen stood frozen behind them, still in their attacking stance.

Shaver was momentarily stunned. If this scene had happened the other way around—them being choked by that young man—it would have made more sense.

After all, in his opinion, those two extra people seemed utterly righteous. Although the young man had a fierce look and an intimidating aura that made one feel uneasy, his years of experience told him he definitely belonged to the category of so-called righteous people. As for the other figure, who seemed to belong to the xianxia genre, there was no need to say more. Moreover, in Razor’s view, anyone who looked righteous was generally their enemy, at least in their subconscious.

But the world today was truly chaotic. Everything had been turned upside down—a sinister-looking guy was actually shouting at them to fight, while two seemingly righteous passersby stepped in to help.

“Uh, um, may I ask how you two gentlemen are called?” It took Razor a while to react. He asked tentatively, not knowing what to say.

“Are you disciples of the Tianmo Sect?” Hearing this, the young man flicked his hand lightly, throwing the middle-aged man to the side. After glancing at the man who was knocked unconscious on the spot, he slowly raised his head and looked at Razor instead of answering.

“Yes, yes!” Faced with Chu Tianyu’s seemingly casual question, Razor felt an aura of unspoken authority that made his heart tremble. He answered immediately without hesitation.

“What was this man forcing you to confess just now?” Although Chu Tianyu had intervened, he hadn’t used excessive force. He knew something about the Tianmo Sect—having heard some general details when he first approached, and judging from the middle-aged man’s appearance, he wasn’t a good person either. But to be safe, he decided to ask more carefully, to avoid doing anything that would aid the villains. After all, his relationship with the Tianmo Sect didn’t affect his values or standards of conduct.

Razor had never been a coward, even when facing that middle-aged man. He knew he was outmatched but showed no fear. Yet now, just a few casual questions from the young man sent shockwaves through him, making him blurt out the truth as if the young man were his boss.

“He asked where the sect leader was. Recently, it seems our Tianmo Sect has encountered some enemies who are in large numbers and all of them are cultivators. Several of our branches have been attacked, and many of our brothers have been killed. That’s why the sect leader ordered all of us outer sect disciples to hide and maintain only minimal contact with a few branch leaders. Today, I received a call from one of my subordinates saying there was important information, so I brought a few of them here. Unexpectedly, we fell into that middle-aged man’s trap…” Razor spoke with a trembling voice, explaining the whole situation.

Chu Tianyu didn’t pay much attention to Razor’s expression. He merely frowned upon hearing this and muttered to himself, “Who has enough strength to trouble the Tianmo Sect?”

Thinking of this, he glanced at the unconscious middle-aged man lying on the ground and naturally ordered, “Take care of this place for now. Find a way to wake him up and ask him where he’s from.”

“Okay, guys, carry this man back. Have two of you check on Zuo Biao and Feng Quan to see if they’re okay…” After giving these instructions, Razor was surprised—he was so obedient, doing whatever that young man said!

Razor’s brothers carried the still-unconscious middle-aged man and turned a few corners down the street until they arrived at a shop selling small goods.

Inside, it was quite spacious. Razor remained cautious around Chu Tianyu and Liu Xiangshi. No longer intimidated by Chu Tianyu’s presence, his mind became more active. He wasn’t sure whether these two were friends or enemies, but so far, they hadn’t shown any hostility. Moreover, given the terrifying strength displayed by that young man, it seemed unnecessary to be indirect or use any schemes.

Out of professional habit, Razor still subconsciously tried to probe their identities, though in a subtle way. Chu Tianyu saw through Razor’s thoughts clearly. He turned slightly toward him and smiled, saying, “You don’t need to guess. I have some connection to your Tianmo Sect. What happened today was just out of curiosity—I overstepped my bounds…”

Before Chu Tianyu could finish, Razor quickly interjected, “How could you say that? To you, it might be a trivial matter, but for us brothers, it’s a life-saving grace! You’ve done great, really great!”

Chu Tianyu wasn’t fazed by the flattery aimed at Razor. With a gentle wave of his hand, he said, “Enough. Let’s stop talking about trivial matters. Wake this man up and find out his intentions. After all, if we’re curious, we should see it through to the end, right?”
“Sure. I’ll have someone handle it right away!” Saying this, Razor ordered someone to bring some cold water and pour it on the middle-aged man’s face to wake him up.
Taking this opportunity, Chu Tianyu asked in detail about the recent situation at the Tianmo Sect. Razor didn’t hide anything about this. It was simply that they had been bullied by others, leaving the Tianmo Sect in a state of constant fear, especially for those frontline fighters who felt their lives were at risk every day.
“Do you know which faction it is?” Liu Xiangshi, who had remained silent until then, suddenly asked.
Razor glanced at Chu Tianyu. Seeing no reaction from him, he replied respectfully to Liu Xiangshi, “Our subordinates aren’t entirely sure either. But it seems to be some kind of Chanchan Sect…”
“Chanchan Sect?” Before he could finish, Chu Tianyu interrupted with a frown.
“Yes, that’s right—Chanchan Sect! A friend of mine at the headquarters said they seem to be here for revenge, claiming that our Tianmo Sect ruined their plans. It’s completely unfounded! We don’t even know what these thugs want from our Tianmo Sect!” As he spoke, Razor couldn’t hide his anger, speaking with righteous indignation.
His tone made Chu Tianyu laugh silently. When had the members of the Tianmo Sect ever felt wronged or bullied? After all, they were known for their dominance, as seen in their last trip to Motuo…
However, Chu Tianyu thought carefully about the information Razor provided. He was well aware of the feud between the Tianmo Sect and the Chanchan Sect. He had been acting as a minor servant back then and had secretly intervened, casually mentioning the Tianmo Sect. He never expected such a coincidence—there really was a Tianmo Sect, and it had even been in Motuo at that time!
But Chu Tianyu still had some doubts. Given the strength of the Chanchan Sect, it seemed unlikely they could surpass the Tianmo Sect, let alone come as boldly as they did to their doorstep.

To know the strength of the Cold Cicada Sect, at least from the encounter that night, it was far inferior to that of the Heavenly Demon Sect. The reason they could trouble the Heavenly Sound Sect was because the cultivation techniques of the two sects were inherently incompatible, allowing them to show off in front of the Heavenly Sound Sect. But compared to other sects, they had no advantages at all. Could there be some other story behind this?

Just as he was thinking this, a noise came from inside the room. The middle-aged man who had been thrown against the wall by Chu Tianyu and knocked unconscious finally woke up. To be on the safe side, Razor’s men tied him tightly, layer after layer, fearing he might suddenly turn violent upon waking. They had just experienced the extent of his strength—had it not been for those two strangers, they might have already had their throats shattered and joined their dozen or so fellow sect members who had died first.

“What’s your name? Who are you exactly? And what’s your intention in spying on the Heavenly Demon Sect?” As the man gradually regained his senses, Chu Tianyu asked clearly, emphasizing each word.

The middle-aged man glared at Chu Tianyu with hatred, gritting his teeth and refusing to say a word. His hatred was beyond compare—how could such a terrifying guy appear out of nowhere, ruining his plans and forcing him into this situation?

As soon as he woke up, those thugs had already taken the opportunity to tie him up and secretly dealt him a few brutal blows, causing him great suffering.

Chu Tianyu stared straight into his eyes without any hesitation, his expression growing colder. “I give you three seconds to answer my questions!”

After saying that, Chu Tianyu casually counted, “3, 2, 1… Die!” Before the words faded, he simply raised his arm, and a gust of wind instantly struck the middle-aged man’s face.

With a loud “boom,” the previously silent wind, upon touching the man’s face, seemed to unleash some unimaginable force, instantly shattering his head!

Faced with Chu Tianyu’s sudden and unexpected move, not only Razor’s men but even his senior brother Liu Xiangshi were stunned, thinking Chu Tianyu had lost control of his energy and something unexpected had happened.

But Chu Tianyu’s expression didn’t seem to indicate that anything had happened; he remained calm as ever. Yet the more calm he was, the more terrified Razor became. He had seen many killings, but he had never witnessed someone killing so abruptly, without any warning. Even their Tianmo Sect, though wild and evil, didn’t act like this—when they wanted to kill someone or steal something, they would at least shout a slogan first to boost their morale before acting.

After knocking out the middle-aged man with a punch, Chu Tianyu calmly said to Razor, “Use the fastest method to contact your sect leader. Tell him it’s an old acquaintance from Motuo—Chu Tianyu wants to see him! Now, you can leave! Oh, and take care of this man’s body as well!”

Without waiting for Razor’s reaction, he took his senior brother aside, clearly wanting to talk to him. Razor and his men exchanged confused looks, unsure whose territory or branch this was.

However, aside from their reaction time, Razor and his men stayed in the room for no more than three seconds. Why three seconds? Clearly, Chu Tianyu’s counting earlier still deeply shocked them.

Chu Tianyu, who remained behind, quickly explained before his senior brother could ask, “Senior brother, the reason I didn’t give him another chance just now is because I already knew his identity. There was a mark on his sleeve—the unique symbol of the Fake Soul Organization I mentioned to you on the road. They are all death warriors; asking them is pointless. This matter doesn’t seem to be a simple case of revenge. With the Fake Souls involved, nothing good can come of it. Senior brother, why don’t we get involved? After all, that Hanchan Sect isn’t any good either—they have a deep grudge against my beloved teacher, Xue Feifei!”

Chu Tianyu spoke at length, obviously aiming to persuade his senior brother, Liu Xiangshi, to agree to his request. In fact, Liu Xiangshi also knew that even if he wanted to stop this, he couldn’t. Still, he was a bit worried about Chu Tianyu’s approach. Even if asking was pointless, killing an important hostage mercilessly just because of that wasn’t right!

But then Liu Xiangshi thought that he and Chu Tianyu had always practiced in the mountains and hadn’t experienced real society or normal conflicts, so this incident could be seen as another test—to see how Chu Tianyu would behave and if any other unusual situations would arise.

Just then, Razor suddenly broke in through the door. The two were puzzled as to how he had suddenly become so bold, but they soon found out the answer.
Razor said in a panicked, stuttering voice, “No, something’s wrong! Esteemed masters, whether you’re friends of our Tianmo Sect or not, I can no longer ask for your help. I just received the latest news from the headquarters—there’s a traitor, the sect leader and his men have been surrounded, and the entire headquarters is under fierce attack. I must take my brothers there right away to reinforce them…”
…
At a private villa in the suburbs, the sounds of fighting had gradually faded. Countless men in black had entered the villa and, in the spacious courtyard, surrounded Tianmo Sect member Wei Yanqing and his few loyal subordinates. Many other Tianmo Sect disciples were collapsed on the ground, clearly unable to move or fight.
“Ha ha, the once-arrogant Tianmo Sect is just this good, isn’t it? What so-called ‘Demonic Battles’ or ‘Ghost Kings’—they’re completely vulnerable! With such weak skills, they still dare to confront our Hanchan Sect? You must be tired of living!” said a man in his forties, stepping on a Tianmo Sect disciple below while another cried out in pain.
“You wretched scoundrels of Hanchan Sect! Our Tianmo Sect has never had any grudges against you in the past or now. Why must you start killing? Even if all of us die in battle, we won’t let you go as ghosts!” Wei Yanqing shouted, clutching his wound on his chest.
“Damn it, if it weren’t for you ruining my plans in Motuo, I wouldn’t have to…” He stopped mid-sentence, glancing back at someone behind him out of caution, before changing the subject. “There’s no point in talking to you. Die!” With that, he waved his hand, signaling the men in black on both sides to attack at once.
But just then, a loud howl suddenly rang out, followed by a black figure shooting forward like lightning. As soon as the howl faded, a voice rang out instantly: “Take this punch from your grandfather!”
In the blink of an eye, faced with this sudden attack from the dark figure, the Hanchan Sect member who spoke didn’t dare to be careless. He gathered all his strength and countered back…