Chapter 37: Chapter 37
“Ghost Cane is dead!”
“How is that possible?”
The two eighth-rank fighters had barely set foot on the deck, ready to wreak havoc, when they witnessed the scene that froze their blood.
Every person on board sucked in a breath.
Ghost Cane Zhuo Buping had been a feared name in Nanyang for years — and he hadn’t lasted a single exchange against Boss Li?
“Zhuo Buping… is dead?”
Even Huang Jiuyuan couldn’t believe it.
He’d clashed with Zhuo Buping for years. He’d never imagined the man would fall this easily to a fighter barely in his twenties.
Only Yuan Hai remained unfazed. He’d watched Li Suifeng dispatch three of the Thirteen Fiends in the blink of an eye at the Lakeheart Pavilion. This was a Tuesday.
He’d long since connected the dots — Li Suifeng was almost certainly the man who’d killed Soul-Severing Blade Sun Yue and the rest of those Red Lotus Sect fighters.
But he was old, and Li Suifeng had saved his life. He’d kept his silence.
Shock? What shock?
“You—”
“Mercy!”
The two eighth-rank fighters dropped to their knees. They weren’t made of hard stuff. They weren’t even proper Divine Fist Gate members — just hired muscle Zhuo Buping had recruited over the years.
“Miss Lin — what should I do with them?”
Li Suifeng glanced at Lin Zhixu.
“Your call, Boss Li.” She shook her head.
“Then kill them all.”
He’d only asked out of courtesy. The task wasn’t marked complete yet. These men had to die.
Both men bolted for the ship’s railing, desperate to dive overboard.
FWIP!
Two pebbles split the air.
CRUNCH!
Both men stumbled at the deck’s edge and collapsed. Blood pooled beneath them, staining the planks.
【Ding!】
【Task complete!】
【72-Style Soul-Chasing Sword Art (maxed). Extract now?】
“Extract.”
By now, Li Suifeng had mapped the system’s patterns. Extracting a technique — as opposed to an internal-energy breakthrough — produced no visible signs. No one would notice a thing.
A lifetime of Soul-Chasing Sword Art mastery flooded into his mind, as though he’d practiced the art for decades.
The battle was winding down.
The remaining Divine Fist Gate fighters were all below eighth-rank. Between the ship’s crossbows and Yuan Hai, they didn’t stand a chance.
Some were cut down. Others abandoned their boats and fled.
Li Suifeng didn’t pursue. Tonight’s events couldn’t be kept quiet, but that hardly mattered. Once he returned to Nanyang, the Elder’s seat was his.
After that — the Helmsman’s chair.
And once he was Helmsman, the Divine Fist Gate would need to be dealt with. He wouldn’t tolerate a rival power sleeping on his doorstep.
The Divine Fist Gate could submit or leave Nanyang Prefecture.
No third option.
Outright annihilation, however, wasn’t practical. Getting branded as a butcher would make future expansion difficult.
Li Suifeng turned to Lin Zhixu.
“Shall we talk inside?”
“My lady!” Willow panicked.
She’d heard what Li Suifeng had said earlier. If her mistress went into the cabin with this man, it was a lamb walking into the wolf’s den.
Huang Jiuyuan stepped in front of Lin Zhixu as well.
“Uncle Huang — step aside.”
Lin Zhixu’s voice was soft.
“It’ll be fine.”
The old man sighed and moved.
Even uninjured, he couldn’t have blocked a single move from Li Suifeng.
As the two disappeared into the cabin, every Canal Gang disciple on deck watched with undisguised envy.
Boss Li was something else.
“Lucky devil,” Yuan Hai muttered.
This woman was prettier than any of the headliners he’d seen at the Lakeheart Pavilion. Boss Li was young — surely he couldn’t hold out.
…
Inside the cabin.
Li Suifeng poured Lin Zhixu a cup of tea.
“How did it come to this?”
Days ago, Lin Zhixu had been confidently planning Ba Hu’s assassination — all she’d needed was for Li Suifeng to pin down a couple of seventh-rank fighters.
Jin Buhuan had pledged his support too.
How had everything unraveled this fast?
Lin Zhixu’s already pallid face grew whiter still. She took a sip of tea before some color returned.
“You’ve probably guessed my real identity by now.”
“The former Divine Fist Gate Master’s daughter.” Li Suifeng didn’t bother pretending otherwise. “Your target was Ba Hu.”
“By rights, Ba Hu is your martial uncle. Was your father’s death his doing?”
His mind had already assembled the full picture — a ten-thousand-word jianghu blood feud, written in betrayal and ambition.
“Correct.”
Lin Zhixu nodded. “Ba Hu had Righteous Manor behind him. He lured my father to Nanzhong Prefecture under Righteous Manor’s banner, then ambushed him on the road. If Willow’s grandfather hadn’t escaped and come back to smuggle me out, I might not be alive.”
“I joined the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers afterward, hoping to use their power for my revenge.”
“But something went wrong — I still don’t know what. Today, Ba Hu suddenly struck. Uncle Jiang was killed. If Liu Zhenhe hadn’t intercepted Ba Hu outside the Divine Fist Gate’s compound, none of us would have made it this far.”
Confusion clouded her features as she spoke.
Uncle Jiang and Huang Jiuyuan’s loyalty to her was common knowledge within the sect. Ba Hu had always been wary of her master’s legacy and had stayed his hand.
Why had he suddenly dared to act?
Li Suifeng’s brow furrowed.
For the Divine Fist Gate to move this boldly — had Righteous Manor given some kind of guarantee?
Worth investigating. After all, his ambitions extended to all of Nanyang Prefecture.
【Ding!】
【Unify the Nanyang Prefecture martial world within one year!】
【Task Reward: 72-Style Evil-Repelling Sword Art (maxed).】
“What the—”
System — the reward for unifying Nanyang is worse than the Helmsman task?
And the maxed Evil-Repelling Sword Art — it’s not going to auto-castrate me upon completion, is it?
Li Suifeng nearly shot to his feet.
【System-provided martial arts are instantly mastered to peak level. Self-castration is not required.】
He exhaled.
If he lost that particular equipment, even becoming the greatest fighter alive would feel… incomplete.
While Li Suifeng had been conferring with the system, Lin Zhixu — seeing him fall silent — bit her lip. One delicate hand reached out and clasped his.
Hm?
Li Suifeng looked at her. What was this woman playing at?
“Boss Li… it seems my master’s side has been compromised. I have nowhere left to go. Could you take me in for a while…”
Her voice was honeyed silk, her hand tracing slow circles on his. She wore the look of a woman offering herself freely.
“This woman is an absolute fox.”
The Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers’ arts carried an inherent seductive quality. Combined with Lin Zhixu’s stunning beauty, even Li Suifeng felt his composure waver.
His hand closed around her waist and drew her in.
Lin Zhixu’s body settled against his chest. The softness pressing against him sent a spike of heat through his blood.
Any other man would have already lost the battle.
Blade intent surged through his body, and clarity returned to his eyes.
Chen Sanniang’s Celestial Demon Dance hadn’t worked on him. Lin Zhixu’s eighth-rank seduction arts stood no chance.
But Lin Zhixu herself was the real temptation.
“The Divine Fist Gate Master is sixth-rank.”
“Whether I take you in or not depends on your performance.”
His voice was even.
Seeing that Li Suifeng was still bargaining rather than simply taking what he wanted, Lin Zhixu actually relaxed. As long as they were negotiating, she wasn’t powerless.
Her father’s murder was still unavenged. Her sect might have been compromised. She couldn’t even flee to the Three Rivers Fortress anymore.
Li Suifeng was about to become a Nanyang Branch Elder. The Canal Gang was still Nanzhou’s foremost power. Standing with him, the Divine Fist Gate might think twice.
“I have some silver tucked away in Nanyang…”
She caught his wandering hand and murmured.
“I’m not interested in silver.” Li Suifeng’s eyes gleamed with amusement.
Lin Zhixu’s heart clenched.
She’d only meant to give him a taste — enough to secure his help. Once she’d figured out what had gone wrong, she’d be gone.
She hadn’t expected Li Suifeng to refuse the bait unless the hook came with it.
“I’m wounded. Not tonight.”
“But you’ll at least give me something to look forward to.”
He guided her head downward.
Lin Zhixu’s face burned crimson. Her body trembled. But in the end, she yielded.
Her lips parted…