Chapter 56: The Thorny Protective Armor!

What a fierce and formidable saber technique!
Could this Murong Fu truly be another transmigrator?
Zhang Fang frowned behind his mask, a lingering sense of dissonance gnawing at his mind, though he could not quite pinpoint where the issue lay. With the lethal onslaught bearing down upon him, he simply abandoned his musings, stepped forward with his shield raised high, and shouted to Ah Zi, "Use whatever poisons or hidden weapons you have left! Don't worry about hitting me by mistake."

With the arrival of Yan Shanhe, the previous matchups—Zhang Fang versus Bao Butong, and Ah Zi versus Feng Bo'e—were instantly shattered, devolving into a chaotic group melee.
After trading just a few blows, opponents would frequently shift due to the changing dynamics of the battlefield, turning the scene into absolute pandemonium.
It was precisely under such conditions that the tactical synergy of Zhang Fang’s duo truly shone.
While the enemy side consisted of three offensive warriors, Zhang Fang’s team comprised a top-tier knight paired with an ultra-fast ranged archer.

Prompted by Zhang Fang, Ah Zi finally cast aside all her reservations, hurling a storm of hidden weapons and toxic powders at the three opponents as though they were worthless, entirely unconcerned with the prospect of friendly fire.
And Zhang Fang's performance was nothing short of astonishing. Relying on the extraordinary sensory perception granted by his *Longevity Holy Qi* and the supreme defensive attributes of his shield technique, even when Ah Zi’s projectiles occasionally drifted off target, he could effortlessly neutralize them while parrying other incoming attacks.
Their seamless coordination—combining offense and defense, range and close quarters—was driving Yan Shanhe and his companions to the brink of madness.

This location was less than five li away from the Beggar Sect's main headquarters, and serving as a vital thoroughfare to Luoyang City, Beggar Sect disciples and elders frequently passed through here on official business.
Consequently, their assassination attempt had to be resolved swiftly and decisively.

Yet, upon exchanging blows, the three of them discovered to their dismay just how formidable "You Tanzhi's" shield mastery truly was. No matter how fast or fierce their attacks, or how tricky the angles of assault, the shield in Zhang Fang's hands always managed to intercept them at the very last fraction of a second. When their offensive momentum dipped even slightly, he would seize the opportunity to lash out with a vicious counterattack or two.
Regardless of the actual destructive power of his ripostes, this impenetrable wall of defense plunged the three assailants into deep despair.

Is this punk a turtle reincarnated?
Why is his defense so absurdly airtight?!

They desperately wanted to dispatch someone to deal with Ah Zi, but that slippery girl was impossible to pin down.
The anti-pursuit tactics Ah Zi had cultivated in her previous dungeon world were no joke. The moment they made a move, she would flash away with a whoosh, followed immediately by a rapid-fire barrage of *biu! biu! biu!* hidden weapons, driving the three masters of the Murong clan to absolute distraction.
Seriously, we are engaging in a martial arts duel in the pugilistic world, not running a dungeon party in an online game—could you people show a little martial artist integrity?

As the battle dragged on, Zhang Fang increasingly felt that the performance of this Yan Shanhe before him hardly seemed like the "Murong Fu" he knew.
In Zhang Fang's impression—whether from the original novel or its various television and gaming adaptations—Murong Fu was defined by dabbling in everything without mastering anything. He knew a bit of every martial art under heaven, yet had not cultivated a single discipline to the pinnacle of perfection.
A classic case of a jack-of-all-trades and master of none!

Yet the Yan Shanhe before him not only possessed a renowned blade like the Wazamono *Snow Drift* from another world, but the saber techniques he wielded were also exceptionally sharp.
Based on Zhang Fang's judgment, his opponent's saber technique was likely of middling tier, roughly comparable in grade to the *Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Shield Technique*.
However, the level of this saber skill had clearly been pushed to Level 8 or even Level 9. The saber moves were fiercely lethal, capturing the core essence of speed, precision, and ruthlessness. Amidst the rolling torrent of blades, he would occasionally weave in one or two ferocious palm strikes, placing a burden upon Zhang Fang that outweighed Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e combined.

Aside from his rapid and fierce saberplay, this Yan Shanhe displayed none of the multifaceted versatility typically associated with Murong Fu.
Even his internal energy was merely on par with Zhang Fang's, lacking the overwhelming dominance expected of a top-tier pugilistic grandmaster.
Nevertheless, Yan Shanhe's astonishing display still drew the brunt of Ah Zi's hostility. Sixty to seventy percent of her various hidden weapons and toxic powders were locked onto him.

Seeing the battle grind to a stalemate, Bao Butong finally could not help but sneer, "Heh... To think that Elder You Tanzhi of the Beggar Sect always prided himself on harboring an intense hatred for evil, only to hook up with a little witch from the Constellation Sect. You truly are a pair of colluding scoundrels!"

These words instantly caused Ah Zi's willow-leaf brows to arch in fury.
Yet, even at such a moment, she displayed the composure expected of a true transmigrator. She refused to let Bao Butong easily provoke her into a rage, silently filing the insult away in her mind while keeping her barrage of hidden weapons and poisons firmly trained on Yan Shanhe.

After dozens more exchanges, Zhang Fang finally seized an opening. With a sudden burst of momentum, he successfully deflected and shoved aside the weapons in the hands of both Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e, while simultaneously thrusting out his right palm to drive Yan Shanhe back several paces with a strike of *Proud Dragon Repents*.

Simultaneously, Ah Zi launched a vicious assault of her own. After unleashing a triple succession of the *Three-Yin Centipede Claws*, she smoothly loosed three Azure Phosphorus Needles that struck Yan Shanhe squarely in the shoulder.
Overwhelmed by the sudden pain, Yan Shanhe's body went slack, and the rhythm of his blade was inevitably delayed by half a beat. Two more Azure Phosphorus Needles—which he otherwise would have easily deflected—pierced his chest and lower abdomen respectively.

Seeing the strongest combatant in the enemy camp take hit after hit, Zhang Fang immediately lunged forward with his shield raised, preparing to join forces with Ah Zi and eliminate the man once and for all. However, Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e rallied desperately to block his path.

Yet, while they managed to halt Zhang Fang, they failed to stop Ah Zi's pursuit.
Seizing the moment while Yan Shanhe was wounded and poisoned, she closed in for a fierce onslaught. The lethal moves of the *Soul-Sucking Palm* and the *Three-Yin Centipede Claws* were unleashed in rapid succession, throwing the toxin-afflicted Yan Shanhe into utter disarray.

Zhang Fang felt not a shred of anxiety regarding Ah Zi's situation.
Though the girl was somewhat cowardly, her actual combat prowess was by no means weak. In particular, the movement technique she had looted from Yun Zhonghe was one that even Zhang Fang found himself struggling to match.
Given the combat capability Yan Shanhe had demonstrated thus far, he would have struggled to suppress her even without wounds or poison—let alone in his current weakened state of compounded injury and toxicity.

Rather than wasting time worrying about her, it was far wiser to press his advantage. With Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e forced to grit their teeth and hold their ground to protect Yan Shanhe rather than retreating, he would strike them down in one definitive push and secure total victory!

With that thought, the offensive momentum of the round shield in Zhang Fang's left hand grew even fiercer, while the faint sound of dragon roars began to echo from his right palm. The moment the two opponents revealed an opening, his thunderous strike would descend right on cue!

The battle seemed to have reached an inevitable conclusion, devoid of any further suspense.
However, to Zhang Fang's utter astonishment, it was the battlefield between Ah Zi and Yan Shanhe that reached its climax and decided the outcome first!

Hampered by Ah Zi's relentless onslaught, Yan Shanhe had found no opportunity to circulate his internal energy and purge the poison. As Ah Zi's attacks grew increasingly fast and vicious, his movements grew sluggish, failing to keep pace with the rhythm.
Finally, after barely deflecting seven consecutive ferocious strikes from Ah Zi, he was caught squarely on his right flank by a full-force *Three-Yin Centipede Claws*.

Yet, the moment she landed the blow, far from showing a trace of joy, Ah Zi's eyes widened in horror.
Her claw strike felt as though it had landed on a tire bristling with iron spikes. Not only was her finger strength unable to pierce the target, but a sharp, piercing pain shot straight up into her fingertips.
Never in her wildest dreams had she expected that Murong Fu not only wore a protective soft armor of astonishing defensive power, but that the armor was spiked!

A sudden and unexpected twist!
Suffering a heavy loss, Ah Zi did not hesitate for a second. Channeling her footwork, she pushed her *Cloud Crane Nine Heavens* movement technique to its absolute limit, retreating backward at full speed.

Alas, she was a fraction too late.
Almost at the exact instant her claw struck its target, a cunning smile of triumph bloomed across Yan Shanhe's lips. Shedding all semblance of the lethargy caused by the toxins, he whirled his blade around and slashed horizontally toward Ah Zi's waist with the speed of lightning.

The strike was blindingly fast and vicious, the blade carving a silver streak of light through the void. Although Ah Zi attempted to evade the instant she sensed the danger, how could human footwork ever match the speed of a drawn blade?

Blood splattered across the air!
As she tumbled backward, a gash a foot long was torn across Ah Zi's lower abdomen by the edge of the blade, tearing her muscles apart and instantly staining a vast expanse of her robes with crimson.