Chapter 60: Shamelessness Invincible, Murong Fu Defeated!

Chapter 60: With a "Face" Thick and Invincible, Murong Fu is Defeated!

Zhang Fang clearly remembered that during a casual chat at the聚贤庄 (Resurgence Village), Xue Muhua had once told him: "When traveling outside, you must be extremely cautious about what you eat and drink."

"For instance, if you notice the wine is particularly turbid, you need to be careful. Either the quality of the wine is questionable, or the wine itself is unclean. You'd better not touch it, kid!"

Thinking of this, Zhang Fang cast a casual glance without leaving a trace at the wine cups in Kang Min's and Yan Shanhe's hands. He discovered that the wine in their cups was also slightly turbid, identical to the one in his own hand.

Not giving Zhang Fang time to think further, Kang Min had already raised her wine cup and said in a loud voice: "This humble woman will first offer a toast to the two Elders. May both of you, win or lose, become the backbone of my Beggar Gang! Bottoms up!"

With that, she downed the wine in her cup in a single gulp.

Following her lead, Yan Shanhe copied her actions, drank the wine in his cup, and smoothly placed the cup back onto the tray.

Seeing this, Zhang Fang had already roughly guessed their scheme. Thus, he also mimicked their actions and drank the wine. As the fiery liquor entered his throat, Zhang Fang immediately sensed an unusual poison, which triggered a rejection reaction from his "Longevity Sacred Qi."

However, just as this reaction appeared, the poison was instantly neutralized. Had he not been vigilant beforehand, and had the perceptual ability of the "Longevity Sacred Qi" not far surpassed acquired internal energy, he truly would not have discovered any clues.

This wine really did have a problem!

Since the wine was problematic, this cup could not be returned so easily.

Therefore, holding the wine cup, he said in a resonant voice: "Since Madam Ma has made this request, I, You Tanzhi, hereby promise you today that if I am fortunate enough to win today, I will surely investigate the case of the late Deputy Master Ma's murder with all my might, and within a month, bring the culprits who murdered him to justice to comfort the spirit of Deputy Master Ma in heaven!"

"I shall keep this wine cup as a witness, using it to spur myself on so that I dare not be negligent for even a moment."

" Elder Wu!" Amidst his words, Zhang Fang gave a flick of his hand, sending the wine cup flying toward Elder Wu's direction. "Keep this cup safe for me temporarily!"

"You got it!" Elder Wu suspected nothing, caught the cup casually, and tucked it into his bosom.

After the interlude of Madam Ma's toast, both Zhang Fang and Yan Shanhe's gazes revealed a confidence even stronger than before. As Madam Ma and her maid retreated to the outer fringe of the combat circle, the two exchanged a polite "Please," and finally commenced their duel in earnest.

The moment they exchanged blows, Zhang Fang became even more certain of his previous guess.

This "Yan Shanhe" fighting him right now was none other than Murong Fu himself!

His swordsmanship was bizarre and unpredictable. Clearly, the previous move had been the "Dome of Heaven" from the One Word Greater Wisdom Sect, yet the next move instantly transformed into a fatal strike from the "Earth-Extinction Sword Technique." After three moves, he used the "Sweeping Sword Returning Maple" of the Dali Wuliang Sect. Even after more than a dozen exchanges, Zhang Fang still could not figure out his opponent's martial arts school or lineage.

This Murong Fu's swordsmanship was simply a massive stew, with various lethal techniques and ultimate moves emerging endlessly, dazzling the eyes of anyone watching.

However, although Murong Fu's moves were chaotic, they barely scraped the border of "refined." Any single set of swordsmanship he casually displayed could reach the level of Level 8 proficiency, slightly superior to some second-rate Jianghu experts who specialized in it.

Coupled with his formidable internal energy, which was comparable to a first-rate Jianghu expert, Zhang Fang had to respond with utmost caution, fighting with far more defensive maneuvers than offensive ones.

While Zhang Fang felt unprecedented immense pressure from Murong Fu, the opponent was actually not faring much better.

Depending on the "Thirty-Six Tiangang Shield Technique" at Level 10 proficiency, Murong Fu had reached an outrageously formidable level in terms of defense. A round shield flew up and down in his hands, guarding his entire body without a single leak.

Of course, limited by the tier of the shield technique itself, it was hard to say whether Zhang Fang's defense was truly flawless, but with Murong Fu's strength, he could not find a single flaw in it.

Although under Murong Fu's tempestuous, continuous counterattacks, Zhang Fang did not have many opportunities to strike back, it was as difficult as ascending to heaven for Murong Fu to break through his round shield.

The two top experts—one with fierce attacks and infinitely changing moves, and the other as steady as Mount Tai, completely unshaken no matter how fierce the wind and rain—put on a battle of evenly matched opponents and brilliant talents that made the surrounding Beggar Gang elders shout in sheer enjoyment while simultaneously feeling deep respect for both of their martial arts.

If any of them had been placed in the shoes of either combatant in the arena, they probably would not have lasted more than ten moves under the opponent's attacks!

Under the watchful eyes of the Beggar Gang experts, the two fought with extreme speed, exchanging over seventy blows. At this moment, Zhang Fang's foot suddenly took a misstep for no apparent reason, exposing a flaw in front of his chest that should not have existed.

Seeing this, Murong Fu's eyes suddenly lit up like bright stars, and the longsword in his hand instantly transformed into a silver ray, stabbing straight at Zhang Fang's heart.

After fighting for so long, the drug in the wine had finally taken effect!

As he thrust out this sword, Murong Fu could not help but recall Gongye Qian's previous instructions in his mind: "Young Master. I have already discussed it with that little bitch Kang Min. Before the duel begins, she will first slip some poison to that You Tanzhi."

"This poison is called 'Ten-Fragrance Soul-Bewitching Powder.' Once martial artists ingest it, it causes their internal energy to circulate poorly. If the dosage is large enough, it can even prevent a person from gathering internal energy at all before the medicinal effect wears off."

"Before the final battle, that little bitch will concoct an excuse to toast both you and You Tanzhi. Doing so is also to dispel the other party's suspicions. Furthermore, the dosage in a single cup of wine will only take effect slowly after his entire body's blood qi and internal energy start running."

"As long as you, Young Master, act decisively at that time and directly execute You Tanzhi on the spot, even divine doctor Xue will not perform an autopsy in such a situation."

"Of course, this is also a backup plan I have prepared for you, Young Master. If our assassination operation today goes smoothly, we won't need to go through all this trouble."

"This is the antidote, Young Master, please keep it safe!"

"As long as you take the antidote before the final battle, that cup of wine will be completely harmless to you."

Now it seemed that although the drugged wine of that bitch Kang Min worked slowly, it still had its effect. Since that was the case, this You Tanzhi could even less be allowed to survive in this world and leave flaws in an otherwise flawless plan.

Therefore, go to hell!

At this ruthless thought, intense killing intent burst forth in Murong Fu's eyes.

Meanwhile, Zhang Fang, who had taken a false step, saw Murong Fu's precious sword seizing the gap and stabbing forward. A trace of panic flashed in his eyes as he hurriedly withdrew his shield to defend, guarding his vital heart. Unexpectedly, this move by Murong Fu could be false or real; seeing Zhang Fang retract his shield to protect his chest, the original real move instantly turned false, and the sword edge shifted from a thrust to an upward sweep, aiming straight at Zhang Fang's glabella!

This sword came with astonishing swiftness. How could Zhang Fang possibly have time to raise his shield to defend upward?

Seeing this, the Beggar Gang members standing on Zhang Fang's side turned pale with shock in unison. One must know that "Yan Shanhe" was not only fierce in swordsmanship but also possessed profound internal energy. How could a sword fully driven by him be something an ordinary black iron mask could withstand?

However, the changes on the battlefield happened far too swiftly. By the time the Beggar Gang members realized the danger, it was already too late for them to shout a warning, let alone step in to rescue him.

Under everyone's gaze, the longsword in Murong Fu's hand pierced without any suspense into the glabella of the dark iron mask on Zhang Fang's face.

And then...

"Clang!"

Accompanied by a crisp sound, Murong Fu's sword momentum came to an abrupt halt.

Ordinary black iron certainly could not stop the edge of Murong Fu's sword.

But profound iron could!

Murong Fu's attack was blocked. After a brief moment of愣 (stun), he was immediately filled with shock. However, before he could react, a dragon roar that resounded across the entire battlefield erupted right in front of him at close range.

Awooo! ~~~

This dragon roar frightened Murong Fu out of his wits. His toes instinctively exerted force simultaneously, and he flashed rapidly backward.

Yet how could his retreating speed compare to Zhang Fang's external palm force?

As his internal strength surged forth, a dragon-shaped palm force flew through the air and struck Murong Fu squarely in the chest.

Struck by the palm force, Murong Fu's body shuddered as if struck by lightning, trembling continuously several times while retreating seven steps in a row. Every step he planted on the ground left a deep footprint. In the end, a tyrannical burst of internal energy erupted from all four limbs and a hundred bones of his body, blowing his hair and clothes wildly while also blasting the white iron mask off his face.

Utilizing his family's supreme legacy technique, "Skill of Transferring Stars," to dissipate over seventy percent of Zhang Fang's palm force, Murong Fu finally managed to steady his footing.

However, doing so also rendered his formidable protective true Qi unable to function, which was equivalent to taking the remaining thirty percent of the palm force entirely unprotected!

After steadying himself, Murong Fu could not help but spit out another large mouthful of fresh blood, collapsing limply backward.

Seeing this, Elder Xu, who was watching from the sidelines, finally let out a long sigh of relief while a somewhat bizarre expression surfaced on his aged face.

Now, he finally understood why Zhang Fang had previously said that this mask could increase his chances of winning today's duel!

It seemed now that not only had he not been boasting earlier, but he had actually been modest.

How was this merely adding a thirty percent chance of victory?

This was clearly the decisive factor influencing the outcome!

At this moment, Divine Doctor Xue, who was watching from the side, suddenly spoke up and revealed his identity: "Murong Fu of Gusu! This Yan Shanhe is none other than Murong Fu of Gusu. I saw him at Leigu Mountain last year, and I am absolutely not mistaken!"