Translator: 549690339
A disciple of the Qian Family recognized Dazhu and cursed, “Chen Dazhu, just keep swinging your hammer and mind your own business!”
Dazhu sneered, “None of your damn business!”
Mo Hua had an exceptional Divine Sense. When a punch from a Qian Family disciple was thrown, he noticed that Dazhu had already positioned himself behind him, so he didn’t dodge.
Of course, it was also because he couldn’t have dodged even if he wanted to.
The fist of a sixth-level Qi Refinement Body Cultivator was quite fast, and powerful Divine Sense allowed Mo Hua adequate reaction time, but his frail physique was not enough to support such a reaction.
Luckily, Dazhu took the punch for him.
In Mo Hua’s memory, Dazhu was always the Refinery Apprentice who smiled naively, treated people generously, and liked to come to his house for noodles. But now, Dazhu’s expression was cold with a hint of ruthlessness.
“Chen Dazhu, get out of the way!” the Qian Family disciple threatened.
Far from stepping aside, Dazhu lifted Mo Hua behind himself and stood in front of him, his face unconcerned, “I won’t move!”
Dazhu was ten years older than Mo Hua and much taller. As he stepped in front of Mo Hua, he completely shielded him from view, so much so that the Qian Family members couldn’t even see Mo Hua’s figure.
Seeing that Chen Dazhu was unyielding, the Qian Family disciple tried to persuade him, “Chen Dazhu, this kid is neither your kin nor your kind. Is it worth showing off and sticking your neck out for him?”
“I want to. What’s it to you?”
Dazhu was not good with words. He wanted to curse some more, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. He felt his momentum waning slightly, so he sneakily glanced at Mo Hua.
Understanding the cue, Mo Hua popped his head out and said, “So what if we’re neither kin nor kind? You guys are related to Qian Xing; doesn’t he still treat you like dogs?”
Upon hearing this, Dazhu hurriedly nodded in agreement, “That’s right! Like dogs!”
The group of Qian Family disciples flushed with anger, but they couldn’t retort.
The attitude Qian Xing held toward them was such that calling them dogs was already an overestimation.
Qian Xing sensed that the situation was not in his favor and said coldly, “Do you want to oppose the Qian Family?”
Dazhu was just about to say, what if he does, when he noticed Mo Hua tugging at his sleeve. He realized Mo Hua didn’t want him to say it, so he kept his mouth shut.
Mo Hua then poked his head out again and said, “Qian Xing, if your dad knew you were bullying people under the family’s name and tarnishing the Qian Family’s reputation, do you think he’d regret having you? Could it be that you were picked up by your ‘dad’ somewhere? Maybe your ‘dad’ isn’t your dad, and your mom isn’t your mom?”
Qian Xing understood the insult; Mo Hua was calling him a bastard, and not even a bastard of the Qian Family.
Qian Xing, always having been treated with great dignity, felt he had never suffered such indignity in his life as he did today. He gestured behind him and said venomously:
“Beat him to death, alive! Flay him! Strip his tendons! As for the Taoist Court, I will have someone send the word; you don’t need to worry about it!”
Seeing Qian Xing’s eyes red with rage, Mo Hua quietly said to Dazhu, “Brother Dazhu, they have more people, let’s take the chance to run.”
Far from showing any fear, Dazhu replied, “It’s okay, we are not lacking in numbers either.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a commotion erupted behind them. A group of young men arrived wielding sticks and hammers, stationing themselves behind Dazhu.
“Brother Zhu, we’ve brought our tools!” shouted one of the youngsters.
Mo Hua looked around and saw that most of them were disciples of Master Chen in Artifact Refining. It was only natural that their weapons of choice were hammers, but there were also some rods and staffs, some even glowing red as if they were Spiritual Artifact embryos just extracted from the Refining Furnace.
Everyone stood behind Dazhu, and by doing so, they formed an invisible wall around Mo Hua.
A few Qian Family disciples seemed daunted. Among them, the highest had only reached the seventh level of Qi Refinement, the majority were at the sixth level of cultivation. Although they were slightly superior in cultivation compared to their opponents, they were accustomed to bullying the weak and fearing the strong; when it really came down to fighting, they themselves weren’t confident.
Their opponents were all apprentices in Artifact Refining, each of them tall and burly with arms as thick as hammers and fists as large as sandpots. They didn’t want to find out what it felt like to be on the receiving end of one of those punches.
Moreover, these lower-ranking cultivators were all willing to risk their lives, something they didn’t dare to do.
“Young master, something is not right. Why don’t we retreat for now and trouble him some other time?” someone whispered to Qian Xing.
Qian Xing’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared intensely at him.
The Qian Family disciple’s voice trembled, “We… We are just concerned about the young master’s safety. If a fight breaks out and something happens to you, we won’t be able to explain it to the Family Head…”
“I am the one who feeds you, not my father. You should be thinking about how to explain yourselves to me.” Qian Xing patted the face of the disciple, “Having that brat Mo Hua dead is the best explanation! Otherwise, think about how you’ll explain yourselves to me.”
A few Qian Family disciples broke out in a cold sweat.
Qian Xing then added, “Don’t worry, I’ve already called for backup. Just hold them off for a while. After the deed is done, a hundred Spirit Stones for each of you. Whoever kills Mo Hua, I will speak to my father and give him one of the direct lineage spots in the Qian Family.”
The disciples looked at each other. A spot in the direct lineage… Could it really be offered?
Whether true or not, it was worth a gamble.
A Qian Family disciple gritted his teeth and declared, “I am willing to relieve the young master of his worry!”
He turned to Dazhu and shouted, “Dazhu, I have something to tell you.” He then walked towards Dazhu. As he approached, he suddenly drew a knife and sliced toward Dazhu, the blade wrapped in a blue Spiritual Power and emitted a chilling aura.
Dazhu’s eyebrows twitched, and he snorted coldly. Blood Qi surged around him as he met the attack with his large hammer.
But the Qian Family disciple’s knife suddenly twisted, avoiding the hammer and aiming at Mo Hua, who was standing behind Dazhu.
This had been his calculation: taking a hit from Dazhu’s hammer wouldn’t kill him; at worst, he would be gravely injured, but Mo Hua would undoubtedly die if he took this knife strike. Exchanging a slight injury for a direct lineage spot in his family was definitely a winning trade!
Although the attack was sudden, Mo Hua had already known it was coming; the trajectory of the Spiritual Power on the knife was clearly visible in his Divine Sense. However, the attack and the twist happened in an instant; he had no time to speak, and with his Body Cultivation ability, he couldn’t dodge in time.
Just as the knife was about to strike him, an Artifact Refining disciple yanked back on his collar. The blade’s tip narrowly missed, and although it avoided Mo Hua, he could even feel a slight pain from the pressure of the Spiritual Power as it passed by his forehead.
Dazhu saw the knife come out and the subsequent change in the attack aimed at Mo Hua, but his hammer was too heavy to redirect in time. He could only worry internally but thankfully Mo Hua narrowly dodged the blow.
Dazhu felt relieved in his heart, then rage took over; he no longer held back. Blood Qi poured into the iron hammer in his hand, and he smashed down fiercely.
The Qian Family disciple was struck in the back and crashed heavily onto the ground, a mouthful of fresh blood rising to his throat along with the grating sound in his ears—his own bones breaking.
He had anticipated injury but not one this severe. As his consciousness blurred, he felt himself being kicked away and then landing hard, before he lost awareness completely.
“Scoundrel, resorting to underhanded tactics!”
“Even the rats in the gutter aren’t as filthy as he is!”
“Let’s beat them up!”
The young Artifact Refining apprentices, filled with righteous indignation, lifted their sticks and swung their hammers, charging at the Qian Family disciples. The Qian Family disciples had no choice but to meet them head-on.
On the empty street, the cultivators from both sides plunged into a chaotic battle.