Chapter 153: The Decisive Battle

Half a month passed in a blur. Sun Mingbi was waiting for Zhuang Jin to break through the realm of the Twelve Meridian Channels, while Fu Honggang was waiting for his movement martial arts to reach perfection. Both sides exercised restraint, and as a result, neither of them made a move during the skirmishes of these past days. Even the district supervisor tier below them rarely intervened, leaving the battles mostly concentrated among those in the first-to-sixth and seventh-to-ninth meridian tiers.

It is worth noting that while the martial artists involved were at a relatively low tier, the intensity of the warfare was by no means low.

In the north of the city, the Medicine King Sect had been completely driven out, freeing the Shen family from fighting a two-front war and allowing them to deploy more martial artists to the south. Because the Shen family was also dealing with affairs in the east, pulling on the roots brought up the mud; they arrested numerous lower and middle-tier martial artists and transferred those punished to the southern front.

Under such circumstances, the two sides trading lives in a bloody stalemate was extremely cruel and brutal. More than half of the martial artists in the first-to-third meridian tiers were replaced every few days. Casualties among those in the fourth-to-sixth meridian tiers were also frequent, and even the district supervisor tier of the seventh-to-ninth meridian tiers had a difficult time.

As a favor to show goodwill and trade a human debt, Sun Mingbi had transferred Lü Yiheng and Mei Yong, two individuals at the ninth-meridian district supervisor tier, to Zhuang Jin's Feng Sector. True to his word, they were orderly and behaved, and their strength was not ordinary, which made the casualties on Zhuang Jin's side relatively lighter.

Xue Yandao, Duan Tao, and Lin Hong’s three elite guard squads served as a reserve force, guarding his flanks. Zhuang Jin naturally took care of them as much as possible within reasonable limits. When facing adverse situations, he kept them by his side; with him—ostensibly at the eleventh-meridian tier, but truly at the twelfth-meridian tier—holding the fort, it was the safest place on the battlefield. When the tide turned favorable, he would deploy them to expand the victory.

In the end, though these confidants felt their hearts in their mouths, they faced danger without harm, suffering virtually no casualties while accumulating a substantial amount of military merit.

Among them, Xue Yandao, tempered through repeated battles under the carefully cultivated relatively safe environment, finally broke through to the seventh meridian, advancing to the district supervisor tier, and was transferred back to the northern city at Zhuang Jin's word. Lin Hong acquired numerous military merits, applied for a Meridian-Clearing Pill, and after Zhuang Jin approved a slip, directly bypassed the queue to receive it early, breaking through to the fifth meridian. Bi Kai once again exchanged for a primary ingredient of the Meridian-Clearing Pill and broke through to the fourth meridian...

All these events proved a saying circulating in the southern part of the city: "Following Zhuang Jin brings meat to eat." It also made more and more people believe that Zhuang Jin was favored by fortune, allowing those around him to share in the benefits. This elevated the loyalty of his subordinates to a whole new level, making them utterly devoted.

When martial artists arrived in the southern city, the Feng Sector became their primary choice, and everyone wanted to be assigned under Zhuang Jin.

In the north of the city, Qian Wende had consistently kept his eyes on news concerning Zhuang Jin. Hearing all this filled him with boundless regret, and countless nights found him waking up in a cold sweat from midnight dreams.

Amidst such circumstances, half a month slipped by in a flash.

***

On the fourteenth day of October, at the main encampment for the Medicine King Sect's war against the Shen family's southern front.

Boom!

Fu Honggang was practicing his movement martial art, the Vajra Tiger-Subduing Steps. With a single stomp of his foot, the blue bricks beneath him shattered with crisp cracks, and his entire figure darted out. The speed was so great that it caused the air to emit a sharp screech, which, combined with every move and style of the Dark Fiend Palm, seemingly possessed the power to seize dragons and subdue tigers.

"Hhahahaha, the Vajra Tiger-Subduing Steps have finally reached perfection! Combined with the perfected Dark Fiend Palm, my combat power is truly peerless!"

Fu Honggang laughed heartily, a sense of relief washing over his heart.

He knew that Zhuang Jin had broken through to the eleventh meridian nearly two months ago, and figured he must have nearly completed the accumulation for the eleventh meridian. He was terrified of any further delay; given Zhuang Jin's talent, who knew when he might reach the twelfth meridian... If that happened, Sun Mingbi and Zhuang Jin, two martial artists of the twelfth-meridian tier, would join forces. Even if both his Dark Fiend Palm and movement martial arts were perfected, it would still spell immense trouble.

"Sun Mingbi probably still harbors ambitions. What if that Zhuang Jin breaks through to the twelfth meridian and teams up with him to finish me off? Heh, after all, I am the faster one. I cannot give them any more time. Tonight, I will strike first to gain the upper hand!"

Deeply aware that he could not fall into the enemy's rhythm, Fu Honggang decided to seize the initiative, maximizing the advantage of having perfected his Dark Fiend Palm and movement martial arts ahead of time.

"Just in time, the higher-ups have demanded that we take advantage of the Shen family's turmoil in the eastern city to ignite a major battle, ideally causing the Shen family severe pain... This timing couldn't be better."

Presently, the Shen family was distracted by affairs in the eastern city, allocating a considerable workforce there to deal with the hidden vermin, which consumed a great deal of their energy.

Of course, this was only temporary. Once the Shen family resolved the issue in the east, they would be able to unleash their war potential to a much greater degree... The Medicine King Sect naturally did not wish to see this happen and decided to strike while they were sick and take their lives at this very moment.

Previously, Fu Honggang had ordered an increase in the consumption intensity of the lower-tier martial artists, only to find it ineffective, as it was merely helping the Shen family clear out hidden troubles. This time, he decided to shift the battle to the upper echelons, striving to eliminate Sun Mingbi, the general supervisor, and resolve as many of the Shen family's district supervisor tier as possible.

"Therefore, for public reasons or private ones, this time, whether it's Sun Mingbi or Zhuang Jin, they must... die!"

As Fu Honggang spoke, his fan-like, calloused hand clenched violently, and a pair of flying mosquitoes fluttering and entwining in mid-air were directly pulverized into dust by the sheer force.

***

On this night, a bright, full moon hung in the sky, its moonlight as clear as water.

Tonight, the Medicine King Sect gathered the martial artists of the southern front, making a grand display as they launched an all-out, full-scale assault with their entire line pressed forward. The Shen family met them tit-for-tat, also concentrating the martial artists of four character-sectors into a single consolidated force.

It was not as if such situations had never occurred before. Most of the time, clashes were restricted to the first-to-sixth meridian tiers below, or at most the seventh-to-ninth meridian district supervisors. Fights involving the district supervisor tier were relatively rare, and general supervisors like Sun Mingbi usually stayed behind to direct formations and command battles.

"With such a massive battle array, I wonder what kind of madness has gotten into the Medicine King Sect tonight?"

"Indeed, down below tonight... I wonder how many martial artists will lose their lives?"

"Care to make a wager on whose subordinates will suffer the fewest losses tonight? A small bet for amusement: one thousand silver coins per stake, capped at ten stakes! Brother Ji, Brother Zhu, Zhuang—ah, let's exclude Brother Zhuang. If Brother Zhuang joins, we won't have a single winning chance among us."

...

The other three district supervisor-tier figures chatted and laughed, assuming this was merely a routine battle just like before. No matter how fierce the attrition among the lower-tier martial artists became, it had nothing to do with them.

Only Zhuang Jin responded casually. Seeming to sense something, he instinctively glanced at Fu Honggang.

"Hhahahaha, why doesn't General Supervisor Sun come down and stretch his bones?" Seeing that the martial artists below had already locked in combat, Fu Honggang curved his lips into a sneer and provocatively crook-called with a finger towards their side.

"It seems General Manager Fu is eager for a fight tonight. So be it, I shall accompany you for a few moves."

Sun Mingbi let out a long laugh, whirled around and flicked his wrist. The moon-white cloak behind him shot forth like a sharp arrow, and his entire figure swept down immediately.

"Audacious!"

Fu Honggang let out a furious roar. His physique resembled a tiger as he lunged and tore forward. The moon-white cloak was instantly shredded into pieces, meeting Sun Mingbi, who followed closely behind.

With the general supervisor and general manager having already crossed paths, the district supervisors and executive tiers on both sides could hardly stand by and watch. They quickly paired off against their counterparts. Zhuang Jin's opponent was an old rival who had attacked him on that night in August—Zhu Xi.

"Supervisor Zhuang, we meet again. As I said last time, our next encounter will definitely decide who lives and dies... Now that you've also broken through to the eleventh meridian, excellent! Fighting you like this will finally be exhilarating!"

Zhu Xi sneered hideously and struck first, sweeping forward. Utilizing the momentum of his forward charge, he cleaved downward with a single palm strike.

Slap!

With a calm expression, Zhuang Jin shifted half a step to the side, dodging the opponent's palm. Then, with a backhanded flick—much like swatting a fly—he struck the exact point where Zhu Xi was gathering his internal strength, scattering the breath the man was holding and sending him stumbling backward with heavy, stamping steps.

At that moment, however, he did not pursue, frowning as he looked toward a certain spot.

There, Fu Honggang and Sun Mingbi had already exchanged over a hundred blows, with Fu Honggang completely suppressing the latter. At a certain moment, a heavy palm slammed into Sun Mingbi's chest, causing the latter's outer garments to burst open and revealing the exotic beast leather armor worn underneath.

"You've already broken through to the Pulse Channel realm?! No, pulse-channel martial artists aren't this weak. Are you... both your Dark Fiend Palm and your movement martial arts perfected?!" Sun Mingbi suppressed the discomfort in his chest, a trace of shock surfacing on his face.

Fu Honggang wore a similarly startled and furious expression, gritting his teeth. "You actually possess a complete set of mysterious-grade top-tier exotic beast leather armor?! What a wealthy and extravagant Shen family!"

"However, as I said, even this mysterious-grade top-tier exotic beast leather armor cannot save you. After tonight, it will be mine as well!"

With a hideous sneer, he stamped his foot and lunged forward like a fierce tiger descending a mountain.

***

Two miles away from the battlefield stood a clock tower where two men stood opposite each other, overlooking the various battlefields below: Fu Honggang and Sun Mingbi; the district-supervisor-tier battlefield near Zhuang Jin; the district-supervisor-tier battlefield; and the Shen family and Medicine King Sect martial artists of the first-to-sixth meridian tiers clashing in close combat below, dressed in differently colored attire—resembling black and white chess pieces on a chessboard, intertwined like dog teeth.

Of these two men, one was Zhong Yi, a blue-robed retainer of the Shen family and a practitioner of the Pulse Channel realm. The other was Shi Yin, formerly the general manager of the Medicine King Sect's southern front war, and currently the deputy hall master of the Medicine King Sect's War Hall.

—The Medicine King Sect possessed no more than eight or nine Pulse Channel realm practitioners in total, yet they maintained seven halls: the Penal Hall, Medicine Hall, War Hall, Administration Hall, Rites Hall, Enforcement Hall, and Skill-Transmission Hall. The master of each hall was undoubtedly in the Pulse Channel realm, though the deputy hall masters were not necessarily so. For instance, Qiu Pan, who had previously plotted with Fu Honggang to attack the cargo fleet below, was actually only at the eleventh-meridian tier, merely holding the titular rank of deputy hall master. This Shi Yin, however, was a genuine Pulse Channel realm practitioner, true to his name.

Shi Yin stepped forward, faintly blocking the other's path, and smiled. "It seems my Medicine King Sect has won tonight!"

"Hall Master Shi speaks too soon. Until the final curtain falls, it remains to be seen who takes the deer!"

Zhong Yi's slightly reddish, wine- bulbous nose twitched. He unhooked the wine gourd from his waist, took a swig, and swept a smiling gaze across the battlefield below, pausing slightly when his eyes brushed past a certain figure.