We agreed on the twelve zodiac animals, but you've transformed into the Monkey King?

The old men of Hongmen, their faces ashen, hadn't yet figured out how to handle this hot potato when the curtain behind the hall was lifted, and Wen Xiao walked out, his face deathly pale.

"Oh, so this must be the newly promoted Fifth Master who showed off his prowess at the docks last night?" Zhang Sulin narrowed his eyes, sizing up Wen Xiao, his smile still amiable. "Truly, a hero emerges from among the young."

In the shadows behind Zhang Sulin stood a young man with a buzz cut, wearing a gray long robe. His face was cold and stern, and his gaze was fixed on Wen Xiao's neck from the moment Wen Xiao stepped out.

The young man suddenly leaned down and whispered something in Zhang Sulin's ear.

After listening, Zhang Sulin's smile turned somewhat helpless and awkward. He naturally reached out and patted the young man's hand.

"Ah, please excuse my rudeness, brothers." Zhang Sulin sighed, pointing to the young man behind him, "This is Huaibu. This kid has had a hard life. He's been with me since he was little, and he's a martial arts fanatic. He heard that Fifth Master killed Mad Dog Qiang with his bare hands last night, and he just couldn't suppress his burning desire for it."

Zhang Sulin shrugged: "As the eldest brother, if I don't care about my own little brother, who will I care about? Huaibu is such a stubborn brat. If I can't learn a few moves from Fifth Master today, he'll definitely smash my stall to pieces."

Upon hearing this, Lin Huaibu chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck.

Zhang Sulin looked at Wen Xiao: "Fifth Master Wen, you seem to be unwell. Would you do me the honor of giving this good-for-nothing brother a couple of pointers right now? We'll stop short of bloodshed. If you feel uncomfortable, we can do it another day."

The words were spoken beautifully, and the room for retreat was fully provided.

But Chen Jinbiao, standing beside Wen Xiao, lowered his voice, his teeth grinding together: "Fifth Master, you can't back down! If you chicken out today and don't dare to take the challenge, all the show of force you put on at the dock last night will become a joke. Zhang Sulin will dare to step over your face and snatch this dock from Gonghexiang immediately!"

"Since Boss Zhang's brother wants to play," Wen Xiao slowly stepped forward, a hint of madness flashing across his pale face, "then I'll accompany him to loosen his bones."

"What spirit!"

A glint of light flashed in Lin Huaibu's eyes, and before he could finish speaking, he had already sprang forward!

With a swing of his right leg, creating a sharp whistling sound, a fierce low sweeping kick aimed straight at the outside of Wen Xiao's knee joint!

Wen Xiao's pupils contracted, and he took a half-step back, simultaneously roaring in his mind, "Fiery Eyes, activate!"

[Consumed Sumeru Points: 1. Current Balance: 8 points.]

[Target: Lin Huaibu / Race: Human / Affiliation: Qingmen]

[Core Skill: Neon Karate (Gouju/Kyokujin Prototype)]

[Weakness detection in progress... Detection failed!]

Damn! At the crucial moment, the odds didn't work!

"Bang!" Lin Huaibu's low kick missed its mark and slammed hard onto the mahogany tea table in the incense hall. The hard solid wood was actually shattered by his kick, and wood chips flew everywhere!

Wen Xiao was shocked. How could such a combat technique, with obvious Japanese military intelligence background, appear in the hands of a henchman of the Qingmen tycoon?

"Open again!"

[Continuous use within a short period will double the energy consumption!]

[Consumed Sumeru Points: 2. Current Balance: 6 points.]

[Weakness detection in progress... Detection failed!]

Lin Huaibu missed his first attack, but immediately pressed forward. He unleashed a barrage of straight punches and close-range inside punches, all aimed at Wen Xiao!

Wen Xiao had no weapon in his hand, so he could only protect his vital areas with his arms.

"Bang! Bang!"

Dull thuds of flesh colliding rang out one after another. Wen Xiao was forced back step by step, his arm bones seemed to be about to crack, and his back slammed heavily against the dragon pillar in the incense hall.

He felt as if his internal organs were churning, and a mouthful of fishy sweetness surged into his throat.

A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Huaibu's eyes. He pushed off with his feet, using the momentum of his forward thrust to raise his right arm high, delivering a fierce "hand chop" straight at Wen Xiao's carotid artery!

"One last time, open!"

[Consumer cost doubled! Deducted Sumeru Points: 4. Current Balance: 2 points.]

[Weakness detection in progress... Detection successful!]

In an instant, a blinding blood-red spot of light suddenly shone brightly on Lin Huaibu's right shoulder in Wen Xiao's vision!

[Weakness: Penetrating gunshot wound to the right scapula (old injury). When the right arm is raised above the shoulder, the latissimus dorsi and deltoid muscles will engage in a slight spasm and stiffness.]

I see!

In the extremely brief instant that Lin Huaibu's hand chopped down—

Instead of dodging, Wen Xiao used the recoil from leaning against the pillar to thrust his body forward, directly crashing into Lin Huaibu's central opening!

Seize the center goal, break through the mechanics.

He completely ignored the deadly attack hanging at his neck, and quickly extended his right hand, with the knuckles of his index and middle fingers protruding, forming a sharp "crane-eye fist"!

The tip of his fist precisely struck the nerve at the intersection of the Jiquan acupoint and the brachial plexus in Lin Huaibu's right armpit!

"puff--!"

A dull thud rang out.

Lin Huaibu felt a sharp electric current pierce through the old gunshot wound in his right shoulder. The excruciating nerve pain caused his right arm to instantly become numb and spasm, and the hand slash that could have shattered a cervical vertebra strangely lost its strength and hung limply less than half an inch from Wen Xiao's neck.

The seemingly unsolvable military killing technique was actually shattered by this single, effortless strike.

For the first time, extreme shock flashed in Lin Huaibu's eyes. He slid back three steps and stared intently at Wen Xiao.

Wen Xiao leaned against the coiled dragon pillar, suppressing the violent heaving of his chest. In this era, few people understood the human body's neural transmission network better than him.

He raised his head and forced a smile at Zhang Sulin, whose expression had drastically changed on the armchair:

"Boss Zhang, your trusted right-hand man must have been shot before, right? The Japanese Goju-ryu karate is indeed fierce, with a touch of Kyokushin-ryu's full-contact fighting style, it's ruthless."

Wen Xiao's eyes turned cold. "However, to show off the Japanese military's killing techniques in his Shanghai branch, Boss Zhang, you've certainly got quite a wide network of connections."

Zhang Sulin paused suddenly while holding the two walnuts in his hand.

The gunshot wound on Huai Bu's right shoulder, and the details of his subordinates' mastery of Japanese military martial arts, were top secrets known only to a very small number of Zhang Sulin's core team in Shanghai.

The Hongmen patriarch, seated at the head of the table, cleared his throat and slowly raised his hand to quell the commotion in the hall. He then turned to look at Zhang Sulin: "Boss Zhang, it's perfectly acceptable for brothers to exchange martial arts techniques, but if they bring unorthodox methods and deadly moves from other schools into this hall, then it's not about seeking instruction, it's about trampling on the face of the Hongmen."

He paused, lightly tapping the table with his fingertips. The sound wasn't loud, but it made Zhang Sulin's face darken even more: "Fifth Master Wen is the newly promoted Fifth Master of Hongmen. Last night, he established himself at the docks with his skills, and today he is handling challenges at the hall with his own skills. He has upheld the rules of Hongmen and also protected Gonghexiang's docks. Everyone here has seen this."

After the eldest uncle finished speaking, the other uncles nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with confidence. The anger they had been holding back from Zhang Sulin's subtle threats had finally dissipated.

Zhang Sulin's first trial. With his trump card exposed, continuing the fight would not only ruin Huai Bu, but also escalate the situation and arouse suspicion from all sides, resulting in more harm than good.

"Hahaha! Good! A hero emerges from among the young!" His expression changed several times, but he suppressed his murderous intent and laughed out loud, taking the opportunity to back down. "Huai Bu is a born martial arts fanatic. He's practiced his unorthodox methods too hard, so his punches and kicks look fierce, but where did he get any of those Japanese military killing techniques? Since Huai Bu has spoiled things, I, Zhang, will not take away Gonghexiang's dock today."

He stood up, straightened the hem of his long robe, and gave Wen Xiao a deep look: "We'll deal with the opium issue another day. Give my regards to your 'King Yama' for me."

After saying that, he took Lin Huaibu and left the incense hall without looking back.

As soon as the people from Qingmen left, Wen Xiao's tense breath completely dissipated. He felt dizzy and almost fell over.

"Fifth Master!" Chen Jinbiao reacted quickly, grabbing his arm and reaching out to feel his sweaty back, his eyes filled with sincere respect.

"I'm fine, I won't die." Wen Xiao waved his hand and straightened up with Chen Jinbiao's help.

"Come on, it's stuffy inside. Uncle Biao will take you to see the place you risked your life for." Chen Jinbiao grinned and patted him on the back.