Republic of China Era: Entering the Dao through Divine Strike.

A dull thud sounded behind me.

Golden flames suddenly ignited on Quan Longyuan's body.

Flames erupted from his chest, burning his body to a charred black.

The fire burned very quickly, and within a few breaths, he was completely burned to ashes.

The ashes were blown by the wind, drifting across the street, landing in the ditches, in the cracks between the tiles, and on the bluestone slabs that had just been dried by the sun.

Li Xin withdrew his hand.

After a few breaths, the vital energy that had been almost completely depleted in his body was instantly restored.

The [Qi Recovery] talent is just that amazing.

It's just that I get hungry easily, so I have to eat two extra meals a day, but it's not a big deal.

……

The fog completely dissipated.

Sunlight shone on the newly washed long street, and the puddles on the bluestone pavement reflected the shimmering light, as if a heavy rain had just fallen.

Li Xin walked out of the street corner and looked up at the sky.

The sun was beginning to set, and Wang Donghai died a swift and decisive death...

With the elimination of Yulong Daoren and Quanlongyuan, the Wang family compound is now leaderless.

He quickened his pace, preparing to return to the City God Temple to meet up with Wang Jingya.

After walking a few steps, a person appeared at the street corner.

Wang Jingya strode over.

As she walked along, she saw chaos everywhere, corpses strewn about, a scene like hell.

Looking at Li Xin, she couldn't help but sigh.

Since I met him.

You could always see him leaving corpses strewn everywhere.

But why are there so many evil people in this world that can't be killed?

"When do we make our move at the docks?"

"tonight."

Wang Jingya didn't ask any more questions and turned to stride towards the City God Temple.

After walking a few steps, he stopped and turned back to say, "By the way, Lin Si just sent a message from the dock saying that Wang Zhenshan is still guarding the warehouse. That idiot probably doesn't know that his older brother is dead."

He'll find out soon.

Wang Jingya chuckled and turned to leave.

Li Xin watched her figure disappear around the street corner, then turned and looked towards the west of the city.

That was the Wang Family Compound, where the upturned eaves of the Wanghai Tower gleamed golden in the afternoon sun…

A slender figure could be vaguely seen through the half-open window on the third floor.

……

On the distant sea, a speedboat flying the Anssa flag quietly weighed anchor.

On the deck, Lieutenant Vince slumped against the ship's railing, his eyes filled with terror.

He held the transmitter in his hands, his fingers frantically tapping the keys.

With each tap, the muscles in his face twitched. The telegram flew across the ocean, towards the embassy district in Beijing, and towards the Anssa Far East Fleet patrolling the South China Sea.

The telegram contained only one line of text.

Li Xin defeated the garrison at Guangping, his military strength far exceeding expectations, and requested reinforcements.

He hesitated for a moment at the end of the telegram, then typed the last few words: This man is so strong that no human can defeat him.

........................

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Chapter 192 Rescue at the Dock

The old locust tree at the City God Temple rustled in the evening breeze, and fallen leaves covered the ground.

Wang Jingya sat on the stone steps in front of the door, wrapping a wristband around her wrist, tightening it round and round. Finally, she bit the end of the wristband with her teeth, pulled hard, and bit it off.

Sun Qi squatted under the locust tree, polishing the musket, repeatedly grinding the barrel until it shone brightly.

Lin Si leaned against the door frame tying his shoelaces, first tying his left shoelace and then his right, making sure they wouldn't come undone while running, so he tied two tight knots.

As dusk settled, Li Xin slowly walked into the temple.

Wang Jingya glanced at him, pursed her lips, and continued adjusting her wristband: "There's movement at the dock. The foreign merchant ships have already raised their sails, and Wang Zhenshan's men are frantically moving boxes. Judging by this, they're definitely going to run away tonight."

Sun Qi immediately shouldered his musket and stood up, his expression tense: "Master Li, I've figured out the dock's defenses."

"The stone warehouse has two floors. Outside, there is the Wang family guard, with more than sixty people. Wang Zhenshan personally guards it."

Inside were more than twenty foreign gun squads, led by Lester, the fencing champion of Onsa.

The abducted civilians were all locked in the innermost room, with women and children separated, totaling about three hundred people.

"Where is Duan Heng?" Li Xin asked casually.

“That old fox is squatting by the dock.” Sun Qi spat angrily. “He brought a squad of naval soldiers, but they’re all just for show. If a real fight breaks out, no one will dare to charge forward. That Duan fellow may not be good at anything else, but his ability to change his stance with the wind is far better than his swordsmanship.”

Li Xin reached out and picked up the Panlong Spear leaning against the wall. He gently rubbed the tip against the whetstone a few times, and tiny sparks flashed by in the twilight.

"I'll storm the main entrance. You guys climb over the side of the warehouse and rescue the people while things are in chaos."

Wang Jingya stood up, raised her hand and tucked the goose-feather knife into her lower back, her brows furrowed slightly as she instructed, "There are at least sixty guards at the main gate, and twenty muskets to cover the rear."

That Lester is extremely famous in Onsa. He seems to have been tempered by electricity; his swordsmanship is ridiculously fast, too fast for the naked eye to follow. Don't underestimate him.

"Is it as fast as me?" Li Xin slung the spear over his shoulder, smiled, and looked at his palm. "Perfect opportunity to witness Western swordsmanship."

Wang Jingya stared at his carefree back, paused for a moment, then turned to Sun Qi and whispered, "Don't you think he's become more murderous since he came back from the yamen?"

Sun Qi pondered for two seconds: "I'm afraid there aren't enough people for him to kill."

“That’s something the enemy should worry about.” Wang Jingya’s lips twitched slightly. She grabbed the goose-feather saber beside the stone steps and quickly chased after him.

……

The pier is located in the southeast corner of the city, right next to the sea.

As Li Xin reached the intersection of Tonghai Road, the setting sun sank into the sea.

The entire nearshore area was dyed a dark, rusty red.

Waves crashed onto the shore one after another, making a loud splashing sound, and a salty sea breeze swept over us.

Several cargo ships were moored on the shore, the most conspicuous being the foreign merchant ship, its hull marked with unfamiliar foreign script, which shone blindingly white in the setting sun.

The sails were halfway raised, billowing in the evening breeze, and the sound of the sails beating against the hull was like a whip constantly lashing the air.

The dock warehouse was a long, gray stone building with high, narrow windows and a tightly closed iron door, exuding a sense of oppressive stillness.

The entrance was piled high with wooden crates, and several laborers, their backs bent like shrimp, were carrying them onto the ship in trip after trip.

Sweat hits the stone slab and instantly shatters and evaporates.

The Wang family guards were scattered around the warehouse, some squatting lazily against the wall, others wandering back and forth on patrol, their scabbards bumping against the stone walls.

The intermittent, tinkling sounds only amplified the deathly silence of the dock.

A simple wooden shed was set up on the shore, with several bamboo chairs placed under it.

Wang Zhenshan sat casually with his legs crossed, holding a wine jug in one hand and a roast chicken in the other, his mouth glistening with oil as he ate.

Standing beside him was Duan Heng, a one-eyed man with a vertical scar splitting his left eye open, revealing a glint of light in his remaining right eye. A narrow-bladed horizontal sword hung at his waist, its scabbard wrapped in fine black silk, and a thin steel wire attached to the end of the handle, securely fastened to a copper ring on his wrist.

Duan Heng's position was very deliberate: three steps away from Wang Zhenshan and half a step away from the exit of the wooden shed, allowing him to move forward and backward freely.

He didn't bring many men with him, only assigning two personal guards.

One was hidden among the rocks on the west side, and the other was hiding behind a cargo container on the north side. Both were excellent observation posts, not involved in the fighting, but only responsible for gathering information.

He worked as a porter for the Wang family at the docks for three years, but he never risked his life himself, always letting his subordinates take the lead.

He still had a letter of appointment from the Anssa Trading Company tucked in his pocket at that moment...

As long as this batch of smuggled goods successfully sails overseas, he can go to Southeast Asia with Smith to work as a comprador for the Chinese and completely extricate himself from the murky waters of Guangping.

Wang Donghai is greedy and insatiable, Wang Zhenshan is reckless and foolish, and Yulong Daoren is sinister and treacherous. If you associate with this group of people, you will be dragged down and buried with them sooner or later.

He had been waiting for the opportunity to slip away and run away.

Upon seeing Li Xin approaching from afar, Duan Heng narrowed his one eye slightly and quietly gripped the hilt of his sword with his right hand.

It wasn't that they were preparing to take action; it was that they subconsciously prepared to retreat.

The guards on duty at the intersection also saw Li Xin. They were taken aback at first, then suddenly drew their swords and shouted sharply, "Who goes there?"

The words had barely left his lips when a dark figure suddenly appeared before him...

The tip of the dragon-shaped spear pierced his throat in an instant.

The guard's knife clattered to the ground, his hands clutched his neck tightly, hissing as he gasped for air, and his legs buckled as he knelt heavily on the ground.

The moment Li Xin drew his spear, hot blood gushed out, landing on the bluestone slab, turning it crimson in the setting sun.

All the guards around turned their heads instantly, and the entire place fell silent for a moment.

The next second, someone screamed: "Someone has broken into the dock!"

Wang Zhenshan's expression changed drastically under the wooden shed. He casually threw the roast chicken on the ground, kicked over the bamboo chair, and stood up abruptly.

"Li Xin!" He wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, grinned savagely, revealing a set of yellowed and rotten teeth that looked particularly menacing. "I've been waiting for you for two days. You didn't dare to come last night, so I thought you were a coward. Today is the perfect day to have your head as a snack."

He strode toward Li Xin, each step causing the bluestone slabs to vibrate with a dull thud.

As he moved, his muscular body tensed up layer by layer, his figure suddenly growing half an inch taller, and the veins on his neck bulged and coiled like old tree roots digging into his flesh.

His skin had a bluish-gray sheen, his pores tightened, his body hair stood on end, and he looked as if he were wrapped in a hard sheet of iron, exuding a fierce and intimidating aura.

Iron Shirt.

The Wang family, three generations of salt merchants, were wealthy and spent a fortune to hire a top-notch martial arts master.

From the age of six, Wang Zhenshan immersed himself in medicinal baths every day, practicing diligently for thirty years. Ordinary swords and knives could only leave a white mark when they struck him, and spears and lances would easily deflect his attacks.

People on the docks all saw him naked and being stabbed; the blade was chipped, but his skin and flesh were completely unharmed.

In a few strides, he rushed in front of Li Xin, stomping heavily on his foot and shattering two bluestone slabs. A palm strike, combined with a hook, rained down on Li Xin's head.

He used Xingyi Tiger Fist fighting style in conjunction with Iron Sand Poison Palm.

Tiger claw hand.

If you hit it, grab it; if you grab it, pry it open; your five fingers are like hooks...

This tiger pounce move is both swift and fierce.

A hint of mockery flashed in Li Xin's eyes.

He watched coldly as Wang Zhenshan shouted like a clown.

He slapped it down with his backhand.

The palm strike tore through the air, compressing the surrounding airflow to explode to both sides, producing a muffled roar, like the beating of a giant drum.

boom!

Their hands and claws collided suddenly.

Wang Zhenshan's tiger claw was instantly slapped so hard that his five fingers straightened, and the five knuckles broke one after another with a crisp snapping sound, like five chopsticks breaking at the same time.

The solid iron aura surrounding him instantly dissipated, and ripples spread across his skin like water.

The force rippled from his palm down to his shoulder, shattering the bluish-gray protective sheen inch by inch, and the skin beneath instantly turned bright red.

The excruciating pain was excruciating. Wang Zhenshan groaned, but instead of retreating, he twisted his waist and attacked again.