White-Robed Chief

Hu Ya cried, "The pills!"

Chu Li spoke, "Everybody shall swallow the pills in case you need to use them later. Don't worry about wasting them. I shall give you two more pills later!"

When Hu Ya heard that, he emptied the Light Pills from the jade bottles and popped one into each person's mouth instead of handing the pills to them directly.

Everyone kept their mouths open.

Initially, some people pretended to swallow the pills when in actual fact, they hid them behind their teeth. Later, in the battle, they would swallow them in case they needed to. If not, they would spit them out and save them for later use. After all, the pills were for their own consumption, and it would not be unhygienic.

Unfortunately, their plans were foiled as the Light Pills turned into a gust of clear energy, seeping into their organs when they came into contact with saliva. It felt very comfortable for their organs to be cloaked by this wave of energy.

At once, they felt revived and their eyes gleamed with vigor. They could not wait to join in on the fight.

They were no longer afraid of death since they had the pills to protect them. Moreover, if they did well in the battle, the Branch Leader would reward them handsomely!

Chu Li smiled at the two women when he saw the crowd heading outside bravely.

People often died for money and they were usually emboldened by huge rewards. Such was the nature of humanity; even Grandmasters would do the same!

Zheng Yanwu was standing outside Gale Branch. He looked at the crowd coldly. "Where is Zhao Dahe?"

"The Branch Leader isn't here." Hu Ya saluted him. "Elder Zheng, the Branch Leader is busy and not around. Perhaps you would like to wait again, Elder Zheng?"

"Hmph, I'm sure he's in!" Zheng Yanwu scoffed.

"It's true, the Branch Leader isn't in. However, if you want to fight him, you have to go through us first. Forgive us, Elder Zheng!" Hu Ya cupped his fists and said in a low voice.

Deep down, he was in awe of his Branch Leader who used such a powerful tactic.

After receiving such a huge reward, he could not be wishy-washy and back out of this mission. The crowd was under the mercy of the Light Pills and pledged their allegiance to Zhao Dahe. He could only follow the crowd. Returning to the Roaring Tiger Clan was out of the question.

Among the experts of the Roaring Tiger Clan, he was the only one who was familiar with the Light Pills. The rest of the members did not have the opportunity to acquire such pills.

Now, each of the members had already consumed one pill and they would get two more after the battle. This meant that they would have two extra lives. Grandmasters were even more terrified of death as compared to regular disciples. Thus, they would never say no to this offer!

Everybody had to risk their lives to defend Zhao Dahe in order to obtain the Light Pills. Regardless, since they had already swallowed the pills, they were not afraid of death.

"Yes, you have to go through us first!" The crowd clamored.

They surrounded Zheng Yanwu.

Zheng Yanwu glanced at them coldly and spoke, "Just you all?"

"We are enough for you to handle!" Hu Ya cried. "Everyone, get him!"

"Charge!" The crowd roared.

Immediately, a large group of people swarmed around him. Most of them were original masters of the Roaring Tiger Clan. They cooperated with each other well and formed a tight circle.

Zheng Yanwu laughed coldly. Suddenly, he pressed his palms together and a lifelike tiger materialized. It was as tough and as fierce as an actual tiger, but it was only as big as a fist as if the tiger had been greatly shrunk.

"Roar…" The tiny tiger let out a deafening roar, penetrating the crowd.

"Argh…Ahh…!" Screams of agony resounded in the air. No one managed to escape from the tiger's attacks as it knocked them all away.

In a split second, twenty or so men were knocked out of the circle.

Zheng Yanwu laughed again and pressed his palms together. Another silhouette of a tiger dashed into the crowd.

The experts of Gale Branch were powerless against Zheng Yanwu. About ten people were hit and soon, not one person was standing. 

Hu Ya, who was the most skillful of them all, was hit and propelled away as well.

He retained a bit of energy to prevent himself from getting killed for real. Still, he was shocked by how mighty Zheng Yanwu was. Despite doing his best and facing the tiger's silhouette head-on, he had nonetheless been knocked away and got seriously injured. 

After taking such a blow, blood ran down the sides of his mouth.

"Zheng Yanwu, how dare you!" Li Ruolan showed up and spoke harshly, "This is Gale Branch, not the Roaring Tiger Clan. It's time to end your life!"

When the Radiance Clan was destroyed last time, the Holy Church of Light wanted to investigate this matter but failed to do so. However, Gale Branch was different. It was an actual subordinate of the Holy Church of Light. Offending Gale Branch would be nothing short of offending the Holy Church of Light itself.

"Hmph, who cares about Gale Branch!" Zheng Yanwu laughed wickedly. "I don't care about the Radiance Clan or Gale Branch, I want to kill Zhao Dahe!"

"If you want to kill Junior Brother Zhao, you have to kill me first!" Li Ruolan sneered.

Lu Zhen was tired of his nonsense as he went forward to deliver a punch, the Divine Light Fist.

She was pretty and petite. Her thin built made her seem like she could be blown away by a gust of wind, but her punch was forceful and explosive.

Once again, Zheng Yanwu pressed his palms together to form a tiger's silhouette and directed it on Lu Zhen.

The tiger's silhouette charged towards Lu Zhen. Going past her fist, it landed on her chest. It was shockingly fast and Lu Zhen could not react in time. She could only let herself be knocked away.

"Bang!" Lu Zhen was propelled outwards.

While she was in mid-air, her refusal to admit defeat compelled her to deliver another punch. Following that, she spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed onto one of the stone lions. When she fell to the ground, she laid there like a wilted flower.

Li Ruolan was appalled. "Senior Sister Lu!"

Lu Zhen, who was at the stone lion's feet, yelled, "Careful, use the secret technique!"

Li Ruolan activated the Secret Technique of Great Light without hesitation. She cried out and threw punches at Zheng Yanwu.

Zheng Yanwu shook his head and sighed. "You're just digging your own grave! If that's your intention, then I shall fulfill your wish!"

He laughed maniacally, then pressed his palms and directed the tiger's silhouette towards Li Ruolan.

Li Ruolan evaded the tiger's silhouette, but the silhouette split into two without warning. This time, she could not avoid it and got knocked away too.

As she was suspended in mid-air, she looked towards the direction of the entrance helplessly.

She did not expect herself to be so vulnerable. Junior Brother Zhao was right. They were powerless against Zheng Yanwu. They were only getting themselves killed!

However, both Senior Sister Lu and her had limited abilities. It would be worse if Zhao Dahe showed himself!

When she thought of this, she felt anxious. If Zheng Yanwu barged into the clan, Zhao Dahe would not survive. She only hoped that Zhao Dahe was smart enough to run away as soon as he could in case he got caught by Zheng Yanwu.

"Bang!" Li Ruolan's slender body collided with the stone lion and she fell down beside Lu Zhen.

"Looks like both of us are burdens!" Lu Zhen lowered her head and sighed.

In Zheng Yanwu's eyes, the two women were like children facing adults. They simply had no chance of resisting and defending themselves. Lu Zhen was extremely dejected.

Li Ruolan said, "We have done everything that we could. It all depends on Junior Brother Zhao now!"

"Zhao Dahe!" All of a sudden, Zheng Yanwu lifted his arms. Lu Zhen, who was leaning against the stone lion, flew upwards and shot towards him.

Zheng Yanwu twisted a hand and struck Lu Zhen's chest.

Lu Zhen flew outwards again, spitting out blood in mid-air. She banged into the stone lion and slumped to the ground weakly.

It took awhile for her to recover from her previous injury. Now, with an additional injury, her vitality was severely affected. The situation had gone from bad to worse.

Zheng Yanwu hollered, "Zhao Dahe, if you don't come out now, I shall kill these two women!"

Silence enveloped them and there was no sign of Chu Li.

Hu Ya and the men had consumed the Light Pills earlier. Despite suffering serious injuries, they were still full of energy.

Hu Ya looked at the entrance with a frown. Did Branch Leader Zhao Dahe really flee?

"I will count to three. If you still refuse to come out, I'll kill her!" Zheng Yanwu threatened in a low voice.

Yet, Chu Li did not make a move.

He was standing outside the basilica and observing Zheng Yanwu's actions. His Nature Restoration Manifestation and Omniscient Mirror were activated simultaneously. He was trying to search for Zheng Yanwu's weak spot in order to launch the killing blow.

Before he could do so, he had no choice but to remain hidden. Or else, he would also die if he faced his opponent head-on.

He only had one chance and one slice. If he failed to kill Zheng Yanwu, he could only run away.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!" Zheng Yanwu yelled and took a step towards the stone lion. He directed blows towards the heads of Lu Zhen and Li Ruolan.