By the time Huang Yulang arrived with his guards, the fighting had grown even more intense.
Some of the mansion’s guards, seriously injured, had retreated from the fray.
There were even a few bodies of guards lying on the ground.
As for the dozen or so men in black, only a few were wounded; not a single one had been killed.
Clearly, this group of black-clad men was, on average, far more powerful than the Huang Mansion’s guards.
“Kill them!
Charge!
The Master treats us well.
If we lay down our lives for him, he won’t mistreat our brothers!
Kill!”
Seeing how vicious the enemy was and that several of their own had already died, many of the guards were gripped by fear and hesitated to press forward.
The head guard shouted to rally their morale as he fought.
“Kill one of them, and you’ll be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver.”
His father spoke up at just the right moment.
There would always be brave men under the promise of a great reward.
Sure enough, the few guards who had been hesitating in fear gritted their teeth, let out a roar, and charged back into the slaughter.
Huang Yulang shot his father an appreciative glance but didn’t go any closer.
Accompanied by guards, he watched the chaotic melee from a distance.
“You lot, hold them back!
Second Brother, let’s take out this Huang fellow first!”
The lead assassin’s body pulsed with Powerful Qi.
With a Powerful Slash Huashan, he sent several guards flying.
Then, he leaped into the air and shot straight toward Huang Yulang’s father, another man in black close behind him.
“Stop them!” The Huang Mansion’s head guard’s expression changed, and he quickly called for others to intercept the two.
But the other assassins fought like madmen, desperately tangling with their opponents in what had become a life-or-death struggle.
Several experts positioned around his father snorted coldly and rushed out to block the two assassins.
The lead assassin’s eyes were savage, showing no fear as he engaged the experts in a chaotic brawl.
Meanwhile, the man behind him suddenly stepped on his leader’s shoulder, vaulted over the defenders, and charged straight for Huang Yulang’s father.
He brought his long saber down in a vicious chop, aiming for the top of the old man’s skull.
“Father!” Huang Yulang’s face paled at the sudden turn of events, and he couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.
The other guards were also stunned, but it was too late to stop the attack.
The lead assassin kept them hopelessly entangled, preventing them from turning to help.
“You’re not worthy of killing me.” Just as the saber was about to cleave his skull, his father suddenly shot out a hand and caught the descending blade.
With a dull CLANG, the saber was stopped.
His father’s hand, now gripping the blade, was covered by a golden glove.
The assassin was flabbergasted to have his saber caught.
He tried to yank it free, but his opponent’s hand was like an iron vise, gripping the blade so tightly that the metal began to deform.
No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn’t wrench it loose.
“Golden Thread Hand…
Dammit, it’s you?” Seeing the Golden Silk Gloves clearly, the assassin’s face went white.
He immediately abandoned his saber and retreated.
“You think you can escape?” His father sneered, taking a step forward to close the distance.
With the captured saber in hand, he swept it at the assassin’s throat with blinding speed.
“Boss, save me—”
PFFT.
Blood sprayed through the air as a human head tumbled to the ground.
The scene had unfolded so quickly and suddenly that the others hadn’t even had time to process it before his father cut the assassin down on the spot.
Aside from a few guards who remained calm and continued to fight, everyone else in the mansion stared in utter disbelief.
Watching from a distance, Huang Yulang was also seeing his father in action for the first time.
To so cleanly and decisively kill a powerful assassin made Huang Yulang’s heart pound in his chest.
His father’s cold, indifferent expression was completely different from the man he had always known.
It left Huang Yulang in a daze.
‘Is this really the same father who was always so helpless in the face of my whims?’
“Second Brother!” The other assassins were aghast.
The leader, who had never expected this, stared at Huang Yulang’s father with eyes full of venomous hatred.
“You…
Huang!
You weren’t injured?” His father’s lips curled into a slight, disdainful smirk as he looked at his opponent.
“If I hadn’t pretended to be injured, how else would you lot have walked right into my trap?” Hearing this, the assassin became beside himself with rage.
“Dammit, Huang!
You win this round!
But don’t get cocky.
My Island Lord will not let you go!
Retreat!” Knowing he’d been tricked, the man had lost all confidence in killing his target.
He leaped up, preparing to flee.
“Do you think my Huang Mansion is a place you can come and go as you please?” His father leaped up in pursuit.
The other assassins lost their will to fight and tried to retreat, but dozens of guards, their spirits now soaring, swarmed them in a frenzy.
His father chased the lead assassin toward the front courtyard.
The remaining assassins, however, would not escape so easily.
Trapped by dozens of guards, their struggle was like that of a cornered beast.
Soon, casualties began to appear among them, and their numbers quickly dwindled.
Seeing this, Huang Yulang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With his personal guards, he skirted the battlefield and headed straight for the front courtyard.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The Golden Silk Gloves clashed repeatedly with the long saber.
Huang Yulang saw his father fighting the assassin on the rooftops.
His father’s movements were like a phantom’s, his hands, sheathed in the Golden Silk Gloves, flying up and down.
The assassin was quickly put on the defensive.
“Tsk, tsk.
My father is incredible, isn’t he?” Huang Yulang marveled.
The guard beside him nodded seriously.
“There’s something you don’t know, Young Master.
In his younger years, the Master was known as the Golden Thread Hand.
Countless experts in the Yun Country were defeated by his Golden Silk Gloves.
Later, he grew tired of the endless fighting in the martial world, so he concealed his identity and came to Huaiyin City to start a business.” Huang Yulang was stunned and looked at the guard in surprise.
“Lin, how long have you been with my father?
How come I never knew this?” The guard gave an awkward chuckle.
“I was with the Master before you were born, Young Master.
Later, for certain reasons, he had us all conceal our identities.
Not many in the martial world know the Master’s name anymore, so of course you wouldn’t know.” Huang Yulang grew even more curious.
“Is that so?
Then tell me, why did my father have to hide his identity?” The guard didn’t answer, merely gazing quietly at the two men fighting in the distance.
Huang Yulang glanced at the guard, then shook his head and turned his attention back to the fight.
With a dull THUD, his father’s palm struck the assassin’s chest.
The man spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward, hurtling directly toward where Huang Yulang and the guard were standing.
“Young Master, look out!” The guard grabbed Huang Yulang and hastily pulled him back.
But just then, the assassin spotted them.
A crazed look entered his eyes, and the moment he landed, he charged straight at the two of them.
“You’re courting death!” His father, seeing what was happening, paled and charged over desperately.
“Young Master, run!” Seeing the assassin coming for them, the guard shoved Huang Yulang away, drew his saber, and fearlessly met the man’s charge.
“Get out of my way!” the assassin roared, sweeping out with his now-bent saber.
The guard quickly raised his saber to block.
There was a loud PENG!
The guard’s weapon was instantly bent out of shape, and an immense force sent him flying uncontrollably sideways.
Huang Yulang had just regained his balance when he saw the assassin knock his guard aside.
The man then charged straight for him without hesitation, apparently intending to take him hostage.
Huang Yulang’s heart pounded erratically in his chest, but he knew he couldn’t just stand there and wait for death.
Without a second thought, he drew the wooden sword from his back and furiously circulated the One Qi Primordial Skill within his body.
“You think I’m some kind of pushover?
Take this!”
‘Though he felt uneasy, Huang Yulang wasn’t afraid.
His father was right behind the assassin.
As long as he could block a single move, his father would arrive, and he would be safe.’
Huang Yulang swung his wooden sword straight at the assassin’s face.
The charging man’s eyes glinted with mockery as he swept his saber out, intending to slice the wooden sword in two.
CLANG!
The wooden sword didn’t break as expected.
Huang Yulang felt a massive force travel up the blade, making his hands go numb and sending the wooden sword flying from his grasp.
The assassin was a little surprised that the wooden sword hadn’t broken as he’d imagined.
He didn’t dwell on it, though.
Tossing aside his own deformed saber, he reached out to grab Huang Yulang’s shoulder.
Huang Yulang was horrified.
‘This man’s skill is incredible!
The gap between him and me, who’s only just cultivated a wisp of Mixed Element True Qi, is enormous.’ He certainly couldn’t allow himself to be caught.
He executed a profound footwork technique and dodged the man’s grasping hand.
“Oh?” the man grunted in surprise.
He immediately reached out with both hands, grabbing from the left and right.
Huang Yulang frantically retreated, but his opponent was too fast.
Just as the man’s hands were about to clamp down on his shoulders, Huang Yulang dropped to the ground, barely evading the grab.
The assassin was surprised yet again.
The playful look in his eyes vanished, replaced by surging killing intent.
He brought his palm down in a vicious strike aimed at Huang Yulang’s heart.
‘The man had failed to catch him in two moves and was clearly growing impatient.
Besides, my father has just appeared behind him.
If he kills me now, he might be able to disrupt Father’s Heart Spirit and create a chance to escape.’
“Die!” The assassin struck at Huang Yulang’s heart with all his might, showing no hesitation.
The specter of death loomed over Huang Yulang.
He knew that if this palm landed, his heart would be shattered, and his life would be over.
To survive, he had to risk it all in one desperate attempt to block the blow.
“It’s not that easy to kill me!” Acting purely on instinct, Huang Yulang desperately circulated his One Qi Primordial Skill, gathering the entire wisp of Qi from his lower abdomen into his right palm and thrusting it up to meet the descending hand.
BOOM!
A muffled explosion echoed, accompanied by the sickening CRACK of breaking bones.
Huang Yulang let out a piercing scream as his right arm twisted into an unnatural shape and went limp.
But the assassin’s palm strike never fully landed.
In the instant it was blocked by Huang Yulang’s hand, a golden palm pierced straight through the man’s back and out his chest.
SQUELCH!
Blood and chunks of flesh sprayed all over Huang Yulang’s face.
“Yu Lang, are you all right?” His father flung the assassin’s body aside, the cold indifference on his face replaced by sheer panic.
Huang Yulang’s right arm was practically shattered.
He had nearly fainted from the pain, and after his scream, large beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
“Yu Lang!
My son…” Seeing Huang Yulang’s severely twisted and deformed right arm, his father’s heart sank to the abyss.
“Father…
I…
I’m okay…”