My Martial Dao Has No Bottlenecks

"The item."

Wu Zhenshan stared at Liang Cheng. "Hand over the item Madam Qiao gave you before she died, and I’ll let this doctor go in and save her. Otherwise—"

"I’ll hand it over."

Liang Cheng cut him off.

Wu Zhenshan’s eyes flickered.

As Liang Cheng reached into his robes with his left hand, a strange glint flashed in Old Jin’s eyes.

From inside the room, Yang Wei shouted anxiously, "Liang Cheng, don’t trust him!"

Zhou Hu also struggled to stand, the iron chains rattling.

Liang Cheng’s gaze remained locked on Wu Zhenshan as he pulled an object from his robes. It was a flat, palm-sized package, wrapped tightly in oilcloth.

A sharp glint flashed in Wu Zhenshan’s eyes. He subconsciously loosened his grip on the doctor. "Throw it over."

But Liang Cheng didn’t move. "Let him go."

Wu Zhenshan’s face darkened. "At the same time?"

"No," Liang Cheng shook his head. "Let him go first. Otherwise, you won’t be getting this either."

Seeing Liang Cheng’s resolute stance, Wu Zhenshan finally released the doctor with a sigh of resignation. The old doctor’s hands and feet were trembling, and it took him a moment to recover.

"Doctor, I’m sorry to trouble you. Please, save her."

The old doctor, still shaken, nodded and hurried into the delivery room with his medicine box.

"Now, can you give me the item?"

Liang Cheng nodded, then suddenly shoved the package into Old Jin’s arms and flung him toward the closed window of the West Wing.

CRACK! The window paper tore. Before Old Jin could even process what was happening, he was thrown outside. Only then did it dawn on him.

’Liang Cheng is using me as a weapon!’ But the thought of having the Qiao Family’s treasure in his hands was too tempting to give up. He gritted his teeth and bolted, making a run for it out of the Qiao Mansion.

Back in the room, Wu Zhenshan’s face contorted with rage. "You—!"

He instinctively gave chase.

Wu Zhenshan’s figure shot out of the room. A gray shadow, he vanished into the night, streaking after Old Jin, who was fleeing with the oilcloth package.

"Halt!"

A cold shout came from behind him. Old Jin felt a powerful, sinister Evil Qi envelop him, as if he had been plunged into a mire, and his speed dropped dramatically.

In that instant, he was filled with both shock and regret.

Shock, because Wu Zhenshan had, without any warning, broken through to the True Essence Realm. Regret, because he had let his greed get the better of him, falling right into Liang Cheng’s trap.

The oilcloth package in his arms now felt like a burning coal, yet he couldn’t bear to throw it away. Gritting his teeth, he spun around, his hands a blur. Several poison-tipped hidden weapons shot out as he simultaneously used his True Qi to protect his body, hoping to withstand a blow and use the momentum to escape.

However, Wu Zhenshan simply raised a hand and pressed down on the air.

BUZZ—

An invisible attack of True Essence descended upon him.

The hidden weapons clattered to the ground as if they had hit an iron wall. Old Jin’s Protective True Qi shattered like it was made of paper.

PTHOO!

As if struck by a massive blow, Old Jin was sent flying backward. He slammed heavily into the wall across the street, shattering brick and stone. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his sternum caved in. The oilcloth package flew from his grasp and tumbled to the ground.

Wu Zhenshan strode closer. He casually unleashed a burst of True Essence, not even glancing at Old Jin as he reached down to pick up the oilcloth package.

Old Jin lay limp amidst the rubble, his eyes filled with despair and regret. If only he had known Wu Zhenshan was already in the True Essence Realm, he never would have made such a choice.

But alas, there are no "if onlys."

Old Jin was dead!

Wu Zhenshan untied the oilcloth and glanced inside. His face became as dark as still water. What was wrapped in the oilcloth was no Qiao Family secret treasure.

It was a jet-black Iron Token. The front was engraved with a twisted flame pattern, and on the back were the words "Bingxu Seventh."

A Token of the Fire Worship Sect!

"Liang Cheng..."

Wu Zhenshan’s fingers tightened. The Iron Token let out a tortured screech under the pressure of his True Essence before being crushed into a ball.

He spun around, murderous intent boiling in his eyes. "You dare to trick me!"

His figure once again became a gray shadow, shooting back toward the Qiao Mansion even faster than he had left!

...

「The Qiao Mansion’s rear courtyard.」

The instant Wu Zhenshan gave chase, Liang Cheng had already sprung into action. The Zhenxian Saber left its sheath, its flashing blade like a swath of snow as it slashed toward the four black-clothed men guarding the door!

Although the four were skilled fighters at the Transformation Force level, they stood no chance of blocking Liang Cheng’s strike.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

In a near-continuous ringing of metal on metal, the weapons in the four men’s hands shattered!

Liang Cheng’s Saber Momentum didn’t falter. It swept across the four men’s throats. In a flash, all four fell. Liang Cheng kicked open the room’s door, and with another flash of his saber, the specially made iron chains on Yang Wei and Zhou Hu snapped.

"Master! Senior Brother! Let’s go!"

Yang Wei and Zhou Hu broke free from their restraints. Despite their injuries, their movements were unimpeded. The three of them rushed out of the East Wing, and Liang Cheng’s eyes immediately shot toward the West Wing.

Inside the delivery room, the midwife’s gasp had turned into a tearful cry. "It’s out! It’s out! It’s a boy!"

Qiao Zhi had given birth!

But this was immediately followed by the midwife’s even more terrified screams: "Blood! So much blood! It won’t stop!"

Liang Cheng’s heart tightened, but he couldn’t afford to worry about it now.

His gaze swept across the courtyard. Uncle Wang, who had been standing in the corner just moments ago, was now nowhere to be seen!

Liang Cheng made a split-second decision. Ignoring Uncle Wang’s disappearance, he pulled a finger-thick, crimson bamboo tube from his robes and yanked hard on the fuse at the bottom!

FWOOSH—BANG!

A blinding red firework shot into the sky and exploded against the night.

The signal had just been sent when a heart-pounding, sinister Evil Qi surged in from outside the mansion like a tidal wave!

Wu Zhenshan was back!

And his killing intent was even stronger than before!

The gray shadow vaulted the courtyard wall. Wu Zhenshan landed, his gaze instantly locking onto Liang Cheng. He saw Yang Wei and Zhou Hu by his side, then glanced at the West Wing, a vicious aura swirling in his eyes.

"Liang Cheng," Wu Zhenshan’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, enunciating each word. "You dared to trick me. Today, you will die."

Before his words had even faded, he moved. No probing attacks, no wasted words. From the very first move, he unleashed the full power of the True Essence Realm!