Chapter 25

Under the moonlight, the beacon fires illuminated the arena. Jiang Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze cold and piercing, emitting a brilliant divine light. He fixed his eyes on He Shiwu across from him and nodded slightly, then said calmly, "Show me your true skills, or you will die from my first move!"

Before his words had even finished, Jiang Chen took a step forward, and his figure suddenly vanished from his original spot. When everyone refocused, he was already in front of He Shiwu. The heroes had not even had time to marvel at the speed of Jiang Chen's lightness of body when they saw him raise his hand, and a powerful palm wind whistled, rushing straight at He Shiwu's face!

He Shiwu was taken aback by the ferocity of the palm strike. The palm force was so substantial that it seemed to solidify the surrounding air, making it impossible to dodge or block. Unless he used a weapon and revealed his true skills, his real identity would be exposed, with unimaginable consequences. As he hesitated, Jiang Chen's powerful palm force reached him, and He Shiwu felt a shock through his body, his blood reversing instantly. He was terrified; the other party was using a deadly move!

"Ah!" At the critical moment, He Shiwu finally let go of his restraint. A sharp whistling sound broke the air, and a cold light appeared, piercing through the air to meet Jiang Chen's overwhelming palm strike. He Shiwu used the momentum to leap away, and in his hand, he now held a short weapon.

Jiang Chen's dominant palm strike, with its powerful force, split the cold light. A crisp "ding" sound echoed as the cold light fell to the ground, revealing a strange iron rod, which vaguely resembled a fan bone.

"Good boy!" Jiang Chen laughed and cursed, flipping his hand to deliver another palm strike. The force of the wind and the surging palm power rushed straight at He Shiwu. With his other hand, he suddenly raised it and, from a distance of two or three zhang, drew He Shiwu's iron rod into the air. He Shiwu was greatly startled, his eyes wide, trying to stop Jiang Chen, but he was forced back by Jiang Chen's palm force, struggling to protect himself, let alone stop him.

Jiang Chen grabbed the iron rod by the waist and exerted force. With a "crack," the iron rod shattered, revealing that it was hollow, not solid. Jiang Chen's internal strength burst forth, breaking the iron rod and exposing a crystal-clear green bamboo stick. The Beggar Sect members were momentarily silent, then they all shouted in unison, "The Beggar Sect's Beggar Beating Stick!"

Seeing this, everyone was greatly puzzled: "How could the Beggar Beating Stick be hidden inside the iron rod? How did it end up in He Shiwu's hands? Why did he hide it?"

Jiang Chen laughed loudly, his palm force becoming even more concentrated. With a weapon in hand, He Shiwu's disadvantage was immediately reversed. He used a series of intricate moves—pointing, stabbing, striking, and hitting. Despite the short weapon, the techniques were extremely sophisticated. Jiang Chen, wanting to test his skills, reduced his force slightly, and for a short time, the two were evenly matched.

Zhu Ziliu watched for a moment and suddenly realized, calling out, "Madam Guo, I know who he is. But there's one thing I don't understand."

Huang Rong smiled slightly and said, "It's made with a mixture of glue, honey, flour, and plaster."

Yelü Qi, Guo Fu, and Guo Xiang were standing beside Huang Rong. Hearing their conversation, they were all confused. Guo Fu asked, "Uncle Zhu, who did you say he is?"

Zhu Ziliu said, "I'm talking about the one who injured your husband, He Shiwu."

Guo Fu said, "What? He isn't He Shiwu? Then who is he?"

Zhu Ziliu said, "Look closely at the weapon he's using."

Guo Fu said, "Is it Huo Du? No, it can't be him. Hmm, he's using a folding fan, which is somewhat similar to the weapon. Yes, now the fan only has the frame, no fan surface."

Zhu Ziliu said, "At the Great Victory Pass Heroes' Assembly, the intense battle I had with him was one of the greatest dangers of my life. How could I forget his movements and techniques? If this person isn't Huo Du, then Zhu Ziliu must be blind."

Seeing that the time was right, Jiang Chen had no more patience to tangle with him. His Iron Palm technique suddenly changed, and he extended two fingers, releasing a sword-like energy. The energy was fierce and left no trace of smoke or fire. How could He Shiwu resist? The sword-like energy struck him squarely between the eyebrows!

"Jiang Chen, a reincarnated being, has killed the character Huo Du. You currently possess a talent granted by the cycle. Do you wish to acquire his abilities?"

He Shiwu fell to the ground, unwillingly. The crowd was still waiting for Jiang Chen to explain the many mysteries, but Jiang Chen said nothing. He leaped down from the stage, holding the Beggar Beating Stick horizontally, and respectfully handed it to Guo Xiang: "Miss Xiang, I once had an encounter with your elder brother. Thanks to his righteousness, I had the opportunity to kill Qiu Qianren. Today, this Beggar Beating Stick is the third gift I offer to the Divine Condor Hero."

"Brother Jiang..." Hearing this, Guo Xiang was taken aback. Seeing Jiang Chen standing tall, the Beggar Beating Stick crystal-clear and green as ever, she thought of Lu Youjiao's voice and smile, feeling a pang of sadness. She took the stick and handed it to her mother.

Jiang Chen did not wait for them to express their gratitude. While everyone was focused on He Shiwu's true identity, he began to consider whether to acquire Huo Du's abilities. After much thought, he decided to decline. After all, Huo Du's skills were inferior to those of Nimo Xing and others, and they offered little benefit to him now. It was better to save this last talent for a better choice.

With his mind made up, Jiang Chen clearly sensed two hidden auras in the darkness. He knew these two must be the Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi and Yang Guo. He laughed loudly, "Since you're here, why not show yourselves!" As he spoke, he flicked his fingers, and two sword-like energies shot out.

Immediately, two pebbles shot out of the darkness, blocking the sword-like energies and exploding in mid-air. The crowd, startled, looked up to see where the projectiles came from. The sky was clear, with a crescent moon hanging low, and the projectiles seemed to have come from the flagpoles on either side of the stage.

Huang Rong, hearing the sound of the projectiles, knew that no one in the world except her father's "Finger-Pointing Skill" could have such power. However, the flagpoles were several zhang tall and more than ten zhang apart. How could projectiles be launched from both sides simultaneously? Surprised, she called out, "Is it Father?"

From the left flagpole, an old voice laughed, "Little friend Yang Guo, let's go down together!" From the right flagpole, a voice responded, "Yes!" Then, two figures leaped down from the flagpoles.

Under the moonlight, the two figures, their clothes fluttering, leaped down to the high platform. One had white beard and a green robe, the other a blue robe and a single arm. They were the Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi and the Divine Condor Hero Yang Guo. They descended diagonally, meeting a few zhang from the platform, and Huang Yaoshi extended his right hand to grasp Yang Guo's left hand, landing together. If the crowd had not heard their voices first, they would have thought they had suddenly descended from the sky.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong quickly leaped to the stage to greet Huang Yaoshi. Yang Guo followed, bowing to Guo Jing and his wife, saying, "Nephew Yang Guo, I bow to Uncle Guo and Aunt Guo."

Guo Jing hurriedly helped him up, smiling, "Over, these three gifts, ah, truly... truly..." He was so grateful he didn't know what to say.

Yang Guo leaped down from the platform, walked to Guo Xiang, and smiled, "Little sister, I'm late." His handsome and weathered face, his powerful and graceful demeanor, and the captivating charm he exuded with every move, would be hard for any young woman to resist.

Indeed, Guo Xiang's heart raced, her cheeks flushed, and she whispered, "You went to so much trouble to prepare these three great gifts for me, truly... truly, thank you."

Yang Guo smiled, "It's just to celebrate your birthday and have some fun. What's the big deal?" He then seemed to remember something and looked at Jiang Chen, saying, "Thank you, Brother Jiang, for the third gift you sent me!"

Jiang Chen smiled, "No need to thank me. With the Divine Condor Hero's abilities, I'm sure you would have exposed He Shiwu's true identity even without my help."

Sixteen years ago, Yang Guo and the Quanzhen Sect at Zhongnan Mountain defeated the Golden Wheel Dharma King and his disciples. At the brink of death, Huo Du betrayed his master, and the Golden Wheel Dharma King and his senior brother Darba both wanted to kill him. He then assumed He Shiwu's identity to hide in the Beggar Sect, evading the pursuit of the Golden Wheel Dharma King and Darba while plotting to kill Lu Youjiao and gain control of the Beggar Sect.

Upon learning this, Yang Guo had specifically captured Darba to use against Huo Du. However, he did not expect Jiang Chen to strike first and kill him. Therefore, when he heard Jiang Chen's words, he smiled without speaking.

After some pleasantries, as they chatted and laughed, the Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi's sharp eyes fell on Jiang Chen with a smile. He then said a sentence that shocked everyone present:

"Black-robed Asura?!"

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