Chapter 1: The Entanglement of Fate and Enmity, Haicheng's Solitude

  Under the vast sky, on the endless grassland, a bonfire was burning fiercely. A young man wearing a fur hat was eating roasted meat beside the fire. Next to him was a yellow sheep that had not yet died, its leg held in the young man's hand as he took big bites. The sheep's leg was definitely not cooked through, still oozing bright red blood. The young man's idea of roasting was just heating it up a bit. He wore only a woolen sweater and a leather jacket on top, with leather boots on his feet but no socks. His ankles and lower legs exposed to the outside air made one feel cold for him on this chilly night. Beside the young man was a wineskin, which he would lift to take a big swig whenever he felt like it, letting out a loud whoop: The world is vast and wide, sheep eat grass, wolves eat sheep, everyone sympathizes with the sheep, everyone beats the wolf, people eating sheep is delicious, wolves eating sheep is raising wolves. I am a white wolf, freely roaming and eating in this world of man-eat-man.

  Li Huqiu followed the young man who was walking towards the bonfire. The singing youth stopped his song and said to him, "Sit!" Li Huqiu sat down beside the fire heap. The youth said, "Eat mutton." Li Huqiu grasped a yellow sheep with his hands, and with a knife-like motion, he dug out the sheep's liver. His hand pierced through the sheepskin and ribs, reaching the liver, and pulled it out in one swift motion. The yellow sheep that was still alive just moments before stopped struggling instantly. Li Huqiu strung the liver onto a flying knife. The youth praised, "What a fine palm technique! Are you a Han from our Xing'an Alliance?" Li Huqiu said, "Let's eat and fight first, talk later!" The youth laughed loudly and said, "I'm called White Wolf, with no heaven to rely on and no earth to depend on. I've survived by relying on my master's teachings, and I'm the second in line among his disciples!" Li Huqiu clasped his fists and said, "Li Huqiu, just like you, I have no heaven above and no earth below. I've survived by relying on the charity of a hundred families, but I'm not a disciple of any master."

  Two orphans exchanged a smile, and White Wolf tossed over the wineskin in his hand, saying: "For having no sky, no earth, no father, and no mother, take a swig!" Li Huqiu tilted back his head and took a big gulp. He roasted the bloody sheep's liver over the fire for a bit, then took a big bite of it with the blood, chewing slowly before swallowing it down. White Wolf watched this process closely, but didn't see any discomfort on Li Huqiu's face. No longer paying attention to him, he lowered his head and started eating his own sheep leg. White Wolf ate two sheep legs, while Li Huqiu gnawed on the sheep's liver and a front leg. White Wolf asked him what wolves from the city came to the grasslands for. Li Huqiu told him that he had come with a woman.

  Bai Lang said you hit my brother. Li Hu Qiu said I'm still ready to hit you. Bai Lang was not angry, but instead laughed loudly.

  The rivers and lakes are just jungles and grasslands, where the strong prey on the weak. All reasons must be cashed in with fists. Both of them were orphans who survived by following the jungle law in Xing'an League, and they had a common attitude towards life and death, towards struggle.

  In the flickering firelight, two people were fighting with all their might. The White Wolf's kung fu skills were on par with Li Huqiu's, and Li Huqiu's double palms were like two grinding wheels, while the White Wolf's fists and feet were like wind and thunder. One slow and one fast, they both used genuine kung fu moves. It was as if two wild wolves fighting for dominance, neither of them intending to hold back.

  Outside the firelight, a voice came: "Thief Door Old Second White Wolf, Jianghu vagabond Li Huqiu, two together can solve it, and avoid many troubles." Li Huqiu and White Wolf simultaneously stopped. Turning to look, in the darkness a figure gradually approached, appearing in the firelight only to see that it was an old man. "You two little wolf cubs can join hands and come at me together!"

  Li Huqiu's expression changed slightly, and he thought to himself how this person knew his name. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind. On the other side, Bai Lang's face suddenly changed after seeing the old man's appearance, instantly turning bright red, with bulging veins on his hands, his fists clenched tightly, forcibly suppressing the tension and excitement in his heart.

  "It's you!" White Wolf gritted his teeth and said with hatred.

  The old man stepped forward, proudly saying: "That's right, it's me!"

  "Are you here for her?"

  The old man smiled slightly and said, "Let the two of you become a pair of understanding ghosts." He pointed at the White Wolf with his hand, "Your Second Master's death was indeed at my hands. At that time, you were hiding aside, I had actually discovered you, but how could Ho Certain harm a child of only a few years old? That's why I let you live until now." He then pointed at Li Huqiu and sighed, "Young man, originally we had no grudges or enmity between us. I even had some admiration for you, but unfortunately, you loved the wrong person, so you must also die!"

  Li Huqiu asked Bailang: "Do you know him?"

  Bailang nodded and said: "He is He Butian, the chief executive of Qingbang's Xingtang Hall, a big shot in the number one gang in the world."

  Li Huqiu's gaze turned to He Butian: "Is she also from Qingbang?"

  He Butian said: "It's meaningless for you to know these things now."

  As he spoke, his body suddenly darted forward and rushed towards Li Huqiu.

  Li Huqiu swung both palms using the Bagua Palm to defend against him.

  Just as He Butian was about to pounce on Li Huqiu, he suddenly changed direction and flung himself at Bailang!

  Bailang was still hesitating whether to join forces with Li Huqiu to fight back when He Butian suddenly appeared in front of him. In his haste, he rolled his body to the side and narrowly dodged He Butian's attack.

  Li Huqiu couldn't help but admire the swift movement of Huo Butian, as well as his fierce and cunning fighting style. With just this one move, it was clear that even if he joined forces with Bai Lang, they still wouldn't be a match for Huo Butian. Is this what Master Dong meant by a strong practitioner of internal energy? It seems so.

  The White Wolf obviously knew this, and shouted at Li Huqiu to scatter and flee for their lives!

  Huò Bǔ Tiān's foot moved slightly, just thinking of counterattacking, when he suddenly noticed that Lǐ Hǔ Qiū hadn't budged. He stopped in his tracks and said to Lǐ Hǔ Qiū: "You're not running?" Lǐ Hǔ Qiū replied: "I'm not running, you came for me, he just happened to be here, whether I run or not makes no difference, with your skills where could I possibly go?"

  Huò Bǔ Tiān looked him up and down, curiously saying: "You seem completely unflappable, I really want to know what gives you such confidence?"

  "If I could win by being nervous, I would be nervous. Do you think I need to be nervous?"

  Huò Bǔ Tiān smiled and said, "Indeed, it's not necessary. A young man like you is very rare, unfortunately, you fell too early, otherwise, with time, the world would have had another great master of transformation." Lǐ Hǔ Qiū said, "Great Master of Transformation, this is a realm beyond dark energy! To be able to compete with a high-handed person like you is my honor, I will fight to the death!" Huò Bǔ Tiān said, "Transformation is the first great gate of human physical limits. Once broken through, one's physical strength increases by tens of times, and it can't be compared to dark energy. So, Lǐ Hǔ Qiū, no matter how hard you try, you won't have a chance." Lǐ Hǔ Qiū said, "We'll know after we fight!"

  A gust of wind swept across the grassland, blowing the withered grass into a frenzy. Hua Bu Tian stood facing the wind, his eyes narrowed as he gazed at the young man before him. The keen intuition of Master Huajin made him suddenly feel a sense of danger. As Li Huqiu flung out a flying knife, Hua Bu Tian leaned back, avoiding the flash of light in the nick of time. Before he could regain his footing, Li Huqiu shot out another flying knife from his hand, and just as it was about to hit its mark, a gunshot rang out, striking down the knife. Hua Bu Tian's body was still arched backward, but a handgun had appeared in his hand. Two shots were fired in quick succession: one struck down Li Huqiu's flying knife, and the other aimed straight for Li Huqiu's brow. Who says a master cannot use a gun? Hua Bu Tian's most formidable skill lay in the gun in his hand.

  At the moment when Huo Buxing drew his gun, Li Huzhou's heart beat like a drum, and his blood boiled as if it was about to burst out of his skin. He dodged Huo's bullet by turning sideways and simultaneously threw out his third flying knife!

  This knife concentrated all his heart and soul. The flash of light in the firelight burst into a brilliant five-colored glow, as if it had the power to stop time. This was the ultimate speed that created an illusion for people. Huo Butian barely held the gun at his chest, Li Huzi's flying knife had already arrived, with a "ding" sound, Huo Butian's trigger finger was stained with blood, and the trigger fell to the ground along with the gun. Before Huo Butian felt the pain in his hand, another flash of light stabbed into his left chest. Huo Butian rolled over to avoid it, but only avoided the vital spot, and was stabbed in the shoulder, falling to the ground.

  Li Huqiu's third knife was actually a pair of flying knives! Following the first flying knife, there was another small flying knife with a dark and shiny appearance. The small flying knife hid behind the big flying knife, and its color changed, making it even more unpredictable in the darkness. It was indeed Li Huqiu's ultimate skill for his pair of knives that he had secretly studied.

  Huò Bǔ Tiān was not stabbed in a vital spot, and the body of Huà Jìn Dà Shī was indeed extraordinary. The old man jumped up in pain, furious! Lǐ Hǔ Qiū saw that his ultimate technique could not harm him fundamentally, and knew that today would be difficult to end well. Fortunately, Huò Bǔ Tiān had already been injured, and even if Huà Jìn Dà Shī was powerful, he couldn't withstand the continuous flow of hot blood. Lǐ Hǔ Qiū turned his head and ran away, and Huò Bǔ Tiān understood that he wanted to delay until he lost too much blood and had no strength left. He secretly sneered at Lǐ Hǔ Qiū's limited knowledge of Huà Jìn Dà Shī. Without saying more, he exerted force under his feet and chased after him fiercely.

  Li Huqiu heard the wind behind his ears, suddenly stopped and turned around to shout: "Look at the flying knife!" Huo Buxing knew that his flying knife was fierce, and in the moment he stopped and shook his shoulders, he was startled and jumped high. Li Huqiu didn't throw anything out, turned around and continued running. Just delayed for a moment, the distance between the two of them opened up again by more than ten meters. Huo Buxing was furious and continued to chase wildly. Li Huqiu heard him approaching, suddenly turned around again and swung his hand while shouting: "Catch the flying knife!" Huo Buxing felt that he couldn't dodge in time, so he hastily lay down on the ground and rolled forward a bit. But saw that Li Huqiu still didn't throw anything out of his hands. This made Huo Buxing furious, he let out a loud roar: "You little rabbit, I'll catch up to you and pinch you to death inch by inch!" He got up and continued the chase!

  Li Huqiu and others waited for him to get closer, then turned around and swung his hand again, shouting: "Flying knife is coming!" Huo Butian just opened his mouth to shout: Come on, your mother's head, suddenly saw a white light in front of his chest, and it was too late to dodge! His words turned into an "ah yo" sound, and he fell backwards to the ground, covering his chest with one hand, with a flying knife standing upright there.