Martial Dao: I Can Enhance My Talents

Fang Han arrived at Elder Fang Yuan’s Quiet Chamber. Elder Fang Yuan was standing with his hands clasped behind his back, looking out the window. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, his gaze falling upon Fang Han.

"Elder." Fang Han bowed respectfully.

"Fang Han, I’ve summoned you today because I have a mission for you."

Elder Fang Yuan’s voice was steady as he got straight to the point.

"What is the mission?"

Fang Han asked.

Ever since he had broken into the top ten in the rankings, the family had been assigning him missions at a rate of once a month.

Last month, it was participating in the encirclement of the Black Snake Thieves. The month before that, it was capturing and killing a fugitive wanted by the Government Office.

"According to a reliable source, a bandit leader named Blood Saber Niu Mang, who is at the Late Stage of Muscle Refining, has secretly infiltrated Liangshui City and is hiding somewhere within."

As Elder Fang Yuan spoke, he took a folded piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it over.

"This has his portrait and specific hiding place."

"This disciple understands." Fang Han replied, accepting the portrait with both hands.

He unfolded the portrait. Sketched on it in a realistic style was a burly man with a fleshy face, vicious eyes, and a hideous knife scar on his forehead.

Beside it was a line of small characters, indicating Niu Mang’s hiding place.

Fang Han’s eyes swept over it, memorizing the man’s features and the address.

"This fiend is hiding in a bustling area. You must act with caution, strike quickly, and minimize collateral damage."

Elder Fang Yuan instructed.

"Yes, this disciple will be careful."

Fang Han handed the portrait back, bowed, and then exited the Quiet Chamber.

He left the Fang Mansion and stepped onto the bustling streets of Liangshui City.

The last rays of the setting sun edged the buildings in gold. The streets were still crowded, but Fang Han’s steps were steady as he walked directly toward his destination.

After walking for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Having advanced to the Early Stage of Bone Refining, his Spiritual Sense had become much sharper.

He could clearly feel that someone was mixed in with the crowd not far behind, tailing him.

’Are they sending someone to assist me in secret again?’

Realization dawned on Fang Han. He didn’t look back, nor did he deliberately speed up or change his pace. As if completely unaware, he continued toward his target.

Before long, a three-story pavilion appeared before him. It was lavishly decorated and brightly lit, with the faint sounds of string and bamboo music and women’s flirtatious laughter drifting from within.

A plaque hanging over the door read "Drunken Spring Breeze."

This was a brothel, the very place where Blood Saber Niu Mang was hiding.

The clothes he was wearing were suitable for a place like this, so he wouldn’t need to buy a set of coarse cloth garments and change, as he had before.

Expressionless, Fang Han stepped inside.

A thick scent of rouge and powder, mixed with the smell of alcohol, assaulted his senses.

"Oh, my! What a handsome young master! Is this your first time? Let big sister take good care of you..."

A coquettish woman in revealing clothes and heavy makeup spotted him, her eyes lighting up. Swaying her hips, she enthusiastically approached, reaching out to take Fang Han’s arm.

Fang Han frowned slightly. With an imperceptible shift of his feet, he precisely avoided the woman’s touch.

His gaze, as sharp as a hawk’s, swept rapidly across the clamorous main hall.

Singing and dancing, wine cups clinking, patrons flirting and laughing with the courtesans... His gaze suddenly locked onto a round table by the window!

There sat a burly man with a fleshy face and a scar on his forehead.

He had a woman on each arm and his face was flushed from drinking, but deep in his eyes, a glint of vigilance and cunning flashed from time to time.

It was the target, "Blood Saber" Niu Mang!

Fang Han’s eyes narrowed. Ignoring the slightly stunned woman beside him, he strode toward the round table.

Almost at the exact moment Fang Han’s gaze locked onto Niu Mang, the fierce bandit leader seemed to sense it and abruptly looked up.

’This is bad! My cover might be blown!’

Their eyes met. The drunkenness on Niu Mang’s face vanished in an instant, replaced by a bestial alertness.

His expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he shoved away the two screaming women beside him, his massive body ramming backward with surprising agility.

With a BANG, he crashed through the gauze curtain leading to a side corridor and sprinted desperately toward the brothel’s back door in an attempt to escape.

"Trying to escape?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Fang Han barked coldly, his body shooting forward like an arrow from a bow. He instantly darted past the panicked crowd in hot pursuit.

One chasing, one fleeing, they moved at extreme speed. In an instant, they had both burst out of the Drunken Spring Breeze’s back door and onto a relatively secluded street behind the building.

The sun had half-set, and the sky was growing dim.

"Fuck off!"

Seeing he couldn’t escape, Niu Mang’s savage nature flared. With a backhanded motion, he drew a gleaming, Thick-Backed Machete from his waist.

Roaring, he spun around and delivered a powerful, heavy chop. The blade whistled through the air, aimed straight at Fang Han’s face in an attempt to force him back.

WHOOSH—!

Fang Han’s expression remained unchanged. With a quick shift in his footwork, he easily dodged the blade.

At the same time, he drew his sword with his right hand and thrust at Niu Mang like a bolt of lightning.

CLANG—!

Seeing the longsword thrusting toward him, the hairs on Niu Mang’s body stood on end. He sensed a life-or-death crisis and hurriedly brought his machete horizontal to block.

The longsword struck the machete, and a terrifyingly immense force traveled up his arm. The hand holding the weapon instantly went numb, as if it wasn’t his own.

He almost lost his grip on the chopper, nearly letting it fall from his hand.

Clearly, at the Late Stage of Muscle Refining, he was no match for Fang Han, who had already reached the Bone Refining realm.

CLANG—!

His first strike blocked, Fang Han thrust his sword out again. Niu Mang, enduring the numbness in his hand, swung his chopper to block once more.

The sword and chopper collided. Again, a terrifyingly immense force came from the longsword. This time, the hand holding the chopper went completely numb and lost all feeling.

He could no longer hold the chopper, and it fell to the ground with a CLATTER.

SWISH—!

Fang Han’s assault didn’t stop. His longsword swept horizontally, slashing across Niu Mang’s wide-open chest.

PFFT—!

Blood sprayed wildly. A wound deep enough to disembowel him appeared on Niu Mang’s body.

His stout body staggered back with a wretched scream, slamming heavily against a nearby wall.

His face was as white as paper. He slumped to the ground, clearly gravely injured and having lost all ability to resist.

Fang Han stepped forward, his eyes cold, preparing to deliver the final blow and end the bandit leader’s life.

Just then—

SWISH!

A figure in green clothes approached Niu Mang like a bolt of lightning. As he drew near, a flash of brilliant white light from a blade appeared.

PFFT!

The strike was fast, ruthless, and incomparably precise, flashing across Niu Mang’s neck.

Niu Mang’s eyes flew wide open. A strange gurgling sound came from his throat as blood gushed out like a fountain. He died instantly.

"Someone from the Lin Family?"

Fang Han frowned, looking at the person who had suddenly appeared.

It was a young man in green clothes who looked a year or two older than him.

Judging by the color of his martial attire and the subtle emblems on it, he was likely a disciple from the Lin Family’s Inner Hall.

"Someone from the Fang Family?"

The young man glanced at Fang Han, having also deduced his identity from his clothes.

He curled his lip, showing no intention of speaking with Fang Han. Instead, he deftly bent down, picked up Niu Mang’s body, and prepared to leave.