Chapter 2: The Knife Worship Society

Chapter 2: The Sword-Offering Assembly

Torrential rain hammered the roof, a low, rolling thunder.

In the dim, sickly yellow light, one could see many limbless torsos hanging from the ceiling.

The night wind blew through, setting these ruined, naked bodies swaying left and right, like so many soul-summoning white banners, a vast expanse of pale flesh, utterly terrifying.

This was a long-abandoned bioroid assembly factory, tucked away in a corner of the Jie'e District.

Usually, not a soul set foot here, not even scavenging beggars, but now dull, heavy thuds rang out incessantly.

Ranked among the "Ten Nobles" of the Valhalla Society, the Japanese syndicate, Torukawa Tan hung shirtless in mid-air, two rust-mottled iron hooks pierced through his shoulder blades.

Two Tianfu Heavy Industries Model C military-grade prosthetic arms were locked fast by chains thick as wrists, utterly immobile.

Burly men in black stood to his left and right, iron rods in hand, taking turns whipping his body.

Beating a man takes more out of you than taking a beating.

Mere minutes later, the two Hunshui Paoge doing the work were drenched in sweat, their iron rods falling with a growing, feeble weakness.

"Damn it, this Wo invader can really take a pounding. Beaten this long and he hasn't made a peep."

"Think he passed out already? Master Ding's orders were just to teach him a lesson, don't go beating him to death on us."

Just as the Hunshui Paoge exchanged uncertain glances, a voice, weak yet arrogant, rang out.

"Oi, oi! Is this a massage you're giving me?"

Everyone looked toward the source in horror. A drooping head snapped up, shaking back disheveled hair to reveal a face of flying, domineering arrogance.

A thin titanium guidewire ran horizontally across the bridge of his high nose, bisecting his face into upper and lower halves, adding a touch of wicked charm to his beauty.

Placed in a host club in the Jie'e District, this face would rank top-tier, number one.

"You useless Ming people, come on then, keep coming!" Torukawa Tan spat a mouthful of bloody saliva, his expression pure contempt.

"I'll fuck your ancestors, you little Wo bandit, still acting tough!"

One Hunshui Paoge exploded in rage, raising his iron rod to pulp that handsome face.

At that very moment, a deafening *bang* erupted from the warehouse doors.

Heads snapped around. The heavy warehouse door had been kicked open, and Li Jun strode in, soaked by the rain.

A straight-bladed long saber dragged in his hand, tip scoring the floor with a harsh *screech*.

"Brother Jun."

"Brother Jun."

Li Jun ignored the Paoge lackeys bowing and scraping around him. Murderous aura radiating like a tiger uncaged, he walked in silence to stand before Torukawa Tan.

Torukawa Tan looked at the man stopped before him and sneered, "Finally deign to show your face? Leading men to attack my Sword-Offering Assembly's turf, Li Jun, you..."

He didn't finish. A flash of cold light descended.

*Schlick!*

Li Jun swung the saber like a falling guillotine, cleanly severing Torukawa Tan's left arm at the shoulder.

Then the blade flipped in his grip, shifting from standard to reverse grip, a vicious upward flick sending the other arm flying.

In the blink of an eye, the twin arms Torukawa Tan prided himself on were gone, leaving only a bare torso swaying back and forth.

Milky-white bioroid blood and black hydraulic fluid sprayed from the mirror-smooth stumps; metal wire bundles shorted by the fluids sparked blue arcs.

Chains rattled, *clatter-clatter*.

Bone-deep agony wracked Torukawa Tan's body in violent spasms, a beast-like roar tearing from his clenched teeth.

Li Jun lifted Torukawa Tan's chin with the blade tip, voice cold: "If Master Ding hadn't ordered you kept alive, I'd have taken your head in Kabukicho ages ago! You think you've earned the right to act crazy?"

Torukawa Tan's eyes split at the corners, face twisted hideous, roaring, "Li Jun, the Sword-Offering Assembly will never let you go!"

Li Jun scoffed, "Fine. If Hu Zhong wants revenge, tell him to come to Kowloon Street. I'll bring three thousand Hunshui Paoge to welcome him with open arms! I'm just afraid he hasn't the guts!"

"You started this war, and you'll pay the price in blood!"

*Smack!*

A crisp, resounding slap cracked across Torukawa Tan's face. The force was immense, snapping the titanium guidewire embedded in his face clean in two.

Li Jun pointed at the forest of flesh and blood overhead, voice harsh: "Spout that nonsense again and I'll swap your lower half for a woman's, swear to God."

Torukawa Tan couldn't help but look up at the ceiling. Dense ranks of bioroid wreckage swayed in the cold wind, colliding with wet *slaps*.

A chill shot from his tailbone to his crown. Torukawa Tan finally showed fear, muttering, "No, please, anything but that."

The surrounding Hunshui Paoge burst into laughter, jeering:

"I thought the Sword-Offering Assembly's 'Ten Nobles' were heavy hitters. Turns out they're just a bunch of cowardly softies."

"Course they are. Look who's doing the hitting. Brother Jun is the Red Flag Five, the hardest hitter in the Paoge Society. Taking down a punk like Torukawa Tan is child's play."

Li Jun tapped the flat of the blade against the Wo bandit's cheek, voice icy:

"Master Ding sent me to deliver a message to you, and to the Sword-Offering Assembly behind you. Zhao Dou might be useless, but his identity isn't a stepping stone for just anyone."

"Keep your eyes peeled next time. Otherwise, next time I enter Sinmin Street, it won't just be two hands I take. Understand?"

Humiliated, Torukawa Tan hung his head, hiding the venom in his eyes, squeezing a single word through his teeth: "Understand."

"Good. Make him sign."

A lackey immediately thrust a tablet before Torukawa Tan, pinching his jaw to sign the transfer contract with his tongue.

With a soft *ding* from the tablet, the three venues Torukawa Tan had seized were transferred back to Zhao Dou's name.

The venues were recovered. Whether that useless Crown Prince could hold them wasn't Li Jun's concern.

Li Jun shook the rain from his clothes, about to signal the withdrawal, when he saw the lookout he'd posted outside stumble in, panic-stricken.

"Brother Jun, the Sword-Offering Assembly's men are here!"

The words barely fell before the faces of every Hunshui Paoge present changed drastically, cries of alarm rising: "How did those dwarves get here so fast?!"

"Damn it, why ask? Our position's been leaked, obviously!"

Hearing the Sword-Offering Assembly had tracked them, the half-dead Torukawa Tan's eyes flared with a vicious light again, howling, "Hahaha! You idiot Ming people, you crossed the Sword-Offering Assembly and think you'll leave alive? Let me go, or else—"

*Bang!*

A gunshot exploded in the warehouse. Above Torukawa Tan's shoulders, there was nothing. His entire head was blown to fragments.

Li Jun's expression was cold. The Weiwu Zu Model 4 pistol in his left hand still vented acrid gunsmoke.

A Paoge standing close by touched the blood on his face in a daze, pupils trembling violently.

He was a hostage, Big Bro. How could you just kill him?

"If those lunatics would hesitate over a hostage, they wouldn't be the Sword-Offering Assembly! Safeties off, all of you! Get ready to move!"

Li Jun roared, as if reading their minds.

His focus simultaneously converged on the line of fine text slowly emerging on his retina.

[Acquired 20 Mastery Points]

This was no built-in visual device, but the Martial Arts Mastery Panel that had followed him into this world.

[Sequence]: None

[Technique]: Single Saber Method (Late Stage Rank Nine, 33/100)

[Movement]: Baguo Swimming Body Step (Early Stage Rank Nine, 12/100)

[Body Tempering]: Iron Cloth Shirt (Early Stage Rank Nine, 85/100)

[Internal Art]: Martial Soldier Formula (Late Stage Rank Nine, 20/100)

As one of the "Ten Nobles" of the Jidao Association, Liuchuan Tan had provided Li Jun with a full 20 Mastery Points.

Upon allocating all these points to [Iron Cloth Shirt], Li Jun's complexion abruptly paled several shades; his reinforced skin appeared fine, smooth, and resilient.

With preparations complete, Li Jun glared with icy eyes, sweeping his gaze across the faces of everyone around him one by one.

After succeeding in Kabukicho, the first thing he did was dismantle every tracking device on Liuchuan Tan's body, even ripping out the brain-machine interface at the base of his skull.

Logically speaking, under such circumstances, no one should have been able to pinpoint Liuchuan Tan's location.

Moreover, the warehouse he had chosen was exceedingly remote, difficult to find even in broad daylight, let alone on a night of torrential rain.

For the Jidao Association to locate this place so swiftly and accurately under these conditions, there was only one possibility:

They had been betrayed!

With a deafening crash, the warehouse gates and the surrounding walls were smashed to smithereens.

Amidst the billowing dust, a Mu Niu heavy truck manufactured by Tianfu Heavy Industries barreled inside with utterly tyrannical force.

"Lord Liuchuan, I've come to save you!"

A head of firework-red hair poked out the driver's window, the expression arrogant and domineering—it was none other than Yan Gui, also one of the Jidao Association's "Ten Nobles"!

"Shimatta (Damn it), Lord Liuchuan, how did you end up dead?"

Yan Gui saw the headless corpse hanging there; not a trace of sadness crossed his face, instead, he wore an even more radiant smile, raising his arms and shouting:

"Men! Kill these Ming people, avenge Lord Liuchuan!"

Simultaneously, Li Jun, a straight-bladed long saber in his right hand and a Wei Wu Zu Type IV pistol in his left, roared at the surrounding Hunshui Paoge:

"Split up and break out!"