Chapter 1 The Showdown

A howling gale whipped the banners around the arena.

Everyone stared in disbelief at Batman on the stage, casually holding Zuo Lengchan in his grip.

Zuo Lengchan, before becoming the head of the Songshan Sect, had participated in the Battle of Mount Hua between the Songshan, Hengshan, and Huashan sects against the Ten Elders of the Sun Moon Divine Sect when he was just a young disciple.

In that battle, the Ten Elders of the Sun Moon Divine Sect suffered heavy losses, and the righteous martial artists also suffered grievous casualties. Zuo Lengchan not only survived but also gathered the remaining elders of his sect.

He reorganized and summarized all the sword techniques and styles that appeared in the Battle of Mount Hua, eliminating the dross and refining the essence, reducing flaws, and improving them.

He advanced the Songshan Sect's swordplay to a new level.

Eventually, he became the head of the Songshan Sect and was known as one of the top ten experts of the righteous sects in the martial world.

Over the years, hundreds, if not thousands, of heretics and villains had died by his sword.

Martial artists speculated that his opponents in the world could probably be counted on one hand: Abbot Xuanci of the Shaolin Sect, Ren Woxing, the former leader of the Sun Moon Divine Sect, Dongfang Bubai, the current leader, and Murong Fu of the South and Qiao Feng of the North.

His martial arts had reached a transcendent level.

But now, he had been easily defeated by a fiend disguised as a bat?

Was it poison or a sneak attack?

Or had Batman's martial arts reached a level so profound that mortals simply couldn't comprehend it?

While everyone was still in shock, several figures leaped from below the stage to confront Batman.

Abbot Xuanci of the Shaolin Sect, known as the Arhat Who Subdues Tigers.

The Wudang Sect Leader, Chongxu.

And Mo Da, the head of the Hengshan Sect, nicknamed Night Rain Over the Xiang River.

These three were among the top experts in the world. Their sudden leaps and attacks created afterimages so fast they appeared as streaks of lightning.

Abbot Xuanci used the Great Vajra Palm, its power unmatched, aiming at Batman's wrist that held Zuo Lengchan's neck.

Daoist Chongxu wielded his sword, performing the Taiji Swordplay, descending from above like an endless, inescapable net.

And Mo Da, the head of Hengshan, drew a thin, cicada-wing-like sword from his *huqin*, stabbing at Batman's lower back.

These three masters seemed to have sensed the strange and demonic nature of Batman.

They not only launched a coordinated attack with tacit understanding, displaying their combined ultimate techniques,

but their swords and palms even carried a hint of sneakiness.

Faced with the encirclement of three masters, Batman remained calm. He grabbed Zuo Lengchan and swung him in front of himself,

shielding himself from the Vajra Palm and the Taiji Sword.

Thud!

The three masters stopped simultaneously, forced to retract their weapons.

Batman had no internal energy, but his muscle reaction speed and strength far exceeded ordinary people's imagination.

If the three advanced further, the Vajra Palm and the Taiji Sword would hit Zuo Lengchan, killing the sect leader on the spot—the righteous martial sects were united in spirit and would naturally not kill a sect leader in public to harm a demon.

"Despicable!"

Daoist Chongxu stood with his sword, scolding in a low voice.

Mo Da, thin and gaunt, sighed, a trace of determination flashing in his eyes.

Abbot Xuanci put his palms together, sighed softly, and said, "Amitabha,

Benefactor Bai, this monk observes that you do not use internal energy, but your strength is astonishing, and your voice is remarkably young.

Among the younger generation of talented heroes in the martial world, whether it's the young hero Linghu of the Huashan Sect, or Murong Fu of the Yanzi坞 in Gusu, or Qiao Feng, the six-bag elder of the Beggar Sect,

none can compare to you.

I wonder which sect you come from?

What is your purpose in intruding into the martial arts conference, injuring Hero Wen, and capturing Sect Leader Zuo?"

Linghu Chong, hearing this from below the stage, tensed his facial muscles.

As the chief disciple of the Huashan Sect, he was often compared with the young heroes Murong Fu of the South and Qiao Feng of the North in the martial world.

Those with less knowledge in the martial world didn't know any better and listed the three as equals.

However, only Linghu Chong himself knew that his Huashan swordplay was far from being mastered.

"Heh,"

Batman shook his head and smiled, saying to Abbot Xuanci, "Abbot, you truly have a Buddha-like nature. A moment ago, you joined forces with the other two to sneak attack me,

but now you can act as if nothing happened.

When it comes to shamelessness, your Shaolin monks are still thicker-skinned."

Abbot Xuanci lowered his eyes, his expression neither sorrowful nor joyful, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Batman snorted coldly and held Zuo Lengchan high above his head, showing him to the crowd below the stage.

Zuo Lengchan was the head of the Songshan Sect, famous for many years, with high martial arts skills, and a strong contender for the leader of the martial alliance. He was also ambitious and paid great attention to his reputation.

Being held up like a roast duck at this moment naturally filled him with uncontrollable rage and shame.

However, no matter how he struggled, Batman's hand firmly gripped his neck, cutting off his air supply and suppressing his breathing.

With his breath suppressed, it was difficult to muster internal energy.

Zuo Lengchan's face turned red, but he couldn't even bite his tongue and commit suicide. He wished he could just faint to avoid further torment.

"What I want to do is very simple: tell everyone here a story."

Batman, holding Zuo Lengchan as a hostage, began his narration unhurriedly.

He started from Lin Yu and Lin Pingzhi's journey up the mountain, encountering Yu Renyan, a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect,

and continued to tell the story of how Yu Canghai led his men to slaughter over a hundred members of the Yongwei Escort Agency,

imprisoning Lin Zhennan and his wife to torture them and extract the location of the *Bixie Sword Manual*.

Batman's tone was deep and his voice hoarse, but his narration was unhurried.

The more he recounted,

the more eyes turned toward Yu Canghai below the stage.

Yu Canghai and a group of Qingcheng Sect disciples stood with Yue Buqun and his wife from the Huashan Sect.

Throughout Batman's narration, he remained motionless and expressionless.

Even when the people around him and Yue Buqun and his wife showed shocked expressions, he made no move.

"...Finally, Lin Yu侥幸 escaped from the Yongwei Escort Agency's secret room and fled to Haozhou."

Batman finished his narration, coldly surveying Abbot Xuanci and the others. "What do you all think of this story?"

"..."

Abbot Xuanci and the other two exchanged glances, and slowly said, "Benefactor Bai says that Head Yu灭 slaughtered hundreds of people in the Yongwei Escort Agency for a sword manual,

is there any evidence?

Although Head Yu has been friends with me for many years,

harming lives and mass slaughter are by no means the actions of a righteous sect.

If Benefactor Bai's words are true, this monk and many other martial arts heroes present will never let evil villains go unpunished."

"Evidence, evidence, evidence,"

Batman shook his head and said, "Abbot Xuanci, you've been traveling the martial world for many years, don't you understand these petty things?

Yu Canghai, to avoid suspicion, has been traveling back and forth between Haozhou and Junzhou, going to Haozhou to attend the martial arts conference.

That day, the Qingcheng Sect disciples let Lin Yu go, which was also authorized by Yu Canghai remotely, in order to extract the *Bixie Sword Manual*.

It was only because he was in Haozhou that Lin Yu escaped.

At this moment, if there are no complications, the disciples of the Qingcheng Sect left behind in the Yongwei Escort Agency must have set fire to the Yongwei Escort Agency to prevent the leakage of information, burning all the dead and evidence to ashes.

Aren't there enough unsolved cases like this?"

Abbot Xuanci was stunned. Indeed, disputes and killings never cease in the martial world.

Even with the martial arts conference coordinating conflicts, there are still martial artists who commit violence and commit all kinds of family extermination tragedies in private.

For example, the Golden Haired Lion King Xie Xun once slaughtered innocent people.

Not only are there villains from demonic sects, but even among the famous and righteous sects,

under all kinds of hatred and entanglement, there have been no shortage of unsolved cases of family extermination—even Abbot Xuanci himself was involved.

"Martial artists use force to violate prohibitions. When warriors have power, they naturally want to exert it."

Batman said coldly, "They release it on the government, on their enemies, and on ordinary people without power.

All of you here claim to be righteous heroes, but how many of you can stand up and say that you have been absolutely righteous in your life, and have never done anything despicable?

Have you never been lost in money, power, or force?

Today, I will give you all a fair trial, rewarding good and punishing evil."

Batman took out a strangely shaped metal instrument from his cloak behind him.

The instrument was shaped like an iron box, with a palm-shaped dent on top, which seemed to be for putting a palm in.

"This thing is called the Good Heart Instrument,"

Batman introduced in a cold voice, "All of you here will be interrogated by the instrument later.

If you can pass, you can survive.

If you fail the test, you will be killed on the spot.

First, let's start with Yu Canghai."

Yu Canghai below the stage suddenly widened his eyes, suddenly stomped on the ground, and his figure leaped up like a wild goose, rushing towards Batman on the stage.

From the moment Batman started his narration, the disciples under his sect had been showing unsightly expressions and weakening momentum,

only Yu Canghai himself was not timid at all.

Batman could subdue Zuo Lengchan in one move and not retreat in the face of Abbot Xuanci's combined attack, his martial arts were probably comparable to Dongfang Bubai, the leader of the Sun Moon Divine Sect.

He had been enduring until now, looking for an opportunity to attack. As long as he could assassinate Batman and then tell the martial artists the story of his son Yu Renyan being killed,

he believed that with his years of operation in the martial world, he could still gain the trust of the people and would not be killed by the other righteous people on the spot.

Which sect in the martial world doesn't have a few rotten things underneath?

As long as they can barely cover it up.

"Abbot Xuanci, Mr. Mo Da, Daoist Chongxu, kill this fiend with me!"

Yu Canghai shouted loudly, his long sword stabbing straight at Batman, completely disregarding Zuo Lengchan in front of Batman, wanting to risk killing Zuo Lengchan to stab Batman.

Abbot Xuanci and the others hesitated slightly,

but Batman moved first. He suddenly stretched his left hand behind his cloak, grabbed something, and took out a strange-looking stick-shaped weapon from under the cloak.

Yu Canghai was still wondering about the effect of this weapon,

when Batman had already pulled the trigger.

"Da da da—"

The m16 assault rifle fired fiercely, four bullets accurately hitting Yu Canghai's limbs,

The latter only felt a strange pain in his body, the long sword in his hand flew out, and the whole person fell to the ground, blood flowing from his limbs.

The sudden situation stunned the martial artists below the stage.

The iron rod in Batman's hand was strangely shaped and could喷火,

If it was a hidden weapon, where did such a huge and inconvenient hidden weapon come from in the world,

If it wasn't a hidden weapon, it could easily subdue Yu Canghai, the head of the Qingcheng Sect, on the spot.

Abbot Xuanci and the others on the stage were also taken aback.

Batman ignored them, and put the m16 assault rifle back under the black cloak that seemed to be able to hold everything.

He crouched down, put the iron box on the ground,

and dragged Yu Canghai over,

Forcibly dragging his palm, he pressed it into the handprint groove above the iron box, and shouted sharply: "Say, are you a good person?"

"You evil demon, slander my Qingcheng Sect's innocence, the righteous people of the world should attack you together!"

Yu Canghai's hands and feet were broken, but he was still resisting and scolding.

"Beep beep beep!"

The indicator light on the Good Heart Instrument lit up red, and a gentle female voice came from the iron box,

"In the ninth year of Zhengde, May 6, taking advantage of the earthquake in Lingnan, you robbed farmers at the foot of the mountain and killed four people.

October 10, the ninth year of Zhengde, taking advantage of the night, you attacked passing merchants and killed three people with your companions,

July 7, the tenth year of Zhengde, you joined the Qingcheng Sect, and out of jealousy, you caused the death of your Qingcheng Sect senior brother Wei Liang, who fell off a cliff,

..."

The female voice in the box reported Yu Canghai's criminal experiences one by one, from his bullying of other children in his childhood to his巧取豪夺 and plundering of wealthy people's money after becoming the head of the Qingcheng Sect,

Comprehensive and detailed.

Finally, the female voice gave an evaluation, "Detected that your sin value is 80 points, evaluated as extremely evil, and it is recommended to be executed by Ling Chi."

Batman snorted coldly, took a bat-shaped dart from his belt, and threw it on Yu Canghai's back.

As soon as the dart landed, it split and disintegrated, turning into a lifelike bat-like mechanical creation,

Tearing open Yu Canghai's clothes on his back with a mouthful of sharp teeth,

Gnawing on Yu Canghai's skin and flesh,

Like a very professional executioner, he slowly inflicted the torture of Ling Chi on Yu Canghai.

There was a burst of terrified cries from below the stage.

If Batman had defeated Zuo Lengchan in one move and knocked down Yu Canghai with a hidden weapon, it was still within the understanding of these martial artists,

Then the dart that could transform into a bat spirit had exceeded their understanding,

Only the legendary demons could do it.

At the edge of the crowd, several men with beards and sideburns wearing fur clothing thought of the villagers they had just looted a few days ago, and their faces suddenly changed. They turned around silently and

Moved towards the forest,

And in the crowd, some famous heroes in the martial world also thought of their similar experiences with Yu Canghai, their faces changed one after another, and they squeezed out of the crowd.

However, as soon as they escaped into the forest, the soil under their feet made a crackling sound.

Boom!!!!

A violent explosion of fire rose into the sky, blasting these martial artists who were trying to escape into the sky,

Limbs and blurred flesh and blood splashed everywhere, some falling on the beautifully dressed俠女, causing them to lose their color and scream.

"I said, I have hijacked all of you."

Batman said indifferently on the stage: "I have buried countless 【此面向敌】mines in the forest,

You can also understand them as palm thunder and霹雳弹.

As long as you escape into the forest, you will inevitably trigger it and explode into pieces.

No one can escape from here, even if your Qinggong is good and your martial arts are high, it is absolutely impossible.

Next, Mr. Mo Da,

Let's start with you!"