“Qianyuan City!”

A stone raised a thousand ripples. The townspeople were once again noisy.

As Lei Lie had said, Qianyuan City was a big city in the north. It was the center of fist arts within a thousand square kilometers and a place favored by the Fist God. It was at least a hundred times larger than Red Gold Town, and the level of the Temple of Fist Gods was much higher.

Even Heavenly Essence City had been infiltrated by machines and steam. It was not hard to tell how bad the situation was. Was the World of Fist God, which had been peaceful for ten thousand years, going to be disrupted again?

“Don’t be hasty, everybody. I’ve sent three teams to Heavenly Essence City to inform the Temple of Fist there.

Lei Lie declared, “There are nine Iron Fist Schools in Qianyuan City, hundreds of schools of fist arts, and dozens of masters in the ‘Empyrean Realm’ guarding them. How can they be sabotaged so easily?

“I believe that the priests and the masters of the major sects of Heavenly Essence City will definitely uproot the believers of the mechanical demons and the steam demons when they learn the news.

“If that is the case, Red Gold Town, as the first town to discover the traces of the evil Cultivators, will definitely be greatly rewarded by Heavenly Essence City.

“In fact, I just received the news from the Temple of Fist in Qianyuan City last month. Right now, the highest temple of the Temple of Fist has noticed the trouble caused by the devils. The rewards for the whistleblowing, the co-investigation, and the capture of the evil Cultivators have all been significantly improved. If we really help Qianyuan City capture a lot of evil Cultivators and even destroy the altars and nests of the mechanical demons and the steam demons, the rewards will be unimaginably generous.

“Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that can cleanse the marrow and cleanse the bones, brand-new moves created by the masters of Qianyuan City, and opportunities to study the well-known fist arts of Qianyuan City… By then, we will hold a martial arts demonstration in Red Gold Town where everybody will compete for the rewards fairly!

Everybody was greatly shocked by his declaration.

He had only come to watch the fun and did not expect such benefits.

Wealth was the most important thing in the world of the Fist God. Strength was the most important wealth. The opportunity to gain strength was enough to make all the residents more devoted to the Fist God and more convinced by Lei Lie, the messenger of the Fist God in the human world.

With a lot of rewards as his foundation, there was much less resistance when Lei Lie pushed his own nephew out.

Although many of the townspeople knew Gus, the well-known waste of the town, and knew that he was a pile of mud that could not be supported by a wall, on the account of his deceased father, who used to be the strongest man in the town, Glen, and on the account that he could possibly bring so many rewards to the town, and on the account of Lei Lie, the high priest, no one said anything about the rewards that Gus could receive—who asked this kid to be lucky enough to be the first to discover an evil disciple?

Gus was dizzy. His eyes were filled with Qin Yi’s bloody shadow and his screams.

He felt that he was going to vomit. Like a puppet, he was at his uncle’s mercy. He vaguely heard his uncle complimenting his contribution and even saying that the clues that he found by accident were because he was very vigilant and tailed Qin Yi on his own accord. That was how the false mask of the evil disciple was revealed.

Gus was surprised. He felt that everybody’s eyes were on him like sharp blades.

He wanted to retort, but his shoulder was pressed down by his uncle’s large hand. His entire body was sore and sore, and he was unable to move.

Gus felt that every day was like a year.

He just wanted to wait until the trial was over so that he could run home and hide in bed for three days and three nights.

While he was drowsy, he suddenly heard animalistic roars from the crowd.

“Burn him! Burn him! Burn him!”

Like hungry animals, the crowd pointed at Qin Yi and shouted in unison.

The trial was over.

What followed was a verdict and… an execution.

Gus was greatly shocked. He did not expect that the decision to keep the crossbow for himself would be so serious. Good heavens, he had thought that Qin Yi would be sentenced to hard labor or exile at best!

If he had known earlier, if he had known earlier, he—he—he—he—he—he!

The firewood soaked in oil was soon piled up under the execution rack.

Qin Yi’s jaw had been chopped off by Lei Lie, and his mouth was stuffed with a pile of garbage. He could not make any sound and could only stare at Gus in desperation.

“May the flames cleanse your filthy body, and the Fist God forgive your weak soul.”

Very soon, the flames started burning.

Qin Yi was like a toad covered in blisters because of the burning oil.

Gus felt that his internal organs were burning crazily, too.

He could not bear to watch any longer.

Ignoring the excited shouts of the townspeople and the surprised gazes of his uncle, he pushed through the crowd with all his might and squeezed his way out.

Gus was running as fast as he could, trying to get away from the stinky air.

Tears flowed out uncontrollably. There was no telling whether it was from regret, shame, or fear.

He wanted to run out of town and be abandoned by the entire world.

But he hit a solid iron wall and fell to the ground, his nose bleeding.

Gus rubbed his eyes and nose and found a black wall over his head.

It was a young man of similar age but at least three times more muscular than him.

His muscles were bulging because of his fury, and his veins were raging like dragons. The fire spurting out of the young man’s eyes was even hotter than the fire that was burning Qin Yi.

His name was Qin Yong. He was Qin Yi’s elder brother and Gus’ former classmate.

According to the tradition of the World of the Fist God, when a child was three to five years old, regardless of gender, they would be sent to the Iron Fist School to train.

There were no restrictions on the age of graduation. As long as one could pass the test of ‘Iron Man Alley’, they would be able to graduate no matter how young they were. They would be able to advance to a higher level of fist arts and practice the more difficult fist arts.

Qin Yong was the same age as Gus and had spent several years in the Iron Fist School with him.

However, he was a boxing genius. In just five years, he had broken through the Iron Man Alley and entered the town’s most formidable “Eagle Strike Boxing Gym” to cultivate. It was said that this year, he would be able to finish his apprenticeship and use the identity of a “Free Boxer” to travel the world and forge his own world.

However, Gus failed to pass the test time and time again. Every time he entered the Iron Man Alley, he would be beaten black and blue.

The gap between them was getting larger and larger. The two of them had never crossed paths before.

However, because of Qin Yong’s brother, Gus’s current classmate, Qin Yi, they clashed again.

Qin Yi was being tortured on the stake. He was squeaking because of the burning.

Qin Yong’s teeth and fingers were emitting terrifying explosions, too. Judging from his bloodshot eyes, he was about to skin Gus alive.

Beside him were a few good brothers of Qin Yong, who were also Gus’ former classmates. They all stared at him with anger and contempt.

Gus’s legs were weak. She did not dare to stand up, nor did she dare to look Qin Yong in the eyes. She tried to explain herself in a hurry. “Qin Yong, I—I didn’t do it on purpose. I—”

“There’s no need to say anything. My brother deserved what he got. The Qin family must thank you for finding him in time and helping his soul get rid of the devils.”

Qin Yong paused after each word and said gloomily, “Gus, you are truly the most devout believer of the Fist God. I hope that the Fist God will bless you and allow you to comprehend the path of the iron fist as soon as possible, instead of being a piece of trash like you are right now. I also hope that you can always pass the test of the Fist God and never fall into the evil path like my brother.

“Otherwise, my brother will end up like you tomorrow!”