"Bang!"

The big man's fist slammed into Wei Zhao's body.

It was a solid, meaty blow. The big man was delighted with himself — the brat was an idiot, he hadn't even tried to dodge. He hadn't expected to land it on the first try; what luck! He pictured Wei Zhao flying backward from the impact, and the thought thrilled him to no end.

But the very next moment, something felt wrong — because a searing pain suddenly shot through his fist!

"Aaaah—!" The big man screamed and yanked his hand back. His fist had changed shape; it could no longer be called a fist at all. It was a flat patty of flesh. Clearly broken!

"Oh, my apologies. Careless of me — I've gone and damaged the hand you make your living by!" Wei Zhao looked at the man with the broken hand with regret, rubbed the spot where he'd been struck, and said, "Seems this protective iron armor isn't bad at all. Quite useful, huh?"

The man with the broken hand, rolling on the ground in agony, froze at Wei Zhao's words, then looked woebegone. What business did this brat have wearing protective iron armor out in public? Had he known, why bother punching his body at all? He should have gone straight for his head!

What rotten luck! But rotten luck was no use to him now — there's no medicine for regret in this world. He could only accept the fact of his broken hand...

The other three big men, who had yet to make a move, had at first assumed that Wei Zhao must have trained some miraculous body-hardening art, since the man on the ground had shattered his hand on him. They'd been a little afraid to act. But at Wei Zhao's words, understanding dawned on them at once!

So the brat had some treasure on him for protection! Well, that was no problem then. It wasn't the kid himself who could take a punch — it was whatever protective iron armor he was wearing. Which meant from here on, they simply had to aim for his head!

Black Bird Bro had been badly startled by Wei Zhao as well, and had been at a loss for what to do — but now, hearing that the brat carried a treasure, he was overjoyed: "Get him! Take that protective iron armor off the brat for me!"

Black Bird Bro couldn't help but start dreaming. If that protective iron armor were his, he'd wear it every time he went out, and he'd never again have to fear a beating after being caught stealing!

Anyone who dared hit him would pay in blood! Just look at that henchman of his on the ground — hand broken, wasn't it?

Black Bird Bro almost resented himself for not having met Wei Zhao sooner. Had he met him earlier, had he snatched a treasure like this earlier, he wouldn't have been kicked by Yu Xiaoke into a one-balled man — no, it would have been Yu Xiaoke who broke her foot!

Truly, he had been born at the wrong time!

Black Bird Bro felt a pang of regret in secret, but it was not too late even now. At the very least, with this protective iron armor, he could keep his one remaining ball safe from attack.

The three big men had already meant to attack Wei Zhao; at Black Bird Bro's command, hungry for merit, they swung their fists straight at Wei Zhao's head!

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Three dull thuds — the three big men landed their punches on Wei Zhao's head at the same instant. As far as they were concerned, even if they hadn't knocked him out cold, he'd have a concussion at the very least! But they celebrated too soon. Before they could even register what had happened, the next moment the agony came surging up through their fists!

"Aaaah! My hand!"

"Hurts like hell — how is his head this hard too?"

"Mine's ruined as well. How is that possible?"

All three men's hands were twisted out of all human shape, each more pitiful than the last! Three grown men rolling on the ground in pain — it was shameful enough.

"You... you've got protective iron armor on your head too?" Black Bird Bro was stunned by the sight, staring in disbelief at his four henchmen — so lively and vigorous a moment ago, now crippled.

"I do!" Wei Zhao nodded.

"How is that possible? Why didn't I see it?" Black Bird Bro was dumbfounded.

Yu Xiaoke was baffled as well. Fine, Wei Zhao said he had some protective iron armor on him — but how could there possibly be armor on his head? And she had been suspicious of Wei Zhao's words from the very start. She was standing close to him, close enough to see clearly that apart from a shirt, he had nothing else on at all. Where was this protective iron armor?

And the fists of those four men on the ground did not look at all like they had struck something hard. Even bare knuckles hammered against sheet metal would at most swell the hand or fracture a knuckle — it could never end up like this. Judging by the state of their fists, it looked as though some external force had crushed and compressed them, mangling the hands beyond all shape — as if they had been blown apart by an explosion.

So Yu Xiaoke very much doubted whether this protective iron armor of Wei Zhao's existed at all.

"Of course you can't see it," Wei Zhao said, his expression unchanged. "Because it's a skill I've trained. It's called the Iron Armor Protective Art."

"Huh?! You're fucking with me?" Black Bird Bro was furious, smoke practically pouring from every orifice. He felt as though Wei Zhao had played him for a fool! He had been so sure Wei Zhao carried some great treasure, and now it turned out the brat had nothing of the sort — it was only some trained Iron Armor Protective Art!

"I'm not messing with you. I told you before, it's protective iron armor," Wei Zhao said innocently.

"But you didn't say it was the Iron Armor Protective Art!" Black Bird Bro gnashed his teeth in rage. What a humiliation this day had been. He'd meant to teach Yu Xiaoke a lesson, only for a boyfriend of hers to appear out of nowhere, take down his four henchmen, and come out of it himself without a scratch!

"That was the abbreviated name. I assumed you knew it. How was I to know you were this dense?" Wei Zhao regarded Black Bird Bro with contempt.

"Kid, don't think you can run wild just because you've trained a bit of hard qigong. Do you even know who I am?" Black Bird Bro was fierce in word but weak within; he too had never expected Wei Zhao to be so uncanny.

"Sure I do. Didn't you say your name is Black Bird Bro? Or have you changed it again?" Wei Zhao looked at him oddly. Surely this creature wasn't like Shen Yushu, fond of changing names for fun?

When Shen Yushu changed her name, it was cute. When this creature changed his, it was brain-dead.

"I, Black Bird Bro, am the second boss of the Songshan City thieves' gang. Now you've hurt my men — how do you propose to settle this account?" Black Bird Bro was no fool. Force had already failed him: his four henchmen were out of the fight, leaving him a commander with no troops. If he kept fighting Wei Zhao, wasn't he simply inviting more humiliation?

Besides, the brat was uncanny — he didn't fear being hit at all, and his Iron Armor Protective Art was so formidable that punching him was like punching an iron slab. Wasn't that just asking to be tortured?

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