Chapter 92: Hey, Don

“He’s Xu Shixiong!” Liang Jingtang and the others were stunned upon hearing this.

“Looks like I truly misjudged you!” Xu Shixiong’s expression changed slightly; his gaze instantly sharpened, and a flash of cold light shot through the night like lightning, slashing toward Xia Daoming.

Seeing the sword strike toward him, Xia Daoming was reminded of that day in Chiyan Valley, when he had seen that same sword stroke.

Back then, that sword strike had seemed breathtakingly brilliant—he hadn’t even clearly seen how Xu Shixiong had drawn and slashed to kill the Bloodfeather Eagle.

But tonight, this same sword strike looked utterly ordinary to him.

A shadow flickered like a ghost beneath the night sky; the sword missed its mark.

Xu Shixiong’s face turned pale with shock, his eyes filled with utter horror.

He twisted his wrist; the sword spun like a living serpent.

But it was too late!

A snake-head fist had already appeared against his chest.

“Boom!”

A terrifying dark force surged into his body like a mountain flood bursting forth.

His chest fabric exploded outward; his chest caved in deeply, as if his front had pressed against his back.

A gush of blood spurted from his mouth.

Xu Shixiong’s body flew into the air, then crashed heavily to the ground with a thud like a sack of sand.

As he lay there, blood continuously poured from his nose and mouth; his breathing sounded like a leaking bellows.

The world fell utterly silent.

Liang Jingtang and the others had long known Xia Daoming was powerful—especially since Zhuo Xingji had personally witnessed him skewer an eighth-rank Great Martial Master with a single spear.

But that had been a weapon duel, and the opponent was an elderly eighth-rank Great Martial Master who had underestimated him and been unhorsed—relatively speaking, it was still somewhat understandable.

But now Xia Daoming faced Xu Shixiong—bare-handed, unarmed—against the most celebrated young martial master of recent times, rumored to be on the verge of entering the Master Path, and Xu Shixiong had struck first with his sword.

This guy had dodged the blade with monstrous speed, then landed a single punch that left Xu Shixiong barely alive.

Is this even a human?

“How is this possible? How could this be possible?” Xu Shixiong muttered in a daze, blood bubbling from his lips.

“Nothing is impossible! Back then, you looked down on us martial masters and forced us to clear the way into Chiyan Valley—I swore I’d kill you one day, you beast who treats others’ lives as worthless.”

“I never imagined this day would come so soon—and that you’d come to me willingly.” Xia Daoming stepped forward, yanked off the black cloth covering Xu Shixiong’s face, and looked down at him.

“Chiyan Valley? You were among that group? I never realized we’d met back then!” Xu Shixiong’s eyes showed confusion and recollection.

Damn, I thought he remembered me? Turns out I was just deluding myself, overestimating my importance!

“Didn’t expect it, Master Xu?” Xia Daoming sneered inwardly, a mocking smile curling at his lips.

“I truly didn’t expect it. It seems my grandfather and the others from Cangmang Mountain all died at your hands.” Xu Shixiong said with bitter self-derision.

“You’re clever—but too proud and cold-blooded. Otherwise, we might have become friends.” Xia Daoming said.

“The group my family sent to hunt down the Ji family never returned—did you kill them too?” Xu Shixiong asked.

“What do you think?” Xia Daoming replied with a counter-question.

“You hid yourself so well! How laughable—we heard you were escorting your family out of Li City and rushed to ambush you halfway!” Xu Shixiong said, filled with bitter regret.

“A tree that towers above the forest invites the wind’s wrath! Master Xu, you’re still too young—you don’t know how to conceal your sharp edges. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here today!” Xia Daoming said with a look of regret.

“A tree that towers above the forest invites the wind’s wrath—what a perfect saying!” Xu Shixiong felt even more bitter inside.

Why did this young man understand the truth so early, while I only realized it on the brink of death?

“Enough. I’ve told you all this—and taught you a vital lesson for survival. Now it’s your turn, Master Xu. Tell me: how did your grandfather regain his peak state? Does your family hide some precious treasure?” Xia Daoming asked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“H-how do you know? Cough… cough…” Xu Shixiong’s face turned ashen with shock, as if he’d seen a ghost; then he burst into violent coughing, blood gushing from his nose and mouth.

Then, his legs kicked out suddenly, his eyes rolled back, and he gasped once—then died.

“Damn it, I only held back two-tenths of my strength! How did I kill him?!” Xia Daoming stared blankly.

Still disbelieving, he stepped forward and slapped Xu Shixiong’s face. “Hey, don’t die on me! I still have questions! Damn it, you’re really dead—and I really didn’t use my full strength!”

Xia Daoming looked deeply annoyed.

Liang Jingtang and the others were utterly dumbfounded by Xia Daoming’s bizarre behavior.

Damn, is this even a human?

He punched a strong, young eighth-rank Great Martial Master to death—and claimed he hadn’t even used his full strength!

And now that the guy was dead, why are you humiliating him like this? Is that appropriate?

Just as Liang Jingtang and the others were beginning to recover, they saw Xia Daoming, who had just looked annoyed, now expertly looting the corpse.

“Younger brother, I’ll handle this for you!” Jiao Yongbao snapped out of his shock and hurried forward, groveling.

“Brother, don’t steal my blind-box fun, okay?” Xia Daoming glanced at Jiao Yongbao with annoyance, his hands still rummaging over Xu Shixiong’s body.

“Uh!”

Jiao Yongbao hadn’t expected his flattery to backfire.

And what even is a “blind box”?

“Huh? What’s this? Why carry it so close to the body?” Soon, Xia Daoming found a small box inside Xu Shixiong’s inner pocket.

“It must be an extremely precious item!” Jiao Yongbao immediately leaned in again, shamelessly.

He ran a restaurant—he’d long honed his thick skin.

Xia Daoming gave Jiao Yongbao a deadpan look.

Do you really need to say that?

Soon, Xia Daoming opened the box.

A sweet, fragrant fruit scent immediately drifted out.

Inside lay a fruit the size of a dragon’s eye.

Its skin was translucent green, revealing a swirling, cloud-like mass inside—utterly mysterious.

“What kind of fruit is this?” Xia Daoming’s eyes lit up sharply.

“It must be an extremely precious fruit!” Jiao Yongbao said earnestly at once.

Xia Daoming gave Jiao Yongbao another deadpan look, then turned to Liang Jingtang and the other two senior brothers. “Master, Elder Yuchi, Elder Zhuo—do you recognize this fruit?”

“No, but it must be extremely precious!” Liang Jingtang said solemnly.

“Yes, yes, definitely extremely precious.”

“Fine!” Xia Daoming sighed, closed the box, and put it away.

If you don’t know, just say you don’t know—why say “extremely precious”? Does that make you look like expert appraisers?

PS: Three more chapters today.