Chapter 40: Just Taking You Back

The night was as black as ink.

In the outskirts of Nanyun City, inside an abandoned factory.

Shattered glass windows let in a few pale shafts of moonlight, illuminating the dust floating in the air.

Rusted metal frames leaned crookedly, supporting the sagging roof, while the corners were piled with moldy wooden crates and broken machine parts.

In the distance, intermittent chirps of unidentified insects added to the dead silence.

In the old office on the factory's second floor, a man sat on a faded leather sofa.

His looks were plain and unremarkable—the kind that would disappear in a crowd.

Short hair, square face, slightly yellow skin, and featureless features.

Yet his build was unusually muscular, the muscle lines barely visible under a thin T‑shirt, forming a stark contrast with his ordinary face.

At this moment, he cradled a bowl of instant noodles, slurping the noodles noisily.

Steam rose, blurring his features.

Suddenly—

"Snap!"

He hurled the noodle bowl at the wall.

Soup splattered everywhere, the noodles clinging sticky to the old wall before slowly sliding down.

"Damn!" he roared, kicking the wooden table in front of him over. The table crashed to the floor with a deafening bang, making the floor tremble slightly.

"Just killed a few people—so what? Why chase me so tightly?!" he snarled, veins bulging at his temples, his fists clenching with a crackling sound:

"When I get out of the country, we'll see how you chase me!"

Huang Yu, a grandmaster of Five Elements Fist registered with the Civil Affairs Bureau and disciple of Chen Dingxin, has not awakened Heavenly Authority, but his cultivation talent is decent.

After five years of training, he had already reached the mid‑stage of Refining Form.

The so‑called Refining Form, as the name suggests, is refining one's body with Qi.

The flesh, nourished by Qi, becomes increasingly strong; ordinary Blade and Troops can no longer harm it, and even after a second Qi‑enhancement it can withstand handgun bullets.

It can also contain far more Qi.

Originally, the peak Qi‑drawing lasted only a minute; Refining Form can last at least two minutes.

Chen Haoxi gave Yu Lin and the others an analogy:

"Qi‑drawing is like the charging speed of a phone; Refining Form upgrades the phone's drop resistance and battery capacity; the next level makes the phone triple‑protected, doubling the battery again!"

"Soul Cultivation is like upgrading the CPU and OS; the stronger the CPU, the smoother the system, and the better the phone's performance."

Though some details may differ, the gist is essentially correct.

As for how Huang Yu's master died...

He had achieved Refining Form Completion and was a veteran master; Huang Yu obviously couldn't beat him head‑on, so... poison!

A single virus can turn even the best phone into a brick!

Huang Yu was treacherously killed by his master; if not for other sect brothers being absent that day, he probably wouldn't have escaped death!

Hmm, and the senior sister.

He licked his lips, as if savoring that taste.

Practitioners truly are far better than those he hunted down in the alleys...

It's just a pity.

Huang Yu shook his head, no longer dwelling on it; now he must think about how to escape Da Xia.

Earlier that morning, while he was happily enjoying his lover's company, an unfamiliar message arrived:

【The Civil Affairs Bureau has sent agents to capture you; they'll arrive in three hours—run!】

He didn't know if it was true, but he'd rather believe it exists than assume it doesn't.

After killing a random captured housewife, Huang Yu fled straight from that residential complex to this abandoned factory.

He couldn't believe they could find him.

If they could find him, he'd eat this sofa right now...

"Bang!"

A deafening crash sounded, and Huang Yu snapped his head toward the factory entrance.

The previously locked iron gate had vanished, moonlight pouring in from outside, outlining a tall figure in a Daoist robe.

The person stood against the light, the robe's hem fluttering slightly in the night wind.

"Got you," ZhouYi's voice carried a bone‑chilling cold.

Huang Yu's pupils contracted, then he flashed a sneer: "You're from the Civil Affairs Bureau? Just a kid, you think you can beat me?!"

ZhouYi gave no reply, merely stepping forward slowly.

The metal Finger Claws glinted coldly in the moonlight as he calmly slipped them onto his hand, producing a soft "click."

At that moment—

"Bang!"

A huge bang echoed overhead as shattered concrete chunks rained down.

Huang Yu looked up sharply, seeing a massive hole in the roof where Qin Zhao stood at the edge, looking down at him.

Beneath his cropped hair, his eyes were filled with icy murderous intent, locked onto Huang Yu.

"Clack clack clack—"

Almost simultaneously, a volley of gunfire rang out, shattering the nearby window glass.

Bai Xiaoxia entered the room, brandishing a custom firearm, the barrel steadied on Huang Yu's brow.

His face no longer held its usual grin; instead, a chilling focus replaced it.

Surrounded on three sides, there was no escape.

Huang Yu's Adam's apple bobbed, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.

But soon he flashed a snarling grin: "Three little brats… interesting........"

He slowly assumed the opening stance of the Five Elements Fist, his muscles tightening beneath his T‑shirt:

"Then let me see what you Civil Affairs Bureau are capable of!"

His fist, wrapped in a gust of force, lunged straight at ZhouYi's face; ZhouYi sidestepped, and Finger Claws traced a silver arc in the moonlight, smashing down onto Huang Yu's ribs!

Huang Yu instantly changed his move and answered with a punch!

Bang!

The fist collided with Finger Claws, the energy exploding, sending dust swirling around!

Qin Zhao's figure flashed to Huang Yu's side like a phantom, a whipping kick sweeping toward his knee.

"Useless!" Huang Yu sneered, raising his knee to meet it hard, and simultaneously delivered a reverse elbow strike that forced Qin Zhao back.

Clack clack clack—

Bai Xiaoxia's bullet precisely blocked Huang Yu's retreat, forcing him to abandon the chase and scramble away in a mess.

"The brats are coordinating well!" Huang Yu spat a froth of blood, his eyes flashing even more ferociously.

"Let's see how long you can hold out!"

He erupted suddenly, his punches accelerating sharply, pouring down on ZhouYi like a torrential rain.

ZhouYi blocked, but his earlier divination had left him in poor condition; combined with Huang Yu's cunning, brutal punches, a feint followed by an abrupt change slammed heavily into his chest!

"Cough—" ZhouYi spat a mouthful of fresh blood, staggering backward.

Huang Yu snarled, about to pursue, when he saw a phantom balance scale materialize in Qin Zhao's hand!

"Shift!"

With a clear shout from Qin Zhao, ZhouYi's wounds vanished instantly, while Huang Yu's chest oddly sank inward, blood spilling from his mouth!

"Heavenly Authority?!" Huang Yu widened his eyes, gritted his teeth and growled:

"This is unfair!"

ZhouYi wiped away the non‑existent blood at his mouth and sneered:

"Against an enemy, fairness isn't required!"

"Especially someone like you!"

Having said that, he lunged at Huang Yu again, the fist wind three points sharper than before.

Huang Yu clenched his teeth and muttered, this fight can't be won!

Hurting them is like hurting himself; it's outright cheating!

He kicked the ground hard, raising a cloud of dust that obscured vision, then turned and sprinted toward the factory's back door.

"I'll remember this grudge!" Huang Yu shouted while running, "Sooner or later you'll see what's coming!"

In the blink of an eye he fled the factory, smug that ZhouYi's group dared not give chase…

But he hadn't noticed a streak of crimson Sword Aura silently sweeping across—

Pfft!

The Sword Aura sliced across Huang Yu's right leg; he let out a howl and collapsed.

"Who?! Who sent that Sword Aura?!!" he turned his head to look.

He saw atop a nearby canopy.

A silhouette leapt down, walking slowly toward him, looking down from above, pulling out a bottle of potion and pouring it onto his right leg wound.

The once smooth incision was instantly covered by a blood scab, then healed at a rapid pace.

"You, why?!"

Seeing this, Huang Yu's confusion deepened; what on earth was this guy trying to do?!

Yu Lin grinned at him and casually said:

"There's no reason; I'm just afraid you'd die too quickly."

His words hung in the air.

He lifted his foot and stepped onto Huang Yu's left leg—

Crack!

The crisp sound of bone cracking rang sharply in the silent night.

"Ah!!!" Huang Yu let out a gut‑wrenching scream, cold sweat instantly covering his forehead.

He struggled to swing a punch back, but Yu Lin kicked his face!

Bang!

Huang Yu's head was driven straight into the mud, his nasal cavity filled with foul, stinking earth.

Yu Lin, expressionless, delivered two more kicks, precisely snapping his arms.

Seeing Huang Yu on the brink of death, Yu Lin bent, grabbed his hair, yanked his head out of the ground like pulling a radish, and casually stuffed several Healing Pills into his mouth.

"Cough, cough......" Huang Yu coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of mud, his lips trembling: "You… your mission wasn't to capture me back? If you kill me, you won't complete the mission either!"

Yu Lin crouched, flashing a cold white smile at him: "Our mission is to bring you back; we never said what kind of you we'd bring back."

He patted Huang Yu's mud‑splattered face: "Alright, go tell them whatever you want."

Finishing, Yu Lin grabbed Huang Yu's collar and flung him out like a sandbag—

"Go!"

Huang Yu traced a parabola through the air, crashing heavily beneath the three who had just left the factory, ZhouYi among them.

He collapsed like a dead dog, able only to utter a weak plea for mercy:

"Spare me, spare me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't dare any more!"

ZhouYi simply raised his fist:

"You never spared your master and senior sister, the mother of those two children!"

"Watch the punch!"