Chapter 53: The Martial Arts Alliance? Nothing Special After All

At this point, Tang Hao gave a light chuckle.
So the fellow was just an idiot with no background, completely ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.
"Very well, since none of that applies, things become simple."
"Since you're so eager to help this Blood Fiend, you can die together with him!"
Standing aloof and looking down, Tang Hao directly pronounced Li Moxuan's death sentence.

Just at that moment, an extremely terrifying wave of energy surged forward, hitting Tang Hao's body with pinpoint accuracy.
"Ah..."
Before Tang Hao could even react, he let out a miserable scream and was sent flying backward.
After violently shattering a dozen towering ancient trees and smashing a giant boulder into dust, he finally came to a halt.

In an instant, the pupils of all the Martial Alliance experts present contracted to the size of pinpoints. Their lips twitched uncontrollably.
What was going on here?
What kind of sorcery was this?
The dignified Vice Alliance Master was just sent flying like that?
Was this some kind of joke?
The Martial Alliance experts could hardly believe their eyes.
They would rather believe they were hallucinating than accept that Li Moxuan possessed such terrifying strength.

Soon, Tang Hao climbed out of the giant crater looking utterly disheveled, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
His complexion was ashen and terrifyingly dark, turning a deep shade of purple from holding back his anger.
Just moments ago, right after he finished speaking, he had felt an immensely swift and terrifying force strike him, making his internal organs feel as though they had shifted out of place.
He had wanted to dodge, but there was simply no time.
Deep dread flickered in Tang Hao's eyes.
"Was that you who attacked me?"
No, he distinctly remembered that Li Moxuan hadn't made any visible movements.
Could it be that experts nowadays had evolved to the point of killing people with just a glance?
To be merely looked at by a young man and left in such a battered state—forget about the other Martial Alliance experts, even Tang Hao himself couldn't believe it was real.

Meanwhile, Li Moxuan delivered his final ultimatum.
"If you don't get lost, all of you will die here!"
"Audacious! You mere piece of trash, how dare you provoke the dignified Martial Alliance?"
A Martial Alliance expert at the peak of the Xiantian realm exploded with terrifying inner force fluctuations.
Stamping down hard, he shattered the stones beneath his feet and lunged at Li Moxuan's head with immensely savage power, looking intent on crushing Li Moxuan's skull to pieces.

Yet, contrary to expectations, just as this aggressive Xiantian peak martial artist reached Li Moxuan, Li Moxuan simply reached out and grabbed him casually, lifting him by the neck as if he were picking up a rabbit.
Then, with a casual toss, the martial artist was sent flying backward at an even faster speed, crashing heavily into a giant boulder and leaving behind a spiderweb of deep cracks.
"Ugh..."
Over eighty percent of the Xiantian peak martial artist's bones shattered instantly. He spat out mouthfuls of blood, completely devoid of any power to fight back.

Folding his arms across his chest, Li Moxuan let out a sneer.
"The Martial Alliance? If these are the kinds of trash you have, it doesn't look like much."
"From head to toe, the only thing hard about you people is your mouths!"

Seeing that even a Xiantian peak martial artist was nothing more than fodder in front of Li Moxuan, the expressions of all the Martial Alliance experts changed drastically.
Powerful strength wasn't terrifying; what was terrifying was that Li Moxuan hadn't used a single shred of inner force when he struck, making him look like an ordinary person.
If he could crush them relying purely on physical strength alone, what kind of monster was this?

"Damn it, I refuse to believe this!"
A burly martial artist at the initial stage of the Grandmaster realm clenched his fists, preparing to step forward and fight Li Moxuan.
"Stop! Come back here!"
Tang Hao hurriedly called out to stop him.
If even he couldn't react in time, anyone else going up there would simply be throwing away their life.

Tang Hao looked toward Li Moxuan.
"I didn't expect Your Excellency to be so formidable. It was my poor eyesight that failed to recognize a true expert earlier."
"However, by protecting a heinous villain like the Blood Fiend, Your Excellency is only bringing endless trouble upon yourself."
"Take care of yourself."
"We are retreating!"

Having suffered a setback and realizing that continuing the fight would only result in heavier losses, Tang Hao had no choice but to drop some harsh words and temporarily withdraw.
Although the Martial Alliance experts were still filled with lingering reluctance, since the Vice Alliance Master had given the order, they had no choice but to obey.
Carrying the heavily injured Xiantian peak martial artist, the group quickly vanished into the deep mountain forest.

Only then did Xue Ming heave a sigh of relief, offering a ingratiating smile.
"Many thanks, Master, for sparing my life!"
Smack!
Li Moxuan slapped Xue Ming, sending him flying through the air.

With a bewildered expression, Xue Ming climbed back up from the ground, casting a fearful look at Li Moxuan.
"This subordinate has been useless, please punish me, Master!"
Li Moxuan said in a frigid tone, "I keep you around to get things done, not to bring me trouble."

Interrogated by Li Moxuan, Xue Ming turned pale as a sheet and hurriedly dropped to his knees.
"This subordinate knows my crime, but the Martial Alliance went too far and continues to hound us relentlessly. Their informants are everywhere across the world. If I act on Your Excellency's behalf, they are bound to discover me sooner or later."

Li Moxuan was aware of this fact, but he still issued a warning.
"The Martial Alliance is mine to deal with. But let this be a warning—do not let it happen again. If you bring me any more trouble, I will deal with you first!"
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master!" Xue Ming answered in trembling terror.

Although Li Moxuan was young, he was fickle, unpredictable, and ruthless in his methods. Even a fiend like him felt terror chilling down to his very bones.
"Where are the medicinal herbs? Have you gathered them all?"
"They're all right here!"

Xue Ming retrieved a pouch from his robe, filled entirely with traditional medicinal ingredients. These were his lifeline; even when he had been beaten so miserably just moments before, he had not dared let any of the herbs be damaged.

Li Moxuan inspected the medicinal ingredients.
"Good. Boil them for three hours, pour the decoction into hot water, and soak in it for five hours. The blockages in your meridians will fully recover. However, you must stop using your Blood Fiend Art, or else you'll just keep putting yourself through this cycle of damage."
"If you work for me, don't mess around."

Overjoyed, Xue Ming accepted the instructions with a profound sense of relief.
"Many thanks, Master!"

...

A black Jeep sped away from Peach Blossom Village.
A Martial Alliance expert asked with burning resentment, "Vice Alliance Master, why didn't you let us finish him off?"
"With so many of us here, we have nothing to fear from him."

Tang Hao let out a cold snort.
"You think I didn't want to? That person is likely a Grandmaster expert, perhaps even more terrifying."
"Do you all want to die there?"
"What? A Grandmaster?"
"He's so young, that's completely absurd." The crowd was shocked.

"Indeed, there are very few Grandmasters in this world. Near Wushi, there is only the Alliance Master himself. How could someone so young possibly be a Grandmaster?"
"That's right, maybe the Vice Alliance Master misjudged."

Tang Hao's expression shifted.
"So, are you implying that I flew backward by myself?"
Tang Hao retorted, leaving everyone present in silence.

"Forget it. In any case, this person's strength is unfathomable and beyond what we can handle. We will simply report the truth and let the higher-ups deal with this headache."

...

Early the next morning.
Li Moxuan woke up, pushed open his bedroom door, basked in the warm sunlight, and let out a yawn.
He hadn't slept this comfortably in a long time.
Seeing Xue Ming meditating under a tree, Li Moxuan noticed that after being treated with the medicinal bath, Xue Ming looked significantly younger.
He had transformed from someone resembling a dried-up skeleton in a coffin back into a man in his forties or fifties.

Not only that, but Xue Ming's strength had experienced a leap in growth.
He had broken through two minor realms consecutively, reaching the peak of the Grandmaster realm.
Li Moxuan had anticipated this long ago.
If not for the inherent flaws of the Blood Fiend Art, Xue Ming's natural talent should have put him at this level anyway.
That medicinal formula of his was actually derived from the Meridians-Clearing Pill recipe used by cultivators for body forging, inherently possessing the ability to repair and clear meridians.
It looked like Xue Ming breaking through to the Great Grandmaster realm in the near future was only a matter of time.

Noticing Li Moxuan approaching, Xue Ming slowly opened his eyes.
Having experienced a surge in power, he was feeling somewhat inflated. Being only a step away from the Great Grandmaster realm, the immense strength gave him an invulnerable feeling.
Even when facing Li Moxuan, Xue Ming felt that he could hold his own once again.