Chapter 042: The Return of What Belongs

A diamond-shaped dart shot from Fan Chungang's palm, heading straight for Su Jingxing.

Whoosh!

The piercing sound of wind, carrying a cold murderous intent, enveloped Su Jingxing's back.

As he ran, Su Jingxing sensed the attack instantly. His figure flickered and he dodged the ambush.

Then, he stopped, turned, and looked at Fan Chungang.

"You want to kill me?"

Su Jingxing spoke coldly, his expression unmoved. "Just because I don't need your help, you want to kill me?"

"Enough! Stop pretending," Fan Chungang's face was gloomy, his eyes blazing with fury. "Since we're tearing off the mask, I'll get straight to the point. Tell me, did you take Chen Xiaodao's Titan Blade?"

He really guessed it!

Su Jingxing mused silently, but on the surface, he remained calm. "What Titan Blade?"

"Heh, still pretending." Fan Chungang sneered. "You think I don't know, just because you won't say it? Others may not understand the Titan Blade's method of exerting force, its angle of attack, the way its power spreads—but I do! Because Chen Xiaodao stole the Titan Blade from me! Before he trained in throwing knives, I was already well-versed in this concealed weapon!"

"So?" Su Jingxing replied evenly.

"So, now this weapon should return to its rightful owner!" Fan Chungang growled, sending another diamond dart flying.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

This time, three diamond darts flew out, each at a cunning angle, targeting Su Jingxing's vital points.

Swish! Swish swish!

Su Jingxing's figure swayed, his steps tracing the Eight-Step Ascending Dragon. In a few flashes, he easily dodged.

Standing steady once more, he regarded the ashen-faced Fan Chungang and chuckled softly. "This is also the Titan Blade, isn't it? Oh, no—yours should be called the Lightweight Dart."

Indeed, the force and path of Fan Chungang's darts matched the Titan Blade exactly.

Yet their power paled in comparison.

So, regarding Fan Chungang's claim, Su Jingxing was inclined to believe him.

The Titan Blade likely was stolen by Chen Xiaodao from Fan Chungang.

Fan Chungang had trained in this concealed weapon before, but lacking brute strength, he couldn't master it. He adapted it to throwing darts, retaining only the Titan Blade's method of exertion.

Such cases weren't rare. For instance, someone might acquire a sword technique but wield a knife instead.

They would practice the sword technique as a knife technique, and it would still be powerful.

It seemed perfect, but in truth, such martial arts were already distorted, neither fish nor fowl.

Only those of extraordinary talent, masters versed in countless martial arts who could create their own techniques, could strip away the old and forge the new.

To glean knife techniques from sword arts—only then could martial prowess truly advance.

Was Fan Chungang such a person?

Clearly not!

Thus, his dart technique appeared awkward and unnatural to Su Jingxing.

Fan Chungang had thought he'd hidden it well, that no one could see through him.

Even Wan Rong, who followed him, had never known.

Yet now, Su Jingxing had exposed him face-to-face. Shame and fury exploded in Fan Chungang's heart.

"You won't hand it over, huh? Then I'll take it myself!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Fan Chungang growled, waving both hands and unleashing more than a dozen diamond darts, hoping to overwhelm Su Jingxing with sheer numbers.

At the same time, he stamped his foot, his figure shooting forward like lightning, twin curved blades in hand, following the darts in a fierce assault.

Swish swish swish!

Su Jingxing's figure flickered repeatedly, moving to the right while evading the diamond darts.

He no longer held back against Fan Chungang's charge.

"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"

Three throwing knives flew out, one after another, intercepting Fan Chungang.

Instantly, the sound of wind ripping intensified, like shells leaving the barrel, tearing the air.

The knives flew at uncanny angles—seemingly straight, yet ever-changing.

They might be to the left one moment, to the right the next.

Yet the trajectory within sight never changed.

Real and unreal, unreal and real.

Fan Chungang was dizzy in an instant, his heart pounding like a drum.

Danger!

Alarm bells rang in his mind.

No time to dodge—he instinctively swung his twin blades to block.

Bang!

A muffled thud.

Pfft—

Fan Chungang spewed blood, his arms numb, his body uncontrollably retreating.

The twin curved blades in his hands shattered with a loud crash, fragments scattering through the air.

Under the sunlight, the knife shards gleamed brightly.

As Fan Chungang staggered back, he saw another throwing knife in his field of vision.

The second knife!

The first, carrying immense power, had smashed his blades and forced him back.

The second followed mercilessly, heading straight for his chest and striking him squarely.

Bang bang—

Crack!

"Ugh—"

Blood gushed from Fan Chungang's mouth, spraying into the air.

Most of the bones in his chest were shattered; his outer clothes and thin inner armor were torn to fragments.

Suspended mid-air—

Boom!

The third throwing knife pierced his chest, leaving a gaping hole, passing through him and hurtling toward several towering ancient trees behind.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The muffled sounds echoed endlessly. Under the force of the third knife, the great trees exploded, splintered, and collapsed one after another.

Hundred-meter trunks fell—some to the right, some to the left, some forward or back—crashing onto nearby trees with a chorus of thuds.

A flock of birds was startled, bursting from the forest and scattering in every direction.

The once quiet mountain now rang with tumult.

Birds soared in the sky, beasts fled on the ground.

But all of this grew ever more distant from Fan Chungang.

He lay on the ground, a gaping hole in his chest, face to the sky, blood bubbling from his mouth.

His trembling body rapidly lost all vitality; his wide eyes shone with a final gleam, fixed on Su Jingxing as he approached.

"You... you..."

"You saw right—this is the real Titan Blade," Su Jingxing said calmly. "Didn't you want it returned to its rightful owner? I thought about it, and you do have a... hey, hey, don't die so quickly!"

Su Jingxing sneered, shaking his head at Fan Chungang's lifeless stare.

He had followed all the way, forcing Su Jingxing's hand.

Now, there was no need to keep running.

Su Jingxing's hands now wielded a strength of sixteen thousand pounds; paired with the Titan Blade, his attacks were no less than cannon fire.

Fan Chungang had prepared, armed with twin blades and inner armor, but still, the third knife pierced him through front and back.

Dead beyond dead!

A seventh-rank martial artist—seemingly unimpressive.

Su Jingxing grumbled inwardly.

He opened his backpack, took out corpse-dissolving liquid, ready to destroy the remains to prevent corpse maggot eggs from being attracted.

[Corpse detected. Would you like to retrieve it?]

A prompt flashed through his mind.

Su Jingxing's lips curled in a smile. He answered inwardly, "Yes."

In the next instant, a card appeared in his pocket.

Su Jingxing reached for it, reading the information.

He discovered it was actually a...