Chapter 84: Must Die!

Hmm?

As Shi Yanfeng walked, he heard these words and his expression changed. He spoke in a deep tone, “Elder Zhu, are there others here?”

“Yes.” The aged, steady voice continued, “This little rat arrived even before we did.”

“Before us?” Shi Yanfeng’s eyes flickered. “Did he sneak in to steal something?”

“That’s a question for him.”

Whoosh!

A fierce gust of wind suddenly tore through the night, heading straight for the building where Su Jingxing was hiding.

Bang—

The wall was pierced through. Inside, as Su Jingxing dodged, he caught sight of a viciously shaped silver iron claw bursting through the wall, sweeping across the spot where he’d stood a moment before.

Swish!

The chain attached to the silver claw rattled as it pulled the claw back through the hole in the wall after missing its target.

“To think you managed to dodge that. Not bad,” the old, steady voice remarked with a trace of surprise. “No wonder you dared to sneak into the Baihe Martial Hall at night. Clearly, you have something to rely on.”

“Elder Zhu, we can’t let him leave,” Shi Yanfeng said coldly.

At this moment, all traces of his previous gentleness and smile had vanished. A bloodthirsty aura radiated from him, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, young master. He won’t get away,” Elder Zhu replied in a deep voice. Standing less than twenty meters from Su Jingxing, he gripped a silver iron claw in each hand. “This little rat thinks hiding in there will save him—such ignorance is both fearless and endearingly naïve!”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The air split with a sharp sound. Both silver claws shot from Elder Zhu’s hands, chains trailing, once again piercing the walls of Su Jingxing’s building, attacking him.

Though Su Jingxing was out of sight, the claws tracked his every move, their chains rattling noisily throughout the martial hall.

Swish, swish!

Su Jingxing moved nimbly, stepping lightly to avoid the attacks.

“Gentlemen, I’m just passing through, hoping to pick up a trinket or two—nothing more, nothing else intended or ever will be,” Su Jingxing called out, his voice deeper than before. “I can assure you, there’s no conflict between us, nor will there ever be. Let’s just part ways tonight—you go your way, I’ll go mine. How about it?”

“Absolutely not,” Shi Yanfeng snapped. “No interference with each other? That might fool a child. If you want us to believe you’ll keep your mouth shut, it’s simple: come out and kill yourself in front of us!”

“Only the dead keep secrets?” Su Jingxing’s voice was calm.

“That’s right. Only the dead keep secrets,” Shi Yanfeng sneered. “You’re calm, and your skills aren’t bad, but unfortunately you’ve heard too much. I have no choice but to kill you.”

Su Jingxing fell silent.

A moment later, he walked unhurriedly to the door, opening it with a creak and stepping outside.

Swish, swish, swish—

Everyone lurking in the surrounding corners turned their gaze on Su Jingxing, fixing him in their sights.

Even Du Liangjing, staring in shock, felt a surge of hope.

If this cloaked man was strong enough, perhaps he might survive this ordeal!

Shi Yanfeng, however, was supremely confident, letting out a soft laugh. “A wise choice.”

“Get on with it!” he ordered, raising his hand. “Once you’re dead, I’ll see your body is sent intact to the crematorium.”

Su Jingxing remained calm, speaking coolly, “No other options?”

“None,” Shi Yanfeng declared with finality.

“Death is the only way?” Su Jingxing pressed.

“Death is the only way!” Shi Yanfeng’s voice grew harder. “Enough talk—kill yourself now. You’ll save me and yourself the effort.”

“Agreed,” Su Jingxing replied.

Hmm?

Shi Yanfeng frowned. “Agreed to what?”

“I mean, your last words were spot on,” Su Jingxing said, listening intently for any newcomers, a throwing knife silently appearing in his palm.

“Which words?” Shi Yanfeng asked impatiently. “Are you going to do it or not? If not, I’ll have someone help you.”

“I’ll do it now.” Su Jingxing’s reply was calm.

In the next instant—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

With a shrill sound that tore through the night, nine streaks of light flashed out.

In the span of a second, nine throwing knives shot out like lightning, each targeting a separate person—Shi Yanfeng, Elder Zhu, and the seven others hidden in the shadows.

Under the explosive force of the Titan Blade technique, each knife was imbued with tremendous power.

So—

Bang! Bang! Bang! …

A rapid series of explosions erupted almost simultaneously.

Not one of the seven hidden figures survived—all were blown apart on the spot.

“Ugh!”

Shi Yanfeng coughed up dark blood, unable to control his body as he flew backward and crashed to the ground.

The pendant hanging from his neck shattered in that instant, dissolving into powder.

Just as the throwing knife neared his face, the pendant had suddenly glowed, creating a translucent membrane that enveloped Shi Yanfeng.

The terrifying force of the exploding knife was largely absorbed by the membrane, with less than a tenth reaching Shi Yanfeng’s body.

The blast sent him flying. Though alive, his body was wracked with pain, leaving him unable to move for the moment.

Of the nine, only Elder Zhu, wielding a silver claw, managed to face a flying knife head-on.

The collision unleashed a mighty explosion, destroying both the claw and the knife.

At that moment, his expression darkened, killing intent nearly tangible in his eyes.

“Impressive! I underestimated you before—I never imagined you had such a trump card!”

As his words fell, Elder Zhu controlled his remaining silver claw, sending it whistling through the air toward Su Jingxing.

Swish, swish—

Su Jingxing, using the Eight-Step Rising Dragon footwork, moved with ghostly speed, dodging the claw and darting straight toward Elder Zhu.

“Courting death!”

A fierce gleam flashed in Elder Zhu’s eyes. In his other palm, a swirl of gray-white true energy quickly condensed and burst forth.

Boom!

The air exploded.

A withered yellow palm print materialized, striking toward Su Jingxing.

“Seven-Step Fist!”

Su Jingxing’s true energy wrapped around his fist, doubling its power as he shattered the palm print with a single blow.

Without pausing, he drifted forward, closing the distance to Elder Zhu.

Elder Zhu’s face contorted with rage, his eyes wide as he roared, “Reckless fool—!”

Swish!

A blade flash burst forth, splitting the air.

In a heartbeat, Su Jingxing drew his treasured weapon and chopped down at Elder Zhu with ferocious speed.

First Form of the Three Origin Blade Technique—

“Cut Against the Wind!”

“Wave-Cleaving Sweep!”

“Sovereign Dragon Strike!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a hundred thousand pounds of force, each strike exploded through the air, slamming into Elder Zhu.

The three great moves unleashed in succession, each blow faster and fiercer than the last, unrelenting and overwhelming.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Caught off guard, Elder Zhu hastily raised his protective true energy to defend himself.

But he couldn’t withstand the crushing force. Blow after blow drove him back, his heavy steps leaving deep prints in the ground.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!” he screamed, retreating while his face flushed red, horror and disbelief flashing in his eyes. “Who are you? Who are you! Think carefully—if you kill us…”

Splurt!

Suddenly, his roar was cut short.

At the very instant his protective true energy shattered, his head flew from his shoulders!

[Corpse detected. Collect?]