Taking Action

Lin Zhen spoke as he pulled the Black Dragon Spear from behind his back.

Though the Black Dragon Spear was a Long Spear, its shaft consisted of two sections. With a pull at the middle, Lin Zhen extended it from its original length of 1.2 meters to 2.2 meters.

"I'll cripple one leg from each of them. Consider it revenge for my father!"

Seeing that Lin Zhen was about to act, Zhang Huai could no longer stand by. He shouted, "Lin Zhen, you dare!"

They were his brothers, after all. If he watched Lin Zhen cripple one of their legs, who would dare follow him in the future?

"What is there for me to not dare?" Lin Zhen was about to strike.

"Fine! Listen carefully, Lin Zhen. I'm giving you two choices. First, release them, and I'll compensate you. Second, keep going—but then you'll have offended me, Zhang Huai, for good. You've heard my nickname, Butcher. It's not because I kill lots of monsters. Compared to killing monsters, I prefer dealing with blind fools out in the wilderness. Don't blame me for not warning you when the time comes."

Listening to Zhang Huai's threat, Lin Zhen said, "What kind of compensation can you offer?"

"I'll give your father five hundred thousand. I know his injury isn't serious at all, and his treatment only cost a little over ten thousand. Give him five hundred thousand, and you've already made a huge profit."

Zhao Liang could no longer listen to this. He snapped, "Zhang Huai, are you dismissing us like beggars? Our entire Demon Hunter Squad came out for your five hundred thousand? That's not even enough for a meal. If you really intend to compensate us, show some sincerity. Stop saying this has nothing to do with you. Nobody here is an idiot."

"How much do you want?" Zhang Huai asked.

Everyone looked toward Lin Zhen. After all, Lin Zhen had to name the final price.

Lin Zhen rubbed the spear shaft with his hand. "To me, even if these people died, it wouldn't be enough to absolve their sins. But since everyone is here today, I'll give you some face. Bring out twenty million, and you can take these people away. Otherwise, each of them leaves behind a leg."

"Pah! Keep dreaming!"

Zhang Huai spat viciously. "Do you think my money blows in on the wind? You've got some nerve demanding twenty million. I'm telling you, one million at most. Not one cent more. Either release them, or offend me. Lin Zhen, decide for yourself."

As he spoke, Zhang Huai raised a hand behind his back and drew a 1.3-meter-long cleaver, its blade still faintly stained with blood.

Zhang Huai excelled with blades and followed a fierce, forceful style. He was bold enough to fight and charge, exceptionally savage in battle, which was how he earned the title Butcher. Ordinary Martial Artists truly did not wish to offend him. He also did not believe that Lin Zhen, a mere junior trainee who had only recently entered the Martial Artist circle, truly had the courage to offend him.

Lin Zhen was probably just bluffing. Once Zhang Huai paid up, it would mean he had lost to Lin Zhen. He could not afford to lose that face.

Lin Zhen swept his gaze over the Demon Hunter Squad. Everyone nodded at him, and Shi Lei even said, "Lin Zhen, you're a member of our squad. Your business is our business. You make the call."

"Then Lin Zhen thanks you all for your support."

After saying that, Lin Zhen suddenly struck with lightning speed.

The Black Dragon Spear thrust four times in rapid succession, every strike precisely piercing the base of the four thugs' thighs.

"Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!"

The four thugs screamed miserably. A bloody hole had appeared in every one of their crotches!

Looking at the mangled pieces impaled on the spear tip, the Martial Artists all felt a chill run through their hearts.

Lin Zhen had struck too viciously. He had directly crippled the four thugs. None of them would ever have the chance to do what men loved to do again.

"I'm terribly sorry. I originally intended to cripple one leg from each of you, but my Spear Art is still new, so my aim may have been a little off. I crippled their third legs instead. Hehe! I haven't broken my word, though. It's still a leg, after all."

The Blood Hand members all wore ugly expressions. They would not have cared even if the four thugs had died, but Lin Zhen had acted right in front of them. This was a complete falling-out.

One of the thugs collapsed while clutching his crotch with both hands. Before passing out, he still shouted at Ouyang Yu, "Brother Yu, we were helping you handle this..."

Ouyang Yu's eyes turned bloodshot. He had long found Lin Zhen unpleasant, and now someone had called him out in public. If he still failed to show something, nobody would respect him.

He even forgot that he had yet to take the Gene Potion, that the gap between him and Lin Zhen had already become enormous. In fury, he drew a Short Knife from his waist and charged at Lin Zhen.

"Watch out!" Zhang Huai shouted from behind, but it was already too late.

Lin Zhen flicked the Black Dragon Spear in his hand. As his body shifted, the shaft whipped up wind and thunder and smashed fiercely toward Ouyang Yu's head.

Lin Zhen had long wanted to deal with this man who had made his previous life so miserable.

Only when he saw the spear shaft coming did Ouyang Yu remember the gap between himself and Lin Zhen. But it was too late to retreat. In his haste, he could only use both his knife and arm to block the strike.

"Clang! Crack!"

Lin Zhen had not even used his full strength. With one blow, he sent Ouyang Yu's Short Knife flying and broke his opponent's arm at the same time!

Ouyang Yu screamed miserably. His arm folded at a ninety-degree angle as he howled and collapsed to the ground, rolling back and forth in agony.

Lin Zhen had taken down Ouyang Yu with one strike, and two more people on the other side moved.

One was Zhang Huai, and the other was Lei Ming.

But Zhang Huai was clearly much faster than Lei Ming. Wielding his cleaver, he lunged fiercely at Lin Zhen, roaring, "You little bastard, I'll chop you apart!"

Lei Ming slowed his steps instead. Though he had brought Ouyang Yu along, he was now a Blood Hand Squad member and naturally had to defer to the older members.

Besides, he also felt uncertain. Lin Zhen was probably not easy to deal with now.

Seeing Zhang Huai make his move, Zhao Liang and the others were about to act as well. Though it was not wise to start an all-out fight with the Blood Hand Squad here, they could not watch Lin Zhen suffer. After all, Zhang Huai was a War General, while Lin Zhen was only at the early Level Eight Warrior stage.

As Shi Lei, Zhao Liang, and the others drew their swords, the Blood Hand members also pulled out their weapons.

Both sides' snipers set up their Sniper Rifles, while everyone else entered combat stance. Once the fight began, someone would definitely fall within a short time.

But Lin Zhen shouted, "Brother Zhao, don't move! I want to fight Zhang Huai one-on-one."

If both sides went to war today, Lin Zhen believed the Demon Hunter Squad would gain no advantage. The other side had a Level Four War General, after all, and the outcome would certainly not be pleasant.

Hearing Lin Zhen's words, even Zhang Huai, who had been about to attack, froze for a moment before bursting into laughter. "This is fucking ridiculous! A mere Level Seven Warrior wants to fight me, someone at the General Stage, one-on-one? Come on, come on, Lin Zhen, you little brat. I'll teach you how to behave today. Nobody make a move."

Zhao Liang was somewhat worried. "Lin Zhen, don't overestimate yourself."

"Brother Zhao, trust me just once, all right?" Lin Zhen looked at the Demon Hunter Squad members.

The few of them exchanged glances and all nodded. A one-on-one duel represented a Martial Artist's honor. If they forcibly stopped it, that Martial Artist might never be able to hold his head up again.

The Blood Hand members also stopped, clearly believing Zhang Huai would win without question.

Holding the Black Dragon Spear, Lin Zhen stood before Zhang Huai. "Zhang Huai, I believe in ending fights quickly. And since you're a War General, I have a small request. Do you dare agree to it?"

Zhang Huai did not agree immediately. Instead, he cautiously asked, "What request?"

"One minute! Our battle will last only one minute. If I lose within that minute, I'll unconditionally give you twenty million and cripple one of my own arms as compensation for Ouyang Yu. But if you lose, you give me twenty million. Do you dare?"

Zhang Huai's eyes shifted. "What if there's no winner after one minute?"

"Then we fight for another minute."

"Fine!"

Zhang Huai laughed loudly. "Lin Zhen, Lin Zhen, you really are stupid to the core. You actually want to gamble with me? One minute is more than enough for me to cut you into eight pieces. Everyone heard that, right? Lin Zhen requested this himself. None of you Demon Hunters are allowed to interfere!"

"You Blood Hand people aren't allowed to interfere either. One minute. If someone dies, there will be no complaints!" Lin Zhen declared just as firmly.

"Fine! It's settled. Lei Ming, record this and stream it online right now. I want all the Martial Artists in Ice City to see what happens when they offend Butcher Zhang Huai!"

Zhang Huai was incomparably pleased with himself. In his eyes, Lin Zhen, a Level Seven Warrior, was no match for him at all. One minute was more than enough to deal with him.

Lin Zhen also said to Zhao Liang and the others, "Brother Zhao, let's stream it too. Let everyone see that there isn't a single coward in our Demon Hunter Squad!"