We Are Not the Same

Boom, boom...

The sky darkened, and faint thunder suddenly rumbled.

The crowd scattered in all directions, glaring furiously at the man ahead.

The one-eyed man held the little girl by the neck, squeezing so hard that her bottom hurt as she struggled in terror.

The little girl's tender pink neck had been squeezed bright red. Her white sweater was covered in black grime.

She looked around in fear as tears rolled down her face.

"Waaah... I'm scared..."

Beside the little girl, an elderly woman looked frantic.

"What do you want? I can give you anything. Money? Or something else?"

The man ignored the old woman and carried the little girl farther away.

"Waaah... Mom, Dad, save me..."

The one-eyed man pulled a bucket from a corner and twisted open its lid. A powerful smell of gasoline wafted out.

At that moment.

Cloud Water Mall's security guards had already surrounded him. After a brief inquiry, they learned what had happened.

The leader was Cloud Water Mall's Security Captain. Holding a knife, he spoke in the gentlest tone he could manage.

"Brother, don't get worked up. Don't do something that hurts others and hurts yourself."

The one-eyed man carried the little girl, and his emotions eased slightly.

"Stop. Stay ten meters away from me."

The Security Captain nodded and retreated again and again.

This little girl was no ordinary child. She was the daughter of the director of Cloud Water City's Martial Arts Education Bureau.

If he could not save her from this Cultist, he would lose his job.

The One-Armed Man took out a cigarette and lit it.

With the cigarette between his lips, he lifted the gasoline and poured a circle around himself and the little girl.

"When this cigarette burns out, this little girl and I will enter reincarnation together."

The man exhaled a puff of smoke and ignored the little girl's sobbing.

The Security Captain panicked.

How long did it take to smoke a cigarette? Just a few minutes at most.

"Brother, think about your wife..."

"She ran off with another man."

"Think about your son..."

"He's the other man's."

"Think about your parents..."

"They were beaten to death by bullies. I had nowhere to seek justice, no one helped me. I want someone to die with me!"

A security guard beside him spoke quietly to the Security Captain.

"Captain, stop talking. The more you persuade him, the more worked up he gets."

The Security Captain grew anxious.

He was a Level Thirteen Martial Artist, not a Martial Artist above Level Thirty who could project his blood and vitality beyond his body.

If there was no other way, they could only force an attack.

They had only the time it took to smoke one cigarette to save her.

The one-eyed man seemed to have had his painful memories stirred up by the Security Captain, making him even more agitated.

Seeing several guards huddled together, he immediately shouted.

"I'm a Level Ten Martial Artist too. I can react to every little move you make."

With that said.

The one-eyed man released the aura of a Level Ten Martial Artist.

His blood and vitality burned like a furnace. The fine drizzle drifting through the sky evaporated before it could reach him.

The Security Captain froze. A Level Ten Martial Artist—if he attacked, the other party really could react.

And kill the director's daughter while he made his move.

"Security Captain, hurry and think of something! The cigarette is already half gone!"

"Ma'am, we're thinking of something too. Please stop rushing us."

"This man is a Level Ten Martial Artist. Our security team has no long-range means of attack."

"I've already notified the Public Security Bureau. The sniper will be here soon."

Watching her granddaughter's neck trapped in the man's hand, her little face full of terror, the old woman became increasingly frantic.

"Can someone save my granddaughter..."

At her wits' end, the old woman watched the cigarette grow shorter and shorter before collapsing limply to the ground.

A youth stepped out of the crowd and walked toward the one-eyed man.

"Stop! Take another step and I'll strangle her."

The youth was Xu Zhiming.

Standing among the crowd and watching the little girl cry, he could not bear it any longer.

When he heard the man say he had been bullied and no one had helped him, an idea flashed through his mind.

So he stepped forward.

"You said bullies oppressed you, and no one helped you."

"What a coincidence. I've been bullied too, and no one stood up for me."

The man watched Xu Zhiming warily, not believing a word he said.

"You look like a high school student. Who would bully you? At worst, some classmates might charge you protection money."

"Child's play."

All around them.

Some people pulled out their phones and began recording.

Xu Zhiming smiled faintly.

He took his student ID from his pocket and tossed it directly over.

"My name is Xu Zhiming. I'm a senior student in Class 3 at Yunshui First High School."

"Take a look at the recent announcement on our school's public account."

The one-eyed man lowered his head and glanced at the student ID. The information on it was indeed what Xu Zhiming had said.

For a moment, it sparked his curiosity.

Seeing that the man believed him, Xu Zhiming secretly let out a breath of relief.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced around.

Good. Recording was exactly what he wanted.

"Our school said last year that the top student in cultural studies and the student with the highest blood and vitality would split a reward of over one million."

"I came first in cultural studies."

"I should have received hundreds of thousands in rewards, but with one sentence saying a teacher had misspoken, the school stripped me of that reward and gave me three E-grade Potions instead."

The man stood there speechless.

If it was true, he did feel some sympathy for Xu Zhiming. Compared to him, Xu Zhiming was barely one percent as miserable.

"My son attends First High School. He mentioned this at home before. I thought it was fake, but it's actually true."

"If it were me, I'd already be furious. For the school to do that is fucking disgusting."

Xu Zhiming's face filled with indignation as he took another two steps toward the man.

"You think that was the end? The three potions I was promised were taken by a Level Nine student from our school, and the school did nothing."

"Even though my homeroom teacher spoke up for me, the school actually tacitly allowed that person to steal my potions."

The man took a fierce drag. Half the cigarette was consumed in one breath.

When the old woman beside them saw this, her heart leaped into her throat.

The surrounding voices boiled like a cauldron. Her vision went black, and she fainted to the ground.

The security guards beside her immediately caught her.

The Security Captain stared at the cigarette butt on the ground. Thankfully, it had not been dropped onto the gasoline.

Hold on for a few more minutes, and the sniper would arrive.

He hoped this student would keep talking if he was so good at it.

The one-eyed man looked at Xu Zhiming. Xu Zhiming was now only five meters away.

He did not care. Instead, he felt a measure of kinship with Xu Zhiming.

"You think it's over? Not yet."

The man pricked up his ears. This guy was nearly a third as miserable as he was.

The hand gripping the little girl's neck loosened slightly as well.

"Through my own efforts, with dozens of classmates watching, I defeated the student who stole my potions."

"Then guess what happened."

Unable to restrain his curiosity, the man asked.

"What?"

The previously noisy crowd also fell silent, wanting to hear what had happened to him.

Xu Zhiming took out his phone and read aloud the section of Yunshui First High School's notice regarding Yu Qingqing.

"They didn't ask a single classmate or any teacher who had witnessed it. They said I used my strength to bully the weak."

"They gave me a major demerit."

Xu Zhiming's voice grew more impassioned, and his eyes brighter and brighter.

"I wanted to drag those people out and point at their noses, asking them why."

"But I didn't."

Xu Zhiming took a deep breath. He was now only about three meters from the man.

"Because I knew they thought I was weak. I was an orphan. I had no background. I deserved to be bullied."

Xu Zhiming looked at the one-eyed man.

"Tell me, aren't our experiences somewhat alike?"

The man nodded. There truly was a trace of similarity.

But when he saw Xu Zhiming standing before him, the man instantly came to his senses.

His hand around the little girl's neck tightened with even greater force.

The little girl's face turned red. Both hands clutched desperately at the man, trying to break free.

How could a five- or six-year-old girl possibly shake a Level Ten Martial Artist?

"You've suffered so much injustice. Join us, and I'll recommend you. Together, we'll send everyone to heaven."

Xu Zhiming shook his head.

"Our experiences may be similar, but we are not the same."

"I'll perform a fist technique for you. See if you can tell how we're different."

Boom, boom...

Just then, thunder rumbled from the horizon.

Xu Zhiming assumed the stance of the Wind Thunder Fist.

With the fury of thunder in his chest, he slowly began performing the Wind Thunder Fist.

Thunder howled, and human voices surged like a boiling sea.

They did not understand. Why was he still practicing a fist technique at a time like this?

You diligently practiced the Wind Thunder Fist once...

If you think this book is good, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't have trouble finding it next time.