Crack, crack—
The sound of blue-stone walls splitting rang without end, as if the entire wall were about to be pushed down.
And this was only borrowing force to strike with force, using the strength of a human body to push against the wall. If Crow had attacked with his own strength, one punch would probably have been enough to send the courtyard wall collapsing.
"Mu Yang, how are you, Mu Yang—Li Yan, are you dead or something? Hurry and move aside so I can see my son—"
"Brother, are you all right? Li Mu Yang, say something—"
"Dad—" A familiar voice came from behind him.
Li Mu Yang patted his father on the shoulder and said, "Sorry, please move aside."
Li Yan turned around in a flurry, his face filled with delight. "Mu Yang, you're all right? You—you're completely fine?"
"I'm fine." Li Mu Yang shook his head and rubbed his aching shoulder and back. "I only scraped the skin a little."
"How could you have only scraped the skin?" Li Sinian blinked. Even with the physique she had built by practicing the Body-Breaking Technique since childhood, being slammed like that would probably have broken two of her bones.
But Li Mu Yang's body was terribly weak. He could not even lift anything slightly heavy, yet he had caught his father and endured the force of Crow's shove—
The wall had been dented by the impact, and cracks had appeared in the stone. How could he be completely unharmed?
Could his bones be harder than stone? Li Sinian wondered inwardly.
Of course, she knew that was impossible. Li Mu Yang had never trained his muscles and bones. How could he possess such strength?
"Mu Yang, let me take a look—" Luo Qi hurriedly pulled Li Mu Yang over and felt him all over. She was worried about his condition, afraid that he was deliberately claiming to be fine just to save face.
"Mom, I'm really fine," Li Mu Yang explained.
"Take a good look." Crow sneered. "Take a good look at what kind of monster he is. The stones cracked, yet he's fine. Do you still think he's merely a weak, sickly good-for-nothing?"
Li Yan picked up the spear from the ground without a word and charged at Crow once more.
He did not care what happened to his son. He only cared that someone was trying to hurt him.
His charge was like a mountain, and the spear hummed.
Silver lightning flickered at the spearhead, but vanished in an instant.
His true qi could not summon wind and thunder.
"That spear thrust was so-so," Crow said with a laugh. "Unfortunately, it's still far from enough."
As he spoke, the hand he had kept hidden inside his black robe reached out once again.
Just as before, the spearhead landed in his palm once more.
The spear's humming ceased, and the force contained within the shaft sank into the sea like mud.
He gripped the shaft, then suddenly flung it into the distance.
Li Yan wanted to let go of the spear, but he was still a step too slow.
The shaft slammed into his chest, and his body was sent flying backward once again.
Thud—
Li Yan crashed into the row of potted plants in the corner of the courtyard, flattening countless flower branches and saplings.
"Ugh—"
His throat suddenly tasted sweet. He opened his mouth and vomited a great mouthful of blood.
"Li Yan—" The hairpin fell from Luo Qi's hair, and she rushed toward where her husband had fallen, her hair disheveled.
The siblings, Li Mu Yang and Li Sinian, were also terribly anxious and ran after her toward Li Yan.
"I'm fine—" Li Yan still tried to force himself upright. "I'll block him one more time. Take the chance to escape—Sinian, take your mother and brother and run."
"Dad—" Li Sinian cried out with tears covering her face. "I'm not leaving. I'll stop him—"
"Go!" Li Yan shouted hoarsely.
"Dad—"
"Trying to leave?" Crow threw back his head and laughed. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid none of you will be escaping today."
The black robe on his body billowed without any wind, and his body once again transformed into a huge mass of black mist. The dark fog spread rapidly, soon shrouding the entire little courtyard.
More strangely, the black fog condensed without dispersing. It was like a barrier encasing the courtyard, keeping out wind and rain, without the slightest trace leaking out.
Not only that, but the sound of birds flapping their wings came from within the black mist.
Crackle, rattle—the noise was deafening.
The naked eye could barely see, but their ears could hear flocks of birds surging toward Li Mu Yang's family.
Li Sinian had never faced such a formation before, nor did she have any combat experience.
When Crow had charged at them earlier, she had known to throw a punch at her target.
But now, besides the assassin rushing toward her, there were also huge masses of inexplicably appearing black birds.
Her eyes were blinded by the fog, leaving her unable to see anything. She no longer knew how she was supposed to respond.
"Bastard!"
Li Sinian shouted angrily and threw another punch.
Bang—
A section of black mist was blown apart, but this time she had not struck Crow's true body. She had struck the black birds flying toward her.
Li Sinian was still young, and she had practiced the Body-Breaking Technique only to strengthen her body.
It could not be said that she had fished for three days and dried her nets for two, but compared with the effort and hardship endured by true martial artists and cultivators, what she had put in was utterly insignificant.
Her first punch still carried plenty of force, but by the second, she was already struggling to sustain it.
When she tried to throw a third punch, she found her arm light and limp. The first two punches had already drained her body dry.
"Whoosh—" A gust of Dark Wind swept past. Li Sinian found herself breathing rapidly, her head growing dizzy and heavy. Then her vision went black, and she pitched headfirst to the ground.
"Sinian—Mom—" Li Mu Yang cried out in anguish.
Li Mu Yang stood together with his parents. His eyes also struggled to see in the darkness, but he could hear the thuds of bodies falling around him.
The first sound was Li Sinian hitting the ground, because it had come from where she had been standing. The second was beside Li Mu Yang—the spot where his mother, Luo Qi, had just been standing.
"Dad—" Li Mu Yang called out again.
"Mu Yang, there's poison in the fog—" Li Yan had not finished speaking when he also pitched forward onto the ground.
"Dad—" Li Mu Yang ran toward where Li Sinian had fallen. He was afraid the assassin would hurt his sister in this darkness where he could not even see his own hand before him.
"Huh?" Crow cried out in surprise. He was astonished to discover that someone in his Darkness Veil could still remain standing. And that person was only an ordinary human—of course, he already knew that this person was not ordinary in the slightest.
"You're actually fine?" Crow said regretfully. "Looks like I'll have to spend a little more time."
His little sister had collapsed on the ground, while his parents' lives hung by a thread.
They were the closest people in Li Mu Yang's life. They were his life, his entire world.
Without them, he would never have survived until now.
He would have died long ago, or been treated as a good-for-nothing and abandoned in a garbage heap, becoming a beggar or a vagrant.
Yet now, someone wanted to take their lives.
Although the assassin had said that his only target was Li Mu Yang, who knew what was happening now? Who knew whether he might accidentally kill someone?
If an assassin's character could be trusted, why would the empire still have the death penalty?
"You deserve to die." Li Mu Yang stared fixedly at the place where Crow stood, completely enraged. "You deserve to die."
Whoosh—
The black shadow charged at Li Mu Yang. He felt a tremendous force surging toward him like mountains and seas. His chest grew sweet, and his body was sent flying backward.
Crash—
His body slammed into the steps at the entrance. With a sharp crack, it felt as though his entire spine had been broken.
Li Mu Yang gritted his teeth, braced both hands against the ground, and climbed back up. Once again, he charged toward that mass of black mist.
He could not see where the assassin Crow was, but he could sense where he was.
How he wished he could possess that ability again. How he wished he could punch Crow into the air.
Crash—
Li Mu Yang's body was sent flying backward once more, this time crashing directly into the main hall.
"If you still intend to conceal your strength, then I can only grant your wish," Crow's voice came from within the black mist.
His heart was also filled with doubt. The boy looked like an ordinary youth. Even when Crow released his aura to deliberately test him, there had been no response from his aura, nor any attempt to retaliate.
He was exactly as they had said: an ordinary, weak, sickly youth.
But what had happened that day at the Beast-Faced Pavilion?
How had this bastard sent him flying with one punch?
If this boy had not injured him and knocked him to the ground, how would he have encountered that expert from the Cui family's Myriad Homes' Living Buddha?
Crow extended his right hand. In his palm was a short sword with an ancient design, its hilt carved with a snake flicking its tongue.
The short sword shone brilliantly, as if the snake's body were stretching endlessly.
Crow's body vanished where he stood. Then a cloud of black smoke exploded before Li Mu Yang, and the radiant sword slashed toward his neck.
Cherry Blossom Slash!
One slash struck home, severing head from body.
Blood streamed from the corners of Li Mu Yang's mouth, and blood continued to pour from his nostrils as well.
Red light flooded his eyes. The scale on the back of his hand glimmered, then bulged out from his skin as if it had become tangible.
With life and death hanging by a thread, he felt no fear whatsoever.
His eyes held only fury—and the killing intent born of fury with nowhere to vent.
His scaled hand clenched into a fist. His bronze-colored fist swelled larger, light flashing across it.
Boom—
Li Mu Yang threw a punch.
He punched toward that azure serpent, toward the razor-sharp treasured sword that could slice through iron as though it were mud, toward that indestructible Cherry Blossom Slash.
Crack—
The azure light sword struck Li Mu Yang's fist. His fist did not separate from his arm. Instead, the sword's azure radiance exploded out instantly, and with a clang, it snapped apart from the serpent's head.
The blade could not withstand that overwhelming force. In an instant, it shattered into countless azure fragments.
Each fragment was a bright mirror, reflecting Crow's frightened, astonished expression.
The countless mirrors scattered in every direction, and Crow's terror scattered with them.
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