One Fist Shattered the Firmament!
White light flashed throughout the courtyard, and the dark world was instantly overturned into broad daylight.
Darkness Veil was broken, and black mist scattered in all directions.
A cool breeze swept in, and bright sunlight poured through.
Li Mu Yang could see the cracks in the bluestone wall, the bloodstains on the door, and the ruined garden. He could also see his father, mother, and younger sister lying behind him.
He could hear the rumble of carriages and horses outside, as well as someone loudly hawking candied hawthorn—
It was as though he had returned from hell to the human world. Color had returned to his eyes, and the sound of life had returned to his ears.
The happiness of surviving by the skin of his teeth made him feel exceptionally blessed.
The Blood Ravens that Li Mu Yang had sent flying with one punch sensed the danger. Flapping their wings, they fled toward the Void Gate.
Most of the Blood Ravens were still a step too slow. By the time their bodies crashed heavily to the ground, the Void Gate had vanished and closed.
The raven was too badly wounded. The qi within his body could no longer sustain the Void Gate.
The Blood Ravens that could not escape panicked. They flew in increasingly frantic circles around the courtyard before burrowing toward the raven lying on the ground—
Only there could they sense the familiar dark aura.
They hated the day and despised the light. If they did not flee, they would soon be roasted and scorched by the increasingly blazing sun.
They did not want to become tender roast ravens with crispy skin!
The raven's body crashed into the stone wall of the courtyard again, and he lay there vomiting mouthful after mouthful of blood.
His internal organs were severely injured, and he no longer even had the strength to stand.
The Corpse-Eating Blood Ravens flew toward him. His expression turned terrified, his pupils widening as he tried to raise a hand and drive them away.
Unfortunately, his arms no longer had any strength left.
"Li Mu Yang, save me—Li Mu Yang, hurry and save me! Help me drive them away—" the raven cried out to Li Mu Yang for help.
Li Mu Yang glared with bloodshot eyes, panting heavily.
A Blood Raven pounced and tore a piece of flesh from the raven's face.
"Ah—" The raven cried out in pain and shouted, "Li Mu Yang, kill me. Hurry and kill me."
Li Mu Yang stood motionless, as if he had not heard the raven's agonized cries.
Seeing one of their companions get a taste, the other Blood Ravens grew even more frenzied.
They pounced on the raven's face, chest, arms, thighs, and every other part of his body. They extended their sharp claws, opened their pointed beaks, and tore off and devoured piece after piece of flesh.
"Ahhh—" The raven writhed in unbearable agony, rolling across the ground as he tried to shake off the Blood Ravens.
But when he rolled over, he exposed his back. The Blood Ravens were highly experienced. After raking their claws several times, they shredded the clothes on his back, then used their long, pointed beaks to tug at the flesh beneath.
"Li Mu Yang, kill me—please, kill me—"
For the first time, remorse appeared in the raven's voice!
What a contradictory feeling. Once his wounds had healed, he had been unable to wait another moment before coming to take revenge on Li Mu Yang, that meddlesome brat. But at this moment, he wished he had never come. That he had never entered this small courtyard. That he had never found Li Mu Yang to seek revenge.
"You deserve to die," Li Mu Yang said coldly.
He hated this killer to the extreme and naturally would neither save nor kill him.
He wanted the Corpse-Eating Ravens to tear off his flesh piece by piece and drain all the blood from his body. He wanted not even a single bone left behind, just as the raven had threatened him earlier.
He wanted the raven to personally experience every single torture.
"Li Mu Yang, what are you, exactly? What kind of monster are you?" the raven snarled. If he did not understand this before he died, he would not rest in peace.
Li Mu Yang sneered and walked toward the raven one step at a time.
The Blood Ravens were terrified of Li Mu Yang. The moment they saw him approach, they hurriedly flapped their wings and flew away.
Li Mu Yang looked down at the raven from above and asked, "Do you really want to know?"
"Tell me." The raven looked at Li Mu Yang pleadingly. "Li Mu Yang, tell me quickly. Otherwise, I'll die unsatisfied."
A famous killer on the killers' list had been defeated by an unknown youth. Such a result—no, such humiliation—was simply too difficult for him to bear.
"I am—"
"What are you?" the raven asked.
"I'm not going to tell you." Li Mu Yang smiled coldly, his face covered in blood. "The more you want to know, the less I'll tell you. I want you to die with regrets. I want you to die unsatisfied—"
"Li Mu Yang—" The raven opened his eyes wide, blood seemingly about to seep from his pupils.
He had never expected this youth to be so ruthless, nor his heart to be so poisonous.
Could this brat have also come from that academy? Even in a cold and heartless place like Killer Academy, someone with such a temperament could become an outstanding figure—the kind of 'King of Killers' the school would be ashamed of.
Li Mu Yang turned around and walked toward where his parents and younger sister lay.
He needed to check on them and see whether they had suffered any serious injuries.
That was what concerned him most.
The instant Li Mu Yang turned away, the Blood Ravens flying wildly around the courtyard pounced on the raven again.
One Blood Raven moved to peck out the raven's eyes, and the raven hurriedly raised a hand to block it.
As a result, countless Blood Ravens landed on his arm, instantly tearing away and swallowing the flesh.
The raven stretched out his blood-soaked arm to drive the Blood Ravens away, but they began eating his face and chin instead—
"Squawk—"
A Blood Raven caught him off guard and pecked out one of his eyeballs.
"Ah—ah—"
The raven's struggles grew weaker and weaker, and his resistance became increasingly feeble.
The raven was instantly swallowed by the flock of Blood Ravens.
When the Blood Ravens flapped their wings and scattered in a sudden uproar, the killer raven had vanished without a trace.
Just as he had said himself, not even a bone remained.
It was as though he had never come at all.
Clack—
Someone used a hook to pull open the courtyard gate's bar.
A good-natured man whispered, "Young Master, the gate's been pried open. My brother here used to be a famous thief in Jiangnan City. There wasn't a door in all of Jiangnan City he couldn't get through—"
"He can open the lock to my house too?" the young master asked.
"Of course—" The good-natured voice paused for a moment before continuing, "Impossible. What kind of household is yours, Young Master? A grand family with imposing gates, guarded not only by Iron General but also by a starry-sky-level expert. A good-for-nothing like him would be discovered three thousand li away and slapped to death before he ever got near your home—"
"How many li across is all of Jiangnan City? Li Da Lu, can you use your brain when you talk? Flattering people takes intelligence too," the young master said, extremely displeased.
"Yes, yes, yes. Young Master is right. I'll work hard and improve from now on. I'll definitely come up with flattery that satisfies you—come, Young Master, you first."
As he spoke, the courtyard gate was pushed open.
Yan Xiangma entered while waving his fan. His left foot had barely crossed the threshold when he met Li Mu Yang's blood-red eyes head-on.
"Li Mu Yang?"
Yan Xiangma turned around and smacked Li Da Lu on the head with his fan, cursing furiously, "You good-for-nothing! Didn't you say your brother could open locks and pry doors without making a sound? Look at this courtyard—"
Yan Xiangma's words halted. He had caught the heavy stench of blood.
"Close the gate," Yan Xiangma said.
"Yes, Young Master—"
Li Da Lu entered with a group of underlings following Yan Xiangma, then prepared to close the gate.
"Get out," Yan Xiangma said.
"Yes, Young Master—Young Master, who should leave?"
"All of you," Yan Xiangma said.
"Young Master, you should still let us stay with you. There's something sinister about this courtyard—" Li Da Lu sensed danger and hurried a large step in front of Yan Xiangma, staring warily at Li Mu Yang.
"Get out," Yan Xiangma repeated.
"Yes, yes, yes, we're leaving right now—" Li Da Lu bowed and backed away. He pulled the gate open again and fled the courtyard in a sorry state with his group of underlings.
Yan Xiangma looked at Li Mu Yang, and Li Mu Yang stared back at Yan Xiangma.
"I originally came to kidnap you," Yan Xiangma said.
Li Mu Yang did not answer. He merely glared at Yan Xiangma with a vicious gaze.
His killing intent had yet to fade, and his hot blood had yet to cool.
He did not know why Yan Xiangma had come, nor did he even know what relationship Yan Xiangma had with the killer from earlier. If that killer was sent by Yan Xiangma, then he would leave this entire group here today. They would fight to the death, with neither side willing to rest until the other was destroyed.
"Hey, don't look at me like that." Yan Xiangma snapped his Dragon Spine Fan shut and said, "What are you trying to do?"
"What did you come here for?" Li Mu Yang asked coldly.
"I already told you. I came to kidnap you—" Yan Xiangma answered with complete frankness.
Just as I guessed. Li Mu Yang's gaze turned icy, and he walked toward Yan Xiangma step by step.
"Hey, Li Mu Yang, don't do anything reckless. Let's talk this out. Don't get physical—" Seeing Li Mu Yang's blood-red eyes, Yan Xiangma began to grow nervous. "You're not planning to kidnap me, are you?"
"You deserve to die," Li Mu Yang said. "You all deserve to die—"
Anyone who wanted to harm his family deserved to die!
"Why do we deserve to die? I only wanted to kidnap you. How does that make me deserving of death?" Yan Xiangma felt deeply aggrieved. "Wait, are you saying someone else came to kidnap you too?"
His gaze swept over the bloodstains behind Li Mu Yang and the corpses of Blood Ravens scattered across the ground. His expression turned horrified, and he cried out, "The raven was here?"
"He was," Li Mu Yang said, staring into Yan Xiangma's eyes as he tried to investigate Yan Xiangma's relationship with the raven.
"Where is he?" Yan Xiangma snapped open his fan and stood on guard, his entire bearing that of someone ready to fight for his life at any moment. When facing an expert like the raven, no amount of caution was excessive. "I searched high and low and found him without effort. He dared attack a member of the Yan Family—then he should prepare to pay a terrible price. Raven, don't hide like a coward. Come out and face your death!"
"He's already dead," Li Mu Yang said.
"—"
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