Double Kill (Thanks to First Under Heaven's Cheapskate for the reward.)

Double Kill (Thanks to First Under Heaven's Cheapskate for the reward.)

The Jiang Clan had risen to prominence at the dawn of the Xia Kingdom's independence. With the Jiang Brothers, they had carved out a world for themselves in Sumen City and were known as Jiang's Three Heroes.

In recent years, the Jiang Brothers had begun to go legitimate and founded Jiang's Martial Hall. The hall did not accept disciples from the public, yet it had over a dozen nominal disciples, every one of them a prominent figure in Sumen City's Underground World. Its master, Jiang Ziheng, also served as a special consultant to Sumen City's Judicial Group.

Baili Qingfeng headed toward Jiang's Martial Hall.

Though it was called a martial hall, it was actually a residential courtyard tucked away in an alley in the Old City District within the central district.

Anyone heading to the courtyard had to pass through an alley some sixty meters long. Strangers passing through it would be scrutinized with appraising eyes.

Just like Baili Qingfeng now. Two loafers at the entrance to a karaoke bar at the mouth of the alley had stared at him for quite a while, and the way they looked at him as though he were a plaything made him deeply uncomfortable.

Beep beep!

At that moment, a car horn sounded from the alley entrance.

As a sedan came to a stop, a middle-aged man stepped out, accompanied by a Sturdy Man as they headed toward the martial hall.

Seeing him, Baili Qingfeng, who had been on his way to Jiang's Martial Hall, stopped.

What a coincidence.

A truly remarkable coincidence.

Jiang Ziheng.

The middle-aged man getting out of the car was Jiang Ziheng—the master of Jiang's Martial Hall, a Dragon Form Fist master, a Level 2 Warrior, and the man who had shoved him toward Wang Gang at the entrance of Xizi Alley in Wuhe City a month and a half ago.

Baili Qingfeng simply stood there, watching the man who had stepped out of the car.

The two men who had been staring at Baili Qingfeng promptly put away their loafing manner and stood properly. They respectfully greeted the man from the car, "Master Jiang."

Jiang Ziheng nodded without replying and walked into the alley.

The Sturdy Man beside him followed. When he saw Baili Qingfeng standing in the middle of the road, he fixed his eyes on him, and a cold, sinister aura bore down on him. "Kid, you're blocking the way."

"Oh? You mean you want me to move aside?"

Baili Qingfeng said.

"Hm!?"

The Sturdy Man narrowed his eyes. "Kid, you've got some nerve."

Then, without needing any order from him, the two loafers, eager to show off before Jiang Ziheng, lunged forward. One of them leaped up and kicked straight at Baili Qingfeng's chest, cursing harshly, "Fuck, you little bastard, are you looking to die? You dare talk to Bro Long like that!? If you want to die, I'll grant your wish!"

The kick was aimed at his chest and carried considerable force. It probably would not kill him if it landed, but several broken ribs would be unavoidable.

This was someone who fought all year round.

So...

Baili Qingfeng stepped forward and turned sideways. As he twisted at the waist to evade the man's flying kick, he raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. His spine shook, power surged through him, and then his fist crashed down with thunderous force onto the chest of the man flying in with that kick!

Crack!

The sound of bones breaking rang out.

The surging force of the punch seemed to cave in the man's chest. The penetrating power snapped two of his ribs and, without losing momentum, carried his body crashing viciously into the ground...

Bang!

The man fell backward onto the ground, his head slamming against the pavement. Blood streamed out, and the pain knocked him unconscious on the spot.

That sight immediately frightened the other loafer. At the same time, the Sturdy Man known as Bro Long turned serious. "Fist force!? A martial artist!? Who are you? You came here to make trouble without even asking whose territory this is?"

Baili Qingfeng did not answer him. He lifted his head, stared straight ahead, and spoke a name.

"Jiang Ziheng."

"Hm!?"

Jiang Ziheng looked at Baili Qingfeng, finding him somewhat familiar. A moment later, his pupils widened. "You! You're actually not dead!?"

It seemed he remembered.

After a moment, he gave a disdainful smile. "Since you didn't die, you should have lived peacefully. What, you learned a little martial arts and came looking for trouble?"

Baili Qingfeng said nothing. He strode forward in great strides and charged at Jiang Ziheng.

"Presumptuous!"

Seeing that Baili Qingfeng was clearly coming for his master Jiang Ziheng, the Sturdy Man shouted sharply. His body twisted, and he pounced like a cheetah. Before he even arrived, a fierce, bloody aura had already rushed at Baili Qingfeng's face.

This man...

Had killed people!

Baili Qingfeng lowered his charging body slightly, bending his waist like a drawn longbow. Just as he was about to collide with the Sturdy Man, power rose from beneath his feet and surged through his curved spine. The instant it drove his spine straight, it condensed into a violent force that ran along his upright body as though it had been pulled into a straight line. When Baili Qingfeng threw out his fist, it was like a Sharp Sword drawn from its sheath to kill.

Thrusting Sword!

It was the Thrusting Sword Baili Qingfeng practiced no fewer than three thousand times every day!

For a month and a half, at least three thousand thrusts a day—over forty-five days, he had practiced this Thrusting Sword more than a hundred and forty thousand times. When he thrust out, his fist force seemed able to pierce the air. It struck later yet arrived first at an inconceivable speed, tearing through the space between him and the Sturdy Man before stabbing viciously into his chest.

"A Long, watch out!"

The instant Baili Qingfeng used his fist in place of a sword to unleash that thrust, Jiang Ziheng's expression changed drastically. He shouted and charged forward at once, trying to intercept Baili Qingfeng's Thrusting Sword.

But Baili Qingfeng's Thrusting Sword had been honed through over a hundred thousand repetitions. Its speed was astonishing. Even using his fist in place of a sword, its edge was still beyond what any opponent of the same level could withstand.

The Sturdy Man pouncing at Baili Qingfeng had yet to display his ferocity when Baili Qingfeng's Thrusting Sword struck him squarely in the chest.

Bang!

Penetrating force erupted.

The front and back of the Sturdy Man's clothes seemed to be torn apart by the force, turning into scraps of cloth. The sunken imprint of the punch broke his ribs and shattered his heart. The tremendous momentum swept up his body, sending his eighty-kilogram frame flying uncontrollably backward.

Three meters!

It was almost comparable to the man Wang Gang had beaten to death in a full-force outburst back then.

"You little beast, Wang Gang failed to kill you, so I will!"

Before Baili Qingfeng had time to check on the Sturdy Man's condition, Jiang Ziheng, charging in with fury, had already pounced upon him with terrifying momentum.

Dragon Evil!

As he threw a punch, his fist force collided with the currents of the air, seeming to produce a dragon's roar. He himself transformed from a martial artist into a violent dragon, murderous energy soaring to the heavens. Added to the powerful image Jiang Ziheng had deeply rooted in Baili Qingfeng's mind over the past period, it almost produced an effect akin to Fist Intent Domination.

"Fist Intent Domination!? I can do that too!"

Within Baili Qingfeng's spiritual world, a savage and ferocious Ancient Thunder Beast was swiftly visualized. The Thunder Beast roared wildly like thunder from the ninth heavens, bursting forth along with the furious widening of his eyes.

Rumble!

It was as though a bolt of thunder had exploded inside Jiang Ziheng's mind, jolting his thoughts into disarray. The fierce momentum of his terrifying pounce came to an abrupt halt, and a trace of fear rose faintly from the depths of his heart.

The fear of a mortal encountering a natural calamity!

"This is bad—it's Fist Intent! Spirit Refinement Fist Intent!"

Jiang Ziheng's face filled with horror as he abruptly concentrated his will, trying to dispel the terror in his heart.

But at that moment, Baili Qingfeng twisted his body and stepped out again. As he stepped, his bones crackled from head to toe. Rushing Thunder Force surged forth, and the power erupting from within had already strained his muscles, but such a tiny amount of pain was not worth mentioning to him.

As Baili Qingfeng charged before Jiang Ziheng, force exploded beneath his feet. His right leg was like a battle sword dragged along the ground, thrusting straight up through his body and joining with his spine. When it surged to his shoulders, Imprisoned Dragon Ascends to Heaven. With a swing of his right shoulder, the force was borne through the muscles and bones of his arm as he threw a punch—a vicious thrusting kill.

Whoosh!

The air burst apart.

It was another thrusting punch, like a Thrusting Sword!

This punch was Fearless and Dauntless; this sword pressed forward without turning back!

Bang!

The fist forces of the two men collided head-on in midair without the slightest flourish.

One surged with unstoppable momentum, carrying the overbearing fist force of With me, invincible!—supremely hard and strong. The other was filled with spiritual terror and horror, its fierce murderous momentum collapsing like a thousand-mile landslide.

Victory and defeat were decided in an instant.

Crack!

Bones broke!

It was not only Jiang Ziheng's bones that broke.

Baili Qingfeng's scaphoid, trapezium, trapezoid, and finger bones cracked as well.

When violent force collided and erupted, it did not merely injure the enemy; the recoil injured oneself too.

But...

One had cracked, while the other had shattered!

The penetrating force pulverized Jiang Ziheng's fist, pierced through his palm, and further blasted into his radius and ulna. His ulna could no longer bear the strain and dislocated, stabbing out through the flesh at his elbow and ripping its way into view. The intense agony made Jiang Ziheng's eyes widen uncontrollably.

"Ah!"

His scream rang through the air.

"Kill!"

Baili Qingfeng let out a low roar, his voice booming like thunder, as though he wanted to tear to pieces the Dark Clouds that had weighed heavily upon his heart since a month and a half ago, carrying the stench of death.

After the fist force of his right hand pierced through Jiang Ziheng's interception and broke his punch stance, his left hand suddenly swept across. Like another Sharp Sword hidden at his waist, it abruptly left its sheath. With the twist of his waist, it carried a fierce gust of wind as it slashed in from the side.

Slashing strike!

The most ordinary slashing strike!

Yet even the most ordinary slashing strike became swift as rushing thunder after being tempered through more than forty thousand repetitions!

Especially when it...

Struck the neck!

Crack!

Force crashed into him, and Jiang Ziheng's neck snapped sharply to one side. The faint sound of cervical vertebrae shattering could be heard. The immense force of the slashing strike forced his upper body to topple helplessly to the right before he finally smashed hard into the ground.

Bang!

The sound of a body hitting the ground rang out.

"You... how could this be..."

Jiang Ziheng stared wide-eyed at Baili Qingfeng.

He remembered clearly. A month and a half ago, this person had plainly been nothing more than a passerby who knew no martial arts at all. Yet now, only a month and a half later, he could actually defeat him in a frontal clash!?

It was utterly absurd. Were ordinary martial artists not supposed to be allowed to live!?

Unfortunately, Baili Qingfeng had broken his cervical vertebrae. Dense nerves passed through the center of those vertebrae, and their severing had paralyzed his body below the neck, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Save... save me..."

Jiang Ziheng spoke with difficulty.

Baili Qingfeng did not speak. He watched him.

He simply watched him.

He watched the emotions in his eyes change from shock and venomous resentment to panic, fear, and despair, until... there was no longer any breath.

Jiang Ziheng was dead.

(Thanks to First Under Heaven's Cheapskate. The first Alliance Leader has been born, but regarding that name, I only want to say: 666.)