The icy killing intent slowly ebbed away like a receding tide, but the air in the abandoned factory's maintenance workshop had become even more oppressive than before.
The dim yellow explosion-proof lamps cast swaying patches of light, stretching Lin Xiao and Su Qingxue's shadows and twisting them across the oil-stained walls.
Su Qingxue stood at the entrance, the cold moonlight behind her outlining a lonely, isolated silhouette.
She had not entered this filthy space filled with the smell of motor oil and dust, as if taking even one step inside would be a desecration of herself.
Yet her ice-sealed gaze was like a tangible current of cold, locking firmly onto Lin Xiao, who sat against the wall.
"Explain." Her voice was not loud, but it carried the weight of ten thousand years of profound ice. Every word was like an icicle chipping at the air. "About your eyes. And what exactly is going on with the Blood Wolf Gang you provoked?"
Lin Xiao leaned against the cold wall. The pain in his right arm had worsened after his violent movements just now, and fine beads of cold sweat seeped from his temples.
The soul-depletion brought on by overdrawing his power continued to hum beneath the figure -1.4.
Su Qingxue's questioning was like two blades suspended above his head, putting more pressure on him than Scarface Qiang's fists had.
He raised his head. The frivolous, roguish smile was still on his face, but deep in his eyes flickered a trace of fatigue and gravity that was difficult to detect.
"My eyes?" Lin Xiao tugged at the corner of his mouth, putting on a slightly innocent expression. "Great Martial Artist Su, you must have seen wrong. Didn't sleep well last night? Or did my handsome face dazzle your eyes?"
He tried to muddle through with his usual slickness.
"Lin Xiao!" Su Qingxue's voice suddenly rose, carrying suppressed fury and a trace of humiliation at being toyed with!
The surrounding air seemed to drop several degrees once again!
"Stop pretending to be crazy and playing dumb! That color! That feeling! It doesn't belong to humans at all! What exactly are you?"
"A thing?" The smile vanished from Lin Xiao's face instantly. His eyes sharpened like blades, carrying a trace of offended coldness. "Su Qingxue, watch your wording. I'm a human being, a living human being. As for what you saw..."
He paused, his mind racing as he wove a half-true, half-false lie. "That's just a little secret art passed down through my family. It merely draws out potential by overdrawing one's life force. As for the price... You saw it yourself. I'm almost half dead."
He pointed at his pale face and the right arm hidden beneath his sleeve. His tone carried self-mockery and deliberately feigned weakness. "Otherwise, how do you think a poor student who can't even afford Body Tempering Fluid managed to cripple Zhao Hu? And how do you think I could have 'helped' you?"
"Overdrawing your life force?" Su Qingxue's brows drew tightly together, suspicion filling her cool eyes.
The explanation was too vague and too shocking to believe, but Lin Xiao's current condition was indeed terrible. That withered aura did not seem fake.
It seemed to barely explain why he possessed that strange ability while being so weak.
"As for the Blood Wolf Gang..."
Lin Xiao changed the subject. His tone became casual, but carried a trace of cold mockery. "That big fool Zhao Hu has been throwing his weight around at school for more than a day or two, relying on a little strength and his background. He harassed Zhou Xiaoya, and I couldn't stand by and watch, so I just 'stood up for justice.' Who knew he'd be so fragile? As for Scarface Qiang... You beat up the younger one, and the older one comes looking for payback. Isn't that how things work in the martial world?"
He glossed over the important parts, attributing the conflict to "standing up for justice" and ordinary retaliation, never mentioning that he had extorted Zhao Hu's underlings or coveted the Blood Wolf Gang's territory.
Su Qingxue stared fixedly into Lin Xiao's eyes, trying to find a flaw in those deep pupils tinged with fatigue and wildness.
Lin Xiao met her gaze calmly, even wearing the roguish air of See how pitiful I am?
The standoff continued.
The cold air froze between them.
In the end, Su Qingxue was the first to look away.
She could not see through Lin Xiao, nor verify whether his words were true.
But that strange "ability" and the "deal" currently binding them forced her to temporarily suppress the doubts and anger in her heart.
"Lin Xiao." Her voice returned to its usual coolness, but carried deep weariness and warning. "I don't care what secrets you have, and I don't care who you've provoked. Remember, your current status as my 'friend' was exchanged for my troubles! Keep yourself in check, and keep that troublesome mouth of yours in check too! If you bring unnecessary trouble to the Su family... our 'deal' can end at any time!"
She coldly threw down those words. As if staying one second longer would stain her with the filth here, she turned around. Her white figure, like ice melting into moonlight, vanished silently through the doorway.
The heavy pressure eased with Su Qingxue's departure, but Lin Xiao's heart sank even deeper.
The foundation of this "human shield" was more fragile than he had imagined.
Those "blue eyes" had become a thorn that Su Qingxue could not pull from her heart.
"Brother Xiao... School Belle Su... she..."
Only then did Fatty Wang dare poke his head out from behind a pile of torn sacks, his chubby face filled with lingering fear.
"It's fine now."
Lin Xiao cut him off, his voice carrying a faint, barely noticeable hoarseness. "Fatty, don't run around these next two days. Especially stay away from the secondhand market behind the school."
Scarface Qiang had suffered such a huge loss. He definitely would not let the matter go. Although he feared Su Qingxue in public, secret probing and retaliation could come at any time.
However, trouble arrived faster than expected.
On the third day after school, Lin Xiao deliberately avoided the crowded routes and chose a relatively secluded path near the edge of the industrial district in the western part of the city to return home.
The setting sun stretched his shadow long, while the evening wind carried the smell of industrial exhaust.
The pain in his right arm had eased slightly, but the feeling of depletion from -1.4 still clung to him like a shadow.
He needed to get an Energy Stone as soon as possible, even if it was only a fragment! The "Old Ghost" Skinny Monkey had heard about was his only hope.
Just as he passed an intersection piled high with discarded containers—
Whoosh!
A sharp sound tearing through the air suddenly attacked from behind and to the side!
It carried a sinister, crafty gust of force!
This was not Scarface Qiang's kind of violent power, but a sinister sneak attack like a venomous snake flicking out its tongue!
Every hair on Lin Xiao's body instantly stood on end!
Almost instinctively, he suddenly threw himself into an awkward forward roll!
The movement tugged at the injury in his right arm, and the intense pain made him grunt.
Rip!
The school uniform on his back was slashed open in a long cut!
Cold metal grazed his skin, bringing a searing sting!
A flying dart glimmering with a deep blue sheen, clearly coated in poison, was driven deep into the ground half a meter in front of him. Its tail still trembled faintly!
"Not bad reactions, kid." A sinister voice came from the shadows among the container piles.
A man in a gray bodysuit, as thin as a bamboo pole, with half a metal mask covering his face, paced out like a ghost.
He held three identical darts in each hand, all glimmering with a deep blue sheen. His gaze was as cold as a venomous snake as he locked onto Lin Xiao.
The aura he emitted was unmistakably that of a peak One-Star Martial Artist!
And he was exceptionally skilled at concealment and sneak attacks!
Scarface Qiang's man! And a true elite enforcer!
"Brother Qiang told me to give you a message." The masked man's voice sounded like a venomous snake scraping across the ground. "The Su family's reach doesn't extend here. Breaking one of your legs will count as a return gift!"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly flung both hands upward!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three poisoned darts formed a triangular pattern as they tore through the air, carrying deadly deep blue radiance like three cold stars demanding his life. In an instant, they enveloped Lin Xiao's upper, middle, and lower lanes!
Their angles were treacherous, and their speed astonishing!
There was nowhere to dodge! Lin Xiao's pupils contracted sharply!
He had just rolled to his feet, his center of gravity unstable. With his right arm injured, he had no way to evade all of such a sinister sneak attack!
At the moment between life and death!
Buzz!
Lin Xiao's consciousness, like a dying beast, erupted with unprecedented speed and slammed fiercely into the deep blue screen deep within his mind!
Target locked: grey-clothed masked man (peak One-Star Martial Artist)
Scanning modifiable parameters... (core restricted, speed delayed)...
Target's left ankle joint showed 0.1 seconds of instability at the instant of exertion (old injury?)... Modify?
Modification direction: Temporarily amplify the center-of-gravity imbalance effect (estimated result: cause his footwork to become disordered instantly)
Source Energy Points required: 0.2 (due to core restriction, energy consumption increased by 100%)
0.2 points! Subtracting another 0.2 from -1.4 would make -1.6! Making things worse!
But his life was about to end. Why should he care about that?!
"Modify!" Lin Xiao roared deep within his soul!
Command received! Source Energy Points deducted: 0.2!
Source Energy Points: -1.4 - 0.2 = -1.6
Modifying parameters... (speed slowing)... 1%... 50%... 100%... Modification complete! The notification sounded heavy with the weight of excessive depletion.
The instant Lin Xiao's consciousness confirmed it—
The grey-clothed masked man was just about to exert himself again and adjust his angle for a fatal strike when, at the moment his left foot pushed off the ground, his ankle joint seemed to be stabbed viciously by an invisible, barbed icicle!
A sudden, utterly irrational sense of violent imbalance and needle-like pain surged from his ankle!
"Urgh!" The masked man let out a short grunt, his body staggering uncontrollably!
His originally smooth and vicious throwing motion instantly warped!
The trajectories of the darts in his hands shifted by an extremely subtle yet fatal degree!
Now!
A vicious glint burst from Lin Xiao's eyes!
Within that thousandth of a second when the opponent's center of gravity faltered and the darts' trajectories shifted, he endured the excruciating pain in his right arm and the dizziness from overexertion. His left foot slammed into the ground, his waist and hips twisted, and he drove the essence of the optimized "Long Fist" to its absolute limit!
Power rose from the sole of his foot, passed through his waist and hips, traveled up his spine, and gathered in his left fist!
The entire process was smoother and swifter than ever before!
"Break!"
A suppressed growl!
Lin Xiao's left fist was like an enraged dragon breaking free of its restraints. Carrying an unprecedentedly condensed gust of force, it tore through the air and passed with pinpoint accuracy through the gaps between the three slightly deflected darts!
The fist was aimed directly at the masked man's exposed chest and abdomen, left completely undefended by his imbalance!
Too fast! Too treacherous!
A trace of incredulous shock flashed through the masked man's eyes!
He had no idea why he had suddenly lost his balance!
Even less did he understand how Lin Xiao's fist had managed to seize this fleeting opening that should have been nearly impossible to find!
In his haste, he could only cross his arms in front of his chest and circulate True Qi to defend himself!
Bang!
A muffled impact that made the heart tremble!
Lin Xiao's fist, wrapped in the power unleashed after breaking his limits and a ruthless determination, smashed heavily into the masked man's crossed arms!
Crack!
The clear sound of breaking bones!
"Ah—!" The masked man let out a shrill scream!
He felt as if his arms had been hit by a speeding truck. Agonizing pain drilled through the bones of his forearms, and his entire body flew backward off the ground like a kite with its string cut, blasted away by the tremendous force!
Thud!
He crashed heavily onto the concrete several meters away, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
His arms hung limply at his sides, clearly broken!
His face beneath the mask twisted with pain. His gaze at Lin Xiao was filled with shock, venom, and a trace of ghostlike terror!
After throwing that punch, Lin Xiao also felt a huge rebound force. His left arm went numb, his blood surged in his chest, and blackness flashed before his eyes as the dizziness from overexertion swept over him like a tide.
He staggered back two steps before barely managing to steady himself. He panted heavily, sweat instantly soaking through his back.
He had won! A narrow victory!
He stared fixedly at the masked man groaning in pain on the ground. On his dust- and grime-covered face, that tired roguish smile surfaced once again, carrying the viciousness and excitement of surviving a calamity!
The optimized "Long Fist"! Combined with the modifier's miraculous "fine control"!
A test in actual combat! The results were striking!
"Go back and tell Scarface Qiang." Lin Xiao's voice was hoarse, but carried icy killing intent. "Want to come after me? Tell him to come himself! Sending trash like you isn't enough!"
The masked man glared venomously at Lin Xiao. Enduring the pain, he struggled to get up and staggered into the shadows among the container piles, disappearing from sight.
Only after the enemy had vanished completely did Lin Xiao's taut nerves suddenly relax.
Immense fatigue and dizziness swallowed him like collapsing mountains and raging seas.
He could no longer hold himself up. Leaning against the cold container wall, he slowly slid down to sit on the ground, panting heavily. Every breath tugged at the pain throughout his body.
Source Energy Points: -1.6.
The depletion had deepened.
His left arm was sore and weak from exerting his full strength.
The place on his back where the dart had cut him burned with pain.
"Brother Xiao!" Fatty Wang ran over from the distance, panting heavily. He had clearly heard the commotion.
When he saw Lin Xiao sitting on the ground, his face pale as paper, and then noticed the deep blue poisoned dart on the ground, he was scared out of his wits. "Brother Xiao! Are you all right? Just now..."
"I won't die..."
Lin Xiao waved a hand, his voice weak.
His gaze swept toward the direction in which the masked man had disappeared, then fell on his slightly trembling left fist.
Power! Still too weak!
If not for that critical "nudge" from the modifier, he would have been the one lying down today!
Become stronger! He needed more Source Energy Points!
His gaze ultimately landed on a crumpled slip of paper Fatty Wang had dropped on the ground while running. It was the last clue Skinny Monkey had provided about "Old Ghost" operating near the back entrance of the secondhand market.
"Fatty." Lin Xiao's voice carried the hoarseness of overexertion and an unquestionable resolve. "Help me up. We're going to the secondhand market!"
Before you continue