The Blade of Vengeance

Time was no longer a viscous liquid flowing slowly. It had become scorching grains of sand, each one scraping against Lin Xiao's taut nerves as it fell. Every inch of the infirmary's air was permeated with the faint bitterness of disinfectant and a silent countdown.

Ye Qingyan's "sweetener" was like poisoned bait, searing his mind over and over. The Blood Wolf Gang's "Mad Dog," the Shadow Alliance's shadows, the mystery of the abandoned factory... Every word was like a whip, lashing his body, forced into hibernation.

He no longer futilely tried to wring strength from the depleted desert of -1.5. Instead, he poured every thought, every ounce of spirit, every bit of hatred and longing into frantically "chewing over" the fragments of intelligence Ye Qingyan had provided.

He analyzed possible blind spots in the field of vision on the "Obsidian" bar's floor plan, deduced the behavioral patterns of "Mad Dog" and his subordinates, simulated the optimal routes and timing for infiltration and assassination, and calculated possible accidents and countermeasures... Every violent collision of thoughts and every time he squeezed his mental capacity to the limit was like a silent storm surging through his mind.

Intense mental drive... Information processing overloaded... Core instinct activity continuously increasing... Source Energy Points consumed: 0.003...

Source Energy Points: -1.501 - 0.003 = -1.504!

Tactical model under construction... Simulated combat deduction... Energy load intensifying... Source Energy Points consumed: 0.005...

Source Energy Points: -1.504 - 0.005 = -1.509!

The insignificant numbers jumped wildly! Every jump represented agony as if his soul were being torn apart, along with a deeper, dizzying depletion! Cold sweat soaked through his hospital gown. His face was pale as if transparent, the veins at his temples bulging, and his eyes bloodshot.

Watching him as if he had fallen into a demonic trance, the nurse showed a trace of suspicion in her icy eyes for the first time. She increased the dosage of sedatives, but with little effect. Lin Xiao's consciousness was being fried in an oil pan—he was in agony, yet exceptionally lucid and... exhilarated!

This nearly masochistic, soul-burning thought process brought more than the continuous expenditure of Source Energy Points. It also subjected his condition, his external environment, and his combat instincts to the most extreme compression and refinement! Under this extreme load, his mental power instead became like an iron billet repeatedly forged, impurities purged and its essence growing denser and keener!

Five days later.

When the nurse performed another routine examination, she was astonished to discover that the hideous wounds covering Lin Xiao's body had healed at an astonishing speed! The wounds deep enough to expose bone had already closed and scabbed over, while his fractured bones showed signs of solid healing. Even the activity of the strange neurotoxin in his body had been suppressed to an unprecedented low.

This was not simply the effect of medication. It was a savage recovery that defied common sense, brought forth by the survival instinct rooted in the essence of life and a powerful will!

Lin Xiao slowly sat up in bed. His movements were still somewhat stiff, and the wounds that had not fully healed tugged with a stabbing pain, but his eyes no longer held their former weakness and confusion. Instead, they gleamed with a cold, settled sharpness, like an edge tempered and honed.

He threw off the covers and tried placing both feet on the floor. A chill traveled up from the soles of his feet. Deep within his right leg, the dark-green "Viper's Kiss" core radiated a trace of dormant coldness, but most of the strength supporting his body had already returned.

He braced himself against the edge of the bed and slowly stood upright. A wave of weakness swept over him, making him sway, but he quickly steadied himself. His muscle fibers trembled faintly, yet they conveyed a strength he had not felt in a long time.

The struggles between life and death, the fight for survival in desperate circumstances, and five sleepless days of soul-burning deductions seemed to have wrung out the last bit of potential from his body. His cultivation realm had not broken through, but his control over his strength, his instinct for danger, and his grasp of timing had all improved in a way that felt like a complete transformation.

He walked to the infirmary's smooth, mirrorlike wall and gazed at the reflection within: a face still pale, eyes sharp as knives, and an aura of danger like that of a lone wolf radiating from his entire body.

Almost there.

He rolled his neck, and his joints gave a faint crack. His gaze fell on the chair nearby, where a set of black casual clothes provided by the Ye family lay waiting, ordinary in material but clean and neat.

It was time to collect the debt.

Night fell like thick ink splashed across the sky, rapidly swallowing the city's outline. In the Western District, the neon sign of the "Obsidian" bar flickered above the filthy streets, casting a cheap and suggestive glow. The air was thick with the sour stench of cheap alcohol, tobacco, and sweat. This was a notorious lawless district, as well as the favorite den and money pit of low-level gangs like the Blood Wolf Gang.

Lin Xiao's figure emerged soundlessly in the shadows of an abandoned building across from the bar, like a ghost blending into the night. He had changed into the black casual clothes, with the brim of his cap pulled low to conceal most of his face. His presence was reined in to the utmost, like a cold stone.

He did not act immediately. Instead, like the most patient of hunters, he lay in wait and observed.

The results of his frantic deductions over the past five days unfolded in his mind like a precise map, constantly matching and correcting itself against the real scene before him.

Environmental scan (low power)... Three entrances and exits confirmed, two sentries in the open (Martial Disciple peak), one hidden sentry (a drunkard suspected to be beside the trash cans at the rear entrance)... Approximately fifteen internal energy signatures, dispersed... Target "Mad Dog" energy signature (early-stage One-Star Martial Artist, unstable) located in a private room in the southeast corner of the second floor... Source Energy Points consumed: 0.001...

Source Energy Points: -1.509 - 0.001 = -1.510!

The scarlet numbers jumped again, bringing a familiar stab of pain. Lin Xiao remained expressionless, his eyes locked on the second-floor window of the private room from which faint roars and the crashing of glasses could be heard.

Mad Dog. Viper's successor. He was venting his fury with alcohol and violence, while also numbing his fear at having lost his backer.

That was the place.

Lin Xiao slowly drew a breath. Cold air flooded his lungs, suppressing the faint aches throughout his body and the weariness of his soul. In his left hand, he gripped tightly the dark-cyan reinforced dagger, its edge flowing with a deadly, eerie gleam. Its cold touch spread from his palm, bringing a heart-stirring calm.

He did not need a complicated plan. Five days of deductions had already carved every step into his instincts.

Settle the grudge.

Obtain Source Energy Points.

It would start with this... barking mad dog.

His figure seemed to be swallowed by the night as he soundlessly slid toward the noisy, sinful rear entrance.

The blade of vengeance had quietly left its sheath.