Apologizing for His Sins

The moment the Black-robed youth moved, it was the best signal they could have asked for. The blue-clad men lost all fear, drew their weapons, and surged toward Xu Yi with a clamor.

Their master in front, his servants behind—attacking from both sides.

Xu Yi moved. He didn't bother with the Black-robed youth behind him. One long stride carried him ten feet forward. His body swayed, his Copper hammer swung, and he charged straight into the blue-clad men.

A blade came—and the hammer struck!

A spear came—and the hammer struck!

An arrow came—and the hammer struck again!

No parrying, no dodging—just one blow!

The Copper hammer darted like a ghost. No one could withstand a single strike, and no one could evade one.

Another rain of blood drifted down as figures flew wildly through the air.

Before the Black-robed youth could so much as touch Xu Yi's hair, the blue-clad men had vanished from the scene.

Xu Yi had just slaughtered the last of the blue-clad men when the Black-robed youth swooped through the air behind him, a three-foot-long green blade extending from his left palm as it stabbed straight for the back of Xu Yi's head.

Xu Yi didn't move. The Copper hammer that had just sent a blue-clad man flying abruptly changed direction, arriving first to block the green blade's path.

With a crisp clang, the hammer and blade met.

A bizarre scene unfolded: the green blade sliced the sturdy Copper hammer cleanly in two, as easily as cutting tofu.

The blade cut through the hammer and kept going. It was already brushing Xu Yi's black hair. The Black-robed youth's face lit with wild joy—when Xu Yi's head shifted a full three inches aside, narrowly escaping the fatal blow.

His strike had missed. Panic surged through the Black-robed youth as he hurriedly changed moves.

But to Xu Yi, that speed was slower than a snail.

The gap of a single minor realm was like a chasm, separating the two men.

The Black-robed youth could rely on his weapon's sharpness to catch Xu Yi off guard, but once Xu Yi was on his guard, even that final advantage vanished.

Before the blade, now sweeping sideways instead of stabbing, had shifted even half an inch, Xu Yi's body, light as drifting smoke, had already appeared behind the Black-robed youth like a ghost. His great hand shot out, and before the Black-robed youth could react, Xu Yi had seized the Dazhui Acupoint at the back of his neck and lifted him into the air.

With the Black-robed youth in his grasp, Xu Yi showed neither anger nor joy. His expression cold, he said, "Now it's time to count your crimes..."

But before he could finish, a sudden change struck. The White iron gall in the Black-robed youth's right palm abruptly transformed, a slender point springing out like lightning to stab silently toward Xu Yi's chest.

After seizing the Black-robed youth by the Dazhui Acupoint, Xu Yi had let out a quiet breath of relief. He knew perfectly well that once the Dazhui Acupoint was held, anyone would lose the ability to fight back. As a result, his guard had dropped completely.

How could he have known the Black-robed youth was clutching such a wondrous treasure? The iron gall transformed and stabbed without warning. The White Sword had already pierced his clothes. Anyone else—even a Qi Sea Realm expert—would have had no chance of dodging.

But Xu Yi possessed astonishing perception. The instant the White Sword cut through his clothes, before his mind could issue a command, his nerves had already moved his body.

He used all his strength to tilt his shoulder slightly to the left, shifting less than half an inch in the blink of an eye.

That shift of less than half an inch saved Xu Yi's life.

With a tearing sound, the White Sword pierced Xu Yi's skin, thick as felt, and passed clean through his body, grazing his heart.

The Black-robed youth had never imagined that Xu Yi would evade such a silent attack. Anxious and alarmed, he channeled power through his palm, about to twist the White Sword buried in Xu Yi's body—when a pain so intense it nearly made him faint surged through him, stopping everything.

As the White Sword pierced him, Xu Yi had felt the overwhelming threat to his life and struck without hesitation. His great hand clamped around the right wrist holding the iron gall, and with tremendous force, crushed it to pieces.

Xu Yi could have dealt with him more simply: he need only squeeze the Black-robed youth's Dazhui Acupoint and knock him unconscious.

But the White iron gall's transformation was too strange. Xu Yi feared that even if he knocked the Black-robed youth out, the iron gall might still discharge its power through the palm. So he had chosen to solve the problem at its source.

Sure enough, the instant the Black-robed youth's right wrist was crushed, the White Sword abruptly contracted, withdrew from Xu Yi's body, and turned back into an iron gall in the Black-robed youth's palm.

A narrow sword wound now marked Xu Yi's chest and back. Though deep, he had tightened the muscles around it to seal the wounds, and not a drop of blood had fallen.

Xu Yi snatched up the iron gall and stuffed it into the tiger-skin waist pouch he had taken from Elder Feng.

He then picked up the green blade and slammed the Black-robed youth hard into the ground. Before he could turn over, Xu Yi planted a foot on him and loudly recited the Great Yue Royal Court Edict: "Rallying men to attack an official is punishable by death. What have you to say for yourself?"

The Black-robed youth endured the agony and shouted, "Bastard! Do you know what kind of trouble you've caused? Give me back the iron gall, or you'll die without a burial place!"

The iron gall was a wondrous object, unlike anything Xu Yi had ever heard of. He had already guessed it was no ordinary thing. Now the Black-robed youth was at death's door and still couldn't stop thinking about it—proof enough that it was a treasure.

And if it was a treasure, how could Xu Yi's temperament let him return it? He had even dared to pocket Zhou Daogan's things. What wouldn't he dare swallow?

The Black-robed youth had barely finished shouting when a flash of green light cut off the thumb of his left hand.

"A moment ago, you told Uncle Mu to kowtow to you three times. Now you'll kowtow to Uncle Mu thirty times. I'll start counting. If you haven't begun by the count of three, I'll cut off one finger for every number after that. Including your toes, you have fourteen fingers left. Once they're gone, I'll move on to your nose and ears. I hope you put up a good fight and hold out for a few more counts. Better yet, let me whittle you down into a human stump!"

Xu Yi's heart was cold as iron toward scum like the Black-robed youth.

He lifted his foot and began to count.

The Black-robed youth got to his feet, trembling as he shouted, "Do you know who I am? The Black Dragon Hall has three thousand brothers. They'll..."

Before he could finish "they'll," Xu Yi said, "Four." Green light flashed, and the Black-robed youth's index finger flew off.

"Ah!"

The Black-robed youth screamed in agony and pointed at Xu Yi, cursing, "My father will have you cut into a thousand pieces!"

"Five, six, seven!"

Green light flashed again. The Black-robed youth's left hand was now bare.

The Black-robed youth collapsed to the ground in pain, but Xu Yi paid him no mind. With a sweep of green light, he slashed through the shoes and socks on both his feet.

"Wait!"

Xu Yi was just about to call out the eighth number when the Black-robed youth finally broke and shouted for him to stop.

Though he had been pampered from birth and had trained in Martial Arts, he had never forged a strong will. As Xu Yi cut off his fingers one by one, the pain and terror shattered the last of his pride.

Thud. The noble Young Hall Master finally dropped to his knees before Uncle Mu.

Thump, thump, thump...

His head slammed into the flagstones like a violent storm. He could not tell whether he was terrified Xu Yi would think his kowtows too light and strike him again, or whether he was venting the boundless humiliation and rage in his chest.