Apology

As soon as the black-robed youth moved, it was the best signal. The green-robed men, no longer afraid, raised their weapons and charged at Xu Yi with a roar.

The leader in front, the followers behind, a pincer attack.

Xu Yi moved. He completely ignored the black-robed youth behind him. With a stride, he was already ten feet away. His body flickered again, and with a swing of his copper hammer, he plunged into the crowd of green-robed men.

A blade comes, hammer goes!

A spear comes, hammer goes!

An arrow comes, still hammer goes!

No parrying, no blocking, just one strike!

The copper hammer, as elusive as a ghost, no one could withstand a single blow, and no one could evade it.

Another rain of blood fell, and figures flew everywhere.

Before the black-robed youth could even touch a hair on Xu Yi's head, the green-robed men had already vanished from the scene.

Just as Xu Yi finished slaughtering the green-robed men, the black-robed youth had already arrived behind him in mid-air, a three-foot-long green blade extending from his left palm, aiming directly for the back of Xu Yi's head.

Xu Yi's body didn't move. The copper hammer, which had just smashed a green-robed man, suddenly changed direction, striking first and blocking the path of the green blade.

With a crisp clang, the copper hammer and the blade met.

A bizarre scene unfolded. The hard copper hammer was actually cut in half by the green blade as if slicing through tofu.

The blade cut through the hammer, its momentum undiminished. It was about to touch Xu Yi's black hair. The black-robed youth's face showed immense joy. Just then, Xu Yi's head actually moved three inches to the side, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

Missing his target, the black-robed youth became anxious and quickly changed his move.

But this speed, in Xu Yi's eyes, was as slow as a snail.

The gap of a small realm was like a chasm separating the two.

The black-robed youth could catch Xu Yi off guard with the sharpness of his weapon, but once Xu Yi was prepared, this last advantage was also erased.

Before the blade, which had changed from a stab to a slash, could move half an inch, Xu Yi's body, light as smoke, had ghost-like appeared behind the black-robed youth. He reached out with a large hand. Before the black-robed youth could react, the Dazhui acupoint on the back of his neck was firmly grasped, and he was lifted into the air.

Having captured the black-robed youth, Xu Yi showed no surprise or joy. He said coldly, "Now it's time to count your crimes..."

Unexpectedly, before he could finish his sentence, a sudden change occurred. The white iron dan in the black-robed youth's right palm suddenly transformed, a slender tip extending like lightning, silently piercing towards Xu Yi's chest.

As Xu Yi had grabbed the Dazhui acupoint of the black-robed youth, he had already relaxed, because he knew very well that once the Dazhui acupoint was held, anyone should lose the ability to resist, and thus his vigilance had completely dropped.

He never imagined that the black-robed youth held such a rare treasure in his palm. The iron gall transformed, piercing without warning. Seeing the white sword already breaking through his clothes, anyone else, even a master of the Qi Sea Realm, would likely have been unable to dodge.

But Xu Yi possessed astonishing perception. As soon as the white sword cut through his clothes, before his brain could send a command, his nerves had already made his body move.

Using all his strength, he tilted his shoulder slightly to the left. In a flash, he moved less than half an inch.

And it was this less than half an inch of movement that saved Xu Yi's life.

With a tearing sound, the white sword pierced Xu Yi's thick skin, like felt, grazing his heart and easily passing straight through his body.

The black-robed youth never expected that even such a silent blow would be dodged by Xu Yi. Filled with fear, he urged his palm strength, about to twist the white sword embedded in Xu Yi's body, when suddenly, an intense pain, almost enough to make him dizzy, struck him, interrupting everything.

It turned out that as the white sword pierced Xu Yi, a powerful sense of crisis struck him, and he acted first without regard for anything else. His palm surged out, grabbing the wrist of the black-robed youth's right hand, which was holding the iron dan. Under immense force, he crushed the wrist into powder.

Originally, Xu Yi had a simpler way to resolve this. He only needed to exert force with his large hand holding the black-robed youth's Dazhui acupoint to knock him unconscious.

But the white dan's transformation was too bizarre. He feared that even if he knocked the black-robed youth unconscious, the white dan could still exert force while attached to his palm. So, he decided to solve the problem from the root.

Indeed, as soon as the black-robed youth's right wrist was crushed, the white sword suddenly retracted, withdrawing from Xu Yi's body and transforming back into an iron胆 in the black-robed youth's palm.

Xu Yi's chest and back each bore a narrow sword wound. Although the wounds were deep, Xu Yi controlled his muscles to press the wounds shut, and not a drop of blood flowed.

Xu Yi's large hand reached out, snatched the iron gall, and stuffed it into the tiger-skin waist pouch he had taken from Elder Feng.

He then took the green blade, slammed the black-robed youth to the ground, and before he could get up, he stomped on him with his large foot. He then loudly recited the laws of the Great Yue Royal Court, "Gathering to attack an official is punishable by death according to the law. Do you have anything to say now!"

The black-robed youth, enduring the intense pain, said fiercely, "Bastard, do you know you've caused big trouble? Give me back the iron gall quickly, or you will die without a burial place!"

The iron gall was mystical, unheard of. Xu Yi had already guessed it was no ordinary item. Now, with the black-robed youth's life hanging by a thread, he was still obsessed with it, which showed that the iron gall must be a treasure.

Since it was a treasure, according to Xu Yi's temperament, how could he return it? He even dared to steal from Zhou Daogan, so what else wouldn't he dare to swallow?

As soon as the black-robed youth finished shouting, a green light flashed, and his left thumb was severed by Xu Yi.

"Just now you told me to kowtow three times to Uncle Mu. Now you will kowtow thirty times to Uncle Mu. I will start counting. After three counts, if you haven't started, for every additional count, I will cut off one of your fingers. Including your toes, you have fourteen fingers left. After cutting off your fingers, it will be your nose, your ears. I actually hope you'll be tougher and last a few more counts, preferably letting me chop you into a human stick!"

Towards scumbags like the black-robed youth, Xu Yi's heart was as cold as iron.

He released his large foot and began to count.

The black-robed youth stood up, enduring the trembling, and began to roar, "Do you know who I am? The three thousand brothers of the Black Dragon Hall, absolutely..."

Before the word "absolutely" could finish, the word "four" had already come out of Xu Yi's mouth. A green light flashed, and his index finger flew off.

"Ah!"

The black-robed youth screamed in pain, pointing at Xu Yi and cursing, "My father will surely cut you into a thousand pieces!"

"Five, six, seven!"

The green light flashed again, and the black-robed youth's left hand was already bare.

The black-robed youth collapsed on the ground in pain, but Xu Yi ignored him. The green light swept out, and the shoes and socks of the black-robed youth were both torn apart.

"Stop!"

Just as Xu Yi was about to utter his eighth count, the black-robed youth finally couldn't hold back and shouted for him to halt.

Spoiled and pampered, he had practiced Martial Arts but had never forged a strong will. As Xu Yi sliced off his fingers one by one, the pain and fear shattered his last shred of pride.

Thump. The esteemed Young Hall Master finally knelt before Uncle Mu.

Bang, bang, bang…

His head slammed against the bluestone slabs like a storm, whether out of fear of not hitting hard enough and angering Xu Yi, or to vent the boundless shame and fury churning in his chest.