Hyena

"Thirty million!?"

Qi Dongyuan's words stirred the hearts of the surrounding onlookers.

That was thirty million.

Unless they opened a hall and took on disciples themselves, many Dan Jin martial artists had annual incomes hovering around ten million.

Opening a martial hall required more than startup capital. It also required connections, backing, and strength. Otherwise, they could only wait for fellow practitioners to come knocking at their door.

Fang Lingjue could open a martial hall because the Fang family had connections in Canglong City, his White Crane Style origins gave him backing, and his Embrace Dan cultivation gave him strength. Only then had Changfeng Martial Hall enjoyed smooth sailing.

Thirty million...

That was equivalent to several years of income for many Dan Jin martial artists.

Wang Daoyi was very strong!

He was likely among the strongest of those at Embrace Dan. With that Five Elements Unity technique of his, even Gang Condensation masters would not provoke him unless necessary.

But the problem was...

He was injured now.

After using a secret technique and consecutively unleashing several Dan Jin strikes, how much of his strength remained?

For a moment, the looks many people cast at Wang Daoyi changed slightly.

Wang Daoyi, who had been preparing to kill all five remaining Force-Training experts of the Five Elements Sect, keenly sensed this.

No!

At this moment, he could not show even the slightest weakness. Otherwise, tempted by the Five Elements Sect's thirty million, people might try to hunt him down!

His gaze turned savage, Killing Intent boiling as he abruptly swept his eyes across the various groups watching nearby.

The first group...

The Black Market Guardian.

Their identities could be verified.

One Embrace Dan expert, two Hua Jin experts.

The second group was likely from some faction.

Though they had no Embrace Dan expert, there were as many as eight of them. Three were as vigorous as dragons and fierce as tigers, burly and extraordinary; nine times out of ten, their skill had entered the realm of transformation.

As for the other two groups...

One group had three people. Upon sensing Wang Daoyi's vicious gaze, they hesitated for a moment, intimidated by his Killing Intent, then withdrew from the scene.

They had already witnessed the clash of Dan Jin experts. Chasing down a few Force-Training practitioners afterward did not seem like much of a show.

If they were unlucky, they might even bring disaster upon themselves.

And the final group...

Li Pin.

Alone.

He did not possess the distinctive perfectly rounded, unified bearing of an Embrace Dan expert.

Moreover, Wang Daoyi remembered this person.

He had asked him about the price of the Five Elements Body Refining Technique.

Judging by his voice...

He was very young.

Young meant his strength could not be too great.

He was perfect for demonstrating that Wang Daoyi still possessed his combat power—killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, intimidating the other two groups.

"Has no one ever told you that curiosity killed the cat?"

Wang Daoyi stared at Li Pin, focusing intently on observing his reaction.

Li Pin was stunned for a moment, somewhat surprised.

The flames of war had spread to him, an innocent spectator?

He quickly understood Wang Daoyi's intentions.

And when he glanced at the three observing groups, he found the situation perfectly understandable.

Watching came with risks; spectating required caution.

He liked this kind of risk.

But out of politeness, and considering the great battle between Embrace Dan experts had already ended...

He was satisfied enough.

He immediately stepped back and said, "Then I'll leave."

"Did I say you could leave?"

Wang Daoyi spoke slowly. Then his eyes widened, shooting out terrifyingly vicious light. "Kneel!"

"I shouldn't leave."

Li Pin understood.

There would be no peaceful resolution.

If there could be no peaceful resolution, then so be it.

A genuine Embrace Dan martial artist!

Li Pin halted and looked at Wang Daoyi's savage, cold expression. "You imagined yourself as a wounded male lion on the grasslands, surrounded by hyenas? The moment you showed even a hint of weakness, the hyenas would swarm you and tear you apart, so you had no choice but to pretend you remained powerful, roaring loudly in hopes of frightening the hyenas away."

His tone paused slightly. "But has it ever occurred to you that you are the hyena that only dares to bark and snarl, while the lion—is me!"

"Impudence!"

Wang Daoyi gave a fierce shout. Force exploded beneath his feet, and he once more displayed agility and savagery almost like the strike with which he had nearly pounced Cao Zuoqiu to death.

As he lunged, he was like a fierce tiger released down the mountain, roaring through the forest until all beasts trembled in submission.

But almost the instant he moved, Li Pin moved as well.

He strode forward. Within his mental world, the phantom of Tao Wu, one of the Eight Fiends, manifested. His heart pulsed, and the blood and qi within his body were instantly ignited by heart-fire.

A Baleful Intent rolled toward Wang Daoyi, not inferior in the least to that of this martial artist whose hands had been stained with no fewer than thirty lives.

Their auras collided. Whether in fearless ferocity or Baleful Intent, he did not yield to Wang Daoyi by even half a measure.

The sight shook Wang Daoyi to the core. It was difficult for him to imagine that a martial artist who sounded so young could possess such savage brutality within his fist intent!

Especially the force he had erupted with...

Had he kicked an iron plate!?

But things had reached this point. There could be no retreat whatsoever.

When narrow roads met, the brave prevailed.

"You lack that perfectly rounded unity. In the end, you have never Embraced Qi into Dan!"

Wang Daoyi let out a low roar, using it to kindle his spirit and conviction.

At that moment, all he did was believe in himself, believe in his fists, erupting his strength and speed to their utmost limits and fully displaying the power of an Embrace Dan martial artist.

His body was like a drawn bow!

Drawn taut, then released—like thunder startling the bowstring!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two moved at the utmost speed. In an instant, they flickered three times and crossed paths!

In the instant they crossed, both did almost exactly the same thing!

Punch! Punch! Punch!

In a flash of lightning and spark of flint.

Fist force crashed together. Every strike was like thunder exploding upon level ground, blasting waves of air apart.

The erupting force instantly tore apart the fabric at both their sleeves, sending scraps of cloth flying.

With the first punch, their forces collided evenly.

With the second punch, Li Pin generated force from the side. Wang Daoyi, with one ulna broken, could not reach far enough and fell into a disadvantage.

The third punch...

Li Pin seized the opportunity and surged forward bodily. Dan Jin as heavy as a massive hammer brutally smashed through Wang Daoyi's defense. As Wang Daoyi staggered backward, Li Pin strode forward in great steps, instantly changing his fist into a claw. Carrying thirteen variations, he ferociously seized for the neck of this powerful Embrace Dan expert.

His five fingers were like an iron hoop!

Once they locked on, the powerful force in his finger joints would absolutely crush Wang Daoyi's neck, Adam's apple, and windpipe alike.

"Not good!"

At the moment of life and death, Wang Daoyi hurriedly retreated. His toes touched the ground, and his entire body seemed to slide sideways by an inch. He violently twisted his head, narrowly evading Li Pin's grab by a hair's breadth.

But before he could make any other move, the flagstone beneath Li Pin's feet shuddered, debris scattering.

Dan Jin erupted, driving his speed to its limit.

As that speed transformed into even more violent impact force, his arm, which had grasped empty air, bent outward. Using his elbow as a weapon, he smashed it heavily into Wang Daoyi's throat.

Bang!

Wang Daoyi's pupils dilated. The flesh on his neck visibly rippled and caved in.

His windpipe and esophagus shattered at the same time. Penetrating force tore through them and blasted into his cervical vertebrae. Faintly, there seemed to be a crisp crack.

Immediately afterward, this powerful martial artist, who had used Five Elements Unity to kill an Embrace Qi into Dan expert head-on, was blasted several meters backward by the violent force contained in that elbow and crashed heavily onto the ground.

His eyes were wide with terror. Perhaps some nerve in his cervical vertebrae had been severed; his body convulsed and trembled wildly...

Unprecedented terror flooded his entire body. He opened his mouth as though trying to say something, but in the end...

As the convulsions gradually weakened, he fell silent.