I Can Kill You Anytime

An Yang was not exactly mild-tempered. He had gotten into plenty of fights growing up, and especially after killing people in Léon: The Professional and Escape from the Amazon, he had acquired a vicious aura ordinary people did not possess.

He had never thought much of rich second-generation heirs or officials' second-generation heirs, especially the kind who idled away their lives and only knew how to bully others by throwing their weight around. They were merely living off the protection of their ancestors. Though these siblings seemed to have their reasons, now that they had targeted him, rage still surged within him!

An Yang shot out a hand like lightning and clamped down on the bodyguard's wrist. He abruptly rose to his feet. The bodyguard's expression changed, and just as he tried to fight back, a sharp pain struck his abdomen, followed by another at the bend of his knee, knocking him instantly to the ground.

Bang!

He had run into an expert!

That was the bodyguard's first thought. Then a hand reached over like iron pincers and seized his throat. The force pressing down made him feel as though his windpipe was about to be crushed, and his face instantly flushed red.

The three people beside them were stunned, especially the siblings. Scenes like this were common enough on television, but seeing someone take a person down in an instant in real life was immensely shocking—especially since the bodyguard was far taller and more powerfully built than An Yang.

The other bodyguard reacted quickly, but instead of stepping forward to help his colleague, he pulled the siblings behind him and positioned himself in front of them.

It was obvious that he had good judgment and professional instincts. Having seen An Yang's speed, strength, and fighting ability, he knew there was no point in going up against him. He simply protected his two employers behind him.

The bodyguard Qin Gang had called Brother Hao was red-faced, his eyes bulging slightly and his tongue sticking out. His face was twisted in pain as he desperately tried to pry An Yang's hand away.

"Ah! Murder..."

Qin Zhu's eyes were full of terror as she let out a scream!

Killing intent flickered in An Yang's eyes, but he also knew when to stop. He released the bodyguard's neck, then immediately drove a vicious punch into his abdomen.

Intermediate Combat Mastery told him that even if he could not kill an enemy in a single blow, he had to leave them completely unable to fight back.

"Hiss..."

This bodyguard was fairly tough. Despite his unbearable pain, he did not cry out. He merely gritted his teeth and glared at An Yang.

An Yang ignored him. He was just a lackey, after all. Rising to his feet, he walked toward the siblings, immediately throwing the three of them into a panic. The remaining bodyguard hurriedly shielded the siblings and stared tensely at An Yang.

"My friend... Master, we were in the wrong earlier. I apologize to you here. Let's put this matter behind us, all right?"

Just then, the two old men who had been concentrating on their chess game finally noticed the commotion. Their eyes widened.

"Qin Gang, Qin Zhu, what are you doing?"

"Wang Hao, Chen Jun, get back here!"

But An Yang ignored them. He coldly watched the bodyguard, then, seizing the moment when the man was distracted by Old Qin's shout, suddenly grabbed his arm and slammed his body forward. His strength and speed exploded at once. With a dull, solid impact, he hurled the man to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.

Bang!

Clean and decisive! One strike did the job!

Fast! Precise! Ruthless!

He had brought the principles of Intermediate Combat Mastery to their absolute limit!

Without stopping, An Yang stepped past him and walked up to the siblings. He grabbed Qin Gang by the collar, lifted him up, and stared straight into his eyes.

"Seen enough now?"

Qin Gang stared back at him and said, "You... what do you want? Let me warn you—if you lay a hand on me today, I definitely won't let you get away with it!"

Old Qin and Old Man He hurried over. Seeing the two bodyguards lying on the ground, they were inwardly horrified. They could not imagine that An Yang, who did not look particularly tall or imposing, had rendered Wang Hao unable to resist without them even noticing, then taken down Chen Jun in a single exchange!

Old Man He grabbed An Yang and tried to pry open the hand holding Qin Gang aloft, only to find that it was as solid as steel. He simply could not move it with his strength. Perhaps the two bodyguards could have done it, but he did not dare call them over at a time like this.

He lowered his hands and hurriedly said, "An Yang, what are you doing? Why did you suddenly start fighting?"

Old Qin's face was grim, yet he did not question An Yang. Instead, he looked at Qin Gang and Qin Zhu and asked, "What happened? Qin Gang, Qin Zhu, tell me what happened!"

An Yang's mind was still lingering on Qin Gang's earlier words. Besides, he had only known Old Qin and Old Man He for around ten days. There was no need to give them too much face. He said to Qin Gang:

"Heh. You won't let me get away with it? What gives you the right to say that? If I want you dead, you can die at any time. Even if you run to the ends of the earth, you won't escape!"

That was indeed the truth. With Xiao Qian by his side, no matter where Qin Gang ran or how many people protected him, An Yang could make him die whenever he wanted. Even with the M200's long-range sniping capability, he could accomplish the same thing, though it would be more trouble than it was worth.

When dealing with privileged second-generation heirs like this, he had to make them afraid in one go, make them dare not entertain any more thoughts. Otherwise, they would become an endless nuisance later on.

Qin Gang's face went deathly pale. Only then did he remember that this man was the Qigong Master his grandfather had spoken of—the same wandering charlatan Qin Gang had suspected him to be. But now, it seemed that an ordinary wandering charlatan could not possibly have taken down his two bodyguards.

Were Qigong Masters not supposed to be people who could make snakes appear from empty basins, travel thousands of miles with divine escape arts, and kill invisibly?

Who knew whether the things on television were real or fake? Most of them were probably fake. But the man in front of him left Qin Gang uncertain, especially when his life was at stake. Better to believe it existed than risk believing it did not.

Old Qin looked at An Yang with an unpleasant expression. To him, those words were no different from An Yang personally admitting that he had an extraordinary identity, making him wary.

"An Yang, what do you mean by this? Calm down. Qin Gang and Qin Zhu are immature. If they offended you in any way, I'll apologize to you on his behalf. Young people, after all—no fight, no friendship."

An Yang glanced at him. Old Qin was clearly a man of power and influence; it showed in his usual words and bearing, and in the fact that Qin Gang and Qin Zhu brought bodyguards whenever they went out. An Yang was not strong enough yet, though he had enormous room to grow. There was no need to fight them to the death at this point, so he took the offered way out.

"Fine. I'll give you face. Keep your descendants in line from now on. Don't let them become useless good-for-nothings!"

Old Qin's expression was somewhat ugly, but he still nodded in agreement. He was the one in the wrong, so he had no grounds to argue with An Yang.

He could more or less guess what Qin Gang and Qin Zhu had been thinking. Since that was the case, it did not count as throwing their weight around to bully others. At most, they were young, hot-blooded, and immature.

At last, Qin Gang's feet touched the ground. Looking at Old Qin with shame and lingering fear, he said, "Grandpa, I... I didn't mean to. I thought he had fooled you..."

Young people generally did not believe in things like qigong or feng shui.

Old Qin nodded. "I understand. You should go back. Don't be so impulsive in the future."

Qin Gang and Qin Zhu lowered their heads and glanced at An Yang before quickly leaving with the two bodyguards.

An Yang glanced at Old Qin in surprise. He hadn't expected the old man to carry such authority. In this era of widespread rebellion, families like this were rare indeed.

Once the two had left, Old Qin's face returned to its kindly expression. He said apologetically, "They're two immature youngsters. Please don't hold it against them."

An Yang nodded. "They're quite filial."

Old Qin sighed. "They were close to their grandmother from a young age. Now she's nearing the end as well. What happened today probably has something to do with that."

An Yang silently walked to one side, spread out some newspaper, and sat cross-legged to begin cultivating. He felt that coming to the park to cultivate perhaps wasn't such a wise choice. Some people and matters were originally insignificant, yet they could be especially irritating.

Old Qin was weighed down by his thoughts, and when he played chess with Old Man He, he lost match after match.

The next day.

Old Qin and Old Man He arrived at the park. An Yang had always arrived earlier than they did; he was practically already sitting here before dawn.

Old Qin had just been about to greet An Yang and tell him that he had gone home and scolded Qin Gang and Qin Zhu, asking him not to take it to heart, when he happened to see An Yang at a critical point in his cultivation.

An Yang opened his mouth and slowly exhaled a stream of white vapor. The vapor actually hung in the air without dispersing, looking exceedingly strange, and only faded away after a long while.

Old Qin and Old Man He looked at each other, unable to conceal their shock.

"Th-this shouldn't be some martial arts trick, right?"

"Doesn't look like it."

Old Qin also knew that there were two main reasons he believed An Yang was not a con artist. One was his extraordinary bearing; the other was how utterly unconcerned he seemed with the two of them in both word and deed, showing no ulterior motive whatsoever. But honestly, with his decades of experience in officialdom, there truly were not many people in the world who could deceive him.

Recalling the harsh words An Yang had said to Qin Gang yesterday, Old Qin suddenly felt fortunate. Good thing they hadn't provoked him.

He had long heard that there were extraordinary people in the world, but mostly through the words of others or from books. He had never believed in such things before, nor had he put much faith in the qigong masters within his circle. Yet over this period of time, he had gradually begun to believe, especially after seeing this with his own eyes today.

An Yang abruptly opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and clear-headed. He took out his phone and checked it. Sure enough, the data on the screen had changed.

Chosen One: An Yang

Physical Attributes:

Constitution: 2.3

Strength: 2.1

Speed: 2

Intelligence: 2

Unassigned Attribute Points: 1

Mastered Skills:

Mastery of Combat (Intermediate)

Firearms Mastery (Intermediate)

English Mastery (Beginner)

Military Literacy Mastery (Beginner)

Instrument Mastery (Beginner)

Driving Mastery (Beginner)

Melee Weapon Mastery (Beginner)

Unassigned Skill Points: 2

Item Abilities:

Portable Space (1 cubic meter)

Skill Stealing (Unused)

Gate of Space (Unused)

Other Abilities:

Kunlun Art (Level 2)

Heaven and Earth, Limitless; Cosmos Borrow Law (Level 3)

Kunlun Art had risen by one level, from Level 1 to Level 2!

Did this mean he could be even more unrestrained in his intimacy with Xiao Qian?

Thinking of this, a smile appeared at the corner of An Yang's lips.