Bloodburst Pill

Mine, market town.

More and more passersby gathered to watch.

After Xi Mei left, Dongfang Hongyu's thoughts stirred, and a porcelain bottle appeared in his hand.

A Storage Ring.

As a wealthy merchant family in the East Continent, the Dongfang Clan could naturally get their hands on such a rare treasure.

He opened the bottle and tipped out a small red pill.

Staring at the pill, Dongfang Hongyu hesitated for a long while. "When Father gave this to me, he said its side effects were severe. I shouldn't use it unless I had no other choice. But I never thought I'd have to use it so soon..."

He looked at A Dai and San Mazi, who were about to be beaten into a pulp, then gritted his teeth. "Forget it. For my friends, I'll risk it!"

With that, Dongfang Hongyu swallowed the red pill in one gulp.

The pill dissolved as soon as it entered his mouth, taking effect almost instantly.

Crack, crack...

As the pill's effects kicked in, Dongfang Hongyu's body began to change rapidly.

His bones shifted out of place, his body swelled, his muscles bulged, and his aura surged.

At the same time, a violent, surging, unstoppable force welled up from every part of his body.

The next moment, Dongfang Hongyu was gone. In his place stood a ferocious giant nearly three meters tall, with muscles as solid as rock and an aura as savage as a beast.

"Stop!"

Dongfang Hongyu's eyes glowed red, and he radiated danger.

The Young Master's underlings froze at the sudden appearance of the giant. Even the Young Master himself looked startled. Then he said with amusement, "'Bloodburst Pill.' It burns a martial artist's blood essence to grant a brief boost in strength. It's a top-grade pill with astonishing effects, but once it wears off, the user is left practically wishing for death. Their bones are displaced, their qi and blood depleted. You could say they've lost half their life.

"I never thought the young master of the Dongfang Clan would have so much guts!"

With every word the Young Master spoke, the red light in Dongfang Hongyu's eyes flashed twice. Then he roared at him, "If you let them go now, I, Young Master Dongfang, won't hold this against you. But if you dare lay a hand on them again, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

As he spoke, Dongfang Hongyu threw a warning punch at a nearby stall, smashing the stand and its canopy to pieces.

That showed just how powerful Dongfang Hongyu was now!

The Young Master, however, merely smiled dismissively. "The Bloodburst Pill may be powerful, but its effects don't last. You can only keep this up for the length of one incense stick at most. And its effects vary from person to person. The stronger you are, the greater the boost. But if someone who's already weak takes it... it's hardly any different from taking nothing at all."

He was clearly looking down on Dongfang Hongyu.

Dongfang Hongyu's heart sank when he saw that the other man knew the pill's effects inside out. But with things as they were, he had nowhere left to retreat. He could only stake everything on one throw.

"Then see for yourself whether it works!"

With a shout, Dongfang Hongyu went all out. His blood surged, and he charged at the Young Master's underlings, fists swinging.

Whoosh, whoosh...

His fists fell like hammers, each swing whipping up a gale. His enormous body also bore down on them with an overwhelming sense of oppression.

The Young Master's underlings were no weaklings, but for a while, they couldn't do a thing about Dongfang Hongyu. He drove them back again and again, and two of them even took a punch and were sent flying more than ten meters.

A Dai and San Mazi, who had finally gotten a chance to catch their breath, were both astonished.

San Mazi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "I never knew Dongfang Pangpang could be this impressive. I'll never call him useless again!"

A Dai was surprised too.

He had heard what the Young Master said just now. Dongfang Hongyu usually seemed a little unreliable, yet he had gone this far for them.

After taking the pill, Dongfang Hongyu's senses seemed to have sharpened as well. Hearing San Mazi's words, he didn't forget to turn around and say, "Before I took the pill, you could call me Dongfang Pangpang and I wouldn't hold it against you. But now, call me Dongfang Wudi. Take this!"

A Dai: "..."

San Mazi: "..."

What was he doing, showing off at a time like this?

"A bunch of useless fools. You can't even handle a fatso who hasn't broken through to the Transformation Yuan Realm, even after he took a pill. You're a disgrace."

Watching his underlings flee in every direction under Dongfang Hongyu's blows, the Young Master's gaze turned cold. The Striped Tiger at his side was also itching for a fight, roaring again and again.

The Young Master soothed Big Tiger, then said coldly, "Very well. I'll deal with him myself today and show these useless fools that no amount of pills can make up for the gap in strength!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Young Master blurred and vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, he reappeared right in front of Dongfang Hongyu, then sprang into the air and kicked straight at his head.

Crack!

His leg lashed out like a whip, and the air exploded.

"So fast!"

Dongfang Hongyu couldn't react in time. He could only quickly raise an arm to shield himself.

The tremendous force boomed like a temple bell at dawn and a drum at dusk.

At that instant, Dongfang Hongyu felt as if a mammoth had slammed into him. His massive body couldn't withstand the blow, and he staggered backward four or five steps.

Before Dongfang Hongyu could steady himself, the Young Master blurred again, reappearing behind him and kicking him once more.

This time, Dongfang Hongyu couldn't even block. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot.

A Dai and San Mazi stared in horror and cried out in alarm, "Pangpang..."

The watching passersby were also frightened by the Young Master's lightning-fast speed, and many began murmuring among themselves.

"That man is so fast. Who is he?"

"From his footwork, he's probably using the Wu Clan's secret technique, Thunder Flash. I've heard fewer than three members of the Wu Clan's younger generation know it."

"The Wu Clan? The one among the Five Great Families?"

A Dai and San Mazi trembled.

A scion of one of the great families?

No wonder he was so strong. Even Dongfang Hongyu, after taking the pill, was no match for him at all.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The Wu Clan's Young Master kept changing positions. Every time he flashed, Dongfang Hongyu took another kick.

In just a few breaths, Dongfang Hongyu had been kicked twenty or thirty times. The aura that had surged after taking the pill was also being beaten away, bit by bit.

Even a layman could see what was happening. This was an absolute crushing in strength.

Pfft...

Dongfang Hongyu kept spitting up blood. He tried desperately to grab the Wu Clan's Young Master, but their speeds were on completely different levels.

The Wu Clan's Young Master flashed again. Using his incredible speed, he briefly hovered in midair in front of Dongfang Hongyu. Then the corner of his mouth curled into a cruel smile. "Remember this. I'm the one who defeated you, Wu Jiuyan of the Wu Clan. If you run into me again, remember to keep your distance!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Jiuyan's leg came wrapped in thunder and smashed into Dongfang Hongyu's head. Dongfang Hongyu was sent flying and crashed down more than ten meters away.

Rumble...

After landing, Dongfang Hongyu rolled across the ground several times, leaving a trail of blood almost all the way.

A Dai and San Mazi were heartbroken. They hurried over.

"Pangpang, how are you? Pangpang, you can't let anything happen to you..."

"Hongyu, hang in there. Boss Shen Zhou will be here soon. Just hang on!"

"Wah..."

Dongfang Hongyu opened his mouth and spat out another huge mouthful of blood. Then he fell unconscious.

At the same time, the effects of the Bloodburst Pill gradually began to fade, and his body slowly returned to normal.

But as soon as his body recovered, the pill's side effects struck.

A piercing pain erupted without warning throughout Dongfang Hongyu's body.

The fatso, who had been unconscious, was jolted awake by the pain and couldn't help letting out a howl.

"Ah... it hurts so much..."

"Help me... help me..."

"Ah..."

Hearing Dongfang Hongyu's screams and watching him roll around on the ground, San Mazi couldn't stop himself from tearing up. He shoved all kinds of healing medicine into Dongfang Hongyu's mouth, soothing him as he did. "Fatso, take your medicine. It'll stop the pain. Come on, take your medicine..."

"Ah... it hurts so much..."

Dongfang Hongyu rolled around on the ground, too overcome with pain to swallow the medicine.

The watching passersby were all moved by the sight.

By then, Wu Jiuyan had returned to where he started. Seeing Dongfang Hongyu's misery filled him with satisfaction, and he threw back his head and laughed. "This is what happens when you cross Wu Jiuyan. Remember that next time, understand? Hahaha..."

With that, Wu Jiuyan left amid a burst of arrogant laughter.

A Dai and San Mazi clenched their fists.

For the first time, they desperately yearned for strength, longing to become stronger as soon as possible.

After Wu Jiuyan had been gone for a while, a figure shot through the air and flew over everyone's heads, quickly arriving in the middle of the scene.

"A Dai..."

"San Mazi!"

Shen Zhou had finally arrived with Xi Mei.

Once he reached the scene, Shen Zhou looked around and immediately spotted A Dai and San Mazi, covered in wounds with blood at the corners of their mouths, as well as Dongfang Hongyu, who was rolling on the ground and crying out in pain.

Shen Zhou's breath caught. Then, eyes red, he swept his gaze around and snarled, "Who did this? Where is he?"

A Dai gave just one name. "Wu Jiuyan of the Wu Clan."

Without another word, Shen Zhou grabbed his sword and went to look for him.

Just then, two more figures descended from the sky.

They were Old Man Ji and Li Taohua. They quickly stopped Shen Zhou, who was on the verge of exploding with rage.

Old Man Ji urged him, "Don't act rashly. Wu Jiuyan is one of the three great prodigies of the Wu Clan, one of the Five Great Families. You've already fought people from the Xu and Yang families. If you make an enemy of the Wu Clan too, then three of the great families will have their eyes on you."

Shen Zhou's killing intent surged. "I don't care. Anyone who dares hurt my brothers will pay, even if all five great families set their sights on me. I'll cut that bastard down first!"

At that point, A Dai stepped forward and quickly explained what had happened.

When they heard that Dongfang Hongyu had swallowed the Bloodburst Pill, Old Man Ji was horrified. He hurriedly said, "The Bloodburst Pill! That thing can cost you your life. Shen, tomorrow is the day the Xu and Qin families negotiate. All five great families will be there. You can settle the score then.

"But right now, you need to help save the little fatty. If we wait any longer, he'll be ruined!"

Hearing this, Shen Zhou had no choice but to force down his fury and killing intent. Then he said bitterly, "Fine. I'll let that bastard live one more day. Tomorrow... tomorrow I'll make him repay my brother and Pangpang tenfold, a hundredfold, for all the suffering they've endured!!!"