Bloodburst Pill

Mining town, market street.

More and more onlookers gathered.

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

A Storage Ring.

As a wealthy merchant clan of the East Continent, the Dongfang Clan naturally had access to such rare items.

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 the side effects after using it are severe—only to be used when there's no other choice. I never thought I'd need it so soon..."

He glanced at A Dai and San Mazi, who were nearly beaten to a pulp, then gritted his teeth. "Forget it. For my friends, I'll go all out!"

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

The pill dissolved on his tongue, taking effect instantly.

Crack, crack...

As the medicine took hold, Dongfang Hongyu's body began to change rapidly.

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

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

The next moment, Dongfang Hongyu was gone. In his place stood a ferocious giant nearly three meters tall, muscles as solid as rock, aura as wild as a beast, right in the middle of the market.

"Stop!"

Dongfang Hongyu's eyes flickered with a red glow, radiating danger.

Seeing the sudden giant, the Young Master's men froze, and even the Young Master himself was startled for a moment before he sneered. "'Bloodburst Pill'—a top-grade pill that burns a martial artist's essence blood for a temporary boost in strength. Impressive effect, but once it wears off, the user is left in agony—bones misaligned, qi and blood depleted. Losing half your life wouldn't be an exaggeration.

I never expected this little young master of the Dongfang Clan to have such guts!"

With every word the Young Master spoke, the red light in Dongfang Hongyu's eyes flared twice. Then he roared at the Young Master, "If you let them go now, this Young Master Dongfang won't hold it against you. But if you still dare to make a move, don't blame me for being rude!"

As he spoke, Dongfang Hongyu threw a warning punch to the side, smashing a stall—both canopy and goods—to pieces.

That showed just how strong he was now!

Yet the Young Master just smiled dismissively. "The Bloodburst Pill is strong, but it has a time limit. You can only sustain it for the time it takes to burn an incense stick. And its effect varies by person—the stronger you are, the stronger the boost. But if someone weak uses it... it's as good as useless."

Those words were clearly meant to belittle Dongfang Hongyu.

Hearing the Young Master see through the Bloodburst Pill's effects, Dongfang Hongyu's heart sank. But with no way back, he had to stake everything on this.

"Then let's see if it works or not!"

With a shout, Dongfang Hongyu went all out. He surged his qi and blood, clenched his fist, and charged straight at the Young Master's men.

Whoosh, whoosh...

His fists were like hammers. Every swing stirred up a gale, and his massive frame brought an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Though the Young Master's men were no weaklings, they found themselves unable to handle Dongfang Hongyu for the moment, forced back step by step. Two of them even took a punch and were sent flying over ten meters.

A Dai and San Mazi, catching a brief respite, watched in shock.

San Mazi wiped the blood from his mouth. "I never thought Fatty Dongfang could be this fierce. I'll never call him useless again!"

A Dai was equally surprised.

He had heard what the Young Master said. Dongfang Hongyu usually seemed so unreliable—he never expected him to go this far for them.

After taking the pill, Dongfang Hongyu's senses seemed sharper too. He caught San Mazi's words and turned back to say, "Before the pill, you could call me 'Fatty Dongfang' and I wouldn't mind. But after the pill, call me 'Invincible Dongfang.' Take this punch!"

A Dai: "..."

San Mazi: "..."

Of all times to show off.

"A bunch of trash—can't even handle a fat guy who hasn't broken through the Transformation Yuan Realm even with a pill. You embarrass me."

Watching his men get beaten and scatter, the Young Master's gaze turned cold. The Striped Tiger beside him was also eager to join, roaring repeatedly.

The Young Master calmed the tiger and said coldly, "Fine. This Young Master will handle it himself today. Let these wastes know that the gap in strength can't be closed by swallowing pills!"

The moment he finished speaking, the Young Master's figure flickered and vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, he reappeared right in front of Dongfang Hongyu, lifting his leg for a flying kick aimed straight at Dongfang Hongyu's head.

Crack!

His leg snapped out like a whip, splitting the air.

"So fast!"

Dongfang Hongyu couldn't react in time. He could only raise an arm to block in front of him.

The immense force struck with a boom, like a morning bell or evening drum.

In that moment, Dongfang Hongyu felt as if he'd been hit by a mammoth. His massive frame couldn't hold steady, and he stumbled back four or five steps.

Before he could regain his footing, the Young Master's figure flickered again, appearing behind him, and lifted his leg for another kick.

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

A Dai and San Mazi watched in shock, their faces turning pale as they shouted in worry, "Fatty..."

The onlookers were also startled by the Young Master's lightning-fast speed, and many began to murmur among themselves.

"This person is so fast—who is he?"

"Judging by his movement technique, he's using the Wu Clan's secret art 'Thunder Flash.' I've heard that no more than three of the Wu Clan's younger generation have mastered this technique."

"The Wu Clan—the same Wu Clan from the Five Great Families?"

A Dai and San Mazi's bodies trembled.

A scion of a great family?

No wonder this person was so strong—even Dongfang Hongyu, who had taken the drug, was utterly outmatched.

Shua shua shua...

The Wu Clan's young master's figure flickered continuously, and with each flash, a kick landed on Dongfang Hongyu's body.

In just a few breaths, Dongfang Hongyu had taken twenty or thirty kicks, and the surging aura from the drug he'd taken was being steadily beaten out of him.

Seeing this, even an outsider could tell it was absolute suppression in strength.

Pfft...

Dongfang Hongyu kept spitting blood, desperately trying to reach out and grab the Wu Clan's young master, but their speeds were on completely different levels.

The Wu Clan's young master flickered again, using his incredible speed to briefly hover in midair before Dongfang Hongyu. Then, with a curl of his lips, he revealed a cruel smile and said, "Remember this—the one who beat you is me, Wu Jiuyan of the Wu Clan. Next time you run into me, make sure you stay out of my way!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Jiuyan's foot, wreathed in thunder, slammed viciously into Dongfang Hongyu's head. The latter flew off with a thud, crashing down more than ten meters away.

Gulu gulu...

After hitting the ground, Dongfang Hongyu rolled several more times, blood spattering almost the entire path.

A Dai and San Mazi's hearts ached as they rushed over.

"Fatty, how are you, Fatty? You can't be okay..."

"Hongyu, hang in there—Brother Zhou is coming soon, just hold on!"

"Wah..."

Dongfang Hongyu opened his mouth and spat out another huge gush of blood, then fell unconscious.

At that moment, the effects of the 'Bloodburst Pill' were gradually fading, and his body was slowly returning to normal.

But no sooner had his body recovered than the side effects of the 'Bloodburst Pill' set in.

A piercing, bone-deep pain erupted without warning inside Dongfang Hongyu's body.

The unconscious fatty was jolted awake by the agony, unable to hold back a scream.

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

"Save me... save me..."

"Ah..."

Hearing Dongfang Hongyu's screams and watching him writhe in pain on the ground, San Mazi couldn't hold back his tears. He stuffed various healing medicines into Dongfang Hongyu's mouth, coaxing him, "Fatty, take the medicine—it'll stop the pain, just take it..."

"Ah... I'm dying from the pain..."

Dongfang Hongyu rolled around on the ground, too pained to even swallow the medicine.

Seeing this scene, even the onlookers were moved.

By now, Wu Jiuyan had landed back where he started. Watching Dongfang Hongyu's miserable state, he felt a surge of satisfaction and couldn't help but laugh uproariously, "This is what happens when you cross me, Wu Jiuyan. Know your place from now on, got it? Hahaha..."

With that, Wu Jiuyan strode away amid his arrogant, triumphant laughter.

A Dai and San Mazi clenched their fists tightly.

For the first time, they desperately craved strength, eager to become stronger.

A short while after Wu Jiuyan left, a whoosh sounded from the sky, and a figure shot over the crowd, landing swiftly in the middle of the scene.

"A Dai..."

"San Mazi!"

Shen Zhou had finally arrived, bringing Xi Mei with him.

Once on the scene, Shen Zhou swept his gaze around and immediately spotted A Dai and San Mazi, covered in wounds with blood seeping from the corners of their mouths, and Dongfang Hongyu, writhing on the ground and crying out in pain.

Shen Zhou's breath caught. Then, his eyes reddening, he looked around fiercely and demanded, "Who did this? Where are they?"

A Dai spoke only one name, "Wu Jiuyan of the Wu Clan."

Without another word, Shen Zhou grabbed his sword and was about to go find him.

Just then, two more figures descended from the air.

It was Old Man Ji and Li Taohua, who quickly blocked the nearly-explosive Shen Zhou.

Old Man Ji urged, "Don't act rashly. Wu Jiuyan is one of the three prodigies of the Wu Clan among the Five Great Families. You've already struck against the Xu and Yang families. If you provoke the Wu Clan now, all three families will have their eyes on you."

Shen Zhou's killing intent pressed forward. "I don't care. Even if all Five Great Families target me for harming my brother, I'll cut that bastard down first!"

At that moment, A Dai stepped forward and quickly recounted the whole story.

When they heard that Dongfang Hongyu had swallowed a 'Bloodburst Pill,' Old Man Ji's face went pale with shock. He hurriedly said, "A 'Bloodburst Pill'—that's a deadly thing. Shen boy, tomorrow is the negotiation day between the Xu and Qin families. All Five Great Families will be there. You can seek revenge then.

But right now, you need to help save Little Fatty first. Any later, and he'll be ruined!"

Hearing this, Shen Zhou had no choice but to forcefully suppress the fury and murderous intent burning in his chest. He ground his teeth and said, "Fine. I'll let that bastard live one more day. Tomorrow... tomorrow, I'll make him pay back tenfold, a hundredfold, the suffering he's inflicted on my brother and Fatty!!!"