The three in the courtyard were still no match for him. Zhang Li was sent flying by a headbutt, his breastbone caved in. He collapsed to the ground and didn't move.
Pei Yuhan was also sent flying by a palm strike and crashed to the ground.
"Junior Sister!" Duan Hongyan tried to save her, but he was too late.
"Looks like you care a lot about this woman?" Du Hengfeng sneered.
Du Hengfeng was also in the Second-Blood Realm, yet he couldn't take Duan Hongyan down at once. This left him displeased.
"This man and woman are yours. Don't play with them until they're dead; we still have to answer for this." Du Hengfeng suddenly gave the order.
Xu Tian and Xu Di exchanged a knowing glance and smiled. Their eyes gleamed with wicked light as they ignored Zhang Li and went straight toward the unconscious Pei Yuhan.
Xu Di licked his lips. "Brother, I'm a bit of a clean freak. Can I go first?"
"Make it quick."
Su Yuan gave the Xu brothers a strange look. Had spending so much time with Shan Xiongqing turned them into lust-crazed fiends?
People really could change a lot in two months.
In a filthy place like this, without a steadfast heart, one would eventually be corrupted.
Su Yuan couldn't help wondering whether he, too, had changed.
He had changed, and yet he hadn't.
His selfish desire to seize resources from every side and keep growing stronger hadn't changed.
But his hatred of the Liang People, especially the Shan Family, had grown deeper by the day.
It wasn't because of some national feud. It was because Great Liang's brutal oppression clashed violently with the values he'd held in his previous life.
All those tortures at the execution grounds—if his guess was right, the black rooms might be used for all kinds of terrifying experiments.
It stirred the hatred of invaders deep in his bones, and his loathing of war.
"May there be no war in this world."
Slowly, he reached into his clothes and took out a mask.
A blue-green face, fangs, and short horns sprouting from its forehead.
The cold touch pressed against his cheeks. Su Yuan took out wooden earplugs and put them in, shutting out the sounds of the world.
Su Yuan felt no pity for the Shan Family.
Every trouble stemmed from the Shan Family.
Sister Mian was consumed by grief because of Shan Xiongqing, Yun Xu had been imprisoned by him, and the constant attempts on Su Yuan's life were all driven by the Shan Family from behind the scenes.
"I'll collect a little interest today. When the Wolf God Festival comes, I'll keep paying you back! Sooner or later, I'll tear your whole lot down!"
Xu Di's hands kept moving. As he groped about, he kept an eye on the fight.
Watching Xu Di's hand reach for his junior sister's collar, Duan Hongyan felt despair and fury burn through his chest.
That moment of distraction gave Du Hengfeng an opening. He struck Duan Hongyan hard, sending him crashing to the ground.
Du Hengfeng planted a foot on him and leered. "Enjoy the show."
Duan Hongyan trembled from head to toe, his fingernails digging into the dirt.
He couldn't save her... It was all because he was too weak! He closed his eyes, not daring to look. He almost turned his head away...
While everyone's attention was fixed on Du Hengfeng and Pei Yuhan, a figure had already slipped silently behind them.
Thud!
A hand seized both men by the head and smashed them together. Their skulls shattered, and they crumpled limply to the ground.
"Who's there!" Hearing the noise, Du Hengfeng whipped around. All he saw was a figure cloaked in a loose black robe, wearing a demon mask.
The night breeze swept past, billowing his robes like the garments of a wandering ghost.
Su Yuan said nothing. He drew on the Blood Qi throughout his body and punched.
He didn't plan to use any techniques, lest he give himself away.
He would rely on the purest strength to crush and destroy.
Seeing that his opponent had killed the two men with ease, Du Hengfeng wasn't afraid. Instead, he smiled and licked his lips. "Interesting."
He twisted and kicked off the ground. His small body shot forward like a cannonball, head aimed at Su Yuan like a battering ram!
It was Horse Head Charge from the Golden Horse-Head Technique.
Su Yuan knew it all too well.
He didn't dodge. Reading the trajectory of the incoming head, he turned his fist into a palm and, rather than clash with the hardest part of the man's forehead, chopped toward his temple.
Du Hengfeng tilted his head just in time. At the same time, all four limbs struck out, attacking Su Yuan from every direction.
A roar burst from his throat. "Whoa—"
His eyes flew wide and his pupils shrank to pinpricks. A fierce, oppressive force erupted with the piercing sound waves!
Raging Horse Neighing Wind!
"Watch out! This move disrupts your mind!" Duan Hongyan had just suffered badly from it and hurriedly warned him.
Su Yuan seemed not to react. His right hand continued its course, palm rigid as a blade as it chopped toward his opponent's head.
"Get ready to be smashed to pieces! Hahaha!" Du Hengfeng snarled, his eyes blazing with viciousness.
Slap!
Su Yuan's palm, hard as an iron fan, smacked across the man's face.
Du Hengfeng's head caved in sharply on one side, and his whole body flew sideways.
Su Yuan had said he'd overpower his opponent with strength.
He'd mastered three martial arts and had the added boost of his Traits. At full power, even a Three-Blood Realm Martial Warrior would probably struggle to withstand his strength.
But that head was truly hard. He hadn't managed to flatten it.
"Ow! How is this possible? Why weren't you affected?" Du Hengfeng fell to the ground. The viciousness in his eyes gave way to clear confusion.
Su Yuan pulled the two wooden plugs from his ears and flicked them at the backs of Du Hengfeng's knees just as he tried to get up and run.
Du Hengfeng had barely risen before he dropped to his knees again.
How could Su Yuan not know the Golden Horse-Head Technique?
He'd been prepared for this move long ago.
"I see." Though Du Hengfeng had been knocked down, he still wasn't afraid. Seeing that Su Yuan had taken out his earplugs, he immediately let out another shrill cry and charged. The dent in his head strangely began to bulge back out.
But Su Yuan still wasn't affected. He charged to meet him again.
He'd worn the earplugs earlier to be safe. Now he wanted to test the effects of his Trait.
Going by its description, it should help steady the mind.
And it did.
Du Hengfeng's voice went hoarse from screaming, driving Duan Hongyan far back.
Su Yuan, however, didn't falter. He landed two more palms in succession on the dent in his opponent's head.
Slap! Slap!
Teeth and bloody spit flew. The skin on Du Hengfeng's head split open. With stars in his eyes, he flew backward, yet still managed to land on all fours and struggle to escape.
Duan Hongyan watched in shock. This Ghost-Masked Man was completely overpowering Du Hengfeng, and he wasn't even affected by that terrifying neigh!
Feeling how hard the man's skull was, Su Yuan also gained a rough sense of how sturdy his own head was.
Though Horse Head Charge used the head as a battering ram, striking someone head-on in an actual fight still required careful thought.
Beating on Du Hengfeng this time had given him a rough idea of just how powerful the move was.
Cosplaying as a truck came with risks!
Still, this man was astonishingly tough. Without using a killing move, even three strikes hadn't been enough to take his life.
Su Yuan stepped forward to pursue him, but Du Hengfeng flung nearby soldiers at him to block his path.
Su Yuan's palms flashed back and forth. Everyone he touched fell, and he pressed straight toward the fleeing Du Hengfeng.
```
[Slaughter: 63/100 (Beginner)]
"Senior! Wait!" Duan Hongyan staggered in front of him, carrying the unconscious Pei Yuhan. "Don't chase him! There's a Savage Strength Martial Warrior over there! We'd better withdraw first!"
Su Yuan didn't think much of it. Du Hengfeng wouldn't get away.
But Duan Hongyan dropped to his knees with Pei Yuhan in his arms. "Please, Senior, save my junior sister first! She won't last much longer! I'm willing to pay any price if you can save her!"
He didn't know whether Su Yuan could treat her, but he had no one else to turn to.
The delay had given Du Hengfeng time to nearly escape onto Shangning Street.
Su Yuan glanced at him, his gaze icy. "If you let a tiger return to the mountains today, he may bring you ruin another day."
"We can talk about the future when it comes! Right now, I only want to save her!" Duan Hongyan pleaded mournfully.
Su Yuan sighed softly and took Pei Yuhan. He checked her breathing; it was indeed weak to the point of barely being there.
His fingers flew, pressing her acupoints to restore the flow of blood, then supplementing the treatment with a method of circulating energy through her meridians.
A moment later, Pei Yuhan spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood, and her breathing gradually steadied.
"Thank you for saving her life, Senior! Whatever you ask of me, I'll do it, even if it costs me my life!" Duan Hongyan was overcome with gratitude.
Su Yuan said calmly, "Why did you act tonight?"
Duan Hongyan said they had originally planned to conduct a probe that night, but they'd been ambushed and forced into hiding.
He recounted the night's events in detail.
Su Yuan had secretly helped the people of Cloud-Striding Martial Hall many times. They'd also repeatedly come to his home looking for trouble. It was only fair to collect a little interest.
"I want your martial arts manuals," Su Yuan said frankly.
"This..." Duan Hongyan knew how badly the Liang People coveted their martial arts and secret techniques.
Duan Hongyan gritted his teeth, took out a thin booklet, and offered it to him. "The martial arts of our hall are something I'd have to report back to my sect about. This Abyssal Sea Technique is an heirloom of my family and is in no way inferior to the Cloud-Striding Palm. Please accept it as my thanks."
Su Yuan took it. "The Abyssal Sea Technique?"
"This technique excels at nurturing Blood Qi, but it's extremely difficult to master. I'm ashamed to say that, with my poor aptitude, I've only reached the second level..." Duan Hongyan said sheepishly.
Because it was so difficult to practice, he'd switched to the Cloud-Striding Palm.
"This technique looks like it came from the south." Su Yuan glanced through it and put it away.
Then he gave another reminder. "Leave at once. After what happened tonight, I still stand by my original suggestion: the Wolf God Ritual is the best time to strike."
With that, Su Yuan said that he still needed to help others. His figure swiftly disappeared into the darkness.
"Silent footsteps, powerful palm strength, and immune to the horse's neigh... At least a Three-Blood Realm cultivator, perhaps even higher." Duan Hongyan stared in the direction he'd vanished, his thoughts in turmoil.
Who exactly was this man?
Duan Hongyan ultimately didn't dwell on it. After all, the man had saved his life.
Since the man didn't want his identity revealed, Duan Hongyan had no business speculating.
He carried Zhang Li on his back, picked up Pei Yuhan, and quietly left.
Su Yuan hid in the shadows and removed his disguise.
"I got something out of this, at least. As for that shorty, I'll let him hop around for a few more days."
Su Yuan wasn't satisfied with his own strength. He hadn't even killed his opponent with one move. He was still too weak and needed to improve further.
Next time, he'd have to aim for an attack so powerful that surviving it would count as being blown to pieces.
Still, within the Blood Condensing Realm, he should have nothing to fear.
His identity hadn't been exposed, and he didn't fear retaliation from that defeated opponent.
Su Yuan slipped back home and discovered that Shangning Street had grown noisy again.
Du Hengfeng had crawled here too.
Chai Lang narrowed his eyes at him. "Well, Du, how'd you end up looking like that?"
His head was nearly flattened, and he was on the verge of death.
The other Martial Warriors also came out to have a look. They were all shocked by his condition.
Lin Fan clicked his tongue. "Isn't Du Hengfeng the top fighter at the Shan Family Martial Academy? How'd he get beaten up like this?"
Tie Niu also frowned. "And the Shan Family's true art clearly focuses on training the head, yet his head's been flattened instead."
Su Yuan also came out of the house, his face filled with fear. "That's terrifying. It really is dangerous out there. Tie Niu, the young master was right. Don't go out looking for trouble again."
Inwardly, he could only sigh. He really had survived.
Chai Nian emerged at the sound of the commotion. "Liu Chang, treat him. It'd be bad luck if he died here."
"Yes, Young Master." Liu Chang stepped forward to examine Du Hengfeng.
He couldn't help asking, "Who hurt you this badly?"
"Ah! A ghost—there's a ghost!"
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