An Uninvited Guest

The rustling footsteps drew closer. The light spilling from the tent stretched the shadow of the person behind him long, and Hemon slowly turned to look.

"It's you!"

"That's right. It's me."

Hemon saw Li Xingluo appear abruptly before him, and in Li Xingluo's eyes, he saw confidence.

Hemon glanced back at the more than twenty men lying dead on the ground. His eyes were filled with fury.

"Don't bother looking. I killed them." Li Xingluo continued with a hint of mockery, "I heard you were looking for me, and that once you found me, you'd tear me limb from limb to pay tribute to your young group leader."

Apart from anger, Hemon's eyes held nothing but contempt for Li Xingluo.

In Hemon's view, even if Li Xingluo had silently killed so many of his men, he still couldn't shake Hemon's strength as an Eight-Star Dou Zhe.

"That's right. So tonight is the night you die."

As soon as Hemon finished speaking, Li Xingluo snorted with laughter. Hemon felt insulted.

Without another word, he charged at Li Xingluo, raising his fist and relying on his burly frame.

Li Xingluo lightly tapped the ground with his toes and sprang backward. Hemon's fist slammed into the earth, blasting out a small crater.

There was no denying the brute's strength was terrifying. Li Xingluo couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.

His first strike missed. Hemon brought both fists together, but Li Xingluo had no intention of meeting him head-on. He dodged Hemon's attack again.

As he swept over Hemon's head, he even flicked him on the forehead. That only pushed Hemon's anger to its limit.

Hemon's punches came faster and faster, and his speed noticeably increased. Several times, Li Xingluo nearly got hit.

Li Xingluo slid backward, braced himself with one hand, and sprang back to his feet like a carp flipping out of water.

He hadn't expected the brute to be stronger than an ordinary Eight-Star Dou Zhe, and he wasn't slow, either. A boulder in the camp shattered beneath one of his punches, turning into countless small stones.

Hemon punched again, sending the stones flying toward Li Xingluo. Li Xingluo kept changing direction, weaving between them, until a large chunk of rock appeared before him, impossible to dodge.

Li Xingluo punched it. The boulder, twice his size, shattered instantly—but Hemon's fist had arrived, too.

With no way to dodge, Li Xingluo decided to meet him head-on. He thrust both fists out at once, striking against Hemon's incoming punch.

"Kid, you're still wet behind the ears if you think you can match my strength."

With his massive frame, Hemon's strength was truly terrifying. The force pressing against Li Xingluo's fists felt as if a club had smashed into his arms; even his bones seemed on the verge of breaking.

Li Xingluo was sent flying. He tumbled twice through the air before landing. Seeing him in such a sorry state, Hemon grew smug.

"Kid, I told you today was the day you'd die."

Hemon didn't press his advantage. Instead, he looked down on Li Xingluo, as if he could toy with him whenever he pleased.

Li Xingluo brushed the dust off his clothes. The fate of arrogant people like this had been decided long ago.

"Is that so? Then try this."

Li Xingluo drew the Wind Spirit Split-Form Sword, his gaze firm.

"Wind Brake Annihilation!"

He channeled Dou Qi into the Wind Spirit Split-Form Sword. A visible sword formed at its tip, shaped from Dou Qi.

A layer of green Dou Qi enveloped the blade, and the air around it warped slightly.

Seeing the Dou Technique Li Xingluo was using, Hemon burst into laughter. He didn't take it seriously at all.

Hemon circulated his Dou Qi. His bones creaked, and his whole body visibly swelled.

Li Xingluo darted forward and thrust his sword at Hemon. Hemon punched with both fists, forming a wall of defense.

Li Xingluo couldn't break through Hemon's defenses in an instant. The sword felt as though it had struck steel, its tip bending slightly, yet unable to pierce through.

Seeing this, Hemon was overjoyed and mocked Li Xingluo.

"Kid, you think you can break through the group leader's defenses? I've specially trained in defensive cultivation techniques."

"Is that so?" Li Xingluo gave a faint, knowing smile, the corner of his mouth curling slightly.

The bent sword slowly began to straighten. Hemon could clearly feel its power growing stronger rather than weaker.

His heart jolted. How was this possible? Most of all, the look in Li Xingluo's eyes showed absolute confidence, not fear.

"You—you're an Eight-Star Dou Zhe, too? How is that possible? You..."

"You realized it too late!"

"Hmph. So what if you're an Eight-Star Dou Zhe? Even the group leader would have to expend a great deal of effort to break through my defenses. As for you, kid, you can't do it."

Hemon continued channeling Dou Qi to strengthen his defenses.

"Is that so?"

The instant Li Xingluo said those words, Hemon instinctively wanted to answer. Suddenly, his chest churned painfully. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and a sharp pain stabbed through his stomach.

Seeing that Hemon was unwell, Li Xingluo poured all his Dou Qi into the blade and drove it forward with a palm strike.

With a shout of "Break—!" the sword shattered Hemon's defenses. The sound of them crashing to the ground like broken glass rang clear.

The shockwave sent Hemon flying and lifted the entire tent behind him. He slammed into the fence.

Li Xingluo walked slowly toward Hemon, his expression tinged with hostility.

Hemon struggled to rise, but his enormous body left him unable to move. Black blood seeped from his mouth.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and saw that it was black. Poison?

Hemon thought back over everything that had happened that night. Only moments ago—then he recalled the woman's earlier expression and understood.

"You... you're despicable."

Li Xingluo looked down at Hemon. At more than two meters tall and weighing several hundred pounds, Hemon truly had a frightening capacity to take a beating.

"When it comes to dealing with people like you, the means don't matter. The result is what counts. So, is tonight still the night I die?"

Hemon struggled to sit up, staring at Li Xingluo with deep resentment. His gaze also held anger and hatred for the woman, who had gotten to her feet and stood in the distance.

Li Xingluo didn't hesitate. He swung the Wind Spirit Split-Form Sword, and Hemon fell. He drew no more breath.

The woman trembled in terror. She had seen what Li Xingluo was capable of.

Li Xingluo didn't bother with her. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her, either. After stripping Hemon of everything, he vanished into the night. When the woman saw him leave, she collapsed onto the ground like a heap of mud, staring blankly at Hemon's corpse.

In Green Mountain Town, at the place where Xiao Yi Xian was staying, she still hadn't understood what was happening when the courtyard gate had already fallen. By the time she came to her senses, it was too late.

One look at the intruders' clothes told Xiao Yi Xian that they were from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

More than ten people arranged themselves into two lines. Two men slowly walked out between them: one was Mu She, and the other was the owner of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

Xiao Yi Xian was on guard and instinctively slipped a hand behind her back. Mr. Yao, the owner of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, still wore his ever-present, ingratiating smile.

"You're Xiao Yi Xian?" Mu She asked first.

Xiao Yi Xian didn't know why they had come and didn't answer him.

Mr. Yao immediately chimed in obsequiously from the side. "That's right, she's Xiao Yi Xian."

"Good!"

Since she could no longer hide her identity, Xiao Yi Xian saw no need to keep playing deaf and mute.

"Why have you come here today?" Her hand behind her back was now holding something.