Whoosh!
By then, Li Jinshui had already returned to the station building.
After two back-to-back, all-out sprints and two full-power kicks using Lightning Pulse Step, he wasn't even breathing hard. He stood calmly below the building with his hands behind his back.
That little exertion was nothing to him.
"Looks like things aren't too bad. I've been out of action for so long that I underestimated my own strength!"
Li Jinshui gave a cold laugh. Looking at the panicked crowd around him, he could no longer suppress the icy killing intent in his eyes.
Just as he'd suspected, although these gangs had brought plenty of people, fewer than one in ten could truly be considered martial artists.
And the enemy had sent their strongest fighters to deal with Old Huang and the others. There were no Thousand-Jun Realm experts here now.
"So what if they bring more people? They don't have anyone in the Thousand-Jun Realm!"
Li Jinshui took a step forward, unleashing a tremendous aura.
Even a ninth-rank First-rate Martial Artist could claim to be worth a hundred men.
As a First-rate Martial Artist in the Flawless Realm, his Qi-Blood was vigorous. A few hundred rabble were nothing but ants.
The gang members, who had already fallen into disarray, were now being gathered back together.
In the darkness, someone shouted angrily:
"Don't panic! He's a First-rate Martial Artist, but so am I. What the hell are you afraid of?"
"Damn it, he dared to kill so many of our Venom Snake Gang brothers. We have to cut him down tonight and avenge them!"
"So what if he's a First-rate Martial Artist? He's alone. Everyone, get him! We'll wear him down!"
"Right! Let's see whether he runs out of strength first or we all die first!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Kill him!"
Soon, deafening cries of battle rang out from every direction.
Beneath the night sky, the densely packed crowd was like a swarm of locusts. All that could be made out were hundreds of pairs of eyes glinting with venom and murderous intent.
Li Jinshui tilted his head back and closed his eyes. He slowly exhaled, letting the Qi-Blood in his body surge and roar like a mighty river.
Who in this world didn't know?
I, Li Jinshui, was born humble, friendly, open-minded, modest, and always glad to mingle with the people... I'd never once gone out of my way to throw my weight around or cause trouble!
"Why? Why do you villains keep forcing my hand, again and again?"
Li Jinshui abruptly opened his eyes and let out a long, mournful howl.
Then he became a blazing streak of blue lightning once more, his body wrapped in surging Qi-Blood as he charged into the crowd.
A storm of electric kicks swept through the mob. Figures fell in waves, like wheat being mown down.
On the Heaven Rewards Diligence panel, feedback flashed too fast to keep up.
[Defeated an enemy in a desperate situation, Heaven Rewards Diligence, Lightning Pulse Step +10] [Defeated an enemy in a desperate situation, Heaven Rewards Diligence, Basic Lightness Skill +20] [Defeated an enemy in a desperate situation, Heaven Rewards Diligence, Lightning Pulse Step +10] ...
The second floor of the station building was now utterly silent.
Everyone crowded along the rows of windows, staring at Li Jinshui below as he slaughtered his way through the crowd like a thunder god descended to earth. They were all dumbstruck, their mouths dry.
"Gulp..."
Chen Dali swallowed hard. His legs were trembling, and his voice quavered. "C-when did our class monitor become a First-rate Martial Artist?"
The students beside him stared blankly, unable to say a word.
A First-rate Martial Artist?
The class monitor was clearly far more terrifying than that!
The force behind every move of his was almost on par with that of a big shot in the Thousand-Jun Realm, wasn't it?
On the other side, the ten veteran couriers transferred from other stations had already been prepared to risk everything and flee. Now, however, they were shaking all over, their scalps prickling.
So the young station manager wasn't some well-connected hire, nor a pawn the company had sent in. This guy was a killing machine!
"What the hell... is he even human?"
Deputy Station Manager Lin Zhen sucked in several sharp breaths, his heart already swept by a storm of shock.
They were both First-rate Martial Artists, yet he knew he couldn't do what Li Jinshui was doing—not even half as well. The difference between them was like heaven and earth. There was no comparison.
"No wonder Commander Huang and the others are betting on him. He... he's a monster."
At that moment, Lin Zhen's thoughts began to race. He'd come here expecting to risk his life for double pay.
He'd never imagined this wasn't double pay at all, but a fortune falling from the heavens!
If he could make it out alive tonight, he'd have to cling to this man's coattails from now on!
And his daughter—why was she only ten? If only she'd been born six or seven years earlier, this fortune would belong to the Lin family!
Meanwhile, the four groups below had gradually converged. Cries of battle and screams rang out without pause as bolts of lightning tore through the crowd.
"Die!"
Seeing his men fall in droves, the Venom Snake Gang leader roared. He unleashed the powerful Qi-Blood of a First-rate Martial Artist, sending a spear darting through the crowd like a venomous snake as he struck at Li Jinshui from behind.
"Bang—!"
Without even turning his head, Li Jinshui casually swung a whip kick behind him, striking the spearhead directly.
Boom!
A surging torrent of Qi-Blood swept down the shaft of the spear.
"Pfft!"
The fierce expression on the Venom Snake Gang leader's face froze. The web between his thumb and forefinger split open around the spear, and the impact sent him stumbling back seven or eight steps, a mouthful of blood spraying from his lips.
"Impossible!"
He was horrified and couldn't believe it.
They were both First-rate Martial Artists, yet in that head-on clash, his Qi-Blood had been crushed in an instant by the sheer force of his opponent's.
"Old Snake, how are you?"
"That kid's really that strong?"
The leaders of the other three gangs gathered around. Seeing the Venom Snake Gang leader's injuries, their eyes widened.
"That kid's probably not a ninth-rank First-rate Martial Artist. He could well be in the Flawless Realm, the exclusive domain of those elite nobles." The Venom Snake Gang leader's face darkened.
That was nothing like the information he'd received. The truth was nowhere close.
The original report had said the opponent was only a Second-rate Martial Artist, with just one ninth-rank First-rate Martial Artist serving as deputy station manager.
How had things turned into this?
"We can't keep fighting him head-on!"
The Venom Snake Gang leader steadied his injuries and looked at the other three leaders. "Have your men surround him and wear down his Qi-Blood first. Then we'll join forces and take him down."
"Damn it, why should our men do it?"
One leader frowned. "You've lost a lot of men from the Venom Snake Gang, but my East Star Society has lost plenty too!"
"Can't be helped. He targeted your two groups first."
Another leader shrugged. "Besides, everything's so chaotic right now. Our Hung Hing men are all blocked outside. They can't even get in!"
"It's the same for Hung Lok."
The fourth leader spoke in a low voice. "Stop squabbling over it. Have your men go first. Once they're all dead, it'll be our turn. When we get the reward, whoever loses more men gets the bigger share."
"Damn it!"
The Venom Snake Gang leader gritted his teeth and cursed, but didn't refuse.
He drew a deep breath and bellowed, "Brothers, get in there! That kid's about to collapse—his Qi-Blood is nearly spent! Whoever takes his head will—"
"Pfft!"
Before the Venom Snake Gang leader could finish, a pale streak flashed through the crowd and pierced his neck, tearing away a large chunk of flesh.
"Guh... gurgle..."
The Venom Snake Gang leader's eyes bulged. He clutched his neck tightly, but couldn't stop the blood from gushing out.
Under the horrified gazes of the other three leaders, he toppled stiffly into a pool of blood. His life ended, his eyes still wide open.
[Defeated an enemy in a desperate situation, Heaven Rewards Diligence, Meteor Chasing Moon +50]
"What are you yelling about?"
Li Jinshui lowered the hand holding his throwing knife, his face full of annoyance. He ignored the other three leaders.
He hadn't planned to kill the leaders first. If they died, their men would lose heart, and it'd be a pain to hunt them down afterward.
But that guy just had to keep jabbering and shouting, getting on his nerves!
The real problem was that fighting an endless sea of people was exhausting. An ordinary First-rate Martial Artist would have been unable to hold out by now.
"Throw me two batteries!"
Li Jinshui looked up and shouted toward the second floor.
Blood streamed down his body, only to be quickly steamed dry by his blazing Qi-Blood and arcs of electricity. He was covered in sticky grime, but couldn't spare the time to wipe himself off.
When fighting an endless horde, stamina was everything.
Lightning Pulse Step was said to consume little energy and offer long endurance. That was mainly thanks to large-capacity batteries like these.
Since the fight began, the four batteries strapped to his legs had nearly run out.
But he had no intention of retreating, nor of letting these people go.
It definitely wasn't because he coveted the feedback from Heaven Rewards Diligence.
An old man once said, "One hard punch now saves you from a hundred later!"
That saying worked everywhere.
Unless he killed these gang thugs until they were terrified, until he broke their nerve, they'd dare come back and cause trouble again.
And then there was Wei Hu Security...
"Heh, Wei Hu Security wants to make this a bigger mess too?"
Li Jinshui gave a cold laugh. "Then I'll make it such a mess that none of you can clean it up. Not one of you is leaving tonight."