Threatening Me? Then You Have No Future

"I'd like to see whether this Molten-Gold Yama reputation is the real deal, or just an empty name blown up by the martial world."

The moment He Chong finished speaking, without waiting for his two uncles to respond, he turned and strode outside.

Xie Kun and He Hu exchanged a glance, both frowning as they hurried after him.

They truly feared that their nephew did not know his limits and would genuinely infuriate Molten-Gold Yama, leaving them with no way to clean up the mess afterward.

He Chong walked swiftly, his mind full of thoughts of how he would force his opponent back in a few moves and seize the initiative over the Sunk Tomb in a death grip.

In his eyes, Xu Jin had merely picked up a bargain. In a genuine close-quarters fight, Xu Jin might not necessarily be his match.

As long as he won today's battle, among the Canal Gang's younger generation, he would become the young master whose word was law. Once he obtained the alchemy cauldron inheritance, even the older generation would have to look upon him with newfound respect.

He was still pondering the tactics for their coming clash when, just after turning out of the wooden corridor of the cargo depot and stepping onto the main path of the floating platform, he ran straight into two figures walking inward.

The young man in front wore the black combat uniform of the Demon Suppression Bureau. His appearance was utterly ordinary, and not a trace of true qi radiated from his body, yet he possessed an inherently oppressive presence.

Behind him was a handsome, broad-built youth flipping through case-file pages as he walked. The arrivals were Xu Jin and Wang Lei.

Wang Lei looked up, caught sight of the people ahead, and hurriedly moved to Xu Jin's side, lowering his voice. "Brother Xu, the one walking toward us is He Hu's nephew, He Chong. He was the first to find the underwater entrance to the Sunk Tomb. The files say he's the foremost expert among the Canal Gang's younger generation."

As he spoke, he gave the man another once-over and added in a low, teasing voice, "But meeting him is worse than hearing of him. Look at the way he's charging over like a whirlwind, with defiance written all over his face. No matter how you look at him, he has that brash bandit air."

Xu Jin merely grunted and continued forward, not taking the man's intention to block his path seriously at all.

Seeing this, He Chong immediately stepped forward, spread his arms, and blocked the middle of the path.

He could not even be bothered with formalities. Waving a hand, he drove them away. "Hey, hey, hey, stop! Can't you see someone's guarding this place? Where do you think you're barging into? Do you really think this floating platform is your home, that you can come and go as you please?"

"The Demon Suppression Bureau is investigating the Sunk Tomb water-baleful murder case. Unrelated personnel, stand aside."

Wang Lei stepped forward and took out a bronze patrol inspector's seal.

He Chong glanced at the seal and sneered. Folding his arms across his chest, he spoke with complete confidence. "The Demon Suppression Bureau? I was wondering who it was. Fine, whether you're the Demon Suppression Bureau or the Town Suppression Office, the exploration rights to this Sunk Tomb were lost to me by your former patrol inspector, Zhou Zheng."

"By the rules of the martial world, whoever discovers the entrance first and drives off the competitors owns this territory. This place is under my Canal Gang's control now. Town Suppression Office or Demon Suppression Bureau, neither of you is allowed in."

Wang Lei's brows drew together. Just as he was about to refute him with the Great Yin Code for Handling Demonic Evils, Xu Jin raised a hand to stop him.

Xu Jin's gaze settled on He Chong. "So, you won this place?"

"That's right." He Chong lifted his chin, looking as though it were only natural.

"Then if I take it from you, it'll be mine?"

The smile on He Chong's face instantly vanished. He shifted half a step back and assumed a fighting stance.

"If you have the ability, then try it. But let me make this clear first: if you get hurt once we start, blame your own lack of skill. Don't go throwing your official cap around afterward to bully people. Don't pull that sore-loser nonsense."

They were all cultivators. Skills were meant to be used—what grand principles were there to argue about?

If you refused to accept it, then fight. Whoever had the harder fist had the final say.

He Chong assumed the opening stance of Yinwater Entwining Silk, his right hand forming a claw before him and his left hand weaving silk behind.

Xu Jin swept his gaze over his posture and casually remarked, "The Yinwater Entwining Silk Art mixed with some of the unorthodox tricks from the Water-Fortress Yin Claw Technique? You've trained it to a fairly presentable level."

It sounded like praise, but the contempt ran to the bone.

He Chong had always been proud and arrogant. How could he endure such words? He immediately barked, "It's more than enough to beat you!"

He launched himself forward with his movement technique, his yin claw shooting straight for Xu Jin's left shoulder. Extreme cold Baleful Intent hid within the claw tips; once it touched flesh, it could freeze the meridians and cripple one's cultivation.

He sneered inwardly. His yin claw could tear through even thick ship planks. If Xu Jin dared receive it barehanded, all the better—he would cripple one of his arms and give the Demon Suppression Bureau a brutal lesson.

He had even planned it out already. After crippling the man's arm, he would claim it had been an accidental misstep during their spar. Surely the Demon Suppression Bureau would not fall out with the Canal Gang over such a trivial matter.

But imagination was beautiful; reality was cruel.

Just as the claw tips were about to strike, Xu Jin flipped up a hand and precisely seized his wrist.

He Chong only felt as though his wrist had been caught in a pair of iron pliers, clamped so tightly that he could not move at all.

His expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to shout, "Wait—" Xu Jin exerted force again—

With a deft twist along the joints, he used precisely the bone-dislocating technique he had seen in the Demon Suppression Bureau, designed to counter grappling claw arts like this.

Several crisp cracks rang out in rapid succession. Every joint in He Chong's right arm was dislocated on the spot, while the bones in all five fingers were twisted out of place and deformed.

Before he could even cry out in pain, Xu Jin tugged him along and drove a horizontal elbow solidly into his chest.

With a muffled bang, He Chong flew backward like a torn sack and slammed heavily into a thick wooden post behind him.

A sweetness rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His right arm hung limply at his side, without even the strength to lift it.

Only then did Xie Kun and He Hu catch up. Seeing their nephew beaten into this state in a single move, He Hu's face went pale. Even his steps faltered, and he did not dare approach.

Leaning against the wooden post, He Chong endured the searing pain in his arm. His face was deathly pale, yet he still forced himself to hold on. "Wasn't that excessively vicious, sir? We were merely sparring over territory. Was there any need to cripple someone's arm?"

"Cut the bullshit." Xu Jin's tone was cold. "Don't think I couldn't see through your intentions. If I'd been weaker than you, I'd be the one crippled right now. You intended to deal a killing blow from the start, yet after losing, you call me vicious? Isn't that a joke?"

Wang Lei added from the side, "Exactly. Young Master He should be secretly counting his blessings. If Brother Xu hadn't shown mercy, your arm would have been scorched by yangfire until not even bone fragments remained. You're lucky just to have kept your life."

He Chong gritted his teeth, his face alternating between livid and pale, humiliated and furious.

He stared at Xu Jin with venom he could not suppress churning in his eyes. "Fine, fine skill! Mountains stand tall and rivers run long. He Chong will remember today's humiliation, and one day I will repay it a hundredfold!"

Wang Lei sighed silently to himself.

A loss was a loss. Why insist on saying such ruthless words? Wasn't that just thinking his life was too long?

Sure enough, the chill in Xu Jin's eyes instantly deepened.

"Then you should have no future."

As the words fell, Xu Jin stepped forward. Sword qi flickered from his fingertips, and there was no longer the slightest intention of holding back.

Someone who dared utter threats and menace him was no ordinary enemy. He had to strike hard, pull them out by the roots, and settle it once and for all.

Just as the sword qi was about to descend, an aged, hoarse shout suddenly came from deep within the reed beds. "Patrol Inspector Xu, wait!"

The water surface exploded. A massive wall of water rose from nowhere, more than ten feet high, stretching between Xu Jin and He Chong.

The sword qi slashed into it without the slightest hindrance. With a boom, it erupted into a vast cloud of scalding white mist. The water wall was instantly burned through by more than half, and the vapor was so thick that people could not open their eyes.

Yet that brief instant of obstruction was just enough to dissipate most of the sword qi's force and save He Chong's life.