Assaulting an Eighth-Rank

"The elder gives it to you!"

About a meter away from Xu Zhiji, Xia Daoming held out the bundle with both hands.

Xu Zhiji eagerly reached out and grabbed the bundle.

At that very moment, a surge of vital energy, like a volcanic eruption, burst forth from Xia Daoming's body.

His hands, which had just been holding the bundle, instantly struck out like lightning.

With Serpent Head Fist, he aimed straight for Xu Zhiji's chest, and with a Serpent's Tongue Knife, he thrust directly at his neck.

Even though Xu Zhiji was an Eighth-Rank Great Martial Master, his sense of danger was extremely acute.

With his mind almost entirely captivated by the Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma and the distance being so short, he was caught completely off guard.

In a hasty move, Xu Zhiji dropped the Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma. His uninjured right hand barely managed to block the Serpent's Tongue Knife aimed at his throat, but his injured left arm reacted a little too slowly, failing to block Xia Daoming's Serpent Head Fist.

However, Xu Zhiji was an Eighth-Rank Great Martial Master after all, and his reaction was still quick. His upper body instinctively tilted back slightly, dodging the vital blow to his chest.

"Bang!"

Although Xu Zhiji dodged the fatal blow to his chest, his torso still took a solid punch.

A terrifying Hidden Strength, like a mountain flood bursting forth, penetrated his body.

Xu Zhiji flew backward, his chest caved in. Blood uncontrollably gushed from his mouth, scattering in droplets, appearing incredibly vibrant in the sunlight.

As Xu Zhiji was sent flying backward, Xia Daoming pursued him relentlessly.

His hands struck out one after another, sometimes with palm strikes, sometimes with Dragon Claw, and sometimes with Serpent Fist.

Xu Zhiji was also formidable. Severely injured, he retreated while continuously swinging his arms, managing to parry Xia Daoming's storm-like attacks.

The two exchanged blows, one retreating, one advancing, one defending with all his might, the other attacking with full force.

In the blink of an eye, countless punches and kicks were exchanged.

The strong winds generated by the fierce battle kicked up dust and fallen leaves from the ground.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Fist met flesh, and the Hidden Strength penetrated each other's bodies, constantly clashing within.

Xu Zhiji's mouth continued to bleed, and with every exchange, his heart sank lower. His eyes were filled with horror.

Despite his momentary lapse and severe injury from Xia Daoming, Xu Zhiji had not yet despaired.

As an Eighth-Rank Great Martial Master, he was still a formidable force, even when weakened. Even if there was no possibility of a comeback, there was still hope for escape.

But in such a short time, the intense exchange made Xu Zhiji realize with terror that Xia Daoming was not only treacherous and insidious, but also deeply cunning. His strength was terrifyingly immense.

Despite only being at the Sixth-Rank Great Martial Master realm, the Hidden Strength he unleashed could actually rival that of an Eighth-Rank realm.

Even if he hadn't been injured, he would have only stood a chance of winning by relying on his Eighth-Rank realm and rich combat experience to end the fight quickly.

Otherwise, at his advanced age, if the fight dragged on, he would inevitably be the one to lose!

But now, his chest had taken a heavy blow at close range, breaking his ribs and injuring his heart and lungs. With every breath, his chest throbbed with intense pain, as if he might not be able to draw another breath.

If he couldn't escape soon, continuing the fight would surely lead to his death.

However, Xia Daoming's attacks were like a torrential downpour, leaving him no opportunity to turn and flee.

Turning to escape would only hasten his death!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sounds of fists and feet colliding rang out almost continuously.

From afar, only two figures could be seen rapidly crossing paths amidst the wind and flying leaves.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, one figure was sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground.

It was Xu Zhiji.

He gasped for air, trying to stand up, but collapsed back to the ground.

His arms trembled uncontrollably.

"Damn it, old man, I'll show you your arrogance! I'll show you for treating my disciple and me like cannon fodder! Come on, get up and fight me again!" Seeing Xu Zhiji collapse and unable to get up, Xia Daoming gave him no chance to recover. He rushed forward and began raining blows on Xu Zhiji's head from both sides.

Within a few blows, Xu Zhiji, who had been so arrogant and commanding, had his head beaten into a pulp by Xia Daoming, his old teeth scattered on the ground.

"Bang!"

Xu Zhiji finally slumped sideways, his head hitting a rock heavily.

Blood stained the rock red.

"I didn't expect this, I didn't expect this! I, who was wise my entire life, have fallen into the hands of a young man like you!" Xu Zhiji forced his swollen, red eyes open and stared at Xia Daoming with unconcealed unwillingness.

"So, old man, you shouldn't be too arrogant. Be merciful when you can be! Your Xu Family is too arrogant, too brutal. You are like that, and so is that Xu Shixiong. One day, I will kill him too!" Xia Daoming sneered.

With that, he stepped forward and poked Xu Zhiji's chest with the tip of his foot.

Xu Zhiji's body convulsed violently. His eyes rolled back, and he instantly stopped breathing.

"Uncle-Grandfather!"

Not far away, Xu Shisen, who was being pushed back by Liang Jingtang and had his clothes stained with blood, caught a glimpse of Xu Zhiji's tragic death out of the corner of his eye. He was so shocked that he almost lost his soul.

Although Xu Shisen was young, he had only just stepped into the Sixth-Rank Realm. He had only managed to open a few acupoints along his sixth meridian, so his strength was naturally inferior to Liang Jingtang's.

He had also been attracted by the Ice-Cold Ganoderma earlier.

When Xia Daoming suddenly made his move, Liang Jingtang also attacked him.

Xu Shisen reacted in a hurry and was instantly injured.

However, Liang Jingtang was a bit far from him, and Xu Shisen's reaction was relatively timely, so the injury wasn't severe.

Even so, under Liang Jingtang's full assault, Xu Shisen could only defend and had no power to counterattack.

"Master, let me!"

Just as Xu Shisen was about to lose his soul, Xia Daoming flew forward and executed a "Dragon Tail Sweep." His right leg whipped out like an iron chain, smashing into Xu Shisen's ribs.

"Crack!"

"Bang!"

The sounds of breaking ribs and a heavy object hitting the ground echoed one after another.

"Pfft!"

Xu Shisen struggled to get up from the ground, but he spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed powerlessly back onto the ground.

"Young Master Xu, weren't you very awesome? Very arrogant? Come on, continue!" Xia Daoming walked forward and stepped on his head.

"Spare me! Spare me! I won't dare again. I'll give you everything. No, no, after I go back, I'll bring all the family's money to show my respect to Master Xia!" Xu Shisen stammered, filled with terror.

"Spare you? You ruined my Senior Brother Gu's martial path, insulted my Senior Sister, and then humiliated me and Master all the way here. And now you want me to spare your life! Don't you find that ridiculous?" Xia Daoming said with a face full of mockery.

"I'm still young, I don't want to die yet!" Xu Shisen cried.

"If you were a bit tougher, I'd respect you as a man. But you and Shi Yingdeng are both cowards. He begged me the same way before he died!" Xia Daoming said dismissively.

"You killed Shi Yingdeng!" Xu Shisen's eyes widened.

"Heh, are you surprised?" Xia Daoming sneered coldly, then suddenly lifted his foot and poked the tip of his toe towards Xu Shisen's temple.

Xu Shisen's head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.

Beside them, Liang Jingtang stared at the corpses of Xu Shisen and Xu Zhiji as if he were a clay statue.

Before taking action, he had already prepared for the worst!

However, Xia Daoming's performance was even more impressive than he had imagined.

He had actually killed an Eighth-Rank Great Martial Master with his bare hands!

It wasn't until Liang Jingtang saw Xia Daoming skillfully looting the bodies that he suddenly snapped back to reality.

After coming to his senses, two lines of old tears rolled down his cheeks involuntarily.

Taking a deep breath, Liang Jingtang strode forward and picked up the bag containing the Ice Rabbit's heart and the Ice-Cold Ganoderma.

Of course, there was also that bundle.

Just as Liang Jingtang picked up the bundle that Xu Zhiji had discarded on the ground, he heard Xia Daoming muttering to himself beside him.

"Tsk, for an Eighth-Rank Great Martial Master, he was so poor, not even half a silver note!"

"This..." Liang Jingtang was speechless for a moment.

"Huh, this thing again!" Just as Liang Jingtang was feeling speechless, Xia Daoming pulled out the stopper of a jade bottle, took a sniff, and showed a hint of surprise.

"What is it?" Liang Jingtang asked curiously.

"Does Master recognize this?" Xia Daoming handed it to Liang Jingtang.

"This... this is Longevity Jade Liquid!" Liang Jingtang trembled all over, his eyes filled with excitement.

"What's the use of Longevity Jade Liquid?" Xia Daoming asked, slightly taken aback.

"It increases vitality and slows down the decline of blood and energy! This bottle of Longevity Jade Liquid is worth at least seventy thousand taels of silver, and you can't even buy it in Li City," Liang Jingtang said.

"Just this one bottle is worth seventy thousand taels? My apologies, my apologies, it seems I wronged the old Xu family!" Xia Daoming exclaimed in shock upon hearing this.

"Uh!" Liang Jingtang was rendered speechless again by Xia Daoming's latter half of the sentence.

"Since it can increase vitality and slow down the decline of blood and energy, I'll leave it for Master to use," Xia Daoming said.

"How can that be!" Liang Jingtang was startled by this.

This was Longevity Jade Liquid worth at least seventy thousand taels of silver. Even though Liang Jingtang was the owner of the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School, he couldn't afford it even if he sold everything he owned.

Moreover, Longevity Jade Liquid was currently out of stock in Li City!

The update for today is complete.