Beating Nie Liao to a Pulp (Second Update)

"What did you say?"

Nie Liao had thought the youth's change in attitude meant he would proactively admit his mistake. He had never expected those words instead. Rage instantly burned up from his chest, white smoke practically rising from his head. His somewhat handsome face twisted into something as warped as a shoehorn.

Insulting him was one thing, but calling his mother a whore—how could he possibly endure that?!

As the saying went, "Disaster does not extend to one's descendants, and insult does not reach one's parents!" Yet Nie Yun had actually said his mother could take how many men in a day. It practically made his lungs explode with rage!

"You bastard, die!"

With a long roar, Nie Liao disregarded everything and viciously threw a punch at Nie Yun!

Like Nie Hen, Nie Liao possessed the peak strength of the fourth level of the qi sea, the True Qi Realm. As he struck without warning, a thick stream of true qi immediately enveloped Nie Yun's entire body!

Bang!

His punch hit its target!

Yet Nie Yun did not go flying backward as expected, coughing blood from his injuries. Instead, Nie Liao's fist gave a series of crisp cracks, and every bone in his hand shattered!

"Ah... how could this be?"

He had never imagined that the other party would remain uninjured while his own hand bones shattered. Nie Liao let out a shrill cry, utterly unable to believe it. Just as he was wondering what had happened, he saw the youth reach into his robes and pull out a golden badge the size of a palm!

The badge resembled a shield. Upon it were seven glittering golden characters: "Luoshui City's Greatest Young Talent!" Beneath them was the engraved seal of the alliance of the Four Great Families, along with a special mark issued by the City Lord's Mansion!

The Luoshui Golden Shield!

Nie Liao's punch had actually struck the Luoshui Golden Shield!

"The Luoshui Golden Shield is the highest honor jointly bestowed by the Four Great Families of Luoshui City and the City Lord's Mansion. It represents supreme dignity! Nie Liao, as an inner disciple of the family and deputy captain of the Enforcement Team, you actually dared to directly attack such an honor, challenging the dignity of the Four Great Families and the City Lord. What crime should you be charged with!"

Holding up the gleaming Luoshui Golden Shield, Nie Yun took a step forward, his bearing terrifying!

Having reached major completion in the first layer of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique, he could withstand the full-force attack of a peak fifth-level Body Egress Realm expert without injury. Nie Liao was merely at the peak of the fourth level. Let alone punching the Luoshui Golden Shield, even if he had hit Nie Yun directly, he could not have harmed him in the slightest!

"You..."

"I have recorded everything that just happened. You, the dignified deputy captain of the family Enforcement Team, scorned the dignity of the Four Great Families and publicly attacked the holder of the Luoshui Golden Shield, attempting to shatter the golden shield. Your crimes are monstrous, too numerous to write on bamboo strips. Today, I shall rid the family of a scum like you, to serve as a warning to others!"

Nie Yun gave him no chance to speak. He stepped forward again and reached out with a great hand toward Nie Liao!

"You bastard..."

The Luoshui Golden Shield, like the imperial yellow jacket, represented honor and dignity. Even the commander of the imperial guards would face severe punishment if he publicly damaged it. Nie Liao was in precisely that position now. Though he clearly knew he had been set up, the grievance choked him so badly that he could not utter a single word!

He really had attacked the Luoshui Golden Shield. That was contempt and disrespect toward the Four Great Families and the City Lord's Mansion. It was like taking an iron hammer to smash the Emperor-bestowed sword. Even if your reasons were completely justified, and even if the sword was unharmed while the hammer itself broke... none of it mattered. Doing so was equivalent to challenging the emperor's majesty, and you had to face severe punishment!

"Hehe!"

Ignoring his furious roar, Nie Yun smiled faintly. True qi immediately surged from his body, forming a giant hand in midair that seized toward Nie Liao!

By rights, someone at the fourth level of the qi sea, the True Qi Realm, could not release true qi from their body. But Nie Yun, an old monster who had lived two lives, controlled his true qi with consummate mastery and did not abide by such laws!

Of course, although he could attack from outside his body, he could not injure someone from a hundred paces away like a fifth-level Body Egress Realm expert. At most, it could extend three meters. But at such close range, that was already enough. Palm wind howled as the hand formed from true qi appeared abruptly, instantly wrapping Nie Liao up like a rice dumpling!

Crack! Crack!

The moment he caught Nie Liao, Nie Yun showed no mercy. With a turn of his palm, two more crisp cracks rang out, and the former's arms suffered comminuted fractures!

"Stop!"

Seeing this, Nie Hen could no longer remain seated in the seat of honor. He abruptly rose, shouted, and reached through the air toward Nie Yun.

He was attacking Nie Yun to force him to release Nie Liao—besieging Wei to rescue Zhao!

"I am punishing a disgrace to the family, yet Deputy Captain Nie Hen attacks me. Could it be that the family Enforcement Team is so shamelessly protective of its own?"

Ignoring the other's attack, Nie Yun casually met it with the hand holding the Luoshui Golden Shield. At the same time, his other hand once again went crack-crack-crack across Nie Liao's body.

Thud!

Nie Liao collapsed onto the ground, his body like a heap of mud.

At this moment, not a single bone in his body remained intact. Even his qi sea had been shattered, his true qi dispersing. He was in an even worse state than Nie Chao had been!

As for Nie Hen, who had just tried to besiege Wei to rescue Zhao, he saw the Luoshui Golden Shield blocking his way. So furious that he could only turn around and forcibly retreat from midair, he stood off to the side yelling in rage, yet completely helpless.

The moment he attacked the Luoshui Golden Shield, the other party would certainly have grounds to accuse him. By then, even if he had been in the right, he would not be able to explain himself!

"Nie Yun, you win!"

After a while, Nie Hen calmed his raging emotions. When he looked at the youth before him again, the previous contempt had vanished from his eyes.

They had originally held the upper hand, yet this youth had merely cursed Nie Liao once and brought out the Luoshui Golden Shield, completely reversing the situation. In the current circumstances, even if he reported him to the family, it would be useless!

The first young man to be knocked down had insulted the mother of the Luoshui Golden Shield's holder. That alone was a crime, so being beaten was perfectly normal. As for Nie Liao... the single charge of challenging the Four Great Families and the City Lord's Mansion was enough to ensure he could never rise again!

"Me, win? Deputy Captain Nie Hen, you overstate it. I merely protected the family's reputation. I do not dare claim any credit!" Nie Yun said earnestly.

"You..."

Nie Hen's face flushed red with rage, and he nearly fell over.

"Oh, right, Deputy Captain Nie Hen, why did you come to our branch at this time? Earlier, you said Nie Chao's injuries needed to be investigated. What exactly happened? Nie Chao was injured? How could he have been injured? When he left our branch that day, he was perfectly fine..." Seeing that matters had progressed far enough and it was time to stop, Nie Yun suddenly spoke. His face looked as innocent as could be, as though he had never even heard of Nie Chao being injured.

"..." Seeing Nie Yun like this, his mother Nie Ling and the steward Nie Chong exchanged a look, each wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads in speechless disbelief.

He was far too good at pretending! If they had not personally watched him beat Nie Chao until it was unknown whether he lived or died, they truly might have believed this whole load of nonsense just from that expression!

"Nie Yun, stop putting on an act here! You know perfectly well what happened to Nie Chao. Who are you trying to fool by acting innocent?" Seeing the youth like this, Nie Hen trembled with rage again and roared.

"Putting on an act?" Nie Yun was filled with righteous indignation. "Deputy Captain Nie Hen, I am an Outer Disciple with dignity. You slander me like this and insult my innocence. I demand a fair duel with you!"

"A duel..." Hearing the youth suddenly say this, Nie Hen glanced at Nie Liao, who had been reduced to a heap of mud on the ground, and involuntarily shuddered.

Dueling him? Wasn't that like an old birthday star hanging himself—tired of living?!

"What? You do not want to duel? Fine, then you must prove my innocence. That day, Nie Chao and Nie Chaoxing came to our branch holding a punishment order. Our branch handed over ten thousand taels of silver without another word and sent them away. As for what happened afterward, we know absolutely nothing..."

Nie Yun washed his hands clean of the matter.

"Handed over ten thousand taels of silver without another word? Hmph, Nie Yun, stop gilding your own face. Do you think I do not know the state your branch is in? Let alone ten thousand taels, if you can even produce five thousand taels, I, Nie Hen, will immediately kneel and kowtow to you!"

Nie Hen roared loudly!

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