Pierce, Flowing Woman

Nedepu had always been a straightforward man.

As long as he was paid, he would do whatever he was told, even knowing how vast the gap between him and Cordis was.

He showed no fear whatsoever.

But Qiudaozi saw things differently.

Sure, he worked for money, but it still depended on what the job was.

His commission had only been to protect the Febola Stone. He had already let it slide when they increased his workload without asking.

And now they expected him to risk his life for that paltry sum?

What a joke!

He was no idiot like Nedepu. He understood survival of the fittest.

Qiudaozi turned to look at the old butler, then at Nedepu, who had already charged in without a thought.

He watched Nedepu roar and rush forward, his whole body shining with golden light.

He did not know what Cordis's true ability was.

Nedepu was an Enhancement Nen user, after all. He might not be able to defeat Cordis, but buying some time should have been no problem.

But in the end, Qiudaozi had underestimated Cordis.

By then, Nedepu had raised a fist as hard as gold and swung it at Cordis.

Cordis remained where he stood, not even bothering to give the attacking Nedepu a proper glance.

To Cordis, Nedepu was simply too slow.

And his attacks were too predictable. He was not worth lifting a finger for.

Nedepu threw more than a dozen punches at Cordis in rapid succession, each from a different tricky angle.

In the past, this style of punching had worked every time, no matter whom he fought.

But against Cordis, forget a hundred percent success rate-he could not even manage ten percent.

He threw over a dozen punches without pause, his fists leaving afterimages.

Yet not a single one touched Cordis.

Nedepu had never expected this. He had beaten every opponent he faced with this style. Why did it not work on Cordis?

Nedepu himself believed his punching style was invincible.

So he had never learned any others.

That was precisely why Cordis considered Nedepu's attacks too predictable.

He repeated the same punches over and over. Cordis could not imagine how weak someone would have to be to lose to him.

As Nedepu charged at him again, Cordis decided he was done playing along.

His only target was the Febola Stone.

Almost instantly, Cordis vanished from in front of Nedepu and appeared behind him.

Expressionless, he placed his right hand on Nedepu's back.

"Pierce, Flowing Woman."

His voice was gentle, like the sweet dew of spring. On this land already swallowed by night, his azure eyes gleamed like two priceless jewels.

Compared with the Febola Stone, perhaps Cordis's eyes were the most beautiful sapphires of all.

Nedepu stood frozen, showing no sign of trying to attack. The blood in his body began flowing rapidly.

At first, he felt more energized, and even some of his wounds began to heal.

But as his blood flowed faster and faster, it raced wildly through his body like a high-speed train.

It was as though it were searching for somewhere to burst out.

Through his hand, Cordis could clearly feel the flow of Nedepu's blood.

Soon, Nedepu reached his limit.

Seeing that the moment was right, Cordis lowered his hand and turned toward Qiudaozi.

Behind him, Nedepu still stood motionless.

It was not that he did not want to move. His blood had already surged into his brain, racing like a high-speed train.

It hurtled through his body.

Even his superhuman physique was useless. Everyone's blood was the same.

His body simply could not withstand such violent circulation.

Blood gushed from Nedepu's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

With a wet squelch,

several spikes formed from blood burst out from inside Nedepu's body.

They punched several enormous holes through him.

Once they touched the air, the blood returned to its original state. The spikes slowly melted, eventually becoming pools of blood.

Meanwhile,

the old butler had already taken the wealthy merchant and the Febola Stone aboard the helicopter.

As the helicopter's switches were flipped one after another, it successfully took off before Cordis could approach.

Cordis simply watched in silence as the helicopter swiftly fled his sight, heading into the unknown sky.

Cordis raised his head, his azure eyes fixed on the helicopter.

Yet there seemed to be neither anguish at watching something he cherished slip away nor regret at failing to reach it in time.

The look in his eyes had not changed since the fighting began.

Perhaps Cordis had believed from the very beginning that the Febola Stone would sooner or later be his.

Qiudaozi looked at Cordis nearby in bewilderment. He could not decipher that look in Cordis's eyes.

Cordis suddenly turned toward Qiudaozi, his eyes still betraying no emotion.

"Do you want to fight me?"

Cordis's voice was gentle and soft, as though he were genuinely asking.

With his lovely, endearing appearance and gentle voice, no one would have imagined that this young man could kill without hesitation.

Even Nedepu had fallen to a single move. Qiudaozi knew his own limits.

If he faced Cordis, death was his only possible outcome.

As a clever man, Qiudaozi naturally would not charge in blindly to get himself killed.

He shook his head and stepped aside, clearing the way.

But it was already too late.

The helicopter had flown away.

It carried the wealthy merchant and the Febola Stone.

It headed into the night. From the moment it left the ground, the Febola Stone was beyond Cordis's reach.

Yet Cordis showed no sign of panic.

He merely raised his hand slightly.

The pools of blood on the ground began moving again.

The rest of the blood in Nedepu's body gushed out as well, until the strapping young man became a skeleton draped in skin.

All the blood gathered at Cordis's feet.

The mass of blood seemed to have a mind of its own, as though it knew Cordis's target was the helicopter already far away.

It all converged again, only this time it did not form spikes.

Instead, it formed a tall, thick pillar of blood.

It lifted Cordis into the sky.

Seeing this, Cordis tentatively extended one foot into the empty air before him.

As expected,

the pillar of blood split in two, its other half appearing beneath the foot Cordis had just lowered.

The pillar behind him, no longer supporting him, slowly sank toward the ground.

Finished writing again.

Fuck, I'm so exhausted I've turned into a goddamn idiot.