Please, All of You, Die

The genial smile on Zhang Quan's face froze instantly, and the three vicious-looking Bandit Cultivators beside him also faltered.

They had murdered and robbed more than once or twice. They had seen people panic, curse them viciously, and even fall to their knees to beg for mercy.

But they had never seen anyone question them so... calmly.

"Fellow Daoist, why would you say such a thing?"

Zhang Quan reacted swiftly. A flash of malice passed through his eyes before he put on that hypocritical smile again, trying to salvage the situation. "I saw you surrounded by villains, fellow Daoist, and came specifically to help..."

Yet before the final word, "help," had fully left his lips, a streak of sword light shot from his sleeve toward Si Chen without warning!

At the same time, he barked, "Attack!"

The other three Bandit Cultivators clearly had a well-practiced understanding. They raised their blades and swords, launching lethal attacks from different directions.

But Si Chen's figure merely swayed slightly where he stood.

Like a green leaf in the wind, he slipped through the gaps between the streaks of sword light with perfect timing. It looked perilous, yet he evaded them with ease.

All four fierce attacks missed.

Zhang Quan's heart tightened, and he could no longer maintain even a trace of his false kindness. This brat's footwork was far too bizarre! There would be no peaceful resolution today. His expression instantly darkened.

Si Chen swept his gaze over them, recalling the advice his second uncle, Si Che, had given him while half-drunk, an arm hooked around his neck:

"Chen, remember this. If someone out there really wants to kill you, don't hesitate. Beat them to death! Being softhearted and pulling your punches against an enemy means being irresponsible with your own life!"

He did not quite understand what being softhearted and pulling his punches meant. He simply felt that he did not much like these men, and that they wanted to kill him.

Since they wanted to kill him, they could not be allowed to live.

But over a decade of mortal life had taught him that "life" seemed very important to these short-lived individuals.

Then perhaps ending a life should also be... a little more solemn?

And so, surrounded by four murderous Bandit Cultivators, Si Chen did something that caught them all off guard.

He raised both hands and, following the etiquette used by scions of aristocratic clans upon their first meeting, calmly clasped his hands and bowed slightly to the four men seething with killing intent before him.

Then he lifted his eyes and spoke earnestly, his voice still carrying a trace of youthful clarity:

"In that case, please, all of you, die here."

"..."

The air seemed to freeze for an instant.

The muscles in all four men's faces twitched. For a moment, they could not tell whether this brat was out of his mind or insulting them in some way they could not comprehend.

"Enough of your tricks! Kill him!" Zhang Quan barked, his humiliation turning to rage.

The four lunged again, their assault even more frenzied this time.

But this time, Si Chen did not dodge.

Because he had already decided to make these men die here.

Crackle-

A faint crackling sounded, and tiny white arcs of electricity began appearing around Si Chen.

Facing the steel saber slashing straight at him, he neither ducked nor dodged. His left hand shot out as fast as lightning and seized the wielder's wrist with perfect precision.

The man felt as though a pair of red-hot iron pincers had clamped around his wrist. In excruciating pain, he dropped his saber with a clang.

Before he could scream, Si Chen tightened his fingers...

Crack!

A clear sound of breaking bone rang out. The man's wrist was crushed by brute force, twisted to a grotesque angle. A piercing scream tore through the air.

It all happened in the flash of a spark.

Only then did the others' attacks reach Si Chen. A saber struck his shoulder, a sword stabbed at his back, producing only dull thuds, while the poisoned Bone-Piercing Nail bounced straight off!

Si Chen did not even sway. They had not so much as breached his defenses!

The blood drained instantly from the three men's faces, their eyes filled with horror. Was this boy's body forged from iron?!

Zhang Quan was the most calculating among them. Seeing this, how could he fail to realize he had kicked an iron plate?

A chill shot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. This brat was no ordinary cultivator!

Retreat! I have to get away now!

He made his decision immediately, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. Rather than advance, he pushed off the ground and shot backward, intending to sacrifice his pawns to save the king and flee alone!

But fast as he was, Si Chen was faster.

Si Chen had already fixed his gaze on this "leader." After crushing the first man's wrist, he threw his right fist toward Zhang Quan's throat without even looking, leaping arcs of electricity wrapped around it!

Zhang Quan was scared out of his wits. His survival instinct drove him to the vilest possible response.

He thrust out a hand and viciously dragged the accomplice beside him-the man whose wrist had just been crushed and who was still howling in pain-in front of himself as a human shield!

Bang!

The cultivator Zhang Quan had dragged over to take the blow burst like an overripe watermelon beneath a heavy hammer.

Red and white exploded into the air, only to be instantly vaporized by the leaping electrical arcs, leaving not a trace behind.

The headless corpse swayed, then crumpled limply to the ground.

Instantly, deathly silence enveloped the woodland.

The remaining two Bandit Cultivators froze where they stood. Their weapon-bearing hands trembled uncontrollably, and their eyes filled with the most primal terror as they looked at Si Chen.

This was no boy. He was clearly an ancient Fierce Beast wearing human skin!

Zhang Quan was even more dumbstruck. What kind of monster is this?! How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator possibly have a body like that?!

But he was ruthless enough. While the others were still dazed, he seized the opening and crushed a talisman. His body turned into a streak of blood-red light that fled into the distance at astonishing speed!

Only then did the remaining two come to their senses. With a shout, they ran for their lives in different directions.

Si Chen would never give them that chance.

Since he had decided to cut down the grass and pull out its roots, he could not let a single one escape.

His figure moved, and he caught up with one of them in an instant.

He delivered a simple punch. Faint lightning coiled around his fist, carrying savage force that swept through everything like rotten wood and withered grass. Though launched later, it arrived first, slamming into the fleeing man's back.

Bang!

The man's forward stride halted, his eyes bulging in disbelief.

He lowered his head and saw that a bowl-sized hole had appeared in his chest, its edges charred black. Flesh, blood, and bone had all been pierced and vaporized in an instant by that lightning-laced brute force.

He could not even scream before his body slumped forward, his life extinguished in an instant.

Hearing his companion's brief shriek and that strange, muffled impact behind him, the third man was frightened out of his soul. His legs buckled, and he nearly fell.

He instinctively looked back, only to find the blue-robed boy already standing silently behind him, watching him calmly with clear eyes.

"Spare..."

Before his plea could leave his mouth, Si Chen's lightning-wreathed palm descended like Mount Tai bearing down upon him, striking the crown of his head with crushing force.

Splurt!

The man's head exploded into a cloud of scarlet mist. His headless body remained standing for a moment before swaying and collapsing heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

In the mere blink of an eye, all three Foundation Establishment cultivators had been wiped out.

Without so much as looking at the corpses on the ground, Si Chen turned his gaze toward the direction Zhang Quan had fled. That streak of blood-red light was incredibly fast and had already shrunk to a tiny red dot on the horizon.

His third uncle had said that when cutting down grass, one had to pull out the roots.

His figure blurred. Riding the wind, he rose into the air, turned into a blue streak, and raced after him.