"Heh." Yu Tianheng suddenly chuckled, his laughter filled with mockery, like an icy knife scraping against the heart. "What do you think the Slaughter City? A charity hall?"
He straightened up, looking down at A Chen, his eyes growing colder. "The deal was clear from the beginning—you killed Tang Yin, and I gave you the second half of the Blood Demon Skill. Now that he's still alive, you're asking me to give you the technique first?"
He took a step forward, the oppressive aura emanating from him causing A Chen to instinctively retreat. "Either come back to me with Tang Yin's head, or get out of my sight. Don't even think about using this excuse to bargain!"
"And remember this: without me, you're nothing but a rat in the gutter, you're nothing!"
Yu Tianheng's cold rejection was like a bucket of ice water poured over Achen's head, but it did not extinguish the flames in Chen Xin. Instead, it caused the anger of being slighted to suddenly escalate into a raging fire.
Yu Tianheng!
A Chen lowered his head and then raised it, his eyes bloodshot: I served you faithfully, risking my life to kill Tang Yin. Even if I failed, didn't I deserve some credit? All I asked was to borrow your cultivation technique temporarily, and you are so heartless!
Before the words were even finished, a crazy idea suddenly popped into his head—if he couldn't get it by begging, he might as well just steal it! Although Yu Tianheng was strong, he might still have a chance of winning if he caught him off guard! As long as he killed him, the complete Blood Demon Skill Technique would naturally be his, so why suffer such humiliation?
Once this thought took root, it instantly grew into a towering tree. A Chen stared intently at Yu Tianheng's turning back; that back was upright yet carried a hint of relaxation, the perfect moment.
A Chen let out a low roar, and his inner True Qi suddenly exploded. The scarlet energy condensed in his palm, and with a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, he struck Yu Tianheng in the back without warning!
He had even planned how, after succeeding, he would search the stone house for martial arts manuals and how he would use Yu Tianheng's blood to atone for the humiliation he had just suffered.
As a sudden gust of wind rose from behind, Yu Tianheng's lips curled into a mocking smile. To him, this petty trick was no different from children playing around.
"Overestimating yourself!"
Yu Tianheng didn't even turn around. Just as the palm wind reached his body, he suddenly spun around, a flash of lightning in his eyes, and his right palm, wrapped in crackling Thunder power, met the attack. The moment the two palms collided, there was no earth-shattering collision, only a muffled sound of bones cracking.
A Chen felt an overwhelming surge of Thunder power rushing into his arm, as if countless electric snakes were raging and tearing through his meridians, causing his metacarpal bones to ache terribly.
He was thrown backward like a rag doll, crashing hard into the stone wall. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and blood mixed with bits of flesh spurted out, staining his clothes red.
Yu Tianheng shook his hand, the residual electricity at his fingertips crackling. "With your meager abilities, you dare to plot against me? How laughable."
A Chen curled up on the ground, his whole body convulsing. Every breath he took was accompanied by excruciating pain in his internal organs. His eyes, as he looked at Yu Tianheng, were filled with nothing but fear and despair.
He finally realized that his strength was simply not on the same level as his opponent's.
Indeed, this is true. Although A Chen has cultivated the Blood Demon Skill and made rapid progress, now reaching the Late Innate Realm, what realm is Yu Tianheng at?
He was at the Peak Heavenly Human Realm, a whole major realm higher than A Chen.
To attack him is tantamount to courting death.
Yu Tianheng slowly walked up to A Chen, looking down at him as he struggled on the ground, his eyes filled with almost overflowing mockery.
"You really think you're qualified to negotiate with me?" He sneered. "If I hadn't given you the first half of the Blood Demon Skill back then, do you think you could have survived in the Slaughter City until now with your meager strength? Without me, you wouldn't even be worthy of carrying the shoes of those desperados; you'd be nothing more than an ant to be trampled on!"
A Chen coughed up blood, his eyes filled with resentment, but he barely had the strength to lift his head.
Yu Tianheng bent down, his fingers suddenly gripping Achen's neck, lifting him up and forcing A Chen to meet his icy gaze. "Originally, if you had behaved yourself, even if you couldn't kill Tang Yin, and just stayed obediently like a dog, I might have spared your worthless life. After I left the Slaughter City, you could still act like a tyrant here." His fingers suddenly tightened, and A Chen's jawline cracked under the strain. "But you insisted on courting death, daring to lay a hand on me?"
"Since you don't know what's good for you, keeping you around will only cause trouble." Yu Tianheng released his grip, and as he straightened up, the last trace of warmth in his eyes completely vanished. "Go in peace. Remember this in your next life: know your place."
A Chen watched as Yu Tianheng slowly raised his hand, and tiny sparks of electricity danced between the distinct knuckles of that hand. An oppressive force that made his soul tremble descended like Mount Tai. Under this oppressive force, the True Qi of the Innate Realm within his body became like frozen river water, its circulation sluggish.
Half a year ago, the memory of being trampled in the mud and not even being able to snatch a clean piece of dry food suddenly crashed into A Chen's mind. At that time, he was an ant. Although he has now stepped into the Innate Realm and is powerful enough to become a powerful force in the Slaughter City with the Blood Demon Skill, he is still an ant that can be crushed at any time in front of Yu Tianheng.
"My lord! Spare me!" A Chen's legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud, his knees hitting the hard stone slab with a dull thud. Ignoring the pain, he kowtowed repeatedly, blood quickly seeping from his forehead. "I was blind and ignorant, I offended you, my lord! Please, for the sake of my continued usefulness, spare my dog's life!"
"I promise I will kill Tang Yin at all costs, please give me another chance."
A Chen's voice trembled uncontrollably, and his face was covered in tears and snot; he no longer resembled a cultivator at the Innate Realm.
Without even lifting his eyelids, Yu Tianheng's fingertips condensed into a purple-gold lightning bolt about an inch long. The stench of blood in the air seemed to be split apart by the power of the lightning, releasing a pungent odor.
"In the Slaughter City, the pleas of the weak are utterly useless." Yu Tianheng's tone was flat, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
A Chen's pupils shrank sharply. The terrifying power contained in that lightning bolt was enough to kill him on the spot. Even with his powerful regenerative abilities after cultivating the Blood Demon Skill, he still couldn't avoid death.
A Chen tried to get up and run away, but his body seemed to be nailed to the spot, and he could only watch helplessly as the purple-gold lightning bolt left his hand.
The lightning bolt whistled as it passed through the air, exploding the instant it struck A Chen.
A blinding purple light instantly engulfed his figure, and the crackling lightning was accompanied by the crisp sound of bones shattering.
In the blink of an eye, the light dissipated, leaving only a charred mark on the spot. Along with A Chen, they were all burned to ashes by the lightning.
Yu Tianheng didn't even glance at the mark before turning and leaving.