‘Forget it, forget it. I can’t do anything to him anyway. I’d better withdraw as soon as possible.’
In the blink of an eye, Wang Bing had already decided to retreat.
His strength suddenly surged. He unleashed several fierce attacks in a row to force Xu Yuan back, then his figure flashed as he prepared to flee into the distance.
“Old man, your fists aren’t fast enough, and they aren’t ruthless enough either... better watch mine.”
Seeing this, Xu Yuan let out a light laugh. A low, muffled hum came from within his body, a faint crimson flush spread across his skin, and his entire aura instantly soared!
In the next instant, Xu Yuan had already caught up and appeared in front of him. The muscles in his arm bulged as he threw a punch straight at him!
“How are you—”
Wang Bing’s expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly raised his hands to block.
Bang!!
The force behind that punch was several times greater than before.
Wang Bing only felt an overwhelming power crashing down on him. His whole body sank, and both feet were driven several inches into the ground.
Seeing that Xu Yuan was about to attack again, he hurriedly shouted, “Wait, young man! Can we settle this peacefully? I’ll reward you generously afterward!”
Xu Yuan’s face remained expressionless. Both of his fists seemed to be stained with a layer of scarlet, as though savage, violent power was about to burst forth at any moment.
Bang, bang, bang!
His fists fell like rain, striking Wang Bing all over in a dense barrage.
Crack!
A crisp sound of bones breaking rang out. Wang Bing’s face instantly flushed the color of pig’s liver, and a wave of agony shot up from beneath his ribs.
“Fuck your mother! Then let’s die together!”
A vicious glint flashed through Wang Bing’s eyes. He pulled out a fiery red bead from his robe and hurled it viciously at Xu Yuan!
At such close range, even he himself would inevitably be caught in the blast.
“A Thunderclap Bead!”
Xu Yuan’s expression shifted slightly, and he immediately pulled back and retreated at full speed.
Boom!!
A dazzling pillar of fire shot into the sky, and a deafening explosion erupted through the valley.
The surrounding grass and trees were instantly reduced to scorched earth. Thick smoke billowed, and the flames lit up half the sky.
The power of the explosion spread for more than a full li.
The smoke and dust gradually dispersed.
Xu Yuan lowered the hands he had raised in front of himself and looked down. A patch of burns had appeared on his arms. The flesh was reddened, and a faint pain throbbed there.
‘Good thing I retreated quickly.’ He felt deeply relieved.
The power of this Thunderclap Bead was actually somewhat greater than the one Yang Caiyu had used before.
If he had not activated Berserk, causing his Qi and blood to surge and even strengthening the circulation of his Iron Garment Art, then this would not have ended with only a light injury.
“Ugh...”
At that moment, a muffled groan suddenly sounded.
Xu Yuan looked up and saw Wang Bing still standing amid the scorched ground in a wretched state.
His face was blackened with soot, his clothes were in tatters, and the exposed skin all over his body was covered in burns. He trembled unsteadily, yet still struggled to turn around and flee.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Xu Yuan chuckled, casually flicked his hand, pushed off with his foot, and chased after him.
...
By the time Xu Yuan returned to the convoy, Old Liu had already led the others in dealing with those Bai Family martial artists.
After all, the two five-meridian fighters had long since been injured by Xu Yuan, and the others were no match for Old Liu and his men either.
So although there had been a few twists and turns in the process, at least nothing had gone wrong.
“Oh! Workshop Master Xu is back!”
Old Liu spotted him from afar, his face full of the relief of having survived a disaster, and hurried over to greet him.
But when he clearly saw what Xu Yuan was carrying in his hand, he froze on the spot.
That was... a human head?
And not just one.
“Workshop Master Xu, this is...?”
Xu Yuan casually tossed the heads onto the ground and said flatly, “Chen Donghai. He Feng. They’re both old acquaintances.”
Old Liu’s eyes widened, and his mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.
Two six-meridian Workshop Masters... just like that, gone?
He swallowed with difficulty, then his gaze fell on the third head.
This one looked unfamiliar, but if Workshop Master Xu had specially brought it back, then he was surely no ordinary figure.
“And who is this one?”
“One of the Bai Family’s seven-meridian fighters,” Xu Yuan explained blandly.
Seven-meridian?!
Old Liu’s head buzzed, and for a moment, he did not even know what to say.
Ordinarily, he rarely even had the chance to see someone like that in person.
And now... he was directly staring at such a man’s severed head?
‘The Bai Family really went all out this time, didn’t they?’
A deep wave of fear rose in his heart. If Xu Yuan had not been here today, then not a single one of them, along with the supplies, would have escaped.
Coming back to his senses, Old Liu said with a face full of awe, “Then it seems Workshop Master Xu must have broken through long ago, right?”
“Yes. I broke through earlier and didn’t mention it... cough, cough!”
Xu Yuan coughed as he spoke. He had activated Berserk, taken the blast of a Thunderclap Bead, then swiftly killed two six-meridian opponents and one seven-meridian fighter. Naturally, he had paid the price of light injuries.
“Are you all right, Workshop Master Xu? We brought healing medicine on the carriage...” Old Liu asked with concern.
At this moment, he truly cared more about Xu Yuan’s health than he would have cared about his own father’s, afraid that anything might happen to this indispensable pillar of support.
“It’s nothing. Preserve these heads first!” Xu Yuan waved a hand dismissively.
A six-meridian martial artist of the Bai Family was worth eight or nine hundred battle merits, and that was not even counting the bonuses from rank and office. Not to mention that among them there was also a seven-meridian fighter. Once the battle merits were reported, the reward would be astonishing.
With this income, he would not need to worry about his resource supply for quite a long time after returning.
‘This light injury may not be a bad thing. The child who cries gets the candy. Once I go back, this will become a medal of merit. I might even receive even more rewards because of it.’
Of course, what Xu Yuan valued even more than the possibility of additional rewards was the chance to be stationed in the rear and recover.
He could use that opportunity to turn this large sum of battle merits into actual strength.
“Right away.”
Hearing this, Old Liu hurriedly called people over to deal with the heads.
As he busied himself, he could not help secretly glancing at Xu Yuan.
That slightly youthful face showed almost no emotion at the moment, only a trace of fatigue.
Yet it was precisely that young face that had just personally slaughtered two six-meridian fighters and one seven-meridian fighter.
And though he had clearly already broken through to the seven-meridian level, he had kept it hidden all this time and only made his move at the critical moment.
That temperament, that restraint, that ruthlessness...
‘After this, Workshop Master Xu is probably going to soar straight into the blue sky!’
Old Liu sighed inwardly.
He had spent so many years in the Shangyang Residence, yet had only managed to rise to the position of a five-meridian steward.
But this man in front of him, so young, was already seven-meridian.
Sometimes, the gap between people really was greater than the gap between a person and a dog.
Xu Yuan paid no attention to Old Liu’s complicated gaze.
He walked to the side, sat down against a tree, closed his eyes, and silently regulated his breathing.
The aftereffects of Berserk were still there, and the Qi and blood in his body were somewhat weakened, but fortunately it had not damaged his foundation.
The burns on his arms throbbed faintly, though they were only superficial wounds. A few days of medicine would be enough for them to heal.
He opened his eyes and looked at Old Liu and the others working in the distance, then at the three heads lying on the ground.
Chen Donghai, He Feng, and that unknown seven-meridian fighter.
Come to think of it, the grudge between him and the Bai Family had only been growing deeper and deeper.
But so what?
In this world, either you died or I did.
Since he had chosen this road, there was nothing to regret.
Right then, the night wind swept by, carrying with it the smell of burning.
Xu Yuan looked toward the dark, heavy night sky, and a faint smile rose on his lips.
This trip was worth it.