Beside Mu Li, the thin man who had spoken earlier, Gan Mu, the Second Leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, asked tentatively, “Big Brother, then your meaning is…”
“My meaning?
My meaning is to investigate!
Search!”
Mu She turned and roared irritably, “This kid dares to cross me, Mu She.
If we let this go, how will outsiders view my Wolf Head Mercenary Group?”
“Mu Li, Gan Mu, pass down my orders tomorrow.
Turn this kid’s entire background upside down.
We must determine the origin of his Qi Method and Dou Techniques.
If there’s someone behind him, we’ll see.”
“If there isn’t, this matter won’t end like this.
It just so happens that I feel my Wind Blade Kill is progressing a bit slowly.
Perhaps this will be an opportunity to switch Qi Methods!”
“Yes!”
Mu Li and Gan Mu hurried to bow in affirmation.
They were not surprised by Mu She’s decision; their Wolf Head Mercenary Group was not so easily bullied into submission.
“Leader Mu She’s temper is indeed unusually grand.”
Just as Mu Li and Gan Mu were preparing to leave to arrange the work, a strange voice suddenly spread through the hall.
The several people seated turned toward the sound simultaneously and saw a shadow draped in black robes step out from the darkness into the lamplight, naturally appearing before their eyes.
Yan Qingshan stood there with a smile, the bright candlelight stretching his shadow long.
He smiled and said, “Leader Mu She, this is our first meeting.
I have looked up to you for a long time.”
Mu Li took a step forward, his face no longer just dark but exceptionally ferocious.
“Yan Qingshan!
You actually dare to come to my Wolf Head Mercenary Group to cause trouble!”
“So you are Yan Qingshan.
Good gall!”
Mu She looked at Yan Qingshan as he slowly emerged from the shadows, a trace of ferocity showing.
“You crossed me during the day, and now you come to my door in the middle of the night.
Do you really think I, Mu She, am made of clay?”
A trace of mockery touched the corners of Yan Qingshan’s mouth.
“No, no, no, Leader Mu She.
I’m not targeting you.
I just want to say that your Wolf Head Mercenary Group is indeed made of clay!”
“Very well, kid.
You have the nerve.
I don’t care what your background is or who is behind you.
Today, you can stay here forever!”
Mu She took a deep breath, his expression becoming incredibly twisted and vengeful.
Yan Qingshan paced forward as if intending to face Mu She eye-to-eye.
“Leader Mu She, don’t speak too prematurely.”
Before Mu She could move, Gan Mu, who was beside Mu Li, took a step forward.
“Little bastard, you actually dare to speak to our Leader like that?
You truly have heaven-defying audacity!”
Yan Qingshan said with a smile, “Second Leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, Gan Mu.
A 9-Star Dou Zhe.
At your age, you’re still messing around in the Dou Zhe realm.
How do you have the face to show yourself in public?”
“Kid, you’ve angered me!
Don’t think practicing a high-level Qi Method allows you to be reckless!”
As Gan Mu spoke, a pale green Dou Qi rapidly erupted from his body.
His iron fists gradually turned the color of withered wood.
“My apologies, but you seem to have forgotten that I also possess Wood-attribute Dou Qi.
Suppression between the same attribute is sometimes even more obvious than between different attributes!”
Yan Qingshan’s figure moved, instantly closing the distance between him and Gan Mu.
Pffft—
An explosion sounded on Gan Mu’s chest.
The surging force sent him stumbling backward as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Pale and shaking, he stood up, drew a steel iron rod from his back, and charged again.
“You kid, don’t be too arrogant!
Once I slaughter you, your high-level Qi Method will be mine!”
Gan Mu shot forward, the iron rod in his hand dancing into a green whirlwind of force.
Yan Qingshan’s figure flashed as they crossed paths.
He thrust his palm directly into the center of Gan Mu’s chest, the Shanzhong point, sending him flying once more.
Although their numerical data were similar, both Gan Mu and Yan Qingshan used Wood-attribute Dou Qi.
If the level of the Qi Method differed too greatly between the same attributes, it was easy to create a suppressive situation—not to mention Yan Qingshan was currently using techniques from a High Xuan Class Dou Technique.
Yan Qingshan and Gan Mu exchanged blows several times, with Gan Mu retreating at every step and falling into a disadvantageous position.
After repelling his opponent once more, Yan Qingshan shook his body to accumulate Dou Qi.
Amidst the churning Dou Qi, the image of a roaring energy lion’s head faintly formed.
“Mad Lion’s Roar!”
“Wind Blade Dance!”
Mu She, the Leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, finally intervened at the most critical moment.
He flew to block Gan Mu, and the large blade in his hand suddenly danced wildly.
One green afterimage after another appeared in front of him.
Boom—
Mu She formed a dense web of blades in front of him.
The roaring lion head radiated energy fluctuations.
The moment the two collided, the entire manor erupted with a thunderous bang.
The ground shook, mud and bricks flew everywhere, and the two men retreated almost simultaneously.
Mu She took a small step back to steady himself, while Yan Qingshan retreated several steps, only managing to shed the force on his feet by executing the Phoenix Flight Steps.
His current numerical data was close to a 9-Star Dou Zhe practicing a Huang Class Qi Method; paired with a Xuan Class Dou Technique, he could even easily counter-kill such an opponent.
However, the gap between that and a Dou Shi was still too large—especially a Dou Shi performing a Xuan Class Dou Technique.
Mu She’s overall data was at least above 7.0.
Aside from Soul Strength, his other stats were about three times those of Yan Qingshan.
One plus one was already far greater than two, let alone one plus one plus one.
Had Yan Qingshan not spent a moment accumulating power before unleashing the Mad Lion’s Roar, he wouldn’t have even had the chance to shed the force.
On the other side, Mu She was actually even more shocked inwardly.
This Wind Blade Dance was his trump card, a Low Xuan Class technique.
With this Dou Technique, he had several times earned the title of the strongest in Qingshan Town.
Yet now, facing Yan Qingshan, Mu She had let Gan Mu strike first to test the waters while he observed.
Once he was confident, he entered the fray, using his strongest trump card, the Low Xuan Class Dou Technique, only to achieve such a result.
The dust and mud in the air finally settled, and Yan Qingshan’s figure appeared once more.
Mu She looked around with a dark face.
Such a loud commotion had occurred, yet not a single subordinate had come.
It was clear Yan Qingshan had made preparations before coming.
Yan Qingshan looked at Mu She, a smile spreading across his face.
The gap between a Dou Zhe and a Dou Shi was massive, and the High Xuan Class Mad Lion’s Roar was not enough to bridge it.
However, delaying for this long was already enough for him.
Yan Qingshan looked at Mu She and smiled.
“Leader Mu She, no need to look.
While you several were discussing how to deal with me, I went through your home and dealt with all your subordinates.
No one will come to disturb us.”
“Kid, you truly are ruthless!”
Mu She looked left and right.
There was total silence, no footsteps.
It was likely exactly as Yan Qingshan said; there was truly no one left.
“I don’t quite understand.
Before today, my Wolf Head Mercenary Group had no grievance with you.
Just for what happened during the day, you want to wipe us out?”
it isn’t that simple.
Consider your Wolf Head Mercenary Group unlucky!”
Yan Qingshan stood firm and spoke, “Recently, I needed the resources of the Thousand Medicinal House for a certain matter, but your Wolf Head group set its sights on them.
I was originally wondering how to convince Manager Yao, but you provided the excuse just as I was getting sleepy.
I should actually thank you!”
“As for why I sought out Wolf Head tonight, it’s just that your reputation is rotten enough.
During the day, more than one person warned me to be careful of your retaliation.
After hearing it enough, naturally…
that’s just how I am.
Either I don’t do it, or I do it completely.”
“As for why I came tonight, even you didn’t expect I would act so soon.
If I didn’t seize such a perfect opportunity, should I have waited to give you time to prepare?”
“Do it completely?
You need the ability to… cough cough…
what is happening…”
Mu She let out a cold laugh upon hearing this.
Just as he was about to say some harsh words, his face suddenly changed, and he coughed violently twice, covering his mouth to reveal a smear of blood.
“Father!”
Mu Li was shocked to see his father injured.
He took several steps forward but hadn’t even reached the halfway point before he staggered and fell face-first to the ground.
A seven-colored hue surfaced on his face.
Gasping for breath, he found it exceptionally difficult to breathe, and his aura continuously weakened.
“You…
poisoned us!”
Mu She looked at his dying son and turned to find that Gan Mu and He Meng were in similar conditions, both collapsed on the ground.
Recalling his own unexplained coughing of blood, he understood exactly what had happened.
However, what he found even more strange was how Yan Qingshan had administered the poison.
Mu She was no fool, yet he hadn’t discovered a single clue until now.
“Medicine and poison are of the same origin; you should have realized I would use poison.
During the day, your son and He Meng each took a palm strike from me.
At that time, I left a dose of nearly scentless medicine on them.
Staying with them too long would cause you to be tainted by that medicinal property.”
Yan Qingshan slowly walked forward, looking at Mu She with a smile.
“This medicine is non-toxic, but when mixed with another ingredient, it yields excellent results.
However, its effect on a Dou Shi is usually average.
You just have good luck.”
“Tonight, I happened to obtain a peerless poison, so I used you to test the effects.
I didn’t expect it to be so useful; it saved me a lot of trouble.
Otherwise, even with my trump cards, dealing with a Dou Shi would have required some effort!”
“Bas…
tard…”
Mu She squeezed out those two words with difficulty, frantically circulating his Dou Qi in an attempt to expel the poison.
Unfortunately, his face was soon filled with horror.
As the Dou Qi circulated, he noticed his strength vanishing even faster, and Yan Qingshan’s shadow had already covered his head.
“Don’t waste your energy!”
Yan Qingshan walked to Mu She and knelt, looking at this 1-Star Dou Shi who was struggling to lift his head, his eyes cold and devoid of any pity.
“Once this poison takes effect, it means it has already entered your marrow.
It is essentially untreatable.”
“Actually, I should thank you for your caution.
If you had acted directly the moment you saw me, perhaps I wouldn’t have lived until the moment your poison took effect!”
“You, you, you…
ugh…”
Mu She looked up at Yan Qingshan, his finger trembling as he pointed, wanting to say something.
Yan Qingshan placed his palm on Mu She’s head.
With just a slight application of force, the Dou Shi powerhouse who once sat firmly as the top expert of Qingshan Town fell silent forever.
(End of Chapter)