Xiao Qiang’s hands naturally fell to his sides as he faced a man named Cheetah.
Although the latter had reached the predestined territory, Xiao Qiang could tell that he was just a beginner in this territory.
To defeat him, Xiao would indeed need some strength, but he definitely had a fighting chance.
“No matter who your master is, or who you are, you’re on your own if you take another step forward!” Xiao Qiang’s voice echoed softly yet, clearly enough for everyone in the corridor to hear.
All eyes turned to the man known as Cheetah.
Cheetah’s expression remained unchanged, but, he raised an eyebrow upon hearing Xiao Qiang’s warning and calmly walked to face Xiao.
“Stand down!
Or you will die!” Five simple words that carried a sense of impending doom took over Xiao Qiang.
At this moment, Qin Zheng had backed away and stood near Xiao Wen and Xiao Zhengxun.
Xiao Zhengxun asked in a low voice: “Qin, how’s everything?”
Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Qin Zheng replied: “The Cheetah has reached the predestined territory.
I am no match for him.”
Xiao Wen’s face turned pale out of shock: “Doesn’t that mean that Elder Brother Xiao is…?”
Xiao Wen knew full well the power of Xiao Qiang, but he had not yet reached the predestined territory.
A peak warrior of the ninth rank would stand no chance against a predestined expert like Cheetah.
Xiao Zhengxun’s face also turned grave.
With his greater knowledge, he knew that under these circumstances, Cheetah could instantly wipe out all of their strong fighters.
Their only hope now fell to Xiao Qiang.
Xiao Qiang smiled arrogantly and turned towards the confident-looking Cheetah: “I’ll tell you one more time, it’s not too late for you to leave now.
Reaching the predestined realm is the highlight of your life, don’t let me waste your precious skills.”
Cheetah’s pupils contracted, his muscles tensed, and the next moment, with the fury of a thunderbolt, he charged towards Xiao Qiang.
“Be careful!” Seeing Xiao Qiang’s unrelenting stance, Xiao Wen couldn’t help but worry.
Hisss!
A short, sharp sound resonated near everyone’s ears.
Everyone watched astounded as Xiao Qiang stood motionless against Cheetah’s attack.
In the midst of the strange silence, Su Yu suddenly shouted: “Leopard, retreat!”
Xiao Zhengxun knew his wife’s abilities well.
Even though she wasn’t a master of martial arts, her father was a martial arts expert who had already entered the predestined territory.
Thus, she, like him, could make out that the sound was from Xiao Qiang’s shoes scraping against the ground.
In that moment, Xiao Zhengxun finally managed to smile.
He knew, regardless of the circumstances, Cheetah was bound to lose!
Before Cheetah could react, Xiao Qiang sprang like an arrow shot from a bow, brushing aside the fist Cheetah had aimed at his chest, and instead targeting the latter’s head.
From his actions, it was clear he planned on risking his own life.
Xiao Qiang didn’t feel the need to use talismans against this early predestined expert.
Even though Cheetah was brave, he was certainly not blindly bold.
Seeing Xiao Qiang’s intentions, he immediately changed strategy, attacking defensively in response to Xiao’s assault.
However, he did not expect Xiao Qiang to completely ignore this posture, allowing Cheetah’s fist to hit his shoulder, before kicking Cheetah’s body into the air with a forceful step!
Most astonishing was Xiao Qiang’s subsequent action.
As Cheetah’s body flew and awaited another action, Xiao Qiang pressed his palm on Cheetah’s dantian (sacred energy center), causing the once arrogant Cheetah to fall violently against the wall.
It was then that Xiao Qiang’s voice echoed once more: “I said it, dismantling your power wouldn’t be a hassle.”
When Cheetah fell to the ground and tried to stand up, a mouthful of blood unexpectedly spurted out.
After several unsuccessful attempts to stand up, he could only lean against the wall, looking palely at Su Yu near him and apologizing, “Sister Yu, I’m sorry.
I, the Cheetah, couldn’t protect you.”
With tears in her eyes, Su Yu looked at the man who had always been by her side since childhood and softly responded, “It’s okay, as long as you’re okay.
It’s alright.”
At this moment, her heart filled with bitterness.
Anyone could tell that Cheetah had lost his martial skills.
Xiao Qiang was ruthless.
His palm stroke had struck Cheetah’s dantian, and even the predestined high-level Cheetah could not resist the pain of a disrupted Qi Sea.
The Cheetah now was no different from a waste.
“I am Xiao Qiang, I serve the Xiao family.
If you want revenge, you can find me.” After speaking to the brothers and sisters of the Su family, Xiao Qiang glanced at the stunned father and son of the Xiao family: “Can we go now?”
“Ah?
Let’s go, let’s go, we should leave now.” Xiao Zhengxun finally returned from shock and hastily helped Qin Zheng to leave the hospital following Xiao Qiang, surrounded by numerous heart followers from the Xiao family.
That’s how things often are, garnering anticipation along the way, only to end up dull and anticlimactic.
The cheetah fell as quickly and dramatically as it had come.
Xiao Qiang effortlessly tore down its cultivation in no time, then left the hospital with the Xiao father and son.
“Sister, what should we do?” Su Yuanshan asked Su Yu, watching the retreating figures of Xiao Qiang and the others.
Su Yu shook her head lightly, “What can we do?
We must immediately inform father about your brother-in-law’s awakening.”
As she spoke, she glanced sadly at the Cheetah.
“you shouldn’t have come.”
She understood clearly.
The Cheetah had rushed up to confront them because it feared that Xiao Zhengxun, once he knew the truth, would harm her and Su Yuanshan.
Despite just stepping into the realm of Innate, the Cheetah could at least protect itself and escape unharmed.
But it had never expected the existence of such a beast like Xiao Qiang.
Although he hadn’t reached the Innate Realm yet, he was able to effortlessly defeat the Cheetah.
This had led to their current predicament.
What puzzled Su Yu even more was that after Xiao Qiang rid the Cheetah of its cultivation, Xiao Zhengxun didn’t seize the opportunity to capture her and Su Yuanshan.
What was he plotting?
The same question lingered in Xiao Wen, who asked his father about it as they were in the car en route to the old Xiao Estate.
“Dad, why didn’t you retain uncle?
This incident…” Xiao Wen asked in a low voice.
Xiao Zhengxun gave a bitter smile, looked up at the sky through the car window, but didn’t reply to his son’s question.
“What’s the point of retaining him?”
Xiao Qiang’s indifferent voice echoed inside.
“The Su Family is nothing more than a pawn.”
Xiao Wen was startled, casting a surprised look at Xiao Qiang.
He hadn’t expected him to understand their family affairs so well.
In the car and seeing Xiao Qiang, a sense of dark humour welled up inside Xiao Zhengxun.
If the young man in front of him hadn’t woken up before the operation, would someone else be sitting here now?
He didn’t know what fate had in store for the Xiao Family, but he was certain of one thing: if it wasn’t for Xiao Qiang, he wouldn’t have had this reunion with his son Xiao Wen.
Following his terse remark, Xiao Qiang fell silent, sitting quietly with no trace of arrogance or conceit, even though he had just vanquished an Innate master with his pinnacle ninth stage power.
Rubbing his arm occasionally, a hint of fatigue surfaced on Xiao Qiang’s face.
To him, obstructing the Cheetah’s cultivation was more challenging than killing him.
And he did it without resorting to charms.
Xiao Qiang’s victory was due partly to the Cheetah’s underestimate and his surprise attack, which leveraged his internal True Qi to swiftly destroy the other’s Qi Sea.
Otherwise, had both of them fought fairly, Xiao Qiang might not have beaten the Cheetah so easily.
After all, his opponent was an Innate expert with genuine True Qi inside him.
Yes, in this world, only those who had entered the Innate Realm had True Qi in their bodies.
Those below this realm, such as the Martial Artists, only had ordinary internal energy.
As for Xiao Qiang, who already possessed True Qi even before he had entered the Innate Realm, there was no other precedent.
The car soon stopped at the entrance of a heavily guarded mansion.
Along the way, both Qin Zheng and Xiao Wen were constantly on the phone.
By the time Xiao Qiang got out of the car, the vicinity had been completely surrounded by a large group of men in black suits.
“Quick response,” Xiao Qiang commented, nodding at the sight.
True to his character, after awakening, the first thing Xiao Zhengxun did was to gather the core powers of the Xiao Family here.
He understood that as long as these core powers remained in place, he would be safe from any schemes by the Xia or Su families.
He was sure that as long as he remained alive, there was always hope, regardless of the commercial complications.
“Xiao Wen, inform the people on this list to come here for a meeting,” Xiao Zhengxun instructed, handing him a list pulled from a safe.
When Xiao Wen and Qin Zheng left, he took out a check and handed it to Xiao Qiang.
“Mr.
Xiao, thank you for saving us today.
Even though you are already a benefactor to the Xiao family, I cannot allow you to exert your efforts for free.
Here’s a bank check for ten million.”
Xiao Qiang didn’t respond immediately this time, instead picking up the teacup from the coffee table and inspecting it.
“I used to think that earning money wasn’t easy when I was cultivating.
It’s only recently that I realized how hard it is to be short of money.”
“Ten million, eh?”
Xiao Qiang slowly got up and walked to the window, looking out at the sky.
His smile was devoid of any emotion, neither joy nor sadness – as clean as a clear spring.
He softly said, “To the current me, it’s indeed not a small amount.”
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