Wang Hao immediately shouted, "Hey, look who's here! Lei Qiang! It's this bastard. You have to take him down now!"
Lei Qiang took a step forward, his gaze indifferent. "He's just a piece of trash. Killing him is as easy as flipping my hand."
Zhao Dong gave a mocking smile. "And who gave you the courage to say that?"
Wang Hao, still oblivious to the gravity of the situation, chuckled grotesquely. "Hahaha, an Inner Strength master can kill a regular person like you with a wave of his hand! Just you wait! Lei Qiang, kill him!"
Zhao Dong sneered. "A third-level Inner Strength weakling dares to run his mouth here?"
Lei Qiang's expression changed. "How do you know that?!"
The corner of Zhao Dong's mouth curled into a smirk. Lei Qiang had only just registered the smile when, before he could react, Zhao Dong was suddenly right in front of him!
Lei Qiang's pupils shrank. "You're also an Inner Strength master?!"
"Inner Strength master, my ass!"
The words had barely left Zhao Dong's mouth when he threw a punch, a fierce gust of wind roaring toward Lei Qiang!
A chill ran down Lei Qiang's spine. He sensed mortal danger from Zhao Dong's punch!
He scrambled to dodge the attack and stared at Zhao Dong in astonishment. "You really aren't an ordinary person! You're an Inner Strength master too!"
"Like I said, Inner Strength master, my ass!"
Zhao Dong instantly closed the distance again, unleashing a series of straight punches at Lei Qiang!
Lei Qiang managed to block the first punch, but the subsequent ones slammed into his arms like sledgehammers! His arms grew numb as a terrible premonition bloomed in his heart. From these few blows alone, he could tell Zhao Dong's strength was at least equal to his own. With no path for retreat, Lei Qiang roared and decided to go all out!
He stopped backpedaling and, clenching both fists, launched them toward Zhao Dong's face with a whoosh.
Zhao Dong sneered in disdain. Before, he might not have been able to withstand these punches, but now, Lei Qiang's fists were a complete joke to him!
Taking Lei Qiang's punches head-on, Zhao Dong didn't budge an inch, while Lei Qiang was sent stumbling back several steps! Two deep grooves were gouged into the ground where his feet had dragged!
If Lei Qiang had been astonished before, now he was utterly terrified!
"Just how strong are you?"
Zhao Dong grinned. In the span of half a breath, he was in front of Lei Qiang again, striking his shoulder with an open palm!
PUFF!
A mist of blood erupted from Lei Qiang's shoulder, and his body was sent flying like a kite with a severed string!
Zhao Dong stood with his hands behind his back, a faint smile on his face. This feeling of power… is amazing!
Pushing off with his right foot, Zhao Dong shot forward like a cannonball, appearing over ten meters away in front of Lei Qiang in an instant.
Lei Qiang was lying on the ground, coughing up blood. In their brief exchange, Zhao Dong had shattered every bone in his arms and inflicted severe damage on his internal organs!
Lying there, Lei Qiang looked at Zhao Dong in terror, gasping, "You... you can't be... a realm beyond Inner Strength? Are you a Grandmaster?!"
Zhao Dong shook his head and squatted down, looking at Lei Qiang with a contemplative look. "You guessed wrong. I'm not a Grandmaster, nor am I an Inner Strength master."
"Then why are you so powerful?"
Zhao Dong's hand shot out and clamped around Lei Qiang's throat. He smiled. "I am... a Cultivator!"
"What?! A Cultivator?!" Lei Qiang shrieked. Cultivators were one in ten thousand. How had he managed to provoke one?
Despair washed over him, and he immediately began to plead, "I was wrong, my friend! Please, spare my life! I was tricked into coming here by Wang Hao! If you want to kill someone, kill him!"
Zhao Dong tightened his grip on Lei Qiang's neck, a murderous glint in his eyes. "And you think I'd let you go?"
"No!" Lei Qiang struggled desperately. "You can't kill me! My master is Fang Yunlong! If you dare to kill me, he won't let you off!"
"Who is Fang Yunlong?"
With his last breath, Lei Qiang threatened, "My master is a top expert on East Sea's Heaven and Earth Ranking! If you dare to kill me, he will hunt you down for revenge!"
Zhao Dong shook his head. "Sorry, I've never heard of the Heaven and Earth Ranking."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhao Dong clenched his fist.
CRACK!
Lei Qiang's eyes rolled back in their sockets, and he stopped breathing.
Dropping Lei Qiang's corpse, Zhao Dong stood and turned to Wang Hao, who was staring, completely dumbfounded. When he saw Zhao Dong's gaze fall upon him, Wang Hao dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing as he became a crying, sniveling mess.
"Zhao... Zhao Dong! Please spare me... I know I was wrong. I'll give you money, I'll give..."
As he spoke, Wang Hao fumbled several cards out of his pocket, his hands trembling. "These cards have six or seven million in them combined. The PIN for all of them is six sevens. Please, spare me!"
"I'll take the cards. But I'm taking your life, too."
Zhao Dong's hand snapped out, seizing Wang Hao's throat and hoisting him into the air. "I told you before that I was planning to spare your worthless life. You brought this on yourself, so you have no one else to blame."
Wang Hao's face turned beet red, his eyes bulging as he kicked his legs and flailed his arms uselessly. "You... you can't kill me... Hong Wu is my... my woman's... uncle. If you kill me, Hong Wu won't... won't let you get away with it..."
Zhao Dong's brow furrowed. Hong Wu is Liu Ya's uncle? A flicker of apprehension went through him. Hong Wu is the boss of East Sea's underworld, and he has countless experts under his command. That old man with him last night, for instance... I could sense he was an extremely powerful master. If I really make an enemy of Hong Wu, I might not survive. Then again, even if I let Wang Hao go now, I'd surely be hunted down anyway.
At that thought, Zhao Dong whispered, "Wang Hao, try to be a better person in your next life."
CRACK! Zhao Dong crushed Wang Hao's throat and turned to Liu Ya.
Terrified, Liu Ya's face went deathly pale, and her body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Zhao Dong asked coldly, "Hong Wu is your uncle?"
"Yes... yes..." Liu Ya was so frightened she could barely speak, tears streaming down her face.
"What is the relationship between Xu Yafei and your uncle?" Zhao Dong demanded.
"If I tell you... you won't kill me..." Liu Ya stammered, trembling as she stared at the two corpses, her mind a complete blank.
"Alright, talk," he said.
Liu Ya finally said, "Xu Yafei is my uncle's woman, but their relationship is strained…"
Zhao Dong raised an eyebrow. Xu Yafei slept with me, saying she wanted revenge on someone. Could that someone be Hong Wu? She also bled that night, which must mean she was a virgin. Does that mean Hong Wu hasn't touched her all this time? An underworld boss being so self-restrained? That's not normal at all!
"What does Xu Yafei do?"
Liu Ya shuddered and stammered, "She... she has her own organization, but I think... I think it merged with my uncle's."
Zhao Dong's eyes narrowed. No wonder Xu Yafei seemed so formidable; she's a boss in her own right.
Liu Ya's voice trembled. "I've told you everything, please don't kill me..."
Zhao Dong suddenly gave her a strange smile. "I won't kill you. But I recently learned a new medical technique. Let me test it out on you!"
Before Liu Ya could refuse, Zhao Dong followed the methods of the Mystic Sky Technique in his mind, his fingers jabbing several of her pressure points!
Instantly, Liu Ya's pupils dilated. The expression on her face went slack, replaced by a foolish grin as her limbs twitched and splayed out uncontrollably.
"I won't kill you, but you'll spend the rest of your life as an idiot!"
Zhao Dong stuffed the bodies of Wang Hao and Lei Qiang into sacks, added a few stones for weight, and tossed them into the nearby river.
After cleaning up the scene, Zhao Dong looked at the two still-unconscious elders and considered his options. He had to get them out of there, but how? A taxi would leave a trail, and Liu Ya's condition would attract attention.
Zhao Dong slapped his thigh. He had an idea: he'd call Xu Yafei!
He glanced at Liu Ya. The Mystic Sky Technique contained an ancient Cultivation Technique called Divine Sense, which allowed one to briefly probe another's mind. He immediately used it on Liu Ya and found her phone's password. He then found Xu Yafei's number and dialed it from his own phone.
"Hello, what is it?" Xu Yafei's cold voice answered.
Zhao Dong cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "It's me."
The line went silent for a moment before Xu Yafei spoke again. "How do you have my number?"
"We can talk about that later. Drive to the abandoned factory in the North District right now. Come alone, and don't let anyone notice you."
Zhao Dong felt a knot of anxiety. He wasn't sure if Xu Yafei would refuse him.
After a brief silence, Xu Yafei said, "Wait for me."
"Okay."
After he hung up, it wasn't long before a black Mercedes-Benz S arrived.
Xu Yafei stepped out of the car, her face a mask of shock. Zhao Dong just smiled. "I know you have a lot of questions. I'll explain later. For now, please give me a ride back."
Without another word, Xu Yafei helped get the two elders and Liu Ya into the car, and they drove off.
Along the way, they passed through a remote village with no surveillance cameras. Zhao Dong had her pull over, dropped Liu Ya off, and, without another word, told Xu Yafei to keep driving. Xu Yafei seemed to want to say something, but she remained silent and drove on.
After taking the two elders back to the small courtyard, Zhao Dong got back in the car. "Let's go. Find a good place to talk. I have some things to tell you."
Xu Yafei gave Zhao Dong a deep look and drove away.
Soon, they arrived at a residential complex. He followed Xu Yafei upstairs and into a large, single-story apartment.
Zhao Dong looked around. The decor was minimalist yet exuded an air of luxury. He asked in surprise, "Is this where you live?"
Xu Yafei answered coolly, "Yes. Have a seat. I'm going to take a shower."
After Xu Yafei disappeared into the bathroom, Zhao Dong froze, his expression turning strange. Why would she take a shower in the middle of the day? Could it be…
Zhao Dong's mouth suddenly felt dry. He looked toward the bathroom, and his eyes landed on the semi-transparent door! What he saw inside made him lose his composure completely