Chapter 34: Level-Three Adept

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

As the curly-whiskered man spoke, someone said leisurely from inside the cabin, “They better get out of the way. If they don’t… kill them!”

“Yes, Second Young Master,” the curly whiskered-man replied respectfully and returned his gaze to Zhou Donghuang and Fu. He said with murderous intent in his eyes, “Did you hear the second young master of my family? If you don’t get out of the way, I’ll kill you both!”

“Kill us both?” Zhou Donghuang’s piercing gaze fell on the cabin of the carriage facing him, and he smiled indifferently. “Big talk… but who is that anyway?”

“The second young master of my family is the son of the patriarch of the preeminent Li family of the prefecture capital, Li Pingyun. He is in the cabin behind me now with the ninth elder of the Li family, Li Yan.”

The curly-whiskered man smiled coldly.

“Little fellow, you had better get out of the way as fast as you can… if you anger Second Young Master and Ninth Elder, you’re dead meat!”

Fu squinted at him.

The Li family of the prefecture capital?

The image of a middle-aged man surfaced in Fu’s memory.

He had identified himself as a level-two adept from the Li family of the prefecture capital. Zhou Donghuang had maimed his arms and legs and hired people to send him back to the Li family in the prefecture capital.

“The second young master of the Li family?”

Zhou Donghuang’s eyes gleamed coldly as he looked at the cabin, and he replied nonchalantly, “If that’s the case… you should be the one who sent someone to Yunxuan Restaurant the other day, offering to buy it for a thousand liang of silver?”

That day, the level-two adept from the Li family of the prefecture capital had claimed that he had been sent by the second young master of the Li family.

“You are Zhou Donghuang?”

Almost as soon as Zhou Donghuang had spoken, the curtains of the opposite carriage were drawn aside, and a young man dressed in a brocaded gown and a splendidly dressed middle-aged man dismounted from the carriage.

It was the young man who had spoken, and he was the second young master of the preeminent Li family of the prefecture capital.

“It really is you.”

Zhou Donghuang dismounted as well and stood facing Li Pingyun.

“I didn’t expect that I, Li Pingyun, would meet you even before I reached Qingshan town… but that’s just as well, this saves me a lot of time.”

Li Pingyun looked Zhou Donghuang over indifferently and said, “Zhou Donghuang, hand over the title deed to Yunxuan Restaurant, then maim one of your own arms… and I will not pursue the matter of you maiming Li Dong.”

Before beating a dog, you must first consider its master.

Li Dong whom he had sent to Qingshan town to buy Yunxuan Restaurant from Zhou Donghuang had instead been maimed by him, and this was a slap to the face of Li Pingyun.

“Maim one of my own arms?”

Zhou Donghuang was stunned at first, then he smiled a brilliant smile.

“Due credit to the second young master of the Li family for being to the point in admitting that he was scheming to seize Yunxuan Restaurant, and even asking to break my own arm. If this is the case, today you, the second young master of the Li family, must leave one arm behind!”

As he spoke, a cold gleam flashed across the depths of Zhou Donghuang’s eyes.

“You’d make me leave an arm behind? You must still be asleep!”

Li Pingyun was stunned at first, but then he smiled coldly as a cold murderous look came into his eyes.

“Now I’ve changed my mind… today, not only will I take the title deed to Yunxuan Restaurant, but also your life!”

As soon as Li Pingyun stated his intent to kill Zhou Donghuang, he addressed the splendidly-dressed middle-aged man beside him, “Ninth Elder, kill him.”

“Second Young Master, you’re too careful.”

The splendidly dressed middle-aged man smiled scornfully.

“You could kill this little fellow easily. Surely you don’t believe Li Dong’s words, that this young man’s ability is close to that of a level-three adept?”

“I don’t think it’s possible,” Li Pingyun said, “but there should be a level-two adept of considerable ability with him.”

“Ninth Elder, we stick to the plan we discussed earlier… after the deed is done, one-tenth of the profits from Yunxuan Restaurant will be yours.”

It was evident from Li Pingyun’s words that he already considered Yunxuan Restaurant to be his.

“Thank you, Second Young Master.”

The splendidly dressed middle-aged man’s smile grew even brighter, and he continued looking at Zhou Donghuang. He said with an indifferent tone, “Little fellow, call the person in the cabin out.”

He was looking at the cabin of the carriage behind Zhou Donghuang as he said this.

As for Fu who was driving the carriage, there was no way he could be mistaken for Zhou Donghuang’s champion, from the panicked expression on his face.

“The cabin?”

Zhou Donghuang was taken aback by the splendidly dressed middle-aged man’s words but then realized that he was assuming that there was another person in the cabin.

“Second Young Master of the Li family, it seems you have assumed… you think the person you sent earlier was maimed by someone working for me?”

Zhou Donghuang paced forward slowly towards Li Pingyun, who was six or seven meters away.

“Was he not?”

Li Pingyun smiled scornfully. “Could you please enlighten me on how a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth could have the ability to kill Li Dong, a level-two adept?”

“Little fellow, since he is stalling and refusing to come out, then I, Li Yan, will start by killing you first before digging him out!”

The splendidly dressed middle-aged man was Li Yan, the ninth elder of the Li family. He looked away from the cabin and back at Zhou Donghuang, smiling cruelly. He immediately charged at Zhou Donghuang.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

…

Li Yan rushed forward, his body blurred and accompanied by the sound of the wind from his passing. His speed was greater than anyone Zhou Donghuang had met so far since starting this new life.

A level-three adept?

Zhou Donghuang raised his eyebrows and began stepping in a peculiar sequence, displaying the third-grade swiftness technique, Star-Stepping Footwork and stepping forward to meet Li Yan.

Using only the maximum muscular strength from both his legs, the Star-Stepping Footwork demonstrated by Zhou Donghuang was incredibly fast, and he perfectly capable of matching Li Yan’s speed, despite not yet having attained level-two of Qi-gathering.

What incredible speed!

Watching from a distance as Zhou Donghuang stepped in that particular sequence and matched Li Yan’s speed, Li Yan’s gaze turned solemn at once.

It seems that Li Dong could really have been maimed by him!

And is he demonstrating… a swiftness technique?

Li Pingyun looked greedily at Zhou Donghuang and called out to Li Yan, “Ninth Elder, don’t kill him, we will force the swiftness technique out of him!”

Actually, Li Yan had the same thought as soon as he saw Zhou Donghuang demonstrate the swiftness technique, even before Li Pingyun had called out to him.

Although he was startled by Zhou Donghuang’s speed, he nevertheless felt that Zhou Donghuang would not be a match for him.

Someone who demonstrated a swiftness technique and yet could only match his speed could not have the same level of raw ability as him.

A swiftness technique… even though I have become an elder of the Li family and am allowed to practice the martial art styles of the Li family, we only possess an offensive martial art. We don’t have a swiftness technique.

Li Yan’s eyes shone as he looked at Zhou Donghuang, and as he drew near to Zhou Donghuang, he reached out like lightning with both hands to capture him.

Just then, Zhou Donghuang stamped hard on the ground, exerting the maximum muscular strength of his muscles, and charged towards Li Yan.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Full of qi, Zhou Donghuang shot his hands out and formed them into claws. He reached out like lightning and grabbing both of Li Yan’s wrists that were reaching for him.

Exerting the maximum muscular strength of his muscles in addition to the level of qi near to a level-two adept, Zhou Donghuang now possessed a strength that far exceeded Li Yan, even though Li Yan was a level-three adept.

Stonebreaking Fingers!

As he used the third-grade finger technique Stonebreaking Fingers, there came the clear sound of bones shattering, which was caused by Zhou Donghuang’s ten fingers explosively shattering both Li Yan’s wrists.

“Ahhhh—”

Drops of sweat flew from Li Yan’s forehead, and he gave a cry of agony from the intense and unbearable pain.

As he cried out and drew back his maimed wrists, Zhou Donghuang once more stepped in a peculiar sequence, flinging out his right hand and thrusting his palm towards Li Yan’s chest.

Weighted Sand Palm!

As Zhou Donghuang demonstrated the third-grade palm technique, the surface of his palm rippled like sand and caved Li Yan’s chest in when it landed.

Pong!!

With a loud sound, Li Yan’s agonized cry suddenly died off, and he was thrown backwards, landing at Li Pingyun’s feet and throwing up a cloud of dust.

Even though he was dressed in a long gown, his caved-in chest was still clearly visible to Li Pingyun.

“Ninth… Ninth Elder…”

Li Pingyun looked wide-eyed at Li Yan lying lifeless in the dust, shock, and disbelief showing on his face.

“How… how is this possible… how is this possible?!”

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth from a small town had killed the ninth elder of the Li family, Li Yan, a level-three adept, before his eyes.

What could be more sensational?

“I originally only intended to maim one of your arms…”

Zhou Donghuang had begun to walk slowly towards Li Pingyun, and with every step, it was as if a boulder was crushing his chest, making it difficult for Li Pingyun to breathe. His expression grew more and more frightened.

“But since you changed your mind and intended to kill me, it would be remiss of me not to ask for your life as well.”

Zhou Donghuang stood before Li Pingyun and smiled, showing two rows of snow-white teeth.

“Second Young Master of the Li family, what do you say to that?”

“Zhou Donghuang, I am the second young master of the Li family, the only son of the patriarch of the Li family of the prefecture capital and the future patriarch of the Li family… my most beloved elder sister is the most favored concubine of the young governor of the intermediate-level Guangling Prefecture. If you kill me, neither the Li family nor the Governor’s Household of Guangling Prefecture will let you off!”

In the face of impending death, Li Pingyun played his trump card in an effort to intimidate Zhou Donghuang and scare him into sparing his life.

“Don’t kid yourself,” Zhou Donghuang said in a low voice. “The one thing I am least afraid of is a threat.”

Zhou Donghuang smiled nonchalantly and darted forward in a flash, smashing his palm into Li Pingyun before he could react and killing him instantly.

Then Zhou Donghuang turned his gaze on the curly-whiskered man driving the carriage.

“Spare me, master, spare me!”

The curly-whiskered man had been dumbstruck since earlier when Zhou Donghuang had killed Li Yan, and now, seeing Zhou Donghuang looking at him, he knelt down and begged for his life as he was stricken with panic.