Su Chen grabbed the man's throat, gently twisting until the bone shattered. The man died instantly. Simultaneously, a powerful fist hurtled toward Su Chen's head, whistling through the air with the force of a shattering blow. Even a glancing hit would have been devastating. Despite feeling the wind of the approaching fist, Su Chen remained motionless.
The attacker, convinced Su Chen hadn't noticed, felt a surge of confidence. His punch was mere centimeters from its target; no one, he believed, could react in time. But then, a leg shot out at an impossible angle, aimed directly at his chest.
"How is this possible?" he gasped, realizing it was too late to defend against the attack. He raised his arm to block, but a sharp crack echoed as Su Chen's leg connected, shattering the bone. The kick continued, unstoppable, slamming into the man's chest.
"Bang!" The man flew backward like a severed kite, landing ten meters away in the bushes, his chest severely caved in. In the blink of an eye, only two men remained standing, one still held by Su Chen. Their eyes widened in terror.
Who was this man? They were Qi Refinement experts, Triple to Fourth Layer, yet they were helpless against him, feeling like mere puppets. Cui Yuanmin watched, aghast. He'd seen Su Chen's skill before, but nothing prepared him for this level of power. His lack of martial arts knowledge amplified his shock; he didn't realize Bai Shan, whom Su Chen had effortlessly dispatched, was nearly a Fourth-Layer Qi Refinement expert.
"Go! Kill him!" Cui Yuanmin yelled, his terror palpable. But one man, instead of attacking, fled.
"Think you can run?" Su Chen sneered, hurling the man he held like a projectile at the fleeing attacker. The two collided, both falling to the ground. Su Chen then calmly approached, crushing the chests of both men with his feet, ending their lives.
The man who had blocked Su Chen's escape with his truck, dumbfounded, tried to flee. A silver needle, flashing across the sky, pierced the car window and embedded itself in his forehead.
Seeing the others escape, Cui Yuanmin ran, desperate to get away. But Su Chen showed no interest in killing him. Watching Cui Yuanmin disappear down the street, Su Chen smiled. "Let you live a few more days; there's a good show coming, and you're the main character!"
Su Chen's car was wrecked. The area was desolate, so he walked a kilometer before hailing a cab back to the Imperial Garden. He'd already called Qin Ming to clean up the scene, to prevent police involvement.
Home, he found Lin Ruoxue waiting, a heartwarming sight.
"Wife, if I'm late, eat without me," he said softly.
"I just got home myself," she replied casually.
They dined on takeout, then Lin Ruoxue returned to work while Su Chen, his car destroyed, went to the estate to cultivate, sensing an imminent breakthrough. The distance was considerable, but nothing for him. He arrived breathlessly, immediately beginning his cultivation.
Meanwhile, in a room at the Situ courtyard, Situ Lei sat before a computer, accessing a website riddled with suggestive images and advertisements. After navigating several layers, he arrived at a dark, blood-splattered page. Instead of fear, he felt exhilaration, his eyes gleaming. He logged in, revealing photos, each marked with a skull icon. Clicking on one, his eyes blazed with intensity.