Chapter 44: The Death of Hao Shuang

Hao Shuang was a man who didn’t waste time. When he said he would do something, he did it. Declaring he would lead his troops to eliminate Li Zhong, he gathered over a hundred underlings from the Four Tigers Gang and marched out in a grand formation. Their mission was not just to eliminate Li Zhong, but also to seize the Li family estate as a bonus.

A muffled thud marked the moment Li Zhong was forced to retreat after only about a dozen exchanges with Hao Shuang. Blood gushed from his mouth, a vivid testament to his waning strength.

“Pathetic,” Hao Shuang sneered, oozing disdain. “You’re already running on empty. You’re no match for me. Accept your fate and die.”

Without even breaking a sweat, their brief clash had laid bare Li Zhong’s façade of strength hiding an inner weakness. This didn’t surprise Hao Shuang. The Four Tigers Gang had sent their elite fighters elsewhere, leaving plenty behind to grind down Li Zhong.

Li Zhong was a bow stretched to its limit, nearly ready to snap.

“How noble,” Hao Shuang mocked. “Here you are, a man in his prime who could have aspired to the Innate stage, sacrificing himself for some sentimental obligation. It’s laughably foolish. If you’re so eager for death, then I’ll gladly oblige.”

Hao Shuang was no fool. He believed in ruthlessly eliminating problems at their root.

Battered by Hao Shuang’s relentless attacks, Li Zhong swayed like a duckweed caught in a tempest. Yet, his intense gaze remained unyielding, a deeply moving testament to his indomitable spirit.

Standing behind him was a young girl, her face tinged with fatigue, clutching an even younger child. Their eyes were a storm of despair, fury, and hatred aimed at the Four Tigers Gang.

On the other side, not a single member of the Four Tigers Gang looked away, each radiating an aura icy with bloodlust.

“Die!” Hao Shuang thundered, his palm descending in a crushing blow aimed at Li Zhong’s skull. With the force to shatter boulders and crack walls, this strike was designed to blast Li Zhong’s brain to smithereens.

Whoosh!

A stone shot through Hao Shuang’s palm and embedded itself into the Li estate’s wall, creating a bowl-sized crater upon impact.

As if a celestial maiden were scattering flowers, hundreds of small stones rained down from behind the Four Tigers Gang.

In an instant, the approximately one hundred members of the Four Tigers Gang surrounding the area were annihilated. No cries or screams, just immediate death.

Outside the Li estate gates lay a grotesque scene, a field of corpses, some missing parts of their heads, others with gaping holes punched through their chests, and many ripped apart from the abdomen down. Blood flowed freely, giving off a nauseating stench, and the air was thick with a mist of blood still warm from the bodies.

Strolling in from a distance was Zhang Shen. His calm demeanor stood in stark contrast to the scattered limbs and body parts at his feet, painting him as a figure somewhere between a god and a demon.

Hao Shuang, clutching his bleeding palm, trembled at the sight of the approaching Zhang Shen. Fear gripped him so tightly that no words escaped him.

Zhang Shen paid no heed to Hao Shuang, focusing instead on Li Zhong, who was continuously coughing up blood. His expression remained unreadable.

“Your internal organs are hollow, your life essence depleted. You’re practically a walking corpse,” Zhang Shen observed.

It was apparent to him that the emaciated man in front of him, despite his wrinkled skin, white hair, and aged appearance, was actually in his thirties or forties.

With a deep sigh, Zhang Shen looked at Li Zhong, the loyal servant who had sacrificed so much for the Li family, and asked, “Was it worth it?”

Without a word, Li Zhong struggled to his feet and moved to shield the young siblings behind him. 

Sometimes, actions speak louder than words.

Acknowledging this, Zhang Shen lightly flicked two fingers, sealing Li Zhong’s energy meridians. Li Zhong had no time to defend himself before he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Li Zhi and Li Wu reacted instantly, rushing over to protect Li Zhong with their small bodies.

“Leave Uncle Zhong alone!” the twelve-year-old Li Zhi yelled at Zhang Shen, trembling before this godly, demonic figure.

In her shrill voice was a mix of trembling fear and stubborn defiance, clearly forced out from deep within her.

“He’s not dead, merely unconscious,” Zhang Shen began. “However, in order to protect you, he had to tap into his body’s reserves. His vital energy is nearly exhausted. He doesn’t have much time left.”

Tears threatened to spill from the eyes of the two youngsters, but they managed to hold them back through sheer will.

“Let’s strike a deal,” Zhang Shen suggested. “I can save him, but he will no longer serve the Li family. Instead, he will become my subordinate.”

Zhang Shen genuinely respected people like Li Zhong, who embodied loyalty. To him, the deal seemed more than fair. As for Li Zhong’s own wishes? If the Li siblings were willing to relinquish him, Zhang Shen had countless methods to ensure the man’s loyalty to himself.

Li Zhi appeared lost for a moment, struggling to process Zhang Shen’s offer. Although she had displayed maturity beyond her years, she was still just a little girl. The dilemma of saving Li Zhong at the cost of giving him up was overwhelming for her.

“To us, Uncle Zhong is already a part of the family, not merely a servant. I can’t make that choice for him,” she finally said.

Zhang Shen looked somewhat disappointed. People like Li Zhong, who were steadfast in their loyalty, would never abandon their masters unless rejected first. It was a loyalty that Zhang Shen found both endearing and frustratingly irrational.

He could already foresee Li Zhong’s inevitable rejection of his offer. He would never pledge allegiance to another, as long as the Li siblings refused to let him go.

“What a shame, what a shame,” Zhang Shen muttered, almost to himself. 

Misinterpreting his words, Li Zhi thought he was reluctant to save Li Zhong because he didn’t get the answer he wanted.

Dropping to her knees with a soft thud, Li Zhi looked up earnestly at Zhang Shen.

“Elder, is it truly possible to save Uncle Zhong?” she asked.

Li Zhi was far from naive. As the legitimate daughter of a martial arts family, she fully understood the implications of depleting one’s vital energy and exhausting one’s life force.

It was an affliction beyond the healing capabilities of the entire Black Iron City.

“Yes, I can certainly heal him,” Zhang Shen confirmed. 

Even though Li Zhong might not choose to follow him, a man of such loyalty would be a loss if left untreated. One of Zhang Shen’s reasons for coming here was to repay a debt of gratitude to Master Li Yan.

After only a few interactions, Zhang Shen had already determined that the remaining members of the Li family, Li Zhi and Li Wu, were moral individuals. It would be no burden to help them.

However, Li Zhi’s actions had given Zhang Shen a hint of a beneficial opportunity, prompting him to maintain a poker face, concealing his true intentions.

Upon hearing Zhang Shen’s words, Li Zhi felt a sense of relief, though not without internal struggle. 

She declared resolutely, “Elder, I don’t have the authority to decide for Uncle Zhong, but I am willing to offer a family heirloom in exchange for his treatment.”

A family heirloom? Could it be a legacy left by Master Li Yan?

Zhang Shen was intrigued but not overly concerned. Even if the item turned out to be insignificant, it would still be a bonus. After all, his actions were merely opportunistic, any gain would be a pleasant surprise.

With a slap, he casually incapacitated Hao Shuang, who had been standing idly by, by shattering his limbs and severing his vocal cords. Zhang Shen dragged him into the Li residence like a lifeless carcass.

“Bring Li Zhong inside and shut the gate,” he commanded, completely unconcerned about whether the twelve-year-old Li Zhi and the seven-year-old Li Wu could carry out these tasks.

Being from a martial arts lineage, even seven-year-old Li Wu had reached the pinnacle of Human Limit. His frame was densely packed with muscle, strong enough to incapacitate an average adult with a single punch.

As for Li Zhi, her muscle tone was more refined. After her breakthrough into martial artistry, her once-bulging muscles had slimmed down, leaving only a sleek contour while increasing her strength significantly.

Moreover, the twelve-year-old Li Zhi had already attained the third layer of the Acquired stage. 

Closing a gate? It was nothing but a trivial task for her.

Both youngsters were far from ordinary.

If they were, the grim sight of over a hundred corpses from the Four Tigers Gang would have either left them paralyzed with fear or killed them from sheer terror. Instead, Li Zhi and Li Wu felt only a sense of relief, satisfaction even. 

Such was the character nurtured from childhood in a family of martial artists–unique in temperament, will, and insight.

In a courtyard within the Li residence, Li Zhi carefully offered a brocade box with both hands.

Zhang Shen took the box, which upon closer inspection, was an aged, shabby wooden container. Inside it housed nothing more than an unremarkable book and a simple, antique token.

‘Ah, the best treasures often hide in plain sight,’ he mused.

Who could have expected the Li family’s hidden treasure to be stored in such an unassuming box? Rather than hastily examining the contents, Zhang Shen held the box.

“Aren’t you afraid that I’ll renege on our deal after taking these items? Or perhaps, that I’ve come here specifically for these treasures?” he asked.

Li Zhi maintained her composure and replied softly, “We are all that’s left of the Li family, mere orphans and widows. Our only aim is to survive, we can’t afford to harbor other desires.”

Zhang Shen understood her unspoken message that her family was now akin to fish on a chopping board, vulnerable to anyone with a sliver of power. All they could hope for was self-preservation. 

He, Zhang Shen, had just eradicated the members of the Four Tigers Gang who had been harassing them. Therefore, even if he had hidden motives, their situation was still vastly improved compared to facing the gang.

“You’re quite the astute child,” Zhang Shen complimented her. “Go stand guard outside the door for me.”

With a deep bow, Li Zhi took her leave.

Turning his gaze to the figures on the ground, Zhang Shen surveyed the two individuals. One was Li Zhong, lying unconscious. The other was Hao Shuang, twisted in agony, his eyes awash with despair.

“Don’t worry, it will be over quickly. Your death won’t be too agonizing,” Zhang Shen said comfortingly to Hao Shuang.

Li Zhong was facing a critical situation, his vital energy was severely damaged.

If it had been the Zhang Shen of old, he would indeed have been helpless as would even most advanced martial artists at the True Core stage. But Zhang Shen had recently gained mastery over the divine skill Body Manipulation, which was the perfect answer to Li Zhong’s dilemma.

“To repair damaged life force, you simply replenish it,” he thought. “To use my own essence would be far too damaging to me, for it’s not just a question of life force but of something much more fundamental. However, using the essence of someone with a comparable level of cultivation should be sufficient.”

Zhang Shen placed his palm on Hao Shuang’s body.

The divine skill activated, drawing strands and wisps of Hao Shuang’s vitality and life force toward Zhang Shen’s palm.

Rendered speechless, Hao Shuang could only feel an incredible energy being drained from him, filling him with boundless dread.

Visibly, Hao Shuang’s body started to shrivel and weaken until it finally crumbled into dust.

“Tsk, tsk. Truly ruthless and malevolent,” Zhang Shen said, looking down at Hao Shuang’s remains, whose eyes were still open in death. 

He had no doubt that anyone witnessing this act would label him a malevolent martial artist.

Nonetheless, Zhang Shen would only use the Body Manipulation technique in this manner when time permitted. The process of draining someone’s life force and, subsequently, their vital energy took too long to be of practical use in combat.

With a casual flick of his hand, he scattered Hao Shuang’s ashy remains, leaving only a faint trace of white ash on the ground.

In his palm, however, lingered a glowing orb of energy.