Chapter 51: Clearing Out the Weeds

“What…what…what are you planning to do?”

As Lin Xiao’s figure steadily approached, Old Jin involuntarily stepped back, his face etched with fear.

His overreaction wasn’t unwarranted. While Old Jin might not have been a household name on the streets, he was known for his fearlessness. But the present situation was different from anything he had experienced.

His minions still lay groaning on the ground nearby. Even with all his confidence, he didn’t dare face Lin Xiao.

“You ambush me and have the audacity to ask what I’m doing?” Lin Xiao said with a cold sneer.

He continued his approach, drawing ever closer.

Old Jin’s face contorted. He kept retreating, moving towards the five or six minions still standing behind him, as if their numbers could bolster his courage.

Unfazed, Lin Xiao shot him a chilling glance and carried on walking steadily in his direction.

Suddenly, Old Jin drew a handgun from his coat. With a vicious snarl distorting his face, he aimed at Lin Xiao, pulled the trigger, and yelled, “Die!”

The gunshot’s piercing echo cut through the silence of the night. Old Jin’s eyes were filled with anticipation and excitement as he looked at Lin Xiao, but his expression quickly turned into one of sheer horror.

“What?… How could this be? Where is he?”

Old Jin stared at the spot where Lin Xiao had previously been, now vacant. His hopeful shot had failed to hit its target. Clutching the gun in his hand, his anxious gaze darted about as he tried to locate Lin Xiao.

“I’m here, you can stop looking.”

Suddenly, a frigid voice echoed from above, sending chills down his spine.

‘Above! He’s above!’

A silent scream echoed in Old Jin’s mind. He lifted his gun, trying to aim at Lin Xiao. But the next moment, a prickling sensation engulfed his scalp, followed by an agonizing pain in his chest. He was thrown backward, joining his minions sprawled on the ground.

With an eerily calm expression, Lin Xiao sauntered over to Old Jin, lifted his right foot, and planted it on Old Jin’s head.

“Do you submit?”

As he locked eyes with Lin Xiao’s icy gaze, Old Jin felt as if his throat was constricted by an iron grip, steadily tightening, making breathing an arduous task.

He was certain Lin Xiao wouldn’t hesitate to strike him down if he misspoke even a single sentence. This belief stemmed from the bone-chilling aura of murder he felt radiating from Lin Xiao, like blood spilling over a mountain of corpses.

Old Jin, who himself was a seasoned killer, understood that such an aura only clung to those who had taken lives. The intensity of Lin Xiao’s aura, it was hard for him to even comprehend how many lives Lin Xiao had taken.

That’s when it struck him; despite considering himself fearless, he was, in fact, terrified of dying.

He didn’t want to die. He yearned to live.

“I… I give in, Boss.” Old Jin looked at Lin Xiao with pleading eyes.

“That’s better.” Lin Xiao responded nonchalantly. “Since that’s the case, I have some questions for you.”

“Boss, go ahead. I’ll tell you everything I know,” Old Jin promised.

“Good, I appreciate compliant people,” Lin Xiao spoke calmly.

To Old Jin, however, Lin Xiao’s even-toned voice was akin to a demon’s growl. He hastily responded, “Boss, I’ll obey. I’m very obedient.”

“Did anyone else participate in this ambush attempt?”

“Accomplices? The order for the hit was given by my leader. Song Tianxing offered two million to end your life, and our leader sent us to carry out the deed,” Old Jin hastily replied.

“Your leader? Who is he?”

“Our leader is a notorious figure in the underworld, named Wang Lin, commonly referred to as Brother Wang. I’m just one of his foot soldiers, Boss, I was just following orders.”

“Enough. I’m not going to kill you now; I still need your help.” Lin Xiao cast a cold glance at him. “Lead me to your leader.”

Relief washed over Old Jin on hearing Lin Xiao’s words, but the reprieve was short-lived.

“Boss… What business do you have with Brother Wang? I advise you, Brother Wang is a well-known boss in Jinghai City. I’m just a lowly henchman under him. Boss, you might be formidable, but…” Old Jin cautiously said, glancing at Lin Xiao.

He was certain that if he led Lin Xiao to Wang Lin, regardless of the outcome, he was not going to have a pleasant ending. Furthermore, he didn’t support Lin Xiao’s decision.

His leader, Wang Lin, was a notorious figure in Jinghai City with innumerable henchmen under his command. Lin Xiao, despite his superhuman abilities and monstrous strength, had a future that was impossible to predict.

“What, you’re not willing?” Lin Xiao regarded him coldly.

“Willing, Boss, I am… I’ll take you there right away.”

Looking into Lin Xiao’s eyes, Old Jin swallowed hard. He was certain that if he refused, he would be signing his own death warrant.

“Alright then, lead the way,” Lin Xiao nodded.

As the leader of the Dragon Sword Squad, who had undertaken countless missions and weathered numerous life-and-death battles, Lin Xiao understood all too well the principles of ruthlessness. To truly defeat a person, you must eradicate their spirit. To prevent regrowth, you must pull out the roots.

The only safe enemy was a dead one, and showing mercy to an enemy was an act of self-cruelty.

Only by utterly obliterating everything that poses a threat could one turn their back in peace.

If this Brother Wang and Song Tianxing wanted his life, then Lin Xiao was determined to show them the true meaning of ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and blood for blood’.

Faced with a direct threat to his life, Old Jin finally led Lin Xiao to his boss, Wang Lin.

Once they had boarded the van he had arrived in, Old Jin hastily told Lin Xiao all he knew about Wang Lin.

He realized that he was in effect tied to Lin Xiao by fate. If Lin Xiao failed, his boss, Wang Lin, would certainly make him suffer. His only chance at survival was if Lin Xiao managed to take Wang Lin down.

From Old Jin’s account, Lin Xiao learned of Wang Lin’s considerable influence in the underworld of Jinghai City, with various businesses, including a chain of KTVs and nightclubs, under his control.

He had underlings beyond count, from street thieves to the operators of shady businesses skirting the law, all of whom paid him protection money. He had his hands in every pot, legal and illegal alike.

Old Jin was one of his most capable fighters.

“You’re saying that Wang Lin suddenly got a new muscle around him some time ago?” Lin Xiao asked.

“Yes, Boss, this guy showed up about ten days ago. I don’t know much about him, but he’s quite a mystery and a real tough guy. He’s like a master.”

“A tough guy, huh?”

Lin Xiao’s expression remained unchanged, and he wasn’t overly concerned internally.

Perhaps in Old Jin’s eyes, this person was a master. However, from Lin Xiao’s perspective, the true extent of this master’s skill was still unknown.

Since arriving in Jinghai City, Lin Xiao had encountered little that truly challenged him. Aside from the elderly man he’d met in the park, his opponents had mostly been common street thugs or hired assassins. Though some of them were seen by others as ‘masters,’ in Lin Xiao’s eyes, they were ultimately just regular people—skilled, perhaps, but still within the bounds of the ordinary.

Yet he knew ancient martial arts had not disappeared from the world. Hidden sects and hermits still practiced disciplines capable of incredible feats—scaling walls, shattering stone, displaying strength beyond normal limits. To Lin Xiao, only those who had surpassed human limitations through ancient techniques could be considered true masters.

Even so, if the so-called ‘master’ that Old Jin mentioned truly belonged to that realm, Lin Xiao felt no fear. He stood firm in his confidence—this was the ironclad calm of someone who had once reigned supreme in the underworld as the Night Emperor.