Chapter 412: You Think This Is Child’s Play?

“Don’t worry, I won’t take your life. But while the death penalty can be waived, you won’t escape punishment. Whether you live or not, depends on your luck,” Lin Xiao said flatly, his tone calm and cold, neither joyful nor angry.

Zhong Wu felt a heavy stone drop from his heart. The panic in him eased slightly.

What he feared most was that Lin Xiao, in a moment of anger, would crush him on the spot.

Lin Xiao’s power was terrifying. Held in his grasp, Zhong Wu felt like a chicken being lifted by the neck, with no control over life or death.

Though he didn’t quite understand Lin Xiao’s last sentence, as long as he wasn’t going to die, he believed he’d eventually have the chance to make a comeback.

He had suffered such a humiliating defeat, being grabbed by the throat and shamed in front of everyone. Since mastering Dark Force, he had never been this pathetic. How could he swallow this?

‘I’ll remember this! Let’s see who laughs last!’

Zhong Wu, though unable to move, was consumed by venomous thoughts.

Just as he was lost in malicious speculation, Lin Xiao suddenly loosened his grip and let go.

Zhong Wu, regaining his freedom, was overjoyed. Malice surged uncontrollably again. He twisted in midair, coiled his body, and sprang forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, viciously kicking toward Lin Xiao’s chest.

‘Die!’

In the blink of an eye, Zhong Wu’s leg reached Lin Xiao’s chest.

Zhong Wu had great confidence in his legwork. His entire fighting style was built around it. His mastery of the Twelve-Road Tan Legs was nearly complete. He could break a wooden post the thickness of a bowl in one kick and bend steel rods as thick as a baby’s arm.

However, to Lin Xiao, his counterattack was riddled with flaws.

The moment Zhong Wu kicked out, Lin Xiao simply took a step back and swept his left leg across.

A dull thud rang out. Lin Xiao’s left leg struck Zhong Wu squarely.

The joy on Zhong Wu’s face froze, as if hit by a speeding train. Both legs shattered instantly. He let out a blood-curdling scream and tumbled backward, flying over the heads of the crowd, crashing down more than ten meters away!

Seeing Zhong Wu kicked over ten meters, the onlookers were all horrified and instinctively turned toward where he landed.

Zhong Wu lay face down, covered in grass and dirt. The lawn was sunken from his impact, and his screams had stopped. Only the faint trembling of his body showed he was still alive.

His legs were twisted at grotesque angles, broken in countless places. One thing was clear—he’d be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Lin Xiao slowly retracted his leg, not sparing Zhong Wu a single glance. His expression was unchanged, he casually hooked a finger toward Xin Ping and Shan Dagong.

Xin Ping and Shan Dagong’s eyelids twitched. Their cheeks spasmed. The miserable fate of Li Chengwei and Zhong Wu filled them with a sense of shared doom.

Xin Ping knew he was finished. A bitter regret spread through his heart.

If he’d known Lin Xiao’s skills were this terrifying, he’d never have agreed to Jiang Shiliu’s request.

As a Dark Force expert—even as Jiang Shiliu’s personal bodyguard—if he didn’t want to do something, Jiang couldn’t force him.

But now, it was too late for regrets.

Shan Dagong had similar thoughts. After witnessing Lin Xiao’s strength, his fighting spirit had completely vanished. Sweat drenched his face, and cold sweat soaked his back.

They exchanged a glance, each seeing bitterness and helplessness in the other’s eyes.

Xin Ping took a deep breath, suppressing his unwillingness, and spoke in a hoarse voice, “Your martial arts are indeed formidable. We concede.”

Hearing Xin Ping voluntarily admit defeat, like Jingang laying down arms, the crowd instantly erupted.

“What? That’s it? He gives up just like that?”

“Four against one, and they couldn’t even touch a hair on him. Two got beaten down, and the other two just surrendered? What kind of Dark Force masters are these? More like soft-legged shrimps!” someone mocked.

“Right? We were looking forward to an epic clash, but it ended in a single blow. What a letdown!”

“I heard these four were hired by Young Master Jiang and the others for a hefty price… Tsk tsk…” someone clicked their tongue. “They must be fuming now. Tried to teach someone a lesson, but their own people got wrecked instead.”

“But that Lin Xiao guy is seriously amazing! He kicked someone ten meters in the air. So cool!” a girl swooned.

“No wonder he’s so arrogant. If I had skills like that, I’d be cocky too!”

“When you’ve got real ability, being arrogant is understandable…”

As the chatter grew louder, Xin Ping and Shan Dagong clenched their fists, humiliated to the bone. They wished they could crawl into a hole.

Jiang Shiliu, Nangong Hao, Li Chengkun, and Wu Donglai all looked extremely sour.

Especially Jiang Shiliu. As the instigator of all this, he felt like he had shot himself in the foot. His face, already gloomy, now looked like it could drip water.

“You call this surrender? That’s not quite right, is it?” Lin Xiao said slowly amid the commotion. His voice wasn’t loud, but it drowned out the rest.

Xin Ping and Shan Dagong’s expressions changed simultaneously, a bad feeling rising in their chests.

Xin Ping asked in a deep voice, “What do you mean?”

“My meaning is simple. I don’t accept your surrender.” Lin Xiao sneered coldly. “You want to fight, so you fight. Then, when you can’t win, you give up? You think this is child’s play?”

“Are you planning to go too far?” Shan Dagong growled. “We’ve already conceded. What more do you want?”

“I don’t need your surrender.” Lin Xiao’s eyes gleamed coldly. “I need you to pay for what you’ve done. I want everyone to know what happens when you mess with me.”

Attack when you please, surrender when it suits you—how convenient. They would have to face the consequences since they chose to strike at him.

With that, Lin Xiao stomped the ground—boom—leaving a deep footprint. Using the rebound, his body shot forward like a blur, instantly arriving in front of Shan Dagong.

Shan Dagong was shocked, his pupils dilating. He hadn’t expected Lin Xiao to make the first move, nor that he would be so fast. However, his battle-hardened reflexes kicked in. Before his brain caught up, his arms had already crossed in front of his chest as he retreated rapidly.

But he’d only just taken a step back when Lin Xiao’s iron fist came crashing down like thunder.

Thunderbolt Fist!

With one punch, wind and thunder roared.

In the soul-stirring crackle of thunder, Lin Xiao’s fist tore through the air and slammed into Shan Dagong’s crossed arms. The force of the punch erupted like a volcano—unstoppable.

Both of Shan Dagong’s arms snapped under the blow. His bulky body slid back three meters, carving deep furrows into the grass with his feet!

His body swayed, then suddenly dropped to one knee. He spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at Lin Xiao with eyes full of sheer terror, like he’d seen a ghost.