Chapter 457: Maybe I’m Just Lucky

“I already told you, you’re not my match.” Lin Xiao withdrew his hands, calmly looking at An Baichen as he spoke coldly, “So, are you going to admit defeat yourself, or do I have to beat it out of you?”

An Baichen’s face was pale, his qi and blood surging chaotically.

Hearing Lin Xiao’s words, a mouthful of reverse blood rushed up his throat. He barely managed to hold it back after a great effort.

His expression flickered with uncertainty. Being inferior in skill was already humiliating enough. If he were to concede in front of everyone, it would be even worse than death.

“Who said I’m conceding?”

Hatred filled An Baichen’s eyes.

Taking advantage of Lin Xiao’s lack of vigilance, he suddenly stepped forward. His fists turned into claws, and like lightning, he lunged—one hand clawing for Lin Xiao’s eyes, the other for his lower abdomen. The move was sinister and vicious.

“Dare to humiliate me like this? Today, either you die, or I do!”

“Ridiculous. Another sore loser showing his ugly face. How pathetic,” Lin Xiao said, his voice was cold.

With a subtle shift of his body, he dodged An Baichen’s claws. Then, clenching his left fist tightly, he threw a heavy punch straight into An Baichen’s chest!

The punch landed solidly, at least snapping four or five of An Baichen’s ribs.

A muffled cry of agony escaped his mouth, his eyes bulged as if they would pop out of their sockets.

The next moment, An Baichen felt an immense force surge through Lin Xiao’s fist, launching him backward uncontrollably. His feet left the ground as his body spun through the air.

After flying seven or eight meters, he finally crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

The training uniform over An Baichen’s chest had been torn apart by the impact, revealing a bowl-sized hole. One could see a deep fist imprint on his chest through it—more than an inch deep, as if stamped from a mold.

Blegh!

Already suffering internal injuries, An Baichen could no longer hold it in.

He vomited a mouthful of blood. His face lost all color, and his aura plummeted to rock bottom.

He raised a trembling finger at Lin Xiao, trying to say something, but blood kept pouring from his mouth, reducing his words to garbled noise.

Lin Xiao’s expression remained steely as he slowly retracted his fist.

Since things had reached this point, Lin Xiao had no intention of letting it end easily. For people who didn’t know their place, he would leave behind a lifelong lesson.

So that whenever they heard his name again, they would feel fear.

Lin Xiao strode forward toward An Baichen, who lay on the ground.

A vast, icy aura surged from his body like a tidal wave, engulfing An Baichen from seven or eight meters away.

Feeling the murderous intent from Lin Xiao, An Baichen trembled violently. His heartbeat quickened as if he were a frog caught in a python’s gaze. A deep sense of unease and dread was welling up inside him.

He gritted his teeth through the searing pain in his chest and tried to push himself up, but his arms buckled, and he collapsed again.

That punch from Lin Xiao hadn’t just broken his ribs, it had scattered his internal strength. Now his limbs were weak and powerless, completely reduced to prey on the chopping block.

“What are you idiots standing around for?! Get over here and help me!”

Seeing Lin Xiao getting closer and closer, the fear and panic in An Baichen’s heart intensified. He mustered his breath and roared at the nearby Blazing Sun Martial Hall disciples.

At the sound of his voice, the students snapped out of their daze. They swarmed forward to protect An Baichen and began shouting at Lin Xiao:

“Bastard! Do you even know what you’ve done?!”

“Son of a bitch! How dare you hurt our senior brother! Are you tired of living?!”

“Kid, you’re practically begging for death!”

“Everyone, get him! Avenge Senior Brother!”

Some hot-tempered disciples charged at Lin Xiao, fists raised and furious. But though they shouted boldly, in truth, their courage was only skin-deep. They had no real intention of fighting, they only wanted to buy time and go get reinforcements.

They weren’t fools.

Even An Baichen, the senior brother of the martial hall and ranked fourth on the Southern Rising Stars list, was no match.

What could they do? Rushing in was just suicide.

But Lin Xiao’s eyes filled with disgust as he watched the students buzzing around him and spouting nonsense.

Suddenly, he raised a foot and kicked the leading student square in the stomach.

The kick was as fast as lightning and thunderously powerful. The student was sent flying, crashing into several others behind him, knocking them down like bowling pins.

Without stopping, Lin Xiao darted forward like a phantom.

In a flash, he appeared in front of the one who had cursed the loudest and slapped him across the face!

The student spun 360 degrees before crashing to the ground like a ragdoll. Seven or eight bloodied teeth flew from his mouth.

Another slap.

And another.

Within just a few seconds, the sound of slaps echoed continuously. Every single Blazing Sun Martial Hall student was struck down by Lin Xiao, their broken teeth and blood scattering across the ground.

Lin Xiao swept his gaze around. Only when no one around him was still standing did he finally stop.

Seven or eight students lay groaning on the floor—some clutching their stomachs, others holding their cheeks. Each one looked up at Lin Xiao with eyes full of fear.

The onlookers around them were also stunned by Lin Xiao’s brutal methods. They never imagined that this man, who seemed unremarkable at first glance, would be so merciless and decisive once he acted.

These weren’t nobodies. They were students of the Blazing Sun Martial Hall. And Blazing Sun’s backer was the mighty Four Poles Sect. That even included An Baichen, a highly regarded prodigy ranked fourth on the Southern Rising Stars list.

The crowd fell silent. What had once been a noisy scene was now utterly still.

All eyes fell on Lin Xiao, who stood tall and unmoved in the center of it all. In this moment, his not-so-large figure exuded an aura as sharp as a blade.

Lin Xiao, however, paid no mind to what others thought. He acted only to follow his heart. Nothing more.

He walked to An Baichen’s side and looked down at him with calm, deep eyes, devoid of any emotion.

“Now, are you willing to admit defeat?”

An Baichen, gritting his teeth through the pain in his chest, looked down and avoided Lin Xiao’s gaze. His fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails nearly pierced his palms.

In a hoarse voice, he said, “I admit defeat.”

A wise man knows when to yield.

After witnessing Lin Xiao’s ruthlessness firsthand, An Baichen understood—his status meant nothing in this man’s eyes.

“You should’ve said so earlier,” Lin Xiao said blandly and turned to leave.

“Why?” An Baichen gasped, lifting his head with an unwilling expression. “Why are you so strong?”

“Who knows?” Lin Xiao shrugged. “Maybe I’m just lucky.”

“You…” An Baichen nearly spat blood from anger.

Lucky? What a joke!

But Lin Xiao didn’t give him another glance. He simply waved at Chen Lingxin, who was standing not far away. “Let’s go.”

Chen Lingxin’s eyes sparkled with excitement, her gaze glowing with a mysterious brilliance. When she heard Lin Xiao’s words, she obediently walked over to his side.