Chapter 152: [Striking First]

Snap!

With two crisp, brittle cracks of bone, Ma Chengrui's left arm and left leg were swiftly shattered underfoot.

The excruciating pain wrung a shrill, piercing shriek from Ma Chengrui.

Yet the cry lasted barely a second before Tang Mubai cut it short. A heavy blow to the abdomen drained Ma Chengrui's face of all color, cold sweat pouring down, leaving him gasping and choking, unable to utter a sound.

Waiting for Ma Chengrui to catch his breath, Tang Mubai crouched down, patted the other's face, and said coldly, "Tell Han Li that if he has the capability, he can defeat me in the ring!"

With that, Tang Mubai delivered another kick, sending Ma Chengrui flying into a wall corner. The agony doubled him up like a boiled prawn, once again robbing him of his voice.

Having delivered the warning, Tang Mubai turned and walked away.

As he strolled slowly toward the alley entrance, Tang Mubai pondered how this matter might unfold.

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed!

In this incident, Han Li's character and nature were laid bare without a shred of concealment.

Insidious! Ruthless! Unscrupulous!

To achieve his ends, he resorted to backroom deals, and when his opponent refused, he crippled them.

Would a person like this simply let things go because of a minor display of strength and a warning about Ma Chengrui?

One had to remember that Han Li's father—Han Pindao, the master of the Winged Sword Sect—was a Grandmaster!

Indeed, Tang Mubai knew all about the Winged Sword Sect and Han Pindao.

Three years ago, when Han Pindao broke through to become a Grandmaster, he hosted a massive banquet, setting up hundreds of tables along the street, open to any martial artist who wished to dine.

When Tang Mubai had gone with his father to the feast, he saw that every single guest possessed an extraordinary background and immense status.

Even the Governor of Redleaf City had attended in person!

Afterward, Tang Mubai had been consumed with envy, declaring that life would be complete if his father were also a Grandmaster.

Once someone broke through to Grandmaster rank:
The Martial Arts Association, the Military, the Governor's Mansion, the Bureau of Martial Security, major top-tier sects, corporations...
Virtually every powerful department and elite faction would dispatch representatives or come in person to offer congratulations.

It was no exaggeration to say that any Grandmaster stood as a symbol of the city they resided in.

With Han Pindao as his backing, it was hardly surprising that Han Li looked down on everyone.

Backed by such power, Tang Mubai's warning must have seemed like a joke to Han Li!

Not only had Tang Mubai rejected the backroom deal, but he had also crippled Ma Chengrui. If he were Han Li, what would he do?

Beat him completely crippled! Reduce him to a useless husk!

Rather than outright murder, leaving a man alive as a broken wretch, suffering night and day of endless torment, was the ultimate pleasure.

If Tang Mubai was ruined, what kind of end awaited his little cousin and Xu Dalu?

Clearly, none good!

And they would inevitably drag Yang Kai, Miri, and Mi Wu down with them.

Why had Tang Mubai kept such a low profile all this time, trying his best not to expose his abnormalities?

He had feared that growing too strong too quickly would attract the attention of certain people, arousing greed and leading them to "seize" his gains. Not only would he place himself in grave danger, but he would also implicate others.

Throughout his life, Tang Mubai had never asked for much—whether back on Earth or after crossing over into this New World.

He had been content to make the mercenary group left by his father prosperous and to raise his little cousin.

In this New World, his late father's greatest wish had been to see the "Miracle" mercenary group ranked among the top ten in Redleaf City!

This had now become Tang Mubai's own goal.

Hunting down non-human life forms everywhere to grow stronger was simply a way to build the capital needed to stand firm.

If the leader of a mercenary group lacked strength, how could he command respect?

Even entering the tournament to showcase his archery and movement techniques had an element of promotion to it.

Yet Tang Mubai had never expected that as early as the preliminary rounds, someone would already be gunning for him!

An arrogant, conceited fellow consumed by jealousy, backed by a Grandmaster, had tried to bar him from continuing in the competition.

Angered, Tang Mubai had directly crippled his lackey, Ma Chengrui.

In other words, a blood feud had been forged between Tang Mubai and Han Li, one that could no longer be resolved.

Instead of waiting for Han Li to discover that he had crippled Ma Chengrui and come seeking revenge, threatening his little cousin and the others, Tang Mubai might as well strike first and eliminate Han Li.

Since he had already taken action, he would see it through to the end!

Strike first to gain the upper hand!

Take out Han Li!

Walking and thinking, Tang Mubai reached the alley entrance, a firm resolution settling in his heart.

He pivoted on his heel and walked back to the corner where Ma Chengrui had collapsed.

The latter was frantically tapping at a smartphone with a shattered screen.

"Who are you trying to call?" Tang Mubai asked softly.

Clatter!

Ma Chengrui trembled violently, his hands shaking so badly that the phone slipped from his grasp onto the ground.

With immense difficulty, he raised his head, squeezed out a forced, dry smile, and croaked, "No... no one..."

"Don't be nervous. It doesn't matter if you call Han Li. In fact, I've been meaning to pay him a visit and have a little chat with him myself. By the way, do you happen to know where Han Li usually hangs out at night? Does anyone else know he sent you to contact me?" Tang Mubai asked indifferently.

"I... I..." Ma Chengrui shivered, trembling so hard he couldn't speak.

"What's wrong? Do you not know, or do you not want to say?" Tang Mubai grinned.

"I... I only know that Han Li goes to the 'Ding Shang' restaurant every night to eat, and then practices his swordplay on the top floor until eleven o'clock before going home," Ma Chengrui stammered in terror. "A... as for contacting you, o... only the two of us knew about it."

"Are you sure?" Tang Mubai pushed his perception to its absolute limit.

"Positive!" Ma Chengrui gritted his teeth.

"Very well," Tang Mubai smiled. "This Ding Shang? You mean the Ding Shang Grand Hotel?"

"Y... yes." Ma Chengrui's face was ashen as he nodded stiffly.

"Thank you for the information," Tang Mubai grinned. "I'm quite satisfied with your honesty. As a reward, I'll grant you a quick death!"

Thud!

A fierce stomp landed squarely on Ma Chengrui's chest, shattering his heart meridians and ending his life instantly.

[Vitality +78]

The absorption notification flashed across his mind.

Tang Mubai circulated the Rolling Cloud Hand infused with fire-attribute genuine qi, pressing his palm against Ma Chengrui's corpse. The wind fanned the flames, and the flames fed on the wind; the two forces combined to directly consume Ma Chengrui's body, reducing it entirely to ashes.

He then picked up Ma Chengrui's phone, removed the SIM card and snapped it in two, crushing the device itself into fragments.

Finally, he wiped away all traces of the scene, cleaned up meticulously, and made sure nothing had been overlooked.

Only then did Tang Mubai dust off his hands, turn around, and step out of the dim alley.

Back on the main street, he glanced around to ensure no one was paying attention, got into his car, and drove away.

Destination: Ding Shang Grand Hotel!

...

There was little doubt that this Ding Shang Grand Hotel was either an enterprise owned by the Winged Sword Sect or one that had sworn allegiance to it.

Once someone broke through to Grandmaster, various corporations and enterprises would automatically offer shares to curry favor and seek protection.

With Han Pindao as his backing, Han Li enjoyed all kinds of conveniences.

The Ding Shang Grand Hotel was surely just one of them.

Driving all the way, Tang Mubai arrived at the street corner where the Ding Shang Grand Hotel was located.

Instead of driving straight in, he made a detour into another street, drove a short distance further, found an underground parking garage, and parked his car.

Before stepping out, Tang Mubai grabbed his bow and arrows, leaped upward from a secluded corner, and soared into the air.

He moved at high speed across the rooftops.

Soon, he reached the top of a commercial building roughly two hundred meters away from the Ding Shang Grand Hotel. Standing at the edge against the wind, he focused his vision and scanned the top floor of the hotel.

A moment later, he indeed spotted Han Li's figure inside the brightly lit, spacious, and empty top-floor practice room, wielding a long sword and flashing streaks of sword light.

Through the massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a figure continuously shifted positions.

Without rushing to attack, Tang Mubai withdrew his gaze, surveyed the surroundings, sensed the nearby movements, and calculated the angle of elevation from his vantage point.

After confirming repeatedly that no one was paying attention, Tang Mubai drew an arrow and nocked it onto his war bow.

Target: Han Li, who was still practicing his swordplay!

He aimed, locked on with the power of the Sky-Rending Divine Arrow, and released the draw—

Whoosh~!

Moving at an extreme speed that tore through the air, the arrow emitted a sharp whistling sound.

Leaving the string, the arrow streaked across the night sky, pierced straight through the floor-to-ceiling glass window on the twenty-fifth floor of the Ding Shang Grand Hotel building, and struck with absolute precision right into the head of Han Li—who had just sensed the crisis but was too slow to dodge—entering through the left temple and exiting the right!

Maintaining his sword-swinging posture, Han Li didn't make a sound as he pitched forward and collapsed.

The punctured glass window chimed with a faint, crisp sound as a spiderweb of cracks rippled outward.

At the center of the cracks, a clean round hole opened to the night wind, which whistled softly through it.

[Vitality +81]

The absorption notification flashed through his mind.

Tang Mubai's heart settled completely. He put away his war bow, turned, and leaped back toward the direction he had come from.

Arriving back at the underground parking garage, he started his car and prepared to head home.

Just a second before the car began to move, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Tang Mubai realized that killing Han Li this way left a gaping loophole!

Assassinating Han Li with an arrow was tantamount to telling Han Pindao that the killer was an archery master.

And as it happened, Tang Mubai had caused a sensation with his archery and movement techniques during the tournament over the past few days.

Others might not have known Han Li's target, but Han Pindao, as his father, certainly understood his son's temperament. The stronger Tang Mubai's abilities proved to be, the deeper Han Li's hatred would have been.

Coupled with the fact that Ma Chengrui had vanished without a trace—neither corpse nor shadow found—Han Pindao would suspect Tang Mubai with a ninety-nine percent certainty.

Once a Grandmaster locked onto a suspect, regardless of whether the suspicion was true or false, their usual method was to strike first and ask questions later!

Therefore, this method of killing Han Li was flawed; he had acted too impulsively.

...

Realizing this, Tang Mubai parked the car once more, left the garage, and retraced his steps back to his previous sniper spot. He scanned the surroundings once again, carefully sensing if anyone was paying attention.

Convinced the area was clear, Tang Mubai activated the Flying Sky-Dance Technique, rapidly flying over to the exterior of the glass window on the top floor of the building where Han Li had died. He opened a sealed skylight from the outside and slipped inside.

The moment he entered, he first destroyed the surveillance cameras. Then, swiftly approaching Han Li's corpse, he circulated the Rolling Cloud Hand combined with fire-attribute genuine qi, destroying Han Li's body beyond recognition in the exact same manner he had done with Ma Chengrui.

The entire process took less than three minutes.

Just as Han Li was being reduced to ashes, his enhanced hearing caught the sound of chaotic footsteps and shouting echoing from the hallway outside the room.

Before anyone could burst in, Tang Mubai stopped circulating his qi, grabbed his arrows, and charged fiercely toward the floor-to-ceiling glass window where the arrow hole had been pierced.

"Crash!"

Amidst a deafening shatter, Tang Mubai smashed through the glass, burst out of the room, and leaped downward.

Mid-air, he executed the Flying Sky-Dance Technique, arced through the air, soared upward, and vanished into a dark corner on the ground.

Inside the top-floor practice room of the Ding Shang Building, the group of people who burst in to find the room empty were struck dumb with terror and shock.

One entire floor-to-ceiling window was shattered, yet Han Li was nowhere to be found.

Had the Young Sect Master jumped to his death, or had he been abducted?

Recovering from their panic, half of the terrified crowd rushed out of the room to search the lower floors.

The other half snatched up their phones, dialing frantically to report the incident.

Total chaos erupted as everyone felt as though the sky were falling.

...

Back in the underground parking garage once again, Tang Mubai felt as though dawn had finally broken.

The gloomy shadow hanging over his heart instantly vanished with the complete disappearance of Han Li and Ma Chengrui.

This unprovoked disaster could now be safely put behind him.

Whether Han Li had jumped to his death or been kidnapped and killed, Han Pindao would not suspect him anytime soon.

The strength Tang Mubai had displayed publicly was only at the "Professional Third Grade." Although his footwork was exceptional and his archery superb, pulling off a feat like storming the top floor of the Ding Shang Building and making a leisurely escape within a matter of minutes was fundamentally impossible for someone of that level!

And that was enough.

Tang Mubai didn't fear Han Pindao, but he had no desire to invite unnecessary trouble.

With the problem resolved, he felt light as a feather.

Starting the car, he leisurely drove back to the base.

He accepted his little cousin's adoring cheers and chatted for a while with Fang Shuixian and Xu Dalu.

After washing up, Tang Mubai turned on his computer and went online.

The local forum of Redleaf City was as lively as ever. The East District preliminary matches were proceeding in full swing, while the West, South, and North Districts were equally bustling.

Just like in Tang Mubai and Han Li's case, participants competing in both the youth and adult divisions simultaneously existed in the other three districts as well.

Without exception, these individuals were all formidable experts, praised as top contenders for the championship finals. Each of them excelled in different areas.

Just as Tang Mubai was renowned for his archery and movement techniques, several others were famous for their swordsmanship, palm techniques, leg techniques, and so on.

Not a single person had won through divine weapons or spiritual treasures.

There was a tacit understanding on this point: neither the Governor's Mansion nor the Martial Arts Association had explicitly banned divine weapons or spiritual treasures in the matches, yet no one had brought them out, relying entirely on raw personal strength.

After pondering for a moment, Tang Mubai quickly figured out why.

First, while the Martial Arts Association and Governor's Mansion hadn't forbidden divine weapons or spiritual treasures, they *did* strictly forbid taking lives during the matches.

Yet the might of divine weapons and spiritual treasures was far too immense and difficult to control; a single misstep could easily result in someone's death.

Second, numerous major factions were participating in this competition.

Virtually all of these people had divine weapons or spiritual treasures at their disposal.

If one person used them, others would inevitably follow suit. Once everyone started using divine weapons, the escalating destruction would end up demolishing the entire ring.

At that point, the Governor's Mansion and the Martial Arts Association would undoubtedly step in to intervene.

Suppressed by these two factors, everyone tacitly refrained from deploying divine weapons and spiritual treasures.

This discovery was excellent news for Tang Mubai.

Although he did possess the Flame Bone Saber, and its internal energy had already been largely depleted, he still couldn't use it.

Because the Flame Bone Saber was the weapon of "Grandmaster Hong"!

This was a fact Tang Mubai always kept in mind.

Thus, the fact that no one else was using divine weapons or spiritual treasures suited him down to the ground.

After browsing the web for half an hour with no new developments appearing, Tang Mubai shut down the computer and went to bed.

The next day, he continued participating in the adult division matches.

His turn didn't come up in the morning, but rather in the afternoon.

However, the opponent he drew left Tang Mubai completely speechless.