Chapter 155: Who Do You Think You Are? (Part Two)

When grandmasters clash, the commotion is immense, and swiftly concluding the fight is far from easy. However, when one grandmaster ambushes another, a swift and decisive kill can be achieved in an instant.

Han Li’s disappearance aroused Han Pindao’s suspicion, prompting immediate action. He dispatched senior brothers Xi Yifan and others to tail Han Li and several other seemingly unsupported young contenders—plainly put, to lure him out. Han Pindao did not know who killed Han Li. To that end, he used Xi Yifan and the others as bait, aiming to draw the culprit into the open. In other words, Han Pindao was prepared for Tang Mubai to come knocking.

This newly promoted grandmaster and leader of the Wing Sword Sect, with only a few years in his position, seemed confident enough to leave people behind. After slapping Xi Yifan dead, Tang Mubai returned to the mercenary group's base, donned a human-skin mask, and controlled the “Blood King Pearl,” soaring into the sky toward the Wing Sword Sect. Mid-air, he activated his sixth sense to gauge the level of danger.

The result: there was a threat but no immediate crisis.

Perhaps Han Pindao possessed a treasure or spiritual item that shielded his aura, blocking Tang Mubai’s sensing. Nonetheless, Tang Mubai decided to press on.

Xi Yifan would not return that night. Early the next morning, Han Pindao would know it was Tang Mubai who made the move. At that point, the old man might retaliate against those at the mercenary base to avenge his son’s death. Tang Mubai did not want to see such a thing happen. As the saying goes, better to strike first than suffer later. Since his sixth sense detected no major danger, Tang Mubai was unafraid.

***

The Wing Sword Sect was a grandmaster-level martial arts sect with a vast territory roughly the size of a middle school campus. Under the cloak of night, Tang Mubai descended swiftly, landing atop a building behind the training ground.

Before he could pinpoint Han Pindao's exact location, he sensed a surging wave of vital energy emanating from the building beneath his feet and an adjacent structure to the right. Alongside this was a sharp, penetrating aura swirling between the buildings, reaching toward the heavens.

“Since a friend has come, why not come down for a cup of tea?” a calm voice echoed through the air, reverberating between the buildings and across the training ground.

Tang Mubai raised an eyebrow and lightly descended. His black-and-white long hair gave him the guise of “Master Hong,” expressionless as he entered the spacious hall with open doors.

Opposite the entrance, Han Pindao leisurely sipped tea. He did not even glance up as Tang Mubai entered.

When Tang Mubai stopped ten paces from him, Han Pindao finally set down his cup, his calm gaze fixing on Tang Mubai. With a slight squint and a surprised smile, he remarked, “I didn’t expect the famous Master Hong to come knocking—truly a rare guest.”

“Please, Master Hong, have a seat,” Han Pindao gestured toward a fine wooden chair to his right.

Tang Mubai remained motionless, extending his sensory perception to the maximum level of twenty, scanning the surroundings.

To his surprise, he found no source of threat—perhaps Han Pindao himself was the threat.

With this thought, Tang Mubai abandoned pleasantries and darted toward Han Pindao like lightning.

Boom!

Han Pindao raised his hand, swirling sword energy in his palm that instantly formed a vortex, attempting to block Tang Mubai’s charge.

Yet, a terrifying brute force shattered the sword vortex, sending Han Pindao crashing backward into the wall, creating a large hole.

Amid flying debris, Han Pindao roared and counterattacked, merging his hands to forge a thick sword energy blade, slashing down at Tang Mubai.

Tang Mubai advanced rather than retreated, closing the distance before the sword energy could descend and struck Han Pindao’s chest with a pure, raw punch.

Bang!

Han Pindao staggered back, his face flushed red, and the sword energy between his hands dissipated on its own.

He crashed through the rear wall, his feet pounding the ground, leaving seven deep prints in the concrete before barely coming to a stop.

In the next moment, he bellowed, producing four dark gold spheres the size of ping pong balls from his waist, controlling them with his aura to circle around him.

Then, he pushed off the ground, rebounding toward Tang Mubai and launching an attack.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

The four spheres streaked through the air, targeting Tang Mubai’s chest, head, throat, and thigh respectively.

Tang Mubai dodged step by step, the spheres closely pursuing him, gradually orbiting his body, swirling continuously.

Until suddenly—

Buzz!

The air trembled abruptly.

All four spheres simultaneously burst forth a blue light, connecting to form a luminous barrier enveloping Tang Mubai completely.

Instantly, Tang Mubai felt his internal vital energy forcibly suppressed by an invisible power, unable to be summoned.

Suppressing vital energy!

These four spheres were a complete set of treasures, their purpose to suppress the flow of vital energy and prevent its use.

A grandmaster’s vital energy often exceeds ten thousand units, constituting most of his power.

If the vital energy is immobilized, it’s as if seventy percent of his strength is lost in an instant.

This was one of Han Pindao’s trump cards!

Had Xi Yifan not warned him in advance, Tang Mubai would have been caught off guard.

But now...

Tang Mubai ceased his assault, standing firm as he observed the grim-faced Han Pindao and slowly approached.

Without a hint of agitation, he activated his “Temperature Control” technique, raising the temperature around his body to burn the four spheres.

This was Tang Mubai’s premeditated countermeasure.

While Han Pindao’s spheres were treasures, they had a weakness: aside from absolute force, they feared both ice and fire.

Whether frozen or burned, their suppression of vital energy could be nullified.

As Han Pindao neared within ten meters, four muffled explosions rang out as the dark gold spheres burst simultaneously.

Han Pindao, who had been smirking coldly, was stunned at the sight.

“You…”

“Use whatever tricks you have left, now’s the time!” Tang Mubai growled, withdrawing the temperature control and charging with brute force.

“Seeking death!” Han Pindao shouted furiously, retreating rapidly as he spread his hands toward a nearby building.

Buzz buzz—

Two identical long swords emitted a vibrating hum as they shattered a window and flew out, lightning-fast, landing in Han Pindao’s hands.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

With twin swords in hand, Han Pindao’s aura surged powerfully, mobilizing over a thousand units of vital energy to unleash a sword attack on Tang Mubai.

Tang Mubai stepped back, causing Han Pindao’s sword energy to strike empty ground, gouging two trenches over ten meters long in the training field.

The deafening crash echoed in all directions, accompanied by flying debris and dust.

Pale, chilling malevolent energy drifted in the air, winding wildly.

Spirit weapons!

Han Pindao’s twin swords were spirit weapons, both imbued with a cold yin attribute.

Combined with his icy sword style, the sword energy felt like being trapped in a frozen hell, chilling to the bone.

Tang Mubai evaded swiftly but was still grazed by minor sword energies—cold and sinister, attempting to pierce his body.

Without hesitation, Tang Mubai summoned the Flame Bone Blade, activating its internal fire energy and wrapping himself in fire-attributed aura, dispelling the yin-cold sword energies while forging a protective aura around his body.

“Sizzle sizzle…”

The clash of icy and fiery energies in the air emitted strange sounds, stirring the void and raising wisps of pale smoke.

Han Pindao’s swords were spirit weapons; without using the Flame Bone Blade, Tang Mubai would be overwhelmed.

Moreover, the “Two Polarity Sword Energy” technique was reserved for a killing blow.

Tang Mubai dared not recklessly unleash the remaining two energies of “Two Polarity Sword Energy” before the critical moment.

If Han Pindao evaded, it would be difficult to kill him afterward.

Though the Flame Bone Blade’s energy was low, as a spirit weapon, combined with fiery aura, it was sufficient to withstand Han Pindao’s assault.

Boom!

The air exploded with sound.

The clash of cold and blazing energies on the open training ground was fierce and thunderous.

Thanks to this confidence, Tang Mubai braved the turbulent shockwave and surged rapidly toward Han Pindao.

Grandmasters indeed had over ten thousand units of vital energy.

But not every battle drew on the full amount.

Especially for newly minted grandmasters, though their vital energy might be around ten thousand units, sudden full bursts were powerful but risky—if the attack missed and the opponent dodged, the short recovery time could lead to dire straits or death.

Thus, most often, grandmasters employ between one to three thousand units of vital energy per attack.

Han Pindao had only been a grandmaster for three years, with about eleven thousand units of vital energy.

He typically mobilized around one thousand units per attack.

This gave Tang Mubai an opening.

Each strike expended a bit over a thousand units of vital energy. Despite the Flame Bone Blade’s dwindling energy, he blocked Han Pindao’s sharp sword techniques and, relying on his formidable physique to withstand the continuous shockwaves, closed the distance to Han Pindao and activated the “Tai Chi Heart Sutra.”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The yin-cold aura Han Pindao released was instantly controlled and reversed by Tang Mubai.

The power of the sword energy dropped sharply.

“You…”

Roar!

Han Pindao shouted, but Tang Mubai gave no chance, surging the last reserves of energy in the Flame Bone Blade, enhanced by fiery aura, and swung down a powerful strike.

Bang!

Han Pindao, caught off guard, was struck squarely by the blazing blade.

The violent energy surged through him, lifting him off the ground. While airborne, he spat several mouthfuls of clotted blood, his face pale as paper, before flying backward over ten meters.

Swish!

Tang Mubai pursued swiftly, swinging his blade down heavily again.

“Stop!”

A sharp command rang out suddenly from above.

Tang Mubai seemed not to hear and continued his assault, cutting toward Han Pindao.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion followed.

The scorching blade energy poured onto Han Pindao, unleashing a violent force that buried him in a pit three to four meters deep and over ten meters in radius, blasted into the hard concrete ground.

Cracks radiated from the pit’s edges like a spiderweb, spreading across the training field.

Han Pindao lay motionless at the bottom, drenched in blood, seemingly lifeless.

Yet Tang Mubai did not absorb any life force from him.

Listening closely, he detected a heartbeat—rapid but still strong.

Not dead!

Han Pindao was still alive.

Immediately, Tang Mubai raised his blade, ready to deliver the final blow.

Whoosh—

A gust of wind suddenly swept from behind.

Tang Mubai frowned and shouted coldly, swinging his blade backward.

Boom! Boom!

The blade energy clashed with a massive palm imprint in midair, both dissipating together.

“Didn’t you hear me say stop?”

A lean, long-faced middle-aged man with straight eyebrows hovered five meters above the ground, glaring furiously at Tang Mubai.

“Are you reinforcements Han Pindao called? Or are you from the Anwu Bureau or the Governor’s Office?” Tang Mubai asked in a low voice.

“What do you mean?” the man frowned.

“What do I mean…” Tang Mubai sneered, “If you’re from the Anwu Bureau or Governor’s Office, fine—I’ll stop. But if not, who the hell are you? Why should I listen to you?”

“Well said!”

A loud shout drowned out the middle-aged man’s growl.

From the east and west skies of the training ground, figures flew in swiftly.

Among them, one descended fastest, landing at the edge of the pit where Han Pindao lay, looking down coldly.

“This guy’s not dead yet. That won’t do!” he said, then struck with a palm imprint shaped like a swimming fish, splitting Han Pindao’s body into several pieces.

[Life Force +98]

Tang Mubai’s lips curled in amusement as he studied the newcomer.

“Di Xiaochuan! You’re asking for death!”

The straight-browed middle-aged man roared in anger, his vital energy surging as he prepared to attack.

“Enough!”

A burly figure descended from above, his stern voice echoing, his invisible aura enveloping the training ground, forcing the straight-browed man to halt.

“Director Wu, Di Xiaochuan killed someone right in front of us. Are you just going to let it slide?”

The straight-browed man turned to the burly figure, questioning in a deep voice.

“Dean Kong, you should know why Di Xiaochuan killed Han Pindao,” the burly figure responded coldly. Then, he looked at Tang Mubai with a smile. “Master Hong, we meet again.”

“Director Wu knows the whole story?” Tang Mubai asked flatly.

After their last meeting, Tang Mubai had researched this burly man, who bore a scar beneath his left eye.

He was none other than Wu Weilan, Director of the Anwu Bureau in Hongye City.

“Yes,” Wu Weilan nodded. “Han Pindao’s son, Han Li, went missing. To avenge him, Han Pindao targeted several individuals. Di Xiaochuan’s daughter, Di Shuangshuang, is among them. Han Pindao sent disciples to kill her, but Di Xiaochuan discovered this first, captured her for interrogation, and uncovered Han Pindao as the mastermind.”

“Whether Han Pindao ordered the killings remains debatable. But Di Xiaochuan killing someone is an indisputable fact!” the straight-browed man declared coldly.

“What, Dean Kong, are you trying to avenge Han Pindao?” Di Xiaochuan shot him an angry glare.

“And who might you be?” Tang Mubai asked the straight-browed man.

“Oh, this is Dean Kong Lingxia from the Canghe Martial Arts Academy’s Combat Institute,” Wu Weilan introduced.

Canghe Martial Arts Academy?