Chapter 145: Do Your Worst

Captain Kong was a nervous wreck. The two people before him were unfathomably powerful; going up against them would be suicide.

The only reason he had come upstairs was to get Li Xue out of there as quickly as possible.

But he never expected the two of them to be faster. There was no time to escape.

Four of Li Xue's experts surrounded the intruders.

Resolute and determined, they were already prepared to sacrifice their lives.

Tang Shihuo glanced at them, his eyes filled with disdain.

"You lot? Just a bunch of amateurs. I'll let you take your best shot."

The four men's fists and feet rained down on Tang Shihuo, but to no effect.

His body was like it was cast from bronze.

He didn't react at all to their blows.

At this point, what else could they do?

"Had enough? My turn!" Tang Shihuo raised his arms, grabbed two of the men by the shoulders, lifted them up, and violently smashed them together.

In a mess of blood and broken flesh, the two men fell limply to the ground, knocked unconscious.

Li Xue was terrified. The experts she had handpicked couldn't even withstand Tang Shihuo's attack.

'Just how strong is this man?!'

Tang Shihuo beckoned to Li Xue and pointed at his waist. "Come sit. You can do the work yourself."

When had Li Xue ever suffered such humiliation!

As the old saying goes, a gentleman can be killed but not humiliated. What Tang Shihuo was doing was treating her as less than human!

Yang Qitian strode forward, grabbed Li Xue's shoulder, and started dragging her toward Tang Shihuo. "Hurry up! Or I'll slash your face!"

To a woman, her face was more important than her life. Li Xue was terrified, but she wasn't just anyone. If she gave in just to save her face, she might as well be dead.

Her grandfather had told her that if the company was lost, it could be rebuilt, but if her integrity was lost, then everything was over.

She clenched her jaw, shut her eyes, and did nothing.

This infuriated Yang Qitian. He pulled out a small knife from his belt and brandished it.

"Help my Senior Brother undo his belt! Or I'll make it so you can't show your face in public for the rest of your life!"

"You've got some nerve, laying a hand on President Li. Cut off your own hands and feet, and I'll spare your life."

A calm voice drifted into the office. The moment Li Xue heard it, she felt her courage return.

Mu Lin!

Yang Qitian whipped his head around, his eyes turning red.

"You dare show your face!"

With his hands behind his back, Mu Lin said calmly, "Why wouldn't I? You, on the other hand… where did you get this kind of courage? Don't you know this place is under my protection?"

"Under your protection?" Yang Qitian narrowed his eyes. "That's even more reason for me to be here!"

"Do you know who I am?" Yang Qitian asked, pointing to himself.

"I don't know, and I don't care to."

"I am Yang Qitian! My grandfather is the Patriarch of the Yang Family, and you killed my father and my older brother!"

Mu Lin chuckled. "Ah, a remnant of the Yang Family. You delivered yourself to my doorstep. Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down."

Tang Shihuo couldn't stand hearing this. His gaze sharpened. "'Remnant of the Yang Family,' eh? You don't take me, Tang Shihuo, seriously, is that it? If you know what's good for you, kill yourself on the spot. Otherwise, I'll make you understand the true meaning of pain!"

"Tang Shihuo? Who's that? Never heard of him."

But the two bodyguards still standing off to the side felt a chill run down their spines.

Tang Shihuo was a notorious figure in the Jianghu. He never cared about right or wrong; if he decided to do something, he would do it.

His methods were cruel, and he would kill more than a dozen people on every mission.

However, since his victims were mostly Martial Artists, the Government couldn't interfere with him.

'How could Mu Lin have never heard of such a major figure?'

Tang Shihuo chuckled. "That makes sense. All my acquaintances are six feet under. I'll send you down to join them, and you can ask them yourself."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Tang Shihuo shot toward Mu Lin like a beam of light.

Mu Lin calmly dodged the blow. "Pathetic."

Tang Shihuo was also stunned. His attacks had always succeeded on the first strike. When had he ever met someone who could survive a single round against him?

Mu Lin wasn't the first, but such people were extremely rare.

A cruel smirk flashed across his lips as he lunged toward Li Xue, his killing intent flaring.

Rumor had it that Mu Lin and Li Xue had a special relationship. If he attacked her, Mu Lin would be forced to step in and block him.

'And if he doesn't block,' Tang Shihuo thought, 'that's fine too. A woman like this who doesn't know her place deserves to die.'

When Li Xue saw Tang Shihuo lunging at her, the color drained from her face, and she stumbled backward.

Seeing this, Mu Lin had no choice but to flash over and block Tang Shihuo's path, positioning himself in front of Li Xue.

Everything was going exactly as Tang Shihuo had predicted. He let out a triumphant roar.

Mu Lin's eyes narrowed. Something felt off.

Tang Shihuo's aura felt very familiar, as if he'd encountered it somewhere before.

But before he could figure it out, Tang Shihuo's attack arrived.

He leaped into the air, aiming a palm strike at Mu Lin's head.

'I remember now. Isn't he the same as that guy from last night?'

Mu Lin's eyes lit up. He had been quite regretful after killing Jin Guangshi last night. Such a valuable source of information, beaten to death by his own hand.

'What if someone else comes next time, and I kill them too? Wouldn't the mastermind behind all this be overjoyed?'

'I don't have much time. I have to pull this problem out by the roots!'

'Maybe I can use him for some practice? To get a better handle on my strength?'

'It'll make things easier the next time I catch one of these new bastards!'

At this thought, Mu Lin's entire demeanor brightened.

His gaze on Tang Shihuo suddenly became much more pleasant.

He was no longer in a hurry to kill him. Instead, he calmly reached out a hand, placed it on Tang Shihuo's attack, and neutralized its force.

Tang Shihuo found it strange. 'Why has Mu Lin's killing intent vanished?'

But Mu Lin was still fighting very seriously, every move aimed at suppressing Tang Shihuo.

Tang Shihuo had to execute multiple moves just to neutralize each of Mu Lin's attacks.

In his eyes, this was a humiliation.

"Can you fight properly? Or I'll annihilate you!"

Tang Shihuo grit his teeth, tapped a point on his shoulder, and drew out his Gang Qi to cover his entire body.

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes. "Your technique… it's very similar to someone I met yesterday."

Tang Shihuo thought of his junior master, who hadn't returned all night. "You've seen him?" he cried out.

"I have," Mu Lin saw no reason to hide it.

"Where is he now?"

"I hit him too hard and killed him," Mu Lin said with a hint of melancholy. "If I had gone a little easier, he might have been salvageable."

'What kind of thing is that to say!'

Jin Guangshi's strength wasn't something to be trifled with; he couldn't be killed so easily.

He was the pride of their sect.

Tang Shihuo roared in fury, "You're lying! I'll kill you!"

In his rage, the Gang Qi around him condensed even further, seemingly breaking through to a new level and becoming incredibly dazzling.

But it was still not at the level of Jin Guangshi's that Mu Lin had seen before.

Mu Lin, however, thought this was great. 'If I can beat Tang Shihuo without killing him, then I'll be able to do the same and suppress any future assassins.'

'I can tie them up and interrogate them. The results should be excellent.'

He had practiced for a long time last night, and now he finally had a chance to test it out!

'Let's do this!'

Mu Lin raised his hand, gathering his energy into his palm, and struck down.

Tang Shihuo sneered and puffed out his chest to meet the blow.

CRACK!

With a crisp sound, the Gang Qi over Tang Shihuo's chest instantly shattered.

Tang Shihuo's eyes widened in disbelief. 'How did he do that?!'

'How is this possible?!'

What was it that he relied on to roam the world with such confidence?

He relied on his sheer nerve, and he relied on this Protective Gang Qi that had never once been broken!

He never imagined that Mu Lin possessed such Divine Power that he could utterly shatter his Protective Gang Qi.

Mu Lin's eyes narrowed. "It worked! He's not dead!"

What the hell? Tang Shihuo's eyes bulged. 'Is this guy even human? What is he saying?'

Mu Lin pushed with one palm, and Tang Shihuo was slammed hard against the wall.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth; he had clearly suffered severe internal injuries.

Ignoring the pain, Tang Shihuo groaned:

"Junior Brother! He… He killed Junior Master Jin!"

Yang Qitian's eyes widened, completely unable to believe this was real.

'No! No way!'

"If even Junior Master Jin died at his hands, then aren't we doomed?"

Tang Shihuo roared, "You fool, Junior Brother! Run! Run now!"

"You have to tell the sect! The plan has changed! Everything has to change!"

Mu Lin didn't give chase. Instead, he squatted down and looked at Tang Shihuo, who was slumped in the corner.

"So, what you're saying is, there's an entire sect behind you, right?"

Tang Shihuo realized he might have said too much and grew flustered.

He didn't want to say any more.

But Mu Lin just smiled. "Oh, come on. Say a few more words, for the sake of me not having killed you."

Tang Shihuo's jaw trembled, and then blood began to pour from the corners of his mouth.

He had bitten off his own tongue, resolute and decisive.

Sigh.

'A man who doesn't even fear death… it would be impossible to get anything out of him.'

'Well, there's always tomorrow. As long as I let Yang Qitian go, I won't have to worry about a shortage of people from his sect coming to seek revenge.'

'And then, I'll wipe them all out.'