After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he turned around. Meanwhile, Evan Chu kept glancing anxiously in every direction, hoping Old Man Xu would show up soon.
A minute passed quickly. The middle-aged man turned around and saw that Evan Chu hadn't relieved himself at all. Instantly enraged, he shouted, "Kid, you actually dared to mess with me! I'm going to make sure you die a horrible death."
"Hey! Don't get so worked up, alright? I didn't run off—I'm just a little nervous, that's all," Evan Chu said.
"Trying to sweet-talk your way out? Kid, you're still too green to play mind games with me. I've lost all patience with you—get ready to die!" The middle-aged man raised his longsword, preparing to attack as he finished speaking.
"Hey, Old Man—you finally showed up!" Evan Chu shouted loudly.
That shout made the middle-aged man freeze for a moment. He immediately understood who Evan Chu meant by 'Old Man,' and hurriedly glanced all around. Evan seized the opportunity to unleash Shifting Position and darted away at top speed.
The middle-aged man immediately realized Evan Chu had tricked him. "Kid, you're too damn shameless!" He'd been fooled by this brat twice now—if word got out, he'd lose all face. Furious, he rushed after Evan.
Evan Chu was fast, but the middle-aged man was even faster. Still, Evan was running toward the city, hoping to shorten the time it would take Old Man Xu to reach him.
The wind roared past his ears as Evan pushed Shifting Position to its limit. Unfortunately, he still couldn't blend wind element into the technique—otherwise, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state.
The middle-aged man was getting closer and closer. After about five hundred meters, he caught up. Evan Chu stopped and grinned, "Hey, my backup's here! If you want to run, there's still time. Otherwise, don't blame me for not warning you!"
At that moment, seeing Old Man Xu appear, the middle-aged man was shocked. He'd heard long ago that this old man had reached the second layer of the Heaven Martial Realm—and maybe even broken through to the third. There was no way he could win; he had to figure out how to escape.
If he'd just killed Evan a bit earlier, he'd be long gone by now, and wouldn't have run into this damned old monster.
"Hey, masked man, thinking of running? If you dare, I bet the old man here will let you enjoy the most wonderful sensations in the world—and sing the most beautiful songs while you're at it!" Evan shouted, finally feeling safe now that Old Man Xu was here.
Evan's words hit the assassin right in his weak spot, leaving him stuck between running and fighting. He was definitely going to run—the only question was how.
"Kid, what do you mean by 'wonderful sensations' and 'beautiful songs'?" Old Man Xu asked, genuinely confused.
"You really want to know?" Evan shot back.
"Nope!"
"Tch!" Evan snorted. "Actually, you do want to know—you're just too embarrassed to ask. But since you worked so hard, I'll graciously explain:"
"The 'wonderful sensation' is having every meridian snapped and your bones crushed to powder. As for the 'beautiful songs,' those are the pig-like screams you'll make while enjoying all that—unless you stay silent, but if you do scream, trust me, it'll be music to anyone's ears. The kind of gut-wrenching howls you hear when pigs are slaughtered."
The middle-aged man heard every word loud and clear. Kill him if you must, but don't humiliate him! His eyes practically spat fire. "Kid, you talk too much!"
With that, he swung his longsword at Evan, not caring anymore whether he could take on Old Man Xu.
"Old man, this guy's all yours. I'll cheer you on from the sidelines!" Evan darted aside as the assassin charged.
"Kid, you really can't shut up!" Old Man Xu shot back, then unleashed a powerful palm strike.
Evan could feel the force of that palm—at least ten thousand pounds, easy—even standing ten meters behind. He was being pulled toward Old Man Xu, and dead branches and weeds from all around were swept up and hurled at the assassin in an instant.
The middle-aged man's sword strike was powerful too; he shredded all the debris in a single blow. But when the sword tip was still two meters from Old Man Xu, it stopped dead.
After about five seconds of stalemate, the assassin was blasted backward, flying several meters before crashing to the ground, blood trickling from his mouth—clearly suffering internal injuries.
Evan stared, eyes wide. He hadn't expected Old Man Xu to be this strong—the assassin's sword hadn't even gotten close. Damn, that was badass.
The middle-aged man slowly got up, his bamboo hat and veil knocked off to reveal a face pale as paper. He wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "Dean Xu, your strength is truly impressive!"
He raised his sword again, fire element blazing around the tip. Just as Evan thought he was about to unleash something even stronger, the man suddenly spun around and bolted into the distance.
Dean Xu didn't chase him; he just watched the man vanish. Evan was totally confused. "Old man, why didn't you go after him and finish him off?"
"Kid, you think I didn't want to? I'm injured too!" Dean Xu snapped, and before he could hold it back, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Old man, you... you're hurt?"
Evan could feel the force of that palm—at least ten thousand pounds, easy—even standing ten meters behind. He was being pulled toward Old Man Xu, and dead branches and weeds from all around were swept up and hurled at the assassin in an instant.
The middle-aged man's sword strike was powerful too; he shredded all the debris in a single blow. But when the sword tip was still two meters from Old Man Xu, it stopped dead.
After about five seconds of stalemate, the assassin was blasted backward, flying several meters before crashing to the ground, blood trickling from his mouth—clearly suffering internal injuries.
Evan stared, eyes wide. He hadn't expected Old Man Xu to be this strong—the assassin's sword hadn't even gotten close. Damn, that was badass.
The middle-aged man slowly got up, his bamboo hat and veil knocked off to reveal a face pale as paper. He wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "Dean Xu, your strength is truly impressive!"
He raised his sword again, fire element blazing around the tip. Just as Evan thought he was about to unleash something even stronger, the man suddenly spun around and bolted into the distance.
Dean Xu didn't chase him; he just watched the man vanish. Evan was totally confused. "Old man, why didn't you go after him and finish him off?"
"Kid, you think I didn't want to? I'm injured too!" Dean Xu snapped, and before he could hold it back, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Old man, you... you're hurt?"