A female villager had tripped over and fell over the broken path while she attempted to escape the rampaging huge guy. As she lay sprawled over the ground, she could only look up and stare in terror at the laughing and approaching huge guy.

"Ha ha ha ha! You"re mine!"

The demonic martial artist reached out with his hand, getting ready to ensnare her. The lady screamed as his fingers closed around her.

He never grabbed her.

Wham!

I kicked the guy in the face, causing him to stagger back. Flipping myself in midair, I then got under his guard and delivered another Shadow Kick into his gut.

"..."

The guy looked up at me, more astonished at my audacity than hurt. He brushed the mark I left on the front of his shirt and glared at me.

"Who are you?"

"A friend of these guys." even as I spoke, I was helping the lady up and gesturing for her to run. She cast a frightened glance at me, and then ran off.

"Who says you can leave?!"

In a flash, the guy dove after the lady, throwing his hand out to grab hold of her. Just before his fingers could close around her, however…

Bam!

I kicked his hand away, deflecting his fingers and causing the guy to come to a jolting halt. Landing nearby, I pushed my gla.s.ses up to glare at him.

"Who says you can chase her?"

The guy turned to bear down on me, wearing an ugly grin. He looked at me curiously, as if unable to believe that someone would dare to defy him.

"You"re quite the interesting brat, aren"t you?"

"No, I"m a pretty boring person, I a.s.sure you."

One of his eyebrows twitched and the guy swiped at me. I used a footwork technique to dodge. The guy bellowed as he spun around, trying to track me, but I used Tui again to dance out of his reach before he could take my head off.

"f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Stop dancing around!"

Like h.e.l.l I would. Who the f.u.c.k would stand still and let his opponent hit him? I was so going to keep dodging.

On the other hand, despite being so much stronger than me, the rogue martial artist was a little slower. It seemed like he didn"t focus much on his footwork. I might just be able to use my footwork and superior speed to my advantage…

"…did you think I"ll say that?"

"?!"

I never saw the blow coming. There was a blur in the air, and the next thing I knew, something hard and powerful struck me. Even though I crossed my arms to defend myself, I was sent flying across the village and tumbled right into a house. The tremendous impact demolished the structure and sent the whole thing collapsing upon me.

"Gah…! Ugh!"

I coughed from both the blood welling inside my mouth and the dust that fell on top of me, struggling to free myself from the rubble.

"How weak…they sent a Qi Essence Stage pract.i.tioner after us? And a single brat at that? Aren"t they underestimating me too much?"

Scoffing, the guy strolled over to where I was and lifted me out of the heap of debris. I flailed about desperately and he hammered me in the gut.

"ARGH!"

A fountain of blood spurted from my mouth and I nearly blacked out. Coughing and wheezing, I twisted my body in midair and locked my legs around his arm. With a jerk, I snapped his elbow. The guy howled in pain and flung me away.

"d.a.m.n brat!"

To my horror, I realized that I failed to break his arm. The guy was waving his arm in pain, but he seemed more like he had just suffered an annoying insect bite than having lost the function of his arm. Bending it and waving it to make sure nothing was broken, he then slowly turned to glare at me while straightening his right arm.

"f.u.c.king brat. I"m gonna teach you a lesson!"

He lunged at me, forcing me to dive to the side. I hit the ground and rolled, only to see his arm flashing toward me.

There"s no way I"ll be able to dodge that in time!

Fortunately, I had another option. My arms immediately went to the swords strapped to my back and I drew them. In a single motion, I cut the guy"s arm.

"AAAAH!"

The guy stumbled back, clutching his bleeding arm. Despite taking him by surprise, I failed to cut off his arm…or even a single finger of his. But it was still somewhat satisfying to see him bleed. I had finally delivered a significant amount of damage on him!

"f.u.c.king brat! You cut me! You actually cut me!"

I watched him warily, taking a few steps back while holding my swords in front of me in a defensive stance.

"I"ll kill you!"

I swallowed and continued to keep my eye on his towering figure. Despite my constant vigilance, the guy sprang forward and struck me before I could react. I brought my swords up and crossed them on instinct, but even then the ma.s.sive impact from his blow sent me flying backward with a grunt. I stumbled and skidded to a stop, but the guy bore down on me again.

"!"

I tried to dodge the next attack, but his fist slammed into my crossed blades, lifting me off my feet and hurling me across the air again. This time, I managed to flip myself up in midair and slam both my feet against the wall of a nearby house. Sucking in a deep breath, I then launched myself at the burly martial artist and slashed at him.

My counterattack failed to do any damage. The guy reached out and caught both my swords with his bare hand. My eyes widened when I saw the huge amount of qi swirling around his hands and fingers, cloaking them in a protective layer of qi.

"Annoying brat."

Spitting, the guy then slammed his fist into my stomach. I threw up a glob of blood before hurtling away. Such was the power behind the blow that I actually let go of both of my swords before disappearing into the distance.

Bam!

I ended up leveling another house, reducing it to rubble. Coughing from both dust and blood, I struggled to get back to my feet, but red-hot agony lanced through my body. My vision almost blacked out and I fell face first onto the ground.

"Oi, oi, you done already?"

The guy seized my hair and yanked my bloodied head up. Kneeling beside me, he leered at my battered condition.

"How weak…what a joke, wanting to fight a Qi Fusion Stage pract.i.tioner even though you"re only at the Qi Essence Stage."

He then smashed me back against the ground. I yelped in agony and surprise as my body slammed into the rocks, pulverizing them into sand. I almost lost consciousness from the explosive pain that detonated across my body.

"Ugh…ah…"

Unable to endure the agony, I grunted and groaned against the rubble. The guy barked out in laughter.

"Oh? You"re still conscious after that? Just die already."

Raising me up, he crushed me onto the ground again. I actually blacked out momentarily, only for my senses to return a few seconds later.

This time, I held back my groans and expressions of pain, not wanting the demonic martial artist to repeat his abuse.

"Hey, hey! Ba Yun, don"t kill that guy!"

"Huh? Who are you to tell me what to do?"

The demonic martial artist called Ba Yun momentarily let go of me to glare at the figure who was stalking toward us.

"…"

Even with my face pressed against the broken earth and debris, I recognized the voice. My suspicions were confirmed when the new person came into view. Qi Fu Ren strode toward Ba Yun, a charismatic smile on his face.

"No, no, I"m not telling you what to do. It"s merely a request, senior. I don"t want Fei Wu to die just yet."

"Oh? You know this brat, Qi Fu Ren?"

Ba Yun sounded intrigued. Qi Fu Ren grinned broadly and nodded.

"Know him? Of course I know him. He"s an old friend. Both of us have scores to settle." He then stomped on my fingers, causing me to cry out in pain. "I can"t let him die so easily and quickly. No, he must suffer for everything he has done to me."

"Everything that I have done to you?" I growled, my voice hoa.r.s.e from the pain. "I never did anything to you. You"re the one who"s always picking on me, bullying me, provoking me and abusing me. If anything, I"m the one who wants revenge against you!"

Qi Fu Ren kicked me so hard I was thrown across the air like a hapless soccer ball before crashing onto the ground several dozen meters away.

"Who says you can speak?"

He then strode over before stomping on me and kicking me. I curled into a ball, trying to protect my face and body from the worst of the blows.

"But I"ll be kind and magnanimous to tell you anyway. You"re trash who doesn"t know your place. You should just accept your existence as a punching bag. But no, you had to resist. You had to fight back. You just had to defy me, the rightful ruler and boss of school! All because you refuse to lie low and submit, I suffered so much!"

"So you"re justifying your making others suffer by claiming that you"ll suffer if you don"t? What kind of logic is that? No, in the first place, who the f.u.c.k will just accept their so-called place to be your punching bag? People don"t exist for you to bully!"

"I told you to shut up!"

Qi Fu Ren delivered another vicious kick that sent me hurtling across the air again. I crashed onto the ground, and was too winded to retort.

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d…"

"Wow, you really hold a grudge against him," Ba Yun observed. "You must really hate him, refusing to hold back and all."

"I hate it when people resist me…I hate it when people refuse to submit to me. If I want them to be my punching bag, then they should just obey. The strong rules over the weak. The weak has no business fighting back! They should know their place and just submit!"

"Whatever you say." Ba Yun sounded amused, but he was in no mood to argue with the ridiculous and unreasonable Qi Fu Ren.

"You…" Qi Fu Ren began, then adjusted to a more respectful tone. "Senior, I"ll entrust this loser to you. You enjoy torturing people, don"t you?" I could hear the smile in his voice. "Please don"t hold back. Enjoy as much torture as you want on this trash. All I ask is that you prolong his suffering for as long as possible. Don"t give him a quick, merciful death."

"You"re kidding me, right?" I blurted out, unable to hear what I was hearing. "What"s with that bulls.h.i.t reason? You"ll regret not killing me, you know? Why is it that all villains love to resort to that stupid cliché of wanting to make the protagonists suffer and not killing them immediately? You"re just giving me a chance to escape later to take revenge. I can"t believe I"m actually teaching you to kill me immediately so that you won"t lose later!"

"I told you to shut the f.u.c.k up!"

Roaring, Qi Fu Ren kicked me in the gut so hard I blacked out. While I wasn"t aware, I would most likely be grateful for losing consciousness, but I was yanked out of my subconscious into full wakefulness when someone ground me into the…well, ground.

"Oi, who gave you permission to sleep?"

Apparently, Ba Yun had stomped on me to forcibly wake me up from blacking out. He then seized my hair and pulled my head up.

"The day is still young, you know? I haven"t had my fill of excitement."

"I"ll leave Fei Wu to you, Ba Yun." Qi Fu Ren was already leaving, his voice filled with delight. "I"m counting on you to teach him the meaning of pain. And to make him wish he accepted his role as trash and human punching bag from the very beginning."

Ba Yun laughed. "You really are a cruel one, aren"t you, Qi Fu Ren?"

"Not as cruel as you, Senior. That"s why…" Qi Fu Ren turned to give his new senior a smile of flattery. "…I"m relying on you."

"You really know how to flatter people, don"t you? Ha ha! You can count on me!"

Yanking my head up, Ba Yun then smashed me back into the ground.

"UGH!"

While I was hacking and coughing, Qi Fu Ren chuckled.

"Let"s bring him back."

"Bring me back…?" I wheezed, still on the ground. Gritting my teeth, I swung about and kicked Ba Yun"s legs, tripping him up. Using a footwork technique, I propelled myself away and stretched the distance between us. Rising to my feet shakily, I glared at the two. My swords were too far away, so I gave up on relinquishing them. "Do you think I"ll let you do that?"

"Hah!" Ba Yun punched me before I could react. His movements were so fast I didn"t even see them coming. While I staggered, he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me into the air. "Doing whatever one likes is the right of the strong."

"Guh…kuh…"

I choked, but refused to submit. This guy…he didn"t learn his lesson. Twisting my body, I hooked my leg over his arm and then kicked him in the face.

"!"

But the kick didn"t faze him. While I tried to snap his elbow again, he lifted me higher and dislodged my legs from his arm.

"!!"

This time, it was my turn to ne surprised. Despite me planting my foot in Ba Yun"s face and trying to kick myself free, the brute remained unaffected. He spun around and buried me into a wall, smashing a hole in the concrete.

CRASH!

"Ka ha!"

Blood burst out of my mouth as I fumbled weakly in the wall, my senses almost knocked out of my mind again.

"Don"t go to sleep again. Wake up."

Licking his lips, Ba Yun punched me so hard that my gla.s.ses were sent flying off my face, while my body clattered untidily onto the ground in the opposite direction. Winded, I tried to get up, but Ba Yun kicked me.

"Gah!"

Blood dribbling from my mouth, I raised my head to glare defiantly at Ba Yun.

"So you still have a little fight in you."

Chuckling, Ba Yun cracked his knuckles and proceeded forward. Cracking his neck from side to side, he grinned.

"I"m going to enjoy beating the defiance out of you."

I responded with a kick, but my foot swung over empty s.p.a.ce. Correcting myself, I glanced around in shock. The guy had vanished from view.

Is this a footwork technique as well?

Gritting my teeth, I was about to whirl around, but it was too late. Two blades pierced me from behind, lifting me off my feet and leaving me dangling in the air. Blood trailed along the blades and dripped onto the ground while I writhed in agony.

From behind, Ba Yun cracked me in the head, causing me to stagger.

I can"t fall here!

Desperate, I spun around with a kick that took even the fast and powerful Ba Yun by surprise. The elemental qi that I had been gathering from the surroundings exploded when reacting with my volatile, purified qi, and Ba Yun was actually sent flying several dozen meters backward, his body smoldering.

"Ah…I forgot to warn you about that move," Qi Fu Ren moaned mockingly. "Whoops."

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d…" Ba Yun crawled out of the debris that he had been flung into, cursing. He glared at Qi Fu Ren and gave him a middle finger. "You didn"t tell me on f.u.c.king purpose, did you? You planned this from the start."

"It"s only fair that you suffer the same thing as I did." Qi Fu Ren chuckled ominously.

Huffing, I retreated a few steps and glanced at the inscrutable Qi Fu Ren. It puzzled me that he wasn"t as eager to take his revenge as I thought he would. Normally he would want to personally beat me up, or take his revenge with his very own hands, but he didn"t. He was just sitting there and watching from a distance, laughing as someone else beat me up for him.

This is strange…

Had Qi Fu Ren changed vastly ever since his defeat to me in the official match a year ago, or had I always misunderstood just what kind of person he was?

"Enough playing around. We"ve wasted too much time here." Qi Fu Ren glanced in the distance, looking a little miffed. "The villagers have all run away."

"Isn"t that the fault of both of you? Staying here to play with this fella?"

One of the hooded figures from the same demonic sect stepped up to sneer. Qi Fu Ren snorted.

"What about you? Why did you all stand around to watch the show instead of going ahead of us to chase the villagers?"

"And miss all the fun? No way."

These guys were insane. They had to be. They operated not on logic, but on emotions and a s.a.d.i.s.tic desire for blood and violence. No wonder they were the demonic sect. not that the orthodox sects were paragons of logic and rationality either – many of them also made decisions based on emotions – but this was just…extreme.

"Qi Fu Ren has a point, though."

Ba Yun vanished from sight. I tensed, getting ready for an attack, only for something powerful to smack my head from behind.

As I blacked out, I caught the last few words from Qi Fu Ren as he guffawed at my miserable fate.

"Put him in a body bag and bring him back to base. I"m going to make sure he"ll enjoy his stay there."