Chapter Forty-Eight: Striking to Cripple

The bone-white sickle whirred sharply, spinning at a furious speed. In the next instant, like a white circular saw, it smashed into the forest with a dull, thunderous sound, sending a wave of shattering branches and splintering wood ringing through the air. Uprooted trees crashed to the ground, scattering countless fragments of stone and clouds of dust, a thick haze rising to shroud a vast stretch of the woods.

Some of the dust even drifted as far as Su Yi, forcing him to take a few steps back. Moments later, the spinning bone sickle sliced out of the dense cloud, whistling through the air as it flew back toward him. Su Yi raised his right hand and caught the hilt with perfect steadiness.

Indeed, it returns while spinning, just as I thought.

Su Yi mused to himself. With this feature, the bone-white sickle was truly an exceptional weapon: not only could it cut through anything, but it could also be controlled to spin forth and back. If wielded skillfully, it could become a deadly instrument for killing from afar—as if guided by an invisible hand.

He imagined facing overwhelming numbers, the sickle spinning ceaselessly around him, its razor-sharp edge harvesting lives like the reaper itself. The more enemies there were, the faster they would fall. Who would dare send a human tide against him in the face of such a weapon?

But to master it to that extent would require significant time and effort—something for the future, he decided, shaking his head. Then he considered the passing days. He had been secluded here training for some time; by his count, the auction should begin tomorrow.

Since this auction was specially held for the upcoming martial tournament, it would surely offer many valuable items. It might be worthwhile to take a look.

He stored the bone-white sickle into his ring, then after a brief contemplation, slid the storage ring onto the middle finger of his left hand, covering it with his sleeve. The Black Dragon Tendon he wound around his right arm. Once all was in order, he descended the mountain path at a leisurely pace.

...

Su Yi followed the trail from the back of the mountain and returned to the auction grounds. Seeing that it was still early, he decided to look for useful medicinal herbs to purchase, just as he had planned. He was making his way along the stone-paved road toward the main entrance when a sinister voice called out to him—

“Heh heh, Su Yi, you’ve finally shown yourself. I’ve been waiting a long time for you!”

The voice was familiar. Su Yi turned his head and realized he had walked to the open-air stone training ground beside the auction site. Several guards were sprawled on the ground, exhausted, clearly having just finished a grueling session.

The one who had spoken was Ke Yue, whom he hadn’t seen for several days. Ke Yue took a few steps toward Su Yi, his gait still awkward—clearly, the injuries from that day had not yet healed.

Suppressing a laugh, Su Yi turned his gaze to the man standing beside Ke Yue—a man in his thirties with an honest face. Su Yi knew him: Duan Shi, a sixth-level fighter, ranking just below Di Yuan in the guard unit.

Ke Yue’s eyes burned with venomous hatred as he glared at Su Yi. “The captain has had men searching for you all these days, but you were nowhere to be found. And now you show up on your own. Trying to avoid me? It won’t work!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you learn your lesson. You’ll know exactly whom you shouldn’t have provoked…” Ke Yue’s voice was low and menacing; in his mind, he could already see Su Yi writhing in agony beneath his hands, and the anticipation thrilled him.

Su Yi frowned at Ke Yue’s twisted expression. “And what do you intend to do?”

Ke Yue sneered. “What, scared? Heh—whatever you did to me that day, I’ll do to you now! If I don’t cripple you and make you less than a man, then my name isn’t Ke!”

At these words, Su Yi’s eyes turned icy, his face darkening as he replied coldly, “I suggest you don’t go looking for trouble.”

“Looking for trouble?” Ke Yue laughed uproariously, as if he’d just heard the world’s funniest joke. A useless wretch daring to speak to a fifth-level fighter this way? It was ridiculous!

The guards nearby burst into laughter as well; to them, Su Yi’s warning was nothing more than arrogance. Their eyes were filled with scorn and ridicule. Even Duan Shi shook his head—Su Yi was boasting far beyond his means.

Ke Yue was convinced Su Yi must be half-asleep, lost in delusions. “Su Yi, do you still think you’re the tenth-level fighter you once were? You’re nothing but a cripple now, and you’ll stay that way forever! Just because you got lucky and beat Ao Benyu a few days ago, you think you can challenge me? Dream on!”

The guards nodded in tacit agreement. Though rumors of Su Yi’s victory over Ao Benyu had spread wildly, they’d grown more exaggerated and unbelievable with every telling. None of the guards believed Su Yi had truly won by his own strength; it had to be nothing but hearsay and distortion.

A cold smile curled at Su Yi’s lips. Fixing Ke Yue with a steely gaze, he spoke each word deliberately: “Ke Yue, since you’re so fond of cripples, I’ll make sure you become one very soon.”

“Damn you! Let’s see how arrogant you are now!”

Seeing that Su Yi showed no fear and even dared to taunt him, Ke Yue exploded in rage. He lunged forward, his right fist clenched, battle energy flickering along his arm as he hurled a fierce punch straight at Su Yi’s chest.

The guards cheered, eager for a show. Duan Shi, however, frowned with concern; the force of this blow was tremendous—could Su Yi withstand it?

Su Yi simply lifted his eyelids and, as the punch approached, narrowed his eyes slightly. With a gentle motion, he reached out and caught Ke Yue’s fist mid-air, stopping it cold.

The laughter around them stopped instantly, as if a blade had cut through it. The guards stared in shock and disbelief.

They had all expected Su Yi to be sent flying, writhing on the ground in agony. But instead, he’d effortlessly caught the punch!

Feeling his arm locked in an unbreakable grip, Ke Yue’s face twisted in horror and disbelief. “Su Yi, you—”

Su Yi shot him a chilly glance, then suddenly drove his left foot into Ke Yue’s most vulnerable spot. The force of the kick lifted Ke Yue off the ground, though he didn’t rise far with Su Yi still gripping his hand.

“Aaagh—!” Ke Yue’s scream had barely begun before Su Yi’s right foot slammed into his abdomen, cutting the cry short. Letting go, Su Yi sent Ke Yue hurtling dozens of meters through the air, crashing through several trees before coming to a halt.

The brutality and swiftness of Su Yi’s attack stunned the guards into speechlessness. They stared, dumbfounded, as Ke Yue lay broken, catapulted away like a cannonball. The attack was merciless, savage, and bloody—too much for many to witness.

Glancing at the distant, motionless Ke Yue, then at the impassive Su Yi, who stood as if nothing had happened, the others felt a chill seep into their bones.

Duan Shi, too, was deeply shaken. Ke Yue, a fifth-level fighter, had been completely powerless in Su Yi’s grasp—something even he, as a sixth-level fighter, could never achieve. He had thought, when Su Yi first caught Ke Yue’s attack, that perhaps Ke Yue was toying with his opponent. But the next moment’s violence proved otherwise. In both skill and ruthlessness, the Su Yi of legend seemed to have returned.

Su Yi had intended to settle all scores, but only Ke Yue was present; Di Yuan was absent, and the other guards—mere lackeys—weren’t worth his time. As for Duan Shi, though their relationship was distant, there was no enmity between them, so Su Yi saw no need to act against him.

Su Yi’s indifferent gaze swept over the remaining guards. They quailed under his eyes, lowering their heads and shifting their stares, terrified he would turn on them next.

With a cold snort, Su Yi turned and strode away, leaving the guards frozen, not daring to breathe.

Only after Su Yi’s figure had completely vanished did whispers break out among them—

“Hey, how did Su Yi become so powerful…?”

“Yeah, Ke Yue, a fifth-level fighter, was no match for him at all…”

“We’d better tell the captain and let him deal with Su Yi. No matter how strong Su Yi is, he can’t be a match for the captain!”

“That’s right. The way Su Yi acted just now—he needs to be taught a lesson by the captain!”

…

Duan Shi, however, remained silent. Though he knew Di Yuan was formidable, after what he’d just witnessed, he doubted even Di Yuan could handle Su Yi now. Staring at Su Yi’s retreating back, Duan Shi felt a flicker of uncertainty and disbelief. As a sixth-level fighter himself, he thought he had sensed something just then—was it battle energy?

…