Terror, Casualties, and Nowhere Near Enough!

Unlocking his phone, Huang Tian searched for Yuanxiu Villa. A flurry of information immediately popped up on his screen: Yuanxiu Villa was situated in the northern suburbs of Baidi City, nestled against the mountains and overlooking water in a quiet, secluded setting. It had originally been run as a small commercial resort, but someone had bought it two years ago and turned it into a private residence. "It's not too far from the hotel—about an hour's taxi ride." Having confirmed the location of Yuanxiu Villa, Huang Tian packed lightly, then walked downstairs at an unhurried pace and hailed a cab outside the hotel. A few minutes later, he sat in the back of a black car. Taking out his phone, he tapped into the "Baidi Youth Martial Artists Fellowship" group chat, opened the group files, and found a document he had browsed earlier: *Dawnlight is the department responsible for overseeing martial artists within the Yangbai Federation. All sect martial artists and independent martial artists may use this link to download an app through which Dawnlight assigns missions related to purging evil god cults and outlaw martial artists...* *The Baidi City branch of Dawnlight is currently teaming up with the Yuanzhen Sect to purge the Flesh Society cultists who infiltrated the area. That means they should have posted related missions on the app, right? If I accept and complete a mission, I can earn points to exchange for medicinal pills and elixirs...* He mused to himself, *Since I'm heading over to kill those Flesh Society cultists anyway, if their heads are worth points, I might as well take what's free for the taking.* With that in mind, he clicked the link and downloaded and installed the app named "Everlasting Dawnlight." After registering his details and entering the homepage, he indeed saw a dense list of missions. "Provide intelligence on the Destiny Society; points awarded based on the intelligence's value." "Assist in purging Dark Heaven Society cultists in Yashan City..." "An outlaw martial artist has fled to Huoming State; anyone providing intelligence on their whereabouts will be awarded points based on the intelligence's value. Killing or capturing them awards one thousand points. Identity and realm information below..." "..." *These are nationwide missions,* Huang Tian realized. He tapped the filter and restricted the search to Baidi City. With the filter applied, the missions were instantly reduced to a dozen or so, with the pinned one at the very top concerning the Flesh Society. "Flesh Society cultists have infiltrated Baidi City, suspected to include one to two sub-deacons and over twenty cultists in the Qi and Blood Realm. Those providing relevant intelligence will be awarded points according to its value. Killing or capturing a sub-deacon awards one thousand points; a martial artist of the Third Transformation of Qi and Blood awards one hundred points; a martial artist of the Second Transformation..." *Earlier, when I swept over them with my senses, I saw two sub-deacons and over a dozen cultists of the second and third transformations at Yuanxiu Villa. If I kill them all, I can earn nearly three thousand points.* He opened the point redemption catalog and scrolled through line after line. After a good while, he nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad. If I trade all three thousand points for pills and elixirs, it should be enough to cultivate from a newly reached Limit Break to peak perfection. Add to that the potential points earned from slaying them, and another breakthrough will only take about ten days." Tapping to accept the mission, he put his phone away, closed his eyes, and quietly circulated his qi and blood. About an hour later, the car came to a halt in front of a trail. The driver pointed toward the path and said, "Follow this path for a short stretch and you'll see the villa. Two years ago, this road was pretty wide and smooth, so cars could drive right in. But after it got sold to someone else, the road fell into disrepair—potholes everywhere and big boulders in the way. No way a car can get through, sorry about that." "No problem." Huang Tian pushed the door open, stepped out, and stood before the path, taking in the surroundings. Not far off, several modern buildings were dotted artfully across a gentle slope. The woods were lush and green, birds flitted across the sky, and the gentle babble of a stream reached his ears. He started up the trail. After walking for a short while, a three-story building came into view. A sign hung from it reading "Yuanxiu Villa Resort Center," its paint slightly peeling. "Who's there?!" As Huang Tian approached, a man in his thirties walked out of the building. He wore a tight sleeveless vest that showed off firm, corded muscles; his brow carried a ferocious edge, and his eyes were guarded. *Second Transformation of Qi and Blood.* Huang Tian saw through his foundation with a single glance and smiled faintly. "A guest." "We stopped taking guests years ago. You came to the wrong place. Clear out." The man took half a step back, his eyes narrowing slightly, and his right hand quietly reached for his waist, where a bulging lump clearly hid something. Seeing that Huang Tian had no intention of leaving and was only drawing closer, he barked furiously, "Court death!" The instant the words left his mouth, he hesitated no longer. Drawing a dagger from his waist, he pounced forward like a hunting leopard! The dagger thrust forward at a vicious angle, aiming straight for Huang Tian's throat. Faced with this strike, Huang Tian merely waved a hand casually, slapping him upside the head. *Crack—* A crisp snap came from the man's neck. His body was still lunging forward, but his head had spun a full circle. Momentum carried him forward two more steps before he crashed heavily onto the ground, dead. "Who's there?!" The next moment, furious shouts echoed from all around the villa, and over a dozen figures appeared almost at once, leaping and bounding over. The two leading the group possessed exceptionally profound auras. One was pale-faced with long hair—Sub-Deacon Xu, whom Huang Tian had sensed earlier. The other had a savage scar across his face, looking thoroughly vicious, and held a pitch-black alloy staff in his right hand—this was Sub-Deacon Wu. Sub-Deacon Xu swept his eyes over the corpse on the ground, his expression darkening. Glancing back at Huang Tian and seeing that he was alone, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. His voice turned heavy. "Whose faction do you belong to, trespassing here and striking with such vicious cruelty?" "Yuanzhen Sect, or Dawnlight? Doesn't matter—all of them must die!" Sub-Deacon Wu barked coldly. With that, several martial artists of the Second Transformation of Qi and Blood behind him drew handguns from their waists in unison. These firearms had clearly been modified; the barrels were noticeably thicker than normal pistols, their muzzles gleamed with a dark reddish luster, and silencers were attached. *Puff! Puff! Puff—* Muffled gunshots rang out as bullets shrieked through the air! Faced with bullets at point-blank range, not even a martial artist of the Third Transformation of Qi and Blood would dare take them head-on. Yet— *Clang, clang, clang!* A flurry of metallic clangs sounded as though striking thick steel plates. The bullets hit Huang Tian's chest, arms, and forehead, yet failed to even scratch his skin, leaving only faint white marks before deflecting powerlessly to patter across the ground like raindrops. The cultists firing the guns felt their pupils constrict. Sub-Deacon Xu and Sub-Deacon Wu felt their hearts jolt. *Limit Break!* Only a Limit Break martial artist—and a veteran one at that—could take bullets head-on at close range! While they were still reeling in shock, a series of sharp cracking sounds abruptly erupted from within Huang Tian's body. In an instant, his frame expanded violently, swelling like an inflating balloon! His height shot up from over one point eight meters to two point one meters. His gray sportswear stretched taut against his bulging muscles. Across his arms, chest, and thighs, muscle fibers coiled and writhed like pythons, dark blue veins bulging prominently! Then, he brought his foot down! *Boom!!!* The ground quaked violently. Web-like fissures spread out madly in all directions as paving stones shattered to bits. Boulders and dirt were blasted skyward by the tremendous force, and the entire villa seemed to shudder, whipping up a howling gale in its wake. Riding the momentum of that single step, he slammed into the crowd like an artillery shell. *Crash!* A single punch slammed into the chest of a gun-wielding cultist. The man's upper torso blew apart instantly, spraying flesh, blood, and bone fragments in every direction. His lower body slumped lifelessly to the ground while his severed head rolled aside. Huang Tian did not pause. Pivoting sideways, he slammed brutally into a dagger-wielding cultist. The man's chest caved in, and he was flung backward through the air, crashing through a brick wall and ending up buried beneath a pile of rubble and billowing dust, dead on the spot. With a backhand slap, Huang Tian crushed another man's skull. Red and white splatter coated his hand; he merely shook it off with a casual flick. Lifting a leg, he kicked another cultist's knee, snapping the joint with a crisp crunch accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream. "Aaaahhh! Die! Die!" A shriek of sheer terror erupted as another bullet left a muzzle, howling through the air and striking him square in the temple. It did nothing more than tilt his head slightly. Reaching out, he seized a cultist by the arm, lifted him bodily, and hurled him directly at the shooter. *Thud—* The two collided violently, tumbling over a dozen meters away as their bones shattered in an instant. "Damn it!" Seeing his subordinates slaughtered almost entirely in the blink of an eye, Sub-Deacon Xu was filled with shock and fury. Shaking his sleeve with a snap, a slender rapier slid into his grip. The blade was barely two fingers wide, pure silver throughout, and gleaming with a chilling, murderous frost. "Attack together!" With a low roar, his form blurred into a streak of light, closing the distance to Huang Tian in the span of a breath. The slender blade flickered like a serpent's tongue, thrusting straight toward Huang Tian's throat. At the same time, Sub-Deacon Wu sprang into action. Roaring, he leaped into the air, his clothes snapping in the wind. Mid-flight, he gripped his staff with both hands and brought it crashing down toward the crown of Huang Tian's head! The strike carried immense momentum and crushing weight, kicking up a gust of wind that swept loose gravel off the ground. If it connected squarely, even a man made of iron would be hammered into a scrap metal pancake! One in front and one above, a thrust and a strike. The two Limit Break experts coordinated with seamless precision, leaving no room for evasion. Yet there was no need to evade. Huang Tian raised his left hand, spreading his fingers to meet the biting chill of the slender blade. *Clink!* A crisp metallic ring resonated through the air. Sub-Deacon Xu's pupils shrank. He had never imagined that a strike concentrating all of his qi and blood could be caught so effortlessly! He tried to rip the blade back, but Huang Tian closed his fingers. The blade was clamped instantly as if seized by an iron vice, frozen motionless. Immediately after, Huang Tian thrust his right hand upward with an open palm, intercepting the descending alloy staff. *Bang!* A dull, concussive impact boomed outward, unleashing a violent shockwave that swept through the area and kicked up a whirlwind of dust! Sub-Deacon Wu's face drained of color. He felt as though his staff had struck not a human palm, but an immovable mountain. A colossal rebound surged down the length of the staff, tearing the skin between his thumb and forefinger and sending blood splattering. Yet Huang Tian's hand held the head of the staff with rock-solid stability, his frame not swaying in the slightest. Immediately, his left leg whipped out with vicious force! The kick was so fast it was virtually invisible to the naked eye; only the piercing shriek of tearing air could be heard. Sub-Deacon Wu's eyelids twitched madly. He barely managed to raise his arms to block, only to hear a sickening crack as both forearms snapped. The tremendous force sent him flying backward like a kite with a severed string, hurtling through the air for over twenty meters before slamming heavily into a wall! The wall collapsed with a crash, kicking up clouds of dust that rained down and buried him beneath the rubble. *So strong! Where on earth did he come from? How could the Baidi City branch of Dawnlight or the Yuanzhen Sect have an expert like this?!* Sub-Deacon Xu was visibly horrified. Without hesitation, he released the hilt of his sword, intending to disengage and retreat at full speed. But Huang Tian gave him no chance. Stepping forward, he drove his right fist forward with the crushing momentum of an avalanche! *Boom!* The penetrating force pulverized bone. Sub-Deacon Xu's chest caved in instantly, and his entire body was flung dozens of meters away, knocking down several large trees before tumbling across the grass. Mortally wounded, he vomited blood uncontrollably. Silence fell. From the moment the two sub-deacons made their move to their defeat, less than ten seconds had elapsed. Witnessing this, the remaining few cultists who had miraculously escaped harm completely broke down. "Monster! A monster!" "Run!" Their faces pale with terror, they turned and fled at full speed, showing not the slightest trace of the fanatical cultists they claimed to be. Watching their frantic, retreating backs, Huang Tian raised his right foot and stomped down against the ground. *Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—* The earth fractured, sending over a dozen sharp stone shards rocketing through the air like bullets toward the fleeing cultists. *Thwack, thwack—* The shards punched cleanly through their hearts. The fleeing cultists collapsed forward one after another, spitting blood, their hands clutching at the ground in futile struggle. "Roar!!" Right at that moment, Sub-Deacon Wu, who had been buried under the rubble, slowly rose to his feet. His muscles swelled and contorted violently, the corners of his mouth tearing open all the way to his ears to fully expose an array of abnormally sharp teeth. His pupils were blood-red and glazed, as if he had lost nearly all sanity. He spoke in a grotesque, warped voice: "The Feast Lord grants blessing—all living souls perish together!!" The instant the final word left his mouth, only an expanding ring of bloody shockwaves and two deep footprints remained where he had stood. He crossed dozens of meters in the blink of an eye, bringing his thick, pillar-like arm crashing down with a howling gale that whipped up dust and reversed air currents! Facing this strike, Huang Tian took a small step forward, raising his left fist to meet it in a direct clash! *Crash!* A profoundly dull, crushing impact rang out. Sub-Deacon Wu's arm contorted instantly; shattered bones punctured through skin and muscle, detonating in a shower of black-red gore that splattered outward like rain. Huang Tian's expression remained tranquil. His right fist followed in an instant, thrusting straight into the man's chest right over his heart! The moment his fist made contact, Sub-Deacon Wu's body froze stiff. The next instant— *Thud!!* With a heavy, muffled boom that sounded like a giant mallet striking an enormous leather drum, a deep, fist-shaped indentation visibly sank into his chest, while a matching fist-shaped protrusion erupted violently from his back, ripping his garments to shreds. *Blech—* A mouthful of black blood spewed out, laden with pulverized bits of internal organs. His swollen body rapidly deflated like a punctured balloon, shrinking back down to its original size. Yet all color had drained from his face, leaving only an ashen, deathly pallor. He staggered backward, leaving a bloody footprint with every step, before his knees finally gave out and he dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Leaning forward, he lacked even the strength to support himself with his hands; his face pressed flat against the dirt as he heaved and vomited great mouthfuls of blood, every spasm expelling more fragments of his organs. A gentle mountain breeze drifted by, slightly dispersing the heavy stench of blood in the air. Huang Tian looked down at the Flesh Society cultists strewn across the ground, shook his head lightly, and let out a soft sigh. "Is that all?"