Chapter 86

As the words faded, Ning Yi suddenly lunged forward, closing in on Guo Yan like a bolt of lightning and slapped him directly.

*Slap!*

Guo Yan clutched his burning cheek, staring at Ning Yi in disbelief. How could he not have dodged it? He, a respectable martial artist at the second level of Qi cultivation, had been slapped by a good-for-nothing?

"Beat him up!" he roared, then condensed his battle qi and threw a punch at Ning Yi. But to everyone's surprise, Ning Yi neither dodged nor flinched. He instantly absorbed the energy elements, taking Guo Yan's punch while simultaneously delivering a punch to his ribs.

*Boom!* Guo Yan's eyes widened. Why was there no reaction when he hit him?

He watched helplessly as his body tumbled and crashed into the wall.

*Thud!* His bones felt like they were falling apart as he hit the floor hard, unable to get up.

The others were stunned, and before they could react, Ning Yi had already charged into the crowd, like a tiger among sheep. He first punched a black-clad man on his right, knocking him down. Then, using the momentum, he twisted the elbow of a black-clad guard, dislocating it.

With a fluid motion, he leaped up and kicked another man in the face, splattering blood and forcing him to crouch on the ground, clutching his head.

A second-level Qi cultivator roared and condensed his battle qi, throwing a punch from behind at Ning Yi's back.

Ning Yi didn't even turn around. As the battle qi approached, he suddenly turned and punched the man's face, taking a direct hit himself in the process.

However, Ning Yi merely grunted and took a few steps back, seemingly unharmed, while the other man was knocked out cold, his head spinning as if he had been hit with a blunt object, stumbling and falling to the floor.

The remaining second-level Qi cultivator was stunned. Ning Yi was fighting recklessly, willing to take hits to land his own. He was ruthless!

"Get your weapons, block him!" he shouted, warning the others.

They suddenly realized that this guy couldn't be taken down with just fists.

A few of them immediately pulled out various weapons, like iron bars, and charged forward.

Ning Yi sneered and charged in, "Anyone who stands in my way dies!"

Three minutes later, the alley entrance was littered with seven or eight black-clad men groaning on the ground.

At this moment,

Across the street from the alley entrance, in front of a luxurious hotel's floor-to-ceiling windows, two men stood watching the scene unfold.

One was Ma Pi, and the other was an old man with a gaunt face, shoulder-length hair that was half black and half white, and a small notch missing from his left ear. He was in his early fifties, with eyes that seemed murky but were incredibly sharp.

"Uncle Jing, what do you think?" Ma Pi frowned, watching Guo Yan and his men being thrown around.

"Mid to late second level or early third level of Qi cultivation..." the old man nodded slightly, "Not bad."

"Second... second level of Qi cultivation?" Ma Pi nearly lost his balance, "That can't be right, Uncle Jing. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Where did that kid get his second level of Qi cultivation? Did you misjudge it?"

"At this distance, it's hard to sense. I'm guessing based on the speed of his attacks and the extent of his opponents' injuries," the old man mused, speaking softly, "We'll know for sure once we check the scene."

He nodded again, "Interesting. His battle qi is well-contained, which is not easy for young people these days."

"What does 'well-contained battle qi' mean?" Ma Pi couldn't help but ask.

"It means he stores his internal energy in his qi sea and meridians, releasing it only at the moment of contact. This often achieves a surprising effect. However, modern martial artists, for the sake of show, have forgotten these techniques. Of course, sometimes to intimidate opponents and apply psychological pressure, it's understandable."

Ma Pi clicked his tongue, not entirely convinced but not saying so. He watched Ning Yi, who had already entered the hotel, and checked his watch, "Five minutes... this guy has become so powerful! Uncle Jing, we can't let him live."

"He's no match for the young master now..."

"Fine, I'll take care of him myself!" Ma Pi's face turned cold, and he turned to leave.

"Wait..." the old man suddenly stopped him, staring at the alley entrance.

"What is it?" Ma Pi asked, puzzled.

"Wind Shadow family members," the old man pointed to a black sedan that was slowly passing by the alley entrance, a distinctive black shadow sedan of the Wind Shadow family.

Ma Pi's face darkened, "So they are involved with the Wind Shadow family."

"Not necessarily. I observed the combat techniques this kid used; they seem to be military-grade, quick and decisive. This doesn't match the Wind Shadow family's usual methods."

"Uncle Jing, you're not suggesting this kid is from the military? That's impossible. I know his background inside and out; he has no connection to the military."

The old man shook his head, "I heard that in the early days, to resist the sea monsters, the U.S. military secretly trained many assassins for Vietnam. The training methods were extremely brutal, and some couldn't take it and fled, hiding among the people... eventually forming a terrifying assassin organization in our country."

"No wonder this kid is so tough... Could he have been saved by them?" Ma Pi looked enlightened but then shook his head, puzzled, "But where did he get his cultivation? A few weeks ago, he was completely useless."

"If he's from the U.S. military, that makes sense. It's said that the U.S. Federal Science Academy is researching an energy crystal that can rapidly increase a person's cultivation. Once used, it can boost one to the second or third level of Qi cultivation. This energy crystal is intended for front-line special forces soldiers during operations."

"However, it's said that using this crystal causes significant harm to the body, so the U.S. military hasn't dared to deploy it yet."

"If that's the case, I'm not worried about this good-for-nothing," Ma Pi nodded thoughtfully.

"However, there's another possibility," the old man frowned, then shook his head, "But it's almost impossible."

"Uncle Jing, what other possibility?"

"The rumored Spatial Essence Absorption Technique. It's a demonic art that can instantly absorb all the internal energy and battle qi of an opponent, making the opponent as powerless as a civilian. However, this technique has been lost for a long time. It's said to have been created by Feng Yingkong, but he never used it after creating it, so its existence is questionable... perhaps the master knows."

"Moreover, it's said that to use this technique, one needs at least the mental power of a green-level mentalist martial artist. This kid, even if he trains for another thirty to fifty years, might not reach that level, which is why I said it's impossible."

Ma Pi pondered, "Uncle Jing, could it be that someone who knows this demonic art is secretly helping this good-for-nothing?"

The old man shook his head, "You're not wrong, but... unless Feng Yingkong has come out of seclusion early."

Ma Pi's body trembled, "No way!"

"It's not impossible. Recently, the Zhong and Mu families in the capital are said to have taken action. Two experts infiltrated the Blue River Estate's back mountain, but there's been no news..."

"In that case, this good-for-nothing is now shrouded in mystery. We can't touch him for now," Ma Pi's face turned ashen.

Because, whether it's the terrifying assassin organization or the Wind Shadow family, it's not wise to provoke them, and he was well aware of this.

"Patience is key," the old man paused, then asked, "What does the young master plan to do next?"

"Since he's only at the third level of Qi cultivation, let's stick to the original plan with Guo Hui. I want to see what tricks this good-for-nothing can pull," Ma Pi said with a cold smile.

---

Apologies, I had a lot of things to do yesterday and was busy until around 10 PM. I fell asleep directly and woke up at 2 AM to do some housework, finally going to bed around 5 AM... So I only managed to update one chapter. I'll try to catch up once I'm done with my tasks.

Thank you to [**hgjx] for the generous support, [Jin Mubanchen] for the generous support, and [Mierxiutelasi] for the generous support.

Also, I'm asking for [Dream Cup Votes]. I hope everyone can support.

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