Upon making contact, the sergeant felt a level of force he couldn't contend with slam straight into his blade, smacking him several meters away.
However, the moment he stabilized his body, his spine suddenly shuddered as he unconsciously raised his blade once again.
Bing!
The explosion this time, ripped the eardrums of some of the onlooking warriors, as its sparks blinded them as well before a cold light shot dozens of meters away into a tree.
Previously, that sergeant had used his surprising intuition to block Min Hong's slash; but, he had been unable to resist the terrifying force that surged into him afterwards. The web between his thumb and forefinger had split apart and his sword had been sent flying.
The arrogance within the sergeant drained like relieved bladder as fear rendered him immobile; leaving him to despair as he watched a cold light flash before his very eyes like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.
"No!!!"
His miserable shriek hung in the air as his head soared through the air, with an expression of unwillingness and shock still etched on his face.
Just as his consciousness was fading, he suddenly remembered the stern warning Min Hong had given him:
'I give you my word; should you draw that sword, I will let your head roll and bathe my gate with your blood.'
Now, he finally believed that Min Hong wasn't simply just mouthing off, but had simply stated a factual truth. Unfortunately, his realization came too late.
Blood sprayed out of his severed neck like a fountain, bathing the Min Family Estate Gate in red, before his headless corpse collapsed to the ground.
The head however, simply tumbled through the air for a bit before falling to the ground and then rolling to stop in front of the same warrior whose sword had been used to kill his own sergeant.
All the so-called elite warriors broke out in cold sweat as they gulped their parched throats in terror. The weapons in their hands suddenly felt ten times heavier as their shoulders stooped in defeat.
Despite having seen lots of shed blood before, this was the first time they had ever seen one shed so tyrannically that it almost seemed unfair.
Furthermore, the little brat who looked barely into his teens had done it, and he did it with an utterly placid expression on his face from start to finish; ending the man's life without even flinching a one bit.
It was simply too demonic; far more frightening than if he had been seething with anger!
"Min Hong, how dare you kill my trusted sergeant?! Do you think the death of your entire estate can atone for such atrocity?"
An angry cry suddenly rolled over from afar, drawing everyone's attention to its source; a dignified middle-aged man sauntering over with dozens of experts in convoy.
"I've been wondering when you were going to show yourself?" Min Hong responded with a cold grin.
Back when he just arrived home, the first thing he did upon seeing his estate being surrounded was to blanket the entire estate and its immediate environs with his spirit sense; scouting to check if the person who had sent or perhaps tricked the sergeant into coming here was around.
"West Head, you really are worthy of your name. An unreasonable assault like this is just what I'd expect from someone of your reputation." Min Hong casually bit back whilst lazily leaning on a stone statue in front the estate gate
"Today, at the literature hall you committed a crime against the seventh bearer, heavily injured my son, and now you've killed my trusted sergeant.
Hmph, no matter how you try to spin it, I'd like to see how you'd get out of this one. Let's see who will come to save you now!" The West Grand Family Head shouted in seething anger.
Looking at this person who was as famous as his father, a ridiculing smile appeared on the corner of Min Hong's mouth. Someone with such weak methods was also as famous as his father? Utter bullshit!
"Shen Zheng, are you growing senile with age? Do you really think that I, Min Hong, am someone who needs rescuing? You really do lack insight."
Taking out a badge with two stars etched onto it, Min Hong sneered back; "Open your myopic eyes; Can you see what this is?"
When Shen Zheng laid eyes on the alchemist apprentice identification badge in Min Hong's grasp, shock rippled through his gut as his expression sunk miserably.
"How is that possible?! How can you have the badge of an Alchemy Apprentice? Is that fake?!" He demanded in anger.
"This is so ridiculous; to think you really have gone senile. Fine, since your senile mind is just as myopic a your eyes, I'll let you take an extra close look." Min Hong derided as he threw the identification badge at Shen Zheng.
Whisking the badge out of the air, Shen Zheng carefully examined it, and the more he did so, the more his expression grew even grimmer. As an expert with a powerful status, how could he possibly not know the veracity of the alchemist association's identification badge?
And it was precisely because he recognized it that his expression was so sullen. He could also tell that the person who had signed out the badge had been Grandmaster Sun Yi! Anyone within the Desert Flame Tribe with half a brain knew exactly who the grandmaster was!
Even the hegemonic royal clan of the kingdom had to be extremely respectful towards alchemists; after all, the alchemist guild held a level of influence that surpassed them greatly.
"Is the situation clear to you now, or do you still need me to spell out your current plight? If you get it, then you can hand my tablet back to me?" Min Hong coldly sneered; then upon seeing the dazed Shen Zheng, he couldn't help but chuckle slightly.
The West Head's expression was turned even uglier as he watched Min Hong become even bolder and more brazen. He felt like crushing the badge in his grasp and capturing Min Hong, but he didn't dare to do so.
He didn't know how Min Hong had obtained the badge, but having it meant Min Hong was a genuine member of the alchemist association. people with such status are even above the kingdom's law, not to talk of their backwater tribe.
Shen Zheng was at a complete loss. He returned the tablet to Min Hong, but at that moment, the latter's expression suddenly changed and he coldly declared:
"Shen Zheng, today, you have surrounded the home of an alchemy apprentice with several troops of elite warriors with blades in hand; this, is a vicious crime.
If you don't give me some recompense today, I will head straight to the alchemist association by morning and fill out an application for the Desert Flame Tribe to punish you."
Hearing this, Shen Zheng's expression swiftly warped. The punishment for antagonizing the alchemist association was something even the Chieftain would be scared of, not to talk of himself.
His actions could cause the alchemist guide to cut off their pill supply to the entire kingdom; an action that was the same as choking the lifeline of the kingdom.
"It seems that I don't have a clear understanding of what went on today. I'll immediately go back and investigate to give you proper compensation." Seeing the situation spiral out of control like this, Shen Zheng had no choice but to swallow his pride, along with his anger.
"Do you think I give a fuck if you investigate or not? If I wake up tomorrow to find all these mess left unattended, I will make sure you have too much on your plate to focus on cultivation!" Min Hong snorted coldly before walking into his estate and slamming the door shut.
He could no longer bothered himself with this treacherous fox. He was totally irritated by all the despicable situations he had repeatedly been roped into, today.
In the morning it was the literature hall; very late into the afternoon, it had been the Sunset Mountain; and now, late into the evening, they had the effrontery to surround his family's estate with armed troops.
There's no single being who wouldn't be utterly irritated after being forced to fight, three times in one day; especially when it was someone they didn't like but can't kill as well.
Though, his skirmish with Chu Yuyao had started on a similar note, it had at least, ended nicely with him having a good time.
After Min Hong left, the West Head's expression became ashen. He hadn't achieved the slightest bit of his goal in coming here but instead incited great trouble for himself.
"Master, what shall we do?"
"What should we do? Hurry and start cleaning up this crap. Even if you have to lick off the bloodstains to get them off, hurry up and do it."
With a belly full of fury and nowhere to release it, the West Head took it out on his soldiers, cursing and raging, before leaving the scene lonesomely.
"Fuck! How did that little brat get into the alchemist association? Now it'll be troublesome." The West Head grimly thought to himself.
However, all of a sudden, he quickly looked to the left and right, and after confirming that no one was around to spot him, he suddenly vanished towards the Chieftain's Estate.
Inside a little separate abode of the the chieftain's estate; an handsome man in his twenties could be seen quietly listening to West Head Shen recount the unfortunate situation that had befallen him just a few minutes ago.
"It all happened too suddenly and was completely out of my expectations, so your servant didn't dare to act on his own. I beg for fourth bearer's forgiveness and guidance." West Head Shen revealed with an uncomfortable heart and a face strewn with perplexity.
That handsome man was the fourth bearer; Chu Bai. However, compared to the rest of the bearer's within the estate, he was the only one to have been mothered by a concubine, rather than a true chiefess.
Thus, despite being considered a bearer by all, his true status was much inferior to the rest of his kin.
However, due to his introverted nature, he barely emerges from his abode to talk to anyone within estate, and as thus, was able to avoid any sort of conflict either from him or others, which in turn ensured he had a very good relationship with the other bearers.
Practically everyone within the Desert Flame Tribe felt that the fourth bearer had the best aptitude for inheriting the chieftain's mantle, but unfortunately, he wasn't born to the right mother.
The fourth bearer Chu Bai nodded and said, "You were right not to act. The fact that he had managed to become an alchemist out of thin air is definitely a bit surprising."
"Yes, when I saw his badge, I couldn't believe my eyes. For that trash to become an alchemist is just too outrageous." West Head Shen was still shaking hi head; even till this moment, he was still finding the situation unbelievable.
"Hmm; this is indeed interesting.
So, this Min Hong was heavily injured by your son a few months ago, and now, he just pops out of nowhere with enough strength to casually dispatch off a Metal Blooded expert [Metal Blood Condensing expert].
There might be more than what meets the eye here."
The fourth bearer slowly paced about in deep thought, suddenly halting and instructing the West head:
"Go back and carefully observe the Min Estate's movements. See if anyone suspicious goes in or leaves; and remember, don't get caught."
"This servant will surely handle it. But as for Min Hong…" The West Head knowingly left the rest unsaid.
"Don't bother him for a while. He's just a chess piece. As long as he doesn't jump off the chessboard; even if his patron jumps into the fray, he still won't be able to escape his fate." Added the Fourth Bearer with an assured smile.