Taking a good glance, and despite the dimness of the night, he immediately noticed those people were not from this place.
They not only wore high-quality clothes, but there was also one among them wearing a luxurious robe and gleaming golden rings.
However, it was the tall and large figure in the back that drew in most of his attention.
Even though they were far away, it was impossible to not recognized that monstrous-of-a-man. Yueshi crackled his knuckles with a dark grin. Had it been before, he'd have grabbed Xuehua and went on the run, afraid of putting her into danger again.
Right now, though… he was at least in the first layer of the Refinement Stage.
Yueshi also noted that they did not seem to have noticed him yet, which gave him some time to think. First, he asked himself if fighting was the best solution. He wanted to kick their asses, but was that the best way to protect Xuehua?
Nodding to himself, he concluded it was. Unless they fled from the city they would eventually meet the man again, and he knew that leaving one's life behind was no easy task - he did not want to force himself nor Xuehua down that road.
Therefore, the only way to solve this was to see who was tougher and who had heavier fists. With a gleeful chuckle, he walked in their direction.
Back on Earth, he was not someone who liked violence, but he also didn't avoid it. It wasn't just a few times when he had jumped at someone because they messed with his mother or with their stall. Well, he had been more of a mad dog than a fighter, but that was that.
Other than that, he also noted that after his joyful moment with Xuehua he was feeling… well, it was hard to describe, and he believed he could only use the word 'arrogant'. It was something beyond mere pride, something that whispered him sweet words, telling him he was leagues above his opponents.
It was a dangerous and worrisome feeling, one that had the potential to cause a lot of trouble if he acted upon it. Despite that, just for today, he would allow it to go on a rampage and act as it dictated - with complete brutality and confidence.
With Yueshi moving toward them, it did not take long for the group to notice him.
The mustached man smirked, showing his tooth. "You don't need to welcome us when we have just come to bang a whore." The vulgar words spilled out of his mouth like waste from a trash dump, making a vein throb on Yueshi's forehead.
"Why don't you drop your pants and let that ugly bastard fuck you instead? I am sure you love to have a stick on your ass!" Leering, he thought he did need to mind his words with people like them.
Zhuo Kai's companions exchanged glances and then gazed at Yueshi with a bit of admiration. Meanwhile, the tall, black-skinned man glanced at Yueshi with an odd expression - perhaps he was wondering how Yueshi knew of his kinks.
The mustached man gritted his teeth before shouting back in scorn. "I want to see what you will say when we fuck that hoe in front of you, ah, and when she begs for us to go wilder and starts to idolize our c…." His words were suddenly cough in his throat, and instead, a pig-like screech echoed.
Before anyone could make a move, Yueshi had flashed forward with maximum speed, a punch booming against Zhuo Kai's ugly face.
Seeing the man fall to the ground while clutching his face, Yueshi stared at him coldly. Spitting on the ground in front of him, he then glared at the other men.
"You can come at me together, after all, the results will be the same anyway." Initially, he still had thoughts of sparing them. Now, though, he was going to make sure they disappeared from this world.
Although some of them seemed to gloat at the pain of their boss – particularly so the 'Mountain' – it was still their job to protect him.
Therefore, except for Zhuo Kai's personal bodyguard, the others promptly encircled Yueshi.
With him being at the first stage, the mountainous man thought that it would be overkill for him to deal with Yueshi. He also believed that the other guys were experienced enough to deal with a single brat. Even if the poor boy could knock a few of them down, he could deal with him later.
Yueshi just watched as the man encircled him with wild wicked grins on their faces.
Those people had evidently received some combat training and did not look like some sloppy ass group of thugs. However, no training in the world would change their current predicament – they were facing a cultivator.
He believed that the only opponent that would be able to cause him any problem was the huge mass of muscles in the back.
His figure was imposing and his aura stronger than your average human, even his movement had a certain flair to it that only an experienced combat veteran would have.
The men stared down at him with vicious mockery and a bit of annoyance, it was clear for them that Yueshi did not even care about their presence.
Suddenly, from Yueshi's left, a blonde and skinny man sent a kick lashing out at his legs, while from his right another man attacked with the same movement.
Meanwhile, the others stood still as they waited. They were clearly not one of one mind and wanted to test the waters first. However, just as the kicks were going to connect, they saw Yueshi disappear from where he was standing.
Bang…
"Urgh!" The muffled explosion was followed by a sharp yell of pain as the man straight ahead of Yueshi flew off like a broken kite.
They looked at him crashing against the ground by Mountain's feet and then looked back at Yueshi - the boy they looked down upon had a cold slime plastered on his face.
Not wasting time, Yueshi's turned around and send a whip-like strike with his leg, promptly making the man next to him raise his guard in a haste. Ah, if only he knew what the result would be…
Crack.
The sound of bones snapping echoed so well in the street that they stood still in disbelief for a moment.
Then, before the victim could even shout for help, a fist came crashing in toward his mouth - sending him flying upon contact. After he hit the ground, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and started to froth while spasming.
All that happened in an instant and the others could only stare in shock as it took place.
After they recovered, punches and kicks immediately rained upon Yueshi like torrential rain, more than a few hitting him all over his body.
Unfortunately, for them that is, Yueshi could barely feel any pain from their strikes; instead, they felt like bothersome mosquito bites.
Turning around, he sent them a dashing smile. It was then that they finally noticed that something was terribly wrong and that their weak prey had turned into a fierce lion.
Even strong Mountain seemed surprised at the events that unfolded, however, it was too late for him to regret now.
While everyone was thunderstruck, Yueshi promptly took care of another man, easily knocking him prone to the ground – unconscious and with no teeth in his mouth.
Yueshi had never learned any combat technique, and all he knew about fights was through experience, so he just went full out with each attack – dominating his opponents with raw power alone.
Next, a low kick snapped the left leg of someone and a simple punch broke god knows how many ribs.
Yueshi did not even need to do anything – the last guy completely lost himself to fear, falling to the ground and pissing all over himself. Yueshi had even to wrinkle om disgust as he sent the guy off.
After all that, he sent a condescending and cold smile at the big man ten or so meters away.
In return, the Mountain gazed at him with curiosity, surprise, and, oddly, happiness. Yueshi did not understand the last one, but seeing his enemy approach, he ignored the unnecessary thoughts.
The groans of pain from the one's he had beat and the pig-like guttural yelps of the mustached animal echoed loudly in the street. Yet, despite the entire ruckus, no one came to see what was going on.
Yueshi judged those people had dealt with anyone that could interfere, and even if people noticed, they would not dare to get involved in this kind of strife.
"I don't know how you got this strong in such a short time…" The man's voice was as rough as his appearance and as he spoke, he crept toward his prey. "…but brats should not get themselves involved in the adults' affairs."
Yueshi didn't answer, feeling below him to do so.
The man was ten feet tall, and a single of his arms was thicker than Yueshi's two thighs together, but Yueshi was not afraid. Instead, he felt confident he would win, even if he got a bit hurt.
"Iron Skin!" As the Mountain exclaimed, his body started to go through certain changes. Yueshi watched as the man's flesh turned from brown to silvery gray, even gleaming with a sharp and cold light.
For a moment, his eyes became wide in surprise. The other party seemed like a random mercenary hired as a bodyguard, so it was surprising he had a combat technique.
In this world, there were many types of combat techniques – those that aided in recovery, those that strengthened and changed the body, and those that could create iron-cleaving slashes of energy and arrows that could travel a thousand miles – those were all in the realm of possibility.
The Iron Skin Combat Technique was a low-level technique that toughened one's body, its name deriving from its appearance. Therefore, it wasn't hard for Yueshi to guess it increased power and defense.
Yueshi frowned a little as he stared at the man. If they were both at the first layer, then he would have trouble breaking his defense as of now. Even a low-grade technique could turn the tables around, even more so when your opponent knows none.
"Then, shall we dance?" The man asked, his lips parting in a voracious grin.
Yueshi didn't know, but Mountain could feel the reckless and wild aura leaking from Yueshi. It was like a fierce beast that had been released after being caged and was now hell-bent on devouring anything. It gave him a thrill, just like when he used to wrestle against bears in his hometown.
He kicked out, making the air whistle because of the powerful force behind his move.
Yueshi promptly jumped to the side, not wanting to take any risk by receiving the full power behind the blow.
Although he lacked the finesse of an expert fighter and the cunningness of a true combatant, dodging such a head-on attack was not hard in the least.
Just after dodging, Yueshi sent a punch flying in toward the now exposed chest of his opponent.
Mountain did not even try to defend, having confidence in his absolute defense, yet, that choice was one he got to regret almost instantly. Despite seeming to lack force, Yueshi's punch made him retreat a few steps as it exploded against his arms.
His eyes became round in shock. He had received just a little bit of damage; however, it was still something that caught him by surprise.
'Middle phase of the second layer?' He judged, based on the raw amount of power. It was truly frightening the boy had reached this far in such a short time. If he had not cultivated his iron skin to perfection, he would be meat paste by now.
Mountain knew himself the best. He was born with great strength, but, lacked speed and dexterity. His skin was as thick as leather and his bones as tough as iron, which was why Iron Skin was perfect for him.
Because of that, he was sure that he could beat someone at the peak of the second layer, so he did not stay shocked for long.
He could always think about it, and find the boy's secret, at a later time.
Focusing himself, the black man – Er Shan – put his guard up, not belittling Yueshi anymore. However, they soon found themselves in a stalemate.
Yueshi did not have enough attack power to dispose of his enemy, and the Mountain was too slow to hit his e. They continued their fight for a while without reaching any sort of conclusion.
'Hm?' Suddenly, Yueshi seemed to have sensed something. 'This is wrong! And this too!' It was like some sort of enlightenment. 'Every action results in a reaction, the greater the amount of force used the greater the resulting power.'
He had swiftly stepped on the ground before, making his movement light and fast. However, if he firmly stepped on the ground, he could increase the power behind his every move.
That wasn't the only change.
Yueshi punched out and his qi boiled and rushed out in a torrent, making a loud bang echo in the street. Previously, he had only heard tingling sounds as if he was hitting a piece of iron with a screw, so this new sound made a smile cross his serious face.
"Fuck it!" Er Shan cursed while flying back two to three meters, his stead feet leaving the ground for a moment.
After recovering his posture, he observed his body. The pain in his chest told him at least one or two of his ribs were broke; nonetheless, that was not even the most terrifying fact.
'Don't tell me this boy has been fighting like a total newbie?' That was what concerned him the most.
Let's not talk about his light and slight unsteady steps, or the concept that proper footwork was important to get impulse and power, but channeling one's energy through every move was the basics of the basics for cultivators!
'That means he is not in the middle phase of the second layer, but…' He gulped, finding the notion of it impossible, 'the earlier phase of the third layer!'
However, seeing Yueshi lunge toward him, he had to stop with the useless thinking. It did not matter if it was the second or third phase; they were fighting, and the only way out was winning.
Yes, from the very start, what he had to do had never changed!
Meanwhile, Yueshi was extremely pleased with his newfound power and finally understood from where the gushing confidence came from.
'However, I can't just waste my energy, because it isn't endless.' He was not a fool, after all. Qi would be depleted as he fought, and if he ran out of it before his opponent… well, it didn't even need to be said.
What he had to do now was to find an opening and use it to completely and utterly destroy his opponent!