The longer Shao Yi chased after Xu Xiaoshou, the angrier he got. He had come to firmly believe that this man was Xu Xiaoshou.
He wondered just how cautious Xu Xiaoshou was for not daring to fight him, even when he was already in such a miserable state.
He regretted everything.
He thought that he should have just blasted that pretentious idiot down as soon as he'd gotten the chance back then instead of wasting time trying to figure him out.
If he had attacked just once, Xu Xiaoshou's cover would have been completely blown.
But then again, he was also curious as to just how Xu Xiaoshou had managed to mess that compound up in such a short period of time.
There was simply no way anyone would have been able to do that, conventionally speaking.
Furthermore, being able to make such a huge mess could also mean that Xu Xiaoshou knew that they were coming before they came, and Shao Yi wondered how that was possible.
That kid was only at Spiritual Cultivation level eight or nine, man!
Shao Yi shuddered to find that Xu Xiaoshou was already at level nine.
That meant that he had also coincidentally made a breakthrough in his training.
He became increasingly confused about everything, and wondered just how Xu Xiaoshou had managed to do all of that in such a short period of time.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
Shao Yi glared at the man before him, who was evidently very good at running, before eventually running out of patience and shouting, "If you're a man, stay where you are!"
Xu Xiaoshou was amused. "You're here to kill me and you're telling me to stop running?" he thought. "What do you want me to do? Roll over, put my neck to your sword, and really make it easy for you to kill me?"
"Catch me if you can!" he shouted.
"…"
Shao Yi took a deep breath and stopped. He was already at his limit.
If it wasn't for those "ghostly flames" burning him, he could have had the kid kneel before him. The flames were just too troublesome. If he were to keep chasing, it would only be a matter of time before his [Spiritual Source] was depleted, which meant that he could really just die on the spot.
He realized that he had to run.
"You wanna run? H*ll no!"
Before he could manage to turn around and bolt, Xu Xiaoshou, who was running in front of him, turned around and pounced at him with clenched fists.
Shao Yi was going crazy. "What is wrong with this kid?"
"Does he, like, have eyes on the back of his head?" he thought. "Eyes that can read minds, even?"
He wondered just how Xu Xiaoshou was able to read his every move with utter precision.
"Let's go, then!"
Seeing Xu Xiaoshou charging at him, Shao Yi immediately summoned his short sword from the wall and waited for the chance to strike.
"Huh? You're not running away now?"
Xu Xiaoshou stopped, then ran again.
Shao Yi: "What the f**k?"
"Godd*mn you!
"Oh, this kid really knows how to play tricks."
At that moment, it didn't just feel like the world was crashing down around him. It felt like death was imminent. He was about to be torn to pieces!
At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou stopped and slowly turned around, smirking like a demon as he walked up to Shao Yi.
"I'm guessing… that you've run out of [Spiritual Source]?"
Shao Yi's heart sank. He checked his energy reserve and found that his [Spiritual Source] was indeed about to be depleted.
"That as**ole…" he thought.
"He's buying time!"
A that moment Shao Yi full realized that despite looking like a lunatic, Xu Xiaoshou was actually wearing him down with the "ghost flames," and he knew that he would definitely be worn down to nothing if the situation continued.
"Calm down!" he thought.
"I can't afford to be infuriated."
He realized that he'd made a fatal mistake that no professional killer should've made. He immediately calmed himself down and sneered, "Do you really think you can take me down with your ghost flames?"
"What else, then?" Xu Xiaoshou slowly walked up to him.
Shao Yi chuckled. Had this kid gone crazy? He really didn't think he could just replenish his [Spiritual Source]?
He flipped his hand, and a pill appeared on his palm. He looked like he was about to throw into his mouth.
Yet, Xu Xiaoshou, who was still walking up to Shao Yi, must've predicted this from the start, because he sucked hard, and the pill disappeared, disintegrating into a fine mist that hovered over him.
He only took one-tenth of the pill's power, and let the rest scatter into the air.
Shao Yi was completely baffled.
Just what kind of demonic art was this?
He then took out yet another pill, not believing that Xu Xiaoshou could pull the same trick again, yet despite trying as hard as he could to hold onto the pill, it still took Xu Xiaoshou only one sucking breath to draw all that spiritual energy away.
Shao Yi fell to his knees, suddenly feeling as if the world before him had gone dark.
Despite being at the peak of [Origin Court Level], this was his first time feeling like death was imminent, even though he was only fighting an insect who was at Spiritual Cultivation level nine.
"Thank you for your pills. Anything else?"
Xu Xiaoshou only shuddered slightly and showed no other signs of wavering.
He was controlling the might of [Breathing Technique], enabling him to suck in only the right amount of spiritual energy needed.
Those weren't his own pills, and he deemed that it was enough to take just a whiff. The rush of taking in more would cause him to go out of control, and he wasn't about to give that man who was out to kill him any chances.
Crackle, crackle.
Shao Yi was evidently unable to resist the terrifying might of the [Infernal Heavenly Flames] now that his [Spiritual Source] was near empty. His face immediately twisted.
He knew that he had nowhere to run. His physical body wasn't all that strong, and his [Spiritual Source] was almost gone, making escape impossible.
"I just wanna know right now if you really are at Spiritual Cultivation Level nine," Shao Yi asked disparingly.
There was no way he'd believe that Xu Xiaoshou had only that bit of powers. He deemed that the kid had duped everyone from the Outer Yard.
Xu Xiaoshou seemd to relax his guard. "Oh, conventional powers are not my forte," he said.
Shao Yi hung his head low in silence, gritting his teeth as he resisted the flames, which had almost charred his entire body.
"Can I ask you a question?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.
Shao Yi looked up at him.
"What level are you at?"
Shao Yi had been prepared to stay mum or take everything he knew to the grave. He totally didn't expect Xu Xiaoshou to ask this instead, and he wondered what his level had to do with the assassination attempt.
"[Origin Court Level]. Peak." Shao Yi didn't conceal the fact.
"Peak at [Origin Court Level]?" Xu Xiaoshou repeated the line and stayed silent for a bit before uttering, "So weak…"
Shao Yi was completely baffled.
Blood was seeping out of the corners of his eyes and spurting from his mouth. He clenched his fists tight all of a sudden, yet then quickly released them.
Oh ho?
He was already done for, then?
Xu Xiaoshou had long been aware of this from [Sense], yet he just kept yapping away. "So, your friend. He's at [Voidness Level]?"
"Yeah."
"Your name?"
"Feng Jia."
"Your friend's?"
"Shao Kong."
"Hehe, like I'd buy that."
"…"
"Why the f**k did you bother asking then!?" he thought.
Shao Yi was so p*ssed he was speechless. His entire body started spasming. The [Infernal Heavenly Flames] had shrouded his entire body by this point, and he looked like he would be reduced to dust the next second.
"Any last words? Spill."
Xu Xiaoshou never let his guard down. Despite looking high and mighty, as if death didn't concern him, he was extremely tense at that moment.
"He's nearing his end, eh?" he thought.
"Self-destruct?
"Or is he gonna teleport out of here?"
Xu Xiaoshou had no idea what would happen next, yet he'd already inwardly listed out all the possible tricks the man might have up his sleeve, determined not to give that man any chance at escape.
Bloody mist burst from Shao Yi as Xu Xiaoshou continued to ponder. All of Shao Yi's soul and power was amplified in an instant and charged at him with a thrust of his sword.
"Die!"
"I knew it…" Xi Xiaoshou thought.
Caught off-guard, he fell back, yet when the two were about to touch each other, a black beam shot out from his chest, punching through the bloody figure.
Pfftt!
Despite having put his hand up to block it in the nick of time, Xu Xiaoshou's chest was nonetheless pierced by Shao Yi's short sword.
A mysterious force deflected both parties away, and the next sword attack from Shao Yi missed, punching only through the air.
Which was where Xu Xiaoshou's heart should've been.
"How can this be?" Shao Yi's expression was that of shock.
"[Reverse Sword Style]"
Before Shao Yi could get himself together after being sent flying, the sound of a sword slicing through the air was heard, and Hiding Pain shot out and cleanly sliced his head off.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The kill was as clean as could be.
...