"By the way, who is this 'Grandmaster' that you have been yapping about? I would like to know him better." Zhao Wei lifted his fingers to gesture air quotations as he glided downwards from the tree trunk.
Mu Dao created a distance with him. Even though he was hopeless and on the verge of giving up, Mu Dao didn't want to just hand over his life. As a dignified Martial Master, Mu Dao deemed it better to, at least, leave his opponent with a severe injury that would make him suffer a lot.
As for information about the 'Grandmaster' that Zhao Wei was inquiring about, Mu Dao could only scoff at him.
"I am not obliged to tell you anything, kid."
"But since you are formidable, I can relay a little bit of information for you to spare my life."
"What do you think? Is the deal good?" Mu Dao proposed in a convincing tone, all in an attempt to indirectly be spared from death.
Zhao Wei stopped his movements for a moment and arched his eyebrow.
"You want to tell me such important information, brother?" Zhao Wei smiled amiably as if he had met one of his long-lost buddies.
Mu Dao showed a visible cringe but controlled himself lest he lashed out at Zhao Wei for calling him brother.
'The little sh*t killed my whole gang and now he dares to call me 'brother'. If that isn't a blatant mockery, then what is?' Mu Dao clenched his jaw.
"Is the deal good or not?"
Zhao Wei pouted lightly as if considering the matter.
"I think It's not bad. I will spare your life if you tell me about Grandmaster."
'Foolish brat. Easily gullible toddler. The moment I survive this ordeal, there is no way I won't be looking for revenge.' Mu Dao snickered internally.
'Keke, he thinks that I am going to tell him anything about Grandmaster? Keep dreaming!'
Mu Dao cleared his throat.
"Um, I have another condition apart from sparing my life."
Zhao Wei gestured for him to continue.
"Can you eat my sh*t and drink my piss before I tell you such top-secret Intel?" Mu Dao laughed out crazily and almost immediately, used [Blood Burning Escape Art].
Mu Dao used the remaining energy he had to propel himself forward like a ball, his speed inevitably breaking the sound barrier and surpassing it.
Mu Dao had used up his whole potential to utilize such speed as his figure - a blur of red light - traversed several kilometres in a matter of seconds.
He had only been stalling for time to get an opening once again.
Who talks nonsense with an enemy that they are supposed to kill regardless of the crucial information they have?
Mu Dao had never spared talking with enemies that were soon to fall. The earlier he killed them the better instead of wasting his time.
Mu Dao instinctively touched his pocket to feel if that 'thing' was still there and mentally sighed after finding it was still intact.
That was his ticket to enter the grounds of the Grandmaster or else he would be stranded with that monster.
Mu Dao knew that Zhao Wei's speed was unimaginable but he had doubts if the brat could achieve such speeds without using a forbidden technique.
He had once escaped from a Peak Rank Eighth Rank Martial Master with his life barely hanging with [Blood Burning Escape Art]. So Zhao Wei, a mere Seventh Rank junior, shouldn't have a more exaggerated speed boost, right?
As Mu Dao was thinking while crazily running, he suddenly sensed a shadow from the sky.
Against the strong light of the sun, Mu Dao couldn't see the features of the shadow clearly so he had little impression of it.
But the shadow stayed vertical to his motion before he saw a heel kick gravitating down to him.
"Fucking relentless sh*t!" Mu Dao cursed under his breath as he evaded the kick that created a 5-meter radius crater on the ground.
The shockwaves pushed his back against a huge thick tree, further aggravating his only severe injuries.
"Bleurgh!"
Mu Dao dropped to his knees before coughing up another mouthful of clotted blood.
The internal bleeding was more intense this time round and all the bones of his left arm had been broken.
His face was beyond pale and his eyes bloodshot as a result of using [Blood Burning Escape Art]
His mind hovered between the realm of consciousness and unconsciousness and Mu Dao felt that he would really faint if he wasn't careful.
Mu Dao ultimately bit his tongue to stay awake.
"Bleurgh!" He coughed up blood again as he tried to support his body using his still-usable right hand.
'The shockwave increased in intensity?! Is that a human body or a body made out of divine metal? Fuck, I am totally out of juice. I don't think I can survive this.' Mu Dao used his upper-tier Blade to support his weight and strenuously pulled himself up.
But Mu Dao didn't stand for long as he felt a burning hot pain drill through his knee joints in succession.
"Aaargh!"
"Aaargh!"
"Damn it! Fucking sh*t!" Mu Dao shrieked in pain as his remaining upper torso looked at his lower body.
His legs weren't with him! They were on their own as separate entities.
Then Mu Dao looked at his profusely bleeding decapitated legs, thick blood spraying like an opened champagne all over.
Mu Dao had yet to feel the full pain. The neural message seemed to have experienced a delay.
"My Leg! My leg!"
"What did you do to my legs?!"
"I-I am a cripple? Did you just make me a cripple?!"
"T-This can't be happening?!"
"I will fucking kill you!" Mu Dao turned hysterical.
"Who is Grandmaster?" A shadow loomed over his sorry state as an apathetic voice followed soon.
"Fuck! Fuck! Even if I die, I am not spitting a thing! Go fuck yourself, kid!" Mu Dao wore a bloody grin as he threw spit toward the shadow.
"It seems you haven't hurt enough." Zhao Wei said nonchalantly.
'This bastard is only going to torture me like a madman. I have only one option then…' Mu Dao rolled out the pill from under his tongue.
It was a pill specifically made for this type of situation.
Suicide.
"You want to suicide, right? Tch, then it seems I can't get anything from you. It's a pity. Truly a pity." Zhao Wei spoke in a regretful tone.
"Go on, kill yourself but don't think about performing a suspended animation technique. I will cut off your head just to be sure." Zhao Wei switched his tone to that of nonchalance.
Mu Dao choked on his own blood and struggled to breathe after hearing Zhao Wei's words.
'Fuck how did he know the effects of the pill?!'
'Plan C.'
As if possessed, Mu Dao immediately used his blade and swiftly cut through his carotid artery and jugular vein. Blood spilled and his eyes were extinguished of their life and vitality.
Zhao Wei frowned as he looked at the dead body.
"Another variable. Who is this high-sounding grandmaster figure?" Zhao Wei clicked his tongue as he searched the corpse for anything of value.
Moments later, he was holding a black stone with a glossy surface. It also had small runic inscriptions written all over it.
"This stone…" Zhao Wei raised his brows as he thoroughly inspected the inanimate oddity.
"That's something I gave little Dao in case he came to visit me." An old voice full of vibrancy and ancientness reverberated in Zhao Wei's ears catching him off by surprise.
Zhao Wei followed the direction of the sound and saw an emaciated old man with long white eyebrows that reached his cheekbones and on his stubborn chin, a similarly long white beard grew.
His face looked serene and his old eyes shone with wisdom.
In his hand, he held a long spear.
"Gandalf?"
***
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