"Senior Brother Cloud Collins, there's no need to waste words with this kid. Our things don't need to be shared with anyone else."
The speaker was a young man by Li Xingyun's side, who had reached the Martial Veins Third Layer.
Though not as strong as Li Xingyun, he definitely seemed more formidable than Ling Xiao on the surface.
"Li Rui! Don't say that! I believe Brother Ling is a smart man!"
Li Xingyun was truly a thorough hypocrite, desiring the corpse of the Howling Moon Wolf yet still feigning the air of a gentleman. Truly nauseating.
Ling Xiao remained silent, merely looking at these people with indifference.
Truth be told, among these people, the only one he slightly feared was Li Xingyun—and even then, Li Xingyun was injured and at less than half his strength.
He naturally wasn't afraid.
As for the others, they didn't matter to him at all.
"What do you say, Brother Ling? What compensation do you need? As long as it's within a range we can accept, we will give it to you!"
Seeing Ling Xiao remain silent, Li Xingyun asked again.
This time, Ling Xiao spoke up because he still needed some time to recover his True Qi, and this could buy him some time.
The others apparently didn't know what he was up to, as martial artists below the Martial Veins Third Layer rarely practiced the Qi Recovery Technique.
And even if they did practice it, the effects wouldn't be very good.
He was an exception. Naturally, they wouldn't think that under the influence of the Mountain and River Martial Soul, the effectiveness of all martial arts would improve.
At the moment, his Mountain and River Martial Soul was at level one.
The improvement effect was ten percent.
"Brother Li, how do you propose we divide it?"
Li Xingyun stroked his chin and said, "How about this? There are thirteen people present today, including you. If we divide by headcount, you still wouldn't get ten percent. But since Brother Ling has contributed, we could suffer a small loss and give you ten percent. The remaining ninety percent, we divide. How's that?"
"Give him ten percent? Isn't that too generous to him? Three of our brothers died, and we still have to provide for their families."
Li Rui grumbled discontentedly.
"Right, it's too much. Why should he get ten percent?"
The other Li Family Members also agreed with Li Rui's point of view.
"Not even ten percent for me? Heh, I've seen shameless, but never this shameless!"
Ling Xiao actually laughed; he thought Li Xingyun was shameless enough, but the others were even worse.
"Kid, if you don't want it, forget it! Giving you a portion is out of our kindness. What can you do if we don't?"
Li Rui sneered, his face full of scorn and disdain.
They had the advantage in numbers and several among them were clearly stronger than the opponent.
What was there to fear?
The Four Great Families of Tianfeng City were constantly competing with each other anyway. Even if they chose not to give anything, what could be done about it?
"Is that so? I was actually thinking of giving you some because your people died, but now, you won't get a single hair from it!"
Ling Xiao spoke the truth; he wasn't an unreasonable person. But seeing their shamelessness, he could no longer afford to be courteous.
Speak human words to people, ghost words to ghosts.
If you're so ungrateful and shameless, don't blame me, Ling Xiao, for lacking righteousness.
"You brat, you're really asking for death!"
Li Rui shouted furiously, his longsword trembling as he directly thrust it toward Ling Xiao's throat.
He was actually trying to silence him with murder.
After all, killing someone in this forest would leave no witnesses to their deed.
Besides, they had never even heard the name Ling Xiao before, indicating he was just an insignificant disciple of the Ling Family; killing him would cause no trouble for them.
Li Xingyun did not intervene.
Because he was injured, he couldn't make a move, but although Li Rui was slightly less powerful, he was clearly much stronger than the opponent and should win easily.
"Fierce Wind Sword!"
The sword technique that Li Rui executed was the same as Li Xingyun's, the Advanced Martial Arts Fierce Wind Sword Technique.
However, in terms of momentum and power, it was clearly much weaker than Li Xingyun's.
"Fellow Li Rui has cultivated his Fierce Wind Sword Technique to the fourth layer. Although it's not as good as Senior Brother Cloud Collins, that kid definitely can't block it!"
"Serves that kid right for being so unappreciative. He deserves to die!"
Having no sense of gratitude, the Li Family Members showed schadenfreude upon seeing Li Rui making a move to kill Ling Xiao.
Is this the clan strife among families?
It's truly ruthless!
But today, they have picked the wrong target to bully!
"Truly, ignorance breeds fearlessness!"
Facing the attack, Ling Xiao revealed a cold smirk.
He was born a beggar and had understood from his early years that there was no such thing as pity in this world; when someone wanted to kill you, you could only survive by killing them first!
He had seen this kind of situation times without number!
"Eh?"
As Li Rui's longsword thrust forward, Ling Xiao suddenly vanished without a trace.
The boulder he had been sitting cross-legged upon was pierced by the Fierce Wind Sword, sending shards flying everywhere.
If that had struck a person, they would have undoubtedly been killed.
"What kind of body movement technique is this?"
"How can it be so fast!"
Including Li Xingyun, all the Li Family members were dumbstruck. Ling Xiao had been sitting there one moment and the next he had disappeared, leaving them completely bewildered about what had happened.
The only thing they sensed was a fleeting shadow, and Li Rui's target had disappeared.
"Senior Brother Li Rui, be careful!"
Ling Xiao appeared behind Li Rui, but he had no intention of using the Hundred Steps Flying Sword.
The distance was too short; the power of the Hundred Steps Flying Sword would not be as domineering as the Falling Star Fist.
"Fierce Wind Sword's second move—Cleaving Wind!"
Li Rui felt someone behind him and hurriedly turned around to swing his sword, attempting to force Ling Xiao back.
However, Ling Xiao had no intention of giving him that chance.
"I have yet to use the Falling Star Fist's ninth move, let's have you test its power!"
Falling Star Fist's ninth move—Meteor Fall!
Ling Xiao held nothing back. He detested those ungrateful enough to deliver a fatal blow without just cause.
So, when he struck, it was with the intent to kill!
He not only used the most powerful move from Falling Star Fist but also combined it with the Bursting Qi Technique!
"Show mercy!"
Li Xingyun sensed the power of this punch and hurriedly intervened.
"I'm going to die!"
Li Rui's feeling was even more intense; it was as if he saw a meteor crashing towards him. The terrifying momentum left him unable to breathe and his body immobilized.
He couldn't understand how his cultivation level, which was clearly higher than Ling Xiao's, could feel so vastly inferior in terms of momentum.
Of course, he couldn't comprehend; with the bonus from the Mountain and River Martial Soul, and the Falling Star Fist's ninth move under the effect of the Bursting Qi Technique, the punch's strength had already surpassed that of a Martial Meridian Third Layer Peak martial artist!
Boom!
Ling Xiao's fist landed solidly on Li Rui's body.
"Crack!"
The sound of bones shattering resounded.
Afterward, Li Rui was sent flying and slammed heavily into a nearby tree.
His head lolled to the side, and he no longer had a breath left in him.
Furthermore, his death was not a pretty sight; his body was almost completely deformed from the impact.
Bones in his entire body were nearly all shattered.
On top of that, there were traces of burns from flames.
Those were the special effects of the Crimson Sun Technique.
"Senior Brother Li Rui!"
"You! You actually killed Senior Brother Li Rui!"
"I'll fight you to the death!"
"Stop everyone!"
Li Xingyun's heart was filled with rage; he too wished to avenge Li Rui but he was very aware that nobody present could be a match for someone who could kill Li Rui with a single punch.
Unless he, Li Xingyun, was not injured right now.
Alas, his wounds were still grievous, and if he were to act rashly, his fate would surely be no better than Li Rui's.
The other Li Family disciples, reprimanded by Li Xingyun, suddenly came to a realization.
They understood Ling Xiao's terrifying strength!
This fellow's power, it definitely exceeded that of the Martial Veins Second Layer Peak!