Destiny in Cinders

Bone cracked audibly as the punch shattered the tough reinforced plastic armor, seemingly melting half the face behind it. Around five teeth came flying out along with a spurt of saliva mixed with blood. Old Blade spun in the air for a few times before smashing into the ground.

"Old Blade?!" Seeing An Jing deck Old Blade in this manner stunned the gang members. They had noticed him sitting with Huo Qing early on but hadn't really paid him any heed even after he disarmed Old Blade by knocking away his dagger. At the end of the day, he was but a child in his teens with some meager skill. There was no way he would be able to harm people like them who had survived countless battles.

When they finally realized the error of their ways, they immediately got alert and silently surrounded him. Gunner and his guards were a group of six in total. An Jing had punched one of them out, leaving five of them.

As two of them came to flank An Jing, Gunner pulled out a long stick from his belt. He shook it in a practiced motion and extended it into a spear. Such a speedy reaction showed that Gunner was by no means an amateur. Not to mention, he was at the Tide Essence Stage, which was probably the highest he could cultivate as someone without spirit roots. But years of training had refined his mastery over the stage to a really high degree.

Alas, An Jing was much better trained and faster than he was. The moment Gunner and the others made their move, he had already simulated how everything would go in his mind. No matter what, they seemed intent on killing Huo Qing. Since he was seated at the same table, he would inevitably be wrapped up in this. His options were to take the humiliation or to silence them for good.

An Jing definitely wouldn't accept letting a friend whom he had just saved be killed by others just like that, nor would he allow any goons to dictate who around him lived or died. So, he decided to crush this pack of savage dogs for good!

Right as the enemy got into formation, An Jing took a heavy step towards Gunner and swung a firm punch toward his eyes with Armorpierce Impetus. The punch came so quickly that Gunner was forced to drop his spear in order to block it with his arms. With a great thud, he felt a force reverberate through his twitching muscles. It almost shattered his entire form. Had it not been for his slightly superior cultivation, that punch would've flattened him! How could someone like him muster so much force? He's just a kid!

An Jing's martial skill was much stronger than he imagined, however. He closed the distance even more, pulling his right fist back and building up the tension in his elbow before launching another punch to knock Gunner off his feet.

Fuck! Gunner knew that things were going south the moment his hands were knocked aside. He was about to stabilize his body and launch a front kick to force An Jing back, only to feel a shock near his chin that sent his face turning left.

An Jing's left straight landed on his chin, knocking him out cold from the concussion. Having taken out the strongest foe in the group, he stomped on Gunner's unconscious head and was about to use it as a stepping stone to launch himself into the air and avoid some gunshots.

He had many other backup plans. Perhaps the other guards were afraid of firing on Gunner and wouldn't shoot. If that was the case, he would kick his body towards the fatty on the right and use it as a shield to take care of three more foes before using a gun to shoot the fourth. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

What actually happened wasn't what he expected, however. The guards shook and instinctively reached toward their guns, but forced themselves to stop. Are guns not allowed to be used here? Was that why Gunner drew his spear rather than a firearm? Without hesitating, he stepped towards the others.

"We give up!" said the tall, lanky one with his arms raised as he got to the ground. "Sir, we were blind fools who barked at the wrong people! Please show us simple folk here mercy!"

The other three quickly knelt on the ground in a motion more fluid than how their boss had drawn his gun. "Mighty Sir! We yield! Spare our pathetic lives, Sir!"

Given that they couldn't use their firearms and with their boss knocked out, the remaining four knew that they were in deep shit. The smartest thing to do was to give up and beg.

An Jing didn't believe their surrender, however. This was no laughing matter. He swiftly punched each of them and none of them resisted. "Wait, they were serious about giving up?"

I don't suppose killing is allowed in town, right? There's no reason for them to surrender so easily otherwise. Still, they had tried to "take out" Huo Qing... Maybe they didn't necessarily mean kill? It didn't matter. He held back on delivering the coup de grace.

Had the goons known that An Jing wasn't familiar with their rules, they would've sweated nonstop with fear. If they had known that he was so powerful and didn't know their ways, they would've yielded long ago.

An Jing's fight had only taken mere moments. Even though it was over, most normal folk had run away to hide, leaving the food stall completely empty. They reacted so swiftly like they were used to it.

Then, Boss Liu emerged with a meat cleaver, prepared to join the fight, only to be shocked by what he saw. "That's... that's it?!"

That really was it. An Jing picked up the spear Gunner had dropped. It shook and returned to its compact stick form that could be hung on the belt. It seemed to be made of decent, solid materials and had intricate craftsmanship. Given the potent spirit energy it held, it seemed like a decent artifact. It even worked well as a baton.

"Who is this? He seems quite well off," An Jing said after collecting his spoils. Huo Qing and the rest looked at him like he was a lucky cat. "Huo Qing, what's up? Why did these people want to kill you?"

Huo Qing opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to explain something, but his words left him. The only thing he said was, "But I'm just an accountant..."