Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"The Young Master is waiting for you in the Underworld!"

Xu Yang thrust out both palms, which he had been charging for some time. The surging True Qi blasted the air, letting out a muffled roar like crashing tidal waves.

Zhang Sishui’s pupils constricted violently, his face a mask of horror. He never imagined that the man before him wasn’t Xu Zheng, but a master assassin here to kill him.

He wanted to counterattack, to defend, but he had been too concerned about his son and had pulled the man right in front of him. The distance was far too close. By the time he realized something was wrong, his opponent’s palms were already inches away. All he could do was try to retreat and create distance while frantically mobilizing True Qi to his chest.

But it was too late. He had barely begun to move when two palms, crackling with immense Force, slammed heavily into his chest.

"BAM!"

"CRACK!"

Along with the sharp crack of breaking bone, Zhang Sishui looked as if he’d been struck by lightning. His eyes bulged, instantly becoming webbed with blood.

"SPURT!"

The shockwave from the impact surged outward, blasting his sleep clothes to shreds. His sturdy, muscular chest had caved in, revealing two distinct Palm Seals.

The man closest to the impact, Old Fifth, let out a pained shriek and was sent flying by the aftershock.

"Mixed Element Strength..."

Zhang Sishui coughed up a great mouthful of blood, his voice laced with terror.

’A master who has grasped Mixed Element Strength... I wouldn’t stand a chance against someone like that even in a fair fight. To think he’d resort to a shameless sneak attack! He shattered my sternum and ruptured my internal organs in a single strike.’

’With injuries this severe, I’m a dead man, even if he doesn’t strike again.’

’He’s tough to kill. Much stronger than Zhang Tong.’

Xu Yang hadn’t expected to fail to kill Zhang Sishui in one blow. After all, his attacks could punch clean through a tree as thick as a water bucket.

’Good thing I chose a sneak attack. If I had faced him head-on, I would’ve been injured even if I won.’

An astonishing aura erupted from his body, and his wild hair whipped about.

Xu Yang lunged forward, sticking to him like a shadow. The muscles along his spine rippled like a great dragon as he channeled power into his right fist and unleashed another punch.

The fist shot out like lightning, like the thrust of a great spear, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek.

This punch was even more ferocious than the last Palm strike. He had held back before, worried about exposing his aura, so it hadn’t been his strongest attack. Now, with nothing to hold him back, the churning power within him swelled, causing his robes to billow.

"ARGH..."

Zhang Sishui roared. The pressure of facing life and death drove him into a frenzy. No longer trying to suppress his injuries, he let the True Qi he had cultivated his entire life erupt from his body in a torrential tide.

But it was useless. The punch, empowered by Mixed Element Strength, instantly tore through his True Qi, shattered his chest, and burst out from his back.

His organs, flesh, and bone were obliterated. Amidst a spray of blood, a gaping hole, clear from front to back, appeared in his torso.

His body instantly went still. His True Qi dissipated, washing over the surroundings like a tidal wave.

"Why?"

Zhang Sishui asked with the last of his strength, his face filled with bitter resentment. He couldn’t understand when he had ever offended such a powerful master.

The next moment, his body went rigid and toppled over. He was dead on the spot.

"The Gang Leader has been killed!"

"Run!"

...

Just then, the Sishui Gang members who resided at the Main Altar arrived. Seeing Zhang Sishui’s rigid corpse, they were all frightened, their faces turning ashen.

Xu Yang charged out. To avoid leaving any traces of his Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist, he snatched a blade and began to slaughter. In a little over thirty seconds, everyone present had been cut down, leaving only Old Fifth, the man who had supported him earlier.

"Sir, spare my life..." Old Fifth nearly pissed himself in terror, collapsing to the ground in a heap.

Xu Yang grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up. "Take me to where the Sishui Gang hides its money, and I’ll let you live."

"Okay!"

Staring at this god of death who had killed Zhang Sishui in two blows, Old Fifth hastily agreed.

"Well? Lead the way."

With a fierce glare from Xu Yang, Old Fifth scrambled and started running.

After a series of twists and turns, an iron-sheathed door appeared before them.

"This is the Sishui Gang’s most important room, Sir. I don’t have the key," Old Fifth said, pointing at the door.

"SNAP!"

Xu Yang’s large hand released its grip on Old Fifth’s neck; he had already snapped it. He strode forward and kicked. With a loud BANG, the iron-sheathed door splintered into pieces.

It appeared to be a storeroom. The first things to catch his eye were dozens of blades arranged on a rack and a large chest.

There was also a desk, upon which sat three small boxes and several ledgers.

Xu Yang first opened the large chest on the floor. It was filled to the brim with copper coins—at least ten thousand of them.

’All of it blood money, extorted from the people.’

He turned and opened the small boxes on the desk. The first contained Qi-Replenishing Powder, about ten packs of it, worth thirty taels. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He opened the second small box, and the gleam of white silver met his eyes. Xu Yang roughly estimated it to be thirty or forty taels, with a few silver banknotes underneath.

Without bothering to count it carefully, he opened the third box.

’A Secret Manual!’

A yellowed book lay quietly inside the box. Inscribed on its blue cover were the large words "Flying Swallow Skill."

Overjoyed, Xu Yang immediately snatched the manual and stuffed it into his robes. He then quickly tossed the two small boxes into the large chest, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and bolted.

After running for a quarter of an hour, he reached the spot where he had hidden his clothes. He first washed the blood he’d used for his disguise from his face in a nearby ditch, then changed clothes before continuing home with the chest on his shoulder.

This time, he didn’t hide the chest outside. With Zhang Sishui and Zhang Tong dead, and a good number of the Sishui Gang’s higher-ups killed by his hand, the remaining members could stir up no trouble. He could take the chest home without fear of anyone daring to search his house.

’What a haul! At least one hundred and fifty taels!’