WHOOSH!!
What met their eyes was a large cloud of lime powder, forcefully thrown by Zhao Xuanqi.
"AHH!!!"
Several miserable screams rang out. The three men who had their backs or sides to Zhao Xuanqi suffered the most. It all happened so suddenly that the moment they turned their heads, they faced the lime powder Zhao Xuanqi had thrown. They were instantly blinded, a fiery, sharp pain searing their eyes, forcing them to bow their heads and clutch their faces in agony.
However, Deng Zhuo and Chen Ting, who were facing him directly or sideways, had time to react. They immediately shut their eyes, so the damage from the lime powder wasn't severe.
But Zhao Xuanqi had another move prepared.
After tossing the lime powder, he flicked his right hand toward the two men, launching over a dozen embroidery needles he had hidden between his fingers.
Zhao Qi's body hadn't undergone any special training. His hand muscles weren't strong enough, and his sense of power generation was clumsy. It was impossible to guarantee accuracy while also using force. Fortunately, there were plenty of needles. What he lacked in precision, he made up for in quantity. Besides, he never expected to kill anyone with them.
The dozen or so needles struck the two men's faces, arms, chests, and necks. One needle happened to hit Deng Zhuo right in the eye. The tip pierced his eyelid and sank into his eyeball, bringing an intense wave of pain that made him scream violently and clutch his eyes.
The force behind the needles wasn't enough to cause fatal injuries, but the instantaneous pain was more than enough to trigger a person's instinctive, reflexive reaction.
It was like subconsciously snatching your hand away after suddenly touching something scalding hot.
When suddenly struck with a piercing pain on the face and upper body, a person's first reaction is to bend over, covering their face or protecting their head with their hands.
However, Chen Ting, the tall, sturdy man sitting next to Deng Zhuo, was an exception.
After being struck in the face by the needles, he didn't hunch over to cover himself. Instead, he forced his eyes open, snatched the machete from the chair beside him, and shot up. With veins bulging on his forehead and a ferocious expression, he lunged at Zhao Xuanqi.
'This one's a tough nut to crack. No wonder he dared to speak so boldly earlier.'
Zhao Xuanqi understood at once. To be able to overcome his own instincts and instantly counter-attack after being ambushed—even if this man hadn't trained in martial arts, he was definitely an expert brawler with a wealth of fighting experience who knew exactly what to do in any given situation.
Moreover, the man was strong and sturdy, his physical ability at least thirty percent greater than Zhao Qi's.
Being able to make a loud noise and being able to land that noise on an enemy were two entirely different concepts.
One was the training method; the other was the fighting method.
Any other Outer Disciple, faced with an experienced and fearless opponent like Chen Ting, would have panicked and lost their nerve on the spot.
However, Zhao Xuanqi was no ordinary Outer Disciple from a Martial Arts Hall!
SHING!!
As his opponent lunged, he abruptly drew the two scissor blades tucked at his waist and met the man head-on without a shred of fear!
To practice the fist, first practice courage; to fight a man, first fight his nerve!
In a fight, courage is the key factor that can change the tides and reverse the balance of power!
If one side is weaker but fights with peerless ferocity, disregarding life and death, their Qi and Blood surging as they abandon all else, they can unleash one hundred and twenty percent of their strength.
On the other hand, if a stronger fighter is weighed down by worries, has no will to fight, is fearful or lacks confidence—once their courage falters, their fists will weaken, and they might not even be able to muster fifty percent of their martial prowess.
In such cases, it's not at all unusual for the weak to defeat the strong.
As a veteran street fighter, Chen Ting knew this principle well.
He was one of the Guangxi people who had come to Yuehai to make a living after disaster struck his hometown. He'd done his share of robbery and murder, making him an exceptionally fierce fighter. By a stroke of luck, he had caught the eye of the Sanshui Gang's Big Master and joined the gang. He was temporarily assigned to work under Deng Zhuo, but even Deng Zhuo usually treated him with a great deal of deference.
Although he never had the chance to practice a Secret Martial Dao, he had been strong since childhood and had years of experience in armed brawls. He knew very well that in a fight, courage and momentum were the most important things.
Many times, when armed and facing rookies, all he had to do was put on a fearless, death-defying facade. Even if he was surrounded by five or six people, they wouldn't dare make a move, though they could have easily cut him down with just a little coordination.
That was why, even when outnumbered, he could always break through an encirclement or emerge victorious.
Don't be fooled by the Named Disciples in the Martial Arts Hall, or even some of the Outer Disciples. They might practice their stances until they look impressive, their punches splitting the air with the crack of a firecracker, demonstrating extraordinary power.
But in a real street brawl with blades, they would be no match for him.
Faced with a gleaming blade, those rookies would lose half their nerve before the fight even started. It would be a miracle if they didn't get cold feet. How could they possibly compare to him?
Therefore, when he saw that the attacker was Zhao Qi, though he was puzzled as to how he'd infiltrated the warehouse and surprised by his courage and planning, Chen Ting still felt a certain degree of confidence.
He was strong, sturdy, and had a long weapon. As long as he could weather the first wave of the ambush, there was no reason he should lose to some wet-behind-the-ears brat.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that in the face of his own ferocious charge, the brat showed no signs of retreat or fear. Instead, he pulled weapons from both sides of his waist and came right at him, his eyes glinting with a terrifying, predatory light.
It was as if a wild beast had locked its eyes on its prey. In that instant, it was Chen Ting who felt a flicker of fear.
'This kid... actually has this kind of nerve?!'
'Fine, then! Let me cut you down head-on!!'
Chen Ting grit his teeth, forcing his courage to the surface. His face twisted into a snarl as he brought his machete down in a diagonal slash aimed at Zhao Xuanqi's neck and shoulder. Though he hadn't studied any Sword Technique, the strike was still fast and vicious.
FSSSH!!
The blade sliced through the air, creating a soft whistling sound.
Then, he saw Zhao Xuanqi, in the middle of his own forward rush, lightly tap the ground with his toes. His upper body leaned back slightly as his entire frame spun with the speed of a gyroscope.
It was nimble and graceful, as beautiful as a dance, like a sparrow flitting swiftly through a thorny bush.
Hundred Beasts Fist, one of the Four Forms: the Soaring Form.
Sparrow Dance.
The diagonally slashing blade was evaded with this single, dance-like movement.
And it was more than just a simple dodge.
In the space of that single turn, the distance between them closed to almost nothing.
Chen Ting's slash had missed. His momentum was spent, his body was off-balance, and he was unable to make another move.
But Zhao Xuanqi, adding the inertia from his spin, unleashed one hundred and twenty percent of both his power and speed.
With the scissor blade in a reverse grip, he stabbed it into Chen Ting's neck like the sharp beak of a bird.
The location of the wound was almost identical to that of the five guards who had died outside the warehouse.
Then, Zhao Xuanqi forcefully pulled the scissor blade out.
SQUELCH!!
Bright red blood sprayed from Chen Ting's neck like a fountain. His eyes filled with disbelief, as if he couldn't accept that he had been so easily killed in a single exchange by a mere brat.
Filled with indignation and unanswered questions, the whites of his eyes slowly showed, and he collapsed limply to the ground.
A single clash, a single instant, and the line between life and death was drawn!
This was a true life-or-death battle!
In trying to compete with Zhao Xuanqi in skill and experience, Chen Ting had clearly picked the wrong opponent.
Their entire exchange had lasted less than two seconds. By the time the fight was over, the three men blinded by the lime powder had yet to regain their sight. They were instinctively enduring the pain and fumbling frantically for their weapons when Zhao Xuanqi, with a few swift movements, easily ended their lives.
Meanwhile, Deng Zhuo was still clutching his stabbed eye, the pain unrelenting. When it subsided just enough for him to force his eyes open again, he looked up into the condescending, placid face of Zhao Xuanqi.