"You’re this powerful? What kind of Martial Arts do you even cultivate?"

Kong Yu seemed to snap out of their frenzied exchange, his face a mask of disbelief.

He had a Lower A-class Root Bone, making it easier for him to temper his Physique than for the average person. But after trading just over twenty blows with Xu Yang, his arms had actually started to crack.

Now, his arms trembled faintly. The piercing pain made his vision darken, and he felt that if they continued to clash head-on, his arms would be pulverized.

Xu Yang ignored him. His expression only grew colder as he strode forward to finish him off.

’His defeat is already apparent. I need to make sure he doesn’t escape.’

His fists, covered in Gang Qi and carrying immense Force, blasted forward, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Kong Yu’s expression changed drastically. He no longer dared to meet Xu Yang head-on. He sidestepped to reposition himself and threw a horizontal punch at Xu Yang’s temple, his fist like an iron drill.

Xu Yang raised an arm to block horizontally, while his other hand shot out like a cold, venomous snake, a phantom image striking toward Kong Yu’s armpit.

This technique was exquisite and the angle tricky. From Kong Yu’s perspective, it looked as if two fists were coming at him at once, and he couldn’t tell which was real.

He could only take a step back and strike one of them.

BANG! 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

His luck was good. He had chosen the real fist; the other was just a shadow formed by Gang Qi.

The two fists collided. Blood splattered as the arm, already covered in fissures, cracked further, revealing the stark white bone beneath.

Although his Gang Qi instantly staunched the bleeding, the Force he could exert was once again sharply reduced.

"AHHH!"

Kong Yu let out an involuntary, miserable scream, a look of terror appearing on his face. He knew that if this continued, he would be the one to die today.

After such a prolonged, bitter fight, Xu Yang’s stamina showed no signs of weakening. On the contrary, he grew even more ferocious, the silver-white sheen on his body growing brighter and brighter, as if he were about to transform into a man of iron.

"Kong Yu, you’re not going back today."

Xu Yang roared, striding forward and punching with both fists, intending to beat Kong Yu to death.

Kong Yu’s hair was disheveled, and his expression was one of terror. His composure was gone.

He had never imagined that in a fight against Xu Yang, he would be the one to lose.

BOOM!

A ferocious blast of Gang Qi erupted, surging like a monstrous wave. Without the slightest hesitation, Kong Yu turned and fled.

He ran!

"Weren’t you going to kill me? After ambushing me here for three days, why are you running now?"

Xu Yang’s Iron Fist blasted through the Gang Qi. He activated Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind, catching up in a single stride. His five fingers clamped down on Kong Yu’s fissure-covered hand.

Tearing Sinews and Shattering Bones.

His fingers suddenly exerted Force. With a jolt and a tear—a sickening RIP—a large chunk of flesh was ripped clean off.

"AHHH!"

A heart-wrenching scream echoed across the wilderness. Kong Yu’s vision went black from the pain. He staggered, nearly fainting.

Xu Yang’s assault was like a surging tide. He tossed aside the bloody piece of flesh in his hand, his Iron Fist tearing through the air to strike Kong Yu’s temple.

In that life-or-death moment, Kong Yu came to his senses, ducked his head to evade, and countered with a crude kick aimed at Xu Yang’s groin.

Xu Yang seemed to have anticipated it. He shot up from the ground and stomped on Kong Yu’s shoulder.

CRACK!

Gang Qi erupted. Kong Yu’s Protective Gang Qi shattered on impact, and the foot landed solidly on his shoulder.

He staggered, the earth beneath his feet cracking as his legs sank half a foot into the ground. His shoulder bone had been crushed, and he coughed up blood.

’It’s over!’

Kong Yu’s face was ashen. He knew he was truly going to die here today. He raised his bloody hands, trying to grab Xu Yang who was still on his shoulder, but Xu Yang had already leaped away, leaving his hands to grasp at empty air.

In a flash, Xu Yang vanished from on top of Kong Yu and reappeared at his side. A thunderous booming sound came from his bones and sinews, the great dragon along his spine stirred, and he thrust his fist out like a great spear.

Kong Yu wanted to dodge, but his legs were stuck in the ground. Before he could even pull them free, Xu Yang’s fist had already smashed into his temple.

BANG!

CRACK!

Kong Yu’s swaying body froze. His eyes rolled back into his head. Along with the sound of cracking bone, his temple caved in, and a dense web of fractures spread across his skull.

CRACK!

Before he could even scream, Xu Yang’s second fist slammed into the same spot, blasting white brain matter out.

Dirt flew as Kong Yu’s body slammed heavily onto the ground. He was already twitching unconsciously, his dim, lifeless eyes staring at Xu Yang with terror and unwillingness.

"You thought I would be the one to die by your hand?" Xu Yang instantly understood the look in his eyes.

He stomped down. Blood and brain matter splattered, and Kong Yu was instantly turned into a headless corpse. Even his own mother wouldn’t be able to recognize him.

The turbulent Gang Qi gradually subsided. Xu Yang squatted down to loot the corpse and found over two hundred taels in silver banknotes and more than twenty contribution points.

On Li Xu’s body, there were also two hundred taels in silver banknotes, and he actually had more contribution points than Kong Yu—almost forty. There was no telling how many months he had saved them up.

Adding what he had taken from Fang Wei before, he had obtained a total of about ninety contribution points and nearly six hundred taels of silver.

"Not bad!" Xu Yang couldn’t help but smile.

In the Purple Sun Sect, eight or nine disciples shared a single courtyard, which meant everyone carried their valuables with them. Every time he killed a Purple Sun Sect disciple, he could get contribution points.

To get nearly ninety contribution points by honestly completing missions would have taken him two or three months.

After crushing their Identity Tokens, Xu Yang spent half an hour destroying the bodies and eliminating all traces.

The Purple Sun Sect might not care if an ordinary disciple died, but Kong Yu was too talented. He was ranked third among the Ten Heroes and was a member of the Heroic Assembly. Xu Yang couldn’t be careless.

He wouldn’t even touch these contribution points for now; it was better to wait a few months.

He carried the corpses of Kong Yu and Li Xu more than ten li into the mountains, found a bottomless cave to dispose of the bodies, and only then did he return to the Purple Sun Sect.