Chapter 337: Chapter 337: Worse Than Death

"Brat, when are you going to pay back the money you owe us? Damn it, if I hadn’t heard you two were here, you’d have gotten away again. Hand over your Storage Ring obediently and save me the trouble of doing it myself."

A vicious glint flashed in the lead thug’s eyes as he shouted coldly.

The other seven or eight Martial Artists also surrounded them menacingly, sneering.

’They’re finally making a move. But which power came up with this plan? It’s ruthless, pretending to be debt collectors.’

The Martial Artists who had been following them for a long time all grew excited when they saw this scene.

Even an idiot could tell these guys weren’t really debt collectors. They were from some power, using this method to plunder the treasures from these two.

"You dare act so high and mighty in my presence? A bunch of trash like you?"

Ye Xuan looked at them, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips.

Aside from their burly leader, who was a Tier Five First Layer Martial Sect, the rest were all Tier Four Peak Celestial Martial Artists.

’I wonder which power sent them to test us. To think they’d send such trash.’ Ye Xuan was filled with disdain.

"What did you say, brat?" the burly leader roared, his eyes bulging like bronze bells.

The invisible pressure of a Martial Sect suddenly swept over them.

Ye Xuan waved a hand. "Jin Lin, they’re all yours."

"Hehe, finally a fight."

Jin Lin had followed Ye Xuan around all day, and besides a brief moment of excitement eating meat buns in the morning, he had been utterly bored.

Now that there was a fight to be had, his listless demeanor immediately vanished, replaced by excitement.

"I hope you guys can give me a good fight. It’d be so boring if I accidentally killed you too quickly."

Jin Lin grinned, a flicker of excitement in his golden eyes.

The Martial Artists were all stunned.

Ye Xuan and Jin Lin’s reactions were far beyond their expectations.

"You’re courting death."

The burly leader roared and charged forward without hesitation.

At the same time, he gave a signal with his eyes, and the seven or eight Martial Artists with him understood, all charging toward Ye Xuan.

Their target was Ye Xuan—or rather, the Storage Ring on his hand. As for Jin Lin, he wasn’t their target at all.

Seeing them lunge for Ye Xuan, Jin Lin shot forward with a WHOOSH.

"Get lost, kid!"

Seeing Jin Lin rush up, the leader swung his arm, trying to slap him away.

But when the back of his hand struck Jin Lin’s chest, there was a BANG! It was like hitting a block of refined steel, and his right hand went numb from the impact.

Jin Lin, however, hadn’t moved an inch.

"Hey, did you forget to eat breakfast?" Jin Lin grinned, returning the gesture with a smile. Then, he too slapped out.

THWACK!

The burly leader was sent flying. The sound of his bones shattering, like popping corn, filled the air. His body slammed heavily into the ground nearby, gouging a deep crater.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest. That single slap had broken every single rib; not one was left intact.

Then, BANG! BANG! BANG! The remaining men were sent flying one after another.

’Just who is this young man? He’s terrifying!’ The men looked at Jin Lin in horror, as if they had seen a ghost.

The crowd that had been following was also stunned by Jin Lin’s strength. He looked to be in his early twenties, yet he seemed to possess power on par with a Tier Five Martial Sect master!

’Even the top geniuses of Gale Light Academy are probably only at this level.’

"You guys are too weak. I’m not even warmed up yet."

As if he still hadn’t had enough, Jin Lin rushed forward and started pummeling the burly leader and his men. Shrill screams echoed as sprays of blood bloomed in the air. Soon, the men were beaten into unrecognizable messes.

Jin Lin was a Tier Seven Demon King. If he hadn’t been holding back, they would have been killed with a single punch long ago.

"Please, spare us! Spare our lives!"

"We were wrong! We got the wrong people!"

The group that had been so swaggering and aggressive just moments before was now a sobbing mess. Snot and tears mixed with blood streamed down their faces; they were a truly pathetic sight.

"So boring. If you want a fight, bring someone strong. This level of power is no fun at all!"

Jin Lin said this while viciously kicking the men, causing them to scream again, yet his face held an expression of pure boredom.

Everyone in the surrounding crowd was dumbfounded.

’Which power sent these clowns?’

’The people they sent are way too weak. This isn’t an attempt to steal treasure; this is them asking for a beating, isn’t it?’

Only a few of the stronger experts in the crowd had solemn expressions.

While those men weren’t top-tier masters, they weren’t weak either. Their leader was even a Tier Five First Layer Martial Sect.

But to think that such a group couldn’t even stand up to these two—in fact, they didn’t even last for a few breaths.

’Just which power do these two belong to?’

Seeing this, the guards in front of the nearby inn took a step forward, but an imposing aura instantly locked onto them.

"Are you planning on getting involved?" Ye Xuan asked, his tone cold.

Jin Lin looked eager, his eyes gleaming. "You want a fight, too?"

A terrifying aura enveloped them.

The inn guards immediately sensed that this aura was far stronger than their own. If they really fought, they would be no match for these two. They quickly forced a bitter smile. "Your Excellency, it’s a misunderstanding. We are no match for you, nor do we know them. It’s just that this is the territory of the Celestial One Inn. We ask that you please restrain yourselves and not damage our inn’s property. Otherwise, it puts us in a difficult position."

"Don’t worry. If we break anything, we’ll naturally pay for it in full," Ye Xuan said nonchalantly. He turned to look at the pathetic group on the ground and said indifferently, "Speak. Which power sent you?"

"Your Excellency, we got the wrong people!" the burly leader immediately cried out through his sobs.

"You’re not going to talk?"

Ye Xuan’s gaze turned icy.

"We really did get the wrong people! Your Excellency, you are a magnanimous man, please spare us!" the burly leader bawled.

’These two are demons. If I had known this would happen, I never would have taken this job.’

"It seems you’re not going to talk."

Ye Xuan looked at Jin Lin. "Jin Lin, start from the left and kill them one by one. Stop when they’re willing to talk."

"You got it."

Jin Lin gave a savage grin, reaching out with his hand and placing it on the head of the man on the far left.

"Did you hear? His Highness is asking you a question. Are you going to talk or not?"

"I... I..." The bandit was trembling with fear. He looked toward his leader but couldn’t get the words out.

"Looks like you’re not talking."

SPLAT!

Jin Lin’s hand came down, and the man’s head immediately exploded like a watermelon.

"Now it’s your turn."

Jin Lin looked at the second man.

The second man was so scared he pissed and shit himself, trembling too much to speak.

Without waiting, Jin Lin struck. SPLAT! Another head exploded. The gory scene sent a chill through everyone’s heart.

’Such ruthless men.’

The surrounding crowd felt a chill rise in their hearts. These two were too ruthless. They had thought they would just teach the men a lesson, but they never expected such viciousness.

They killed people as easily as killing chickens, without a second thought.

By the time Jin Lin got to the fourth man, the burly leader finally broke.

"Stop killing! Please, stop! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

The burly leader wailed, his expression one of agony. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

But Ye Xuan felt not a shred of pity.

’These guys are clearly vicious criminals who have taken countless lives. If Jin Lin and I weren’t strong enough today, our fate would have been far from pleasant.’

"It was Young Master Mo Cong of the Mo family who sent us..." the burly leader said with his head bowed, not daring to look at the crowd nearby.

Young Master Mo Cong?

Everyone in the crowd simultaneously turned to look at a young man in a cyan brocade robe. The young man’s face changed drastically, and he shouted in alarm and anger, "Hu Biao, don’t you spout nonsense!"

"So it was you," Ye Xuan said, a smile on his face.

This young Mo Cong was the very same person who had mocked Ye Xuan the most back at the Treasure Pavilion.

"Your Excellency, don’t listen to his nonsense! I don’t know him at all!"

Mo Cong’s face was pale and his body trembled. Jin Lin’s methods had already scared him into pissing himself.

"Oh, is that so? You don’t know him, yet you know his name is Hu Biao?" Ye Xuan said mockingly.

Mo Cong froze. In his panic and anger, he had completely forgotten that he had just shouted the burly leader’s name.

"I... I..."

Unable to talk his way out of it, Mo Cong gritted his teeth. With a SWOOSH, his figure shot backward in a desperate attempt to flee.

But he was fast, and someone else was faster. A golden light flashed, and Jin Lin had somehow appeared in front of Mo Cong. With a flick of his hand—CRACK!—Mo Cong spat out a mouthful of bloody, broken teeth and fell pathetically onto the steps of the Celestial One Inn. Half of his face immediately swelled up, turning purple and black.

"I’m a young master of the Mo family! If you kill me, the Mo family will not spare you!"

Thinking Jin Lin was about to kill him, Mo Cong was scared witless, soiling himself again. His face twisted in terror as he spoke.

"Kill you? Who said I was going to kill you? I’m a very peaceful person," Ye Xuan said. He looked at Jin Lin. "Jin Lin, tie him up."

"Yes!"

With a savage grin, Jin Lin produced a rope and instantly trussed Mo Cong up like a dumpling.

"Tell the Mo family that if they want their young master back alive, they’d better send someone with a ransom. Hmm, I’m a reasonable man. Just casually bring out some Tier Six Spirit Medicines or something, and I’ll let him go. Otherwise, they can wait to see a smashed watermelon tomorrow."

Ye Xuan gave a faint smile to the crowd behind him, but in their eyes, his smile was utterly terrifying, like that of a demon.

"Jin Lin, cripple their cultivation," Ye Xuan said, glancing at Hu Biao and his men.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

A few punches from Jin Lin, and Hu Biao and his men were all curled up like shrimp on the ground. Their faces were twisted in pain, and their eyes were as vacant as dead embers. The Profound Sea in each of their abdomens had been shattered by Jin Lin’s fists.

From now on, they were cripples.

To become a cripple in a place like Wukong Ridge was a fate worse than death.

Seeing this, everyone in the crowd sucked in a sharp breath, their hearts trembling.