Era of Mist

Chapter 224 -223: Am I Too Cautious?

These men in black before him were just like the ones from the other day. Their skin was unnaturally tough, and their defenses were far greater than an ordinary person’s. Their physical attributes were also formidable, with each one nearing the peak of human potential—not far off from Shi Tiexin’s own body on the Main World Line.

But to the Shi Tiexin of today, they were nothing more than ideal practice dummies.

Breaking past the limit and remaining below it were two completely different levels.

Although Shi Tiexin was taking hits, the blows from the men in black echoing with dull THUDS, he felt a thrilling sense of satisfaction. He charged left and right, kicking and stomping, his long arms and legs giving him a commanding advantage. Combined with his ferocious fist techniques and the special attributes enhancing his lethality, it felt like he couldn’t make a wrong move.

POP, POP, POP! A host of long-unseen little stars flew in, crashing into the progress bar for his Basic Fist Arts. Just a few minutes of carnage had raised his cultivation progress by a considerable amount.

Shi Tiexin grew even more exhilarated, his attacks turning merciless. One by one, he beat the men in black into bloody pulps. Their tough skin offered no protection from his fists, and within moments, he had killed them all with his bare hands.

Just then, Shi Tiexin was struck by a peculiar, indescribable feeling.

On the Main World Line, his fist techniques had been decent enough, and he could go all out, but he never got to truly appreciate his own might. Fights in the Mystical Realms weren’t lethal, which allowed him to let loose without any reservations. But by the same token, he could never truly feel the destructive force he was capable of unleashing.

But here, on this world line with no Mystical Realms, dead was dead.

He had been very unused to it at first.

But now, in this very moment—his iron fists struck, and no one was left alive. Life was extinguished, never to return.

‘This… this is… This is what power feels like!’

POP, POP, POP! Amidst this special feeling, the little stars flew in even faster. The progress bar began to glow red. ‘Fighting real people really is different from hitting dummies.’

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Flesh and blood sprayed as Shi Tiexin steamrolled forward like a tank. Every punch landed like a cannon blast. The men in black surrounding him were maimed and killed; none could withstand a single blow.

In just a few moments, few of the men in black were left standing.

“Use your guns, you idiots! Your guns!” Ouyang Hong groaned, struggling on the floor. He pointed at the Squad Leader from Daxing. “Grab another hostage, quick!”

These bodyguards in black had incredible skills, but their minds seemed sluggish; they just weren’t very sharp. Only after receiving a direct order did the men seem to remember they had guns and could grab someone else.

So, one tried to draw a gun while another rushed back to grab the Squad Leader. Shi Tiexin inhaled again. Two streams of heat shot from his False Core down into his legs. His leg muscles tensed violently, unleashing immense propulsive force.

The thick carpet tore and buckled underfoot. In just two steps, Shi Tiexin’s speed surged. He launched himself off the ground, soaring into the air like a bolt of lightning before tucking into a ball and unleashing a flying knee.

CRACK!

The man in black was sent flying by the knee before he could even raise his gun. He slammed into a long table on the side like a cannonball, shattering it with a resounding CRACK and sending splinters everywhere. The man didn’t get up again.

Meanwhile, the Squad Leader had been caught. A man in black was dragging him by the hair and beating him senseless while he wailed and begged for mercy.

‘Hm… I’ll just ignore him.’

So, after landing, Shi Tiexin continued his mad dash straight for the Ouyang brothers. The brothers had just struggled back to their feet. When they looked up, their faces went deathly pale with disbelief.

It wasn’t that they were careless about their own safety, nor had they failed to prepare for the possibility of a setup. It was simply that they believed the men they’d brought were more than sufficient.

Forget their other grunts; these special operatives alone were enough to massacre any street gang.

But now…

‘Over ten men, all of them experts… why is the only one left the guy who helped us up? Oh, right, and the one currently beating the hell out of the Daxing Squad Leader.’

‘Good. Very good. We still have a trump card!’

“Don’t move! I have—”

A massive shadow suddenly fell over him. He looked up to see a leg like an iron pillar descending in a leaping axe kick that looked powerful enough to shatter mountains. It whistled sharply through the air as it smashed down on the black-clad man’s head.

The man in black tried to dodge, but the kick was too fast; there was no escape.

He tried to block, but the kick was too powerful; the block was useless.

The slightest gap in skill might as well be an abyss. These men in black were slow-witted and dull to react. Aside from their physical prowess, their actual combat abilities were pathetic. And so, as the Ouyang brothers watched with wide, unblinking eyes, the tall, strong man’s head split open.

It wasn’t an explosive spray of gore that would splatter them both. But the head caved in instantly, deforming horrifically as shards of bone pierced the scalp. The man in black fell backward with a heavy THUD, as dead as could be.

THUD. Shi Tiexin landed. It was as if a great mountain had crashed to the ground—and into the hearts of the Ouyang brothers.

“What was it you had?” Shi Tiexin loomed over the Ouyang brothers. His face was wreathed in shadow from the backlighting, and only his wide, terrifying eyes were clearly visible.

Seeing the look of utter terror on the brothers’ faces made him feel a strange mix of unreality and shock.

“Money? Authority? Influence? All useless.”

Shi Tiexin’s hands shot out like lightning, grabbing both Ouyang brothers by the neck. He applied a bit of force, knocking their heads together. With a dull THUD, the two brothers collapsed, the whites of their eyes showing as they fell unconscious, unable to get up again.

Two big shots, yet they were complete pushovers.

‘Weak. So weak.’ Shi Tiexin looked at the unconscious brothers, then down at his own hands. He couldn’t believe he had actually captured the Ouyang brothers all by himself.

“Is this what power feels like?” Shi Tiexin took a deep breath and straightened his back.

The remaining man in black was still over there, dragging the Squad Leader around by his hair and beating him. The Ouyang brothers were down, but the man was still faithfully carrying out their last command.

Shi Tiexin closed the distance in a few strides. A single, powerful side kick sent the man flying without a sound. He landed in a heap and didn’t get up.

He glanced at the pathetic Squad Leader, then at the terrified Ah Hui, who looked like he’d pissed himself. Shi Tiexin suddenly murmured, “Have I… been too careful this whole time?”

Because of his steady nature and cautious habits, Shi Tiexin had always preferred to advance methodically, never making a rash move. But in this moment, he suddenly wondered if he had been far too cautious.

‘This isn’t my world line. The powerful people here don’t possess profound cultivation or formidable martial might.’

‘In this world without Cultivators, in this country devoid of law and order, the violence I command can truly be used to seize anything, to obtain anything.’

Shi Tiexin suddenly realized he didn’t need to hold back at all.

“‘To do whatever I wish, and to not do anything I don’t wish to—that is freedom. So, what is it that I want to do right now?’”