Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 33: Chapter 31: A Fight to the Death

Blue sky, white clouds.

Amidst the swirling dust.

Wan Ze moved.

In this split second between life and death, he abandoned all thought of defense. His qi and blood erupted to their peak, and rather than retreat, he focused his entire Essence, Qi, and Spirit on this single moment!

He mimicked what he had seen earlier that day, creating a Visualization of a ferocious tiger in his mind.

”Kill!”

His earth-shattering roar shook the heavens.

The man with the buzz cut sneered, crooking his finger to strike.

But Zhong Tie and Tang Yuling, using the last of their strength, rushed forward.

One dropped to the ground and clung to his left leg, while the other grabbed him around the waist from behind.

”You think this is enough to stop me? How ridiculous—”

The buzz-cut man suddenly found he couldn’t move and flew into a rage.

But Wan Ze was now right upon him.

He decided to simply attack from where he stood.

However, with two people clinging to him, his powerful finger strike just barely grazed Wan Ze’s clothes.

”RRRIP!”

The clothes on Wan Ze’s chest exploded outward, sending tatters of fabric flying.

The power of that finger strike was ferocious and tyrannical. If it had gone a single centimeter further, it would have been enough to utterly shatter Wan Ze’s heart.

In a duel between Martial Artists, the difference of a hair’s breadth is the distance between life and death.

The buzz-cut man’s finger missed by a hair, and Wan Ze passed through the trial, turning death into life.

The buzz-cut man’s expression changed slightly, filled more with annoyance than anything else.

’If it weren’t for these two hanging off me, this brat in front of me would be dead for sure.’

But the fact that his finger strike had missed said it all.

In an instant, his heart tightened.

He had just exchanged a flurry of blows with Zhong Tie. His new strength hadn’t yet risen while his old strength was spent, and his Physical Strength was severely depleted.

That finger strike itself was a burst of Dark Force he had been gathering for a long time. Killing Wan Ze should have been a certainty, but a strange twist of fate caused it to miss, and he completely lost the initiative.

But an expert was an expert.

He immediately thrashed his body. Although he couldn’t throw Zhong Tie off right away, he still managed to kick Tang Yuling away.

At the same time.

Wan Ze, quick as lightning, leaped forward with a savage roar. Like a pouncing tiger, he lunged diagonally, getting to the buzz-cut man’s left side and throwing a rapid punch.

The buzz-cut man’s left arm was held fast by Zhong Tie, preventing him from raising it. This meant his left side was wide open. His heart clenched, and he raised his leg, kicking out as fast as a vicious whip.

But Wan Ze was already at his peak. He either didn’t attack, or he attacked with the force of a thunderbolt!

’You want to kill me?’

’Fine, I’ll let you try!’

The ground beneath his feet shook violently. He raised an arm and brought it crashing down, the wind howling from the force.

The buzz-cut man’s kick missed its mark, and he took the full force of the punch. Zhong Tie seized the opportunity for a takedown, and the two of them crashed into a nearby bookshelf, sending countless glass shards showering down.

Wan Ze seized the chance, leaping forward and bringing his clenched fist down like a hammer.

The buzz-cut man frantically blocked it.

But he never expected Wan Ze’s other hand to have snatched a shard of glass, which he now stabbed downward with lightning speed.

”SQUELCH!”

The eyeball burst.

The buzz-cut man shrieked in heart-rending agony, roaring that he would tear Wan Ze to shreds. His face was covered in blood, his vision a sea of red. His free right hand clamped onto Wan Ze’s waist, wishing it could disembowel him.

But Wan Ze was faster.

He rained down punches.

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight punches landed on the buzz-cut man’s chest and face.

”CRACK!”

His collarbone shattered.

Wan Ze felt the hand on his waist suddenly go limp. He knew his opponent had lost the ability to fight, and only then did he stop.

The buzz-cut man stared with wide, blood-red eyes, his head tilted back as if trying to gasp for air. But with his shattered collarbone, his windpipe was affected, and his breathing sounded like the wheezing of a drafty house.

”A Martial Artist’s duel... is seven parts skill, three parts luck... For me to die by your hand... this is... fate.”

The buzz-cut man forced out the words, his tense body gradually relaxing. His voice was intermittent, ”When you’re in the Jianghu... you can’t... control...”

Before he could finish, he breathed his last.

Wan Ze gasped for breath and quickly began searching the body.

Behind him, Miss Ling came to her senses and rushed over. ”Sister Yuling!!!!”

...

...

After the debris was cleaned up, the room suddenly felt emptier with several people gone.

Wan Ze’s hand was bandaged, and he sat opposite Miss Ling. Only Lei Ming was by his side, also sporting some injuries, but he was used to it.

Miss Ling looked at the two of them, her eyes full of guilt. ”I never thought things would turn out like this... It’s all my fault...”

”Now’s not the time for that.” Lei Ming held up a hand to stop her, his tone complicated. He glanced at Wan Ze with a hint of gratification. ”When Zhao Qilong and I tracked them to the tea shop, we were ambushed. If Old Zhao hadn’t taken a bullet for me at the end, I probably wouldn’t be standing here either...”

”I’m sorry...” Miss Ling’s eyes were red as she lowered her head.

Lei Ming shook his head and sighed softly. ”I’m not saying this to blame you. I’m telling you that since things have come to this, we can’t back down. We’ll have Old Zhao investigate the background of that group. We also need you to think hard about whether the old master left anything else behind. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have made a special trip back here.”

Miss Ling was taken aback. ”We’re... still investigating?”

”Yes!” Lei Ming said decisively. ”Do you think they’ll let you go if you back out now? You didn’t know anything from the start, but they still planned to kill you to silence you. With methods like that... do you think you’d be allowed to live? We don’t have much time. We need to counterattack as soon as possible, before they have a chance to react.”

”How do we counterattack?” Miss Ling asked, dazed.

”We find out who they are! We find out what the hell this Rain Bell is! I’ll handle the police department. We definitely can’t face this kind of thing on our own. Fucking bastards, daring to attack ordinary people? They’re courting death!” Lei Ming cursed.

After Miss Ling understood her situation, she immediately began to follow Lei Ming and Wan Ze’s every word, as if they were her last lifeline.

Afterwards, she was temporarily housed in a hotel owned by the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall. Firstly, it was Dragon Eagle territory, and secondly, it would be convenient for them to stay in contact.

Outside the window, the wind howled.

Lei Ming and Wan Ze sat facing each other. They had commandeered a round wooden stool to serve as a makeshift table between them, on which sat several freshly stir-fried dishes from the restaurant downstairs.

They talked as they ate.

”Ah Ze, about this matter... I’m actually a bit hesitant,” Lei Ming said, his expression complex.

On one hand, Wan Ze’s skills had won his approval.

But on the other hand, given Wan Ze’s age, he didn’t know if getting him suddenly involved in something like this would end up harming his junior brother.

”Don’t say any more, Brother. I have to be a part of this,” Wan Ze said with firm resolve.

It was Lei Ming’s turn to be stunned. He said quickly, ”This group even dares to go after ordinary people. They must have a lot of crimes under their belts. I was planning to have you focus on your Cultivation at the martial arts hall for a while. I’ll arrange for some friends to protect your family.”

Wan Ze put down his chopsticks. ”That’s exactly why I can’t run from this. My strength might not be great, but I can still be of some help... Right now, for us, time is life. We can’t afford to delay.”

’If I don’t help round up this whole group, I won’t be able to sleep at night!’

Lei Ming was convinced and had no choice but to relent. He nodded seriously. ”Alright then. You’ll be with me. Just don’t be reckless.”

”Understood. Are Brother Zhong and Sister Tang okay?” Wan Ze asked suddenly.

Hearing this, Lei Ming sighed with emotion.

After hearing the whole story from Miss Ling, he felt a wave of lingering fear.

Any slight deviation, and it would have been a total wipeout.

Thankfully, Old Zhong and Xiaotang gritted their teeth and held on, creating the opportunity for Ah Ze’s fatal blow. Otherwise...

At this thought, he felt an even deeper sense of guilt.

”Ah Ze, eat up. I’ve already asked a friend at the police department to run a check on the man who died at the old house. If he’s a wanted criminal, you could get a bounty. A pretty big one, I’d guess.”

As soon as Wan Ze heard that, his eyes lit up.