Chapter 221 – Killing Ouyang Dihua
Lin Ming’s eyes condensed. He rapidly flicked his finger and the Coiling Dragon steel needle shot out with a whistling sound as it flew forwards like a bolt of lightning. The steel needle sliced through s.p.a.ce and cut apart Ouyang Dihua’s hands with an unbelievable speed!
Puff!
Both Ouyang Dihua’s hands were torn to shreds; his wrists were broken in half, spurting blood. With both hands broken, he was sent flying into the sky with his pile of Thunderbolt Devilfire Beads.
“Ah ah ah ah!”
Ouyang Dihua screamed in anguish. Lin Ming coldly snorted and waved his hand. A tornado formed in the air and collected all the Thunderbolt Devilfire Beads.
The swirling wind held the Thunderbolt Devilfire Beads in air; there were at least 20 beads rolling around. As for Ouyang Dihua, he was painfully moaning as he tumbled to the ground.
Both his arms were completely crippled from the elbow down, and his upper arms still flashed with sparks of lightning; they were completely charred black!
Zhang Fengxian felt as the last fires of his hope were died down like fading embers. He was used to wonderful and magnificent scenes, but now, his legs were shaking. Zhang Fengxian had held the position of the Allied Trade a.s.sociation’s President for many years; he didn’t even remember how many people he had put to death. But now, when faced with his own mortality, he trembled with abject fear.
Often times, the more high-ranking a person was, the more they feared death. Zhang Fengxian was like this. He had held absolute power within his grasp for decades, and his status was one that was venerated and wors.h.i.+pped. He had enjoyed countless wealth, treasure, and beauties. All of these caused him to have an enormous love for life, and an enormous fear of death.
That youth that was floating in air was simply a devil incarnate. He was too powerful. Powerful to the point where he could easily play with them; everything was in the palm of his hands, just like a game of cat and mouse. In front of him, any and all resistance was meaningless.
Lin Ming released his soul force had swept up all the Thunderbolt Devilfire Beads. He faintly smiled, and kindly accepted all of them.
“I already knew you had Thunderbolt Devilfire Beads. Why would I give you the chance to use them?”
Ouyang Dihua was lying prostrate on the ground like a dead dog. With both his arms broken, he could only prop his head on the ground, blood continuously flowing from his mouth. He viciously said, “You….you wait for my uncle’s revenge…..he will make you beg for death!”
Lin Ming slowly landed in front of Ouyang Dihua. He sneered, “Your uncle? Once I erase all evidence, how will he know I killed you? You, a middle Pulse Condensation master, with four bodyguards protecting you. You’ve been drinking in the Headquarters of the Allied Trade a.s.sociation too. In this case, you will quietly die and disappear forever. Do you still think that your uncle will even suspect me at all? He might even think that this was done by a Xiantian master! Haha!”
The reason that he dared to kill Ouyang Dihua was because he had calculated that no one would ever suspect him.
“I had recorded at the Martial House Registration Office that I would be going adventuring for two months. Now, it’s only been a month and a half. After I kill you, I will wait another half month before I appear again. Who will even think to suspect me? People know that you and I are hostile to each other, but who would know that our conflict has already escalated to the point of killing the other?”
Lin Ming prodded Ouyang Dihua with his spear point. Ouyang Dihua’s face was covered in blood, at this point, he didn’t even look human anymore. Lin Ming calmly took off Ouyang Dihua’s spatial ring and swept it with his soul force. He cheerfully praised, “You truly are worthy of being a nephew of a Seven Profound Valley Elder, your collection is very rich. Thank you, I just happened to be a bit low on funds at the moment.”
As Li Ming said this, he was waving Ouyang Dihua’s owns spatial ring in front of his face.
Pah!
Ouyang Dihua seethed in rage as his anger reached a tipping point and he suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood. Most of his body’s meridians were already broken. This wasn’t because he was beaten up, but because he was angered by Lin Ming.
Anger was part of the so called ‘spirit’. As long as one’s spirit was calm and soothed, and their thoughts enjoyable, their cultivation would be double the result with half the effort. On the other hand, if they became angry enough to the point of suffering psychological damage, then this spirit could even damage their meridians!
The more arrogant a person was, the easier it was to use anger to cause them to lose their minds. In ancient times, there were stories of genius advisers that vomited blood and died from anger. Although Ouyang Dihua was still alive, his meridians had been damaged, and this was because of how much he hated Lin Ming.
Looking at Ouyang Dihua’s state, Lin Ming shook his head. It was unlikely that he would get him to say who the one that disguised themselves as Qin Ziya and tried to kill him was. But at this moment, Zhang Fengxian who was hiding in the distance suddenly said, “Young Hero Lin, I know who it was that disguised themselves as Martial House Master Qin to trick you!”
“Mm?” Lin Ming turned around to look at Zhang Fengxian, “You know who?”
The deep murderous aura that emanated from Lin Ming’s eyes was no different from a sharp knife. As soon as Zhang Fengxian was touched by Lin Ming’s sight, his heart shrank and stepped backwards. He gulped, trembling as he said, “I don’t know, but I can make a very close guess.”
“Tell me.”
“I….I can tell you, but I would like to request Young Hero Lin to let me leave!” Zhang Fengxian plopped down with his knees to the ground as he said this. With his status, even when he saw the Emperor of Sky Fortune Kingdom, all he would need to do was bend a bit in a bow. Now, he was compelled by Ouyang Dihua’s miserable state to kneel down. Even the nephew of a Seven Profound Valley Elder had ended up like this, much less him.
It had to be said when a person was pushed up to the wall, their desire to live was terrible; what sort of things wouldn’t they do? How many people were there that were able to face death without fear? Most people, when facing their impending doom, bet everything they had to fight for even the slimmest chance of survival. At that time, things like dignity, honor, and ethics all became a joke.
“Oh? You think that you have the qualifications to speak to me about conditions?” Lin Ming’s voice suddenly dipped into sub-zero temperatures.
Zhang Fengxian hurriedly shook his head. “I do not dare. As long as Young Hero Lin lets me leave alive, then I can give Young Hero Lin one hundred million gold taels! I will force the entire Allied Trade a.s.sociation to serve Young Hero! As long as Young Hero desires to search for any rare materials, maids, concubines, precious pills, herbs, anything can be made available through my Allied Trade a.s.sociation! I dare guarantee that my Allied Trade a.s.sociation has the broadest information network in Sky Fortune Kingdom, not even the Imperial Family can compare!”
One hundred million gold taels?
Lin Ming’s eyes widened. The entire tax revenue of Sky Fortune Kingdom in a year was 20 or 30 million gold taels. This Allied Trade a.s.sociation was simply obscenely wealthy.
Zhang Fengxian feared that Lin Ming wouldn’t agree. He continued to say, “Young Hero, if you find me untrustworthy, then you keep me hidden somewhere else. With Young Hero’s talent, breaking through to the Xiantian realm is only a matter of time. As soon as Young Hero reaches the Xiantian realm, then my life will be completely within Young Hero’s grasp; I will absolutely never dare to betray you!”
Although Zhang Fengxian’s conditions were very persuasive, letting him leave was simply too great a danger. Lin Ming didn’t want to take such a needless risk. He said, “Don’t talk to me about these things. First, who do you think had disguised themselves as Martial House Master Qin?”
Zhang Fengxian tentatively asked, “Young Hero won’t kill me?”
Lin Ming confidently said, “I won’t kill you.”
Zhang Fengxian’s eyes narrowed. He wanted to have Lin Ming take an oath on his heart of martial arts, but at this time, Lin Ming gave a cold humph and suddenly turned, hitting Ouyang Dihua’s chest with his palm.
Pulse Cutting Palm!
Pah!
Ouyang Dihua’s briefly shook for a moment, and then all of the true essence in his body dissipated like a deflating rubber ball. In a blink of the eye, he had lost all of his martial arts.
Ouyang Dihua weakly fell to the ground, his eyes losing all focus. At this point, he was no different than a corpse.
Lin Ming retracted his palm and coldly said, “Don’t think that you will be able to commit suicide by abandoning your meridians.”
Zhang Fengxian was gripped with fear as he watched from the side. With just a hand, Lin Ming had crippled all of Ouyang Dihua’s martial arts so that he couldn’t even commit suicide. This Lin Ming was simply a demon.
“Well, have you thought it over yet?”
“I’ll talk….I’ll talk.” Zhang Fengxian no longer dared to mention anything concerning Lin Ming making an oath on his heart of martial arts. He was afraid that it would displace Lin Ming, and he would be placed in a position where he wouldn’t even be able to die if he wanted too. “I suspect that the one who disguised himself as Martial House Master Qin is the Seven Profound Martial House Deputy House Master, Bi Luo. He originates from the Mirage Faction and is the best at illusion techniques. Moreover, he has a very good personal friends.h.i.+p with Ouyang Dihua and dislikes Martial House Master Qin. So, it is likely that he was the one who tricked you.”
As the President of the Allied Trade a.s.sociation, Zhang Fengxian knew a great deal of information; a normal martial artist wouldn’t know who Bi Luo was.
“Bi Luo? I see, so that’s how it was. What’s his cultivation?”
“Probably….middle Houtian realm.”
“Mm…thank you. Now, give me your spatial ring.”
“O…okay.” Zhang Fengxian trembled as he took off his spatial ring. As he handed the ring over to Lin Ming, he suddenly froze. His eyes opened wide open as he looked into Lin Ming’s eyes.
At this time, Lin Ming’s eyes had already become two swirling black vortexes, slowly spinning. They seemed to contain an endless darkness within them, as if they were but an infinite void.
Zhang Fengxian felt as if his own soul was being sucked out; a myriad of chaotic scenes and images emerged from his mind. He saw countless visions of his life. He saw when he was young, he saw when he was old. He saw when he became all-powerful, and when he became a beggar on the streets.
After experiencing countless manifold lives, these countless lives turned into never-ending fragments. All of this revolved within his mind, setting off a violent storm within the world of his spiritual sea. Zhang Fengxian fiercely trembled, and his spirit was shattered into shards. His eyes dilated as if he had lost all reasoning. He had already become an idiot.
But, Lin Ming didn’t stop. He continued to display the Samsara martial intent until Zhang Fengxian’s spiritual sea could no longer be broken down any further; there wasn’t even a hint of a complete thought left in his mind.
Poh!
Zhang Fengxian fell to the ground, his eyes wide as he stared at the sky. The corners of his eyes were bleeding, and he no longer had any pupils; all that was left over were the whites.
Lin Ming’s eyes returned to normal. “If I said that I won’t kill you, then I won’t kill you. I will let you keep your life. You can lie peacefully in bed for the rest of your days.”
He turned to look at Ouyang Dihua. Lin Ming flexed his finger and the Coiling Dragon steel needle jumped onto his fingertips. “Do you have any last words?”
Ouyang Dihua didn’t hear him. He lay down on the ground, motionless.
“Then die.”
The Coiling Dragon steel needle flew forth and penetrated Ouyang Dihua’s body. Soon, there was nothing left of him but ashes.
Lin Ming waved his hand and a cool breeze blew away all the ashes. He carefully absorbed the remaining power of thunder in the air, and put away the two spatial rings and the Dreamland Pearl.
After the Dreamland Pearl was put away, the illusionary world was still able to maintain itself for a bit. This gave Lin Ming enough time to leave.
Large snowflakes fluttered in the winter sky. Lin Ming had already reached the realm of returning to his true self, so he was able to restrain all of the breath within his body. Only a Xiantian realm master would be able to discover his existence.
He easily left the Allied Trade a.s.sociation’s Headquarters without raising a single alarm.
“Middle Houtian realm, Seven Profound Martial House Deputy House Master Bi Luo….” Lin Ming sneered. In his heart he had already judged Bi Luo.
His sentence was death.