Chapter 2544 Turns Out I’m the One You’re After

On the ground, Xiang Xiaoyuan’s delicate, fair face was pressed into the dark brown soil. Her eyes brimming with sorrow, worry, and a burning fury.

A heavy foot pinned her slender back, exuding an unshakable, domineering force that completely suppressed her. It was a humiliating restraint.

“He’ll come...he definitely will come...” Blood trickled from the corner of her lips, soaking into the dirt, but his eyes stayed resolute.

The black-clothed man standing on Xiang Xiaoyuan sighed softly and said in a gentle tone, “Miss, don’t waste our time. I’ll give you a choice. Either you die, or your uncle dies. You decide.”

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

“What’s the point of dragging this out? Just kill her already.” Qing Meng, the bald, handsome man, sauntered over. His gaze fell on the trampled Xiang Xiaoyuan, and a flicker of mock pity crossed his face.

“What a shame...such a pretty girl treated like this. It breaks my heart,” he said with teasing sarcasm.

“Xiaoyuan!” In the distance, Liuxiang Que, who was gravely injured and barely clinging to life, charged forward with bloodshot eyes, like a wild beast driven mad with rage.

A flash of cold light crossed Qing Meng’s eyes. “Old man, I already spared your life once, why are you so eager to die?”

Before his voice even faded, he struck with a punch.

Bang!

Liuxiang Que was instantly blasted backwards. His muscles tore, his bones shattered, and he was so grievously wounded that he could barely rise again.

“Let Xiaoyuan go. If you try to kill her, I’ll fight to the end!” He hissed hoarsely.

Unfortunately, Qing Meng only grinned and ignored him.

The black-robed man shifted his gaze toward the woman in the long dress, who was still calmly reading a scroll.

She finally raised her head, glanced at him helplessly, and said, “Why do you always have to leave these decisions to me?”

The black-robed man smiled gently. “Fine, I’ll send this girl off. Just don’t blame me for being too cruel later and claim that I bully women.”

The woman in the long dress smiled faintly, and a thoughtful look flickered over her calm, elegant face. “Aren’t you worried Lin Xun might show up for revenge?”

The man in black actually paused to consider. “What should I do then? Fall to my knees, kowtow to her, and beg for forgiveness with tears and snot?”

He laughed at his own joke.

“You may look as gentle as jade, but your heart is harder than stone. Even Qing Meng seems more human than you.” The woman shook her head and shifted her gaze back to the scroll in her hands. “I’ll wait a few more minutes at most. After that, deal with it yourself.”

The black-robed man nodded, looked down at Xiang Xiaoyuan beneath his foot, and said softly, “Don’t worry, Miss. You have a few more minutes to live.”

“No way, if it were me, I wouldn’t waste this much time. I’d just kill her with one punch.” As Qing Meng spoke, his eyes drifted to someone standing quietly behind the woman in the long dress. There stood a man in plain robes who hadn’t said a word this whole time.

He was clean from head to toe, with his long hair neatly tied up in a bun. His features weren’t particularly handsome, even somewhat plain, and even his aura was barely perceptible. Standing beside the woman in the long dress, he was easy to overlook.

However, when Qing Meng’s gaze swept over him, a flicker of instinctive fear appeared in his eyes, along with a faint, burning desire to fight.

In the end, he suppressed the urge to challenge the plain-robed man, not daring to act rashly. He had a feeling that if he made a move, he might be beaten to death with a single punch.

From beginning to end, the man in plain robes never once looked at him, but Qing Meng didn’t mind. He understood. In the eyes of the man in plain robes, not only did Qing Meng not exist, even the black-robed man didn’t exist.

The only one the plain-robed man truly cared about was the woman in the long dress who was as elegant as an orchid, simple and graceful.

“Miss, there’s only a little time left. If you have any last words, go ahead and tell me. Who knows, maybe I’ll be nice enough to put up a tombstone for you.” Bored, Qing Meng crouched beside her with a grin. As he spoke, he reached out to pinch Xiaoyuan’s delicate cheek. “If you don’t say anything, I’ll tear your lovely little mouth apart.”

“Whose mouth do you think you’re going to tear?”

A sudden voice rang out, echoing across the world. It had a cold indifference that sent a chill through the heart. Qing Meng’s hand froze midair, and he turned his head sharply.

The black-clothed man who was stepping on Xiang Xiaoyuan raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly. “It seems he still cares about you. Now let’s see if he can save you, or if you two will...die together.”

He looked up.

The woman in the long dress still had her eyes on the scroll, as if everything around her was of no concern. The plain-clothed man near her stood silently, his ordinary face like an eternal glacier, unmoved and devoid of emotion.

In the distance, a tall and imposing figure appeared out of thin air. When Qing Meng and the black-robed man caught sight of him, a glint of interest lit up their eyes.

Qing Meng’s gaze was brazen and unrestrained.

The black-robed man’s eyes held a faint smile. He had a smile so cold that it was like the cold delight of a predator toying with its prey.

The person who came was none other than Lin Xun. His brows furrowed slightly when he saw Liuxiang Que so gravely wounded he could barely lift himself off the ground.

When his gaze fell on Xiang Xiaoyuan, who was being crushed under the foot of the black-robed man, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a chilling gleam flashed within them.

“Brother Lin, don’t worry about me! Take my uncle and run!” Xiang Xiaoyuan cried out anxiously.

She knew all too well how terrifying these people were. Each one was more monstrous than the last, and their power so overwhelming it drove one to despair.

Shua!

In a flash, Qing Meng appeared beside Liuxiang Que and stepped on him too. Arms crossed, he stared at Lin Xun with undisguised provocation. “Whether you’re here to die or to save someone, you’ll have to get through me first.”

He jabbed his thumb at himself, his eyes fierce and brimming with arrogance. The blood-red iris-flower pattern on his forehead glowed with a sinister and eerie light.

“You’ll have to get through me as well.”

The black-robed man smiled warmly. “We’ve all heard your name and know your background, but neither Qing Meng nor I believe anyone in this world could overcome the heavenly chasm of the Ancestor Stage while still only at the eighth realm Supreme Emperor Stage.

Lin Xun was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, “So I’m the one you’re after?”

“You could say that.” Qing Meng’s eyes gleamed with a mix of ferocity and mockery. “So what do you say? Do you dare to play a little game? If you can beat me, I’ll let this old man go. He’s already beaten like a dog anyway.”

Liuxiang Que trembled with rage, his face contorting as he struggled to stay composed. In a hoarse voice, he said “Little friend, leave at once. Xiaoyuan asking for help was an utterly foolish decision. You must not get involved in this matter, or else...”

Before he could finish, a muffled groan escaped his lips. Qing Meng had stomped down, crushing his spine.

“What? Do you dare or not? Just give me a straight answer.” Qing Meng taunted with a grin.

Lin Xun chuckled and spat out, “Alright.”

Then he stepped forward.

It was a casual, unhurried step, but in that moment the woman in the long dress who had been quietly reading suddenly said aloud, “Qing Meng, be careful!”

Those familiar with Lin Xun might have some idea what it meant when he made such a decision, but the ones who knew it best were the enemies who had died at his hands. Only they truly understood how terrifying he could be in that state.

In the blink of an eye, the void before him silently split open into a straight rift, and his figure had already arrived in front of Qing Ming like a streak of divine lightning.

Qing Meng was indeed a battle-hardened and ferocious warrior. His expression shifted slightly as he unleashed all his strength, throwing out a domineering, unstoppable punch to block Lin Xun’s sudden strike.

Lin Xun didn’t dodge or retreat, but instead took the blow head-on, while his large hand descended like a sky-covering cage.

Bang!

Qing Meng’s fist slammed toward Lin Xun, but it failed to break through the protective power surrounding him. Instead, the ferocious force behind this punch was crushed, ground away inch by inch. Realizing something was off, Qing Meng couldn’t stop his expression from changing again and he prepared to switch tactics.

Lin Xun’s palm had already come crashing down, covering Qing Meng’s face. The force of the strike shattered Qing Meng’s defenses with unstoppable momentum, like a blade cutting through bamboo. Then, Lin Xun’s fingers closed like claws around Qing Meng’s neck and lifted him violently into the air.

The reason was simple. Rather than killing Qing Meng with a single blow, Lin Xun was more concerned that, in his dying struggle, Qing Meng might lash out and kill Liuxiang Que who was beneath his feet. That was why he chose to restrain him immediately.

At this moment, he was holding Qing Meng, who had brutally beaten Emperor Ancestor Liuxiang Que to the brink of death, as if he was nothing but a helpless little chick. The terrifying and unparalleled suppressive force he unleashed was simply unbelievable, completely beyond what anyone present could have imagined.

Qing Meng’s handsome face twisted and flushed red, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock, as if he couldn’t fathom that someone in this world could subdue him with just a single blow.

“Little baldy, you think trash like you are worthy of playing with me?” Lin Xun’s tone was indifferent, and his deep eyes were brimming with icy disdain and mockery.

In the distance, the woman in the long dress wore an expression of stunned disbelief. If even someone as calm and composed as her had been shaken, there was no need to talk about the others.

As for the man in black standing on Xiang Xiaoyuan’s back, the warm smile on his face had faded, finally revealing the cold ruthlessness that had been lurking beneath the facade.

“Friend, if you don’t let go now, you’ll be forced to accept your fate.” The man in black gave a serious warning, narrowing his eyes.

“Alright.” Lin Xun replied with a smile, “I can spare his life, but since he came looking for death by provoking me, and even dared to injure my elder, he’ll have to pay the price.”

Crack! Crack! Crack...

Before Lin Xun even finished speaking, a flick of his hand sent a surge of power through Qing Meng’s body, shattering his bones inch by inch with a series of sharp cracks. His body went limp like a pile of noodles.

Even after enduring such a brutal blow, Qing Meng gritted his teeth without uttering a sound. His bloodshot, ferocious eyes locked onto Lin Xun, burning with hatred.

Bang!

Lin Xun didn’t even spare him a glance. He tossed him to the ground like trash, then turned his gaze to the man in black and asked, “Are you sure I have to get through you first?”

The air was deathly still and the tension was so thick that it was suffocating.