Chapter Thirty-One: A Father's Love

"Speed contest?" Lei Yan stared coldly at the woman called Tanuki, who was darting swiftly through the air. True, speed was not his forte, but that did not mean he could not perceive her movements. Under the influence of his psychic senses, her speed, which left afterimages hanging in the air, seemed sluggish, like a film slowed several times over, moving languidly.

"Die!" A shrill voice pierced Lei Yan's ears like an arrow. At the same instant, Tanuki's hands flashed with a cold gleam, thrusting toward Lei Yan's heart.

"So those are weapons!" As the cold light flickered, Lei Yan's psychic senses immediately discerned that the razor-sharp claws, resembling nails, were actually weapons. He smiled, saying, "Let me test the Earth-Style Fist on you and see how it fares." As he spoke, Lei Yan unleashed a punch with nothing held back.

"Whoosh!" The air whistled as his right fist descended with the force of Mount Tai, striking directly at the woman called Tanuki.

"Impossible!" Tanuki, always confident in her speed, turned pale at the dreadful sound. She could not believe Lei Yan had tracked her attack trajectory. As his fist approached, the pain from its wind stung her face, leaving her no time to think. She swiftly pulled back her hands, channeling all her innate energy to her palms. The urgency left her no time to gather much inner strength; Lei Yan's fist had already arrived.

"Boom!" Like a mountain crashing down, his punch struck Tanuki's palms. The cold weapon on her hands shattered instantly at the first block, yet Lei Yan's fist did not stop. Its force did not diminish, carrying her hands right into her chest.

"Spurt!" Blood burst from Tanuki's mouth like blooming flowers, and her body was flung backward, her face turning ghastly pale.

The Earth-Style Fist, both attack and defense, relies entirely on power. Driven by inner strength, its force amounted to thousands of pounds. With such a blow, how could Tanuki, skilled in agility, withstand it? Even at the late innate stage, she could not defend in haste, and Lei Yan's punch robbed her of any ability to attack.

"Tanuki!" A white figure flashed by, catching the retreating Tanuki.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, master! That man's strength is overwhelming," Tanuki managed a tragic smile before fainting.

The white-robed figure descended gracefully, ignoring those still fighting, and walked to the edge of the woods. After laying Tanuki down, he stroked her head with indulgence. "Rest for a while. Leave the rest to me." As soon as he finished speaking, his figure flashed before Lei Yan. "You are impressive, to wound Tanuki. I offer you two choices: First, end yourself; second, let me do it for you." His words were filled with confidence, as if Lei Yan and his companions were nothing to fear.

"Hmph!" Lei Yan snorted, his gaze sharpening. His palms transformed into fists, striking straight at the white-robed man. The light swirling around his fists surged like dragons leaping from the sea, landing upon the man's chest. Yet Lei Yan felt no impact, staggering as if about to fall.

"Afterimage?" Lei Yan’s body seemed to pass right through the white-robed man. His expression changed suddenly; as he steadied his stance, he crossed his arms to shield his chest.

"Boom!" At that moment, a powerful force crashed onto his arms, sending him flying backward, blood seeping from his mouth.

"Expert!" As Lei Yan was struck, Cui Ba, near the tree, frowned deeply. Clearly, he had not expected the white-robed man's strength to be so formidable. A faint worry crept into his heart; it was not that he was unwilling to let hundreds charge forward, but against such an expert, numbers would only hinder Lei Yan's attacks. He could only fix his gaze on the white-robed man, preparing to aid Lei Yan at the right moment.

"Young master!" Cold Second blocked a guard’s attack, calling out as he saw Lei Yan sent flying. Anxiety overtook him, and his knife work fell into disarray.

"Damn it!" Lu Kai roared. Hearing Cold Second's cry, he turned and saw Lei Yan thrown through the air. Anger flared in his heart. He swung his massive axe horizontally, spinning around his body as an axis.

"What strength! What speed!" Lei Yan was astonished. Usually, those who sought power lacked speed, yet the white-robed man possessed both in abundance. He clenched his slightly numb hands; with the flow of inner strength, his arms no longer throbbed with pain, though they felt faintly uncomfortable.

"It seems you have chosen." The white-robed man's lips curled into a sinister smile, addressing Lei Yan as he landed. "Since that is so, die!"

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" He attacked relentlessly, afterimages flickering through the air.

"What kind of speed is this?" Lei Yan defended, bewildered, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth. His arms felt nothing; for the first time since his meridians had been reforged, he had met someone against whom he had no power to fight back. Before, Lei Yan’s slow speed was due to his meridians, often unable to keep up with his psychic senses. Now, with his meridians rebuilt, he still could not match his opponent’s movements. Utter frustration! The burning humiliation ignited Lei Yan’s fury. With a roar, he threw a punch at the white-robed man, forsaking defense in a desperate bid for mutual destruction.

"Hmm?" The white-robed man frowned, sensing Lei Yan’s intent. He subtly shifted the direction of his attacking right fist.

"Boom!" The collision of immense force stirred ripples in space, sending fierce winds sweeping outward. The martial artists managed to resist with inner strength, but the surrounding trees could not withstand such havoc. Wherever the wind passed, destruction followed.

The two fists met and parted instantly. Lei Yan, sent flying, felt his body near bursting; he closed his eyes, gathering inner strength to repair his meridians. The white-robed man was also startled; he had not expected Lei Yan’s attack to be so formidable. He stabilized his body with a turn of inner strength, then launched himself at Lei Yan. At the same time, a cold gleam flashed in his hand—a dagger appeared.

"Damn!" Cui Ba saw the dagger thrust toward Lei Yan, who seemed unaware and unresisting. Without hesitation, Cui Ba rushed forward. Years ago, he had watched his own son die before his eyes; this time, he would not let such a tragedy repeat, even for an adopted son.

"Hiss!" The white-robed man's dagger stabbed into Cui Ba's chest.

"Tch!" The white-robed man scoffed, displeased at his blocked attack. With a twist, blood spurted from Cui Ba's wound. Using the momentum from pulling out the dagger, he spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to Cui Ba.

"Boom!"

Cui Ba’s body was thrown against Lei Yan. Lei Yan, startled, snapped his eyes open and saw Cui Ba before him. A sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

"Boom!" "Boom!" They crashed into two large trees before finally stopping.

With Cui Ba wounded, Wang Wu, Zhao Liu, and others rushed forward, along with hidden bandits who converged at the same moment. "Die!" Cold Second’s blade flashed, slicing through a guard’s neck, then he charged at Cui Ba. With Cold Second gone, the remaining guards turned on Lu Kai, who was momentarily overwhelmed. The arrival of the bandits eased his burden; after dispatching a guard, he too ran toward Cui Ba.

"Child, are you alright?" Ignoring his own injury, Cui Ba asked with gentle concern. His words tugged at his wound, sending him into violent coughs, "Cough... cough..."

"Is this paternal love?" Seeing blood spill from Cui Ba’s mouth, Lei Yan’s heart ached. He instinctively checked Cui Ba’s pulse and found his injuries non-fatal. He said, "Foster Father, I’m fine. Please take this first." He drew a pill from his enchanted artifact and pressed it into Cui Ba’s mouth.

"Cold Second, Foster Father’s wounds aren’t fatal. Take good care of him!" Lei Yan spoke to Cold Second, who had just arrived. He then rose, took another pill from his artifact, and swallowed it.

"You should not have hurt my foster father," Lei Yan said coldly, eyes bloodshot.

The white-robed man regarded the crowd surrounding him with some surprise, pondering how to resolve the situation. Lei Yan’s words interrupted his thoughts. "Oh? And what if I did?"

"If you hurt him, prepare to die!" As Lei Yan spoke, he flashed toward the white-robed man.

"Just you?" The white-robed man scoffed, clearly dismissing Lei Yan. In both strength and speed, Lei Yan was outmatched, and the white-robed man cared more about the hundreds of bandits nearby—for escaping them would not be easy, especially with an injured Tanuki to protect.

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

Lei Yan attacked furiously. Though each punch was dodged by the white-robed man, he continued his relentless assault.

The white-robed man’s expression changed suddenly as he noticed several bandits heading for Tanuki. He paused, turning toward her. Yet he found he could not summon his inner strength. In that brief moment of distraction, Lei Yan’s attack landed.

"Boom!" Lei Yan’s fist struck the white-robed man’s back, the earth force piercing through his body.

"How can this be?" The white-robed man was dumbfounded—why could he not summon his inner power? The ensuing weakness made it impossible to think; his body went limp and collapsed.

As he fell, Lei Yan sneered, "You may have dodged my attacks, but you failed to evade the poison I administered!" No sooner had he spoken than darkness overtook him, and he slumped to the ground.

When Lei Yan collapsed, Cold Second rushed over and checked him, finally breathing a sigh of relief. "Cui Ba, the young master is just unconscious!"

Cui Ba nodded. After resting a while and recovering some strength, he instructed Cold Second, "Clean up here—leave no survivors! Lu Kai, take the men and retrieve the trucks! Wang Wu, Zhao Liu, come with me, we'll return first!"

"Yes!" they replied in unison.

(ps: Only one chapter today; updates return to two chapters on Monday!)