53: Chapter 53 Slaying the Zhang Family Genius
Blood was still gurgling from the hole in the black-robed figure's forehead as Han Ming turned and vanished into the forest.
A 1-Star Great Martial Master Blood Demon could not even withstand a single move from him.
The Perfection-level Wind-Thunder Palm, combined with the Protective Aura of a Great Martial Master, had enough power to kill an opponent of the same Realm instantly.
Along the way, he encountered a few more groups from the Blood Demon Alliance, but he bypassed them all.
His target was Zhang Beiwang, and he did not want to waste time on these small fries.
Ten minutes later, Han Ming found Zhang Beiwang in a valley.
Zhang Beiwang was leaning against a giant rock, regulating his breathing, his longsword still stained with blood.
He had clearly been through several battles; his clothes were torn in a few places, but his injuries were not serious.
"Who is it?"
Sensing someone approaching, Zhang Beiwang snapped his eyes open, holding his longsword horizontally before him as lightning flickered across it.
Han Ming walked out from behind a tree, hands in his pockets, his expression calm.
"Who are you? Get lost if you don't want to die!"
Zhang Beiwang did not recognize Han Ming and spoke while staring at him with sharp eyes.
In his view, this was just an examinee who had wandered into this place by mistake.
"Oh? As expected of the Zhang Family, as overbearing as always!"
Ignoring his icy gaze, Han Ming stepped forward twice and smiled playfully.
Zhang Beiwang frowned.
He scrutinized the youth before him—dressed in black martial attire, with delicate features, looking no more than eighteen or nineteen years old.
The Aura on his body was flickering, sometimes like a Martial Apprentice, other times like a Martial Artist, making him inscrutable.
"You know me?"
Zhang Beiwang tightened his grip on the longsword, lightning dancing along the blade.
He sensed something was wrong; the youth's eyes were too calm, calm in a way that did not befit an ordinary examinee.
"I know you. How could I not?" Han Ming stopped and tilted his head. "The Zhang Family's number one Genius, S-Rank Lightning Talent, ranked first in the Martial Exam. Who in all of Jiangbei doesn't know you?"
Zhang Beiwang's gaze turned cold. "Since you know who I am, how dare you speak to me in that tone?"
"And what tone should I use? Kneel down and beg Young Master Zhang for mercy?"
Han Ming laughed, a playful expression on his face.
"You're courting death!"
Zhang Beiwang's face darkened, and he thrust his longsword out violently! Purple lightning gathered at the tip, transforming into a sharp Sword Qi that shot straight toward Han Ming's throat!
This strike was fast and ruthless; a full-power blow from a 3-Star Martial Artist, enough to pierce through steel plate. In his eyes, this ignorant youth before him would be dead or crippled.
Han Ming raised his hand, and two fingers instantly clamped onto the tip of the sword.
The lightning exploded between his fingers, crackling loudly, yet it did not even scratch his skin.
Zhang Beiwang's pupils constricted sharply.
His sword—it had actually been caught by someone using just two fingers?
"You..." He pulled hard, trying to retract his longsword, but the blade remained unmoved, as if it had been welded between Han Ming's fingers.
"Is that it? S-Rank Lightning Talent, and that's it?"
Han Ming shook his head, looking disappointed.
Zhang Beiwang's face flushed red; gritting his teeth, he let go of the hilt and retreated violently. At the same time, he struck out with both palms, a ball of lightning exploding in his palms as he blasted it toward Han Ming!
"Thunderstorm!"
Han Ming flicked his hand casually, and the ball of lightning dissipated without a trace, like smoke scattered by the wind.
Zhang Beiwang's expression changed completely.
His pride and joy, the Thunderstorm, was not even enough to tickle Han Ming.
"Who... who exactly are you?" His voice began to tremble.
Han Ming did not answer; he took a step forward.
With Perfection-level Wind Shadow Step, his speed was so fast that Zhang Beiwang's eyes could not track him at all. By the time he reacted, Han Ming was already standing in front of him, striking his chest with a palm.
"Bang!"
Zhang Beiwang flew backward, crashing heavily into the giant rock behind him. The rock shattered, and he fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"You... are you a Martial Master? No, a Great Martial Master! How is this possible? A Great Martial Master under twenty years old, who exactly are you!"
Zhang Beiwang struggled to climb up, his eyes filled with horror as he shouted in disbelief.
A nineteen-year-old Great Martial Master? How could this be possible!
"Know fear now?" Han Ming walked over and looked down at him.
"Who... who are you? Why come to trouble me?"
Zhang Beiwang slumped on the ground, his voice hoarse.
He was a completely different person from the aloof figure he had been just moments ago.
"Oh? You don't know? Well, your Zhang Family is so high and mighty, how could you ever put little people like us in your eyes?"
Han Ming crouched down and patted his face.
Being patted on the face by Han Ming, Zhang Beiwang felt humiliation and fear intertwining, his face turning shades of green and white.
He wanted to resist, but the sharp pain from his chest told him that the youth before him was simply someone he could not contend with.
"Who exactly are you?" Zhang Beiwang gritted his teeth, staring fixedly at Han Ming.
"Han Family, Han Ming!"
Han Ming stood up and looked down at him, saying indifferently.
"How is that possible? The Han Family is merely a third-rate Family; how could they produce a Prodigy like you?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Beiwang's pupils constricted violently as he shouted in disbelief.
He knew the Han Family all too well.
It was just a third-rate Family whose Clan Chief had been injured by his father when he seized their treasure; how could they produce such a monstrous Genius?
A Great Martial Master under twenty years old.
Even the top-tier Families in the Kyoto Base City don't have one, right?
At this moment, a sense of regret rose in Zhang Beiwang's heart—not regret for provoking the Han Family, but regret for not letting his father wipe them out completely.
"If you kill me, the Zhang Family will not let you go! My father is the Grand Elder, and my grandfather is the Martial Ancestor Old Ancestor! If you dare to touch me, everyone in the Han Family will have to be buried with me!"
"Who will know that it was I who killed you? Rest assured! It won't be long before everyone in your Zhang Family goes down to keep you company."
Han Ming crouched down, looked into Zhang Beiwang's eyes, and said calmly.
Zhang Beiwang's eyes were filled with fear; he opened his mouth to say something, but Han Ming had already raised his hand and pierced his forehead with a finger.
Zhang Beiwang's eyes widened, filled with unwillingness and despair, a look of dying with deep regret.
Han Ming stood up and glanced at Zhang Beiwang's corpse, his face expressionless.
"Zhang Family, this is just the beginning."
He did not dispose of the body and turned to leave. The people from the Blood Demon Alliance would take the blame for him.
...
The wilderness outside the city.
Teacher Xue Muhan hovered high in the sky, her white robes fluttering in the wind. Her gaze was icy as she stared fixedly at the mountain-like giant beast opposite her.
A Tier 9 Beast Emperor, with dark gold scales and crimson eyes, radiated a terrifying pressure. Behind it, a dozen Rank 8 Beast Kings lined up, their Aura monstrous.
"Teacher Xue Muhan, long time no see." The Beast Emperor spoke, its voice deep like rolling thunder.
Teacher Xue Muhan's eyes turned stern. "Dark Emperor, you have crossed the line."
"Haha... This is a world where the strong rule and natural selection prevails. Isn't it ridiculous for you to talk about crossing the line?"
The Dark Emperor's voice echoed like rolling thunder over the wilderness. Its massive vertical pupils were filled with mockery, as if it were watching a joke.
"Hmph, want to attack the city? Then you can try."
Teacher Xue Muhan let out a cold snort, and the Aura of a Peak Martial Emperor erupted from her. Within a hundred meters of her, the ground was instantly covered in a layer of white frost, and the temperature plummeted.
The five Martial Kings behind her released their Auras simultaneously. Five terrifying Auras shot into the sky, intertwining with Teacher Xue Muhan's chill to form an invisible barrier above the city wall.
The Dark Emperor stared at her for a long while, but did not move.
It was cooperating with the Destiny Sect, and its mission was to stall Teacher Xue Muhan and the experts of Jiangbei Base City, not to attack the city.
If a real fight broke out, while it did not fear Teacher Xue Muhan, the losses would not be small. This Jiangbei Base City was not worth paying such a high price for.
Time passed minute by minute.
On the city wall, everyone was watching the beast horde outside nervously, their palms sweating. If a beast tide of this level erupted, the entire Jiangbei Base City would flow with blood.
Zhao Zhennan stood on the city wall, his face livid. He was a Peak Martial King, but before a Tier 9 Beast Emperor, he was simply not enough.
Even with Teacher Xue Muhan holding back that Tier 9 Beast Emperor, the other dozen-plus Beast Kings could still turn Jiangbei Base City into a river of blood.
Jiangbei Base City simply did not have that many top-tier experts.
"Hold on... as long as we hold on until the reinforcements arrive..."
He gritted his teeth and muttered to himself.
The moment he discovered the Beast Emperor's arrival, he had sent a distress signal to the Alliance.
In less than an hour, the Alliance's Martial Venerable experts would be able to arrive.
Top-tier Martial Saints could even tear through space to arrive, which was the reason why exotic beasts did not dare to launch a massive attack on the base cities now.