First Blood!

In the darkness, Xia Ping looked over towards that unknown object. It was a middle-aged man. His body was covered all over with blood and wounds, his chest heaving erratically as if he had suffered severe injuries. At first glance, it seemed as if he was on his last breath.

Still, just from his vicious and brutal gaze alone, one could tell that this man absolutely hadn't died yet. And not only was he not dead, he was also incredibly dangerous. It was almost as if he were a cornered ferocious beast, ready to fight to the death at any moment.

"Falling from a fifty-story building and then taking my punch head on, and yet he's not dead?" "This person is absolutely an expert!" Xia Ping's pupils contracted as he unconsciously took a few steps back from that middle-aged man.

The man's eyes flashed as his gaze locked onto Xia Ping. "I never would have thought that the Black Bear Corporation would actually arrange for somebody to also ambush me at the back entrance as well. Well done. Truly meticulous planning, indeed. Still, did they really think that sending a mere fourth layer Martial Apprentice is enough to finish me off? What a joke! Kid, although we don't have any grudges between us, but since you're blocking my way, then you must die!"

Boom!

As he finished speaking, he abruptly attacked!

High-tier martial skill – Heart Rending Palm!

In an instant, Xia Ping felt the terrifying might of this palm. Its power far outweighed anything Xiong Batian could muster several times over.Its ferocious aura bore down upon him. It was almost as if every bit of force was enough to rip him into shreds.

It was even to the extent where that horrifying bloody-red killing intent smothered and suffocated the soul, shattering all hopes of resistance! In front of this attack, an ordinary person wouldn't even be able to move at all before they were killed.

"Die already!" Xia Ping bellowed. Facing off against this crisis of life or death, all of his nerves were taut with tension. Betting it all on the line, he countered with his five-form fist!

Dragon Claw—Dragon Fist Manifestation!

He grasped out with his hand like an eagle's claws and ruthlessly grabbed forward! Behind him, the silhouette of a roaring dragon soared about as several dozen streaks of almost physical pressure violently blasted ahead!

The power of this one move far exceeded the might of the tiger fist. It was already Xia Ping's most powerful attack, in which he put everything on the line.It ripped through the ground, tearing the earth apart as it plowed forward towards its target!

BAM!

Fist and claw clashed head on in a great explosion of force, causing the air to howl in agony as the aftershocks blasted by!

Bang. Xia Ping took several steps back as he felt his blood churn.

As for that middle-aged man, he only took one step back, but his face was flabbergasted, "How is this possible?! Although the power of my Heart Rending Palm isn't even a tenth of what it once was, it still isn't what the likes of you, a mere fourth layer Martial Apprentice can block! No wonder! You've practiced the Five Forms of Fist and have already reached the realm of complete perfection. Then it's no surprise that you can display such frightening might and use it to face a high-tier martial skill head-on. You truly are amazing—a genius even for having such accomplishments at such a young age. However, you shouldn't have become a dog for the Black Bear Corporation. "Now, it will cost you your life!"

After he finished speaking, he abruptly pulled out a silver object.

"Fuck!"

Xia Ping immediately recognized what it was. a laser gun. All it needed was a click, and the laser fired from it would be able to pierce a one-meter-thick stone in an instant. As for an ordinary human, nothing else needed to be said. They would absolutely die, without a doubt.

A chill raced through his body. If he really did let that guy pull the trigger, then he was dead without a doubt. There would be no hope for survival.

After all, how can a mere mortal exceed the speed of light?!

Snake Burrowing—Snake Fist!

In an instant, his nerves were taut with tension, his senses pushed to their utmost limits. Right at that moment between life and death, his soul entered an ethereal state as the very world itself seemed to slow down around him.

His thoughts were more than ten times faster than before, so fast that they almost seemed to cause sparks in his brain. Right then and there, Xia Ping could feel that his speed and power, had reached unprecedented heights!

Swish!

Xia Ping's body flashed! His body stretched and curled at almost lightning speeds, covering a distance of several meters in an instant as he closed the gap between him and the middle-aged man!

"What?!"

The middle-aged man couldn't believe it, staring at Xia Ping in shock. How could this kid be so fast? He was clearly only at the fourth layer of Martial Apprentice , and yet he could instantly close the distance between them without him being able to detect it.

Snake Fist: Preying Serpent!

Xia Ping's right hand transformed into a serpent. With supernatural speeds, unmatched viciousness, and untraceable movements, it appeared as if it were alive as it instantly bolted for the middle-aged man's chest!

Splat. His right hand was like a bullet as it pierced through the middle-aged man's chest and tore through his heart in a gory mess of flesh and blood.

"Uh… Ah…" The middle-aged man's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Xia Ping. He never would have thought that he would actually be killed by a fourth layer Martial Apprentice one day and have his heart pierced through.

With a bam, his body slowly fell onto the ground as it raised up a small cloud of dust.

Boom.

As Xia Ping circulated his [Pure Yang Everlife Incantation], a blazing hot energy instantly spread out from around him and expelled all of his exhaustion and negative emotions. In a way, it could also be said that they were all burned away.

Despite clearly being the first time that he had taken a life, he didn't feel anything at all, almost as if he were a machine, cold and emotionless. From his guess, it was likely one of the effects of cultivating the Pure Yang Everlife Incantation.

The cultivation art had already become so deeply ingrained in his bones that all he needed to do was reveal even a slight trace of negative emotions, and they would be immediately burned away by the flames in his body.

"Although I was well aware that Blackmoon City was a dangerous place where death and violence thrived, I never expected to be involved in a life-or-death battle so soon after I arrived."

Xia Ping took a deep breath as he eased the tension from his body. That life and death battle from before took almost half of his energy. If he had made even one mistake, hesitated for even one moment, then it was likely that he would be the one dead right now.

He slowly turned his gaze to the body on the ground.Even now, he couldn't help but feel astonished. On that man's chest, there were more than a dozen bone-deep wounds. It was unclear how many broken bones he had to be pushed to the brink of death in this manner.

And yet, despite his grave injuries, he still had the capability to kill Xia Ping. From that, one could guess just how frightening that man was at his peak. It completely exceeded his imagination.

"Hmm? What's that?" Xia Ping moved closer to take a more detailed look. On the middle-aged man's back, there seemed to be a bulging black package, almost as if it was filled with something.

Picking it up, he weighed it in his hands. Rather heavy.

However, before Xia Ping could open it and take a look, a sharp voice yelled out from far away, "Quickly, chase! That guy absolutely isn't dead yet. "We must catch him and make an example of him to show everybody what the price of betraying our Black Bear Corporation is!"

"Shit, now there's trouble."

Almost immediately, Xia Ping could just about guess how much trouble he was in. It was pretty obvious that this middle-aged man did something and stole something from the Black Bear Corporation to be chased by so many of their experts to the brink of death.

Now, he had killed the middle-aged man and taken possession of the stolen goods. If this were to be discovered by the Black Bear Corporation, then he would be absolutely dead.

"I must leave. Now!" Xia Ping promptly decided. Despite the fact that he was currently an eighteen year old young man, after he had awakened his memories, his way of handling things became a lot more experienced and decisive. He absolutely wouldn't hesitate.

Grabbing onto the package, he dashed off towards the depths of the alleyway.