Sparrowhawk Entering the Forest, Swallow Skimming the Water, Snake Entangling the Waist, Monkey Leaping, Dragon’s Exploring Claw, Tiger Pouncing on Prey—the Twelve Forms cycled through his hands with flying speed, every move steeped in lethal intent.
A dozen more exchanges passed, and Yu Yan was thoroughly reduced to a punching bag. His Fierce Tiger Fist had long been beaten into a chaotic mess, and his arms grew increasingly sluggish as he tried to block. A Cannon Fist struck him under the ribs, snapping at least two of them. Every breath felt like knives churning in his lungs.
He had been smashed against the wall so many times that the cracks in the brickwork formed a spiderweb pattern. His legs giving out, he slumped against the wall and slid to the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of bloody froth.
He looked up at the man in black slowly advancing on him, and finally, fear set in. This man—this Chen Yuan whom he had dismissed as a coward—hadn’t said a single word from start to finish, offering him absolutely no room for negotiation. He simply fought. Punch after punch, he silently vented the rage that had been building up in his chest for so long.
A final glint of malice flashed in Yu Yan’s eyes. His right hand darted to his waist and whipped outward. Three hidden darts shot toward Chen Yuan in a triangular formation, their tips gleaming with a faint blue toxicity.
But it was as if Chen Yuan had anticipated the ambush. The moment Yu Yan reached for his waist, he executed Swallow Form: Swallow Skimming the Water, his entire body skimming diagonally across the ground for three feet. CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! The three darts brushed past his lapel and trouser leg, embedding themselves into the brick wall behind him.
His final trump card had failed. The viciousness on Yu Yan’s face froze into a grimace, swiftly replaced by absolute despair.
Chen Yuan closed the distance and clamped down on his right wrist.
Eagle’s Catch.
He gave it a vicious outward twist. CRACK! The wrist bone snapped, and Yu Yan let out a bloodcurdling scream. Chen Yuan let go and drove his right fist into Yu Yan’s right shoulder, shattering the scapula and completely crippling the arm. Before the scream could fade, a left hook smashed into Yu Yan’s left ribs, breaking two more.
Yu Yan fell to his knees. They slammed onto the freezing bluestone slabs, his arms dangling limply at his sides like those of a puppet with cut strings. Tears and snot mixed with the blood smeared across his face. Summoning the last ounce of his strength, he looked up, his voice trembling with sobs.
"Chen Yuan... Brother Chen... I was wrong. Please, don’t kill me... I really know I was wrong... I’m a bastard... I’m less than human... Just spare my life... I’ll give you all the silver..."
Chen Yuan remained silent. Another punch landed squarely on his chest, fracturing yet another bone.
Yu Yan curled up on the ground, his consciousness beginning to blur. He suddenly recalled many things: the disdain he felt when he first met Chen Yuan; his self-righteousness when forcing him to throw a match; his smugness when pushing him out of the Gu Family; his arrogance when cursing him out at the restaurant; the casual ease with which he had slapped Cheng Xiaoyu twice.
At the time, he genuinely thought nothing of it. A piece of trash with an Upper Grade D Root Bone—so what if he got beaten? What could he possibly do about it? But now, he was kneeling before this very "piece of trash," both wrists shattered, half a dozen ribs broken, begging for mercy like a dying dog.
"Please... let me go... I’m not even married yet... I don’t want to die..."
Chen Yuan finally stopped his fists. He slowly pulled down his black mask. Moonlight peeked through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating his cold, hardened face.
"You’re nothing much, either."
Yu Yan’s pupils dilated drastically. He opened his mouth to scream, but Chen Yuan’s fist had already descended.
Dragon Form: Dragon’s Claw. His five fingers curled into a hook, clamping firmly over Yu Yan’s Adam’s apple.
CRACK.
The throat bone and cervical vertebrae shattered together.
Yu Yan’s body suddenly stiffened. His eyes bulged out and his mouth hung wide open, gasping like a fish yanked from the water. His final sight was Chen Yuan withdrawing his fist and turning away. Then, he slumped sideways to the ground, twitched twice, and fell completely still.
Crouching down, Chen Yuan searched the body, pocketing every valuable item he could find. Next, he delivered a flurry of chaotic blows, beating the corpse until it was unrecognizable. Having thoroughly erased any traces of the Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist, he kicked the body deep into the alley, burying it in a fly-infested pile of garbage.
Then he turned around and, crunching through the snow, walked step by step into the deepening night.
As the moonlight retreated behind the clouds, the long street returned to silence, leaving only the howling of the wind.