Xuan took the bowl of soup and gulped all of it, "thud" placing the bowl on the table while looking at the young man who saw Xuan as a dead man.
"Break his legs and rip that mouth off!" the young man with tooth earrings yelled.
Just after his command, the three men got off their seats and ran towards Xuan, who was still sitting and watching them approach.
"I'll rip his mouth..." one of the men announced, taking out two daggers from his waist. Following him, the other two nodded and stepped one pace behind, as only one of them was sufficient for a weakling like Xuan.
The man came closer and sliced the dagger from right to left towards Xuan's handsome face, who pulled the empty plate towards the man's face.
"Boom!"
A heavy punch landed on his face, with pieces of the bowl breaking and stabbing the man's eyes.
"AAHAAAAAA!"
His screams filled the whole establishment as Xuan showed no mercy and kicked again.
"Thud."
The man slumped on the ground, his life and death unknown. "You!" The two remaining men were stunned, seeing one of their brothers on the ground.
"You'll pay for this..." Both of them took out their daggers and pounced on Xuan, who rolled down towards the first man and took his two daggers in his hands.
His movements were precise, cutting off the tendons of their legs in a single sweep. Then, standing on his feet, he said, "You shouldn't have shown killing intent towards me..." His words were smooth, but the sharp pain on their necks was enough proof that Xuan showed them no mercy.
"Guak!"
Both of the shady men held their throats to stop the bleeding, but it was already too late as they both fell to the ground.
"You have done it..." A sharp aura rose from the young man as his Qi burst, throwing everything away from near him.
"Grandfather!" Nan Nan ran towards her grandfather, but before she could reach him, the old man was sent flying by the overburst of Qi.
"Boom!"
"Thud."
The old man and Nan Nan were both sent flying to the edge of the wooden wall.
Their situation was unknown as the young man took out his own pair of daggers, laced with dark Qi, and pounced towards Xuan, who kicked the table in front of him to stop the young man's momentum.
The table couldn't bear the aftermath of the attack and broke into many pieces.
"Now you are running like a rat, huh... You shouldn't have killed my servants." The more Xuan dodged his attacks, the more the young man's confidence rose, as he could see that Xuan was just a peak Body Strengthening cultivator and no match for him.
His speed was faster than Xuan's, which in the end succeeded in cornering Xuan. He chuckled, "Now pay for your sins..." He laughed, but his laugh suddenly halted when his movements became sluggish.
"I... What... is... happening to me...?" He suddenly felt weakness in his body, as if someone was sucking him dry.
Suddenly his body stopped responding while Xuan was ready for the kill when a phantom rose from the young man's body. Though the face of the phantom wasn't clear, the man spoke a stern warning.
"Whoever you are, let my son go, or else you'll face something worse than death." The man had given a life-saving artifact to the young man, but it wasn't working, which forced the man himself to show through the soul phantom he had hidden inside his son's soul.
But Xuan wasn't affected by his warning. "Too late."
Xuan took this opportunity and sliced horizontally on his neck. Then, a second dagger plunged into the heart of the young man, whose eyes widened.
With a pained expression, the young man fell on the table. 'Dead.'
"NOoooooo, Fu'er!" the man yelled in pain and anger as his phantom was destroyed along with his son's death.
"This king will find you... And I'll skin alive each and every member of your family in front of your eyes..."
The phantom vanished as Xuan felt his Dantian taking shape. He sat down and closed his eyes to cultivate as he heard the familiar voice.
[Target has been eliminated]
[Qi Cultivation technique has been implanted to the host]
[Tier: Heaven]
[Scorpion Dagger martial technique has been implanted to the host]
[Tier: Earth]
****************
Meanwhile, somewhere in the desert mainland, the robust man with big tooth earrings threw a flower pot at the wall, causing the pot to burst into pieces.
"Find that man for me..." His eyes red, he commanded the man kneeling on the ground. "He dares to kill my son... I want to drink his blood to quench my thirst for revenge."
The man kneeling on the ground had one ear pierced with a tooth earring. "Yes, my king..." he nodded. "I'll mobilize everyone to find his whereabouts."
The man referred to as king was the Myriad King, leader of one of the factions of the desert mainland, and his forces were seen as equal to the Mystic Sword Sect, one of the Upper Sects.
Xuan has deliberately made one more enemy for himself, but does he care? No. After coming so close to death, his fear has transformed into a desperate craving for life and absolute power.
To achieve that power, he's even ready to challenge heaven itself, because all they can do is kill him—and he's no longer afraid of that.
Minutes passed.
His Dantian began taking shape as information on Qi cultivation technique flooded his mind. Slowly, he started sensing the Qi around him, and his Dantian began sucking it in like an endless pit.
Xuan slowly started channelling Qi, chanting the Qi cultivation technique. He could now feel his meridians, robust like steel wires, and his bones were sturdy like unbreakable wall while his Dantian continued to gather Qi.
[Target has been eliminated]
[Falcon Steps Cultivation Technique has been implanted to the host]
[Tier: Heaven]
[Che-Shan Fan Martial Technique has been implanted to the host]
[Tier: Heaven]
The sudden announcement forced Xuan to open his eyes, as his previous target also succumbed to the Primordial Curse.
"I'm still clueless about the Primordial Curse, but I'm starting to understand how it works...." A smile spread on his lips. "Fourth level of Qi Awakening stage."
"Grandfather!"
Suddenly his thoughts were disturbed by the sobbing cry of Nan Nan.