Sea City Industrial District.

A Mercedes-Benz G-Class pulled up to the entrance of a warehouse.

Wu Tianhua got out of the car first and hurried around to open the passenger door for Luo Xiu. "This is the address Han Zhitao sent, General Luo," he said.

Luo Xiu stepped out of the car unhurriedly, surveyed the area, and smiled. "A nice place."

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the dimly lit surroundings. Shadows flickered in the darkness, and in moments, more than a dozen figures emerged, surrounding Luo Xiu and Wu Tianhua.

A short distance away, Han Zhitao dragged a blood-soaked Ling Feng forward by one arm. He threw Ling Feng roughly to the ground and then stomped his foot onto his head.

He looked at Wu Tianhua with contempt and grinned. "Brother Hua, you really are a man of your word. You said you'd bring him, and here he is."

In the past, men like Wu Tianhua and Ling Feng had been untouchable figures, people he wasn't even qualified to look up to. Just for a few hundred thousand in gambling debts, he'd been beaten into a vegetative state by the casino's thugs and had spent months lying in a bed. But now the tables had turned. He was the favored disciple of Zhao Gandan, the Vice President of the Sea City Martial Association. With such a powerful backer, men like Wu Tianhua were nothing more than common thugs in his eyes.

Wu Tianhua's fists tightened, his eyes fixed on Ling Feng beneath Han Zhitao's foot. He was seething. At this point, Ling Feng was on his last breath. He must have suffered inhumane torture!

"Han Zhitao, I brought you the man! Now let my brother go!"

"Heh." Han Zhitao sneered, spitting on Ling Feng's head. With a twisted smile, he said, "Since when did the infamous Hua Butcher become so naive?"

Wu Tianhua's expression turned icy. "What the hell do you mean by that?" he growled through gritted teeth.

Han Zhitao roared with laughter. "You have the nerve to ask what I mean? Don't you have a clue what your casino did to me?" His expression darkened. "Wu Tianhua, tonight we're settling that old debt once and for all!"

He then turned to Luo Xiu. "And you, you dog. It's time we settled our score from that night."

Luo Xiu shrugged, his eyes sweeping over the crowd. He smiled faintly. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry to get some sleep. Whatever you're going to do, get on with it. Stop dawdling like a bunch of old women."

Han Zhitao's gaze was ice-cold as he stared at Luo Xiu. Seeing his target's nonchalant attitude only stoked his rage. "Brothers, waste him!" he ordered.

At his command, the surrounding thugs closed in on Luo Xiu.

Wu Tianhua immediately adopted a fighting stance, tensing for the fight. He wasn't a coward, but he felt a sense of helplessness. These were all elite Martial Artists from the Martial Association, after all. He could handle two or three, but with more than a dozen charging at once, he wouldn't even have a chance to fight back.

If only I'd known, I would've brought more of our men. But General Luo was so stubborn, insisting on coming without backup.

"General Luo, I'll hold them off! You use the chance to rescue Feng—" He whispered, but before he could finish, his jaw dropped.

Luo Xiu was strolling forward as if taking a leisurely walk, swatting away anyone who approached like he was weeding a field. Against these elite Martial Artists of the Martial Association, he truly looked like he was just playing around. A single slap sent them flying to the ground, unable to get back up.

What terrifying power!

"This..." Wu Tianhua's eyes bulged like brass bells. He couldn't help but recall that night in the woods, when Luo Xiu had "educated" both him and Ling Feng with a stick.

Just how strong is General Luo? What realm has he reached? Could he be a Grandmaster? Impossible. At his age, there's no way he could be a Grandmaster!

While Wu Tianhua's mind was in turmoil, Luo Xiu had already reached Han Zhitao. By now, all the men Han Zhitao had brought were sprawled on the ground, clutching their faces and groaning in pain. Many were unconscious.

Han Zhitao stood frozen to the spot, drenched in a cold sweat. It felt as if something was caught in his throat. He could only stare at Luo Xiu in terror, speechless. Only now did he truly realize how horrifying Luo Xiu was.

SLAP!

Without a word, Luo Xiu raised his hand and struck him across the face.

Han Zhitao was sent sprawling to the ground. He clutched his bleeding face, staring at Luo Xiu with terrified eyes. "You... you... stay away!" he stammered. "Do you know who I am? If you dare to—"

BOOM!

Before he could finish, Luo Xiu kicked him, sending him flying into the warehouse's heavy iron door.

Luo Xiu walked over unhurriedly, planted a foot on Han Zhitao's chest, and looked down at him. "Han Zhitao, for an ungrateful dog like you, I feel no mercy. Still, some things need to be said."

"First, Qian Qing and I are just ordinary friends. Of course, whether you believe me is your business."

"When you got into all that trouble, she stayed by your side. She worked herself to the bone to earn money for you and was even harassed by your creditors, but she never gave up on you. That shows just how important you were to her."

"A good woman like that... to be honest, even I'm a little moved. But you didn't cherish her, which just proves what an animal you are."

"Oh, and another thing. You were originally trash. I was the one who gave you a life-changing opportunity, improving your very foundation. My only intention was for you to be able to protect her in the future. But now, it seems..."

Luo Xiu shook his head and began to turn away. "Forget it. A piece of trash like you isn't even worthy of being killed by me."

He walked over to Wu Tianhua, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Hua Zi, I hear you're ruthless, that they even call you the 'Hua Butcher'?"

Wu Tianhua scratched his head awkwardly. "Ah... that's nothing worth mentioning in front of you, General Luo."

"I'll leave this animal to you," Luo Xiu said. "Show me if the name 'Hua Butcher' is just an empty title."

Hearing this, Wu Tianhua's gaze turned fierce. He stared down at Han Zhitao on the ground, his expression twisting into a ferocious scowl. "Don't worry, General Luo. I'm very good at this sort of thing."

With that, he walked toward Han Zhitao.

「Some time passed.」

Luo Xiu calmly watched Han Zhitao twitching in a pool of his own blood, lost in thought. Han Zhitao wasn't dead, but the life ahead of him would be worse than death. His newfound potential had been a gift from Luo Xiu, and now, Luo Xiu had taken it all back. Since he was originally a cripple, he could go back to being one.

"It's getting late," Luo Xiu said, breaking the silence. "Take me to Eldest Sister."

"Right away, General Luo." Wu Tianhua hurried to open the car door. He must be going to see Eldest Sister to report on his work.

"General Luo, you're incredible. No wonder the boss holds you in such high regard."

Luo Xiu just smiled without a word and slid into the car.

Wu Tianhua also got in, stealing a glance at Luo Xiu in the rearview mirror before asking cautiously, "By the way, General Luo, if I may be so bold... what is your current realm?"

Luo Xiu fell silent. He remembered Elder Gui asking him the same question before. But he didn't know how to answer, because he himself didn't know what realm he was in.

All he knew was that ever since coming down the mountain, he'd finished every fight with a single slap or punch. The martial arts he had learned before felt completely useless. It felt as if everyone he faced was weightless, their bodies without substance, easy to send flying with a single blow.

"Speaking of which, for you martial practitioners... uh, Martial Artists, what are the different realms?"

Wu Tianhua was rendered speechless by the question. "General Luo, you're a Martial Artist yourself. How could you not know this?"

Luo Xiu shrugged. "If I don't know, I ask."

Wu Tianhua nodded and smiled. "Well, if you're willing to listen, General Luo, I can walk you through it."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.