The reactions at the drinking table were mixed.

Some tried to dissuade him, saying that Yang Jing was no ordinary martial artist these days. He had placed fourth in the military examinations, possessed formidable skills, and had even secured an official post. There was no need to get into a life-or-death struggle with him; it simply wasn’t worth the trouble.

However, the majority voiced their strong support, clamoring that they would be there in a heartbeat if he decided to make a move. He was just some upstart kid, after all. What, did he think he could turn the world upside down?

These words filled Shen Lie with satisfaction, and he began to drink even more heavily. Before he knew it, the night had grown deep, and he started his drunken stumble home.

He staggered around the alley corner, drawing closer to his home, still muttering curses. "Yang Jing... you little bastard... Just you wait... I’ll... I’ll break your damn legs..."

The wind continued to howl, tearing his drunken curses to shreds and scattering them into the night.

Though Shen Lie had drunk a great deal, he was a Dark Energy master, after all. By the time he reached Anxing Square, his Inner Strength was slowly circulating through his body, subtly counteracting some of the alcohol’s effects. He felt a little better than he had moments before.

His steps were unsteady, but his posture remained relatively stable. His mind was still somewhat clear, though far duller than usual, and his gaze was vacant.

Back at the banquet, he hadn’t felt this drunk. But the fierce wind on his way home had somehow caused the alcohol to hit him all at once. His temples throbbed, and he felt so light-headed it was like walking on cotton.

However, as his Inner Strength circulated, the intoxication was already beginning to recede. Staggering to his courtyard gate, Shen Lie stopped and shook his head hard, trying to dispel the lingering dizziness.

He fumbled for the key at his waist and inserted it into the keyhole with trembling fingers.

With a CLICK, the lock turned. He pushed open the courtyard gate and went inside.

The courtyard was silent, with only the rustling sound of leaves in the wind.

He didn’t go directly to the main house, but instead turned into the kitchen.

He had specifically asked the cook to stew a roasted chicken that evening, ’Just the thing to eat when I get back tonight.’ Now, with the alcohol hitting him, it would be perfect to fill his stomach.

A moment later, Shen Lie came out of the kitchen carrying a glistening roasted chicken, humming a tuneless little song as he walked toward the main house with unsteady steps.

"CREAK—"

He pushed open the door to the main house, and a wave of air, thick with the smell of liquor and roasted meat, rushed in ahead of him.

He had barely stepped into the room, not yet reaching the table to set down the chicken, when a vicious whistling sound tore through the air behind him, aimed straight for the back of his head!

’This is bad!’

The drunkenness vanished in an instant, and the hair on his arms stood on end.

Years of martial arts training screamed danger, but the attack was too sudden, too fast. He had no time to turn and block. All he could do was instinctively jerk his head to the side to protect a vital spot.

"THUD!"

With a sickening thud, the fist missed the back of his head but slammed squarely into his back!

In that moment, Shen Lie felt a terrifying, immense force, infused with an overwhelmingly powerful Inner Strength, crash into him like a small mountain.

The bones in his back seemed to groan under the impact, and a wave of agonizing pain washed over him as he was sent flying forward like a kite with a severed string.

"PTUI—"

A large mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his mouth, splattering on the ground.

He slammed into the heavy wooden table in the middle of the room. A series of sharp cracks echoed out as the sturdy table shattered under the force of the impact, sending splinters of wood and shards of a teapot flying in all directions. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Behind the door, Yang Jing slowly retracted his fist. His eyes, fixed on Shen Lie, held a mixture of surprise and delight.

’I can’t believe Shen Lie actually came home. This saves me the trouble of coming back another time.’

He had been hiding behind the door, intending to crush Shen Lie’s skull with a single punch the moment he entered, eliminating this threat for good.

He hadn’t expected Shen Lie’s reaction to be so fast, instinctively avoiding the vital point.

In that split second, Yang Jing had altered his attack, redirecting the blow from Shen Lie’s head to his back.

And it was because of this last-minute change that the power of his Mountain-Shattering Fist had been slightly diminished.

Otherwise, with his current power—a fusion of two different Dark Energy techniques—the surprise attack would have been enough to kill the unprepared Shen Lie instantly.

Yang Jing stared down at Shen Lie, who was sprawled on the floor struggling to raise his head. His eyes were as cold as frost.

’The path to heaven was open, but you refused to walk it. Hell had no door, yet you insisted on breaking in.’

’Since you came back tonight, then tonight is the night you die!’

Yang Jing’s expression remained impassive as he watched Shen Lie lying on the ground, unable to rise. He walked toward him with steady steps.

Each step crunched softly on the splintered wood, but in the silence of the night, the sound struck Shen Lie’s heart like a hammer blow.

Yang Jing’s right fist clenched slightly as Dark Energy quietly gathered within it. He just needed to take a few more steps and deliver the final blow to eliminate this threat once and for all.

Shen Lie lay sprawled amidst the wreckage, feeling as if every bone in his body had come loose. A piercing agony radiated from the point of impact on his back, a pain like a thousand steel needles stabbing him at once. Even breathing sent a tearing sensation through his chest.

He suspected the punch had fractured his spine. The slightest movement made him cry out in a hoarse, guttural moan.

But as the steady footsteps drew nearer, a chilling killing intent washed over him like a shadow. The hair on his body stood on end, the sensation so primal it momentarily suppressed the searing pain.

He struggled to turn his neck, using every ounce of strength to lift his head. Through his blurred vision, he could only make out a figure dressed in Night Clothes and a mask. In the dim light, the figure’s eyes shone with an alarming intensity, radiating undisguised killing intent.

"You... who are you?" Shen Lie’s voice was hoarse and broken, laced with an uncontrollable tremor. "When... when did I ever offend you? Why do you want to kill me?"

His heart was now filled with terror—a primal fear for his very life.

His attacker was ruthless, crippling him with a single punch. Clearly, this wasn’t about money; this was an assassination.

He racked his brain. While he’d made some enemies in the Jianghu, he couldn’t recall ever crossing someone to the point of a death feud. ’Who is this person?’ he wondered frantically. ’Why do they want me dead?’

The footsteps stopped in front of him. The dark figure loomed over him in silence, and the sheer coldness in those eyes made Shen Lie feel as if he had been plunged into a freezing cavern.

Yang Jing remained silent, the mask covering most of his face, revealing only a pair of frigid eyes.

Even though he knew Shen Lie was about to die and likely wouldn’t recognize his voice, he was unwilling to speak.

’Caution was etched into his very bones. Any possibility of revealing his identity, no matter how small, had to be eliminated.’

He slowly raised his right fist. The Dark Energy of his Mountain-Shattering Fist coalesced at his knuckles, making the very air seem to tremble and compress. The shadow of death now loomed completely over Shen Lie.

"Spare me! Spare me!"

Shen Lie felt the killing intent intensify, and his survival instincts overrode the agony. He pleaded in a hoarse voice, his body trembling violently with fear, "I have no quarrel with you, sir! Why do you want to take my life? I beg you, stay your hand! Spare me, and I will reward you handsomely!"

’He really didn’t want to die.’

A quarter of an hour ago, he had been fantasizing at the banquet about how he would teach Yang Jing a lesson. He never imagined that in the blink of an eye, he would become a lamb for the slaughter, his life hanging by a thread at his enemy’s whim.

The despair of falling from the heavens into the abyss threatened to tear his sanity to shreds.

The feel of the Inner Strength from that punch felt vaguely familiar, as if he had encountered it before. But the searing pain and overwhelming fear muddled his thoughts. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t grasp the fleeting memory.

All he knew for certain was that his attacker’s Inner Strength was far more immense and domineering than his own, which was already at the Peak of Dark Energy. Such power was among the absolute strongest in Yuhe County. ’When did I ever offend such a master?’

’Could it be an assassin hired by one of my enemies?’

The thought flashed through Shen Lie’s mind, and his will to survive made him grasp at this last straw. "I have money!" he yelled frantically. "I have a lot of money! And treasures! Just let me go, and all my wealth is yours! I can even write you an IOU and pay you three, even five times more in the future! Just please, spare my life!"

Yang Jing watched his pathetic, blubbering state, a cold smirk playing on his lips.

’What a fool.’

’Once you’re dead, all that money and treasure will be mine anyway.’

His fist didn’t even pause. With unstoppable force, it descended toward Shen Lie’s skull.