Chapter 108: At the Brink of Life and Death

"You are strong, truly. Your combat power is enough to rank among the top of the Gold-tier on the assassin leaderboard. Yet, I will defeat you today, and furthermore, I will kill you..."

Putting aside the shock in his heart, the Blood Butcher spoke slowly. His eyes ignited with a fierce blaze—the fighting spirit that only emerges when encountering a formidable opponent. As an assassin, the Blood Butcher had faced many powerful enemies, and there was no shortage of those like Zhang Xiaofan, who relied on unyielding resolve and fighting spirit to ultimately slay their foes. It was precisely this that had forged his current status and strength.

Seeing the Blood Butcher stand up after spitting out only a mouthful of blood, Zhang Xiaofan frowned. He had unleashed a four-fold hidden force just now; was such a punch only enough to make him cough up blood? However, considering that even his Pure Yang Needles had failed to injure him, he was not entirely surprised. It only proved one thing: the Blood Butcher’s physique was immensely powerful.

At that very moment, the Blood Butcher lunged forward like a cheetah, launching a punch toward his chest. Zhang Xiaofan’s eyes were sharp as lightning. Even though he had knocked away the Blood Butcher’s blade and repelled him with a punch just moments ago, he did not relax in the slightest. He planted his feet firmly into the ground, arching his body. At this moment, he focused almost every ounce of his strength into a single punch, meeting the Blood Butcher’s strike with a direct blow of his own.

Watching Zhang Xiaofan charge at him, a cold sneer curled the corner of the Blood Butcher's mouth. Seeing that sneer, Zhang Xiaofan’s pupils suddenly constricted, for he realized that a blood-colored radiance was emanating from the Butcher’s fist. An icy chill swept through his entire body, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. Zhang Xiaofan suddenly recalled that the Blood Butcher’s most fearsome weapon was not his swordsmanship, but a secret technique that utilized spiritual energy to stimulate the power of his blood and essence, drastically enhancing his combat prowess. In that instant, Zhang Xiaofan even felt the breath of death.

Yet, at this critical juncture of life and death, Zhang Xiaofan’s gaze was astonishingly resolute as he continued to drive his fist toward the Blood Butcher. Seeing Zhang Xiaofan maintain his stance of head-on collision, the smile in the Blood Butcher’s eyes grew even more intense, tinged with a hint of disdain. The Blood Butcher gathered all his strength into his right fist, letting out a roar as the red light on his fist flared, and slammed it into Zhang Xiaofan’s fist.

At the very moment of impact, a golden light erupted from within Zhang Xiaofan’s body, wrapping around his fist like lightning, burning with brilliant intensity!

"Bang!" A thunderous sound echoed as their fists collided with tremendous force. Under the shockwave of that massive power, even the nearby abandoned house seemed to tremble. Then, eight-fold hidden force exploded from Zhang Xiaofan’s fist almost simultaneously!

In that instant, the Blood Butcher’s smile suddenly froze, for he felt an even greater force surge forward, smashing violently against his fist. It was a power that completely crushed him; the instantaneous explosion left him in absolute horror. This force far exceeded the power he had gained from his secret technique!

"Crack..." With the sound of dislocating bones, the Blood Butcher’s arm bent rapidly under the immense pressure, and then, the bone actually pierced through the flesh, dragging out a mass of muscle and gore. His body was sent flying backward by the impact!

Several mouthfuls of blood sprayed from the Blood Butcher’s mouth, his eyes filled with intense shock. How could this guy possess such terrifying power? What kind of existence was that golden light on his fist? It had rendered his late-stage Spirit Opening Realm strength completely helpless!

At this moment, Zhang Xiaofan was panting heavily. The violent exertion had worsened his wounds, and blood flowed continuously, staining his clothes until he looked like a man made of blood. Zhang Xiaofan secretly felt lucky. At the most critical moment, he had sensed the golden light within him automatically protecting its host. He had gambled on the strength of that light, gambling that it would help him crush the Blood Butcher in one blow. Clearly, he had won the gamble!

However, after that punch, the golden dragon of light had grown visibly dim. Zhang Xiaofan could not worry about that now; the little golden dragon loved to consume spiritual energy, and he would simply find some rare treasures for it to devour later. At the very least, he was still alive.

Having shattered the Blood Butcher’s arm and dealt him a grievous blow, Zhang Xiaofan ignored his own injuries and lunged forward again, slamming a punch into the Butcher’s chest. The Blood Butcher was horrified, clearly not expecting Zhang Xiaofan to be so ruthless. Looking at the massive wound on Zhang Xiaofan’s chest, he could not fathom how a young man could be this vicious. With such a gaping wound, he dared to exert so much force—how much blood did he have to lose?

Watching that fist grow larger in his vision, the Blood Butcher instinctively used his remaining left fist to block, but his speed was a beat too slow. Zhang Xiaofan’s fist slammed into his chest, and the Blood Butcher immediately vomited a mouthful of blood, which seemed to contain fragments of flesh.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaofan’s movements did not cease. He rained dozens of punches down on the Blood Butcher, pinning him to the ground and beating him mercilessly, ending with a brutal uppercut that smashed into the Butcher’s chin, shattering the bone. The Blood Butcher’s body was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing heavily against the wall behind him. This time, he could no longer stand.

However, Zhang Xiaofan’s face was deathly pale, and blood continued to pour from his wounds. If this continued, he would truly bleed to death. He let out a long, ragged breath, pressed his fingers together, and quickly tapped around his wounds, barely managing to staunch the flow and prevent blood from other parts of his body from draining away.

Blood still seeped from the wounds. Tearing off a piece of his clothing to bandage himself, Zhang Xiaofan walked step by step toward the Blood Butcher, who lay slumped on the ground. Looking down at the man who had only one breath left, Zhang Xiaofan said calmly, "Facts prove that you could not kill me, and instead, you are to be killed by me. Seeing that you are a man of conviction, speak—do you have any last words?"

The Blood Butcher’s injuries were severe, and his heart was filled with desolation. The strong rule the weak, and the loser is the villain; he had indeed lost, and so thoroughly. Although he felt unreconciled, he had to accept the truth. He had studied martial arts since childhood, mastered the skills of an assassin, been taught by famous masters, learned powerful sword techniques, and possessed secret arts that most martial practitioners lacked. Yet, he had been defeated by a youth not even twenty years old. Furthermore, this youth had used mid-stage Spirit Opening Realm strength to defeat his late-stage Spirit Opening Realm strength. Though he had nearly killed the youth, the end result was his own defeat, and only death awaited him. A profound sense of loneliness filled the Blood Butcher’s heart, shattering all his pride.

"Kill me then. My skills were inferior; death is the only outcome." A look of release appeared on the Blood Butcher’s lips. As an assassin, he knew this day would come sooner or later.

"Then I shall see you off..." Zhang Xiaofan applied slight pressure with his fingers, snapping the Blood Butcher’s throat and declaring his death.

He walked over and picked up the Blood Butcher’s blood-red blade; such a sword could not go to waste. He then entered the house. Chen Yuanyuan had been knocked unconscious, but her clothes were still intact, and the stone in Zhang Xiaofan’s heart finally settled. He pressed his fingers into the acupoint beneath Chen Yuanyuan’s nose, and before long, she began to stir. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Zhang Xiaofan’s weary yet gentle gaze. Then, she saw the bloody wounds on his chest, and Chen Yuanyuan immediately understood that Zhang Xiaofan had been injured saving her.

"Xiaofan..." Tears welled up in Chen Yuanyuan’s eyes, filled with heartache. She tore a strip from her own clothing to re-bandage him.

"It must hurt so much... why are you so foolish?" Chen Yuanyuan whispered softly.

Zhang Xiaofan looked at her and said, "You are my woman; how could I disregard your safety? Even if it meant death, I would have gone forward without hesitation. That is my principle. Besides, I'm not dead yet, am I..."

Zhang Xiaofan laughed weakly. "It’s just that I was planning to try a different position with you today, but it looks like that’s not happening now..."

"Is this really the time... for you to be thinking about that..." Chen Yuanyuan was truly... did this guy have no heart?

"Let’s go, let’s head back," Zhang Xiaofan said calmly after a moment. With injuries this severe, he didn’t know how long it would take to heal; his trip to the capital would have to be postponed.