The scene unfolded in the blink of an eye.
"You seek death!"
Seeing Nangong Li had already made a move, Elder Niu's eyes flashed with ferocity. Without further words, he charged directly at his opponent.
At this moment, a faint, earth-yellow true qi emanated from his body, causing dust and gravel to fly from the ground as he charged.
Niu Hu reached Nangong Li and swung his right fist, encased in true qi, violently towards his face.
In contrast, Nangong Li's expression remained unchanged as he faced the ferocious assault, as if Niu Hu's attack was insignificant in his eyes.
Just as Elder Niu thought his attack was about to land, a hand, appearing ancient and weathered, materialized strangely in front of his fist, forcefully halting his momentum.
"This… how is this possible?"
At this point, no matter how hard Elder Niu pushed, his fist could not move forward an inch.
Yet, he did not give up. He abruptly withdrew his fist, gathered his strength again, and the true qi enveloping his fist seemed to brighten slightly.
"Die!"
He punched again. The wind of his fist cut through the air, creating a sharp gust and smashing directly towards Nangong Li's face.
Clearly, the power contained this time was several times greater than before. It was also his full-force strike as a late-stage Martial Master.
Bang!
Nangong Li's withered old palm blocked it again, but this time it was different. Under this surging power, his aged body was forced to retreat continuously.
A deep skid mark was left on the ground as a result.
"Disperse!"
Nangong Li let out a low roar. His palm gently vibrated forward, and the air between fist and palm seemed to be compressed, exploding outwards.
The distance between the two men then widened.
"You… you've also broken through to late-stage Martial Master?" Niu Hu, steadying himself, said with a solemn expression.
It seemed their intelligence was flawed.
"You two, come at me together." Elder Niu looked at the two beside him and said.
Since the opponent was also a late-stage Martial Master like himself, taking him down alone was no longer feasible.
If they added two early-stage Martial Masters, the outcome might be different. Although the man with the rat mask was already injured, it did not significantly affect him.
Therefore, Elder Niu was determined to win this battle.
"Attack!"
With Elder Niu's command, the three attacked Nangong Li from three different directions.
"Young man, it's not good to be dishonorable!"
Seeing this, Nangong Li tossed the box in his hand upwards with his left hand, sending it into the sky.
This way, he could use both hands.
In an instant, the three of them, Elder Niu included, had surrounded and attacked Nangong Li.
"Old man, you can rest in peace now." As Elder Niu spoke, his true qi gathered in his fists.
He swung his fists, and continuous attacks rained down on Nangong Li. The other two also channeled their true qi into their legs to assist in the assault.
Thus, Nangong Li defended and retreated. In just three seconds, they had exchanged more than ten blows.
However, facing the combined onslaught of the three, Nangong Li still appeared to be handling it with ease, showing no sign of panic.
Conversely, Elder Niu grew increasingly alarmed with each passing moment, sensing that something bad was about to happen.
Indeed, in the very next second, Nangong Li stopped defending. The speed of his palm strikes suddenly increased. The three of them only saw several palm shadows before their right shoulders were almost simultaneously struck, sending them reeling back.
Nangong Li then extended his right hand, perfectly catching the two falling boxes.
His expression was one of composure.
Puff!
Elder Niu and the others, however, were in stark contrast. With a muffled cough, a hint of red appeared at the corners of their mouths.
"Elder Niu, this… is this the speed a late-stage Martial Master can achieve?" the man with the sheep mask asked, his voice trembling as he suppressed his pain.
Elder Niu remained silent, his face extremely grim.
"Alas! This old man doesn't wish to tangle with you any longer, so…" At this moment, Nangong Li narrowed his eyes, a cold glint revealing itself, and said, "So you shall end here."
As the words fell, Nangong Li's aura surged. With a slight rotation of his palm, a faint, golden true qi swirled around his palm.
"Go!"
Nangong Li thrust his palm forward forcefully. The originally ethereal golden true qi seemed to solidify, transforming into a furious lion that crushed towards Elder Niu and the others.
Facing the attack that surged with overwhelming momentum, Elder Niu and the others turned ashen. They could not believe that the old man before them could launch such an attack.
"This… this is True… True Qi Detachment!" Elder Niu's mind went blank as he watched the incoming assault.
True Qi Detachment.
That was something only a Martial King could perform!
At this moment, Elder Niu finally understood that the other party had been hiding his strength all along.
Bang!
The three were utterly unable to dodge and were directly engulfed by the golden true qi. Their bodies, like kites with broken strings, were sent flying two to three meters through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
They were completely incapacitated.
Nangong Li walked to their broken bodies and spoke to the air, "Take them away for interrogation!"
"Yes, Patriarch!"
As Nangong Li finished speaking, a man emerged from the shadows and took the defeated trio away.
"Little Ye, Grandpa has done as you asked."
Nangong Li gazed at the starry sky and murmured to himself.
…
The next morning, a piece of news titled "Mysterious Organization Raids Nangong Family" spread through the upper circles of Minghai City, immediately causing a huge stir.
"Damn! Someone's making a move so quickly."
"It seems the Nangong family will not have a peaceful time."
"But I heard that those people ultimately failed. It's just that I don't know how strong they were."
"Alas! Such power struggles between great factions are not for us small fry to get involved in. Let's just watch the show quietly."
"Exactly!"
…
Black Tiger Sect.
An old man sat before a wooden table laden with various tea sets. Opposite him sat a man shrouded in a cloak, his face obscured.
Black Tiger looked at the figure opposite him, pushed a freshly brewed cup of fragrant tea forward, and said calmly, "It seems we miscalculated this time."
"Isn't this all within your expectations? There's nothing to be overly surprised about," the man under the cloak said in a deep voice.
"There's no other way. We still had to send people to probe Old Man Nangong Li's strength!" Black Tiger did not refute.
"I won't say much about what you've done! However, I must remind you that the people you sent to probe were all dispatched by the headquarters. If they return without success, you should know the consequences." The cloaked man's tone carried a warning.
"I am well aware of that." Black Tiger tapped his fingers on the table a few times, his eyes narrowed, and said, "Judging by the situation last night, Old Man Nangong Li has most likely consumed the Crimson Heart Fruit and entered the Martial King realm. Therefore, the next time we make a move…"
As Black Tiger spoke, he casually tapped the tabletop with his index finger. A stream of black true qi shot out from his fingertip.
*Crack!*
With a crisp sound, a finger-sized hole appeared on the tabletop. Furthermore, a ten-centimeter-deep small hole appeared in the ground directly beneath it.
A trace of black gas remained within the small hole.
"Next time, we must win in one decisive blow!"