Era of Mist

Chapter 163: Chapter 162: One Punch to Blow Up Your Head

Shi Tiexin’s fist froze in mid-air.

”Think about it. If you people from the Orphanage want to live... you have to rely on our enterprise... With just a single word from me, not one of you will ever find a job...” He Chong’s mouth was mangled, but a malicious grin still spread across his face. ”When that happens, every last one of you will starve to death...”

Shi Tiexin remained silent, simply watching He Chong. His expression was impassive, betraying none of his thoughts.

He did, however, stop the assault.

”Do you think... a lowlife like you... can catch up to me with just a few secret manuals, a bit of talent, and some fighting skills...?” He Chong spoke, air whistling through his broken teeth and blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth, yet his voice was strangely clear. ”No... The gap between us isn’t something that can be closed by those things... We’re worlds apart! You have nothing. But I... I have power and influence!”

He Chong burst into manic laughter, gasping for breath. Merely to speak, he had actually drawn upon his vital essence, even using the psychic energy in his mind that governed speech, which was why his words had become so clear.

”It doesn’t matter how much you hate it, this is how the world works! I already control the fate of everyone at the Orphanage, so you can’t do a damn thing to me! So what if I bully you? So what if I broke the law to have my men jump you? So what if I set you up on purpose? So what if I paid people in the crowd to slander and defame you? Huh? What can you possibly do about it?!”

”This is a mystic realm, after all. I won’t actually die here.”

”The hatred will only continue to build, to fester.”

”If you dare kill me here, I’ll make damn sure no one from your Orphanage ever finds a job again. You mutts don’t have fathers or mothers, so I guess all those people are your brothers and sisters. When the time comes, they’ll all be thrown out onto the streets. And then what happens? It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. The men will go to the Waste Dust Factory to burn their lives away, and the women will go to unlicensed brothels to sell their bodies.”

”And you think that’s the end of it? No, that’s just the beginning! I’ll pull strings to have your ’brothers’ thrown into the most hazardous sections of the Waste Dust Factory. I’ll pay diseased degenerates to specifically visit the brothels and have their way with your ’sisters’! Radiation, viruses, rot, and death will haunt them forever, for this life and the next, with no hope of escape!”

He Chong’s eyelids were torn and bloody, but he stared at Shi Tiexin like a vicious, triumphant snake.

”Now, do you still dare to hit me?”

Shi Tiexin didn’t move.

He Chong grinned, his expression growing more triumphant, more unhinged.

”You... simply... don’t have the right to take revenge on me.”

”This is... your fate!”

”HAHAHAHAHA—!”

He Chong cackled, unaware that every word he uttered was being amplified a hundredfold, echoing throughout the entire arena. Down below, the crowd of examinees watching the spectacle was in an uproar. The things He Chong said were so vile that the more hot-blooded and justice-minded among them were overcome with furious indignation.

”So that’s what this was all about! A moment ago I thought that big guy was being too brutal, but I never expected this!”

”Shameless! That’s just fucking shameless! Who the hell is this asshole? He Chong? Who the fuck is He Chong? Let’s get him!”

”Shit, where are those guys who were stirring up the crowd earlier? Turns out they were all this bastard’s paid shills! Find them! Find them!”

The examinees were in a frenzy, the roar of the crowd threatening to tear the roof off. On the main dais, the official who had previously spoken up for He Chong stood in stunned silence, his facial muscles twitching, completely unable to speak.

The enthusiastic youth lowered the hand he had used to secretly form the Dharma Seal. Just like last time, this wasn’t a Dharma Seal that controlled what someone said. What He Chong said was entirely up to what he was thinking. The seal simply made it impossible for him to hide his thoughts, forcing him to voice them all.

Of course, this Dharma Seal was equally effective on Shi Tiexin.

The youth looked at the frozen form of Shi Tiexin within the mystic realm, his expression solemn.

’Kid, at a time like this, what will you choose?’

Shi Tiexin didn’t move, frozen like a stone statue.

He stared at He Chong’s face, and it was as if he could once again see that vast, inescapable net. His once-straight spine slumped slightly. It seemed even a man forged of iron had no choice but to bow, to yield, under such immense pressure.

”Die!” A glint flashed in He Chong’s eyes. Mustering all his remaining vital essence, he shot his arm forward, his fingers stabbing straight for Shi Tiexin’s throat.

All his remaining psychic energy gathered at his fingertips, creating a six-colored blade of light. It was an unexpected, upward strike—a killing blow!

Gasps erupted from the crowd, many unable to bear watching.

But just then, a hand shot up to block the throat, as if in anticipation.

It was Shi Tiexin!

SPLAT! Blood sprayed as He Chong’s fingers pierced Shi Tiexin’s palm, punching a hole clean through. But in the next instant, Shi Tiexin’s left hand snapped shut, grabbing He Chong’s right hand and twisting forcefully. SNAP! He Chong’s wrist broke. Simultaneously, Shi Tiexin drove his right knee forward, grinding it into his opponent’s shoulder. CRUNCH! He Chong’s left shoulder was utterly crushed.

”AH! AHH! AHHH—!!”

He Chong shrieked, struggling for his life, but it was useless.

HIIISSSS— Shi Tiexin said nothing, only took a long, deep breath. Then he leaned forward, towering over He Chong.

WHOOSH! The six-colored radiance around his body pulsed, then suddenly contracted, collapsing inward until it transformed into a raging flame that coiled entirely around Shi Tiexin’s right arm.

His right arm, raised high.

His right fist, holding the weight of a mountain.

From below the stage, the examinees roared as one.

”Hit him!”

”Waste him!”

”Beat that bastard to death!”

”You—you can’t! You can’t do this!” He Chong roared with all his might. ”Think of your brothers and sisters! Think of their future! How—how can you be—so selfish!!”

The onlooking examinees were burning with fury. ”He’s so fucking shameless! If I ever see this piece of shit again, I’ll beat him on sight!”

CRACKLE. Shi Tiexin’s left hand tightened, squeezing the fingers of He Chong’s right hand until they were a mangled pulp.

GRIND. Shi Tiexin gritted his teeth, his usually impassive face flushing a fiery red.

He knew He Chong was shameless; he had always assumed the worst of him. But he never imagined He Chong could be shameless to this degree!

He was never a man of many words; not even his perfect mastery of the first level and excellence in the second level of Rhetoric could change that fact. A thousand emotions raged in his heart, but he couldn’t force out a single word.

There was no outlet for his surging fury. Only a single phrase, flashing up from the depths of his hazy memory, thundered in his heart. It traveled up his throat and erupted from his mouth as a world-shaking roar.

”Heart of stone, bones of iron, a fist raised to the heavens!!”

His killing intent was set!

POP POP POP POP! A series of sharp snaps echoed from Shi Tiexin’s right arm as his muscles bulged, turning red and bruised from the strain. A colossal power was surging. Shi Tiexin... one punch... smashed down.

’I’ve heard this line countless times. Today, I’m the one who gets to do it—I’ll blow your head apart!’

RRRIP!

The skin of his face tore.

SQUELCH!

The eyeball exploded.

CRACK!

The skull shattered.

’Down, down, keep destroying, keep erupting! The red and the white, explode! Explode for me!’ This punch, like a cannonball, was infused with all his power, all his emotion, and it all burst forth at once!

THUD—!

Shi Tiexin’s fist punched completely through He Chong’s head, its momentum unchecked as it slammed into the wooden floorboards. CRASH! A large section of the floor shattered and flew outwards, spreading in a ring along with blood and fragments of bone.