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In their first exchange, Xu Zheng already sensed it—Vincent's physique was stronger. He had clearly been at a disadvantage. Yet, Xu Zheng wasn't someone who discouraged easily.

It had been a long time since he faced someone of equal or superior strength. Instead of retreating, a malicious grin spread across his face as his arms began to emit a deeper, more ominous shade of purple.

"State your name! I don't fight nameless people!" Xu Zheng demanded, his voice calm but dripping with killing intent.

Vincent, however, ignored him entirely. Instead, his gaze shifted to Mochi, perched on his shoulder, contentedly munching on the origin fruit she had stolen from Xu Zheng.

"All you do is eat. Go sit in the corner," Vincent said, his expression helpless.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It wasn't that he couldn't fight with Mochi on his shoulder, but she was eating, and he didn't want to disturb her.

Still chewing on the round yellow fruit, Mochi glanced up at him lazily. "Hmm, okay. Take your time. Those kids will probably die..." she said casually, then hopped onto a tree branch and resumed eating.

Vincent showed no reaction to her words. He wasn't a hero. Those people meant nothing to him, and he had no interest in them.

The world was cruel. Somewhere, someone was always dying—it was normal. At this moment, his focus remained solely on himself and those he cared about.

Setting aside the thought, he turned back to Xu Zheng, who now wore a dark expression after being ignored.

Xu Zheng chuckled darkly.

"Haha. So be it. It seems I, Xu Zheng, am being underestimated! In that case, I'll make sure you remember me even in your next life!"

In an instant, Xu Zheng's figure disappeared, reappearing behind Vincent. Yet Vincent remained motionless. Xu Zheng vanished again, flickering to his left, then his right, repeatedly shifting positions without making a move.

"What's wrong? Frozen in fear?" Xu Zheng mocked, his voice coming from behind Vincent.

"Or are you regretting offending me?" he taunted, his voice now echoing from another direction.

His provocations continued, his confidence building as Vincent remained as still as a statue, not uttering a word or reacting in the slightest.

Xu Zheng's frustration began to boil.

With a purple flash, Xu Zheng appeared on Vincent's right side, his fingers in a claw motion, aiming to strike his neck. However, when his fingers were only a few inches away from Vincent's neck, Xu Zheng once again disappeared and reappeared on his left side with a huge grin and killing intent in his eyes.

"Die, arrogant bitch!"

Xu Zheng exclaimed as he slashed his claws towards Vincent's mask. He had been wanting to know the person behind the mask. However, before his claws could land on Vincent's mask, he saw Vincent's purple eyes shifted, locking onto him..

Xu Zheng's eyes widened.

'He can follow my speed?!' he thought, retreating in alarm. But before he could celebrate his evasion, Vincent exploded forward with blinding speed, appearing before him.

"Where are you going? I've been patiently waiting for you to attack, but now you're only going to run away?"

Vincent's voice was like a reaper in the dark, startling Xu Zheng as Grabbing Xu Zheng's collar, Vincent spun him forcefully before slamming him into the ground with a deafening impact.

Bang!

"Argh!"

The heavy sound of impact echoed as Xu Zheng cried out in pain, his body bouncing off the ground before rolling to safety. Clutching his back, he glared at Vincent with hatred but didn't rush forward again.

He wasn't stupid. Initially, he believed Vincent's strength matched his own. Now, he understood the gap between them was far larger. To charge recklessly would be suicide.

But Vincent wasn't about to give him the chance to strategize.

Switching to offense, Vincent rushed forward. "Stop running. You were talking a lot before. Show me your confidence!"

His jab struck toward Xu Zheng's chest, forcing the old man to retreat. Although the punch only grazed him, the sheer force caused Xu Zheng to stumble back, coughing violently.

Cough! Cough!

Xu Zheng winced, clutching his chest. His ribs felt as though they'd shattered despite the punch barely making contact.

It was then he started to realize he had made a huge mistake.

He had provoked someone far beyond his league. Yet, his pride wouldn't let him bow. Instead, frustration and hatred swelled in him.

'I want him dead!'

At this moment, Vincent had no idea what was running through Xu Zheng's mind. Well, even if he knew, he wouldn't care!

He slowly approached the old man clutching his chest.

"You talk so much, but you're actually so weak," he said in a disappointed tone, which further displeased his opponent.

"You just caught me by surprise. We still don't know who's going to die!" Xu Zheng retorted, stubbornly refusing to be humiliated. He then took out a recovery potion and drank it in a single gulp.

Despite seeing this, Vincent didn't stop him. He was here to test his strength and gain battle experience, after all. He had been intentionally provoking Xu Zheng, but the old man was overly cautious.

When he saw the old man had already recovered, Vincent said, "Are you done taking your vitamins, old man?"

His words were effective, as Xu Zheng's expression turned furious.

"Old man? At least I'm not as shameful as you. Hiding behind a mask and acting like a youth!"

Xu Zheng still believed Vincent was an old person as well.

While still wearing a furious expression, Xu Zheng suddenly waved his right hand. It was followed by a flash of purple light that materialized into a 150-centimeter-long deep-purple blade with an 8-inch thickness.

"I had no plans to use this against you… but I changed my mind. You will be my first sacrifice to my new armament… Fiend Blade!" Stay updated via empire

It was a rare-grade Tier 2 armament that he had bought using all his savings!

He had been keeping it a secret, planning to use it in the next sect battle, but he hadn't expected to encounter such a strong individual. He had no choice but to fight with all his strength.

Fortunately, no one was around. Thus, he could use his armament to his heart's content.

The moment he summoned his Fiend Blade, he could no longer hide his excitement.

"Haha! You wanted to see my real strength? As my first sacrifice, I'll grant your wish!"

With a huge grin across his face, Xu Zheng took a stance and closed his eyes for a second before snapping them open as his aura burst, releasing a heavy pressure.

His Fiend Blade began to emit a purple hue as he locked his gaze on Vincent. He then dashed straight at him and slashed his blade forward.

"Purple Moonlight — Five Moonlight Shadowstrike!"

Despite it being early in the morning, Vincent could vividly witness an aura of the moon, shadows, and sharpness bursting forth as Xu Zheng began slashing at him.

"First Strike—Shadow Slash!"

The moment Xu Zheng's blade slashed, the light reflected on it, turning it invisible to the physical eye.

"Die!" Xu Zheng exclaimed.

Despite the blade turning invisible, Vincent didn't panic. With a slight movement, Xu Zheng's blade missed his body by a small margin, but it still brought a strong gust of wind and left a deep scar on the ground.

Taking this chance, Vincent counterattacked by punching towards Xu Zheng's abdomen. However, Xu Zheng immediately reacted.

Taking a single step back and raising his Fiend Blade, he easily blocked Vincent's fist. Even so, Vincent didn't retreat and threw more punches at him. However, all of them were blocked effortlessly by Xu Zheng's blade as though he predicted every action.

"Second Strike—Moonlight Parry!"

Vincent slightly frowned. He was just starting to realize the foundation of martial sects. A martial sect's foundation was no weaker compared to modern-day guilds and organizations.

Although all Xu Zheng had done was parry his punches, Vincent felt his fists burning. When he looked at his hand, he saw purple steam marks left by Xu Zheng's blade.

He recognized it immediately.

Poison.

The Fiend Blade had a poisonous effect. Fortunately, Vincent's current toxic and poison resistance was high. Therefore, the burning sensation quickly disappeared.

He smirked as he saw this. He really enjoyed the feeling of a challenge. However, it wasn't enough!

It wasn't satisfying enough. Thus, he once again provoked the old man, "That's all? Isn't your sect a little trashy?"