Chapter 4576 — Truly Unafraid to Die?

Yet Qiao Hongcai's reaction left him utterly disappointed. No matter how unbearable the agony surging from his fingers, the man did not so much as let out a single cry of pain—he simply stared coldly at Ma Dangfeng.

Lu Bianren and the others instantly broke their formation and closed in, sealing Ma Dangfeng firmly in the center. Had Qiao Hongcai not been pinned beneath his foot—forcing them to hold back for fear of hitting their own—they would already have struck. As fellow members of Wei Zhao's faction, they shared one fate, glory and ruin alike; they would never stand by and watch Qiao Hongcai be killed without lifting a finger.

"Well, well—didn't expect a tough one. Now this is interesting!" Ma Dangfeng paid no heed at all to Lu Bianren and the others glaring at him like tigers eyeing their prey. Fixing Qiao Hongcai with the look of a cat toying with a mouse, he gazed down at him with keen amusement and said, "I'm not really the bloodthirsty sort. If you smarten up now, bow your head, admit your mistake, and sincerely call me 'Grandpa' a few times, maybe I'll be in a good mood and spare your miserable life—so no one can say I never gave a fellow disciple a chance. What do you say? I'll count to three. Miss this chance and you have only yourself to blame!"

"Call you Grandpa? What's this—sounds like you're planning to marry into the Qiao family? Hahaha! What a pity—our Qiao family's threshold is far too high. We've only ever taken in men, never dogs. Afraid you won't get the chance!" Qiao Hongcai laughed heartily, not taking the threat to heart in the slightest. With his bullheaded, hot-blooded nature, it would have been a true wonder if such threats from Ma Dangfeng had frightened him.

"One!" Ma Dangfeng's expression turned cold. He ground his foot down harder, too impatient to trade more words with Qiao Hongcai, and began the count at once.

Lu Bianren and the others felt their hearts tighten, killing intent flaring from each of them. If they let Qiao Hongcai die at this man's hands right before their eyes, how could they ever face Wei Zhao again?

At that moment, one thought filled every mind: to hell with this so-called King of Newcomers—if he dared to kill Qiao Hongcai, even at the cost of severe punishment from the Azure Cloud Pavilion, they would strike this bastard down on the spot!

"Two!" Ma Dangfeng continued counting, casting a contemptuous glance at the group bristling with killing intent, the mockery in his eyes plain for all to see. Strictly speaking, none of those present were weak among the Azure Cloud Pavilion's disciples—but to think such strength could stand against him, Ma Dangfeng, was nothing short of a fool's dream.

If they dared to attack him, he would not mind killing a few more today. Might as well be thorough—wipe out Wei Zhao's entire faction and be done with it. Then let us see who would still dare say he was inferior to Wei Zhao!

"Three! There, I've counted for you. If you're going to kill me, get on with it—stop dawdling and dithering here, you're giving me a headache!" Qiao Hongcai curled his lip in disdain.

He was pinned beneath the other's foot now; resistance was beyond him. Another man might well have been cowed by Ma Dangfeng—but Qiao Hongcai had never known how to write the word "death." At worst, it was just dying. What was there to fear?!

"Hmph. Truly unafraid to die? Then I'll grant you your wish!" Killing intent condensed in Ma Dangfeng's eyes, and he was about to strike the fatal blow. Qiao Hongcai's life was in his grasp now—whether he lived or died rested entirely on a single thought, without so much as lifting a finger. One burst of true qi, and he would be dead beyond any doubt.

"You dare!" The shout came not from Qiao Hongcai but from Lu Bianren, the Bitter Senior Brother, Xiao Che, and Li Zhengming in unison. However much they feared hitting their own, matters had come to this—they had no choice but to act.

They could not simply watch Qiao Hongcai be killed by Ma Dangfeng. And if they could not stop him, then they could only choose to send Ma Dangfeng to the grave with him—to avenge Qiao Hongcai! Otherwise, how could they ever face Wei Zhao again?

Killing intent surged abruptly from all four as they launched a simultaneous assault from four directions.

"Hmph. Worthless dogs—and you dare run wild before me?!" Ma Dangfeng did not even glance at the four. His gaze upon Qiao Hongcai beneath his foot grew ever more savage, as though Lu Bianren and the other three truly did not merit his notice—not even worth a second look.

Seeing Ma Dangfeng so utterly unruffled, Lu Bianren and the others felt not relief but dread. Without hesitation, each unleashed their strongest killing move. That the enemy should be so careless and contemptuous was, to be sure, a great boon for the four of them—but was it really?

And what happened next explained precisely why Ma Dangfeng held them in such contempt. There was no other reason: the gap in strength between them was simply too vast—they were not on the same level at all.

Just as he had dealt with Qiao Hongcai before, four fissures suddenly burst from beneath Ma Dangfeng's feet, racing at a speed the eye could scarcely follow to the ground beneath Lu Bianren and the other three. This time, however, the intent was not to trap them—from within the seams, a savage spike of concentrated force shot skyward, and the four had not even a moment to react!

Nothing is indestructible; only speed is unbreakable. Yet these four spikes deployed against Lu Bianren and the others were formed of extremely condensed true qi, possessing both terrifying hardness and horrifying speed. This was a method born purely for killing—utterly covert and sudden, and devastatingly effective!

Without exception, all four were struck simultaneously. Though they failed to dodge in time, fortunately Lu Bianren, Xiao Che, and Li Zhengming were no ordinary men.

Though their strength was far inferior, their reflexes were quick enough. Struck by the spikes, they at least managed to avoid their vital points—but each had a great chunk of flesh scraped away, blood streaming, a sight to make the heart quail!

By comparison, the Bitter Senior Brother, far less gifted, had no such luck. Amid a hoarse, gut-wrenching scream, a spike pierced clean through his right thigh without the slightest resistance, hoisting his whole body aloft—blood spraying as he hung upside down in midair.

The agony made him struggle; the struggling drove the spike deeper; and the deeper it went, the worse the pain. Everyone present was frozen in horror at the sight, even their own wounds forgotten. The spike was sharp at the top and broad at the base—if the Bitter Senior Brother kept thrashing, the hole through his thigh would only gape wider, until at last the entire right leg would tear clean off!

"Bitter Senior Brother!" Qiao Hongcai, pinned beneath Ma Dangfeng's foot, felt his eyes nearly split with rage at the sight! (To be continued..) R527