Chapter 46 — Dominant Appearance

“All Things Water!”

Invisible, formless water condensed into a shield, silently curling around Dashan’s palm and blocking the beekeeper’s lethal strike. Ripples from the collision between the wasp’s poisoned needle and the Water shield danced in the air like a living ink painting.

“Who—who is that!?” The beekeeper went pale and stumbled backward dozens of meters. His poison needle, usually fatal, had been stopped for the first time. Whoever had intervened was no ordinary person.

The man in black’s eyes narrowed. A chill flashed through them as he turned his gaze toward the direction behind Dashan.

In the tense, oppressive silence, a figure stepped out unhurriedly from behind Dashan — calm, composed, utterly otherworldly. His face was cold, his eyes deep as an abyss, and an overwhelming presence radiated from him. Instantly, every eye in the venue fixed on this newcomer.

“Brother Xiao!” Dashan cried in joy — then, remembering the situation, he dropped to his knees with a thud. “Brother Xiao, I failed — I couldn’t protect my wife… kill me!”

Chen Xiao’s stern look softened. He helped Dashan to his feet with a pang of pity. “Dashan, it’s not your fault. You did all you could.” He looked past him with cold resolve. “If someone hurt you, I’ll make them pay. One by one.”

Those words froze the beekeeper and the black-clad man. This youth’s aura was stranger and more dangerous than they’d expected. The situation had just grown serious.

“Chen Xiao!” Tang Shirou’s earlier resentment evaporated the moment she saw him. She dared not cry openly — to do so might seal her fate with Tang Xiangui. She could only keep it inside, letting the gratitude and relief shine on her face.

Tang Xiangui’s glare was ice. He stared at Chen Xiao as if peering at a corpse. “So you finally show up…”

Outside the base’s iron gate, Dashan had reached his limit — exhausted, collapsing like a fallen mountain. When Chen Xiao’s familiar figure appeared in his sight, his tightly coiled tension snapped. He collapsed, consciousness slipping away.

Chen Xiao didn’t hesitate. He hoisted the heavy Dashan onto his shoulder, glanced at the beekeeper and the black-clad man — who had no intention of pressing an attack — and carried Dashan to a safe spot. “You did well. Leave the rest to me.”

He drew a breath, eyes hard with purpose, and turned back. Activating Dragon Aura, Chen Xiao immediately pinpointed Tang Shirou’s location.

He looked up at the towering watchtower, lifted his chin, and called out with a steady voice full of resolve and tenderness: “Don’t worry — I’ll bring you home.”

At the top of the tower, Tang Shirou looked down through tears. Her voice, thin from the wind, cut through the cold: “Chen Xiao… thank you.” Tears streaked her cheeks, but she smiled bravely into the gale.

For a moment the scene felt like music swelling to a climax — two gazes meeting with shared determination.

“Stop!” Tang Xiangui barked, unable to endure the scene. Someone fumbled an MP3 and awkwardly shut off whatever background music had started. “Who turned on this BGM?”

Tang Xiangui sneered; his will demanded order. The beekeeper still gripped his poison wasp needle and watched Chen Xiao with deadly intent. “You’re finally here,” he said flatly — he knew Chen Xiao was the real target Tang Xiangui had been hunting.

Chen Xiao’s face gave nothing away. He turned to the beekeeper. “You’re the one who hurt Dashan, aren’t you?”

At first the beekeeper was baffled by the abruptness of the question. Then Chen Xiao moved.

Faster than a fired cannonball, Chen Xiao closed the distance to the beekeeper. The latter lashed out with his life-saving poison needle, aiming for Chen Xiao’s face without hesitation.

All Things Water shaped itself into a solid shield, then a swirling current that trapped the poisoned needle. In the beekeeper’s terrified eyes, Chen Xiao’s fist — condensed with infinite force — struck square into his chest.

“Boom—”

A gale roared and a sickening impact echoed. The beekeeper was launched like a broken kite, hurled hundreds of meters into the air. The black-clad man could only gasp — this was the first time he had seen the beekeeper fall.

Chen Xiao kept going. Before the black-clad man could recover, Chen Xiao’s figure blurred and crashed upon him: each blow like a crushing mountain. The black-clad man fought desperately, unleashing his trump card — “Shark Breaks the Sky!” Waves of water swelled beneath his feet, surging toward Chen Xiao.

But the water at his feet felt a will of its own, resisting and then ensnaring him. Chen Xiao condensed infinite power in his fist and struck — the impact pulverized the man’s chest; bones cracked, blood spurted.

The black-clad man crumpled to his knees. A prompt appeared above him: [Evolution Points +80].

All Things Water against water magic — it was like carrying a great blade before Guan Gong himself. The venue was left breathless as Chen Xiao stood over the defeated men, every movement decisive, every strike absolute.