Chapter 121: Instant Kill

“Welcome, five distinguished guests, to the Purple Wind Building!”

From the stairwell came a low, hoarse laugh. Then, the man picked up a candle in his left hand and a lighter in his right, lighting the candle. A small circle of light appeared in the dark stairwell.

In the candlelight, Su Li saw a man wearing a white baseball cap and a black leather coat. He was sitting high on the steps leading to the 31st floor. A pale, bloodless smile was on his face as he looked down at them.

Su Li felt cold. He realized they had fallen into a trap. The enemy had known about their movements all along and was waiting to ambush them, blocking the hallway and leaving them nowhere to go.

“It’s Tao Bingjun… How could this happen…” Xu Haishui’s face completely drained of color. He recognized the man holding the candle and wearing the baseball cap, Tao Bingjun. His expression was one of shock and utter disbelief.

His plan had been perfect. This time of day should have been when everyone was eating dinner. He had approached by submerging, so it should have been impossible to alert anyone. Yet, these people seemed to possess prescient knowledge, laying an ambush for them in the corridor.

“Is that the Tao Bingjun?” Su Li took a deep breath, quickly calming down. He then began to covertly observe the four people in the stairwell ahead and the six people blocking their rear. The “Peering Rune” was already active.

With one look, his heart sank slightly.

There were four people at the stairwell entrance: one was Level 5, and three were Level 6.

Su Li immediately understood. These four must be the remaining four leaders Xu Haishui had mentioned, excluding Chen Xiangyu. They had reached Level 5 yesterday, and three of them had advanced to Level 6 today. The only one still at Level 5 was a thin, tall man in his twenties with short hair, carrying a gigantic executioner’s saber.

Su Li recalled Xu Haishui saying that of the four leaders, Li Wei was extremely skilled with a knife, having personally witnessed him slicing a person in half. Su Li guessed that this thin, tall man carrying the massive saber was Li Wei.

The man sitting on the steps, wearing the white baseball cap and holding the lit candle, was the primary leader of the Purple Wind Building, Tao Bingjun. He was the most mysterious one, whose abilities were unknown even to Xu Haishui.

Standing in front of Tao Bingjun were two men: a short, fat man in his thirties with a fair complexion, and another strange-looking man with messy hair and wearing a mental hospital patient gown.

These two were Level 6 Spiritual Source Wielders. They must be the remaining two leaders, Sun Wenbo and Wang Zhensheng, but Su Li couldn’t distinguish which was which.

The four leaders blocked the front stairwell. The six people blocking their escape route must be their trusted subordinates.

Su Li and his group were scrutinizing the enemy, and the four leaders were observing them as well. Most of their gazes, however, were fixed on Gong Xiao. Their predatory stares were so intense that Gong Xiao couldn’t endure it and slowly retreated behind Su Li, using his body to shield herself from their invasive eyes.

“It’s Xu Haishui, you little traitor! I knew it! Chen Xiangyu and the others never returned. Looks like you set them up!” Li Wei, the man with the huge saber, recognized Xu Haishui. He glared at him, his eyes filled with unconcealed killing intent.

“Bringing outsiders and sneaking in? What are you trying to do? Planning to ambush us? With just these few people? Heh heh, that’s hilarious…” The pale, plump short man covered his mouth, giggling. He posed with a limp wrist; he was effeminate.

“Sun Wenbo, can you stop using the limp wrist? It’s disgusting.” Tao Bingjun, seated, suddenly frowned, glaring at Sun Wenbo.

“Oh, I can stop, I can. It’s just a habit…” Sun Wenbo lowered his hand, a look of grievance on his face.

Su Li listened quietly. He now knew the plump man was Sun Wenbo, which meant the other disheveled man in the patient gown must be Wang Zhensheng.

Ding Longyun felt they were trapped, unable to advance or retreat. He subtly glanced at Su Li, silently asking, What do we do?

Although they were surrounded, he wasn’t particularly afraid. All five of them were Level 5. Furthermore, they had Su Li. Even though the enemy was numerous, numbers didn’t guarantee victory. Even if they couldn’t win, fighting their way out and escaping shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Are you curious about why we are waiting for you here?” Tao Bingjun, holding the candle, looked to be in a good mood. He wasn’t in a hurry to fight and smiled, seemingly enjoying Su Li and the others’ initial shock.

“It’s because I enhanced my eyes. I spotted you from far away. I saw you leaving your raft and submerging. So… I decided to give you a grand welcome here. By the way, I’d like to know, what are your intentions, sneaking in like this?”

Tao Bingjun did not recognize Xu Haishui and knew nothing about the affair with Zhang Ying. He was simply curious about why the group was trying to sneak in.

Hearing Tao Bingjun’s explanation, Su Li and the others suddenly understood and forced a bitter smile. They had thought their infiltration was seamless and undetected, but they had been spotted all along. The enemy had gathered enough people here to trap them.

Li Wei glared intensely at Xu Haishui and roared, “You followed Chen Xiangyu! Why did you sneak in with these outsiders? Tell me honestly, where is Chen Xiangyu? If you don’t speak, I’ll chop off your hands and feet and cut off your nose and ears, making you unable to live or die!”

As Li Wei spoke, he stepped forward, subtly lifting the colossal saber in his hand. His aura was aggressive, and his face was full of killing intent.

Xu Haishui’s face flushed and paled. Although he had summoned the courage to sneak in and save Zhang Ying, the sight of the ambush had already intimidated him. His initial courage instantly vanished. Cornered by Li Wei, he instinctively retreated.

“Still not talking?” Li Wei suddenly roared, raising his gigantic saber higher, ready to sever one of Xu Haishui’s arms instantly.

He completely dismissed the coward who had followed Chen Xiangyu. He had often mocked Xu Haishui before. He also didn’t take Su Li and the others seriously. What formidable character could the cowardly Xu Haishui possibly bring? They were all just trash.

Only because Tao Bingjun enjoyed playing games did he gather everyone and stage this grand ambush. Li Wei was impatient. He simply wanted to strike, first crippling Xu Haishui, then slaying Su Li and Ding Longyun. The two women, of course, would be captured alive. He could look forward to new ‘favors’ tonight.

From the moment he saw Gong Xiao, he didn’t want to waste any more time. He wanted a quick fight: kill the three men and take her upstairs immediately.

However, since Tao Bingjun hadn’t given the order to kill, Li Wei couldn’t act entirely on his own initiative. So, he decided to first chop off Xu Haishui’s arm to make a statement and test the boundaries of Tao Bingjun’s order.

Although he was brutal and tyrannical, he genuinely feared Tao Bingjun and dared not disobey his orders.

Li Wei had reached Level 5 yesterday, mastering a Spiritual Source Technique and several special abilities. His strength was formidable. He only failed to reach Level 6 like Tao Bingjun and the other two because he had a mishap while hunting an unexpectedly powerful monster today, which forced him to retreat and left him short of the Spiritual Sources needed for the breakthrough.

He lifted the huge saber. It carried a fierce wind, and it was about to sever Xu Haishui’s arm in an instant.

Just then, a sudden change occurred. Su Li, who was standing silently beside Xu Haishui, moved.

Li Wei’s vision blurred. Su Li seemed to produce an afterimage, moving like a phantom. He shot to the side. Su Li’s right hand reached for his chest and, drawing it out, revealed a sword as if by magic. The sword swept toward Li Wei’s neck.

A flicker of surprise crossed Li Wei’s eyes. He was shocked by Su Li’s sudden attack, but the fact that he was one of the five leaders and a true veteran of brutal fights meant he was no slouch. In that split-second change, he demonstrated his frightening skill. He lowered his arms, twisted his wrist, and the gigantic saber he had swung changed direction mid-swing. With a “clang,” it blocked Su Li’s sweeping Dragon Rhino Sword.

“I’m the real…” Li Wei started laughing wildly. He had aimed at Xu Haishui, but he was actually watching Su Li and even Ding Longyun behind him. He intended to kill them both with a single move. He figured that if he acted first, Boss Tao couldn’t blame him. He enjoyed the thrill of killing humans—it felt much better than killing monsters. Li Wei was addicted to it.

Li Wei’s wild laughter stopped abruptly. He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. He couldn’t believe his eyes: his gigantic saber, made of fine steel, had broken.

His giant saber was immensely powerful; ordinary swords would break against it. But now, when it heavily struck Su Li’s sword, the giant saber snapped and flew off, while the other sword was completely unobstructed. It sliced across his neck.

This was completely unexpected for Li Wei. Even after the Dragon Rhino Sword sliced his neck and his head flew off, a look of confusion remained on his face.

This is impossible.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. From Li Wei’s sudden attack on Xu Haishui, to Su Li’s counterattack, to Li Wei’s head flying off—the others barely had time to blink. The six men blocking the rear exit erupted in an uproar, their faces pale with terror.

Li Wei was one of the five most powerful leaders. His head was severed in a single strike?

Is this guy a monster?

A message surfaced in Su Li’s mind.

(End of Chapter)