Chapter 87: The Fatal Art, Part 2

Zhang Hai was still puzzling over it when a sudden chill flashed across his neck. His thoughts halted at once, and only in the instant before death did he finally understand the answer.

Zhang Lang’s eyes were bloodshot. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. His elder brother, a true martial adept, had been slain in a single strike by a half-grown boy whose strength was nearly twice as poor. It was absurd beyond reason. The boy’s level was plain enough to see; the gap in power was far too great. How could this be possible?

A self-satisfied sneer touched Le Kai’s lips.

“I told you already,” he said. “Whoever stands in my way dies.”

He gave Zhang Hai a light shove. The burly body toppled sideways, and before it even hit the ground, a huge head slid free, rolling clattering down the steps. Only then did blood begin to hiss from the severed neck, gushing like a fountain gone mad and staining the white jade stairway crimson.

“Le Kai, I’ll tear you to pieces!”

At the sight, Zhang Lang felt his mind explode into chaos. A brother of decades, killed before his eyes, head severed from body—what could be more infuriating than this?

Zhang Ba, who had been sipping red wine, suddenly spat it all out. It was as though his mouth were full of blood, and he could not help retching. Wu Meitian, too, stared in shock at Le Kai, who now looked like a demon. All along, she had never truly regarded him as a child. Though she called him a little devil king, it had mostly been a joke. After all, how could such a cute and obedient child possibly be connected to a real devil king?

But now Wu Meitian felt she had not been wrong. This boy truly was a devil king, an utter and complete one, because even after killing a martial expert, the little devil king’s gaze remained cold, his face unchanged, as though he had merely cut down a kitten or a puppy. Not even the executioners of the Revolutionary Alliance had been so bloodless.

This boy could be adorable enough to melt the heart, troublesome enough to drive a person to tears, and yet when cold, he was terrifying in this way too. What kind of person was he?

In truth, Le Kai had only killed two people: Xi Runsi, and now Zhang Hai. It would be impossible to say he felt nothing at all. Killing one’s own kind was not as easy as hunting prey, but his excellent mental fortitude allowed him to conceal it perfectly each time.

Zhang Lang, now in a frenzy, tore his suit to shreds, revealing copper-toned muscles dense and powerful. Those muscles writhed, and like Zhang Hai’s, they swelled instantly by several degrees. It seemed this was a secret art passed down in their family.

“Kill him! Hurry and kill him!”

Zhang Ba cried out in terror, yanking a treasured sword from the wall behind him and hurling it over. “Kill him, and this sharp blade is yours.”

The sword was an ancient weapon, incomparably sharp, a family treasure of the Zhang clan. Zhang Lang had long coveted it, wanting nothing more than to get his hands on it, even just to touch it once, but Zhang Ba had never allowed it.

Zhang Lang caught the sword, yet the joy he had imagined never came. Right now, he wanted only to kill the boy before him and avenge his brother. Nothing else mattered.

“Move aside, or die!”

Le Kai still flung out those five cool, cutting words. If this had been before, Zhang Lang might have laughed just as Zhang Hai had, mocking him to the utmost. But after seeing his brother beheaded by a single stroke, he no longer dared to treat it as a joke. Those who spoke this way usually possessed absolute confidence and unshakable grounds.

Was the fearful boy’s confidence really rooted in that broken blade in his hand?

Though Zhang Lang’s heart was filled with hatred, he did not act rashly. Instead, he studied Le Kai in cold silence, analyzing everything. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you shall win every battle. Clearly, the information they had received that morning was far from complete. At the very least, the file had mentioned nothing about him possessing such a sharp blade.

The curved saber was a little over two feet long, its arc strangely shaped. The back of the blade was covered in rust, and the hilt was wrapped in frayed strips of cloth. From its color, it seemed to have lain around for many years. Only the edge remained bright and icy, as cold and dazzling as Le Kai himself at that moment.

This blade was no ordinary thing.

Though nothing unusual could be seen at a glance, the mere fact that it could sever a martial expert’s head in one stroke was proof enough that it was extraordinary.

“Le Kai, no matter where you came from or what kind of backing you have, today you die,” Zhang Lang said through clenched teeth, the malice in his eyes already flaying Le Kai a thousand times over.

“I’m not used to talking nonsense with the dead. After I finish discussing things with your master, I’ll come back to deal with you.”

The arrogance in Le Kai’s words had reached its limit, yet his expression remained natural and his tone calm, as though this were simply an established fact. Even though Zhang Lang had repeatedly warned himself to remain calm, lest he fall into the other side’s trap, he could not help but be enraged to the point of smoke practically pouring from his seven orifices. He nearly charged forward on the spot in a desperate fight to the death.

Hearing this, Zhang Ba also burst into a derisive laugh. “Le Kai, you are truly arrogant to the extreme. This is Noble Academy. Do you really think you can kill me?”

Unconsciously, Zhang Ba seemed to have forgotten that it was actually his side that held the advantage.

At last, Le Kai showed the faintest hint of a smile. “You’re right. I am a student of Noble Academy, law-abiding and proper. How could I possibly dare kill a senior?”

Zhang Ba instantly found his confidence and shouted, “You trespassed onto private property. That alone deserves death. If you know what’s good for you, get out immediately. Otherwise, even if this young master kills you here, it will still be perfectly reasonable.”

“Young master, how can you…” Zhang Lang nearly fainted from rage. If Le Kai left, who would he go to for revenge?

Le Kai sneered. “Nonsense! You invaded our villa first and abducted one of our people. I’m only here to demand justice. If you know what’s good for you, release this girl at once. Otherwise... heh. Nobles may not be killed, but nobody said they can’t be beaten, right? As long as you leave them breathing, it is perfectly defensible under the law.”

“Presumptuous! You dare threaten this young master? Believe me when I say I can kill this little girl right now. Heh heh, look how anxious you are. Could it be that this little girl is the one you’ve been fooling around with, some May-December affair gone rotten?”

With a ferocious grin, Zhang Ba clamped a hand around Wu Meitian’s throat and said smugly, “I now order you to drop your weapon and surrender immediately. Otherwise, this young master will snap her neck with one squeeze.”

Though Zhang Ba was only at the level of mind and spirit as one, breaking a person’s neck was not difficult for him.

“Damn it, Zhang Ba, stop right there! If you dare harm her, I’ll wipe out your Zhang family.”

Le Kai did not speak, but an angry, panic-stricken voice rang out. It was naturally Lan Bo.

Seeing the scene before him, Lan Bo was, to be honest, quite shocked. But having grown up accustomed to cruel sights, his psychological endurance was far from ordinary. To him, as long as Le Kai did not kill any nobles, everything else was irrelevant; he could slaughter the rest however he liked. These people had kidnapped the woman he loved. Better that they all die.