Chapter 58: Bloodthirsty Frenzy Pill!

This killing intent was faint, exceedingly faint.

It was so faint that it felt almost like a cool night breeze brushing past.

"You certainly move fast."

"You tracked me down in such a short span of time."

Duan Lingxiao's gaze narrowed.

The Xiao family villa was situated in a location relatively distant from the bustling metropolis. The surrounding greenery and landscaping were quite thorough and well-developed. Consequently, it provided exceptionally favorable hiding conditions for many of the crawling insects that lurked in the dark.

Meanwhile, perched atop a lush, sprawling tree outside the villa, several figures crouched silently. They made virtually no sound, and it seemed as though they had even stopped breathing.

"The night is deep, and there is the sound of the wind tonight to serve as cover. This is the prime time to strike."

"The Turtle-Breathing Art we cultivated through such untold hardship cannot be detected even by a grandmaster-level martial artist!"

"With him merely being a suspected Heavenly Realm martial cultivator, there is simply no way he can discover us!"

"Hehe, this bounty of two hundred million is ours!"

"Also, get the Ten-Fragrance Soft-Bone Powder ready. Scatter it at the very first opportunity. We must reduce his combat effectiveness to the maximum degree."

"Rest assured, everything is prepared!"

"I've already figured it out. The target and Xiao Mengxue live on the second floor—one on the east side, and the other on the west."

"We will eliminate the target first, and then we can have some real fun with that woman!"

"Good!"

The men's voices murmured in low tones.

"Move out!"

The leading assassin in black said in a deep voice.

The group was just about to spring into action.

Right at that moment, however, the expressions on their faces suddenly shifted.

Their bodies stiffened drastically in that exact instant, as if they had suddenly plummeted from a warm, cozy bed into an abyss of ice.

"What the hell? Why is it suddenly so freezing?"

"The weather forecast didn't say there would be a sharp drop in temperature tonight!?"

"It really is cold. No... wait! It's that kind of sinister chill! It's utterly spine-chilling!"

For some inexplicable reason, the men felt a cold draft sweeping over their entire bodies. It was indescribably eerie. Moreover, this sensation had appeared instantaneously, leaving all of them with an inexplicable chill running down their spines. They had the haunting illusion of having taken a stroll through a mass grave in the dead of night.

"Are you planning to assassinate me?"

Suddenly, a calm voice sounded from right behind them.

"What the hell?!?!"

The souls of the men nearly left their bodies in an instant. They were utterly shocked, their faces pale with terror. They were beyond astonished by this abruptly materialized voice.

"Who are you?"

"Damn it, it's you!"

The men spun around, only to be met with a handsome face bearing an indifferent expression.

Who else could it be if not the man surnamed Ling?

The crucial point was that, just moments earlier, when they had observed through their infrared binoculars, Duan Lingxiao was clearly inside the villa's room. How on earth did he appear behind them in the blink of an eye?

Damn it!

Could they have seen a ghost!?

"Hiss!"

The men all drew sharp breaths.

"Stop standing around like idiots, everyone! Attack!"

The leading assassin in black maintained a shred of composure, so he issued the order to attack without delay. In a situation like this, they had to strike immediately to have any chance of victory.

"Your mind is still relatively clear, but unfortunately, your strength is far too weak."

Duan Lingxiao reached out his hand and precisely clamped onto the neck of an assassin who was charging at him.

*Crack!*

He snapped the man's neck instantly.

Immediately following that, another punch!

*Boom!*

The chest of another assassin burst open. Blood sprayed into the air, and his ribs shattered.

*Bang!*

Suddenly, a massive cloud of white powder scattered violently, blooming outward like heavenly maidens scattering flowers, engulfing Duan Lingxiao within it.

"Haha! Once you've breathed in the Ten-Fragrance Soft-Bone Powder, even if you were one of the eighteen Arhats, you'd turn into a limp dog!"

The leading assassin in black sneered.

"Ten-Fragrance Soft-Bone Powder? Hehe. You might not know this, but the seasoning I used to cook with back in the day wasn't the Thirteen-Spice blend, it was Ten-Fragrance Soft-Bone Powder."

"Such a nostalgic flavor!"

Duan Lingxiao said with a faint smile.

"???"

"Stop putting on a mystical act! You breathed the Ten-Fragrance Soft-Bone Powder right into your lungs, how can you possibly be fine?!"

An assassin yelled in fury, fiercely thrusting a short blade toward Duan Lingxiao's waist and abdomen.

*Clang!*

Duan Lingxiao extended two fingers and precisely caught the blade.

*Snap!*

Exerting force with his fingers, he snapped the short blade in half, then drove a fist straight into the assassin's neck. Instantly, the assassin's head snapped backward.

"Damn it, he really is unharmed!"

"Cursed be it, how is he immune to the Ten-Fragrance Soft-Bone Powder?!"

The expression of the leading assassin in black changed drastically.

"Quickly use our trump cards!"

"If we don't use them now, we're bloody well going to die today for sure!"

As his voice fell, the eyes of the remaining assassins sharply contracted.

Yet at that moment, hesitation was no longer an option. Gritting their teeth, they pulled blood-red medicinal pills from inside their garments.

"Blood-Thirst Frenzy Pill!"

*Gulp!*

The men swallowed the blood-red pills straight down into their bellies. In an instant, a formidable surge of power churned wildly inside their bodies. It felt as though their stomachs were on fire, and a ferocious wave of intense heat suddenly surged upward, causing their muscles to tremble. The very next moment, their bodies visibly expanded by a fraction, tearing the black garments they wore right at the seams!

"Kid, you've forced us to use the Blood-Thirst Frenzy Pill, you can be proud of yourself for that!"

"Go to hell!"

Because they had consumed the Blood-Thirst Frenzy Pill, their bodies would suffer severe side effects. Even if they succeeded in slaying Duan Lingxiao, it would result in their martial foundations being completely crippled. Naturally, they would never be able to work as assassins again in the future.

Therefore, at this moment, their hatred for Duan Lingxiao ran bone-deep. The ruthlessness of their strikes was earth-shattering and soul-freezing.

"Mere forbidden drugs used to stimulate bodily potential—only crawling insects in the dark like you would take such things."

Duan Lingxiao shook his head. He had always held such drugs with severe side effects in utter contempt. Only subpar alchemists would brew this kind of medicine. However, alchemists were scarce to begin with, and being able to concoct pills that could yield massive effects in a short period of time could actually serve as a life-saving asset under specific circumstances.

"Die!"

"Palm-blade heart excavation!"

One of the black-clad assassins transformed his hand into a blade, fiercely thrusting it toward Duan Lingxiao's chest.

*Bang!*

Duan Lingxiao grabbed the assassin's hand and violently twisted it!

*Crack!*

A teeth-gritting sound echoed as this assassin's right arm was ruthlessly wrenched right off!

Instantly, blood spurted everywhere!

Before the black-clad assassin could even let out a scream, Duan Lingxiao's hand had already locked onto his neck.

*Snap!*

He died on the spot.

In the blink of an eye, only two black-clad assassins remained at the scene.

"Fall back, quickly!"

"The intelligence was flawed, he is definitely more than just Heavenly Realm!"

"Damn it, whose loose-lipped bastard of a source leaked this information? It's so inaccurate!"

The two figures moved simultaneously, darting away like winding snakes and vanishing swiftly into the dark night.

"Want to run? Too late!"

Duan Lingxiao followed like a shadow clinging to form, trailing right behind them.

"Damn it! How is his speed this fast as well!?"

No matter how desperately the two men exerted themselves, they still could not escape Duan Lingxiao's grasp.

As assassins, their greatest specialties were concealment and speed. Yet now, to their horror, they discovered that they could shake off Duan Lingxiao's tracking by no means whatsoever.

When they sped up, Duan Lingxiao sped up as well.

When they slowed down, Duan Lingxiao slowed down too.

Step for step, he shadowed them everywhere, leaving them nowhere to hide.

"What the hell, is he just toying with us?"

The leading assassin in black suffered a complete mental breakdown.