The man who met Chen Xiao's gaze froze for a heartbeat, then panicked and stumbled backward. But he couldn't outrun Chen Xiao—no one could.
With a single stomp Chen Xiao launched forward at terrifying speed.
"Slap!"
The force was brutal this time. One palm strike nearly caved the man's skull in. Teeth flew from his mouth; blood sprayed everywhere.
"This is insane—he's a killing god!" someone blurted.
"Is that a modern kid? How can anyone kill that casually in the apocalypse?" another muttered.
"This is psychopathy—pure antisocial behavior!"
Seeing Chen Xiao's merciless efficiency firsthand, the crowd kept its distance and retreated.
Protected inside the water curtain, Jiang Chu Xue could finally watch closely. At first she'd been terrified—Chen Xiao was using his strongest ability to guard them—but then she watched him weave through a hundred enemies on raw instincts alone, his body doing what no one else could match.
"How...how is he this strong?" she whispered.
It wasn't just the enemies who were stunned; even their allies were speechless. Watching the men who'd humiliated her get seized and then humiliated to death by Chen Xiao filled her with a dark relief.
"Run, run! Save yourselves—keep the hills and there'll be fuel to burn!" someone screamed in hysteria. Xu Yun and Xu Baichuan, pale with fear, abandoned the rest and began to flee.
"Who said you could go?" came a familiar, chilling voice—Chen Xiao's.
Xu Yun swallowed and broke into a cold sweat. Xu Baichuan, still petulant despite everything, snapped, "Chen Xiao! Don't get cocky—we were only fighting A-ranks! Our five S-ranked powerhouses haven't even touched you!"
"Think those little trophies scare me?" Chen Xiao didn't answer. He simply watched as Xu Yun slowly raised a hand.
"Slap!"
Xu Yun slapped his son hard. "You unfilial fool—how dare you speak like that? Apologize to this big brother…no, elder…now!"
Xu Yun's brain was racing. They'd been utterly crushed. Their only hope was to grovel before the senior members—if the patriarch spared them, there might be a way out. His son could be sacrificed.
"Slap!" Another slap landed. "From now on, you don't speak unless I say so!"
Xu Baichuan blinked. "You told me not to speak…"
Xu Yun wondered if the concussion had scrambled his boy's brain.
Then Chen Xiao's voice cut through the chaos. "Everyone, stop."
It was like snapping a whip. Even those fleeing on the road froze—no one dared move. The earlier display of raw power had stripped them of the will to resist; like mannequins, they obeyed.
Chen Xiao shifted his weight and launched two palm strikes. The father and son flew seven or eight meters and landed inside the water curtain.
Inside that shimmering shield, the five S-ranked fighters had stopped fighting. They stood to the side, silent. They weren't stupid—faced with Chen Xiao's slaughter, they chose surrender. Their boss had already given up.
Jiang Chu Xue glared at Xu Baichuan as he flew in, ready to retort—then blurted, "You lied! Sister Tang was with me! You locked me up!"
Xu Yun, flustered, scrambled for excuses. "I don't know where she is—she ran off days ago!"
Chen Xiao's smile was cold. "Three of your five S-ranks are speed types. Someone with a creative talent couldn't have slipped past them..."
"Am I calling you clever or stupid?" Xu Yun's face drained white; his voice trembled. "I— I truly don't know! If I said anything, it would get us killed!"
At that moment Jiang YunHan arrived with the Little Monk. Chen Xiao grew impatient. "Doctor Jiang, heal him," he said.
"Alright," Jiang YunHan replied, and a faint green light wrapped around Xu Baichuan's injured lower body—stitching and mending.
But Chen Xiao had no intention of being gentle. He planted a heavy kick right where it hurt. Xu Baichuan screamed as if his life was being hammered.
"Say it!" Chen Xiao demanded.
Xu Yun's face crumpled. Seeing his son writhe, he couldn't bear it. Jiang YunHan sighed and healed him again.
Chen Xiao kicked. Again. Jiang YunHan put the light back. Kick. Again. Back and forth—heal, kick, heal, kick—until Xu Baichuan was a broken, howling wreck.
"Say something!" Chen Xiao said. "Your son is in agony."
Xu Yun's resolve snapped. He turned away, shoulders shaking.
"Dad! Say it! I'm dying—say it! Dad! I'm begging you! If you don't speak, I'll really die!" Xu Baichuan screamed between sobs.
Chen Xiao watched impassively as the boy wailed. He showed the crowd—one by one—how far he would go to get what he wanted.