Yuan Hao was sent flying like a struck baseball, his chest caved in, a bloody mess that was horrifying to behold.
Mid-air, his face was ashen, his eyes wide open and staring at Qin Xiaozhi, his disbelief palpable!
Not just him, but everyone on the deck, except for Jiang Wuming, had their eyes wide open, their faces a mask of disbelief!
For a moment, the cruise ship dinner descended into a stunned silence.
"Clatter!"
The silence was soon shattered as Yuan Hao crashed violently into a dining table at a corner of the deck, overturning food and breaking the table itself, a testament to the sheer force of the blow!
Yuan Hao collapsed to the ground, his body curled up in the corner like a boiled shrimp, his face deathly pale!
On the other side, Qin Xiaozhi stood straight as a spear, completely unharmed!
Yuan Hao’s martial arts realm was higher than Qin Xiaozhi’s, so why did he lose to Qin Xiaozhi?
Witnessing this scene, the wealthy businessmen from the Jiangnan business community snapped back to reality, their minds filled with the same question.
As amateurs in martial arts, they were unaware that battles between martial artists involved more than just strength; they also encompassed other factors. They didn't even have a concept of the strength each martial arts realm possessed, only believing that a six-star martial artist was definitely stronger than a five-star martial artist!
Why?
Ren Yun, the deputy director of the Martial Department's Jinling office, and Yuan Qing also wanted to know.
As martial artists themselves, they were well aware that in combat between martial artists, factors like combat experience and aura, in addition to martial arts skill, all influenced the final outcome.
This was also why martial artists could sometimes defeat stronger opponents!
However—
Even so, they couldn’t believe what they were seeing!
Because, with their eyesight, they could tell that Yuan Hao’s injuries were severe, basically signaling the end of the life-or-death battle.
More importantly, the battle had ended far too quickly.
It was incredibly fast!
The entire process took only a few seconds!
Qin Xiaozhi had defeated Yuan Hao in just four moves!
The first punch sent Yuan Hao reeling, the second forced Yuan Hao to dodge, the third sweep was blocked by Yuan Hao, and the final 'Tie Shan Kao' (Shoulder Lean) ended the fight, utterly devastating!
Qin Xiaozhi’s first three moves were martial arts learned from the Martial Department, techniques used for killing enemies on the battlefield. The final 'Tie Shan Kao' was a renowned killing move from the 'Baji Quan' he learned from Jiang Wuming, where he used his shoulder and elbow to strike the opponent, unleashing inner force with immense power!
Ren Yun and Yuan Qing had clearly seen the exchange between Qin Xiaozhi and Yuan Hao and knew the martial arts techniques Qin Xiaozhi had used, but they couldn't comprehend why these seemingly ordinary moves were so powerful in Qin Xiaozhi’s hands.
If even they were so baffled, let alone Yuan Hao himself!
At this moment, Yuan Hao lay curled up on the ground like a dead dog, all his previous arrogance and disdain gone from his face, replaced by a look of daze.
It seemed that even now, he couldn’t believe or accept that he had lost to Qin Xiaozhi, and that he had lost so cleanly and so quickly!
"He's just a five-star martial artist, why is he so strong?"
Lost in his daze, Yuan Hao’s mind was filled with such questions.
There were no answers.
At this moment, everything that had just happened felt like a dream, so unreal that it gave him a sense of distorted reality!
"Pfft—"
Immediately, before Yuan Hao could recover from his stupor, his body trembled violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood mist.
Earlier, he had suffered broken ribs from Qin Xiaozhi's collision, along with internal injuries and damaged meridians. His injuries were extremely severe, not only had he completely lost his combat ability, but he found it difficult to even struggle to his feet!
"Xiao Hao!"
Seeing this, Yuan Qing jolted awake as if from a dream, and immediately leaped from the seventh deck to the sixth deck.
"Yuan Qing, are you planning to interfere in this life-or-death battle?"
Ren Yun’s expression changed as he saw this, and he stared at Yuan Qing with a frown, his demeanor unfriendly and his tone stern.
Just moments ago, he had realized that Yuan Hao had been hiding his strength, deliberately provoking Qin Xiaozhi, and ultimately luring Qin Xiaozhi into a life-or-death battle—Yuan Hao intended to crush and kill Qin Xiaozhi with his superior strength!
When he had seen through Yuan Hao's scheme, he had tried to stop this unequal life-or-death battle, only to be warned by Yuan Qing!
Now, Qin Xiaozhi, with his five-star martial artist strength, had inexplicably defeated Yuan Hao, and Yuan Qing was about to jump out and interfere, which was simply going too far!
"—"
Startled by Ren Yun's words, Yuan Qing paused and ultimately did not rush towards Yuan Hao.
He knew he had no right to interfere in this decided life-or-death battle, and he also sensed the anger and warning in Ren Yun's words—if he really insisted on interfering, Ren Yun would surely act!
Although Ren Yun was not Yuan Qing's match, he represented the Martial Department's Jinling office, which made him hesitant to act rashly!
"Qin Xiaozhi, spare my brother's life!"
After a brief silence, Yuan Qing's gaze fell on Qin Xiaozhi, his tone forceful.
"Your brother just said that he's wanted to kill me for a long time, and today he clearly set a trap to kill me. Now that he's lost, you want me to spare his life? Are you dreaming?"
Qin Xiaozhi glanced coldly at Yuan Qing, as if looking at someone with diminished capacity.
"As long as you let my brother go today, this matter will be dropped, and all grievances will be settled!"
Yuan Qing spoke again, presenting an offer.
Qin Xiaozhi ignored him, withdrew his gaze, and walked towards Yuan Hao.
He responded to Yuan Qing with his actions—this was impossible!
*Slap! Slap! Slap!*
For a moment, the only sound in the quiet dinner hall was Qin Xiaozhi's footsteps.
Yuan Qing's expression shifted between pleasure and displeasure, as if he were hesitating, struggling.
One step, two steps, three steps…
After ten steps, he stood in front of Yuan Hao, looking down at him.
"Qin Xiaozhi, are you sure you want to do this?"
Yuan Qing gritted his teeth and spoke again, a hint of a threat in his tone.
*Whoosh!*
This time, the response to Yuan Qing was the sound of air being broken.
Qin Xiaozhi, without a word, swung his right leg, his instep taut, like a soccer player taking a powerful shot, kicking towards Yuan Hao's groin.
*Bang!*
*Aow!!*
Two sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
Yuan Hao was sent flying, crashing violently into the ship's hull, his manhood shattered, a bloody mess between his legs.
Qin Xiaozhi had kicked him into eunuchdom, the pain almost causing him to faint!
"You beast, this kick is for Xiao Qian!"
Qin Xiaozhi lunged forward, the image of the innocent girl appearing in his mind. Thinking of her tragedy, his heart ached, and his face was filled with burning hatred.
"Bro... brother, save... save me!"
Hearing Qin Xiaozhi's words, Yuan Hao regained some consciousness. He convulsed in pain, turning his head to search for Yuan Qing in the crowd, pleading for help in agony.
"Qin Xiaozhi, even if you're not afraid of our Yuan family, have you considered your brother? Do you think you and the Qin family can protect him and the Su family for a lifetime?"
Yuan Qing spoke again, using Jiang Wuming and the Su family to threaten Qin Xiaozhi, while his fists were clenched, as if he had reached the limit of his patience.
*Crack!*
The response to Yuan Qing was the crisp sound of bone breaking.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Qin Xiaozhi treated Yuan Qing's words as nothing and stomped on Yuan Hao's right knee, shattering it!
"Ah—"
Yuan Hao, like a beaten dog, screamed repeatedly, then begged Yuan Qing for help again, "Bro... save... me, save me!!"
"Enough!!"
Yuan Qing roared, his foot flashing as he moved with extreme speed, flashing past Ren Yun and lunging towards Qin Xiaozhi.
In the end, he had decided to intervene in this life-or-death battle and save Yuan Hao!
As his figure moved, killing intent surged!
Under the night sky, Yuan Qing emanated a strong killing intent, his terrifying murderous aura locked onto Qin Xiaozhi, as if silently warning Qin Xiaozhi: If you dare to touch another hair on my brother's head, I will kill you!
Dare he?
Qin Xiaozhi once again raised his right leg.
A figure appeared in front of Qin Xiaozhi.
Jiang Wuming!
…