"Young Master, Qin Hui hasn't arrived yet," Elder Sun reminded him.
"Heh, that's normal. A mere Qin Hui will just die sooner or later," Sun Tian Ce said with a cold sneer.
In his eyes, Qin Hui was like an ant that he could crush with a gentle squeeze. He couldn't fathom why such a minor figure as Qin Hui would even warrant the Sun family's attention; it made no sense.
"Hey, you baldy, who are you calling dead?"
Just as Sun Tian Ce was feeling self-important, a clear voice rang out. Everyone looked up to see Qin Hui walking in, holding a skewer of candied hawthorn. The beautiful Huang Qing followed closely behind him.
Basking in the attention, Qin Hui elegantly ate his candied hawthorn. He wished he could be low-key, but this Sun Tian Ce fellow insisted on making him so prominent that he couldn't blend in.
"You..."
Sun Tian Ce was momentarily speechless. He hadn't expected Qin Hui to be so audacious as to insult him.
"What 'you'? Are you mute? Well, it's no wonder someone as foolish as you would be a fool," Qin Hui chuckled.
"You, can't you have some manners?" Sun Tian Ce couldn't help but shout. He could tolerate an opponent being weaker than him, but he couldn't tolerate them lacking basic decency.
"Look at you, getting all worked up. How can you still think of killing me?" Qin Hui tossed the rest of his candied hawthorn to Huang Qing, wiped his mouth, and leaped onto the arena. For someone about to die, Qin Hui saw no need to be polite. More importantly, Sun Tian Ce had no intention of letting him off. Since they were mortal enemies, a bit of taunting before the fight was perfectly acceptable. After all, hadn't Zhuge Liang verbally beaten Wang Lang to death? In this day and age, being able to curse someone to death was a skill in itself.
"Heh, trying to provoke me with these tactics?"
"Qin Hui, I heard you were injured recently. I wonder how you've recovered. If you're willing to kneel and kowtow to me three times, I might spare your life." Sun Tian Ce regained his composure, his face filled with mockery. He had almost fallen for the kid's trick just now.
"Heh, thanks for your concern."
"Sun Tian Ce, that's quite a powerful name. Elsewhere, it would undoubtedly be the title of a war god. But here, you're just an ant to me." Qin Hui stroked his chin, looking utterly calm.
The onlookers exchanged glances, wondering if Qin Hui was in such a hurry to die that he had to practically offer himself up.
"Hahahaha, interesting. You're truly interesting." Sun Tian Ce couldn't help but laugh. His opponents in the past never dared to mock him like this. Today, he had found someone who wasn't afraid of death, and it would be a shame not to have some fun.
"Grandson, stop laughing. Your grandpa is waiting for you. Today, let's not settle for victory or defeat, but only for life and death, shall we?"
"See the person behind me? Huang Qing, Huang Manguo's daughter. She strongly supports me in dealing with you."
"Not only does she support me, but the entire Huang family has been coveting your Sun family's assets for a long time." Qin Hui shamelessly dragged Huang Manguo into it.
Huang Manguo, standing nearby, turned ashen. He hadn't expected Qin Hui to be so despicable as to drag him into this mess. Yet, he couldn't refute it, as Huang Qing had entered with Qin Hui. Even if he had a mouth, he couldn't clarify the situation. At this moment, Huang Manguo felt like he was about to faint from anger.
Elder Sun's expression also changed upon hearing this. No wonder Qin Hui was so arrogant; it turned out he had the backing of the Huang family. But what of it? Qin Hui was destined to die here today. After eliminating Qin Hui, he would settle the score with that old fellow Huang Manguo!
Sun Tian Ce glanced at Huang Qing, then at Qin Hui.
"Fine, I'll grant your wish today. This duel will be for life and death, not for victory or defeat!" Sun Tian Ce twisted his neck, which made cracking sounds.
"Good. Since you're so eager to die, this young master will oblige you." With that, Qin Hui unleashed his full strength and charged at Sun Tian Ce. Since a fight was inevitable, he had to defeat this guy. With so many people watching, he would make sure the Sun family left here and never returned!
Seeing Qin Hui charging at him, Sun Tian Ce sneered. The aura Qin Hui had just unleashed was only that of a fifth-level martial artist. He could crush the opponent in just three moves.
Bang!
Sun Tian Ce threw a punch decisively. However, halfway through his punch, Sun Tian Ce's expression changed. Qin Hui's fist had concealed throwing knives. As the saying goes, no matter how skilled one is, they can't guard against a sharp blade. Sun Tian Ce wouldn't be foolish enough to catch the throwing knives; that would be courting death. But the rushing Qin Hui gave Sun Tian Ce no chance to defend. Three sharp throwing knives flew out, targeting vital spots.
Although Qin Hui had thrown the knives, Sun Tian Ce managed to dodge them perfectly. In his years with the Sun family, he had experienced countless battles, giving him rich combat experience and excellent crisis-response abilities. Just as Sun Tian Ce thought he had evaded the three knives, another five emerged from Qin Hui's hand.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
This time, Qin Hui didn't hold back. Five throwing knives shot out simultaneously, directly aiming for vital areas. Sun Tian Ce, still reeling from the shock, was utterly exasperated. Qin Hui was like a "top-tier gamer" in this situation, specializing in sneak attacks. Having dodged the first set of knives, Sun Tian Ce didn't evade the second. After a stylish dodge, a shallow gash appeared on Sun Tian Ce's shoulder.
Seeing his young master injured, Elder Sun's expression darkened considerably. It seemed he had underestimated Qin Hui. But it didn't matter. Elder Sun knew that Sun Tian Ce hadn't unleashed his full strength yet, and crushing Qin Hui would be a simple matter.
Huang Manguo was somewhat surprised. This Qin Hui wasn't as weak as he thought. If he really managed to take down the Sun family, perhaps his proposal wouldn't be so bad after all.
The crowd watched with bated breath. Until the very end, no one knew who the victor would be.
"Kid, you're really enjoying these low-class dirty tricks." Sun Tian Ce touched the blood on his wound and then licked the blood on his finger. It was as if he were a heroic character in a movie, spitting out blood and then drawing it back into his mouth, acting all cool. Seeing Sun Tian Ce's self-aggrandizing move, Qin Hui really wanted to remind him that his throwing knives were poisoned, and yet he was eating them.
After finishing his "cool" pose, Sun Tian Ce lunged forward, his fist, the size of a sandbag, smashing towards Qin Hui. This time, he held nothing back; his goal was to pummel Qin Hui into submission.
"Fine. Since you're a sixth-level martial artist, I'll face you head-on with my sixth-level strength." Qin Hui didn't believe in killing opponents of a higher cultivation level, as those who harbored such thoughts often met a grim end.