Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 717 - 717 0454 A Bright and Upright Opportunity_2

Chapter 717: Chapter 0454: A Bright and Upright Opportunity_2 Chapter 717: Chapter 0454: A Bright and Upright Opportunity_2 Qi Tian stepped out of the cabin, his gaze calmly resting on the masked man, he said, “Are you sure you want me dead? Is there no room for negotiation?”

The masked man coldly replied, “Only with your death will I feel satisfied, and my thoughts clear.”

Qi Tian nodded, saying, “Originally, your desire to seize Wanjie Commerce’s goods had nothing significant to do with me. But since you intend to kill me, the matter now seriously concerns me. Hence, I need to kill you too.”

At these words, the masked man burst into mocking laughter, “Am I hearing a joke? You, at the Foundation Establishment Stage 9th level, presume to kill me?”

Qi Tian simply continued nodding, “A breakthrough battle, haven’t you heard of such a thing? You’re already seriously injured, barely at the first level of the Gold Core Realm, right? To deal with you, I think… I have a little confidence.”

The masked man was tempted to tell Qi Tian that he actually had the strength of the third level of Gold Core Realm left. But instead, he chose to keep quiet to let Qi Tian feel the despair when he attacked, to let him discover just how potent his current strength was. “That’s right, you’re very accurate. I’m indeed only at the Gold Core Realm first level strength left. Come on then, kill me.”

Qi Tian inwardly sneered. At the moment, the masked man appeared calm on the surface, but in fact, his spirit was slightly unstable. Others, including Elder Liang, found it hard to precisely gauge the masked man’s power after he was hurt. But not Qi Tian. He utilized the detection function of the Heavenly Dao Engine to sense Spirit Qi, and instantly came to the accurate conclusion that the masked man still had the strength of the third level of the Gold Core Realm. If others mistakenly believed that the masked man was only at the first level and rashly approached him, they would inevitably be cruelly killed by the masked man.

However, what the masked man didn’t know was that Qi Tian was no ordinary man. While practicing, Qi Tian had built a remarkably solid foundation. Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, Qi Tian had not neglected the stability of his foundation. Thus, he could not be measured by the standards of ordinary people. Add to that the amplify function of the Heavenly Dao Engine, he was now capable of facing opponents at the fourth level of the Gold Core Realm without losing. Dealing with the third level of the Gold Core realm was easy for Qi Tian.

“Are you sure you want me to hit you? My punches can be lethal.” Qi Tian raised his right fist.

“Even if your little fist can kill, I’d accept it.” The masked man could certainly scoff at Qi Tian’s threat.

“Alright, see my punch.” With a fierce glare in his eyes and a swift motion of his feet, Qi Tian rushed towards the masked man at his fastest speed, “Behold, my Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist.”

In an instant, countless fist shadows appeared in the air, transforming into ferocious tigers that roared towards the masked man.

Qi Tian intentionally controlled his punching strength, not showing any power beyond the first level of the Gold Core Realm. However, this time it was not just the fist shadow he had hammered out, but his whole body that rushed forward with it.

The masked man had initially worried that Qi Tian might be an overpowered freak like Liang Yuqi, possessing means that could threaten him. But after Qi Tian released his Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist, he realized he was overly anxious. This lad indeed was a bit freakish, having the ability to fight beyond his level, but that was all. With this little power of his, even if he were dropped into a crowd of individuals at the Gold Core Realm first level, he might not necessarily dominate. Yet now, he even thought of challenging him. What audacity, what foolishness.

The masked man raised his hand, not particularly concerned with Qi Tian’s current display, feeling he could handle it easily. However, this was not to say he underestimated Qi Tian; in fact, he used his full power at the eighth level in this slap.

Qi Tian’s eyes sparkled with a sharp light. If not for fearing to arouse too much suspicion from Liang Yuqi and the others, he wouldn’t have wasted so much time and energy in playing this charade with the masked man, he would have pounced early. But now, the performance should’ve ended, there was no need to continue.

Just as he was about to charge, Qi Tian suddenly pulled back his punch only to throw another punch within the blink of an eye. This time, he didn’t hold back at all, releasing all his power in an instant, fiercely aiming for the masked man’s chest.

The masked man standing between Qi Tian and Liang Yuqi, neither Liang Yuqi nor Wan Xiaolan could see Qi Tian’s unexpected change in his punch, but the masked man saw it. He cursed to himself, knowing he had underestimated Qi Tian. He wanted to increase his power, but there was no time. Qi Tian’s fist landed heavily on his left chest, the surging power permeated through his body, shattering his heart instantly.

In retrospect, the masked man was unfortunate. Initially, he had the power of the sixth level in the Gold Core Realm, a level Qi Tian could only look up to. However, during the fight with Liang Yuqi, Liang Yuqi severely injured him despite injuring himself in the process, reducing his power down to the third level of the Gold Core Realm. Moreover, his armor was damaged during the fight, leaving him with no defense.

If he had taken some time to heal, he could have fully recovered. Even if he couldn’t, if he had replaced his damaged armor with a decent piece, it could have somewhat reduced the killing power of Qi Tian’s Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist, and he wouldn’t have died with just one punch. But the masked man, overconfident and dismissive of Qi Tian a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, didn’t heal his wounds or change his armor. This led him to his unexpected death, being killed by Qi Tian’s fist. Among all the Level 6 Gold Core Realm warriors in the Wanjie Commerce, none had died in such a frustrated and unprepared manner.

Qi Tian withdrew his fist, watching as the masked man, hit by his punch, was thrown back heavily onto the guardrail of the flying sailboat, slid onto the ground like a dead fish, blood oozing from his mouth and nose before he succumbed to his injuries.

Wan Xiaolan exclaimed excitedly, “Qi Tian, well done!”

Qi Tian bowed his hand towards Wan Xiaolan, saying, “This victory should be credited to Elder Liang. If it weren’t for Liang Yuqi first exhausting most of his strength and reducing his power, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat him.”

Liang Yuqi stared at Qi Tian for a long time before saying, “Qi Tian, killing him is a great feat and by rights we should reward you greatly. However, not only can we not reward you now, I also need to ask you for something. I hope you can hand it over.”

“Please feel free to ask, senior,” Qi Tian said. Although he was capable of killing Liang Yuqi and Wan Xiaolan at this point, he wouldn’t – he had no desire to make an enemy of Wanjie Commerce, especially when Wan Xiaolan and Liang Yuqi had caused him no offense.

Liang Yuqi kept her gaze steady on Qi Tian while speaking, “I hope that you can give me the masked man’s body untouched. I need to find his true identity from it, hence every item on him is important; you shouldn’t take away anything.”

The meaning behind Liang Yuqi’s words was clear, she didn’t want Qi Tian to take away the masked man’s Storage Bag. Identifying the man’s identity did require multiple clues, but it wasn’t necessary to take all the items within the Storage Bag. She could have allowed Qi Tian to take valuables like spirit stones and pills which offered no clue to his identity. This was Qi Tian’s rightful spoils of war, but the bag full of treasures from a corpse of a 6th level Gold Core cultivator was a tantalizing prize. Liang Yuqi, having acquired such an opportunity, wasn’t likely to let it pass.

Qi Tian immediately understood what Liang Yuqi meant, and without a hint of hesitation, he responded: “Senior, please feel free to take it.”