"Cough cough... Phew..."
Lying on a soft bed, Su Yan coughed twice, carelessly triggering a wave of paralyzing pain in his abdomen. He couldn't help but gasp in a cold breath!
"That damn wild donkey! Sooner or later, this old man will find you and chop your little JJ into eighteen pieces. Ow! It hurts like hell."
Su Yan gritted his teeth and glared, cursing incessantly under his breath, when he suddenly heard people whispering and gossiping not far from his door.
"Hilarious, absolutely hilarious!" someone said. "That guy actually got his dantian shattered by a wild donkey. I heard Steward Liu say that wild donkey kicked a hole right through Su Yan's dantian. Sigh, what terrible luck."
"Serves him right!" another voice chimed in. "Who told him to be so arrogant? He usually treats us like dirt, thinking he's the Su family's number one genius?! Don't forget, two years ago he was just a good-for-nothing, a good-for-nothing who couldn't cultivate true qi. Who knows what happened, but two years later he advanced to the sixth level of the late Martial Realm and was even called the Su family's number one genius. Well, look at him now! A genius kicked by a donkey, turned into a good-for-nothing. He totally deserves it."
"Exactly!" another person agreed. "With a hole in his dantian, he can't store true qi. If that's not a good-for-nothing, what is it? Ha! Where did that donkey even come from? It helped us vent all our frustrations. What a relief! Let's see if he still dares to act so presumptuously in front of us from now on. We definitely need to find an opportunity to teach him a good lesson."
"You guys don't even know," a third voice added. "When I heard the news, I almost fainted from laughing. A master at the sixth level of the late Martial Realm got his dantian shattered by a wild donkey. Damn it, even repeating it now, it's still so funny..."
The voices gradually faded, but Su Yan hadn't missed a single word. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch; these sarcastic remarks were like sharp thorns piercing his heart.
"Damn it!" Su Yan roared. "No one witnessed this old man getting kicked by a donkey, so how did the rumors spread like this?! Does this big brother even have any face left to show anyone?"
Su Yan let out a roar, his body jolted, aggravating his wound. The pain made cold sweat pour from him. He lifted his shirt to check and immediately discovered a perfect donkey hoof print on his abdomen, incredibly clear, like a medal proving Su Yan's 'achievement'. Even an idiot could guess what happened just by looking at this hoof print. Someone must have seen it.
"A lifetime of glorious heroism, vanished because of a donkey's hoof print..." Su Yan looked up at the sky, tears refusing to fall. Three days ago, he had ventured alone into the back mountains to hunt wild beasts. Unexpectedly, he encountered a strange wild donkey. His eyes had lit up. "I've been in this world for two years and have never tasted donkey meat. It's very nutritious, you know." With his cultivation at the sixth level of the late Martial Realm, dealing with a wild donkey would be too easy. But before he could rush forward to butcher it, the wild donkey's leg suddenly glowed brightly.
"Great Strength Golden Hoof Donkey!" A familiar name immediately appeared in Su Yan's mind. It was then that he realized he had encountered a rare spirit beast. This spirit beast possessed immense power. Even though his Dragon Snake Entangling Silk Hand had reached minor completion, he couldn't even block a single move. He was kicked directly in the dantian, his true qi escaping like air from a punctured balloon. After that, he fell unconscious and knew nothing. When he woke up, he found himself here, surely rescued by someone from his family. Su Yan secretly called himself lucky; the Great Strength Golden Hoof Donkey wasn't a carnivorous spirit beast, otherwise, he would have already become that donkey's dung and urine.
—Damn it! If I find out who spread the rumor that I was kicked out by a donkey, I’ll make them pay!
Su Yan gesticulated wildly and fiercely for a moment, his heart filled with immense vexation, mostly helplessness. He’d rather be kicked in the head by that donkey; he’d willingly die another time. He felt even more indignant towards Steward Liu, who those people had mentioned earlier. Now it was great; the story of him being kicked by a donkey and having his dantian shattered had become a joke, and even those he used to disregard were now mocking him.
Su Yan’s room was very simple: a small plum-colored table, accompanied by a set of four matching chairs. By the window was a small mirror, which looked quite clean at a glance.
Su Yan pondered carefully, then flicked his wrist, executing the opening move of the Dragon Serpent Entangling Silk Hand. This was a high-level martial art of the Su family, not something every Su family member had the chance to cultivate. Only because he had reached the sixth layer of the Post-Martial Realm at fifteen, earning him the title of genius throughout Yuanwu City, did he get this opportunity.
As soon as the opening move concluded, a faint current of qi swirled in the room. This current of qi flowed along Su Yan’s meridians into his body. He immediately felt a warm current coursing through him; this familiar warm current was none other than true qi.
—I can still condense true qi! This is truly great!
A look of joy appeared on Su Yan’s face, but it immediately froze. Because after the true qi entered his dantian, it didn’t remain, instead flowing out through the hole there, vanishing without a trace.
—This damn hole! I can’t condense true qi! Am I to return to being a good-for-nothing like before? Those idiots will surely laugh me to death, and those brats from the Xu family and Wang family too… I’m so furious!
Su Yan was enraged. He slammed his fist onto the table, veins bulging on his knuckles. Kicked by a donkey, his dantian ruined, unable to store true qi—for someone in his position, such a stroke of bad luck was truly beyond words…
Suddenly…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of urgent knocks resounded continuously.
—Who could be coming to my place at this hour?
Su Yan’s brows furrowed tightly, but he still got up and unlatched the door. Three faces, etched with mockery, immediately met his gaze.
—Oh my, if it isn’t our genius! We heard you were gravely injured, so we brothers specially came to visit you. Hmm? Aren’t you going to invite us in for a bit?
One person, dressed in youth attire, approximately fourteen or fifteen years old, was named Su Ming. His cultivation was at the fourth layer of the Post-Martial Realm, which could already be considered a genius. He deliberately emphasized the words “gravely injured,” clearly there to mock. These three had often been scorned by Su Yan, so naturally, they wouldn’t miss such a good opportunity now.
—I say, Young Master Yan, why were you so careless? Come on, let me see what you look like after being kicked by a donkey.
Another youth, roughly the same age as the previous one, made no attempt to hide his glee. He even feigned reaching out to touch Su Yan’s stomach, but Su Yan snorted coldly and dodged away. His name was Su Xiang—the son of a Su family elder, also at the fourth layer of the Post-Martial Realm.
—Honestly, I’m quite surprised. How could a master at the sixth layer of the Post-Martial Realm be kicked by a wild donkey? Young Master Yan, why don’t you describe to us brothers what that donkey looked like, and the circumstances at the time?
Su Ming continued to tease.
—Heh heh, I won’t hide it from you guys. That day, this young master was ambushed by three donkeys. Those three donkeys were incredibly ugly; I can’t even find the words to describe their hideousness! However, I’m very grateful to you three for helping me with this. Those three donkeys are identical to you, and what’s more, they can bite people.
Tô Nham said coolly, but inwardly, he sneered repeatedly. A war of words? He’d never backed down from anyone.
—You dare insult us? You want to die!
Tô Minh immediately flew into a rage. Today, in his eyes, Tô Nham was nothing but a cripple, yet he dared to open his mouth and insult the three of them. Moreover, the three of them had already endured Tô Nham’s arrogance and bullying countless times, and this moment provided the perfect excuse.
Tô Minh’s body moved suddenly, a slap swinging out. Tô Nham wanted to dodge, but how could a severely injured body evade an attack from Tô Minh—a late-stage Fourth-level Martial Realm expert?
Slap!…
Tô Minh’s hand viciously struck Tô Nham’s face. Feeling waves of burning pain spread, Tô Nham’s heart surged with extreme hatred. He wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand.
—Young Master Minh, Tô Nham will remember this slap well. It’s just that the force was controlled much better than that wild donkey’s! Tô Nham is impressed.
Tô Nham revealed a brilliant smile, as if the slap just now hadn’t landed on his face, but deep within his eyes, a surge of hatred was hidden.
—Hmph! So what if you remember it? A cripple will always be a cripple. If your father wasn’t a Heavenly Curse Master, a cripple like you would only be fit to be a horse slave. That wild donkey kicked and damaged your dantian; I’ll just give it a little extra help.
Tô Minh’s expression turned extremely ferocious. His two hands suddenly curled, transforming into Eagle Claws. A trace of true qi swirled continuously in his palms. It was clearly the Soaring Eagle Striking Hand—a Tô family martial art.
Although Tô Minh, with his late-stage Fourth-level Martial Realm cultivation, couldn’t release true qi externally, Tô Nham, at this moment, had absolutely no way to resist. Tô Minh struck like lightning, one hand striking towards Tô Nham’s abdomen. Tô Nham barely managed to put up a struggle before Tô Minh’s other hand seized his pulse gate.
Thud!
With a dull thud, the Eagle Claw struck Tô Nham’s abdomen with crushing force. With normal hearing, one could hear the sound of something breaking. Under this single strike, Tô Nham’s entire body curled up like a shrimp, flying out like a cannonball and landing by the bed.
Ugh…
Tô Nham spat out a large mouthful of blood, staining the pristine white bedsheets crimson. Waves of intense pain surged from his abdomen, twisting his handsome face into a grimace, veins bulging on his forehead. But what pained him the most was that his already damaged dantian had been completely shattered by Tô Minh’s strike…
Seeing Tô Nham’s miserable state, Tô Minh and the two others broke into satisfied smiles. The young man standing next to Tô Minh and Tô Tường was Tô Anh, twenty years old, a late-stage Sixth-level Martial Realm expert. Though he hadn’t uttered a single word until now, the mockery in his eyes was the most intense.
—Hmph! Tô Nham, I’ll spare your life today. Next time we meet, remember to call us Young Master! Tô Minh sneered coldly, his posture arrogant and condescending.
—Three donkeys… Young Masters, I, Tô Nham… will remember…
His voice was broken. As he uttered the last word, Tô Nham collapsed onto the bed. Only he understood the true meaning of those words, “will remember.”
Tô Nham's eyelids felt heavy. The moment his eyes closed, a large donkey with pitch-black fur appeared before him. The black donkey snorted two wisps of smoke from its nostrils, staring at Tô Nham, then opened its mouth to reveal gleaming teeth, threw its head back, and brayed loudly, its gaze full of utter derision.
– Me? Scorned by a donkey? A mocking smile played on Tô Nham's lips, before he finally sank into a coma.