When Ling Xiao hit Lin Yu's sore spot with the remark about being a "three-second man," Lin Yu flew into a rage. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he decided that Ling Xiao must pay the price. His inflated vanity and extreme obsession with saving face drove him to make a foolish and cruel decision.
Spare no expense, Lin Yu spent a large sum of money to track down A-Bao, a notorious local thug leader. A-Bao had a certain reputation among the local criminal underworld, where everyone called him Brother Bao. When Lin Yu met with Brother Bao, he laid out the situation in detail, demanding that Brother Bao put Ling Xiao in a hospital bed for a month or two, and incidentally cripple Ling Xiao's "third leg" to teach him a severe lesson.
Hearing this, Brother Bao immediately perked up. In his eyes, this was an easy and lucrative deal, so he patted his chest and gave his word on the spot. He quickly summoned seven or eight of his most vicious thugs, briefed them thoroughly on the assignment, and promised them a generous reward, making sure they would execute the job flawlessly.
Ling Xiao was completely unaware of this, entirely absorbed in his cultivation and the study of the mysterious Cultivation Method. One day, as he walked back to his dorm from the library, he was still pondering a difficult problem he had encountered in his practice.
When he reached a narrow alley near the school, a sudden, inexplicable sense of crisis welled up in his heart. Instinctively, he slowed his pace, his gaze sweeping vigilantly across the surrounding shadows.
Just then, several tall figures darted out from around corners and behind doorways, surrounding him completely. The seven or eight thugs wore fierce expressions, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, their eyes radiating sheer malice.
The thug leader stepped forward and snarled viciously, "Kid, someone paid a hefty price to buy your legs—oh, and your third leg too."
Ling Xiao frowned slightly, a cold smirk curling the corner of his mouth. Looking at these thugs, a wave of utter disdain rose in his heart. Before his vastly enhanced strength acquired through cultivation, these thugs were nothing more than a group of lambs waiting for slaughter.
"Hmph, you lot? You dare touch me?" Ling Xiao's voice was not loud, yet it felt like the bitter wind of midwinter, piercingly cold.
The thugs were momentarily stunned by Ling Xiao's aura, but they quickly recovered. Believing that Ling Xiao was merely putting on a brave front, they rushed him all at once.
The leader swung an iron bar in his hand, aiming a vicious smash at Ling Xiao's head. With a flash of movement, Ling Xiao nimbly dodged the strike. The iron bar brushed past his ear and slammed into the adjacent wall with a loud bang.
The other thugs joined the fray as well; some lashed out wildly with knives, while others waded in bare-handed to tangle with him. Yet Ling Xiao handled it all with effortless ease. Harnessing the power he had gained from cultivation, every strike he delivered accurately hit the thugs' vital points.
Moving like lightning, he darted rapidly among the thugs, every movement executed with absolute precision. With a light push of his palm, one thug flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground, unable to get back up for a long time.
Another thug brandished a knife, attempting to ambush Ling Xiao from behind, but Ling Xiao sensed it beforehand. He whirled around sharply, kicked the knife out of the thug's hand, and followed up with a kick that sent the man flying out of the alley, his miserable screams echoing through the narrow space.
Under Ling Xiao's ferocious assault, the seven or eight thugs were utterly routed in no time. Some were bruised and battered, while others lay groaning on the ground, continuously crying out for their boss to save them.
Ling Xiao stood in the middle of the alley, looking down with a lofty gaze at the thugs who were left completely defenseless. Had he not shown mercy, this bunch would likely have already met the King of Hell. He asked coldly, "Speak, who sent you?"
One of the slightly more lucid thugs trembled and said, "We... we really don't know, Brother Bao is the one who made us come. We only knew we had to teach you a lesson, we honestly don't know anything else."