The Almighty Martial Arts System - Chapter 313

It’s true what they say: “No matter how hateful a person is, there’s always a pitiable side to them.” Take Du Ziliang, for example. As detestable as he is now, enough to make anyone’s blood boil, according to his own account, he likely endured some hidden hardships in his childhood. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.

Of course, that doesn’t justify his evil deeds, nor does it make his actions forgivable!

By joining the Tianwang assassin organization, he essentially became a traitor, with the blood of countless innocent people on his hands. He even went so far as to personally kill his own brother—though it must be said, his brother was no saint either.

But even so, there’s absolutely no reason for a scheming scumbag like him to remain in this world.

Whether it’s Jiang Fei or the two members of the Qisha organization, none of them would let him off the hook.

However, the hostage Du Ziliang has taken—Director Xiao—poses no threat to Jiang Fei. If he dies, so be it. But the two Qisha members still have to consider the situation; they can’t let Du Ziliang kill the hostage, or it would mean a major failure in their mission.

“Do you really think taking a hostage will let you escape today? Given your background, you should know something about our Qisha group. Anyone we target has no chance of survival!” The man and woman, their faces icy, wore expressions of frustration, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on Du Ziliang.

After venting years of pent-up resentment and hatred, and seeing the regret and anger on the face of his long-hated father, Du Chengde, Du Ziliang seemed to have found a sense of release. He laughed loudly and said, “I’ve indeed heard of your Qisha group. I know each of you is highly skilled, and today I really want to see for myself! If you have the guts and don’t care about Director Xiao’s life, then come and get me. But if you want him to live, back off now!”

By the end, Du Ziliang was almost roaring, his voice terrifying. He pressed the gun hard against Director Xiao’s temple, nearly causing the pampered official to wet himself in fear. “Be careful, be careful! Don’t let it go off!” Director Xiao pleaded in a trembling voice.

“Shut up!” Du Ziliang snarled, hiding behind Director Xiao and stepping forward slowly, forcing the two Qisha members to retreat.

They had already considered launching a surprise attack, hoping for a chance to take Du Ziliang out with a headshot if he let his guard down. Unfortunately, Du Ziliang was no ordinary person—he was far from easy to deal with. Instead, he was a highly skilled opponent.

Crouching behind Director Xiao, he kept his head completely hidden, leaving the two marksmen with no clear shot no matter how accurate they were. They had no choice but to comply with Du Ziliang’s demands for the moment, retreating step by step.

Their plan was to wait until they were outside the Cui family estate before figuring out their next move. There was no way they would actually let Du Ziliang escape; they would have plenty of opportunities later.

As for the Cui family—Old Master Cui and Cui Xiuping—though stunned and bewildered by the sudden turn of events, they weren’t too upset.

Their thoughts aligned with Jiang Fei’s: No matter whom Du Ziliang had taken hostage or how this would end, his actions at least proved Jiang Fei’s innocence and the integrity of the Chinese Medicine Association.

The “misdiagnosis incident” that had plagued the Chinese Medicine Association was finally coming to light, and they believed it would soon be resolved.

The two Qisha members retreated slowly, their faces cold. When Du Ziliang saw Jiang Fei and Ye Yuanyuan smiling, his anger flared again. “You two, back off as well!” he shouted.

He had long heard about Jiang Fei’s terrifying combat skills. In his eyes, Jiang Fei was an even greater threat than the two Qisha members.

The Qisha group’s reputation was formidable, almost synonymous with inviolability, but that was based on the organization as a whole and the strong support it received from the state. Du Ziliang didn’t believe any single member of Qisha could withstand the combined assault of eleven S-class assassins from his Tianwang organization.

So, how could he afford to be careless in the face of a freak like Jiang Fei?

“Us too?” Jiang Fei, who had been enjoying the spectacle, complained discontentedly.

“Yes, you!” Du Ziliang replied viciously. If he had the chance, he would have loved to force Jiang Fei to cripple his own martial arts or stab himself—anything to neutralize him. Otherwise, he’d kill the hostage.

It was all because of Jiang Fei that his carefully laid plans had fallen apart. He hated Jiang Fei more than anyone, even more than the assassination squad!

But he knew he wasn’t in a position to make such demands. If he could escape using the hostage, he’d be incredibly lucky. If he pushed his luck now with unreasonable demands and provoked Jiang Fei into disregarding the hostage and striking, he’d lose everything.

“Why should I back off?” Jiang Fei retorted unhappily, shrugging. “The hostage has nothing to do with me; I couldn’t care less. Using him to threaten me is a pretty big mistake, don’t you think?”

Hearing this, the hostage, Director Xiao, almost broke down, wishing he could beg Jiang Fei to back down and spare him.

“Mr. Jiang, please step aside for now. I assure you, this man will not escape today,” the female Qisha member whispered to Jiang Fei as she retreated to his side.

Jiang Fei frowned.

He didn’t want to retreat just yet. The Qisha organization sounded impressive, but after several encounters with Du Ziliang’s Tianwang group, Jiang Fei had to admit he was somewhat wary of them.

These people were elusive and full of tricks. He wasn’t entirely convinced that if Du Ziliang managed to leave the Cui estate, the Qisha organization could still capture him.

It was better to be safe than sorry.

What if Du Ziliang escaped? Just like Hua Handong last time, who slipped away and fled abroad, beyond reach.

“Don’t think I won’t shoot. If there’s no chance of survival, I won’t mind taking some people with me!” Du Ziliang said coldly, still hiding like a turtle behind Director Xiao.

“Fine, I’ll step back too,” Jiang Fei said after frowning and thinking for a moment. He slowly retreated along with the others.

However, Jiang Fei moved very slowly, and to the confusion of many onlookers, he took out a small jade vial and sniffed it.

“What are you doing?” Du Ziliang’s eyelids twitched, his expression sharpening as he shouted nervously, like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow.

Jiang Fei smiled and said, “Look how nervous you are—scared out of your wits. Your body odor is just too strong. Can’t I use some perfume to clear my senses?”

You’re the one with body odor. Your whole family has body odor!

Du Ziliang ignored Jiang Fei’s nonsense. Seeing that the small vial wasn’t a hidden weapon and that Jiang Fei showed no intention of launching a surprise attack, he paid it no mind. He was no novice; he knew how to handle a hostage situation properly.

As long as Jiang Fei, Ye Yuanyuan, and the two Qisha members were in front of him and within his sight, the others in the hall posed no threat.

The others were puzzled by Jiang Fei’s sudden action of taking out the vial, but they didn’t think too much of it, focusing instead on Du Ziliang’s every move. Only Ye Yuanyuan, who had been with Jiang Fei all evening, suddenly understood.

When rescuing Min Dong’s wife and daughter and when knocking out those Tianwang A-class assassins, Jiang Fei had used this exact trick. She had even fallen for it herself before—how could she forget?

“Hmm!” Ye Yuanyuan nudged Jiang Fei with her elbow as they retreated, giving him a meaningful look.

Jiang Fei smiled and handed her the jade vial. She brought it to her nose and sniffed cautiously. To others, their actions seemed bizarre, but no one paid it much attention.

Soon, Jiang Fei, Ye Yuanyuan, and the two Qisha members had all exited the hall.

“Keep backing up! Don’t stop until you’re outside the courtyard gate!” Du Ziliang ordered coldly, carefully assessing his surroundings.

His car was parked on the lawn. Once he reached it and forced Director Xiao inside, his safety would be greatly assured.

“Oh, really?” Jiang Fei suddenly stopped, crossed his arms, and refused to retreat further.

“What are you doing? What trick are you trying to pull? Keep moving back now!” Du Ziliang’s eyes narrowed, his tone cautious.

Jiang Fei smiled faintly and said nonchalantly, “Sorry, but I don’t feel like backing up anymore.”

“You won’t? Then don’t blame me for killing the hostage!” Du Ziliang’s face twisted into a vicious snarl.

The two Qisha members were also confused about what was happening and why Jiang Fei was causing trouble again.

The closer he got to success, the more anxious Du Ziliang became. He issued an ultimatum: “I’ll count to three. If you don’t move back, don’t blame me for fighting to the death! Three…”

But Jiang Fei showed no sign of panic. Instead, he raised his right hand and, with an air of exaggerated drama, curled down one finger after another.

“Three… two… one…”

“Mr. Jiang…”

The two Qisha members, their expressions shifting, tried to persuade Jiang Fei, but before they could finish, their faces suddenly turned pale with shock.

For Qisha members to show fear was almost unheard of. Even in life-or-death situations, they rarely reacted this way. When Du Ziliang had suddenly taken Director Xiao hostage earlier, they hadn’t been frightened. But now, they were truly alarmed.

“What’s going on?!” the woman exclaimed in shock.

They suddenly felt a wave of weakness washing over them—an irresistible, unavoidable sensation. By the time they noticed it, it was too late. Their bodies had lost all strength.

“Poison gas!” the tall, cold-faced man, who had remained silent the entire time like a predator waiting in the shadows, spoke two words with a stern expression.

But the most terrified wasn’t either of them.

It was Du Ziliang!

Du Ziliang also felt his body go weak, unable to muster even a shred of strength.

“How is this possible?” he thought, horrified, realizing that things had taken a disastrous turn. He could barely stand, on the verge of collapsing. The gun in his hand, once light, now felt too heavy to hold steady.

“You bastard, you tricked me!” Du Ziliang roared, filled with resentment, his eyes nearly bursting as he glared at Jiang Fei.

He didn’t need to guess. One look at Jiang Fei’s smug smile told him everything—this was Jiang Fei’s doing.

“If that’s how it is, then we’ll all die together!” Du Ziliang mustered every last bit of strength, focusing it into his right index finger, preparing to pull the trigger and take Director Xiao with him to the grave!

Doing so wouldn’t change the outcome—he would still die—but at least he could cause some trouble for Jiang Fei and the Qisha group.

However, with his body weakened, what would normally be a simple action now felt incredibly slow and difficult. His finger moved as if in slow motion.

To Jiang Fei, it looked even slower.

Whoosh!

Jiang Fei’s figure flashed like lightning, and the triple cloud under his feet was exerted to the extreme. In just an instant, he disappeared from his original position and arrived in front of Du Ziliang.

Under normal circumstances, Du Ziliang would have pulled the trigger before Jiang Fei could even get close. But now, it was impossible.

Thud!

Jiang Fei’s right hand seized Du Ziliang’s wrist, the one holding the gun, and twisted it upward violently—

Crack!

A crisp sound echoed—a broken bone.

“Ahhh—!”

Du Ziliang let out a cry of agony, and the gun fell from his grasp. Jiang Fei sneered, shoved the terrified, portly Director Xiao aside, and delivered a powerful kick to Du Ziliang’s abdomen.

Thump!

Du Ziliang’s body was sent flying, soaring several meters into the air before crashing back to the ground.

“I told you I’d capture and kill you tonight. Didn’t believe me? Do you believe it now?” Jiang Fei looked down coldly at Du Ziliang, who lay on the ground like a dead dog.

Seeing that Du Ziliang was completely incapacitated, Jiang Fei ignored him and took out the antidote vial, administering it to the two Qisha members, Old Master Cui, Cui Xiuping, and the others.

Of course, though reluctantly, Jiang Fei also gave the antidote to the Du family members and their supporters…