Chapter Fifty-Seven: Sever

"Impressive," Beggar Lu muttered, surprised that the trap he had set was so easily dismantled by Shen Ye.

"Still, impressive or not, you’ll die by my hand. Prepare to face my Lotus Drop Staff Technique." Beggar Lu spoke in a low voice, his tone dark and ominous.

"Just now, you took the offensive. Now it’s my turn." Shen Ye sneered, raising his hand as a cloud of white powder showered toward Beggar Lu.

There was no doubt—it was quicklime.

In the previous round, when facing Li Jingguo, Li had hurled quicklime at him. Lacking experience, Shen Ye had suffered greatly. Fortunately, his body’s attributes far exceeded Li Jingguo’s, enabling him to finally defeat and kill Li.

Lack of combat experience was not a fatal flaw; the most important thing was to learn from it.

Carrying a knife was unsuitable in a modern city, but carrying some quicklime powder was perfectly acceptable. It was, in fact, a handy weapon.

After throwing the quicklime, Shen Ye did not rush forward, knowing he wore no protective goggles. Instead, he raised his hand and, with a swift motion, sent over a dozen sharpened chopsticks flying toward Beggar Lu.

He was known as the Chopstick Demon; naturally, his chopstick technique was something he practiced diligently.

The chopsticks were already sharpened, and with Shen Ye’s extraordinary strength, they became deadly projectiles.

Ordinary chopsticks alone would not have alarmed Beggar Lu, but the quicklime cloud changed everything. Beggar Lu was a member of the Beggar Sect—famous for their bizarre tricks and ambushes. Yet today, he was outmaneuvered and caught off guard.

He barely managed to close his eyes and dodge by feeling, but it was not enough.

Swish! Swish!

Two chopsticks struck Beggar Lu.

The quicklime finally settled to the ground.

Shen Ye’s surprise attack had wounded Beggar Lu. Now, he abandoned subterfuge; while the enemy was weakened, he would strike for the kill.

With a tiger’s roar, Shen Ye stepped forward, charging straight at Beggar Lu. His right hand coiled, and as he neared, he unleashed a violent punch, its force roaring like thunder.

Beggar Lu, blinded and wounded by the chopsticks, was slower to react. Seeing he could not dodge, he clenched his right fist and launched a counterpunch at Shen Ye.

Boom!

Their fists collided!

Shen Ye staggered back two steps.

Beggar Lu was forced back four.

At that moment, Beggar Lu felt a wave of desolation. Ninety-eight years old—after all, he could only muster about seventy percent of his peak strength. In his prime, he would not have been inferior to the Chopstick Demon.

Seeing he had the advantage in strength, Shen Ye pressed it. He rained punches, not allowing Beggar Lu a moment to catch his breath.

Beggar Lu wanted to dodge, but age and injury slowed him; his evasion could not match the speed of Shen Ye’s assault. He could only brace himself, meeting Shen Ye’s fists with his own.

Punch after punch, the fight became increasingly brutal for Beggar Lu.

This was the pinnacle of fist combat!

A contest of strength at its zenith!

The brave prevailed when paths collided!

Blow after blow, the two exchanged forty-eight heavy punches at superhuman speed and force. Any single blow would have seriously injured—or killed—an ordinary man.

Boom!

Another clash of fists.

This time, Shen Ye retreated three steps.

Beggar Lu, however, was sent flying like a rag doll.

Shen Ye felt fatigue creep in; those forty-eight punches had taxed him. Had he not wounded Beggar Lu earlier with quicklime and chopsticks, he might not have bested the ninety-eight-year-old beggar.

Beggar Lu was in even worse shape. After forty-eight blows, his skin was deeply wrinkled, losing its former luster, exuding a scent of decay—almost like a corpse. Clearly, the fight had drained his last reserves.

"This battle is lost for you," Shen Ye said, stepping toward Beggar Lu.

Beggar Lu lay sprawled on the floor. In County N, he had dominated for sixty or seventy years, infamous for his villainy, yet now he lay humbled like filth. He struggled to speak: "If, if I weren’t so old, I wouldn’t have lost to you. You’re no match for me in my youth."

"Perhaps," Shen Ye shrugged, indifferent. "But you’ve always misunderstood one thing. I’m not here for a fair duel. I’m here to eradicate evil. Those two juvenile offenders earlier—evil incarnate. They deserved death. You, even more so, are steeped in sin. Today, I will end you."

Beggar Lu looked up at the sky and let out a strange laugh. "You think killing me today is the end? I am a Three-Bag Elder of the Beggar Sect. Anyone with more than three bags is on the official roster. If you kill me, the Beggar Sect will avenge me. The Beggar Sect is notorious for relentless pursuit. Prepare yourself for their vengeance."

"Trying to scare me with the Beggar Sect is useless," Shen Ye shook his head. "Since I came to kill you, I never feared them. From the lowest member to the Sect Leader, if there are criminals, if evil abounds, I will purge them all."

Beggar Lu sneered, staring at Shen Ye. "So you seek to make an enemy of the entire Beggar Sect?"

Shen Ye placed his hands on Beggar Lu’s throat. "What of it?"

He squeezed.

A sharp crack sounded as Shen Ye crushed Beggar Lu’s throat.

Shen Ye felt exhaustion, but this was a murder scene; it was not wise to linger.

He smiled, glancing at the two others in the dormitory. "I won’t bother calling the police. You do it for me—tell them the Chopstick Demon killed him."

With that, he stepped outside.

Such a battle had shaken the campus; even the security guards were alarmed. Yet none dared stand in the way of the famed Chopstick Demon, and they parted, letting Shen Ye pass unhindered.

And then, Shen Ye vanished into the darkness.