The God of the Human Realm!

Chapter 22 Nothing more than that
The strong smell of alcohol mixed with the pungent stench of blood filled the room.

The newcomer flicked his blade, and drops of blood fell to the floor. He was dressed in a black outfit that accentuated his tall and straight figure. His eyebrows and eyes were obscured by his bamboo hat, but a mocking smile played on his lips.

"Hong Yuan?!"

Meng Yue gripped his steel knife tightly in his right hand, ready to strike at any moment. He looked over with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty in his eyes, his expression changing drastically.

Hong Yuan slowly raised his head, revealing a face under his bamboo hat. He met Meng Yue's gaze and said with a faint smile, "Junior brother, you are usually very respectful to your senior brother. Why are you calling me by my name now? Wouldn't you be considered a two-faced, hypocritical person like those in the plays?"

Meng Yue's face was grim. His gaze passed through Hong Yuan's figure and saw that the three rascals who had been urinating outside the door were lying on the ground, with a hideous gash on their throats. Just like the few sane rascals inside the house, two or three of them, though still twitching, had already embarked on their journey to the underworld.

The remaining dozen or so drunken ruffians were sobered up by the sudden killing. They struggled to their feet in terror, trying to find their weapons that they had lost somewhere. However, their bones were weak and their legs were trembling. They were so frightened that they collapsed again as soon as they stood up, screaming in fear. They had completely lost their minds.

Fortunately, the courtyard was located in a secluded part of the county town. This group of ruffians often drank and made merry, causing a lot of noise. The people around were quite afraid of them, and even though the noise reached the street, no one bothered to interfere.

"Noisy!"

With a 'whoosh' sound, the blade cut through the air. Meng Yue swung his long sword backhand, slicing across the neck of a wailing ruffian beside him. Blood splattered out, startling the other wailing ruffians into silence, like ducks being choked.

Meng Yue's shock, panic, and other negative emotions seemed to be released with this strike.

His expression gradually became calm and composed, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, fixed on Hong Yuan's figure. He suddenly chuckled softly, which then turned into a loud laugh.

"Junior brother, what's so funny? Tell your senior brother, let's have a laugh together!" Hong Yuan said slowly.

"I laugh at your stupidity!" Meng Yue's laughter stopped abruptly, and he stared coldly at Hong Yuan: "I don't know when I made a mistake, allowing you to seize my weakness. It's my fault; I underestimated you!"

He paused, his expression turning mocking: "But since you already suspected something, why didn't you tell Yang Erhu? With the two of you working together, if you suddenly attacked, I would have no chance against you. Yet you were stupid enough to follow me alone and even stood brazenly in front of me?"

Meng Yue glanced at the group of hooligans on the ground and said indifferently, "Or do you think you can scare me, Meng Yue, by killing these good-for-nothings in a sneak attack?"

He slowly raised the steel knife, holding it level with his chest, the gleaming blade reflecting a pair of eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Or perhaps our previous encounter gave you the illusion that I'm nothing special?"

Hong Yuan smiled and said, "Judging from what you're saying, Junior Brother, you were hiding your strength during that fight?"

"Heh!" Meng Yue's face twitched, and he gave a emotionless laugh, which was immediately replaced by a murderous aura: "You'll find out soon enough!"

Before he finished speaking, Meng Yue moved his feet quickly and turned around with incredible speed, instantly appearing in front of a wine table.

The group of ruffians inside had been feasting for a long time. The table was littered with cups and plates, and a pot of wine was still warming on the small stove in the center. At this moment, the drinkers were lying on the ground, and the wine in the pot was still bubbling away.

Meng Yue arrived in a flash, and suddenly kicked out, causing the entire table to crash and break apart. The cups, plates, bowls, leftover food, and the small stove all rushed towards Hong Yuan.

At the same time, the wine table spun rapidly in mid-air, and was kicked by Meng Yue with great force, causing it to roll and hit Hong Yuan.

The wine table collided violently with the air, producing a piercing screech. Meng Yue's face was cold and stern. As the wine table was lifted into the air, his body pressed close to it as he launched his attack. He gripped his long sword in a reverse grip with his right hand, his inner strength surging, ready to strike.

Meng Yue had witnessed Hong Yuan's strength and knew that he couldn't match the opponent's power, but this did not diminish his confidence in the slightest.

In true life-or-death battles, strength is never the deciding factor; no matter how strong you are, it's useless if you can't hit your target.

The sect he came from was never one to work in isolation; almost all of its outstanding disciples had experience fighting in the martial arts world or the military.

Meng Yue was one of the best among them.

Before arriving in Yangquan County and joining the Yang Family Martial Arts School, he had challenged many martial arts masters and honed his skills in the army for several years. How could the experience and skills he gained in life-and-death situations not be enough to deal with that delicate-skinned 'pretty boy' on the other side?
Perhaps Hong Yuan was indeed someone Yang Erhu had carefully trained, but how many people had he killed? How many battles had he participated in?

Whoops!

A flash of light from the blade swept away all the cups, plates, bowls, stoves, and other debris that were smashing down.

"As expected of a newbie, still worried about getting his clothes dirty at a time like this." A cold glint flashed in Meng Yue's eyes. As the debris flew and the wine table crashed down on Hong Yuan's head, he shouted and slashed upwards with his long sword, which he held in reverse.

Its blade flashed coldly, its momentum like lightning, as if it intended to cleave the wine table and Hong Yuan in two with a single stroke.

scoff!

The table was instantly split in two, the two pieces flying to either side. Meng Yue's pupils shrank, but he did not feel the long knife piercing his flesh. Hong Yuan's figure was no longer in front of him.

Whoops!

A gust of wind swept across his face, and Meng Yue felt a chill between his brows. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Hong Yuan had somehow leaped into the air, taller than him, and was striking down with his sword, aiming straight for Meng Yue's head.

Its speed was no less than his previous strike, and it was even more ruthless.

Meng Yue had no choice but to lean back, grip the hilt of his sword with both hands, and strike back with a swift, powerful blow.

With a loud clang, the two swords clashed, and Meng Yue's body trembled violently. He felt a tearing pain in his tiger's mouth and lost his footing, staggering backward.

Meng Yue was horrified. The force was far stronger than he had expected. He knew something was wrong and forcibly stopped his staggering body by stepping on one foot.

Blood seeped from his palm, but he gripped the steel knife tightly, ready to fight again. A kick came from the side, and Meng Yue had no way to avoid it, striking him squarely in the chest.

In an instant, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, his back arched, and the force of the kick seemed to travel from his chest to his back, sending Meng Yue flying backward.

boom!
Meng Yue's body crashed down, smashing another wine table in the room to pieces. Leftovers and cold food poured down, covering his head and face. The scalding stove fell on him, and embers poured into his neck. Coupled with the excruciating pain of his fractured ribs, he immediately screamed in agony and struggled to get away.

puff!
A flash of light fell, piercing straight into Meng Yue's right palm. Hong Yuan's slender figure came into Meng Yue's view. The other party looked down at him and casually said, "Indeed, nothing special!"

(End of this chapter)