Chapter Eighty-Seven: Strength Is Also Weakness

Yuwen Sha might not have been as clever as An Luo, but he was certainly no idiot. Facing the current situation, even a fool could see that there was no escaping death today. Furthermore, even if he held Number 53 hostage, the group of Central Plains people before him could launch an attack at any moment, regardless of the hostage's safety. The performance of these three Central Plains people chilled Yuwen Sha to the bone; he never imagined that the frail and feeble people of his impressions could so easily slaughter his strong tribesmen.

Yet, just as Yuwen Sha descended into despair, the leader—the thinnest and seemingly weakest of the Central Plains men—unexpectedly discarded his formidable and strange hidden weapons, standing empty-handed and issuing a challenge to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Humiliation, insult, disgrace!

Yuwen Sha’s face turned the color of a scorched cannonball with rage, his robust frame trembling from the sheer intensity of his fury.

"We Jie people may be killed, but we will not be humiliated."

Yuwen Sha shoved Mo'er aside. Her thin, reed-like body flew two or three meters, crashing onto a table. Alas, she was so fragile that she couldn't even break the table. Finding herself cast away, Mo'er briefly forgot her pain and scrambled up from the table, only to see her savior slowly walking toward the Jie tribesman.

"Master, be careful!" Mo'er screamed with all her might. She could not fathom why this man, who was as kind as a father, would be willing to go to such lengths for her.

Why? Was there even a need to ask? Because I don't like the look of the Jie tribe—it’s as simple as that!

Mingtian signaled for An Luo and Zhaoyu to step back. Although the two were still worried, they complied, stepping back two paces to clear the space.

"May be killed but not humiliated? Are you joking?" Mingtian laughed. "I warned you before you came up to provoke me. You didn't listen, so are you blaming me now? I really don't want to show off, but your face—which is as ugly as an abstract painting—kept getting in my way, begging me to hit it. What was I supposed to do? I’m quite helpless in this regard."

"You..." Although he didn't understand exactly what Mingtian was saying, Yuwen Sha felt he was being insulted, and quite viciously at that. The explosive temper of the Jie tribe flared up!

"You inferior Central Plains breed!"

Wielding his battle saber, Yuwen Sha had no intention of a fair duel; he swung directly at Mingtian’s head! The power behind the blow made the surrounding tables and chairs tremble with every step he took. The momentum was such that one could not doubt this strike could easily decapitate an elephant.

But...

Mingtian yawned as if bored, his body swaying slightly to the side to dodge the strike, which carried the force of an exploding bomb. The blade smashed into the dirt floor, sending rocks and debris flying. Yuwen Sha froze, stunned that his full-force strike had been evaded. Under normal circumstances, the sheer force of his presence alone would have been enough to make a Central Plains person wet themselves in terror.

Looking at Mingtian again, there was none of his previous stance. He stood beside the blade, looking completely indifferent, stifling a yawn. One of Mingtian’s feet had, at some point, stepped onto the back of the blade.

"What? Is that all you've got?"

A provocation! Yuwen Sha was so angry his nose hairs bristled!

"Go to hell!!!"

He lifted the blade and slashed horizontally again. Mingtian dodged it as easily as doing a squat, and the blade smashed a two-meter-long gap into the window.

"Ahhhhh! Why can't I hit you?!"

The frustrated and desperate Yuwen Sha had never encountered such a situation. He hacked and slashed at Mingtian with his blade; in an instant, the inn turned into a demolition site, with fragments of furniture flying in every direction. After nearly six minutes of violent bombardment, Yuwen Sha had swung his blade hundreds of times, but he hadn't even touched a single hair on Mingtian’s head.

No matter how strong a person is, their stamina is ultimately limited. The hundreds of full-power attacks left Yuwen Sha gasping for air, while Mingtian stood with his hands behind his back, looking calm and collected, not even a thread of his clothing torn.

Yuwen Sha couldn't understand it. He possessed such an overwhelming advantage in strength, yet he couldn't even touch this Central Plains man once? It felt less like fighting a human and more like trying to catch a slippery loach.

"As... as long as I land one strike on you, you..."

"Land a strike? Are you telling jokes? If so, it’s actually quite funny." Mingtian interrupted his frantic rambling, glancing sideways with a relaxed face that now held a hint of killing intent. "Still don't get it? You could slash for a whole day and not touch a single hair on me."

"You..."

Before Yuwen Sha could speak, Mingtian moved. His thin frame displayed the agility it possessed. It wasn't remarkably fast, but it was certainly faster than Yuwen Sha’s reaction time. Although he could see the movements clearly, Yuwen Sha’s body was far too large and cumbersome, making it impossible for him to keep up.

Mingtian didn't use much force. With two fingers—merely two fingers—he poked forward, landing precisely in Yuwen Sha’s navel.

With a *squelch*, the fingers sank entirely into the navel, and blood sprayed out. No matter how strong a person is, even someone like Bruce Lee, the navel is a vital point! Even an ordinary person digging dirt out of their navel can cause various issues, let alone Yuwen Sha, whose navel had just been pierced by Mingtian’s finger.

A tearing, twisting pain surged through his abdomen—a pain that even eclipsed the agony of being kicked in the groin.

The saber clattered to the ground, and Yuwen Sha let out a miserable howl.

"Ahhhhh! Wh... why... you..."

Mingtian pulled his finger out unhurriedly and flicked off the blood. "You have great strength, but you forgot one thing: this isn't a battle of thousands or tens of thousands where you can leverage your strength. This is a one-on-one duel... no matter how strong you are, what’s the point if you can't hit your target? Besides, the stupidest thing you did was use a saber."

Yuwen Sha clutched his stomach, the excruciating pain causing the strong man to collapse to his knees. The agony of having his navel pierced was so profound that his body forced itself into a state of shock. He couldn't comprehend how he could lose to such a weak opponent. The gap was so vast—it was a total, crushing disparity.

"Saber..." Yuwen Sha couldn't understand Mingtian’s words.

Mingtian smiled faintly and explained, "You are used to fighting on horseback for long periods, so your legwork is weak; I was certain you wouldn't use your legs. Using a saber meant you had to keep a distance from me. While a saber has the advantage of a lethal strike, it also means you cannot utilize the advantages of your fists. I only needed to be careful of your blade and keep my distance. If you hadn't used a saber, I might not have won so easily."

It was true that using a saber offered an advantage, especially a heavy war blade. However, the Jie people’s strength lay in their physical endurance and their experience in war. In a large-scale battle, they might fight ten men each, but in a one-on-one duel... how could a Jie tribesman without systematic training defeat Mingtian?

In this second, Yuwen Sha finally dared not look down on the frail Central Plains man before him. He never expected that, despite having the advantage in physique and weaponry, he would be crushed so easily.

Mingtian picked up Yuwen Sha’s saber and held it against his throat. The terror of death seeped through the cold blade, and the stench of dried blood on it was nauseating. Mingtian glanced at the bloodstains on the blade, then looked at Mo'er on the table, his expression turning icy.

"Tell me, how many 'two-legged sheep' have you killed with this blade?"

In this second, Yuwen Sha, who had always been the one doing the killing, finally experienced the fear of being killed. He was terrified.

"W... wait, I..."

"Sorry, I don't wait!"

Those six words were the last sounds Yuwen Sha heard in his life. Mingtian thrust the blade forward, driving it through the mouth that had consumed countless lives and out the back of his head. Watching Yuwen Sha’s corpse collapse in astonishment, Mingtian spat indifferently.

"The last person who provoked me like this was turned into a human vessel. You should consider yourself lucky to die so quickly."