Chapter 87: Destiny Mission One, Fully Completed

The thugs behind him, still locked in their struggle between heaven and man, suddenly froze. In the span of just a few moves, they were all flattened again, while that demon remained completely unharmed.

That was it. They were done. They really were done. All they had heard before coming was that he was some poor student; who could have guessed he was a war god?

“Go on, move it, all of you worthless trash, what the hell are you standing there for? Get him, all of you!” Teng Chaoguo, unable to get back up, roared from the ground. “Swarm him with numbers, crush him, crush him!”

But this time, no one charged forward. Even the thugs who had been holding their own against Zhou Xiong and the others suddenly began to slack off.

Clang. One of them was first to toss his bat to the ground, then without a word he hoisted up a groaning thug and carried him off.

The others exchanged looks, then one after another they dropped their bats as well, clearly ready to retreat.

Teng Chaoguo was stunned. “What are you doing? Trying to run? You spineless cowards, I paid for this!”

“To hell with your money. We only came to scare people with you, not to die with you!”

“You think we’re idiots? Knowing we can’t win and still charging in headfirst?”

“If you’re still alive tomorrow, just wait for us to come ask for medical fees! You hurt so many of our brothers, you won’t get away with less than a few tens of thousands!”

“Damn, you act like you’re so amazing, calling us trash? You’re the trash, you piss-drinking piece of garbage!”

The thugs cursed savagely, then all fled in a panic. They were never truly Teng Chaoguo’s men; he had only paid money to bring in hired muscle. Now that the target was a hard one, only a fool would keep fighting to the end.

Looking at Shi Tiexin’s back, they all felt the man was not someone to cross. Better curse twice, draw a clean line, and run.

And so Shi Tiexin, with only a sesame seed's worth of false core left, simply stood there. The thugs, like a tide splitting around a reef, veered far around him and hurried off in a clatter.

In that pitch-black alley remained only the bloodstains on the ground, the wreckage everywhere, the many abandoned bats, a despairing Teng Chaoguo, and, right, the bench that had been thrown out first.

Shi Tiexin walked over, unhurried and calm. Reaching the bench, he bent down and picked it up. Weighing it in his hand, he suddenly felt that this thing was incredibly handy.

A bench was absolutely the best starter weapon.

Then his eyes shifted, and that terrifying gaze fixed on Teng Chaoguo.

Teng Chaoguo was practically crying now.

“Get up.”

With a flick of Shi Tiexin’s hand, Teng Chaoguo gritted his teeth and really did stand, obediently. Zhou Xiong and the others watched from afar; only Zhou Nan, as a direct subordinate, puffed and hurried over to stand behind Shi Tiexin.

Looking down at Teng Chaoguo, Shi Tiexin spoke again, with two words that admitted no refusal.

“Bend down.”

Teng Chaoguo’s pupils shrank. He clenched his fists, grinding his teeth until they creaked, then shouted hoarsely, “Y-you, do you even know who I am, what kind of person I am? If you push this any further today, I’m telling you, I guarantee you won’t have any way out! I—”

“Oh, young master, are you stupid?” Zhou Nan let out a cold snort, his face full of contempt. “Push it further? You brought people here to kill us, and that’s us pushing it further? As for having no way out, that doesn’t even apply. I’m already a thug with a rotten life, getting kicked out means nothing to me.

“But you, young master, your bright future is over. If you really dare play dirty, then I’ll watch you every day just like you’ve been watching us. I guarantee wherever you go, I’ll follow. Wherever you hide, I’ll find you. The moment you’re alone for even a minute, you punk, you’d better be ready to die!”

Teng Chaoguo was speechless. “I, you, I—”

The barefoot feared not the shod. A man born to wealth did not stand beneath a collapsing wall. He truly had no reason to keep entangling himself with these lowlifes.

But Shi Tiexin gave him no more time to think. Frowning, he repeated, “Bend down.”

Teng Chaoguo went pale, still intending to grit his teeth and hold out. So what if he didn’t bend?

Shi Tiexin seemed to see through his thoughts. Slowly, he lifted the bench in his hands, his face iron-hard. “If you don’t, I’ll beat you to death.”

Teng Chaoguo had wanted to snap back, “Who are you trying to scare?” But the words never made it out. Looking at Shi Tiexin, at that stern and formidable face, he suddenly felt that this man absolutely was not bluffing.

This one was taciturn, every word worth its weight in gold. Once he spoke, he would do as he said. Looking into those eyes, so merciless, so fearless, so resolute, Teng Chaoguo truly believed him. If he said he would beat him to death, then if Teng Chaoguo refused to bend, he really might be beaten to death.

For the first time, Teng Chaoguo felt the so-called killing intent was real.

His teeth chattered. “Y-you’re insane. Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?”

A rare trace of a smile suddenly forced its way onto Shi Tiexin’s cold, hard face. If he had not smiled, it would have been one thing. With the smile, he looked even more terrifying. “Ever heard of the law protecting juvenile scum?”

He lifted a hand, thumb pointing to his own chest, and said something very easy to overlook: “I’m a minor. Crime is no fault of mine.”

Teng Chaoguo’s pupils dilated, then contracted. His face turned white, then red, then white again, a struggle of heaven and man raging within him. Just moments ago, he had used these words to frighten others, and now he was tasting the bitter fruit himself.

Shi Tiexin suddenly raised the bench, clearly growing impatient and preparing to smash it down.

His legs trembled. Thud. Teng Chaoguo dropped to his knees in panic. The instant his knees hit the ground, he was so afraid, so utterly cowed. Once he had seemed not to care about other people’s lives; today, he had no choice but to care about his own.

Life, after all, is precious.

Watching Teng Chaoguo kneel, the mass of consciousness condensed in the spiritual domain suddenly let out an indistinct, satisfied laugh.

Thump. The bench was planted upright on the ground. Shi Tiexin turned around and saw Zhou Xiong and the others coming over. Zhou Xiong looked at Shi Tiexin, kneeling before Teng Chaoguo’s submission, his expression shaken and admiring. He said at once, “Thank you. If you hadn’t been here today, we’d have been in real trouble.”

“No need. If I hadn’t been here today, none of this would have happened in the first place.”

“Some things can’t be said clearly, so let’s not say more. Whether or not you want to join the Four Heavenly Kings is your freedom. I’ll tell Zhengyang-ge later, and we can just choose someone else. But whatever the case, you’re impressive. You’ve got guts!” Zhou Xiong turned to the four subordinates behind him. “From now on, all of you, and the ones who didn’t come today too, no matter how old or young you are, when you see Brother Shi, you address him respectfully as Big Brother Tie. Understood?”

“Understood!” The four subordinates were fully convinced. They all bowed toward Shi Tiexin and shouted, “Big Brother Tie!”

A round of applause sounded from behind them. The owner of the barbecue skewer stall clapped with a smile while smoking.

Ring-a-ling. A long cascade of sounds rang out in his mind, like wind chimes, like a music box. So pleasing, so lovely, so mysterious and splendid.

A line of text appeared in his vision.

First Destiny Mission: The Mighty Cannot Be Bent.

Fully completed!

Before Shi Tiexin’s eyes, that mysterious diagram appeared once more. The time to return to his original world line was approaching.

This fantastical journey had brought both gain and loss. He had achieved some things, but also caused quite a bit of trouble. In the end, he had indeed left some headaches for Scholar Stone.

What about the final exams? Could he still get back into the elite class? Would Teng Chaoguo seek revenge again? Rumor had it that his family had some real backing; would he, driven by humiliation, resort to some underhanded tricks? Shi Tiexin didn’t know, and for now he could not care.

His true self was only a fifteen-year-old boy, and he had been here for barely ten days. How could he possibly think too far ahead?

Still, no matter what, he had left Scholar Stone with the methods for cultivating mental energy and bodily energy. This world was so wondrous, and the mental arts so cheap, that he felt even if he were no longer in that sacred land of mental arts, even if he were expelled from Phoenix Song First Middle School, it would hardly matter.

The world was vast. Even the meat skewers from a street stall could surge with vital energy; the secret manuals in a little bookshop were top-tier treasures. In such a grand and boundless world, what was there to fear?

Only, Destiny Mission 2 still had to be completed if possible. Even having just completed Destiny Mission 1, Shi Tiexin had already felt an entirely different new realm.

In the end, no matter how it was put, this descent was about to come to an end. Right and wrong, gains and losses, had all already been settled. Would he ever be able to come back in the future? Shi Tiexin did not know, but for some reason, he felt he probably could.

Buzz, buzz—the diagram flickered little by little, as if heralding something.

Shi Tiexin took one last look at his attributes, thoroughly satisfied. It was time to go back, back to my original world line, and face the challenges of life with a new self.

Whoosh—the diagram burst with radiance in his consciousness. The glowing points in the two parallel world lines suddenly connected, and a consciousness crossed that bridge of leap and returned in an instant. Shi Tiexin’s main consciousness plunged at once into boundless darkness, as though sinking into the deepest dream.

Lost in a dream, one does not know one is a guest.

Last night in a dim dream

I suddenly returned home.