What if you scared my son? Would you pay with your lives?

These two plain sentences carried an icy indifference filled with murderous intent. Even Liu Zijian didn't know how to respond. As for the two thugs, they were stunned for a moment before flying into a rage.

"You little punk! In my entire life, no one has ever dared to speak to me like that!" one of them snarled, pointing a finger at Lin Mu.

"Oh. And now, there never will be again," Lin Mu said calmly. "Because I'm taking your lives."

He's taking our lives?

The statement was brutally domineering.

"Haha, kid, did you get your head stuck in a door?" the man roared with laughter. "You want to take my life? Let's see if King Yama himself even dares to accept it!"

With that, he threw a punch straight at Lin Mu's head. Although he hadn't learned any formal fighting techniques, he had been brawling since he was a child. Combined with his large frame, he was confident that one punch would be enough to ensure a pipsqueak like Lin Mu never got up again.

"Elder Brother Mu, be careful!" Liu Zijian shouted, but in the next instant, he clamped his mouth shut.

The man's fist was already caught firmly in Lin Mu's hand.

"Is this all the strength you have? I really overestimated you." Lin Mu shook his head slightly, then exerted force with his arm.

CRACK!

The man shrieked as his entire arm was twisted into an unnatural arc, the bone beneath the skin completely mangled.

"AAAAH! MY ARM!"

The man's face turned deathly pale with pain, and large beads of sweat covered his forehead.

"You're courting death, kid!" The other man snarled, pulling out a dagger and lunging at Lin Mu with lethal intent.

"Hmph!" Lin Mu snorted coldly and kicked the first man away. The man let out a wail as he crashed into a pile of debris, unable to rise again.

Lin Mu's movements were lightning-fast. He shot out a hand, grabbing the other man's wrist and squeezing hard. The man let out a strangled cry, his face twisting in agony as his hand went limp, dropping the dagger. Before the dagger could hit the ground, Lin Mu snatched it out of the air. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the blade flying, a streak of cold light.

PFFT!

At the alley's entrance, a figure froze, a dagger now deeply embedded in his back, piercing his heart. The man slowly turned, his face a mask of disbelief as he stared at Lin Mu.

THUMP!

The man's body swayed before falling heavily to the ground, as dead as could be.

When Emperor Zun's fury was ignited, his hands delivered death!

As for the man whose wrist Lin Mu still held, his face was ghostly pale. He stared at Lin Mu, his eyes filled with pure terror.

"You… you killed Rat?" the man stammered, trembling so badly he could barely stand.

"Kid, do you have any idea what you've just done?" the man shrieked. "Do you know whose men we are? You just killed one of Steward Fang's people! You're dead! You're so dead!"

Lin Mu snorted, and a sharp SLAP! cracked across the man's face. The blow was incredibly forceful, sending a spray of blood and several teeth from the man's mouth.

"If I didn't still have a use for you, do you think you'd still be breathing?" Lin Mu shot him a final, cold glance before turning to the dumbfounded Liu Zijian.

"Elder… Elder Brother Mu, you… you killed someone?" Liu Zijian shuddered, scrambling to his feet. "Elder Brother Mu, you have to go, now! You killed one of his men, Steward Fang will never let you get away with this! Run! Get out of River City and never come back!"

Liu Zijian was truly terrified. He had never imagined Lin Mu would actually kill someone. This was a major crime, the kind that meant a long prison sentence.

"So I should leave, and you go to prison?" Lin Mu asked, his gaze cool but his voice tinged with anger.

"Elder Brother Mu, I…" Liu Zijian took a deep breath and wiped his face, forcing a smile that was uglier than a grimace. "It doesn't matter, Elder Brother Mu. My life is pointless anyway. What's the worst that could happen? A few years in jail? I'll get out eventually."

SLAP!

Lin Mu's hand flashed out, striking Liu Zijian across the face and leaving him stunned.

"Elder Brother Mu…?" Liu Zijian stammered, covering his cheek and staring at Lin Mu in confusion.

"Liu Zijian, are you even a man? You'll go to jail? What about your son? What about your mother?" Lin Mu's voice was sharp with disappointment. "Do you really think they'll leave you alone after you're in prison? That they'll spare your family?

"Wake up!

"Of course," Lin Mu's voice softened to a cold, flat tone, "if you want your son to be an orphan and your mother to mourn her only child, then by all means, go."

Liu Zijian stood frozen as if struck by lightning, utterly speechless.

Lin Mu snorted coldly, hoisted the unconscious thug onto his shoulder, and strode toward the alley's exit.

"Elder Brother Mu, where are you going?" Liu Zijian called out from behind.

"To kill people." Lin Mu's voice drifted back, his footsteps never faltering. He said the words with a terrifying calmness.

"If you aren't afraid of dying, then follow me. If you are, then don't bother. It just proves what a coward you are, Liu Zijian.

"When Liu Xiaolin grows up, I'll be sure to tell him his father was nothing but a hopeless, spineless coward."

Lin Mu's words pierced Liu Zijian's heart like sharp spikes.

"No! I, Liu Zijian, am not a coward!" he roared, his eyes bloodshot and fists clenched.

"Not a coward?" Lin Mu scoffed. "Then prove it to me."

「Xin Yuan Club.」

The Xin Yuan Club was a little-known establishment in River City. Located on the outskirts, few people had even heard of it. Even those who knew of its existence couldn't simply walk in. The club operated on a strict membership basis; a new member needed an introduction from an existing one. Only after a thorough identity verification would they have a chance to apply for a card. Furthermore, the referring member had to have held their membership for at least three years; anything less was not accepted. The entire process was incredibly complex, far beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.

But what even fewer people knew was that the Xin Yuan Club was actually a front for an underground fighting ring.

Half an hour later, Lin Mu arrived at the club with Liu Zijian in tow. It was an abandoned parking garage on the outskirts, patrolled by guards who reported their status via walkie-talkie every fifteen minutes. If any abnormality was detected, an alarm would be sounded immediately. Slipping in unnoticed was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Lin Mu knew all of this, of course, because he had extracted the information from the thug he was carrying.

Upon seeing Lin Mu and Liu Zijian, a patrolman immediately started shouting, "Hey, what are you two doing here? You got a pass? If not, get the hell out!"

His words had barely faded when, with a sickening THUD!, a body landed at his feet. It was a man, half-dead and covered in blood. The patrolman recognized him instantly. "A Gou?"

He looked up, his expression turning icy as he pointed a finger at Lin Mu. "Kid, you dare to mess with someone from Xin Yuan Club? Are you looking to die?"

Lin Mu stood with his hands in his pockets and spoke with chilling indifference. "Tell that Steward Fang to come out and meet his death. I'll give him five minutes. If he doesn't show, I'll destroy this filthy, hellish place."

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