Chapter 274 - 173: Plucking a Heart with Bare Hands, Challenging the Heroes of the World

Chapter 274: Chapter 173: Plucking a Heart with Bare Hands, Challenging the Heroes of the World

Wan Ze turned around, a cocky look on his face. "You know where that thing comes from, so you should understand its value. And I’m not asking for much... ten High Tier Martial Skills, fifty Middle Tier Martial Skills, and one thousand Low Tier Martial Skills."

The air instantly froze.

The middle-aged man’s face visibly darkened. "Impossible! Ten High Tier Martial Skills? Do you have any idea what that means? Every High Tier Martial Skill is the life’s work of generations of Grandmasters—the ultimate trump card of their respective organizations. Forget ten; without a direct order from the higher-ups, no one can touch even a single one."

He stared at Wan Ze, desperately wanting to ask, ’Are you insane?’ But he swallowed the words and could only say stiffly, "I can’t meet those terms."

"Then let someone who can talk to me." Wan Ze’s expression remained unchanged. "You’re not the only ones who want what’s on it."

At these words, the middle-aged man’s expression grew even uglier.

He, of course, knew the weight behind Wan Ze’s words.

The Secret Palace wasn’t the only player in the game. Plenty of outside forces were watching like hungry tigers. If Wan Ze really handed the translation over to someone else, the Secret Palace would be completely on the back foot in the intelligence war.

In the silence, Wan Ze started to walk forward.

The two young men blocked his path.

One stood to the left, the other to the right, perfectly blocking Wan Ze’s path of retreat.

Wan Ze’s gaze swept over the two men before landing on their superior. The hint of a smile on his lips faded.

"I advise you to be reasonable and accept our demands. Otherwise... the Dragon Eagle won’t be able to protect you." The man with the braid lifted his head. The bright red handprint was still visible on his cheek, but a cold smirk twisted his lips.

Wan Ze looked at him and suddenly smiled.

It was a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

All of a sudden, the temperature in the alley seemed to drop several degrees.

"Is that so?"

The two words hung in the air.

Then, Wan Ze moved.

This time, he was so fast that no one could fully track his movements.

The alley was already dimly lit, and Wan Ze’s figure vanished in an instant, melting into the night.

The two young men flew into a rage.

’He’s courting death!’

The man with the buzz cut clenched his fists, his forearm muscles bulging. At the same time, the man with the braid activated his own energy, his face flushing crimson.

But in the next second, both of their expressions changed drastically.

’Something’s wrong!’

’Wait!’

SQUELCH!

A sound like a wet cloth being ripped apart suddenly echoed through the alley.

The man with the braid froze in place, still poised to attack. He slowly looked down and stared in astonishment at a hand that had burst through his left breast.

The hand had stabbed through his back and out his chest. It was covered in blood, and clutched within its palm was something still twitching...

A heart!

A heart that was still beating! THUMP. THUMP.

SPLAT!

Wan Ze clenched his fist, and the heart was crushed on the spot.

Fresh blood oozed from between his fingers, dripping onto the ground. DRIP. DROP.

The man with the braid let out a muffled grunt, his mouth opening and closing as if trying to speak.

His eyes were filled with utter disbelief.

He had spent years in Cultivation, completed over a dozen missions of varying difficulty, and was considered one of the most outstanding members of his generation in the Secret Palace.

And yet... against Wan Ze, he hadn’t even had time to make a move before his heart was ripped out and crushed with a Black Tiger Heart Stealing.

The man’s lips trembled and a gurgling sound rattled in his throat, as if he was trying to form words.

But Wan Ze had already swung his arm.

The man’s body flew sideways like a sack of garbage, slamming hard into his buzz-cut companion.

The buzz-cut man’s face fell, and he instinctively reached out to catch the body.

His reflexes weren’t slow.

He managed to brace himself just as the body hit, but the force was immense. It was so powerful that it drove him back two steps, his heels slamming against the alley wall with a dull thud.

He glanced down at his companion in his arms... ’He’s dead!’

"You—"

The buzz-cut man looked up, his eyes completely bloodshot.

His rage exploded.

His vital energy surged as if set aflame. The muscles in his arms bulged, veins popping on his skin. He looked like an enraged leopard.

"You’re courting death!"

The buzz-cut man let go of his comrade’s body, kicked off the ground with his right foot, and shot his left fist out from his waist, aiming straight for Wan Ze’s face.

Wan Ze remained expressionless.

He didn’t even bother using his fists.

He lifted his leg and whipped it out like an iron rod.

This Mountain Shattering Leg had no flair. It was a simple, direct swing, yet it carried a devastating Power that seemed to crush everything in its path. The air tore apart with a sharp whistle, like something screaming.

CRACK!

The instant the kick connected with the buzz-cut man’s neck, a sickeningly crisp crack echoed out.

It was as clean and decisive as snapping a dry twig.

In the blink of an eye, the buzz-cut man’s body was sent flying, his head twisted to the side at an impossible angle.

His corpse slammed heavily against the alley wall with a dull THUD, then slid to the ground, motionless.

The man’s eyes were still wide open, his mouth slightly agape, his expression frozen in a mask of fury and shock.

Two lives... from the moment Wan Ze attacked to the finish, it hadn’t even taken a single breath.

Wan Ze slowly retracted his leg and turned around.

Not a single drop of blood stained his clothes, and his breathing was perfectly steady.

Slowly, he turned to face the middle-aged man, his expression completely unchanged.

"You wanted to do business, so I showed you some respect. But since you’re clearly not here to negotiate, then anyone who starts trouble with me, I will kill."