817. The Beggar Flees / 818. The Beggar’s Sneak Attack

No! I couldn’t die, I couldn’t die! I still had so many things left to do! How could I die so soon?! A powerful desire to survive rose within Izayoi.

He looked at his opponent and thought, This guy is so strong. I have to find a way to escape, I have to! I still have so much left unfinished!

With that thought, his eyes rolled as an idea suddenly sprang into his mind.

Izayoi’s power surged, and he threw a punch straight at his opponent.

The beggar in black was sent flying backward by the blow and crashed to the ground.

Thud!

With a deafening bang, the beggar in black slammed heavily into the ground.

The beggar climbed to his feet, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stood upright. His expression turned ugly.

Damn brat, I’ll kill you!

The beggar shouted. A sharp longsword pierced into his abdomen, darkening his expression as he forced the blade out with his inner energy.

The Beggar Escapes

The beggar pulled out a dagger filled with a vicious aura. For a moment, that sinister aura greatly enhanced his power. His assault was incredibly fierce, and the dagger in his hand continuously sliced through Izayoi’s skin, blood flowing nonstop from his wounds.

"Brat, you’re dead this time, aren’t you?!"

Izayoi was shocked. He had never expected this man’s speed to be so fast. He had just dodged one dagger, only for another to stab into his body. This style of attack was simply terrifying.

At that moment, a cruel smile appeared on the man’s face. "Do you know what pain is now? Hahaha, die!"

Izayoi hurriedly raised his sword to block, only to discover that he was completely helpless against the dagger before him.

"What is it? Can’t block it?"

This guy is such a monster. How could he be this strong? I can hardly believe it.

Izayoi defended himself while thinking, but his speed did not slow in the slightest.

The man’s dagger struck again, as swift as a meteor. Izayoi was deeply shaken and knew he had to fight with everything he had, or he would truly die in Yomi.

Gritting his teeth, he gathered all his strength and swung his sword to block the dagger.

Bang!

The two weapons collided with a crisp ring. Although the man’s dagger did not defeat Izayoi—

—it knocked the sword from Izayoi’s hand flying. Seizing the opportunity, the man pounced at Izayoi again. Izayoi hurriedly dodged, but the dagger still grazed his shoulder.

Izayoi sucked in a sharp breath. A deep gash had been carved into his right shoulder.

Agh!

A piercing pain shot through his shoulder. Izayoi cried out and hurriedly supported himself with his sword, but the man attacked him again and again. This method of attack left Izayoi with no chance to fight back; he could only barely fend him off.

His shoulder burned with pain, accompanied by an agonizing ache that pierced deep into his bones.

Agh!

Another miserable scream rang out as the man kicked him in the stomach. Izayoi felt his abdomen churn violently, nearly vomiting up stomach acid. It felt as if his intestines were about to burst.

The kick to his stomach was almost heart-rending in its pain, but what was even more despairing was that the beggar showed no sign of stopping. Instead, he put even more force into his attacks.

Pfft!

A punch. The beggar drove a vicious fist into Izayoi’s abdomen, and a mouthful of blood burst from his lips. Izayoi hurriedly guarded his abdomen with his sword, but how could his sword withstand the dagger in the beggar’s hand?

Clang!

Izayoi’s longsword was knocked to the ground. The beggar kicked again, this time striking his left knee. Izayoi’s legs immediately bent like a shrimp, his kneecap nearly shattering.

But the beggar’s assault did not end there. He charged in again and drove his dagger through Izayoi’s chest, bright red blood immediately pouring out.

No!

Izayoi’s injuries were extremely severe. If he was attacked again, he would definitely die. His mind began racing.

He thought, Who exactly is this beggar? How can he be so powerful that he can beat me this badly?

But he felt there was no point in thinking about that now. After all, he was already on the verge of death.

The Ambushing Beggar

After thinking for a while, he realized he could not figure it out at all, so he simply stopped thinking. At that moment, the beggar attacked again. Izayoi hurriedly swallowed a healing pill, restoring all the injuries within his body. Then he knew that if he wanted to defeat this beggar, he had to use all his strength. Powerful energy burst forth.

Izayoi looked at the beggar before him and smiled. "My strength is no longer what it used to be. Prepare to die."

Then the sword in his hand flashed like lightning as he unleashed an incomparably powerful technique. "Heaven-Shattering Slash!"

The beggar stared at the scene before him with his dagger in hand, deeply shaken. He had never expected this young man to possess such a formidable move.

"Brat, your strength is indeed impressive, but even if I die, I’ll fight you to the end!"

"Hmph, you really overestimate yourself." As he spoke, Izayoi’s sword had already created a blur of afterimages. Heaven-Shattering Slash struck the beggar directly.

Agh!

With a miserable cry, the beggar was sent flying backward and slammed heavily into the ground.

The beggar struggled to raise his head and looked at Izayoi, his eyes filled with resentment and rage. He could not believe that this young man had actually injured him, and in such a strange manner.

The beggar struggled to his feet, then charged forward again with his dagger.

"Hmph, you think you’re worthy?"

Izayoi snorted coldly and swept his sword. A powerful gust of wind surged forth, sweeping the beggar to the other side.

The beggar crashed into the wall and finally fell to the ground.

Izayoi looked at the beggar lying on the ground with contempt.

"A piece of trash like you dares to kill me? Why don’t you piss on the ground and take a good look at what you are?"

Izayoi’s words were harsh, but they were the truth. In his eyes, this beggar was worse than a dog.

The beggar struggled to stand, his eyes filled with rage but even more fear.

He had never imagined that such a terrifying existence existed in this world. His eyes were filled with despair and panic. He knew that he was certainly going to die today; this young man’s combat power was simply too terrifying.

Izayoi sneered a few times, walked over, and crouched before the beggar.

The beggar looked at the young man before him, his eyes full of shock and fear. "Please spare me. I was wrong. Let me go. I’ll serve you like an ox or horse to repay you."

Izayoi looked at the beggar and snorted coldly. "Too late. You were so arrogant before, and you beat me so badly. Even if you kneel at my feet and beg for mercy now—"

"—it won’t erase your crimes. I advise you to save your strength. Your death is coming soon."

The beggar’s tears continuously streamed from the corners of his eyes. His heart was filled with regret and unwillingness, but he had no way out. He knew he could not possibly escape.

The beggar looked at the youth before him and kept muttering, "Let me go… let me go…"

"Weren’t you so arrogant just now? Why are you lying here like a dog now? What the hell happened to you? Weren’t you so imposing before?"

"Hmph, brat, don’t think I don’t have an escape technique!" The beggar’s earlier behavior had merely been an act to buy time and activate his escape technique.

His speed exploded as the beggar shot away. Seeing this, Izayoi immediately turned into a streak of light and gave chase.

The Roaring Bear

Izayoi continued tracking him into a forest. After looking around and finding no trace of the beggar, he scratched his head in confusion.

The beggar leaped out from behind a tree and launched a surprise attack at Izayoi. He was incredibly fast and caught Izayoi off guard, successfully slashing his arm.

He knew Izayoi had to be a rookie. He only needed to deal with him easily.

However, reality was not as he imagined. As he approached Izayoi, an immensely powerful force suddenly rebounded and sent him flying.

A cold glint flashed in Izayoi’s eyes as his body shot forward like a meteor, reaching the beggar’s side in an instant.

Izayoi reached out and grabbed his neck, lifting him up as he said coldly, "Don’t think you can escape just because you ambushed me. It’s useless. I’ll kill you and throw you into a sea of fire."

"Huh?" The beggar seized by the neck was stunned. He had no idea why Izayoi knew, but he had no chance to think about it, because Izayoi’s hands had already locked around his throat.

With just a light squeeze, Izayoi could crush his windpipe. He knew that if he could not escape alive this time, he would truly die here.

The beggar suddenly erupted with power and knocked Izayoi’s arm away. His body sprang upward as he tried to break free from Izayoi’s restraint.

But Izayoi’s reaction speed was incredibly fast. Almost the instant the beggar sprang up—

—his right leg fiercely kicked the beggar in the stomach. The immense force sent the beggar flying into a tree, after which he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The beggar struggled to rise, but his body swayed violently, as though he were about to collapse again.

Izayoi snorted coldly, raised his right leg, and viciously kicked the back of the beggar’s knee, shattering his kneecap. The intense pain forced him to kneel again, his face turning deathly pale and his forehead covered in sweat.

The beggar’s gaze darkened. He glanced at the wall beside him, suddenly stood up, and lunged at Izayoi. He wanted revenge.

Bang! Izayoi’s left foot slammed into his chest, kicking him flying. He crashed heavily to the ground, spat out another mouthful of blood, and his face turned pale.

The beggar clutched his chest and struggled to get up, but Izayoi had already closed in and stepped on him again.

His heart was filled with rage and humiliation. He was a mighty master, yet Izayoi was trampling him beneath his foot. It was the greatest humiliation!

"You think I’m a rookie?" Izayoi’s expression was ice-cold.

A savage smile appeared on the beggar’s face. "You think I’d be afraid of you?"

"Of course you’re not afraid of me, but you’re afraid of your master, aren’t you? You should be trying to contact your master now and tell him you’ve been captured." Izayoi wore a mocking expression, completely dismissing the beggar’s words.

The beggar’s mouth twitched, and surprise flashed in his eyes. He had to admit that Izayoi was right.

His master was on the way here. If he could not find his master soon, he would probably die in Yomi today.

Izayoi stepped on the beggar and pinned him to the ground, saying coldly, "What now? Still want to continue?"

A blade flashed in Izayoi’s hand, and the beggar’s head flew off and fell to the ground.

Regarded as Prey

At that moment, a bear roared as it charged out of the forest. It was so fast that it knocked Izayoi unconscious in an instant. The bear looked at Izayoi as though he were prey, intending to swallow him whole.

Just then, Izayoi woke up. He swung his fist into the bear’s stomach, but it had no effect at all.

"Damn it, this bear’s defense is so high. What am I supposed to do?"

Izayoi had no solution at the moment. The bear pounced on him and sent him flying into a wall with one swipe of its paw. Izayoi crashed heavily to the ground.

The bear pounced at Izayoi again, and Izayoi hurriedly rolled to his feet.

Izayoi quickly took out a weapon from his storage ring to defend himself, but the bear was completely unafraid of the weapon in his hand.

Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions rang out. The bear’s fist slammed into Izayoi’s chest, blasting him several meters away and smashing him hard into the wall, leaving the wall dented inward.

Blood flowed from the corner of Izayoi’s mouth, showing just how terrifyingly powerful that strike had been.

The bear looked at Izayoi, bared its mouthful of sharp teeth, and stared at him viciously as if it wanted nothing more than to devour him.

Izayoi knew he was no match for this bear, so he immediately turned and ran. But how could the bear let him go so easily?

It caught up to Izayoi in a single step and swiped at his shoulder with its claw.

Agh!!!

Izayoi screamed as his right arm was instantly torn off. Blood sprayed across half his face. The pain made his eyes turn red, but he had to endure it. He absolutely could not show weakness now.

The bear caught up again and slapped Izayoi across the back, then struck his other arm as well. Both of his arms were torn off by it.

Izayoi vomited blood again, but he still held on.

Izayoi kicked desperately against the ground, trying to climb upward, but he could not reach the ground from that distance. He could only climb with his feet and cling on with his hands, but the distance was far too short.

Izayoi climbed halfway up, suddenly stepped into empty air, and fell to the ground.

Izayoi’s left leg was crushed beneath the bear’s foot.

Roar! Roar! Roar!!!