So apart from begging for mercy, begging for mercy was all he had left; no other words would come out of him at all.

Ergoudan kicked Mr. Pi flat onto the ground.

"Talk. Who sent you? Was it that hag Gou Huli?" Ergoudan had known Gou Huli back at the Xiao household, and at the sight of the two Pi family experts, she was the first name that came to mind. "Hurry up and talk, or I'll stomp you to death!"

"I... aaoo..." Mr. Pi had barely opened his mouth when two cracks rang out, and a searing agony tore through both his legs!

Ergoudan stamped down twice in quick succession on Mr. Pi's legs and broke them both. This Mr. Pi, though nowhere near as formidable as Pi Yangyang, would still have been more than a match for Ergoudan — so Ergoudan crippled his mobility first, turned him into a useless wreck, and by that means stripped him of any threat. "Talk. Who exactly sent you?"

"I... aaoo..." Again Mr. Pi had only just begun to speak when another crack rang out, and a burst of agony ripped through both his arms!

This time, before Mr. Pi could get a single word out, Ergoudan stamped down once more, on his right arm, and broke that too!

Mr. Pi rolled his eyes white with pain and howled again and again: "I'll talk... I'll talk, don't kill me..."

"Mm, go on." Yet Ergoudan stamped down again, this time on Mr. Pi's left arm, snapping it as well.

The reasoning was simple. Ergoudan could not leave Mr. Pi even the slightest chance of attacking him, so all four limbs had to be crippled; only then would it be safe to question him.

"Aaoo—" Mr. Pi writhed in agony, his heart full of grievance. I was about to talk — why are you still stomping on me? Are you trying to stomp me to death? Can't you let me finish a sentence?

Not far away, the two Xiao brothers watched with their hearts in their throats. Mother of God — what kind of expert was this? One punch and Pi Yangyang was dead, and in the blink of an eye he had ruined all four of Mr. Pi's limbs, not even letting him speak?

Was this beating a man, or questioning him?

Wu Chengtian, though, was stirred to his core. What manner of master was this man? Surely too formidable — to kill an external-school expert at the peak of the late Profound stage with a single punch, what level did that make him? This was unquestionably a transcendent figure!

Only moments ago, watching Pi Yangyang dent a car with one palm had seemed impressive enough; now this man had punched a hole clean through Pi Yangyang's chest and killed him outright — that was a whole order of magnitude greater!

"I'll talk... it was the Xiao family. The Xiao family wanted me to kidnap Gu Mengyao... it had nothing to do with me, I was only the one who carried it out — the mastermind was the Xiao family's people!" Mr. Pi said without a flicker of hesitation. He had not a shred of loyalty to speak of; he was no Xiao, and owed the Xiao family no obligation of secrecy.

Besides, he had nearly been beaten to death — who but a fool would still speak up for the Xiao family?

"Oh. So it is the Xiao family after all!" Ergoudan nodded. Then he casually hoisted Mr. Pi up and hurled him at the van in front, smashing his body straight through the van's steel plating and into the vehicle, where he gave up the ghost on the spot.

Ergoudan dusted off his hands and said, with perfect composure: "The chief said it: anyone who dares touch Gu Mengyao gets killed, no questions."

That said, he kicked the van in front of him, sending it skidding to one side and clearing the road ahead of the Bentley.

He was just about to get into the car when a figure came running up at full speed, dropped to his knees with a thud, and shouted: "Master, please take me as your disciple! You are truly the finest external-school expert there is — you must take me as your disciple..."

The man was Wu Chengtian. Having seen how formidable Ergoudan was, how could he let such a chance slip by? To Ergoudan's eyes, this man was at least an Earth-stage expert — anyone who could kill a peak late-Profound-stage expert without breaking a sweat had to be an Earth-stage expert, perhaps even stronger!

"Who are you?" Ergoudan looked at Wu Chengtian kneeling there on the ground, rather baffled.

"I am Wu Chengtian, young heir of the Wu family," he introduced himself. "I am an external-school expert too, only... only early Yellow stage."

"Oh. Then get lost. I've no time to take on disciples — I still have to serve as my chief's close guard." Ergoudan waved a hand, a little impatient.

"Ah? Then take me as your underling — I'll take you as my chief!" Wu Chengtian's eyes darted, and he settled for the next best thing.

"Underling? What can you do?" Ergoudan had meant to refuse, but then it occurred to him that an underling would not be bad at all — it would be handy to have someone to run errands.

"I can do anything! Anything you don't want to do, I can do in your place — so long as you teach me a move or two!" Wu Chengtian did not neglect to state his purpose.

"Oh. Then let me think about it. This has to be put to my chief first. If my chief says I can take you as an underling, then I'll take you; if my chief doesn't agree, then go play by yourself," Ergoudan said.

"Uh... and who is your chief?" Wu Chengtian asked, taken aback.

"My chief is Wei Zhao. You wouldn't know him even if I told you." Ergoudan said impatiently. "All right, go back first. I'll ask, and then I'll tell you."

"Wei Zhao?" Wu Chengtian froze. How could it be Wei Zhao? Was that not his rival in love? Then it struck him — Ergoudan had stepped out of Gu Mengyao's car, and Wei Zhao was Gu Mengyao's close guard. That made perfect sense: Wei Zhao had sent his underling to protect Gu Mengyao.

For a moment, though, Wu Chengtian's feelings were a tangled mess. Wei Zhao was this formidable man's chief? Did that not mean Wei Zhao was even stronger than he was? And if he acknowledged Ergoudan as his chief, then Wei Zhao would be his chief's chief — was there still any hope at all for him and Sun Jingyan? Would that not make him a man fighting with his own superior for the same woman?

That was plainly impossible. If he acknowledged a chief, he would undoubtedly have to give up Sun Jingyan... At the thought, Wu Chengtian was thrown into a quandary.

Yet the lure of greater strength made it hard for Wu Chengtian to let go. The chance lay right before him, fleeting, the chance of a lifetime — once missed, there would never be another.

But if he could learn from Ergoudan some method of raising his strength, that would be an absolute boon both to himself and to his family, and the Wu family would surely climb another rung!

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