Chapter 48: Overwhelming Difference
"DIE!!!"
Ye Jianping roared like a cornered beast, his body lunging forward with explosive, desperate force. His hands spread wide into vicious claw shapes, every muscle coiling with tension as cultivated strength channeled into his fingertips.
"Rending Talon Art—Twin Talon Rend!"
He slashed both hands diagonally in a precise crisscross motion—fingers hooked like sharpened daggers seeking flesh. The air hissed as his enhanced claws cut through it with pure momentum, driven by months of focused cultivation and countless hours of practiced form.
The force behind the twin strikes wasn't flashy or elegant. It was purely brutality. Every ounce of Ye Jianping's carefully cultivated strength compressed into those claw-like hands, their sole purpose to tear through flesh, shatter bone, and overwhelm with relentless, beast-like savagery. A technique born from primal ferocity yet refined through disciplined repetition—forged not through superior spiritual power alone, but through grit, spilled blood, and bone-deep killing intent.
"Impressive technique," Su Tianhao observed with cold indifference, calmly watching Ye Jianping close the distance for what was clearly intended to be a lethal strike.
"However—it's completely useless against me."
The moment those dismissive words left his mouth, Su Tianhao surged forward with explosive speed that far exceeded Ye Jianping's desperate charge, meeting the elaborate claw technique head-on with nothing but a simple, unenhanced fist.
Ye Jianping's eyes gleamed with fierce triumph. He was certain Su Tianhao was being arrogant—charging forward without even bothering to employ a martial art technique for defense or counterattack.
"Courting death!"
Ye Jianping roared with a sudden burst of speed, launching himself upward before descending upon Su Tianhao like a hunting eagle, twin claws slashing viciously toward his exposed chest.
"Too slow."
Although Ye Jianping's movement speed was genuinely impressive for an ordinary 1st level Martial Disciple, before Su Tianhao's dragon-bloodline-enhanced perception, every motion appeared painfully predictable—almost moving in slow motion.
BOOM!
Su Tianhao launched forward like a fired cannonball, his simple fist moving at a terrifying speed that created visible air displacement.
"W-What?!" Ye Jianping's eyes could barely register the blurred trajectory—his perception completely failing to keep pace with the overwhelming speed differential.
BAM!
Su Tianhao's fist connected squarely with Ye Jianping's exposed stomach, driving all air from his lungs. The sheer force sent him flying backward like a broken puppet, crashing violently through overgrown bushes before slamming into the ground. The impact carved a small crater, uprooting grass and vegetation, sending debris flying in all directions. A thick cloud of dust rose around his crumpled figure.
"Arhk—Argh!"
Ye Jianping vomited two mouthfuls of blood—the result of both his technique's violent backlash and the crushing aftermath of Su Tianhao's blow, which had likely cracked several ribs.
When he finally managed to lift his head and look through pain-blurred vision, genuine dread had replaced every trace of his earlier arrogance. "I don't understand," he gasped weakly. "We're both 1st level Martial Disciples... how can you possibly be so strong?"
"Do not compare me to your ordinary cultivation standards," Su Tianhao replied with a calm, almost gentle smile—but in Ye Jianping's terrified eyes, that serene expression looked exactly like the satisfied smile of a demon surveying its prey.
"Monster!" Ye Jianping's entire body trembled with visceral fear. When that blow had connected, he had felt it with absolute clarity—that crushing force was not the strength any normal 1st level Martial Disciple should possess.
The base strength of an ordinary human stood at approximately one hundred pounds. After reaching the 1st level of Martial Apprentice Realm, strength doubled to two hundred pounds. From that foundation, every subsequent breakthrough granted a consistent one-hundred-pound increase. By the 9th level—the absolute peak of Martial Apprentice Realm—a cultivator's accumulated base strength reached exactly one thousand pounds.
The transition from Martial Apprentice to Martial Disciple Realm represented a massive qualitative leap. After crossing that threshold, a cultivator's strength underwent a dramatic transformation—doubling entirely to reach two thousand pounds base strength.
But how could Ye Jianping have anticipated Su Tianhao's heaven-defying existence?
At merely the 7th level of Martial Apprentice Realm, Su Tianhao had already possessed one thousand six hundred pounds of base strength—achieved through his unique two-hundred-pound increase per breakthrough, a direct result of cultivating the Supreme Dragon Transformation Technique. By the time he reached the 9th level, peak of Martial Apprentice Realm, his base strength had already climbed to two thousand pounds—perfectly rivaling an ordinary 1st level Martial Disciple despite being an entire major realm lower.
After breaking through to the Martial Disciple Realm himself, Su Tianhao's strength naturally doubled according to cultivation principles—reaching a truly monstrous four thousand pounds of pure physical strength. Even without employing the Raging Dragon Fist's enhancement, it was more than sufficient to crush both opponents with ease.
Had he added the Raging Dragon Fist at Perfection mastery—a seventy percent boost—a single fully-powered blow would have killed Ye Jianping outright. But that level of force was something he deliberately withheld. Annoying as these two were, their offenses didn't warrant death.
Su Tianhao stepped forward with slow, deliberate footfalls that echoed ominously through the blood-smeared alley. His shadow stretched long and threatening under the slanting afternoon light, seeming to swallow the cowering youth kneeling amidst scattered debris and his own spilled blood.
"D-Don't come any closer!" Ye Jianping barked desperately, inching backward like a cornered animal. The face that had been so smug and arrogant minutes ago was completely drained of color. In his terrified eyes, Su Tianhao had become something fundamentally unnatural—an incomprehensible enigma that defied everything he thought he understood about cultivation and power.
"Please, young master... spare this lowly one," Ye Jianping pleaded, his voice trembling.
Su Tianhao's golden eyes narrowed, his tone remaining perfectly flat. "How can a man be so shameless?" His gaze bore down like an executioner's blade. "If I'm not mistaken, you two must possess considerable standing within the Ye family to be granted access to high-grade martial arts techniques."
He had seen through the true grade of their techniques the moment they were unleashed. From his understanding of the three great clans' internal hierarchies, such techniques were not resources ordinary disciples could freely access—only direct blood descendants or formally recognized outstanding talents were granted such privileges.
Upon hearing Su Tianhao's words, Ye Jianping's eyes lit up with desperate hope, completely ignoring the cutting insult buried in the observation.
"That's right! Gao Min and I are both recognized outstanding disciples of the Ye family! We maintain a very close personal relationship with the most talented young master of our entire clan!" He lifted his bloodied chin with what little defiant pride he could still muster. "If you know what's good for you, release us immediately and forget this incident. Otherwise you will have to answer directly to him."
Su Tianhao blinked once, surprised at the man's shamelessness—then let out a quiet, contemptuous snort. "So now you're hiding behind your young master's name like a frightened child seeking his mother's protection?"
Ye Jianping flinched but pressed forward desperately. "I'm giving you a final warning! My young master won't let this insult go—"
Seeing Su Tianhao's cold expression remain completely unmoved, panic surged through him like an electric current. "Do you even know who my young master is?"
"Enlighten me," Su Tianhao replied with the faintest flicker of dark amusement.
Completely mistaking that subtle amusement for hesitation, Ye Jianping puffed himself up despite his pitiful condition. "My Young Master is the legendary Ye Wenjie! A rare six-star talent who has already reached the 4th level of Martial Disciple Realm at just sixteen years of age! He has even cultivated a peak-grade Mortal rank technique to near-Perfection mastery!"
"Ye Wenjie," Su Tianhao repeated thoughtfully, his brows furrowing slightly.
He had heard that name before. A distinct flicker of disdain crossed his sharp gaze as the name summoned a reputation that didn't match its carefully polished public surface.
Ye Wenjie—a manipulative, prideful hypocrite of the highest order. Compared to him, even the arrogant Su Jian appeared honest and straightforward. Unlike Su Jian, whose considerable pride was worn openly for all to see, Ye Wenjie cloaked his ruthless ambition behind a flawlessly maintained smile and eternally polite words. He was precisely the dangerous type who seduced naive young girls with hollow promises before discarding them, who crushed political opponents while wearing a righteous expression of justice, who made every calculated cruelty feel entirely necessary and justified.
To the Ye family leadership and general public, he represented a brilliant rising star. To those few perceptive enough to see behind the mask—a venomous snake wrapped in expensive silk.
Su Tianhao's gaze sharpened with cold understanding. Being threatened with that particular name only darkened his already cold mood further.
"You genuinely believe Ye Wenjie's name can save you now?" He took another deliberate step forward, making Ye Jianping's heart jump. "I was considering showing mercy and letting you crawl away to lick your wounds—but I changed my mind. You clearly haven't been punished enough."
"W-Wait! Please! We were wrong—completely wrong! Let's talk this out—this is just an unfortunate misunderstanding!"
Su Tianhao didn't respond. He simply continued walking forward with measured, inevitable steps, closing the distance until his oppressive presence alone felt physically suffocating. Each footfall echoed like an ominous countdown in Ye Jianping's panicked ears.
"A misunderstanding?" Su Tianhao's voice emerged quiet and controlled, yet cut through the tense air like a freshly sharpened blade. "You deliberately ambushed me in an isolated alley. You attacked with clear lethal intent. You used your strongest techniques. And now you have the audacity to call it a misunderstanding?"
Ye Jianping opened his trembling mouth. No words came. His lips simply quivered.
"Tell me something honestly," Su Tianhao continued, his voice completely devoid of sympathy. "Would you be begging for mercy right now if your ambush had succeeded?"
"I—I..." Ye Jianping stammered, cold sweat streaming down his pale face.
"You wouldn't," Su Tianhao answered his own question without waiting. "You'd be laughing over my broken body while dividing my possessions between yourselves."
WHAM!
Without further warning, Su Tianhao delivered a devastating kick directly to Ye Jianping's lower abdomen—launching him airborne before he crashed violently into a pile of crumbling rubble. The sickening crack of multiple ribs echoed through the alley.
Hmph
Without verifying Ye Jianping's condition or checking whether he was still breathing, Su Tianhao simply turned and walked away with confident strides—his destination, the Su family estate and a long-awaited hot bath.
---
Several agonizing minutes later, Ye Jianping dragged his thoroughly battered body from the rubble. His face had turned deathly pale from blood loss and shock, and he immediately vomited another mouthful of blood the moment he tried to stand. With shaking hands, he retrieved a healing pill from his torn robes and swallowed it quickly, feeling the medicinal energy slowly beginning to seal his most serious injuries.
He turned his hate-filled gaze toward the direction Su Tianhao had long since disappeared.
"Su Tianhao..." he whispered hoarsely, his voice absolutely cold with burning malice. "I will make you pay dearly for this humiliation. This debt will be repaid a hundred—no, a thousand folds!"
His eyes flashed with cruel, vindictive light as a dark thought crystallized in his pain-addled mind. He limped painfully over to Gao Min's still-unconscious form, lifted his crippled companion with a grunt of effort, and quietly departed the blood-stained alley.
His lips curled into a twisted smile despite the agony each step caused.
"The Young Master would definitely be interested to hear about today's events—especially concerning someone who had so thoroughly humiliated two of his personal followers and so openly disrespected his name... Hehehe!"
The seed had been planted. Now it only needed to grow.