Chapter 9: Rage

Swipe! Tucker raised the Thunder Spirit Blade upright. The cold blade shimmered with a purple chill like a mighty purple thunder dragon coiled around it. "Good eyesight. This is the treasured heirloom of the Aotes family, the Thunder Spirit Blade!" Tucker declared proudly. "Back then, Quentin slaughtered my people just to obtain this sacred weapon. Unfortunately, he never got the chance. And now, you will die beneath it!" Weapons were also classified into ranks: ordinary, fine, superior, quasi-sacred, sacred, and the highest—king. The higher the rank, the greater the power. Blades were primary weapons, yet king-tier blades were scarce. Even sacred-tier ones are few and far between. Lanshire City had only one sacred weapon—the Thunder Spirit Blade, a lightning attribute weapon. Conner narrowed his eyes, gleaming with cold light. He possessed three attributes—earth, lightning, and wood. Before him was a sacred-tier lightning-attribute weapon. "A fine blade. I like it," Conner said with a smile. Connor's words made Tucker pause. Bailey was no match for him—her level was too low, and Tucker could kill her effortlessly with the Thunder Spirit Blade. Yet, Conner remained so calm. Could he have refined battle energy? No, impossible. Tucker had been spying on Connor and was sure he had not cultivated battle energy. He must be stalling for time, looking for a way to escape. Tucker sneered. "You like it? Too bad you won't live long enough to enjoy it." He swung the blade again. With one strike, a purple blade light spun out. Such was the advantage of a sacred weapon. It required little battle energy to unleash terrifying power. "I'll handle him." Conner gently pushed Bailey aside. She had been preparing to attack again when a powerful force suddenly pushed her away. She was sent flying five meters backward like a feather in the wind. Conner lightly sidestepped to the left. He dodged the attack. Bailey's heart pounded violently. A thought that thrilled her flashed through her mind, and her beautiful eyes locked onto Conner. Tucker also noticed something was wrong. He stomped the ground hard and shot toward Conner, swinging the Thunder Spirit Blade down with full force. "Be careful!" Bailey cried out anxiously. Conner gazed at the incoming strike. The blade's chilling aura sent shivers down his spine, but instead of fear, he felt an odd sense of appreciation. He blurted out, "This blade is mine." Tucker nearly exploded with rage at those words, swinging even harder. Conner knew this was a fight to the death, not a mere duel. The best solution was to kill the enemy in one strike. He secretly activated his Tyrant Fist and waited for the right moment. He dodged Tucker's fierce assault swiftly. Like a phantom, he weaved through Tucker's relentless attacks. If Tucker was a raging ocean, stirring up towering waves, then Conner was a small boat drifting through the storm—swaying yet never sinking. Slash! Slash! Slash! Tucker furiously slashed over a dozen times. Purple blade lights filled the air, creating a web of deadly strikes. He was now convinced that Conner had cultivated battle energy at a high level, making him attack even more viciously. His strikes grew faster and more continuous. Yet, Conner only dodged, silently evaluating the Thunder Spirit Blade. Its length, its design—everything about it satisfied him. His only complaint was the wielder wasn't him. "Thunder Surge Lightning Wave!" Growing impatient, Tucker prepared to unleash a killing move. Lanshire City belonged to the Shayle family. If he lingered too long, he risked being discovered. So, he decided to finish this battle quickly. As Tucker was about to unleash his move, Conner struck first, not giving him the chance. A powerful Tyrant Fist shot forth. Boom! A massive spectral fist appeared in midair. Faintly within the glow, the shadow of a mighty dragon king could be seen as if the fist itself was a dragon egg brimming with its power. The sudden attack left Tucker no chance to react. He had been gathering power for his killing move, but Conner's preemptive strike caught him off guard. One blow—instant death. The terrifying punch landed squarely on Tucker's chest. Pfft! His chest was blown open. A gaping hole appeared, exposing his shattered organs. Blood gushed out in torrents. Tucker's eyes widened in disbelief as he collapsed lifelessly. The Thunder Spirit Blade fell to the ground beside him. Conner stepped forward, picked up the blade, and grinned. "What a fine weapon." He flicked the blade with his finger. A crisp clang rang out, the blade vibrating, exuding a chilling air. "Conner… You… You…" Bailey was completely stunned. Conner lifted the blade toward the sky and struck a dramatic pose. "I'm an expert!" "Pfft!" Bailey was still in shock and burst into laughter. She jumped into Conner's arms, bouncing excitedly. "You refined battle energy! This is amazing!" Her body had already developed. As she hugged him, bouncing up and down, her soft curves pressed against his chest. A male reaction immediately followed. "Ahh!" Feeling something pressing against her stomach, Bailey looked down—then shrieked in embarrassment. "I'm a man, after all," Conner said awkwardly. "Pervert!" Bailey struck him and ran off. "You'll regret breaking it later!" Conner called out, holding his crotch. Bailey ran even faster, her face bright red. Conner looked at Tucker's corpse and muttered, "With all this blood and gore, I still got turned on by Bailey. Yep, I'm a real man." He took the storage ring from Tucker's hand. After forcing its lock open, he checked its contents. Several battle techniques were present, none of which interested him. He secured the Thunder Spirit Blade and turned to leave. Then, he saw a shadow dart away in the distance. Conner's chest tightened. No one could know that he had battle energy. He still hadn't figured out who poisoned Quentin. If the culprit found out, he would be in danger. He immediately gave chase. "Snow, burn Tucker's body!" he commanded. With his battle energy, Conner's speed was terrifying. Bailey had taken a shortcut earlier to get to a newly opened restaurant. It was an isolated path with few people, allowing him to pursue the figure unimpeded. He soon caught up. "Zeke!" Conner recognized the man instantly. He was Michael's lackey. Zeke saw Conner coming and ran even faster. Running away so fast meant that he had just seen Conner killing Tucker. Conner's mind stirred as he realized the key issue. If he hadn't seen it, Zeke would have thought Conner was easy to bully. Instead of running, he would have come to cause trouble for Conner. At the same time, another question surfaced in Conner's mind. The place was very secluded. Why would Zeke come here? And how was it such a coincidence that he happened to see Tucker coming to kill him? A series of thoughts flashed through Conner's mind. Over the past year, although he had been focused on intense training, he was still aware of some things happening at home. Several members of the Shayle family from his generation had been killed, and Vincent had even specially warned him not to go out recklessly. Seeing Zeke now, he noticed a pattern. The Shayle family members who had been killed all seemed to have had conflicts with Michael and Zeke. This thought emerging in his mind made Conner's killing intent surge. With a flick of his wrist, he threw out the Thunder Spirit Blade. Whoosh! The blade let out a sharp whistle as it cut through the air. Hearing the noise, the desperately fleeing Zeke turned his head to look and was so frightened that his soul nearly left his body. He immediately dodged to the left with all his strength. The Thunder Spirit Blade grazed past his left rib. A deep wound appeared, blood gushing out as the torn flesh flipped open. Zeke let out a miserable scream. In that instant, Conner leaped forward, stepping on Zeke and pinning him to the ground. "Speak. Why are you here?" Conner grabbed the Thunder Spirit Blade and held it against Zeke's neck, his voice ice-cold. The blade's chilling aura made Zeke tremble uncontrollably. "I… I…" Sweat poured down Zeke's forehead. Conner said coldly, "Did you and Michael collude with Tucker to secretly murder the Shayle family members?" "No!" Zeke screamed. Slash! With a flick of Conner's wrist, a cold gleam flashed, and a bloody wound appeared on Zeke's neck. "If you don't talk, I'll kill you right now. No one will know since I don't have battle energy. No one will suspect me," Conner said coldly. "If you tell me the truth, I might spare your life." "If I tell you, you won't kill me?" Zeke asked shakily. Conner flicked the blade in his hand, making Zeke tremble in fear. He hurriedly said, "I'll talk! I'll talk! If you don't kill me, I'll even tell you who poisoned the Sixth Elder!" The Sixth Elder was Conner's father.