7: Desperate counterattack and mysterious help

With thirty gold coins in his possession, Xiao Chen pondered his next steps.

He planned to buy more blood coagulation grass and bone regeneration flower, then attempt to mass-synthesize blood coagulation powder to quickly accumulate energy and funds.

He even began to imagine if, once he had enough energy, he could replicate some more valuable low-grade mortal-tier medicinal pills, such as "qi recovery powder."

The blueprint of hope sketched in his mind allowed him to temporarily ignore his surroundings.

He habitually chose a relatively secluded path to return to the Xiao Family, which would allow him to avoid the crowds on the main market street and save some time.

However, just as he turned into an alley filled with debris and rarely frequented by people, his heart suddenly thumped, and a chill rose from behind him.

Danger!

Almost by instinct, Xiao Chen lunged forward!

"Whoosh!" A sharp gust of wind grazed his back and slammed heavily onto the ground where he had just been standing, cracking a bluestone slab.

Xiao Chen rolled to the ground in a sorry state, quickly flipping over, only to see the alley entrance blocked by three burly men with sinister grins.

The leader had a hideous Scarface, the very same Scarface who had been tailing him earlier.

The other two, one with a sharp-nosed, monkey-like face and another with a brawny physique, both had malicious looks in their eyes.

All three exuded strong Dou Qi fluctuations, indicating they were at least Fifth Stage of Dou Qi or above!

For Xiao Chen, who had no Dou Qi whatsoever, this was an absolutely insurmountable force!

"Kid, pretty quick reaction, huh!" Scarface twisted his neck, producing a cracking sound, and approached step by step, "Too bad, today you won't escape!"

Xiao Chen's heart sank to rock bottom.

He forced himself to calm down, his mind racing.

Fighting them head-on was a dead end.

Begging for mercy? They were clearly sent by Galileo and would never let him go.

Calling for help? This alley was too secluded; no one would likely hear him.

"Are you sent by Galileo?" Xiao Chen slowly retreated, trying to buy time and find an opportunity to escape.

Scarface sneered, "Kid, good that you know who you've offended!

Dare to ruin Young Master Galileo's good deeds, and you'll pay the price!

Don't worry, we won't kill you, just cripple your hands to teach you a lesson!"

Crippling his hands!

In this world, for an ordinary person without a background, it meant being completely reduced to a cripple, a fate worse than death!

A fierce glint flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes.

He absolutely refused to accept this fate!

His gaze quickly swept over the narrow alley.

High walls on both sides, impossible to climb.

A dead end behind him.

His only way out was to break through the blockade of these three men!

But how could he break through? He didn't even have the First Stage of Dou Qi!

"System! Scan their weapons and potential weaknesses!" Xiao Chen urgently called out in his mind.

This was his only reliance at the moment.

[Scan: Target 1 (Scarface)]

[Strength]: Seventh Stage of Dou Qi

[Equipment]: Refined Dagger (Mortal-tier Low-grade), Leather Bracers (Common).

[Weakness]: Old injury on left leg, slightly inconvenient movement.

[Scan: Target 2 (Sharp-nosed, monkey-faced man)]

[Strength]: Fifth Stage of Dou Qi

[Equipment]: None.

[Weakness]: Unstable lower body, shallow breathing.

[Scan: Target 3 (Burly man)]

[Strength]: Sixth Stage of Dou Qi

[Equipment]: Iron Rod (Mortal-tier Low-grade).

[Weakness]: Slow reaction.

The information flooded his mind, but it still left him in despair.

Even knowing their weaknesses, the strength gap was too vast!

It was like a rabbit knowing a tiger's old injury, yet utterly powerless to resist.

"What are you wasting words for! Attack!" The sharp-nosed, monkey-faced thug grew impatient and was the first to charge, his five fingers forming a claw, directly grabbing towards Xiao Chen's throat with a hissing sound of breaking wind.

Fast! Too fast!

The speed of a Fifth Stage of Dou Qi was simply not something Xiao Chen could keep up with!

Seeing the claw about to grasp his throat, Xiao Chen's pupils constricted sharply.

At this moment of life and death, the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything!

Almost subconsciously, he used all his strength to throw the money pouch containing thirty gold coins at the sharp-nosed, monkey-faced man's face!

"Bang!" The money pouch hit the man's face squarely, the edges of the gold coins even cutting his skin.

Caught off guard, the sharp-nosed, monkey-faced man let out a cry of pain, and his movements faltered.

Now!

Xiao Chen didn't choose to run, because the other two had already blocked his escape.

He made an extremely bold decision—to counterattack!

He suddenly bent down and charged forward, not attacking the upper body, but pouncing like a leopard towards the sharp-nosed, monkey-faced man's lower body!

The weakness indicated by the system: unstable lower body!

"Seeking death!" Although the sharp-nosed, monkey-faced man was stunned by the impact, his battle instincts were still present.

Seeing Xiao Chen dare to charge him, he roared in anger and kicked out!

However, Xiao Chen's charge was just a feint!

The moment the opponent lifted his leg, his body strangely slid to the side, and at the same time, his right hand shot out like lightning, not to attack, but to fiercely grab the ankle of the opponent's other supporting leg!

That was one of the most crucial points for human balance!

"Ah!" The sharp-nosed, monkey-faced man felt a sharp pain in his ankle, his center of gravity instantly lost, and with a "thud," he was actually pulled down by Xiao Chen, who had no Dou Qi, falling face-first!

All of this happened in a flash!

Scarface and the burly man were stunned.

They hadn't expected this kid, who had no Dou Qi, not only to not run but to dare to counterattack, and even use a money pouch and strange footwork to take down a Fifth Stage of Dou Qi!

"Damn it! Useless!" Scarface reacted, enraged, and his short dagger flashed out of its sheath, glinting coldly, stabbing directly at Xiao Chen's back!

This strike was both fast and vicious, clearly driven by genuine fury, aiming to kill!

The burly man also roared, swinging his iron rod towards Xiao Chen's head!

Pincer attack!

Nowhere to hide!

Xiao Chen had just taken down one person; his old strength was depleted, and new strength had not yet emerged, so he had no time to dodge.

Seeing the blade and rod about to hit him, a trace of despair and unwillingness flashed in his eyes!

Was he going to die here?

He had just seen hope... Just at this critical moment!

A sudden change occurred!

"Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Two almost inaudible sounds of air being torn apart rang out.

Immediately after, Scarface and the burly man, who were charging towards Xiao Chen, suddenly stiffened, as if under a paralysis spell, remaining frozen in their charging postures.

On their foreheads, a small red dot appeared on each, and a trickle of fresh blood slowly oozed out.

Their eyes instantly lost focus, filled with incredible terror, and then with two "thuds," they fell straight down, completely lifeless!

Instant kill!

The sharp-nosed, monkey-faced man, who had just managed to scramble up, saw this bizarre and terrifying scene and was scared out of his wits, his pants instantly wet.

He let out a strange cry and scrambled to run out of the alley.

However, he had only run two steps when another sound of air being torn apart rang out.

"Swoosh!"

A red dot also appeared on the back of the sharp-nosed, monkey-faced man's head, and his body went limp, collapsing to the ground, following in the footsteps of his companions.

In a flash, three villains, all at least Fifth Stage of Dou Qi, were dead!

Xiao Chen slumped to the ground, gasping for breath, cold sweat soaking his back.

In that moment, he truly thought he was dead.

He looked up, towards the depths of the alley.

There, at some point, a figure shrouded in a large Black-Robed Figure had appeared.

It was him again! The mysterious Black-Robed Figure!

The Black-Robed Figure slowly approached, his footsteps silent, like a ghost.

He didn't even glance at the three corpses on the ground, walking directly to Xiao Chen, his deep eyes under the hood calmly observing Xiao Chen.

"Your reaction is passable, and your courage is good, but unfortunately... your strength is too weak," a hoarse voice said, betraying no emotion.

Xiao Chen struggled to his feet and bowed deeply to the Black-Robed Figure: "Thank you, senior, for saving my life!"

This time, it was truly a life-saving grace.

If not for the Black-Robed Figure's intervention, he would have been a corpse by now.

The Black-Robed Figure nodded slightly, accepting his gratitude.

His gaze fell on Xiao Chen, seemingly able to penetrate his clothes and see his heart, which was pounding wildly from the near-death experience.

"You seem... to be in great need of power?" the Black-Robed Figure suddenly asked.

Xiao Chen's heart trembled.

He looked up, meeting those eyes that seemed to see through people's hearts, and without evasion, he said frankly: "Yes! Senior, I need power! In this world, without power, one doesn't even have the right to live!"

His tone was firm, carrying a strong desire to become stronger.

The Black-Robed Figure was silent for a moment, then his hoarse voice spoke again: "Power is not achieved overnight.

You have some interesting things about you, but it's far from enough.

Live well, little one, perhaps... we will meet again."

After speaking, the Black-Robed Figure said no more, his figure retreating like a phantom, merging into the shadows of the alley, and disappearing as if he had never appeared.

In the alley, only Xiao Chen remained, along with three gradually chilling corpses.

The last rays of the setting sun shone through the alley entrance, casting a long shadow of him.

A faint smell of blood permeated the air.

Xiao Chen stood rooted to the spot for a long time.

The Black-Robed Figure's words echoed in his mind.

"You have some interesting things about you..." Was he referring to the system?

How much did he really know?

"Live well... perhaps we will meet again..." This sounded like a warning, and also a kind of... expectation?

This mysterious Black-Robed Figure appeared by his side again and again, saving him from danger, yet always remaining elusive.

What exactly was his purpose?

Xiao Chen couldn't figure it out, but he knew one thing: the Black-Robed Figure was right, he was too weak!

So weak that he couldn't even protect himself!

If not for the Black-Robed Figure's timely appearance today, he would have been dead!

This feeling of entrusting his fate to someone else's accidental rescue was terrible!

He walked to Scarface's corpse, squatted down, and suppressing his nausea, began to search.

Soon, he found a money pouch containing quite a few gold coins, as well as the low-grade mortal-tier dagger, and some miscellaneous items.

He then searched the other two corpses, acquiring some silver coins and the iron rod.

He put away the valuable items, especially the dagger and the iron rod, which the system Scan showed were low-grade mortal-tier and contained energy, allowing them to be recycled.

He didn't leave immediately, but looked at the three corpses, his brow deeply furrowed.

The people sent by Galileo had died here; the Jia Lie Family would definitely not let it go.

He had to clean up thoroughly, leaving no traces.

He suppressed his discomfort and dragged the three corpses to the deepest part of the alley, behind a pile of broken junk, covering them with debris.

Although it couldn't completely conceal them, it could at least delay the time of discovery.

By the time all this was done, dusk had already fallen.

Xiao Chen didn't dare to linger and quickly left the blood-soaked alley.

When he returned to the Xiao Family courtyard, his face was still a bit pale.

Xiao Yan seemed to still be cultivating, unaware of his abnormality.

Xiao Chen returned to his small room, closed the door tightly, and slowly slid down to the floor, leaning against the door.

Everything that happened today was like a nightmare.

The shadow of death had been so close.

He raised his hand, looking at his slightly trembling fingertips.

Lack of power was the original sin.

"System..." He whispered, and the simple interface appeared in his mind.

Energy Pool: 0.8 / 10000.

Replication function unlocked.

Hope remained, but the path was destined to be fraught with thorns.

He placed the dagger and iron rod he had acquired today in front of him.

"System, recycle the refined dagger!"

[Ding! Recycling successful, gained 3 units of energy!]

[Current energy: 3.8 / 10000!]

"System, recycle the iron rod!"

[Ding! Recycling successful, gained 2 units of energy!]

[Current energy: 5.8 / 10000!]

Adding the thirty gold coins he got from selling blood coagulation powder (which he carefully kept) and the dozens of gold and silver coins he scavenged from the corpses, he finally had a little capital.

But more importantly, after experiencing a life-and-death trial, his mentality had transformed.

His previous caution and calculation were now tinged with ruthlessness and decisiveness.

In this world where the strong prey on the weak, if he wanted to survive and become stronger, he couldn't show the slightest weakness!

He looked out at the dark night sky, cold flames burning in his eyes.

Galileo... Jia Lie Family... This grudge, he would remember!

And that mysterious Black-Robed Figure... Whatever your purpose, one day, I will possess enough power to face you directly!

Become stronger! Become stronger at all costs!

The path of replicating all things would be paved with blood and thorns.

And Xiao Chen was ready to embark on this journey.