Chapter 173 Tyrant Mu Shi

"O-one Gold per ding?"

Elder Xiao stuttered, unable to believe his ears. The old man did not have the guts to rebuke a scion of the Mu Family even after hearing his unreasonable demand.

As the Elder of a family hailing from Tier 2 city, Elder Xiao knew just how powerful was the Mu Family. They had four Chakra Sages in their ranks and their ancestral guardian was a Seven Chakra Sage!

He would not be so worried if it was just about the power they possessed.

The Mu family was also known for its militancy. They had previous records of uprooting the entire clans and families of people who had offended them.

If they wished, they could extinguish the Xiao Family with a flick of their fingers.

Knowing this, how could Elder Xiao get angry with Mu Shi?

Still, he could not afford a loss of nearly Twenty-one thousand gold coins as well. That was the quarterly income of the Xiao Family!

He could accept it if that amount was spent in exchange for a Golden Bell Fruit. It meant he had a chance to break through. However, if he took such a big loss for nothing, he would have no standing left in the Family.

"Path Finder Mu… your offer… Isn't it a bit too low?"

Elder Xiao asked with a quivering voice. He looked ready to wet his pants if Mu Shi so much as raised his eyebrows.

The tyrant in Mu Shi took pleasure in seeing the old man shiver and await his judgment. His smile widened and he slowly uttered the words that shook the ground beneath the old man's feet.

"The offer is now one silver per ding."

The old man's legs trembled and he collapsed where he stood. He looked at the other powers for help but no one stood out to help him. His hope was in vain.

With resignation, the old man handed over the bag in his hands to one of the Mu Shi's lackeys.

"Here," the lackey spoke, tossing 10 gold coins at the old man,"You can keep the change." The people behind Mu Shi cackled at the joke.

Ikasa looked at the exchange and shook his head. The bag should've been his but now it ended up in Mu Shi's hands.

He looked at the old fool on the ground and cursed in his heart, 'You should've taken my offer. At the least you would not have suffered such humiliation…'

To avoid this exact same situation, Ikasa had offered the highest price possible to the Old Man. And yet that old man had become greedy and dawdled until a much more powerful group snatched the goods in his hands.

The atmosphere had become tense after this exchange. All the powers warily glanced at Mu Shi and his band of hyenas. Those from the Su family even joined Mu Shi's ranks.

Ikasa looked at the two reddish pink figures standing beside Mu Shi. They were responsible for inciting the Path Finder.

Emboldened by his success, Mu Shi turned his gaze towards the other powers. Most of them had hidden their ores in the Spatial Storages. Then his eyes rested on Ikasa.

The vixen beside him, Su Zhi, whispered something in his ears. Ikasa suddenly had a bad premonition. He was planning to sneak away when he heard Mu Shi directly address him.

"Who is Ikasa? Path Finder Zhen Ya's lover?"

Hearing the question, Ikasa narrowed his eyes at Su Zhi.

'This vixen is responsible for those rumors!'

He realized. Though he controlled his facial expressions, his energy signature responded to his anger. It flared up before he could bring it under control.

Mu Shi quickly located Ikasa whose white energy shone brightly for a moment. The angry Path Finder walked at a sedate pace and stopped before Ikasa.

"So you are that bastard?"

Mu Shi spoke, coming uncomfortably close to his face. Ikasa could feel the warm breath he exhaled on his face.

Mu Shi was the last person he wanted to fight. Not only was he himself powerful, he had the Mu family backing him. Even the Zhen Family could not do anything if Mu Shi laid a hand on him.

So, he took a step back and tried to clear the misunderstanding with words.

"Hahaha! Path Finder Mu, why would Path Finder Zhen take a liking to a measly Sense Trainer like me? Only a prestigious Path Finder like you would make a good match with her."

Ikasa flattered, trying to ease the tension. Unfortunately, his appeasement did not work.

Mu Shi grabbed him by the neck and pulled him closer.

"Then why do I hear the rumors about you and her? Why are you so close to her?"

Ikasa looked down at the hand grabbing his collar and then at Mu Shi. He was getting angrier by the second. However, he still had hopes to resolve this situation peacefully.

He was caught in a conundrum, 'To retaliate or to endure?'

Then he heard the whispers of those watching the scene.

"How dare a lowly Sense Trainer eye Path Finder Mu's woman?"

"However, they are mere rumors…."

"Does not matter. Remember when Path Finder Mu killed that merchant just because he praised Zhen Ya's beauty?"

"Yes, Path Finder Mu does not spare anyone who is associated with the girl he had set his sights on."

"What's more there are rumors of Ikasa and Path Finder Zhen being lovers. His fate is sealed."

As he heard the whispers, he also noticed the energy around Path Finder Mu increase and put more pressure on him.

'This mofo is not attacking simply because he wants to make an example out of me!'

Ikasa realized that the mad dog before him cannot be convinced with words. Mu Shi was talking just to humiliate him and to enjoy his fears.

'Should I endure? I don't want to make an enemy out of Mu Family and certainly don't want to fight him in front of so many people.'

Then he heard cultivators from Mu Shi's camp cackle.

"Tsk! Pitiful bastard. He will die for sure now."

"He stands no chance against a Chakra Sensing Expert like…."

Ikasa also saw energy gather in the right fist of Path Finder Mu. Combined with the whispers of the crowd, his dilemma was resolved.

'There is no other option but to fight.'

Ikasa sucked in a large gulp of air before his knee moved upwards and connected with Path Finder Mu's groin.

"Hup!"

As soon as the Nutcracker Kick hit its mark, the Path Finder covered his crotch and fell to the ground on his knees. His balls had jumped to his throat with this one attack.

The pain from having his most sensitive place hit dispersed the energy gathered at his fist and also disturbed his mind.

Ikasa knew it was not the time to fight fairly when his life was on the line. He took advantage of the precious few moments his surprise attack had bought him.

Without wasting time, Ikasa executed Ax kick, aiming at the kneeling enemy's head.

Thud!

The heel of Ikasa's foot landed on Mu Shi's skull with a strong force. The brilliant white light shrouding his foot collided against the green energy of Mu Shi and chopped it apart.

The impact was so powerful that the skull of the strongest person present in Rift could not bear the force and cracked.

The fight progressed so quickly that the people watching couldn't even react in time. The ones who were most shocked were the people from Mu Shi's camp.

A minute ago they were chatting about how miserable Ikasa would be. And now…

"He stands no chance against a Chakra Sensing Expert like…. Mu Shi…"

Before the guy could finish his sentence, the person he was bragging about was lying on the ground, half-dead and incapacitated.

A few breaths passed in silence and then people from all power broke out of stupor. The fight caused them to go wide eyed.

They could not fathom how a Sense Trainer would dare to attack a Path Finder and win so cleanly!

"He… He really attacked Mu Shi!"

"And he won! A Sense Trainer won against a Path Finder!"

"He is done for! Mu Shi will not spare him once he recovers."

While the others were marveling at Ikasa's guts and his strength, Su Zhi became flustered. She had orchestrated this entire conflict just so she could claim the share of Prime Gold Ore Ikasa had pocketed.

However, tables had turned on her. She yelled at the stupefied followers of Mu Shi.

"What are you doing? He will kill Master Mu at this rate! Hurry up and save him!"

Ikasa looked at the mob charging at him and pinched his nose bridge. He really did not like killing but idiots like Mu Shi left him with no choice.

Without caring about the few Sense Trainers charging at him, Ikasa took out his Serrated Sun Disc. He put the index finger in the hole in the center and slashed the throat of Mu Shi with one quick motion, beheading him.

"NOOO!"

Ikasa heard a horrified shout of Su Zhi who had just lost her biggest backer.

Other powers also came to their senses when they saw the green energy signature of Mu Shi becoming dimmer and dimmer.

They were shocked out of their mind upon realizing what it meant-

The Sense Trainer before them was crazy enough to kill a scion of the Mu Family!!