Chapter 509 – A Courteous Exchange
Ye Tian looked at Huang Dingtian and said calmly, "This place is too cramped. If you really want to spar with me, let's find somewhere a bit more spacious. How about it?"
"Of course," Huang Dingtian replied with a sneer. "Pick any place you like. No matter where we go, I'm going to deal with you in the end."
"Interesting. Let's go then!"
Ye Tian then turned to Han Zhengyun and said, "We're stepping out for a bit. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
"Alright, come back early."
Han Zhengyun nodded, but in truth, she was extremely tense. As soon as Ye Tian and Huang Dingtian left, she patted her chest in relief—she had been on edge the entire time. Now that Ye Tian was gone, she didn't know whether he'd be able to return.
"Forget it. We're just two strangers crossing paths. Even if he doesn't come back, it doesn't really have anything to do with me."
She tried to comfort herself this way, thinking that if she convinced herself it didn't matter, she wouldn't worry so much. But ironically, the more she told herself not to worry, the more concerned she felt for Ye Tian.
Ye Tian and Huang Dingtian arrived at a clearing in a nearby forest.
"Hmm, this place isn't bad. What do you think?" Ye Tian asked.
"Yeah, not bad at all," Huang Dingtian said, eyeing the surroundings. "Nice mountains and rivers. Once I kill you, I'll toss your body into that ravine over there. Saves you the trouble of needing a grave."
"So you came here today for the sole purpose of killing me, huh?"
"That's right. Didn't you realize that?"
Ye Tian nodded. Of course he had realized it. But some things, if said too plainly, just lose their meaning. He smiled and replied, "I know you came to kill me. But you see, the one who ends up dead might not be me. Ever think about that?"
"Hm?"
Huang Dingtian was taken aback. At this point, he hadn't expected Ye Tian to remain so composed and calm. This made Huang Dingtian reassess him somewhat.
"You're quite the surprise, kid," he said. "Didn't think you'd be so calm in front of me, especially now. Impressive."
"Do I need your praise to be impressive?" Ye Tian said with a faint smile. "You want to know why I'm so calm? Because I'm not afraid of you. Anyone with half a brain could see that."
"You're not afraid of me?"
"Nope."
Ye Tian stared straight at him. "I know Chen Tiequan sent you to kill me. But I'm not one for needless bloodshed. So I'll give you a chance. If you kneel and beg, I'll let you go. How's that sound?"
"What? You're telling me to kneel and beg? That's unbelievably rude!"
"Do I owe you courtesy?"
Ye Tian chuckled. The idea that his would-be killer expected polite treatment was laughable. The guy was here to kill him—what right did he have to demand respect?
The weather was worsening. A light rain had started to fall. Ye Tian looked at him and said, "Let's get started."
"Fine, I won't hold back anymore."
With that, Huang Dingtian charged at Ye Tian at lightning speed.
Seeing him rush forward, Ye Tian just smiled. "Not bad."
But truthfully, he didn't take Huang Dingtian seriously at all. The man's attack? Easily handled.
Pa-ta!
Ye Tian casually waved his hand, and an invisible force pushed Huang Dingtian to the side. His attack missed entirely.
"No way… What just happened?"
Huang Dingtian was dumbfounded. He couldn't understand why his strike had missed. It seemed like Ye Tian barely moved. Yet right before he landed his blow, something strange happened—Ye Tian had only gestured with his hand, and a powerful force struck him head-on.
"What do you mean 'no way'? What are you talking about?" Ye Tian asked, amused.
Huang Dingtian demanded, "What did you just do?"
"Oh, nothing. Seems the mountain wind's picked up a bit."
"The wind, huh?"
Hearing that, Huang Dingtian hesitated, then smiled. "Yeah, that must be it. It was the mountain wind!"
Regaining his confidence, he launched another attack. But this time, Ye Tian merely blew a breath of air—and once again, a strong gust slammed into Huang Dingtian and sent him flying.
Boom!
He crashed hard into the ground again.
This time, Huang Dingtian couldn't pretend it was nothing. He stared at Ye Tian. "What did you just do, Ye Tian?"
"I didn't do anything. Did you see me do anything?"
"If you didn't do anything, how did I get thrown like that?"
"There was a gust of wind just now. And you were airborne. Don't you know why you fell?"
"Right…"
Huang Dingtian thought back. He had indeed been mid-air when the wind struck. Now that Ye Tian reminded him, he felt like he understood.
It must've been the wind. He was airborne, and a sudden gust hit at the right moment, slamming him to the ground.
Now that he thought he had it figured out, he laughed. "Didn't expect that. Heaven played a little joke on me. I didn't kill you just now because Heaven lent you a hand. But your luck won't last forever."
"Is that so?"
Ye Tian was utterly unimpressed. He could tell Huang Dingtian still wanted to kill him.
Looking at Ye Tian's cold, detached expression, Huang Dingtian said, "No one's going to help you now. If you beg for mercy, maybe I'll give you a quicker death."