Ling Tian finished browsing the night market and was walking back to his hotel when he was involved in a bizarre car accident.
A car from his rear side at high speed slammed into Ling Tian, who was by the roadside.
At the critical moment, Ling Tian used an incredibly strange movement technique, stepping over the car roof and landing steadily.
A loud bang echoed from the scene as the car's front crashed into a lamppost, its engine instantly wrecked and mangled.
Ling Tian couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. The car had been moving too fast, and it had swerved without any warning.
If it weren't for the fact that two days prior, Ling Tian had used the Soul Refining Furnace in his spiritual realm space to temper his soul, he wouldn't have had that premonition.
It was precisely this premonition that allowed Ling Tian to make a decision nearly a second in advance.
Otherwise, even with Ling Tian's movement technique, it would have been difficult to completely evade the car's impact!
Ling Tian walked forward and pulled open the car door. The moment the door opened, Ling Tian smelled the pungent odor of alcohol from the cockpit and saw a wine bottle on the passenger seat, with some dregs remaining at the bottom.
The driver was a man in his early forties, with a stubbled face and fleshy features.
The driver of the small car was utterly bewildered. His meticulously planned assassination attempt had been so casually evaded by his target!
This driver was a degenerate gambler, burdened by immense debt and constantly pursued by creditors. He had even been beaten half to death by his creditors a few days ago.
It was at this moment that someone approached him and asked him to kill someone.
It wasn't that he was asked to stab the person, but rather to orchestrate a traffic accident.
If he managed to kill the person by crashing into them, he would serve a few years in prison. However, the reward was incredibly generous: all his debts would be cleared, and upon his release from prison in a few years, he would receive another five million as compensation!
Driven by greed, the man agreed. Tonight, he had received a call from that person, instructing him to stake out near the hotel, as the target was expected to appear.
Indeed, Ling Tian was spotted by him on his way back to the hotel. The man then chugged a few mouthfuls of baijiu and drove straight towards him.
Who would have thought that Ling Tian would step on his hood and car roof, flying directly over the vehicle, leaving the bewildered driver behind!
Encountering such an incident, Ling Tian was also enraged. He walked forward and tried to open the car door, only to find it deformed and unmoving.
Ling Tian then raised his foot and kicked the car door a few times. With a surge of strength, he ripped the deformed door clean off.
Next, he stepped forward, grabbed the driver by his collar, and yanked him out of the car.
"Speak, who sent you!"
"Little brother, what are you talking about? I don't understand. Who sent me...
I just had a bit to drink tonight..." the driver argued evasively.
"Stubborn, are we? It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin!"
Ling Tian could see clearly. He could tell if someone was truly drunk or not.
Moreover, Ling Tian knew the mindset of drunkards. If they had good wine, they would have finished it all at home, so why would they be drinking while driving like this man?
Furthermore, the man's eyes darted around nervously and he avoided Ling Tian's gaze. Even without his qi-observing technique, Ling Tian could tell the man was lying!
As they spoke, several silver needles suddenly appeared in Ling Tian's hand. He moved swiftly, inserting the needles directly into the man's body.
The long silver needles were chilling to behold, with almost their entire length buried in the man's body.
More critically, after the needles pierced his body, the man felt his senses suddenly become much sharper.
During the crash, his ankle had sustained some injuries, and he had some abrasions. Initially, they were only causing a dull ache.
But after Ling Tian inserted the needles, the pain in his injured areas was amplified several times!
These needles, inserted by Ling Tian, were also known as the "Life-Reaping Needle Technique."
Originally, this needle technique was invented to amplify a patient's pain perception.
For some illnesses, patients might only feel a vague discomfort and be unable to pinpoint the exact location of the problem.
Thus, clever doctors invented this needle technique. After inserting needles into specific acupoints, the pain sensation would be magnified several times, allowing patients to easily locate the source of their ailment.
However, using this technique required extreme caution, as many of the acupoints were major ones on the body. Any slight deviation in needle insertion could result in paralysis for the patient, or even death.
For this reason, the technique had become almost lost to time, with very few doctors using it in clinical practice.
Later, however, this needle technique found its way into the imperial palace, where eunuchs used it for torture.
Once a person's pain perception was amplified several times, even the most resilient individual would likely break under torture.
Ling Tian was not a cruel or bloodthirsty person, but his fourth master had taught him that if someone wanted to kill you, you shouldn't show any womanly kindness; the best course of action was to eliminate them first!
The man attempted to resist, but before he could even raise his hand, he felt his body completely immobilized.
Ling Tian pinned him back into the seat and then pulled up his left hand.
"You... What did you do to me? Let go of me!"
"Not talking, are we? Very well, let's see how long your stubbornness lasts!"
As Ling Tian spoke, he suddenly exerted force. With a crack, the man's left pinky finger was snapped by Ling Tian.
"Ah!"
An indescribable, searing pain shot up from the man's palm, nearly causing him to faint. But before he could pass out, the pain immediately jolted him awake!
Before he could recover from this excruciating agony, with another crack, Ling Tian broke another segment of his finger.
"Ah... Oww..."
The man opened his mouth wide, the intense pain leaving him too weak to even cry out.
Just then, Ling Tian applied more force and broke yet another finger segment...
"Ah... Uh... Er... Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you everything! Stop it..."
Ling Tian watched the man's performance and let out a cold sneer.
"People are truly perverse. They won't move when you lead them, but they'll run when you push them.
If you had just told me the truth honestly, none of this would have happened.
Instead, I had to give you a good massage. Feeling good now, aren't you?"
"Please, don't say it. I'm the perverse one, I'm a terrible pervert! Please, spare me..."
"Speak, who sent you to assassinate me!"
As Ling Tian spoke, he took out his phone and turned on the camera.
"Sir... Don't film..." the man pleaded, his voice choked with tears.
"Heh, it seems you haven't had enough. Shall I break a few more fingers for you?"
"No... Please, don't!!"