Just now, Jin sent a small concentrated burst of spiritual essence into Bulldog's arm before sending him flying back.

Typically, using spiritual essence in this manner was relatively harmless; however, injecting such highly concentrated spiritual essence into someone who was not a cultivator would cause it to act as an acidic poison.

So much so that Bulldog's entire arm was instantly dissolved up to his shoulder before he even realized that it was missing!

Suddenly, a rush of footsteps could be heard coming from upstairs.

The other members of the Mad Dogs came out to see what all the commotion was about.

At first, they thought that it was just everyone being rowdy on the first floor. But, after feeling the second floor shake as a result of Bulldog crashing through the back wall, they were afraid that the run-down orphanage was about to collapse!

However, none of them were prepared for the spectacle that unfolded on the first floor.

"Look, over there! Skullz and Boulder—didn't the boss send those two on lookout duty? What the hell happened to them?" One of the Mad Dogs on the second floor, He Chang, commented.

"Damn, what's going on? Two of our guys are out! Wait, is that someone under that pile of junk? Are we under attack? Hey! Get out here now!" Another member of the Mad Dogs, Meng Wu, shouted as the remaining men hurried out of the rooms on the second floor.

Meng Wu was Bloodhound's right-hand man and acted as second in command of the Mad Dogs. He was the brains of the operation and managed the gang's inner workings.

"Huh? Who the hell is that kid at the door?" Meng Wu questioned with a frown as his eyes landed on Jin.

"Dunno, but I don't see anyone else with him." He Chang stated.

"Just him? If he really did take out Skullz and Boulder by himself, then he's one tough bastard. Still, it might be a setup. He Chang, take a couple of the boys outside and make sure there's no one else. If that guy did come here alone, he's either brave or stupid. Either way, we have to take care of him before the boss loses his temper." Meng Wu said as he released a troubled sigh.

Out of all the Mad Dogs present, Meng Wu knew Bloodhound the longest. If there was one thing he learned to avoid in that time, it was an out-of-control Bloodhound. Once that happened, even the Mad Dogs would not be safe from his wrath!

"Shepard, Dane, you two are with me." He Chang said as two of the Mad Dogs followed him downstairs.

"The rest of you stay here for now. If it is an ambush, we don't want to show all our cards just y-" Meng Wu was speaking until he was abruptly interrupted by an unexpected outburst.

"Where'd he go?! Find him!" Spike shouted as he finally snapped out of it.

Spike's words caused the other Mad Dogs around him to awaken from their daze, and it did not take long for them to notice that something was amiss.

The guy who busted in unannounced had disappeared!

How did he manage to escape their encirclement when there was nowhere for him to run?!

But, Spike and the Mad Dogs did not have to look far.

Jin, who had just been at the entrance, was now next to Qiao Xiaoqing!

However, just as the Mad Dogs were getting ready to rush over, they stopped in their tracks.

"T-this is bad..." Spike muttered as he furrowed his brows.

"Damn, I'm too late...!" Meng Wu quietly cursed under his breath.

Jin calmly placed two fingers on Qiao Xiaoqing's wrist as he circulated his spiritual essence throughout her body. Then, a few moments later, he inwardly released a sigh of relief.

'There's still a pulse, but her breathing is faint. If this continued any longer, then...'

Jin succeeded in stabilizing Qiao Xiaoqing's condition; however, it was only a temporary fix. She was still in bad shape and required proper care.

'My spiritual essence is too low to heal her more severe wounds unless it's with the use of my soul. Since I've already split my soul, it's too risky, but, with this much, her life is not in any immediate danger.'

Jin was glad that he followed his gut feeling and decided to pay a personal visit to the orphanage after discovering that Qiao Xiaoqing logged out without warning.

Nevertheless, Jin partly blamed himself for Qiao Xiaoqing's current state. He was aware that Wendell would make a move against her; however, since Wendell still needed her to cooperate to achieve his goals, he would not go too far—at least, this was what Jin initially believed.

From the moment Jin chose to take Qiao Xiaoqing under his wing, she was one of his people. In other words, she was under his protection. Lifting a hand against her was the same as lifting a hand against him. Wronging her was the same as wronging him!

Jin slowly stood up straight. His usual carefree expression was nowhere to be found.

"Hey... Do ya wanna die?" A cold voice sounded from in front of Jin that belonged to none other than Bloodhound.

At the moment, multiple veins were protruding from Bloodhound's forehead and neck that seemed ready to burst at any given second—he was furious!

Not only did Jin spoil his game, but he even had the audacity to completely disregard him!

When was the last time anyone dared ignore him, Bloodhound, the vicious leader of the Mad Dogs?!

Jin remained silent to Bloodhound's taunt.

However, Jin's silence served only to further infuriate Bloodhound.

"What? Are ya her boyfriend or somethin'? Well, ya probably ain't gonna want her anymore seeing how she looks now, huh? I gotta tell ya; she was damn fun. You should've seen her squirmin' when I-"

"Was it you?" Jin asked as he cut off Bloodhound.

"Yeah, I did it. And, what are you gonna do about it?" Bloodhound mocked as he held up the switchblade in his hands menacingly.

There were no signs of hesitation or remorse in his words. In fact, there was even a sense of pride he seemed to hold for his "work".

"I just wanted to be sure," Jin replied.

"Hah? If you think I'll be as easy to take down as those weaklings, you're dreaming b-"

Before Bloodhound could react, Jin's fist smashed into his face, caving it in and disfiguring his nose.

Then, in the same motion, Jin's hand covered Bloodhound's mouth and gripped his jaw.

"?!" Bloodhound tried to cry out from the pain, but nothing could escape his mouth, and regardless of how much he struggled, Bloodhound was unable to break free from Jin's grasp.

Woosh!

Bloodhound mercilessly swung the switchblade in his hand and aimed at the side of Jin's torso!

Snap!

Upon making contact with Jin, instead of cutting through his skin, the switchblade actually snapped in half!

When he saw this, Bloodhound's eyes widened in disbelief. He began to panic as he felt the grip around his jaw slowly tightening with every passing moment.

Bloodhound sneakily reached his hand into his back pocket. When he pulled it out, there was a set of brass knuckles wrapped around his fingers.

Without hesitation, he launched an uppercut directed at Jin's chin!

Bang! Crrrrck!

"Mmmph!!!!!"

A muffled cry of pain came from Bloodhound as all the bones in his hands shattered. Just now, he felt like he punched a block of solid steel!

With only one good hand remaining, Bloodhound grabbed ahold of Jin's wrist and tried to forcibly remove Jin's hand from his jaw. However, it wouldn't budge!

Jin's grip proceeded to tighten at what could only be described as an agonizingly slow rate. Then, finally, he gradually lifted Bloodhound off his feet by his jaw.

To Bloodhound, one second resembled an eternity! He attempted to gasp for air as he had trouble catching his breath. At the same time, the disturbing sound of bones slowly being crushed filled the silent first floor.

Bloodhound's legs flailed about as tears ran down his face, and his eyes started to roll to the back.

Meng Wu, He Chang, Spike, and every last one of the Mad Dogs was frozen in fear as they looked on in horror and trembled.

Bloodhound, their ruthless leader whose name alone struck fear into the hearts of others, that same Bloodhound, was helplessly in tears!

"H-h... Help the boss... Help the boss! What the hell are you all waiting for?!?!" Meng Wu shouted at the top of his lungs.

However, no one moved. But, more importantly, he was too late.

Bloodhound's movements ceased as his limbs went limp, and a stomach-wrenching crushing sound entered the ears of those present.

Just like that, the infamous leader of the Mad Dogs, Bloodhound... was dead!