Lin Zhao slowly got up and examined his injuries. His fist was injured, and the opponent was a martial artist in the Vital Blood Realm, clearly having a harder fist. Moreover, Zhao Jin's punch, with its sharp fist qi, was completely different from before, as if it had undergone Nirvana, shedding its mortal coil and being reborn.
"You wanted the sword behind me earlier."
Lin Zhao said, "So you've changed your mind now, not only wanting the sword but also wanting to kill me?"
"So what if I do?"
Zhao Jin raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Do you think I can't kill you?"
"Perhaps."
Lin Zhao untied the pheasants and rabbits from his waist, placed them aside, turned, and assumed the stance of Farmer's Three Punches. He said calmly, "I just wanted to confirm if you truly wanted to kill me. Since you want to kill me, then I can kill you with peace of mind. Even if I kill you, I will have no regrets."
"Nonsense!"
Zhao Jin was somewhat angered. "You still want to talk reason before killing someone, to figure out why you're killing them? Dawdling like a woman! For someone like you to be a martial artist is truly a disgrace to all martial artists in the world!"
Saying this, Zhao Jin adopted the stance of his Fierce Tiger Fist, and instantly, his blood surged, his true qi overflowed, and wisps of fist intent condensed into fist qi, flowing throughout his body. This was a significant characteristic of a Vital Blood Realm martial artist: their blood vessels were full, and their strength was vastly different from a first-realm martial artist.
...
"Die, you bastard!"
Zhao Jin leaped up, like a tiger pouncing, and his punch, filled with fierce qi, descended from the sky, smashing heavily towards Lin Zhao's head. This time, however, Lin Zhao was well-prepared. He sank his body, planting his lower half firmly on the ground. Then, all the fist intent in his body surged upwards, concentrating all his strength into his right fist, giving the punch the momentum to split open the heavens.
With a dull thud, employing the same rising punch technique, this time filled with fist intent, he actually matched Zhao Jin, a second-realm martial artist, blow for blow. Lin Zhao staggered back several steps, his right fist injured further, becoming a bloody mess. Zhao Jin was not faring well either; he was stunned by Lin Zhao's upward punch, his arms numb, and his internal blood flow slightly disturbed.
A first-realm martial artist could actually withstand a punch from a second-realm martial artist?
This was something Zhao Jin could not tolerate, making him feel even more humiliated. This scrawny, monkey-like youth, who had never even glanced at him properly in the back alley, why? What right did he, Lin Zhao, have in front of the Zhao family? If he wasn't kneeling and begging for mercy, what right did he have to stand on equal footing with Zhao Jin?
He hated Lin Zhao's clear eyes, hated why this young boy was secretly cared for by the neighbors, and why everyone said Lin Zhao was sensible, while everyone mentioned Zhao Jin with a knowing smile.
Why?
Zhao Jin's heart was filled with unwillingness and resentment. Today, only one of them, he or Lin Zhao, could return alive!
Twisting his body, Zhao Jin threw another punch, lunging forward. His gaze was sharp, and the Vital Blood Realm true qi of his body swirled around him. The moment the punch descended from the air, the resulting fist qi actually forced the entire patch of grass to bow.
The grass blades bowed, why shouldn't you, Lin Zhao, bow!?
...
Unfortunately, Lin Zhao stepped back half a pace with his right leg, once again assuming the stance of Farmer's Three Punches. Looking at Zhao Jin's powerful punch descending from the sky, at this moment, Lin Zhao had no further worries. All martial artists in the world cultivated true qi, and a person's life was also sustained by a breath. Since the opponent wanted to kill him, should he not fight back, but simply stand there and wait to die because the opponent's realm was higher!?
This was not Lin Zhao's style. He would not only fight back but also find a way to win!
With a muffled thunderclap, Zhao Jin's punch shattered the ground, but Lin Zhao twisted his body like a loach and escaped from his opponent's heavy blow. When Zhao Jin turned around, his face was directly struck by a punch. Right before his eyes, Lin Zhao used a stance he had never seen before, with wisps of strong wind swirling around him.
Farmer's Three Punches, the "Arrayed Horse Charging Wind" style!
This was Lin Zhao's first time using this move in a confrontation, and his opponent was Zhao Jin, whose realm was higher than his. But once the "Arrayed Horse Charging Wind" style was activated, Lin Zhao's heart became as clear as a mirror. The principle of this move was to face the enemy without fear; if the enemy was fast, one had to be faster. Each punch was like a charging horse in an array or a sail in the wind, one punch after another, continuously, releasing all of one's fist intent.
"You..."
Zhao Jin roared and suddenly punched towards Lin Zhao's face.
But this punch still missed. Lin Zhao moved like the wind and instantly appeared behind him. The second punch of the "Arrayed Horse Charging Wind" style landed heavily on Zhao Jin's lower back, followed by three more continuous punches that landed on his chest, waist, and head, each punch more powerful than the last, like a fierce storm.
"You scoundrel!"
After taking three consecutive punches to the face, Zhao Jin's face was bruised and swollen, but he was still unwilling to admit defeat. He bent his body, assumed a defensive stance, and roared, "My 'Solid Rock Style,' dare you try to break through it? I want to see how a first-realm martial artist like you can break through the defensive style of a second-realm martial artist!"
Lin Zhao remained silent, only changing his stance continuously like a fierce wind sweeping over the enemy, throwing punches from all directions. Each punch landed on the opponent's solid fist qi, directly causing his hands to tingle and his fists to feel as if they were about to split open, a bloody mess.
But Lin Zhao refused to give up, throwing punches with all his might!
It didn't matter if his fists were disabled; if he lost today, he would die here.
...
All around, fist qi raged, and clusters of shrubs were shattered and blown away. Lin Zhao's figure did not stop for a moment. Each fist print landed on Zhao Jin's surrounding fist qi, leaving streaks of blood. Yet, even so, young Lin Zhao was unwilling to stop, as if he wanted to exhaust all the true qi in his body in one go.
After a continuous hundred punches, the power of the "Arrayed Horse Charging Wind" style had greatly increased, no less than the punch of a second-realm martial artist.
It was at this moment that Zhao Jin "wuah"ed and spat out a mouthful of blood, finally reaching his limit. The fist intent and fist qi throughout his body scattered. The moment his fist qi dispersed, his face was unceremoniously struck by Lin Zhao's punch, followed by two more punches, three more punches, each one landing with a solid impact, beating Zhao Jin to the point where he didn't even have a chance to cry out for his parents.
Finally, after a heavy punch, Lin Zhao also reached his limit. After knocking Zhao Jin back with a punch, he himself fell to the ground, his body completely drained of strength.
But the matter was not over.
Lin Zhao shakily got up, picked up his woodcutter's knife from the ground, and walked step by step towards Zhao Jin.
"You..."
Zhao Jin lay on his back by a large rock, watching Lin Zhao approach step by step. But he himself could not move, so he gritted his teeth and roared, "Lin Zhao, you really dare to kill me!? If you kill me, our Zhao family will not let you go. My father... my father, and my master, will not let you go!"
"Don't worry, I won't kill you."
Lin Zhao stepped forward, his expression calm. He said, "Marshal Chu already issued a clear order in the town that the descendants of our Great Chen Dynasty must not kill each other, so I won't kill you. However... I will no longer allow you to be an obstacle to my survival."
"Then... what do you want to do!?"
"Nothing much."
Lin Zhao fiercely stepped on Zhao Jin's chest, then brought down his knife. With a "swish," Zhao Jin's right arm flew off, causing him to wail in pain.
"Stop screaming."
Lin Zhao looked at him indifferently. "If you attract wild beasts and they eat you, it won't be on my head. Today, I'm only breaking your arm. But if you still want to kill me in the future, I won't be able to heed Marshal Chu's decree."
Saying this, Lin Zhao sat down beside Zhao Jin and drank water and ate flatbread by himself. It was only after half an hour, when his strength and true qi had recovered a little, that he shouldered his bow and arrows, tied the pheasant and rabbit, and carried the wild boar on his shoulder, leaving Zhao Jin behind.
As the sky was about to darken, Zhao Jin looked at the sky, filled with pain and fear. He could only grit his teeth, tear off a strip of his clothes to bandage his wound, and then stumble down the mountain. If he didn't leave, he would truly become food for wild beasts.
...
On the mountain path, Lin Zhao limped along. He was not faring well either. The strength of a first-realm martial artist was not enough to support the fierce punches of the "Arrayed Horse Charging Wind" style. But he had managed to fight it out with sheer determination and true qi. Now, he would have to face the after-effects. At this moment, carrying the wild boar, he swayed precariously, with many internal injuries. If it weren't for his desire for the wild boar meat, he might not have been able to hold on.
Late at night, Lin Zhao finally returned to the small town. After limping home and placing the wild boar and other game, a scholar appeared at his door – Qin Suihan, the owner of the bookstore.
"Boss Qin, it's so late..." the young man said.
"Hmm."
Qin Suihan looked at his disheveled appearance and said, "Your injuries are very serious. I'm afraid there will be lingering effects. Go to Doctor Zhang's pharmacy to have him take a look."
"Yes, thank you."
Qin Suihan left. Lin Zhao limped, took the 500 copper coins left by Chu Huaixi, walked through the back street, and arrived at a pharmacy on the front street. This was the only pharmacy in the entire town, and the owner was the town's sole physician.
"Yo?"
Doctor Zhang was cracking melon seeds. Upon seeing Lin Zhao arrive, he immediately stood up. "Did you get into a fight?"
"Mm..."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Come take a look, it hurts a bit..."
Doctor Zhang examined him and smiled. "Your bones are almost cracked. It would be strange if it didn't hurt. I'll get you some medicine to apply, so you don't leave any root cause of illness. Also, Lin Zhao, have you officially started practicing your punches? If you're practicing, you'll get more injuries. Buy some healing medicine to take back, you don't have to come to me for prescriptions every day."
"Oh..."
Lin Zhao asked cautiously, "How much is it?"
"Diagnosis plus wound medicine, five hundred copper coins in total," Doctor Zhang said with a squint and a smile. "Just right, the money you're holding in your pocket is exactly this amount."
Lin Zhao was horrified. This doctor didn't seem like a good person, but as he said, all martial artists needed a large amount of healing medicine to recover from physical injuries. This money had to be spent, so he reluctantly took out the five hundred copper coins, instantly becoming penniless.
...
He returned home, applied the medicine, and groaned as he got into bed.
Lin Zhao dared not sleep. The wild boar, rabbits, and pheasants outside still needed to be processed, or they would spoil overnight. However, his eyes drooped, and as he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep, he seemed to see a fiery red qilin carrying him, galloping through the mountains, crossing mountains and lakes with ease.
"Ah?!"
When he opened his eyes, he felt his blood circulation surge, and a scorching true qi was also rushing, like a fire qilin. At the same time, the qilin fire mark on his arm actually began to fade!
Could it be that the scorching true qi within him was the power of the qilin fire mark?
The old charlatan who came to his home when he was five had said that the qilin fire mark brought both blessings and curses.
So, was this time a blessing? Or a curse?