Secret Art

Dull thuds echoed continuously. The man and Xing Rui joined forces to attack Lin Zheyu, and though they held the upper hand, they could not bring him down. The fight had fallen into a stalemate. Having integrated the Ten Thousand Armies Steps into the Golden Goose Skill, Lin Zheyu's movement technique was extraordinarily nimble. Trying to rely on numerical superiority to subdue him was exceedingly difficult. At least, it was not something Xing Rui and the man could achieve together. *Now!* Lin Zheyu's eyes narrowed. The qi and blood in his right arm surged, and an immense surge of qi and blood power flooded into it, erupting in an instant. A Mountain-Shattering Palm slammed out, kicking up a terrifying gale as it whistled toward the man's back. "Not good!" Xing Rui's expression changed drastically. If this strike landed cleanly, his companion would be crippled if not killed outright, stripped of all fighting strength. *Whoosh—* He threw a fierce punch aimed straight at the back of Lin Zheyu's head, attempting to force him back. Yet Lin Zheyu paid it little heed. His palm slammed squarely into the man's back, while he swiftly raised his left arm to block. Solidly taking Xing Rui's punch, Lin Zheyu retreated rapidly to bleed off the force. Xing Rui's strikes were heavy; taking a direct hit was thoroughly unpleasant. Previously, Lin Zheyu had relied on his nimble footwork to evade and disperse the impact. Taking that clean hit left his arm slightly numb. He channeled qi and blood power into it, quickly soothing the injury. *Boom!* At the same time, Lin Zheyu's Mountain-Shattering Palm smashed into the man. Bulging muscles caved inward, cracking sounds rang out from within his body, and his entire person was sent flying. His burly body crashed to the ground with a dull thud. He spat out a mouthful of blood, but the sunken muscle on his back swelled outward again, and his pale complexion swiftly regained its ruddy color. *What kind of freak is this?* Lin Zheyu was slightly taken aback. After taking a Mountain-Shattering Palm, the man had actually restored himself to his original state. It reminded Lin Zheyu of how it felt facing beasts that had half-transformed into demons. *Is this guy a demon?* *Impossible. There isn't the slightest demonic aura on him. Although there's a mysterious energy about him, he definitely can't be a demon.* Lin Zheyu backed away swiftly, thoughts racing. He could not quite figure this man out. No wonder that when they first met, Xing Rui—the strongest among them—had not given him much of a sense of danger. Instead, this man, who appeared to be at the Second Blood Transformation, had given Lin Zheyu an inexplicable feeling of threat. "Hm?" Seeing this, Xing Rui was likewise somewhat surprised. Seeing the man unharmed, he turned his gaze back to Lin Zheyu, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint sneer. This fellow might be slippery, but after all, he was only at the Qi and Blood Four Transformations realm; he would not be able to hold out for long. With their combined strength, they would soon exhaust his qi and blood and strike him down. Had the kid's footwork not been so astonishing, Xing Rui could have finished him in a single blow using a powerful explosive supreme technique. Unfortunately, such a supreme technique was exceedingly violent and could not be executed with smooth, effortless finesse. Lin Zheyu's movement technique was too formidable; if Xing Rui unleashed that supreme art, he simply would not be able to land a hit. Lin Zheyu faced the same dilemma. He wanted to use the Mountain-Shattering Palm against Xing Rui, but he could not land a hit either. Whether in raw strength or martial experience, Xing Rui surpassed him, never offering an opening to unleash the Mountain-Shattering Palm. Only that bizarre man, though his strength had surged to the Qi and Blood Four Transformations level, fell short in martial realm and combat experience. That was how Lin Zheyu had seized the opportunity in the first place. *No more fighting. Time to withdraw!* Lin Zheyu made a split-second decision. He had originally planned to cripple the man with the Mountain-Shattering Palm first, then slowly deal with the old fellow. He had not expected the man to defy his expectations; his regenerative capability was as terrifying as a demon's. After taking a full strike from the Mountain-Shattering Palm, he acted as if nothing had happened. Lin Zheyu had no idea how many Mountain-Shattering Palms the man could take, and the aura clinging to him was cause for caution. If the fight dragged on, he felt he would gain nothing. Thus, the intent to retreat arose. Lin Zheyu wheeled around abruptly, driving the Golden Goose Skill with the qi and blood burst technique, his speed tripling in an instant. Like an artillery shell, he shot forward and vanished into the dark night. Behind him, Xing Rui watched Lin Zheyu vanish, his eyes widening. "Such... such incredible speed!" Only after a long moment did he murmur in disbelief. He could not help cursing silently. With speed like that, why bother tangling with them for so long? Was it just for fun? "Lord Deacon, can you still catch him?" Xing Rui asked, turning to the man. "No." "He is too fast; catching him would be very difficult. Besides, I cannot hold this state much longer. Even if we caught up, you wouldn't be able to do anything to him," the man said, shaking his head. The muscles across his body quickly settled, returning to their previous appearance. However, the man's face looked rather pale, and his aura weakened noticeably, dropping down to the First Blood Transformation level. He could not maintain that earlier state for long; the longer it lasted, the harsher the backlash. "Could we request the Lord Priest to intervene and deal with this person?" Xing Rui asked, reluctant to let it go. They had planned for so long, yet because of this one person, everything might fall through. The man's movement speed was astonishing. With such formidable movement arts and a supreme technique of terrifying power, if he lurked in the shadows as an assassin, no one below the Qi and Blood Four Transformations could endure even a single palm strike. "It is not suitable for the Lord Priest to act right now." "Sneaking into Songyi City to lend you a hand is already pushing our limits. Stirring up too much commotion in Songyi City would trigger unpredictable consequences," the man said, shaking his head. It was not that they did not want to; they simply dared not. Now was not the time to make their move. Until the rebel army reached Songyi City and shattered the Great Wei Dynasty's imperial fortune blanketing the city, they dared not make any major moves. They could only orchestrate minor disruptions in secret to make preparations for the rebel army's eventual arrival. Hearing this, Xing Rui's expression darkened. "I never expected the Xu clan would be able to recruit an expert of this caliber. Our plans will have to change slightly," Xing Rui said with an ashen face. Glancing in the direction Lin Zheyu had fled, he turned and left. Their plans needed adjustments. With the Xu clan enlisting such a powerful martial artist, they themselves now had to guard against enemy assassinations. ... *Swish, swish.* In the dark night, Lin Zheyu sprinted several kilometers in a straight line before finally coming to a halt and turning into a dense forest. *There was a familiar aura about that man. I feel like I've sensed it somewhere before...* *Right! It was very similar to the aura radiating from the demon god statue in Lion Valley when the refugees were praying to it!* After pondering for a while, Lin Zheyu finally understood the source of that uncanny sense of familiarity. During the intense battle earlier, he had lacked the time to think. Only now that he had stopped could he figure it out. *If that man belongs to the Nine Nether Cult, then it all makes sense.* *They seem to have a unique tracking secret art. Last time in Lion Valley, after snatching a Blood Pill, I was targeted by that black-and-red-robed figure.* *Fortunately, I didn't give him any room to breathe back then. Otherwise, if that fellow had used a strengthening secret art like tonight's man, I really might not have been able to beat him,* Lin Zheyu thought to himself. When facing that Nine Nether Cult man in the past, he had not given him any respite. Wary of poison, he had constantly watched the black-and-red-robed man's movements; whenever the man reached into his robes, Lin Zheyu had interrupted him immediately. Lin Zheyu recalled that back at his courtyard, he still kept the medicinal pills looted from that black-and-red-robed man. Among them were two varieties he had never identified. He had left them lying around without throwing them away. Perhaps one of them was the very pill tonight's man had consumed. *First, change out of these clothes, find a river to wash up, and get rid of any scent that might cling to me,* Lin Zheyu thought to himself. Rather than heading back toward his courtyard, he arrived at a patch of dense woods on the outskirts. In a corner of the woods, Lin Zheyu dug up a stash of clothing and medicinal powders from the soil. He had stashed these here in advance precisely for emergencies like this. Lin Zheyu did not know what trail the other party had used to track him, but changing clothes and eliminating any lingering odors could never hurt. Finding a secluded stream, he changed into clean clothes, dusted himself with odor-neutralizing powder, and hid in the dense woods, in no hurry to return. *Rustle, rustle...* Faint rustlings stirred through the woods. Time passed. Dawn crept across the sky, and from the distant horizon slanted a ray of golden sunlight. Day broke. *Even if the Nine Nether Cult has formidable tricks up their sleeves, after an entire night, they shouldn't be able to track me down now, right?* Lin Zheyu thought to himself. Leaping down from the tree, he flickered forward and made his way back to his courtyard. Back in his small courtyard, Lin Zheyu went on as if nothing had happened, resuming his routine of practicing martial arts and studying the Poison Canon. Meanwhile, the major families—the Xu clan, Xing clan, Zhao clan, and others—were thrown into turmoil. "Brother, who do you think stepped in to help us?" "Could it have been the deputy commander?" Xu Jingwu said, looking at the several corpses on the ground in bewilderment. Beside him stood a man of similar height, solidly built with a square jaw. The man was named Xu Yunhu, the current patriarch of the Xu clan and Xu Jingwu's older cousin. "No. The deputy commander was pinned down by Xing Boxuan; he couldn't have intervened," Xu Yunhu said, shaking his head. He was equally baffled, having no idea who had come to their aid last night. Still, no matter who it was, that person stood on their side, so there was no need to worry excessively. "Perhaps it's an expert who once owed a favor to the Xu clan. Since they don't wish to reveal themselves, there's no need for us to pry." "When the Xing and Zhao clans come, act convincing. Make it seem as though we hired this helper ourselves." "Knowing we secured an expert of this caliber, they must be panicking right now. We can seize the chance to squeeze them for concessions," Xu Yunhu said calmly. Lately, fretting over the evacuation from Songyi City had caused him to lose quite a bit of hair. Of the experts he had connections with, some could not be persuaded, others could not be found, and worse still, some demanded a price so steep that it would be cheaper to yield concessions directly to the Xing clan. He had never expected an unknown expert to appear out of nowhere last night and resolve his pressing crisis. In the afternoon. Lin Zheyu sought out Old Master Chen Peijun and broke the news of Zhao Guanbin's death the previous night. He did not claim the kill himself, mentioning only that Zhao Guanbin had been slain by an unknown expert during the clashes last night. Upon hearing the news, Old Master Chen froze for a moment, then resumed fishing as if unaffected. Yet unlike usual, he did not fish until nightfall; instead, he packed up his gear and headed home early. In the blink of an eye, two more days slipped by. The Nine Nether Cult did not come looking for him, nor did open war erupt among Songyi City's prominent clans. Lin Zheyu heard that the families seemed to have reached an agreement. What it entailed specifically, he did not know, but when he had last seen Xu Jingwu, Gang Leader Xu had looked quite pleased. Lin Zheyu's life returned to its former tranquility. Tomorrow at dawn would be the day of departure. Lin Zheyu had already packed his belongings; the courtyard left behind by Master Liang Song had been entrusted to Senior Brother Han Mo. All his silver had been exchanged for gold—a total of two hundred and seventy taels of gold, plus eighteen taels of silver and thirty-six sets of medicinal herbs. Lin Zheyu had little to carry: a few changes of clothes, his coin, medicinal herbs, and some poisons and antidotes—nothing more. The black-silver gauntlets acquired from that black-and-red-robed man of the Nine Nether Cult had previously been reforged by a craftsman from the Feihong Gang, and they now served as his weapon. Wearing the black-silver gauntlets, he would no longer have to worry about an opponent's bladed weapons in combat. After learning the Mountain-Shattering Palm, the Six Harmonies Saber Technique had become redundant to him; equipped with the black-silver gauntlets, he had discarded his former saber as well. Returning from a gathering with the brothers of the Feihong Gang, Lin Zheyu smelled heavily of alcohol, yet his eyes were crystal clear. Upon reaching the Qi and Blood Four Transformations, his physique had grown immensely powerful. Ordinary wine tasted no different from water, making it impossible to get drunk. Back in his room, he took four packets of ingredients for the Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Decoction and a wooden basin, then leapt forward and vanished into the darkness. Four days had passed since he last broke his limits. Today was once again the day to push beyond them. Lin Zheyu found a desolate wilderness. Seeing no one around, he pushed the qi and blood burst technique to its limit, shooting forward like a cannonball. His legs could withstand the unrestrained use of the qi and blood burst technique, but his palms could not—each hand could only deliver sixteen consecutive strikes of the Mountain-Shattering Palm. *Crack!* Lin Zheyu sprinted wildly through the mountain forest, terrifying power surging as his steps struck the earth with dull thuds. Under such reckless squandering, the qi and blood in his body would be completely drained in about four minutes. Five minutes later, he halted in a secluded grove, his chest heaving up and down. Having exhausted the qi and blood power in his body, he began practicing boxing in the woods. *Thud, thud, thud!* Dull impacts resounded through the air. Wild Bull Fist executed alongside the Golden Goose Skill filled the dense forest with heavy thuds. Lin Zheyu moved with fluid grace, shifting rapidly through the woods. His fists struck out again and again against tree trunks, snapping massive trees in half with each blow. As time flowed on, the momentum coalescing around him grew increasingly formidable. Lately, Lin Zheyu had focused his efforts on advancing other techniques and had neglected the cultivation of his momentum; he had felt his momentum drop considerably. This momentum had been comprehended through his martial arts, but Lin Zheyu still lacked the corresponding martial dao conviction. Without having forged a domineering conviction of invincible martial dao, any lapse in diligence would cause the hard-earned momentum to decline.