Chapter 29: Chapter 26: Earth Bear Strike Hand_1
"What do you mean by ’gone mad’? Explain things clearly."
Ma Pengxin demanded in a low voice.
"Well, this is pretty much what happened. The gang leader went mad and killed his favourite concubine, smashing her body into the wall. Then, other people also went mad, killing anyone they came across."
"Those who didn’t go crazy were scared, and wanted to flee from the fortress, but somehow, although many escaped initially, in the end, only two of us were left, most of the others died. Hurry up and leave this place, there are monsters in these mountains, there definitely are."
The two men from the Red Sleeve Army recited their tale in turns.
Ma Pengxin, Lu Yan, and the other three all wore grave expressions.
"Could these two be trying to stall us from finding the bandit’s hideout and used this as an excuse to deceive us?"
A Red-clad Guard suggested.
"It’s possible, but what if it’s true? Captain Ma, what should we do now?"
Another Red-clad Guard turned his gaze to Ma Pengxin.
Ma Pengxin also seemed a bit undecided.
Lu Yan understood what Ma Pengxin was hesitating about, said: "Captain, even if these two are lying, there are many experts among the bandits. With our current strength, even if we could find their hideout, we would still be putting ourselves in danger. Why not inform Young Master Liu? After all, us finding these two Red Sleeve soldiers is already a great achievement."
"Good, let’s do that."
Ma Pengxin nodded and made his decision, promptly escorting the two Red Sleeve soldiers towards the south.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from the west, followed by the appearance of five figures.
"It’s the Wu Family’s people."
Everyone’s faces changed.
Among them, four were dressed in the uniform of the Wind Patrol, and the other, a young man with a slightly immature face, looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. He was a legitimate member of the Wu Family.
The people from the Wu Family also saw the two Red Sleeve soldiers and quickly charged towards them.
One of the Wind Patrolmen, quick as a cheetah, led the chase, and when about a hundred meters away, he swung his hand and threw a bunch of iron pellets.
This Wind Patrolman was a Fourth Breakthrough expert. The iron pellets he threw flew like bullets, aimed at Lu Yan and the others.
Lu Yan and the others could only counter by flexing their qi-blood, either with open palms or with clenched fists.
Showing off his cultivation, Lu Yan revealed his Second Breakthrough level.
Since they had already been chosen to fight against the bandits, there was no need to hide anything. Exhibiting some of their capabilities would also facilitate their actions.
They managed to deflect out all the flying iron pellets.
"One at the Fourth Breakthrough, one at the Third Breakthrough, and three at the Second Breakthrough, we can handle them."
The people from Wu Family were full of momentum.
The Wind Patrolman, who had thrown the iron pellets earlier, was not only testing Lu Yan and the others’ cultivation level but also wanted to slow them down.
As expected, their progress was delayed by the iron pellets, and the people from Wu Family quickly approached. The leader had already reached them.
Swoosh!
He leapt high and, like a steel pillar, swung his leg downwards towards Ma Pengxin.
Apparently, this man had specialized in leg techniques.
"Quickly give the signal, alert the others."
Ma Pengxin ordered in a low voice while he threw a punch to resist, and the two began to fight.
Whistle Whistle Whistle...
A Red-clad Guard took out a whistle and started blowing, the sound like the chirping of a bird. This was Liu Family’s special signal. When something was detected, the whistle would be blown, and those nearby hearing it would rush over quickly.
Chirp Chirp...
Upon seeing Liu Family’s signal, the Wu Family’s side also started blowing whistles, the sound carrying far away.
Only the people from Liu and Wu Family could recognize this signal. To others, it just sounded like bird chirping.
"Cover them, prevent them from escaping. I will deal with these four Red-clad Guards, it’s a good chance for me to practice."
Meanwhile, the young man from the Wu Family stepped forward. His arms and palms began to swell rapidly.
In the end, his arms had thickened by a whole circle, and his palms had dramatically enlarged several times, almost like a fan.
Whoosh!
He swung one palm, creating a terrifying whooshing sound, towards the Red-clad Guard who had reached the Third Breakthrough.
The Third Breakthrough guard did not dare to underestimate him and resisted with all his might, but after the single exchange, his body shook violently and retreated more than ten steps, his hand trembling non-stop.
"A Third Breakthrough, unable to withstand a single blow."
The young man from the Wu Family smirked with satisfaction. Despite being only at the Second Breakthrough himself, he had defeated a Third Breakthrough with a single palm, which was indeed something to boast about.
Without stopping his offensive, he turned to attack another Second Breakthrough Red-clad Guard.
The Second Breakthrough guard was even more challenging to defend against, he was knocked away directly by a single palm, his arm fractured, and he coughed up blood heavily, half-dead already.
Without even looking, he threw out another palm.
This palm attack was aimed at Lu Yan.
Lu Yan stomped his foot and shifted his body a bit to the side, avoiding the young man’s palm blow.
Missing his first attack, the young man from the Wu Family’s eyes dimmed, revealing a murderous gaze, and his two enormous palms launched a chain of attacks.
His palm was knotted with muscle, intertwining like an old tangled tree. It seemed like the hand of a monster, suffocating to behold, leaving no room for Lu Yan to dodge.
Lu Yan could only meet it with a punch.
After melding into the ’Gale Hand,’ when Lu Yan threw a punch again, his fist no longer bore the black line unique to the Iron Thread Fist.
Thud! Thud!
After exchanging two blows, Lu Yan retreated five steps.
"So this is the top-notch martial art of the Wu Family, Earth Bear Strike Hand? It truly is formidable," Lu Yan silently remarked.
The Qi-blood refined by practicing top-tier martial arts was extraordinarily condensed. Ordinary Qi-blood would be easily shattered upon collision with it.
The Qi-blood cultivated through top-notch martial arts was like steel, while the Qi-blood developed through second-tier martial arts was akin to dry wood, without any comparability.
Of course, Lu Yan only exposed the ordinary Qi-blood of Second Limit Breaking, the strength of his Gale Hand hadn’t been fully displayed yet. Those five steps he had retreated were feigned.
Otherwise, just a Second Breakthrough, even if it was cultivated from a top-notch martial art, wouldn’t be able to force him back.
Seeing that only two blows had repelled Lu Yan without injuring him enraged the young man from the Wu Family.
His confidence took a hit.
He was brimming with confidence when he embarked on this journey. Aside from the direct lineage of the Liu Family, he didn’t take anyone else seriously.
A Red-clad Guard was merely trash.
But now, he couldn’t even defeat a Red-clad Guard of the same level. If word spread to the Wu Family, he would become a laughingstock.
Lu Yan had to die.
"Kill!"
The young man from the Wu Family locked onto Lu Yan and continuously swung his wide palm fan-like, striking towards Lu Yan with the intent to smash him into mincemeat.
Lu Yan fended off his attacks, continually retreating, pretending to be overwhelmed, and then turned to run.
Ahead, a Second Limit Breaking Wind Patrol blocked his path. Lu Yan knocked him away with a single punch, breaking free from the encirclement and charging towards the woods up ahead.
"Kid, don’t think about escaping! You’re as good as dead today."
Unable to kill Lu Yan after many strikes, the young man from the Wu Family had bloodshot eyes. He doggedly pursued Lu Yan.
"He really is a hot house flower, poor psyche! His mentality crumbled far too easily."
"But this kind of person is the easiest to deal with."
Lu Yan thought to himself.
"Master is taking off alone, there might be a risk. Shi Long, you chase after and assist the Master," instructed the Wind Patrol who had achieved Fourth Breakthrough.
A Wind Patrol who had gone through a Third Breakthrough immediately ran in the direction of Lu Yan and the young man from the Wu Family.
The three of them disappeared into the dense forest.
Lu Yan had run several li and the young man from the Wu Family was still persistently pursuing him. Lu Yan stopped and turned around.
"Boy, why aren’t you running anymore? Die for me!"
The young man from the Wu Family took big strides, pressing down towards Lu Yan with his palm.
Lu Yan also countered with a palm strike.
Slap!
Crack!
Upon their palms meeting, the young man from the Wu Family’s palm twisted out of shape, his bones shattered. He staggered back with a horrific scream.
"You... how did you?"
Fear filled his eyes.
Whoosh!
Lu Yan agitated his Qi-blood which flowed from the branches in his feet into the twelve major meridians, then into the branches in his palms.
With a single step, he charged forth like a gust of wind, his palm struck the young man from the Wu Family in the throat.
The young man from Wu Family’s neck bones shattered, his head almost flew off, just barely held in place by a layer of skin.
The Wind Patrol who had been pursuing them was shocked and immediately turned to run without any hesitation.
Those who’ve been hardened by a life on the rivers and lakes are obviously more experienced than a greenhorn like the young man from the Wu Family. Seeing Lu Yan kill the young man from the Wu Family with a single palm strike, he knew that Lu Yan had been playing dumb and concealing his abilities. He stood no chance against Lu Yan and escaping was the wise decision.
Unfortunately, he was not as fast as Lu Yan.
Normally, a Red-clad Guard or Wind Patrol would cultivate two martial arts.
Many of them also cultivated leg skills, but they usually focused on one while treating the other as a supplement, not deeply honed. How could they compare with Lu Yan?
Within a few breaths, he was caught. The Wind Patrol knew he couldn’t escape and turned to fight, but the outcome was inevitable. He was killed by Lu Yan with a single strike.
After searching the bodies, he only found a few ounces of fragmented silver, which deeply frustrated Lu Yan.
Obviously, going to subdue bandits in the mountains, no one would carry silver on them.
Cursing inwardly, Lu Yan put the fragmented silver into his pocket.
No matter how small a mosquito is, it’s still meat.
