Reckless and Unrestrained

"Heh, one of Han Mo's men? That makes this even more interesting."

"Kid, I'll give you a choice. Join my ranks and become a private soldier of the Xing Family. Are you willing?" Xing Penghai sat astride his horse, looking down at Lin Zheyu from above.

Lin Zheyu frowned slightly and pondered for a moment. "Sir, a forcibly twisted melon is never sweet. Even if I agreed, I'm afraid you still wouldn't trust me, would you?"

"Don't worry. I have my own way of making you trustworthy."

"As long as you swallow this pill, you'll become one of the Xing Family, and nothing will happen to you today." Xing Penghai took a black pill from his robes.

Clearly, the pill was most likely some kind of poison used to control people.

Lin Zheyu put on a conflicted, struggling expression while watching the activity at the city gate from the corner of his eye.

"Huff..."

"Fine. I'll join the Xing Family and serve you, sir."

After struggling for a while, he appeared to compromise.

"Haha, a wise man submits to the circumstances."

"Serve me well from now on. Once you handle things properly, I'll naturally help you un—fuck, stop him!"

Xing Penghai's smile froze as he shouted.

Bracing his left hand against the horse's back, he sprang into the air and pursued Lin Zheyu.

At the very instant Xing Penghai relaxed while speaking, Lin Zheyu spotted an opening at the city gate and found his chance to escape.

He immediately circulated the Golden Goose Skill with all his strength and shot toward the city gate.

"What speed! How could a little Bone Forging Realm brat possess such speed?!"

Xing Penghai gave chase at full speed, yet the distance between them only continued to grow.

Disbelief filled his eyes. He was a peak Viscera Refining Realm expert, yet he could not catch a mere Bone Forging Realm brat!

"Ha!"

Seeing that he could not catch up, Xing Penghai made a decisive decision. Exerting force in midair, he fiercely hurled the Battle Halberd in his hand.

Whoosh—

The Battle Halberd screamed through the air toward Lin Zheyu's back, carrying a terrifying might.

He sensed an incomparably sharp aura of danger behind him. With a light tap of his foot, he twisted sideways and narrowly evaded it.

By then, the soldiers at the city gate had reacted as well. They raised their weapons, trying to stop Lin Zheyu.

He leaped up, stomped hard on one soldier's spear, vaulted over the man's head, and rushed into the city, vanishing from sight.

"He got away!"

Xing Penghai stared darkly at Lin Zheyu's retreating figure, anger rising in his heart.

A little Bone Forging Realm brat had actually escaped from his grasp. It left an ugly look on his face.

That brat's lightness skill and movement technique were exceedingly nimble. He had clearly trained in leg techniques, and had attained considerable mastery.

"Brother!"

Xing Jinglong caught up. "Brother, he escaped. What do we do now?"

"What can we do?"

"So what if the Flying Rainbow Gang finds out we made a move? He's only a brat who joined the Flying Rainbow Gang not long ago. At worst, we compensate them with some money."

"Could Xu Jingwu really fall out with the Xing Family over a little Bone Forging Realm brat?" Xing Penghai said with a cold laugh.

Born into the Xing Family, he did not fear Xu Jingwu, the leader of the Flying Rainbow Gang.

"Still, that brat's martial talent is indeed exceptional. In such a short time, he has trained to this level. With his talent and aptitude, he may meet the requirements for Secret Medicine cultivation."

Xing Penghai pondered for a moment. "Report him when we return."

He flipped onto his horse, clamped his legs around its sides, and galloped away.

His voice drifted back from afar. "Follow me. I'll take you somewhere."

Hearing this, Xing Jinglong quickly mounted his horse and followed after him.

"So utterly unscrupulous?"

Lin Zheyu stared gravely toward the city gate.

Judging by what had just happened, if he had not immediately escaped into the city, the consequences of being caught would have been dire.

He had not expected Xing Penghai to dare make a move against him so openly. After all, the Flying Rainbow Gang stood behind him.

Fortunately, they only dared act outside the city. If they dared behave so recklessly within the city as well, it would mean that Songyi City no longer had any order, and he would have no way to remain here.

I need to improve my strength as soon as possible!

A sense of urgency rose within him.

If he had not raised the Golden Goose Skill to the third level before, entered the Viscera Refining Realm, and gained far greater stamina than before, he likely would have been finished just now.

If he swallowed that black pill, his life and death would no longer be his own to decide. He could only become someone else's lackey.

I'll have to be more careful from now on. Lie lower.

Lin Zheyu muttered to himself.

Although he had already been exceedingly cautious and had hardly revealed his strength, Xing Jinglong had still set his sights on him.

Three days later.

Early morning.

Bang, bang... Crack, crack...

In the courtyard came the sounds of Lin Zheyu making a move with all his strength, his Whip Kicks striking the wooden post.

The cold wind howled, and the weather was frigid.

Yet Lin Zheyu was drenched in sweat, the lines of his muscles perfect and smooth.

He had trained continuously for over two hours and had nearly reached his limit.

His face was flushed red, and he panted like an ox.

Another half hour later...

At the instant Lin Zheyu reached his body's limit, his Essence, Qi, and Spirit fused into one, and he entered an inexplicable state.

That state was extremely fleeting, gone in the blink of an eye.

He let out a breath and leaned against the wooden post, gasping heavily.

The muscles all over his body twitched uncontrollably, and every part of him ached intensely.

Even with several experiences of breaking through his limits, Lin Zheyu still found it incomparably difficult.

Every time he broke through his physical limits, it was a trial of both body and mind.

After resting for a while, Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his consciousness.

Eh!

Delight appeared on Lin Zheyu's face.

When he had checked earlier, his Source Power had still been 4. Now, it had actually become 6.

After breaking through his limit just now, he had gained two units of Source Power at once!

"Could it be that after my Essence, Qi, and Spirit improved, the Source Power gained each time I break through my limits also increased?" Lin Zheyu guessed.

He simply did not know whether every breakthrough would grant two units of Source Power.

Or perhaps, after consecutively breaking through his physical limits several times, the next breakthrough would grant two units of Source Power, while the previous ones had all granted only one.

Lin Zheyu felt the second possibility was more likely.

As his strength increased, the Source Power he obtained from each breakthrough was now slightly greater—perhaps 1.x each time—but it only displayed as 1, with the decimal portion not shown.

Only once the numbers after the decimal point accumulated to 1 would they appear.

But this was merely a guess. He would need to test it further later on to know for certain.

After resting for a while.

He stretched his muscles and bones for half an hour, recovering a little strength.

Then he entered the house and took out the ingredients for the Blood Enriching Bone Strengthening Soup he had purchased earlier.

After his previous consumption, only six doses of ingredients remained. Lin Zheyu had recently earned some money and bought more ingredients, leaving him with eight doses in total.

Brewing medicinal soup was meticulous work. He had to control the heat properly and simmer it for a long time to draw out all the medicinal power within the ingredients.

"These medicinal ingredients are getting more and more expensive. When will this ever end?"

Lin Zheyu muttered.

When he went to buy medicinal ingredients that morning, the price of a single dose was nearly one tael of silver higher than before.

The Shopkeeper said that there were now many bandits in the mountains. Whenever those herb-gathering farmers entered the mountains to collect herbs, they were often robbed and returned with little harvest.

The cost of medicinal ingredients had risen, so naturally the selling price had risen as well.