Meeting the Hall Master

Lin Zhen ducked sharply after landing the first blow. A bottle flew over his head, and without even looking back, he suddenly leaped backward.

The other side's Second Class Student hadn't expected Lin Zhen to react so quickly and collided with him head-on.

Caught off guard, he was knocked to the ground by Lin Zhen. How could Lin Zhen miss such a good opportunity? He casually grabbed a chair and swung it down just as the other man was getting up.

Crash!

The chair shattered into pieces. His opponent fell again, and Lin Zhen rushed forward with a barrage of vicious kicks, quickly beating the Second Class Student until he could no longer rise.

"Five hundred points secured!"

Lin Zhen ignored the student who had lost his fighting ability. With a single stride, he darted behind the Third Class Student fighting Zhang Yi and launched a sneak attack.

Four consecutive punches slammed into him, and the man dropped immediately.

At that moment, Meng Dong had also knocked down his opponent. Meng Dong and Zhang Yi immediately pounced on the Second Class Student fighting Zhu Haoran, both hoping to claim those five hundred points.

Lin Zhen did not join them. Instead, he swiftly approached the fight between Fu Chengya, Lei Ming, and the others. There was still one Third Class Student there.

He moved in with a sneak attack. Relying on his Neural Reaction to dodge several punches from the Third Class Student, he counterattacked several times and knocked him down. In a battle like this, Lin Zhen's Neural Reaction was utterly monstrous.

That made it two against one: Lin Zhen and Fu Chengya versus Lei Ming.

"Lin Zhen! Get lost! We don't need you here!"

Fu Chengya shouted angrily at Lin Zhen. Lin Zhen curled his lip disdainfully. Why didn't you say that when I took down that Third Class Student? Now that things are going our way, you want to keep all the credit for yourself? Dream on.

Ignoring Fu Chengya, Lin Zhen closed in at close range, his fists and kicks flashing like lightning as he launched a fierce assault on Lei Ming.

Lei Ming might have been able to hold on in a one-on-one fight against Fu Chengya, but with Lin Zhen added to the mix, he could no longer endure. Lin Zhen's reactions were too fast. His overall physical abilities had reached the peak of a Level Three Warrior, yet Lin Zhen repeatedly dodged his punches. Combined with Fu Chengya's sharp attacks, Lei Ming was immediately forced onto the defensive.

Lin Zhen is only a Second Class Student. Why does he feel so troublesome?

The instant his attention drifted, Fu Chengya's fist struck his shoulder. As he staggered backward, Lin Zhen seized the opportunity and landed three consecutive punches and a kick on his lower abdomen.

Before he could recover, Fu Chengya had already leaped into the air and landed directly in front of him, both fists hammering down fiercely. He clearly wanted to crush Lei Ming in one decisive move.

Lei Ming burned with anger. He did not know Lin Zhen, but he had long held a grudge against Fu Chengya. He would rather let Lin Zhen take advantage than lose to Fu Chengya.

Ignoring Fu Chengya's heavy punches completely, he concentrated all his strength into his elbow and drove it viciously into Fu Chengya's lower abdomen.

Bang! Bang!

Fu Chengya's fists, each carrying nearly four hundred kilograms of force, smashed repeatedly into Lei Ming's face. But before he could celebrate, unbearable pain exploded from his lower abdomen.

He had grown greedy for victory and overextended himself, allowing Lei Ming to seize the chance and end the fight with one brutal strike!

In his previous life, Fu Chengya had faced the combined attacks of Lei Ming and a Second Class Student for five minutes without losing. That showed just how important one's mindset was to a Martial Artist.

Fu Chengya instantly lost his fighting ability. His body curled up like a shrimp, his mouth hanging open without a sound as he lay on the floor and began to convulse.

Lei Ming was also badly hurt, but at least he was still standing.

But before he had time to be happy, Lin Zhen appeared behind him like a ghost. A Hand Blade struck hard against the back of his neck, and Lei Ming's body instantly went limp. Lin Zhen caught him and threw him cleanly over his shoulder onto the ground.

Lei Ming fell. The battle on the other side, where three people had surrounded one Second Class Student, also ended. Meng Dong delivered the final blow to that Second Class Student. Zhu Haoran and Zhang Yi had both suffered minor injuries, and they were incredibly frustrated.

With that, the battle was over. Meng Dong had defeated one Second Class Student and one Third Class Student, while Lin Zhen had shone even more brilliantly, taking down four Third Class Students, one Second Class Student, and Lei Ming, a First Class Student, all by himself.

Although Fu Chengya had severely injured Lei Ming, he had also been knocked down by Lei Ming and had failed to bring glory to Raging Wind Martial Hall. Clearly, he would not receive any points.

Zhao Liang came downstairs laughing heartily, looking extremely pleased.

Zhao Liang was especially delighted. Lin Zhen was talent he had personally discovered, and Lin Zhen's outstanding performance reflected well on him too. He came over and patted Lin Zhen on the shoulder. "Kid, well done! The biggest problem for most students isn't their strength, but their mindset. With how calm you were in that fight, I believe you'll stand out from this batch of students and be the first to earn the title of Martial Artist!"

Lin Zhen smiled. "Thanks for the praise, Brother Zhao."

Then he looked around at the wreckage. "Are we still drinking here?"

"Haha, we don't need to worry about this place. Dragon Slayer will compensate for everything that was damaged. You and Meng Dong come with me now. The Hall Master wants to see you two."

"The Hall Master wants to see Meng Dong and me?" Lin Zhen froze for a moment.

"That's right. I recorded the video of your fight and livestreamed it to the Hall Master right then. He told me to bring you two over first."

Lin Zhen and Meng Dong exchanged a glance, both feeling excited. It was already very late, yet the Hall Master still wanted to see them. Clearly, something good was in store.

Lao Hu was not nearly as happy. Of the three students he had discovered, First Class Student Fu Chengya had been knocked down on the spot and still had not gotten back up. Zhu Haoran and Zhang Yi were both injured as well. The three of them had not even defeated a single opponent, earning no points at all. It was a complete loss of face for him.

"You two, help Fu Chengya up and take him to the hospital. Remember to report to the Martial Hall in a couple of days."

After saying that, Lao Hu turned and left the bar.

Lin Zhen and Meng Dong followed Zhao Liang toward the exit. At that moment, a Martial Artist from Dragon Slayer Martial Hall glanced at Lin Zhen. "Kid, you did pretty well. I hope that after you take the Gene Serum and enter the Wilderness Area, you can still perform so impressively. I look forward to the day we meet in the wild."

Zhao Liang's expression changed immediately. "Zhang Huai, you've already advanced to War General. What do you mean by threatening a newcomer like this?"

"Did I threaten him? Hehe! Why don't I remember that?"

With that, Zhang Huai sneered and walked out of the bar.

Meng Dong said, "Lin Zhen, I heard that Ouyang Yu's family has a Martial Artist they're very close to named Zhang Huai. Could that be him?"

Zhao Liang said solemnly, "He is Zhang Huai, known as Butcher. I don't know whether he has anything to do with Ouyang Yu, but this man is ruthless. He advanced to War General a few days ago. It's very dangerous to be targeted by someone like him. Lin Zhen, be more careful from now on."

"Don't worry, Brother Zhao. I know what I'm doing. Let's go."

Lin Zhen glanced at Zhang Huai's retreating figure and thought, Even if you don't come looking for me, I'll come looking for you sooner or later!

He would never forget that in his previous life, after Lin Zhen became a Martial Artist, Azure Sky Martial Hall had been suppressed by Dragon Slayer at every turn. Lin Zhen himself had been humiliated many times by Zhang Huai, Ouyang Yu, and the others. Lin Zhen's father, Lin Liye, had even been secretly struck by Zhang Huai, suffering severe internal injuries that ultimately killed him.

Among the people Lin Zhen most wanted to kill in this life, Zhang Huai would absolutely rank in the top three. Ouyang Yu did not even qualify.

The group left the bar and got into Zhao Liang's Great Wall Phantom.

The car sped along, crossed the Jiang Bridge in the city, and headed straight for the Core District.

The Core District was the heart of Ice City Base City. Not only was it home to the Base City government, it was also the wealthy district and the headquarters of all the major Martial Halls.

As they passed over the Jiang Bridge, Lin Zhen looked at the surging river below, deep in thought.

In his previous life, Ice City Base City had ultimately fallen. It had happened around five years later, during a monster siege. Ice City's defenses had originally been solid, but the first problem had appeared in this great river, the Songhua River.

The river ran through the city, with water gates on both sides. Several massive iron gates weighing thousands of tons prevented any large monsters from entering. But then a kind of Strange Fish appeared—fish that could devour metal. They bit through the iron gates, allowing countless aquatic monsters to pour in and causing the fall of the Base City.

Lin Zhen did not know whether he could change that fate in this life. For now, increasing his strength was what mattered most.

Once they entered the Core District, there were far fewer people around. The car soon arrived before a grand gate.

On a twenty-meter-long marble screen wall, the words "Raging Wind Martial Hall" stood in magnificent grandeur. It was said they had been personally written by Raging Wind, Huaxia's strongest expert.

The car drove around the screen wall and stopped directly in front of the Raging Wind Martial Hall building.

"Get out. I'll let you meet our Hall Master, one of the top five experts in all of Ice City Base City—Dongfang Jun. He's a Level Seven God of War!"

Meng Dong's legs immediately went weak. After getting out of the car, he walked unsteadily behind Lin Zhen. "Lin Zhen, I'm about to meet a War God. Why do my legs feel so weak?"

"Then why don't you go back first? Give me your seven hundred points. I never think I have too many points."

"No way! I just did the math. You already have three thousand three hundred points, and you still want to steal my pitiful little share? I won't let you get away with it."

Meng Dong was no longer quite so nervous. The group entered the elevator and went straight up to the eighteenth floor, where Hall Master Dongfang Jun's room was located.