Rumors

Having finally grasped the essence of Spear Technique Like a Mountain, Lin Zhen gave Zhang Guanyue ten million as promised.

In Lin Zhen's opinion, such martial arts skills could not be bought for ten million, let alone one hundred billion. This deal was too worthwhile.

Zhang Guanyue was very satisfied. With this ten million, his future life was secure, and he could live a happy and stable life.

After putting away the Black Dragon Spear, Lin Zhen said to Zhang Guanyue, "Mr. Zhang, thank you for teaching me such powerful martial arts. If you need anything in the future, you can call me. I will do my best to help."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Guanyue rejected Lin Zhen's phone number. "Lin Zhen, I appreciate your kindness, but I think it's unnecessary. I don't plan to get involved in the world of martial arts anymore. I have a girlfriend waiting for me, and now that I'm rich, I can marry her. I think we won't have any more contact."

Lin Zhen nodded. There were too many martial artists with this mentality. He could understand Zhang Guanyue very well. Not everyone yearns for the Martial Dao Peak. A peaceful and happy life is what too many people long for.

"Haha! But I'll still keep an eye on you in the future. Maybe one day you'll make something of yourself, and I can brag to my girlfriend, 'Look! This Lin Zhen, the number one martial artist in the world, even learned Spear Art from me.'"

Zhang Guanyue hesitated for a moment, then asked Lin Zhen, "Lin Zhen, are you going to the Wilderness Area during this period?"

Lin Zhen nodded. He was naturally going to the Wilderness Area, to Zhaodong, to have a good fight with Li Tianhao and his group.

Zhang Guanyue said, "I think it's best if you don't go out for the time being."

"Why?" Lin Zhen to hear Zhang Guanyue's reason.

"I have a leg ailment that makes me very sensitive to wind and snow. My legs have been hurting a lot lately. I have a feeling that there will definitely be a Blizzard soon, and it will be particularly heavy. If you go to the Wilderness Area, the roads may not be passable, and it will be difficult to come back then."

"Oh! A massive blizzard!"

Lin Zhen felt a chill, and memories slowly surfaced in her mind.

There was indeed a massive Blizzard that year, which even trapped many martial artists in the wilderness, leaving them with no chance to return to the Base City.

Now that there are very few satellites left in the Earth's orbit, weather forecasts from the Anno Domini Era are history, and weather observations can only rely on experience. The Base City did not issue a Blizzard forecast.

Lin Zhen hadn't figured out a good way to deal with Li Tianhao and his group in the wild, but the Blizzard gave him a new idea.

"Thank you, I'll be careful." Lin Zhen waved to Zhang Guanyue.

Amid Zhang Guanyue's laughter, Lin Zhen bid her farewell and left the South City District she had stayed for a week.

After leaving the house, Lin Zhen found his car in a nearby garage, got in, and took out his phone from his Space Ring.

Before leaving, he told his family and a few close friends that he would be busy all week and unable to contact them so that he could focus on practicing martial arts. He also put his phone in his Space Ring so that he would not receive any calls or messages.

After turning on my phone, I immediately received several messages.

One of the messages was from Shi Lei, saying that Zhao Liang and Meng Dong had received treatment because Lin Zhen had left them enough money for their medical expenses. He estimated that they would be able to be discharged in about half a month, so Lin Zhen didn't need to worry.

There was another message that was actually sent by Li Tianhao.

"Lin Zhen, where have you hidden, you coward? I know you're planning to hide for a month and a half, waiting for the God General Training Camp to open before coming out. But let me tell you, even if you hide, your family can't hide. I'll find a chance to deal with them sooner or later. And An Ning, An Ning will be mine sooner or later. Don't even think about it, you toad trying to eat swan meat, hahaha! If you're not happy, come find me in Zhaodong. I'll be practicing my skills right here. Do you dare?"

Upon seeing this message, Lin Zhen's expression turned cold.

Li Tianhao actually disregarded the rules among martial artists and threatened his own family. Although he hasn't carried it out yet, such words are a dangerous sign, and Lin Zhen absolutely cannot allow this to happen.

And then there's An Ning. Lin Zhen doesn't doubt An Ning's feelings for her, but what if she dies?

What if I just disappear? Who can guarantee what will happen in the future?

Li Tianhao's matter must be resolved, and Zhaodong must be visited.

Besides the messages from the two of them, there was another message from Li Qin's mother, Li Qin, who told Lin Zhen that Li Mengxi had called home looking for Lin Zhen. Li Qin even warmly invited Li Mengxi to come to their home, but Li Mengxi didn't come when she heard that Lin Zhen wasn't there.

Li Qin also left a message for Lin Zhen, asking if he and Li Mengxi were dating. If so, she should bring her back soon, as Li Qin really liked this daughter-in-law.

Lin Zhen felt a headache upon seeing the message. It was impossible for him and Li Mengxi to be together, and he didn't like her either. Moreover, he believed that Li Mengxi would never call home so rashly; there might be something going on.

But now Lin Zhen had no clue and couldn't guess what was going on. He logged into the Martial Artist Forum again to see if anything had happened recently.

After logging into the forum, he was surprised to find many posts online criticizing him.

The reason is that several posts challenging him to a duel have appeared online, and the location is Zhaodong.

The posts included those from Li Tianhao, Lao Hu from Raging Wind, Zhang Huai from the Blood Hand Squad, Ouyang Yu from Dragon Slayer, and many other unknown martial artists who challenged Lin Zhen to a duel.

Challenges between martial artists happen almost every day. As long as there is a written agreement as evidence, the fight is over and no one will interfere.

Lin Zhen is currently at the height of his popularity, First Person Warrior Level in Ice City. This title is enough to make many people envious and jealous. Some people are genuinely unconvinced by Lin Zhen and want to challenge him, which is understandable. Others are simply using this as a stepping stone to gain fame and more attention.

Lin Zhen had seen this kind of thing before in her previous life, but this was the first time it had happened to her personally.

These posts started appearing a week ago. At first, people would criticize this behavior and defend Lin Zhen. But as the days went by, Lin Zhen never responded to any of the posts or even showed up. Those who challenged Lin Zhen became as excited as if they had won the lottery, jumping around on the internet like they were on steroids, spewing endless slander against Lin Zhen.

For example, Ouyang Yu said, "Lin Zhen, you're just a poor kid from the slums. Because your family has no money, speculation has always been your forte. I've already investigated. You instantly bought the Mental Power Potion I mistakenly displayed on my stall. I originally intended to list it for one million, but I mistyped and listed it for one hundred. You bought it, and when I asked you for it back, you wouldn't give it to me. Have you never seen money before? Let me tell you, I really don't care about a few million. I'll give it to you. I'm not afraid of your reputation. I dare to challenge a despicable person like you. If you're not satisfied, let's meet in Zhaodong. Enough said, here's the picture!"

The post also included several pictures, which were screenshots of Lin Zhen's account buying potions from his stall.

Netizens' investigation confirmed that Lin Zhen did indeed buy Ouyang Yu's medicine. After all, with the current system of real-name registration, there is no one who cannot be traced.

From this point of view, many people believe that Lin Zhen has character issues and is not worthy of respect no matter how strong he is. Some people who were originally jealous of Lin Zhen have turned into Lin Haters.

Besides posts like Ouyang Yu's, some people also listed instances of Lin Zhen falsifying her graduation exam results.

There is now a consensus that Lin Zhen a Heavenly Speedster. However, investigations into Lin Zhen's punching speed and Neural Reaction when he graduated revealed a significant discrepancy between his current strength and his past performance. If Lin Zhen had revealed his Heavenly Speedster status earlier, he would probably have been sent to special training by the Martial Arts Hall long ago. But he deliberately concealed it, so there must be something fishy going on.

Some people say that Lin Zhen has ulterior motives and is very cunning, and that he would be a disaster no matter which Martial Arts Hall he stays in.

Some people say that Lin Zhen took advantage of the opportunity to fight against Russian Martial Artist to deliberately ask for exorbitant prices, and has now even obtained the right to buy and sell Ministry of Science and Technology in the Base City. This is completely using this battle to seek personal gain, disregarding the prestige of the nation and the people, lacking any sense of the big picture, and is a typical petty person.

Although Lin Zhen won the hearts of many people with his performance in the battle against the Raging Wind, he was too high-profile. As the saying goes, "The tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind," and too many people were jealous of Lin Zhen Lin Zhen and attacked him under various pretexts.

Some people say Lin Zhen is cruel. Why did he kill the Russian Trio? Isn't the purpose of martial arts competitions to make friends through martial arts? They didn't kill Fu Chengya and Shen Tuohua of Raging Wind before.

So someone else labeled Lin Zhen a Butcher.

Of course, many more people still support Lin Zhen. After all, Lin Zhen's defeat of the Russia was indeed a great relief in Ice City, Lin Zhen is quite handsome and has gained the support of many women.

Online, Lin Mi and Lin Haters are locked in a fierce war of words, exchanging insults and engaging in extremely heated arguments.

However, in the end, it was hard to refute Lin Haters's words. "You, Lin Zhen, are so powerful, then do you dare to take a trip to Zhaodong?"

So many people are challenging you, if you have the guts, stand up and do it!

Lin Mi also hoped that Lin Zhen could prove himself again and completely defeat those who looked down on him, but Lin Zhen disappeared without a trace, which disappointed some of Lin Mi.

Lin Zhen browsed through the posts and knew very well that someone was planning this, with the goal of getting Lin Zhen to go to Zhaodong as soon as possible and then keeping him there permanently so that he could never go to the God General Training Camp.

Even if Lin Zhen keeps quiet, those who support him will probably stop supporting him if they don't see him for a long time. Lin Zhen's reputation is completely ruined.

Lin Zhen logged into his account and posted a message online using his real name.

"Listen up, you who slander me, those who say I have bad character, and those who challenge me!"

"I, Lin Zhen, am neither a saint nor a great hero who serves the country and its people. I am just a pure martial artist. In this apocalyptic world where simply surviving is a luxury, I am used to speaking with force."

"It's not that I can't refute your slanderous claims against me; the evidence is full of holes. But I don't need to explain. You invited me to Zhaodong, right? Well, you can wait for me Zhaodong. I'll be there soon, and I'll teach you a lesson with my fists and my Long Spear —what the survival rules of this apocalypse are!"

"And those who say I was wrong to kill the Russia, let me ask you again? When I was falling from the sky, if I hadn't shot them, do you think I wouldn't have been torn to pieces by those three? Showing mercy is something you can only do against people with a huge difference in strength. In a duel between experts, even a little bit of hesitation can lead to defeat and death. In the final moments, Ivan was fighting me to the death, Nielov was holding my arms and ankles. Should I have used my strongest means to fight back? Is it something you want to see if I fail or die? You all remember this: if peace can be won by shaking hands and begging for mercy, then there's no need for warriors."

Lin Zhen posted this message, then turned off her phone and drove home humming a tune.

As for those who have laid a Net of Heaven and Earth for themselves in Zhaodong, let them wait and see when the Blizzard comes!