The Might of the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms

When Zhang Zhantian arrived in the courtyard, he saw Lin Xiao and the other two surrounded in the middle.

When he focused and saw his son Zhang Hua being held in Xue Shan's grip, his expression immediately turned cold.

"Who are you people? How dare you seize my, Zhang Zhantian's, son? Are you tired of living?"

Lin Xiao paid no attention whatsoever to the minor fry of the Zhang Family around them. Instead, his gaze fell upon Zhang Zhantian as he emerged.

This man possessed a deep, formidable aura. Merely standing there gave one the impression of a mountain's steady immovability.

At a single glance, Lin Xiao could tell that he was far stronger than Qiu Li, the Iron Palm Gang's leader.

Of course, that was all.

Whether he was stronger or weaker than Qiu Li, he posed no great threat to him.

Perhaps he could not claim with absolute certainty that he could defeat a high-grade Grandmaster, but below the fifth rank of Grandmaster, no one could overcome him. Such was Lin Xiao's confidence.

It was because he possessed three peerless divine arts. Even Grandmaster experts from those transcendent forces of the martial world would find it exceedingly difficult to defeat him, so long as their cultivation realm did not surpass his by too much.

Much less in a place as backward in martial arts as Stability Prefecture.

Of course, even against experts above the fifth rank of Grandmaster, he had no fear. If it truly came down to a fight to the death, it was still uncertain who would be the fallen deer.

"What is there to stop me from capturing your, Zhang Zhantian's, son? Forget your son—even you, the father, will be taken by this official today."

After Lin Xiao finished speaking, Zhang Zhantian finally began to scrutinize him closely.

He then frowned. "Such brazen words. In all of Stability Prefecture, very few dare speak to me, Zhang Zhantian, like this. May I ask who Your Excellency is?"

"Lin Xiao."

Lin Xiao calmly uttered those two words.

Upon hearing Lin Xiao's name, Zhang Zhantian could not help but sneer. "So it's you—the newly arrived Jinyiwei Banner Officer."

"I've heard of you. You've been making quite a name for yourself these past two days. But coming to provoke me, Zhang Zhantian, today is the gravest mistake you could have made. How could Qiu Li possibly compare to me?"

"Since you laid hands on my son, leave your life behind."

With those words, Zhang Zhantian moved. In a single step, he crossed several zhang, throwing a punch that tore the air apart with its terrifying fist wind.

Zhang Zhantian truly had grounds for his confidence. That punch alone was something Qiu Li could never match.

If Qiu Li had been standing in Lin Xiao's place, he would likely have needed his full strength to receive Zhang Zhantian's punch.

Yet Lin Xiao neither dodged nor retreated. He too raised an arm and struck out with his palm.

Roar!!!

In an instant, the cry of a dragon resounded throughout the entire Zhang Family estate.

At that moment, an incomparably domineering aura enveloped Lin Xiao. His palm collided solidly with Zhang Zhantian's fist.

Bang!!!

Their force exploded and scattered.

Lin Xiao's body swayed slightly, while Zhang Zhantian flipped through the air before barely managing to bleed off the onrushing force.

But Zhang Zhantian reacted with astonishing speed. The moment he steadied himself, he gave a low shout. His figure seemed to shift positions in an instant as he charged at Lin Xiao once more.

A punch blasted forth, shattering the currents of air.

Rumble!!!

The space between Zhang Zhantian and Lin Xiao seemed to collapse. Fractured air currents were swept up in Zhang Zhantian's fist and hurled toward Lin Xiao.

That punch was incomparably fierce, like a roaring tidal wave or an erupting volcano.

It was the first time since Lin Xiao had entered the martial world that he had encountered such savage and sharp fist techniques.

He could not help but smile in praise. "What domineering fist techniques. With internal force this refined, you are among the rare few within the same realm."

That single punch made Lin Xiao view Zhang Zhantian more highly. Had anyone else of the same Grandmaster realm faced that attack today, they would likely have found it difficult to retreat from before Zhang Zhantian unscathed.

In truth, Zhang Zhantian had not cultivated any profound technique. He himself had merely been an ordinary man without any background.

Yet his will was far beyond that of ordinary people. As a child, he had stumbled upon a cultivation method for a third-rate external art.

Thus, he took his first step into the world of martial arts.

For ten years as though they were a single day, he cultivated that external art. Relying on his extraordinary willpower, he had truly managed to make something of it.

That third-rate external art was called Raging Bull Force.

Its main purpose was to train one's strength.

Zhang Zhantian began by running with weights, and eventually progressed to lifting stone lions. Whenever his strength increased by even a little, he would add a little more weight to his body.

Then, in his forties, inspiration suddenly struck him. In a single breakthrough, he entered the Grandmaster realm, gaining a measure of renown in Stability Prefecture's martial world.

With strength came, naturally, marriage and children. A wealthy young lady bore him a son, but died due to complications in childbirth.

His body had also been damaged by his harsh training and martial arts, leaving him unable to have any more children. With Zhang Hua as his only son, he doted on him beyond measure.

Later, after Zhang Hua squandered the wealthy young lady's family fortune, Zhang Zhantian set his sights on the Su Family Merchant Guild.

With a few small tricks, he drew Su Cheng's attention and became the Su Family's resident martial artist ten years ago.

Of course, with Zhang Zhantian's strength, it was not impossible for him to seize the Su Family's properties by force. But the Su Family had operated in Dingzhou City for many years. If they truly fought to the death, the Su Family could empty all its wealth to hire outside help, and that would cause him no small amount of trouble.

Moreover, he would not gain much from the Su Family's assets anyway, so he could only proceed gradually.

Breaking through to the Grandmaster realm was not Zhang Zhantian's ultimate goal. His ambitions ran deep.

Having climbed step by step from an ordinary man to his present heights, he naturally wanted to grow even stronger.

But Raging Bull Force had already exhausted its potential, so he could only seek out other powerful cultivation techniques.

Yet cultivation techniques were not things one could find simply by looking.

He could not steal powerful techniques, as they were all held within formidable factions.

Techniques that were too weak, meanwhile, were of little use to a Grandmaster like him.

It just so happened that some time ago, the altar master of the White Lotus Sect's Dingzhou branch had approached him, saying he could grant Zhang Zhantian a powerful cultivation technique on the condition that he join the White Lotus Sect and work for them.

He agreed without even giving it a second thought.

Though the White Lotus Sect had a poor reputation across the entire Zhenwu Continent, he could only accept for the sake of the cultivation technique.

The technique given to him by the White Lotus Sect did not disappoint him. In merely a few days, it had allowed him to advance from the fourth rank of Grandmaster to the fifth.

All those thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Though Lin Xiao acknowledged Zhang Zhantian's strength, he did not take him seriously in the slightest.

Lin Xiao struck out with another palm. The dragon's roar resounded once more, and even Zhang Zhantian's expression changed drastically at its terrifying might.

The force behind Lin Xiao's attack was twice as powerful as his own.

Before the two moves had even collided, Xue Shan and the Zhang residence's guards were blasted away.

BOOM!!!

Their clash rang like metal striking iron, leaving everyone dizzy and disoriented, their heads heavy and feet unsteady.

Yet after they had only held their deadlock for a moment, Zhang Zhantian's face changed dramatically. His arm was snapped outright by the terrifying force, and stark white bone pierced through his skin.

The battle did not stop. Lin Xiao sent out palm shadows once more, each palm more terrifying and powerful than the last.

The dragon's roar grew ever louder, so loud that even more than half of Dingzhou City could hear it clearly.

Many thought a true dragon had appeared in the world. They rushed out of their homes and raised their heads to look toward the sky.

BOOM!!!

The entire courtyard of the Zhang residence suddenly exploded, reduced to ruins beneath the overwhelming impact.

When the dust settled, Lin Xiao was the only one standing quietly within the Zhang Family's courtyard.

One hand gripping his saber hilt, he gazed indifferently at a stretch of ruins in the distance.

Buried there was none other than Zhang Zhantian.

Zhang Zhantian had taken seventeen of Lin Xiao's palms in total. Even for a Grandmaster expert, enduring all seventeen strikes would cost him more than half his life.