The leader of the Black Armored Army heard Chen Lin's explanation and could not tell whether it was true or false. For a moment, he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Seeing that the Black Armored Army's leader seemed to have been bluffed by Chen Lin's boasting, Duan Xingze immediately spoke up. "Brother Yao, this man must be lying. He was a martial student from the same school as me, and he couldn't even get into Nanqing Martial Academy. How could he possibly be a member of the War God Temple? He's trying to scare us!"
Upon hearing this, the Black Armored Army leader gave Chen Lin's somewhat youthful face a brief once-over. Feeling as though he had been made a fool of, he angrily waved at his subordinates. "Take him away!"
Chen Lin did not resist. After giving his father and little sister a reassuring look, he left with the Black Armored Army.
Chen Hongbo did not dare linger either. He immediately pulled his daughter, Chen Lan, onto the donkey cart, cracked the whip, and drove straight toward Lieyang Martial Arts School.
By the time Duan Xingze came to his senses, the father and daughter were already nowhere to be seen.
Inside the cold, dark prison cell, foul stench and the reek of sweat constantly assailed Chen Lin's nose.
Having spent nearly a month at the slaughterhouse, Chen Lin had long become immune to such smells. With his hands bound behind his back, he still had the leisure to carefully inspect the prison environment of this other world.
As a member of the War God Temple, Chen Lin did not take his current predicament seriously at all.
At the end of the cell block, the Black Armored Army man surnamed Yao was discussing Chen Lin's identity with the prison warden.
"Old Lin, the fellow they just sent in claims to be from the War God Temple. I'm not sure whether it's true or not, so don't let your men use any methods on him yet. Once I've found out his exact identity, then we can use the methods."
"Old Yao, then what should we tell Young Master Duan?" Warden Lin's face immediately twisted bitterly as he asked.
"Find an excuse and stall him first. We can't throw away our own lives just to curry favor with Lieutenant Duan!" the Black Armored Army man surnamed Yao sighed helplessly.
"Fine, I'll listen to you. Hurry and verify that fellow's identity. I'll think of a way to hold Young Master Duan off for as long as possible." Warden Lin nodded.
An hour later, under Duan Xingze's relentless pressure, Warden Lin had no choice but to move Chen Lin to an even worse cell.
Because the Eighty-One Cities of the Five Nations had so many martial practitioners, the social climate was especially impetuous. At the slightest disagreement, people would start fighting, and cases of people being beaten to death or crippled were countless.
Thus, the city prison was packed year-round with vicious criminals.
"Get in, now!" After shoving Chen Lin, now changed into prison clothes, into a cell filled with fierce-looking convicts, the guard decisively locked the door and turned to leave, unwilling to stay even a moment longer.
Inside the cell, a group of burly men with faces full of flesh stared fixedly at the newly arrived Chen Lin.
Among them, a muscular man with a vicious tiger tattoo lay in the middle of the group, while a frail man beside him eagerly massaged him.
The muscular man glanced at Chen Lin's young and handsome face, and a flash of obscenity passed through his eyes. Unable to suppress the agitation in his heart, he said in a deep voice, "New kid, get over here and pound my legs for me!"
Hearing this, Chen Lin curiously looked over the muscular man with the vicious tiger tattoo and his lackeys.
In prisons, from ancient times to the present, the strong bullying the weak had always been the most ordinary thing in the world.
As a law-abiding citizen raised in the spring breeze, Chen Lin had only ever heard about such things. This was his first time seeing it, so he was somewhat curious.
Seeing that Chen Lin did not react at all and was instead examining him with a gaze he found extremely unpleasant, the tattooed man grew angry and roared, "Are you fucking deaf? Didn't you hear my order?"
"Interesting. This is far too interesting." Chen Lin shook his head with an amused smile and clicked his tongue.
"You're fucking asking for a beating!" Seeing Chen Lin refuse to obey, the tattooed man felt unable to save face. He abruptly rose to his feet and swung his sandbag-sized fist straight at Chen Lin's head.
Chen Lin's lips curled in disdain. His body shifted slightly, and his right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the man's wrist before violently shaking it.
With a crack, the man's eyes bulged. He let out a scream, and sweat the size of beans instantly covered his forehead.
"You wanted me to pound your legs for you?" Chen Lin asked teasingly.
"Th-this great lord, I failed to recognize Mount Tai before my eyes. Please, great lord, spare me on account of my ignorance!" The tattooed man's entire face twisted with pain, and he could barely get the words out smoothly.
"Hmph." Chen Lin snorted and kicked the man flying into the corner of the cell. "If you have any other requests, feel free to tell me. I guarantee I'll satisfy them."
Thud!
The tattooed man slammed into the cell wall with a dull sound. Then he clutched his stomach and collapsed limply in the corner, gritting his teeth and whimpering under his breath without daring to let out even the slightest scream. He was afraid that if he screamed too loudly and displeased Chen Lin, he would get beaten again.
Seeing this, the other prisoners in the cell immediately fell silent. They all squatted in the corners, silently clearing out a large space for Chen Lin so he could choose where to sleep.
The prisoners in several nearby cells were likewise silent as cicadas in winter, and even their breathing grew much quieter.
"Old Third Liu, what happened to you?" The guard who had left not long ago appeared again. Looking at Old Third Liu, who was bent over like a shrimp, he laughed mockingly. "Old Third Liu, let me tell you something. The young man who just came in claims he's from the War God Temple, and we're checking his identity. You'd better not provoke him, or even I won't be able to save you!"
After saying that, the guard left humming a little tune, utterly different from the way he had hurried off earlier.
"Fuck! Why the hell didn't you say that sooner? You only tell me after I've already been beaten! You did that on purpose! Just because I didn't pay you tribute? So this is how you treat me? Fine, just you wait. I'll pay you tribute next month!" The tattooed man was both shocked and terrified. After cursing the guard in his heart, he looked fearfully at Chen Lin's figure again. He joined the War God Temple at such a young age. Why would this freak come to a place like prison?
Chen Lin paid no attention to the sordid dealings between the guard and the prisoners. He casually found a spacious, comfortable corner. With nothing else to do, he simply closed his eyes and silently recalled the Mysterious Origin Body Tempering Technique he had memorized at the War God Temple. This cultivation method doesn't have any particular requirements for the location anyway. I can cultivate anywhere, so I might as well see how effective it is now.
The reason martial artists possessed abilities far beyond ordinary people was their constant tempering of the flesh.
While Chen Lin was trying to cultivate the Mysterious Origin Body Tempering Technique in prison, Duan Xingze sat in a teahouse near the prison, his face pale as he spoke ingratiatingly to a young man dressed in white brocade. "Brother Zhou, I heard you're quite familiar with the prisons of Nanqing City. I have something I'd like to ask you to help me with!"
"Whatever it is, just say the word. Between brothers, if I can help, I definitely will!" the young man in white promised generously.
"It's like this. There's a guy named Chen Lin whom I had thrown into Nanqing City Prison. But I can only get him inside—I can't find anyone to cripple him in there. Do you think you could come up with something and find someone to cripple him?" Duan Xingze said hatefully, his face full of venom.
"What is his strength?" The young man in white did not hesitate and directly asked about the target's cultivation.
The young man in white could not even be bothered to ask about the identity of someone Duan Xingze could throw into prison. After all, he did not believe Duan Xingze would dare offend someone with a powerful background.
"He's a Late Martial Disciple, but he should be somewhat stronger than me." Duan Xingze's expression darkened.
"A Late Martial Disciple?" the young man in white repeated. After pondering for a moment, he said, "That won't be a problem. But you know that asking people in prison to do something requires greasing palms from top to bottom."
"Silver isn't a problem. Here are two hundred taels of silver. Once it's done, there will be another two hundred taels." Duan Xingze immediately took out a banknote and handed it to the young man in white.
"Haha, Brother Duan, you're straightforward. As long as no one dies, four hundred taels is more than enough to cripple one person." The young man in white put away the banknote and asked with a smile, "How badly do you want Chen Lin crippled?"
"Cut all the tendons in his hands and feet!" Duan Xingze gritted his teeth as he stated his demand.
"Oh! It seems Brother Duan wants to cripple this fellow completely. That's easy!" The young man in white's eyes flashed as he smiled.
"I want to destroy his martial path." Duan Xingze said hatefully.
"Fine, it's a trifling matter. Go home and wait for news. I'll arrange for someone to do it right away! At the latest, I'll have good news for you by noon tomorrow." The young man in white assured him confidently.
Before you continue