County Lieutenant Wu's chest still heaved as he stared in the direction Black Heart Tiger had vanished, indignant.
"Brother Chen, why didn't you join me just now and do everything we could to keep him here?!"
He turned to Chen Zhengyang, his voice filled with unwillingness and urgency. "Taking down Black Heart Tiger would do more good than harm for Qinghe County—and for you and me!"
"Cough, cough..." Chen Zhengyang suddenly coughed twice.
He waved a hand, cutting off County Lieutenant Wu. A trace of weariness tinged his voice. "Brother Wu, do you think I didn't want to keep him?"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the ground where he had fought Black Heart Tiger moments ago, where the shattered blue bricks bore unusually deep marks.
"We couldn't keep him."
Those four short words abruptly stalled County Lieutenant Wu's surging outrage.
Chen Zhengyang slowly drew a breath and continued.
"In those thirty-odd head-on exchanges just now, every strike of his Eagle Claw Technique carried no less than ten thousand jin of force! And they weren't explosive bursts—they were... consistently that powerful."
"Ten thousand jin?!" County Lieutenant Wu's pupils contracted sharply, and cold sweat broke out across his back.
Ten thousand jin of force!
That was already the limit of physical strength an ordinary Third-Rank Martial Artist could attain!
As County Lieutenant, he possessed far more information than ordinary people.
He knew well that upon reaching the Third Rank Realm, a martial artist's qi and blood reached fullness and their inner qi surged forth. Though sheer physical strength remained an important measure, it was no longer the sole standard by which combat power was judged.
Different Cultivation Methods and talents placed emphasis on different things. Some Third-Ranks possessed unparalleled strength, some astounding speed, while others excelled in enduring, drawn-out battles.
Yet