The Lin family residence.
Lin Da Niu stroked a wooden box and sighed.
"This Golden Toad Muscle Tempering Art was our ancestor's proudest technique. It can temper all 430 muscles in the body, but it's neither here nor there. Without a skin-grinding method, it can't be cultivated directly."
"I originally planned to cultivate this Golden Toad Muscle Tempering Art after achieving Great Accomplishment in skin grinding. Unfortunately, my leg was broken, and everything came to nothing."
Lin Da Niu glanced at his disabled left leg, then sighed deeply and handed the wooden box to Chu Feng.
A technique capable of tempering all 430 muscles in the body was more than enough to serve as the clan-guarding technique of a small martial lineage!
The Muscle Tempering chapter of the Tiger Demon Body Tempering Art from the Fang Lineage could barely temper 497 muscles.
Chu Feng opened the wooden box, revealing something wrapped in oilcloth.
He unwrapped the oil paper, and a battered thread-bound book appeared before his eyes. Judging from its curled, worn corners, the technique had clearly been read many times.
Chu Feng skimmed through it, and a trace of delight appeared in his eyes.
The Savage Ox Muscle Tempering Art primarily tempered the muscles of the upper body, especially those above the waist.
The Golden Toad Muscle Tempering Art, however, perfectly complemented it. Most of the muscles it tempered were in the legs, and it could absolutely raise his strength by a great deal!
Chu Feng immediately had Lin Da Niu bring paper and brush, then began copying it down.
After spending two hours and comparing it three times, Chu Feng found no errors and took his leave.
"Brother Lin, this Muscle Tempering Technique is extraordinarily precious. I'm the one who benefited this time. I work at Hongyun Restaurant. If anything comes up, you can find me anytime, and I'll do everything in my power to help!"
Chu Feng left behind the twelve taels of silver he had obtained from searching the corpse, then took his leave.
After Zhao Er and the other man were beaten, they hurried back to the Fang Lineage.
He rushed to the area where the servants working in the Fang Manor's rear kitchen rested. Seeing a tall servant, he wailed, "Boss Hu, I may not be able to complete your task. There was a vicious man who seemed to know Lin Da Niu. Without a word, he gave us a brutal beating!"
He grimaced in pain while secretly watching the other man's expression.
"You useless wretch! You can't even handle such a small matter." Hu San Shan was furious.
He immediately found three more household servants. The six of them slipped out through the rear gate, then went swaggering off to cause trouble for Lin Da Niu.
After leaving the manor, their previous caution transformed into haughty arrogance.
When the surrounding commoners saw them, they scattered like they had seen the God of Pestilence.
Seeing this, Hu San Shan and the others curled their lips upward. Instead, a strange pleasure welled up inside them.
They were servants in the Fang Manor, but in the eyes of the commoners of Yong'an City, they were all important figures!
"Brother Hu, out shopping again?"
At that moment, a group of constables in official uniforms spotted Hu San Shan and took the initiative to greet him with smiles.
"Oh, it's Captain Xu? Are you patrolling the streets?"
"Ah, a great many refugees have entered the city from the north recently, and trouble keeps breaking out. The city lord specifically ordered us to strengthen patrols..."
Hu San Shan nodded. "You fellows carry on with your work. I have something to take care of. We'll have a drink together when we get the chance."
"How could we trouble you, Brother Hu? I'll treat you at Hongyun Restaurant tomorrow!" Captain Xu replied with a smile.
"Good. I'll see you there..." Hu San Shan said, then led the group away.
After they left, the young deputy constable said, "Brother Xu, we eat from the government coffers. Do we really need to bother with these servants?"
Captain Xu smiled meaningfully. "Even a seventh-rank official at the Prime Minister's gate has clout. In Yong'an City, the Fang family is far more powerful than a prime minister!"
After Chu Feng left the Lin family's small courtyard, he looked up and saw a group of people swaggering down the main street toward him.
The surrounding commoners scattered in all directions.
One of them walked with his legs clamped together like a duck. Chu Feng recognized him at a glance—the household servant whose balls had been crushed.
"Brother Hu, it's really not that we failed to do our job. That bastard was just too sinister. My balls still hurt..." Zhao Er said aggrievedly as he walked with his legs clamped together.
"You useless wretch. For such a small matter, I actually have to go personally..."
"Ahem, ahem..." Before he could finish, Hu San Shan couldn't help coughing several times.
It was a lingering ailment from when he had served as a "meat target." His heart and lungs had been injured, and whenever he lost his temper, he easily began to cough.
"If that brat Lin Da Niu hadn't kept his method to himself, I wouldn't have been left with this illness. My heart and lungs hurt every day as if they were being stabbed with knives..."
Hu San Shan rubbed his aching heart and lungs, his heart filled with resentment.
He and Lin Da Niu had both once been servant sparring partners, after which they were both assigned to work as rear-kitchen servants.
One time, after drinking, Hu San Shan accidentally learned that during his sparring days, Lin Da Niu had worn three layers of pigskin as protection. That was why he had avoided being left with a chronic illness.
Hu San Shan immediately began to hate him.
If Lin Da Niu had told him about this method back then, he wouldn't have been left with this illness either.
At the time, Hu San Shan had been resentful, but Lin Da Niu's martial level was slightly higher, and he also had a close friend. The two were often together, so Hu San Shan couldn't find a good way to take revenge for a while.
Until several days ago, when Hu San Shan learned that Chu Feng had fled the Fang Manor.
He had finally found an excuse and immediately reported to the Fang family's chief steward that Lin Da Niu and Chu Feng were closely connected.
He claimed that Lin Da Niu had known Chu Feng was plotting to flee, yet had failed to report it.
Afterward, the Fang family's chief steward broke one of Lin Da Niu's legs to intimidate the manor's servants, then expelled him from the Fang Manor.
For his meritorious report, Hu San Shan was rewarded by the chief steward with a bottle of Body Tempering Potion, successfully breaking through to the Late Skin Grinding Stage.
But the resentment in Hu San Shan's heart still did not ease.
He had deliberately found out Lin Da Niu's address and went there every day to cause trouble.
A few days earlier, he had lost his entire fortune at the gambling den, so he had planned to sell Lin Da Niu's younger sister to a brothel in exchange for silver.
That was how Zhao Er and the others came to kidnap Lin Qiao Er.
"These people have to die. Otherwise, Lin Da Niu won't be able to live in peace!"
Watching Hu San Shan and the others approach menacingly, Chu Feng made up his mind.
He calmly walked to a corner. After sensing that there was no one around, he tensed every muscle in his body.
Chu Feng's figure suddenly changed. His originally thin body, as gaunt as a skin-covered skeleton, immediately swelled.
His loose clothes instantly became taut, while his dry, gaunt face transformed into one covered with slabs of flesh.
Chu Feng stepped out from the corner and brushed shoulders with Hu San Shan and the others.
At that moment, his body was broad as a door panel, taking up most of the narrow alley. Every step he took radiated a powerful sense of oppression.
"Hey! How do you walk?" Zhao Er was knocked staggering and shouted angrily.
Chu Feng stopped. His expression remained calm, but his eyes brimmed with murderous intent.
"Shut up!"
Hu San Shan's eyes turned solemn. This man's gaze was vicious and his build robust. He was clearly no good-natured fellow.
They had come to cause trouble for Lin Da Niu and didn't want to provoke extra complications.
"Hero, my friend just has a foul mouth. Don't stoop to his level."
Zhao Er was indignant, but he didn't dare say more and could only grumble inwardly.
There were six of them in their group, and they were even wearing the Fang family's servant uniforms. Why should they show such deference to a stranger?
Chu Feng's expression remained impassive, but inwardly he was deeply disappointed.
He had wanted to provoke some trouble, but he hadn't expected this group to be so cowardly!
He immediately stopped caring and bellowed, "Hey! You lot actually dare insult me?"
"Go to hell!"
Chu Feng suddenly exploded into action. His broad, fan-sized hand slapped toward Zhao Er.
Zhao Er had never imagined that the other man would suddenly attack, especially with so many of them present.
Unable to dodge, he was slapped against the wall like a torn rag and fainted on the spot, his life or death unknown.
"A Muscle Tempering martial artist?" Hu San Shan's expression changed drastically.
The man before him had a burly body brimming with oppressive force and a vicious face, as if an unrivaled Fierce God had descended.
"Hero, please don't be angry. We're household servants of the Fang family..."
Hu San Shan was only at the Late Skin Grinding Stage. How could he dare offend such a Fierce God? He could only invoke the Fang family, hoping to make the other man wary.
"You still dare threaten me? Kill them all!"
The muscles in Chu Feng's arm surged. A thousand jin of tremendous strength came with a howling wind, creating an unparalleled sense of oppression.
Hu San Shan raised both arms to block, but that terrifying force was as frightening as a cannonball. He couldn't stop it at all.
The instant they came into contact, a crack rang out from both his arms, and his whole body was sent flying like a kicked ball, slamming heavily into the wall.
"Bang!"
Hu San Shan struggled to his feet, feeling fiery pain throughout his body.
He raised both hands. His arms had twisted into a grotesque shape, and he couldn't even clench his fists.
Furious and alarmed, he cried, "Who are you? What grudge do we have against each other?"
Before you continue