Rejection!

Bang! Bang!

Facing the woman's storm-like kicking technique, the six burly men had no room to fight back, having just enough time to bring their fists together in front of their chests as they were kicked flying backwards.

Yet the burly men seemed to feel no pain; the moment they hit the ground they scrambled back up to charge again, trying their utmost to land a single punch on the woman.

Alas, tall and strong though they were, it was all to no avail against the woman's agile footwork.

After several repetitions of this, the six burly men finally could no longer get back up, and in unison offered flattery: "Congratulations to the Fifth Young Lady for yet another breakthrough in your leg technique."

"A bunch of good-for-nothings!"

The woman let out a cold shout. "You couldn't even touch the hem of my clothes—what am I keeping you useless lot around for? Get lost!"

"Yes!"

Daring not the slightest defense, the six hastily supported one another to their feet and walked out of the courtyard.

Passing Zhang Lingshan and Song Dazhuang, the six once more chimed in respectfully in unison: "Ninth Young Master, you're back."

"Mn, I'm back. You lot go down to the pharmacy to collect some medicinal bath herbs and rest up," Song Dazhuang said, gentle as ever.

Gratitude showed on the faces of the six.

Compared to their fear of the Fifth Young Lady, they held deep respect for Song Dazhuang.

Zhang Lingshan was not surprised by the attitude of the six, for after all, Song Dazhuang possessed a bold and magnanimous personality, kept a low profile without being ostentatious, and had an exceptionally good temper, never putting on airs when facing ordinary people like them.

He was a good man possessing a certain personal charisma.

It was precisely for this reason that he himself could maintain such a close relationship with Song Dazhuang.

Soon, the six burly men took their leave and departed the courtyard.

Song Dazhuang led Zhang Lingshan before the woman, introducing them: "Fifth Sister, this is my good brother, Zhang Lingshan. It only took him a little over three months to successfully complete his skin grinding. He's naturally gifted, and on top of that, down-to-earth and driven to improve."

He then introduced Zhang Lingshan in return: "Xiao Shan, this is my fifth sister, Song Lian. She is the fourth disciple of the Hongying Martial Hall, deeply valued by Master Zhao Hongying."

"Greetings, Fifth Sister."

Zhang Lingshan hastily cupped his fists in salute.

Since Song Dazhuang had already declared him a good brother, he naturally had to address Song Lian as Fifth Sister just like a good brother would, or else wouldn't that be showing a lack of face to Song Dazhuang?

However, that was not the main point.

The main point was: what was Song Dazhuang thinking, suddenly bringing him to meet a disciple of the Hongying Martial Hall?

He had originally thought Song Dazhuang wanted to recruit him to join their blacksmith shop, but now it looked completely different from that.

"Three months to skin grinding?"

Song Lian stared at Zhang Lingshan, her gaze suddenly turning sharp as she scrutinized him closely, circling around to size him up from every angle.

Zhang Lingshan felt somewhat awkward and glanced at Song Dazhuang.

Song Dazhuang explained: "The Hongying Martial Hall is also an affiliate of the Yuan Family. Master Hong's strength has plummeted and his position is in jeopardy; if his disciples don't find a new way out, they can only suffer alongside Master Hong. With your talent, Xiao Shan, as long as Fifth Sister introduces you to be accepted as a disciple by Master Zhao, you are bound to carve out a name for yourself and have a boundless future."

"This..."

Zhang Lingshan frowned, feeling even more awkward.

Was this not kicking a man when he was down?

When the tree falls the monkeys scatter, and when the wall crumbles everyone gives it a push.

Seeing that Hong Zhengdao had suffered severe injuries and was precisely at a time when he needed people, he would end up turning right around to run under the banner of the Hongying Martial Hall, abandoning Hong Zhengdao to his fate.

This was truly...

For a moment Zhang Lingshan did not know what appropriate words to say.

"Not a bad build."

Song Lian stared at the bulging muscle blocks on Zhang Lingshan's body, suddenly offering a word of praise before saying: "If you can withstand a kick from me, it proves you're stronger than those pieces of trash just now, and I can put in a good word for you."

With that, her leg flashed like lightning, snapping out to kick straight at Zhang Lingshan's belly.

Caught off guard and without time to overthink, Zhang Lingshan's muscles tightened reflexively, his body sinking slightly into a low squat as he executed a Yang Protecting Posture, his arms overlapping vertically to shield his torso.

Instantly, red lines emerged across his shoulders, spreading all the way down to his elbows.

Bang!

Arm and foot collided, emitting a muffled thud.

Zhang Lingshan staggered back four or five steps before steadying himself, feeling a burning pain in both forearms that even spread up into his shoulders, leaving behind an aching numbness.

In contrast, Song Lian stood rooted to the spot, looking at him with a calm expression, as if the one who had just thrown a kick was not her at all.

Is this the strength of Flesh Refining?

Shock struck the depths of Zhang Lingshan's heart.

Even though he hadn't thrown a punch to trade blows with her just now, nor stimulated the momentum of the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture, with his current physical conditioning, he should have given the opponent at least a slight rebound effect.

Yet the result left him bitterly disappointed.

He hadn't expected the gap between himself and a Flesh Refining expert to be even greater than he imagined; the joy from when his Mountain Splitting Axe Technique had recently broken through vanished in an instant.

What Zhang Lingshan did not know was that although Song Lian looked as calm as still water on the surface, her right foot inside her shoe was actually trembling secretly, her sole pressed desperately against the ground to prevent others from noticing.

She was shocked to the extreme; she hadn't expected Zhang Lingshan's physique to be trained to such a solid degree. No wonder the Ninth Younger Brother spoke of him in such glowing terms.

He truly was a genius.

If he were taken in under her master's gate, it would surely be a meritorious service of the highest order. Her master would definitely be very pleased and reward her, while she herself would also gain the credit of having introduced Zhang Lingshan.

You could call it a win-win-win!

Emotion stirred within Song Lian, but she refrained from speaking immediately; once she felt steady enough, she said calmly: "Not bad. To be able to withstand a kick from me, you count as competent within the Skin Grinding Realm. You qualify for me to introduce you to my master. Let's go."

With that she turned around, preparing to lead Zhang Lingshan to the Hongying Martial Hall to see Zhao Hongying.

"Hold on."

Zhang Lingshan glanced at Song Dazhuang and said: "This... doesn't feel right."

"What's not right about it?"

Song Lian turned back, instantly seeing through Zhang Lingshan's thoughts, and laughed: "Do you feel it's unprincipled to leave the moment Hong Zhengdao runs into trouble, and that it'll invite gossip? Heh, you're overthinking it."

She shook her head and continued: "Leaving aside whether other people's gossip is even worth paying attention to, your transferring to our Hongying Martial Hall doesn't actually wrong Hong Zhengdao in the slightest; on the contrary, it helps lighten his burden.

"Firstly, our Hongying Martial Hall and the Hong Clan Martial Hall both belong under the Yuan Family's banner. Once you transfer over, everything remains as before, and the Red Thread Fist can still be practiced; Hong Zhengdao wouldn't even be able to say a half-word against it.

"Secondly, you aren't yet an inner disciple of Hong Zhengdao; there's still a layer of separation, and you aren't all that close to him. You belong to the category of paying money to learn a skill, so you don't owe him unswerving loyalty or filial devotion.

"Thirdly, Hong Zhengdao is currently severely injured and barely able to look after himself, let alone have the energy to manage you lot, much less any spare capacity left to cultivate you.

"With your talent, lingering over at his place is pure waste!

"Come to our Hongying Martial Hall. Not only will you give your talent room to perform, but you'll also lighten Hong Zhengdao's load—Hong Zhengdao ought to thank you for it."

Song Lian raised three lily-white fingers, speaking fluently with clear logic and undeniable reasoning.

"This..."

Contemplation showed on Zhang Lingshan's face.

One had to admit that Song Lian was exceptionally well-spoken. Apart from her final sentence—that "Hong Zhengdao ought to thank you for it"—the rest of her words made virtually flawless sense.

However, accounts were not calculated that way.

At least for Zhang Lingshan, Hong Zhengdao had shown kindness to him.

To say nothing else, simply from the fact that Hong Zhengdao had initially agreed to let his whole family move to Hongwu Street, his entire household owed Hong Zhengdao a life.

Had it not been for that, Li Fu's trio of three would have wiped him out long ago, and his mother and younger sister would hardly have escaped meeting a disastrous fate.

And now that Hong Zhengdao was severely injured and precisely at a time when he needed his disciples, he himself would be the first to run away. Could this still be considered human?

Moreover, he now had to doubt whether what Song Dazhuang said was even true. Had Hong Zhengdao really been injured just because he said so?

If he ended up being tricked by someone yet still helped them count their money, he truly would become the laughingstock of the town; not only would his reputation stink, but he would even lose his fundamental principles of being a person.

At this thought,

Zhang Lingshan immediately cupped his fists and said: "Many thanks, Sister Song Lian, but Master Hong has shown great kindness to me. I've decided to continue staying at the Hong Clan Martial Hall, so I can only let down your kind intentions."

"You!"

Song Lian's expression instantly plummeted.

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