I Dug Your Grave for You: Black Tiger Shattering Gold Claw

Behind the Wooden Building,

After practicing the Spirit Crane Finger several times, Lin Xuankong looked with satisfaction at the withered section of the Old Willow Tree's trunk. Dozens of finger holes were neatly scattered across it, all of them freshly poked out by his Spirit Crane Finger!

The feeling of leaving a hole with every strike was truly exhilarating. It also tempered his arms and fingers, so naturally, he could not stop!

Lin Xuankong had just tested it on the large bluestone as well.

When the Spirit Crane Finger struck the large bluestone, it looked quite imposing. Each strike shattered a fist-sized chunk, sending stone chips flying everywhere.

But compared to Young Lady's Spirit Crane Finger, which poked through bluestone as easily as tofu, he was still lacking a little polish. He would surely need to reach the completion of Mortal Transformation Layer One before he could leave behind a smooth hole with one finger!

After practicing for a while, and seeing the sun setting beyond the western hills, Lin Xuankong returned to the Wooden Building and prepared dinner.

At noon, before Young Lady had left, he had bought seven or eight tasty meat and vegetable dishes. Yet with the two about to part ways, neither had much appetite, leaving more than half untouched.

Now, facing the lavish spread on the table, Lin Xuankong sat there alone, feeling rather bitter. After thinking it over, he left the outer room and headed toward Little Tiger's home, a few Wooden Buildings away.

That little glutton would definitely drool at the sight of so many delicious dishes!

Smiling, Lin Xuankong reached Little Tiger's door, only to find it tightly shut. He knocked several times, but no one answered.

"Sleeping this early?" Lin Xuankong was somewhat surprised.

Frowning, he knocked several more times. When neither father nor son responded, he had no choice but to return home.

Early the next morning, Lin Xuankong finished cultivating his mental method and Stance Practice. After drinking a serving of Nine Revolutions Qi Nourishing Soup to replenish his qi and blood, he left the Wooden Building and headed for Li Mansion in the west of the city.

After crossing Riverside Street, he entered a small path through the dense forest.

It was still early.

The forest path was utterly quiet.

In the hazy morning mist, tall trees stood on either side, lush and emerald green. Tender grass beneath them brimmed with life, while clear dewdrops clung to the leaves.

White-haired Lin Xuankong breathed in the fresh forest air and secretly thought, If Young Lady were walking beside me this morning, the scenery would surely have a flavor all its own!

The moment that thought surfaced, his steps abruptly halted. He looked ahead vigilantly. In the morning mist, three burly men emerged from beside a giant tree several yards away.

The three looked unfamiliar, but their palms were thick and broad, their shoulders wide and waists stout. They were clearly men who had practiced martial arts for many years.

Encountering three such powerful-looking men on such a remote path early in the morning naturally put Lin Xuankong on guard.

Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded behind him as well.

Lin Xuankong turned around, and his gaze immediately sharpened.

It was Ma Xiong, strolling over leisurely with a birdcage in hand. Two Black-Clad Strongmen stood beside him.

Moreover, the two strongmen had sharp gazes and arrogant expressions. Their presence was even more imposing than Ma Xiong's!

Lin Xuankong's expression darkened slightly as he could not help recalling what Little Tiger had once warned him about.

Faced with such a formation, how could he not understand that they had come for him?

Just as he expected,

As Ma Xiong approached, the three strongmen who had originally been standing beside the giant tree also rushed over.

The six spread out and surrounded him. Each wore a mocking look, and the way they stared at Lin Xuankong was as if they were looking at a dead man!

"Old Lin, smash your own head against a tree. At least you'll die quickly!

"If my brothers have to do it, you'll inevitably suffer some flesh-and-blood pain!" Ma Xiong went straight to the point.

After saying that, he no longer looked at Lin Xuankong. Instead, he pinched up a few grains of millet and began feeding the bird in the cage.

In Ma Xiong's eyes, killing such a decrepit old wreck as Lin Xuankong was not worth doing personally.

Of course, as crafty as he was, even if he could act personally, he never would. Otherwise, the karmic entanglements on his hands would be too heavy!

Seeing Ma Xiong's utterly assured demeanor,

Lin Xuankong felt his heart sink, and a trace of nervousness appeared on his face.

The six men surrounding him were clearly elites among the Black Tiger Gang's members. Every one of them was a seasoned martial man, hardened by slaughter and rich in experience, with no telling how many lives beneath their hands!

Although he had already reached the middle stage of Mortal Transformation Layer One and had become highly proficient with the Spirit Crane Finger, he had never fought anyone before—much less engaged in a life-and-death battle. Suddenly facing one against six, how could he possibly feel no nervousness at all?

Secretly touching the Man Luo Demonic Pearl in his robes, Lin Xuankong suppressed the urge to use it immediately. This was his trump card; he could not use it carelessly!

Besides, Ma Xiong and the others certainly did not know his true strength. That, too, was one of his trump cards, and he needed to play them well.

With that thought,

A ruthless glint flashed through Lin Xuankong's eyes, yet an extremely terrified expression gradually appeared on his face.

Even his voice trembled as he stammered, "Ma, Ma Xiong, I've never offended any of the Black Tiger Gang's important figures. Th-this must be some misunderstanding, right?"

As he spoke, he trembled and staggered several steps backward, drawing close to the three Black Tiger Gang members behind him.

Ma Xiong had no interest in paying attention to a "dead man." Cheerfully teasing the bird in his cage, he seemed to find the little bird eating its feed far more important than the old man's life or death.

One of the Black Tiger Gang members behind Lin Xuankong dusted off his hands. "Old Lin, don't worry. I already dug your grave for you, so you won't be left exposed in the wilderness. Remember to thank me. My name is Han Si!

"Oh, right. That pit is in the woods. Come with me!"

Upon hearing this, the fear on Lin Xuankong's face grew even more obvious. His legs went limp, and his body swayed as he moved one step closer to the three men.

Seeing him so spineless and weak, the three Black Tiger Gang members could not help sneering, their eyes filled with contempt.

Han Si reached out to grab Lin Xuankong by the shoulder, preparing to lift him up. "Actually, being buried alive in the pit isn't bad either. You can even leave a whole corpse behind."

Sss! Sss! Sss!

Three sharp whistles tearing through the air suddenly exploded.

Han Si and the other two gang members had all been sneering, but to their astonishment, Lin Xuankong—who had seemed almost too weak to remain standing—suddenly moved like a fleeing rabbit. His fingers came together like a sword as he struck toward their foreheads.

His movements were incomparably swift, and the distance between them was already far too close.

The three burly, sturdy Black Tiger Gang members only had time for their expressions to change before a bloody hole appeared in each of their foreheads.

Immediately afterward, their eyes abruptly lost focus. They crumpled limply to the ground, strange "heh-heh" sounds coming from their mouths as their bodies twitched faintly.

Yet brain matter was already flowing from the bloody holes in their foreheads. The three were clearly beyond saving!

Everything had happened far too suddenly!

That frail old man, who had looked ready to kneel and beg for mercy, had killed three sturdy gang members as easily as slaughtering chickens. This was completely beyond Ma Xiong and the others' expectations!

Even Ma Xiong and the remaining two men were elite gang members who had fought countless battles and weathered many storms, but when faced with such a bizarre turn of events, astonishment inevitably appeared on their faces.

Ma Xiong, who had been leisurely feeding his bird and boasting that everything was under his control, underwent a drastic change in expression. In his shock, even the birdcage fell to the ground.

Lin Xuankong did not hesitate in the slightest. He spun around and charged at the three men.

As his feet landed, the ground caved in slightly beneath them, while his body flashed through the air with the nimbleness of a spirit crane!

In the flash between lightning and flint,

Lin Xuankong had already closed in on the black-clad strongman on the left. His Spirit Crane Finger shot toward the man's face like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

This black-clad strongman was one of the Hu Brothers Ma Xiong had hired. A few days ago, he had already reached the Early Stage of Mortal Transformation Layer One. Naturally, his strength was not something those three ordinary gang members could compare with!

Seeing Lin Xuankong's two fingers stabbing toward him,

The black-clad strongman abruptly let out a thunderous roar. With a shift of his feet, he stepped back and avoided the Spirit Crane Finger aimed at his forehead. At the same time, his hands formed tiger claws and seized toward Lin Xuankong's right arm.

As this black-clad man surnamed Hu exerted his strength, his sharp fingernails actually took on a pale silver hue. His swinging claws were immensely fierce, carrying sharp whistles through the air. What he used was precisely the Black Tiger Shattering Gold Claw, the exquisite martial art that had shaken Tens of Cities of Great Marsh Prefecture!