Lin Guanhuo's huge slap sent Huang Dazui reeling, leaving him completely stunned and dealing him a serious psychological blow.
Huang Dazui clutched his face. "You... you fucking dare hit me?!"
He sprang to his feet. He was used to throwing his weight around in the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard; even Foreman Zhao gave him face.
Now someone had slapped him. How could he put up with that?
The next second, Huang Dazui flew into a rage and charged straight at him. "I'll fucking kill you!"
But...
"Smack!"
Another slap rang out, even louder than the first.
This time, Lin Guanhuo put a little more strength into it.
Huang Dazui's hundred-plus-pound body was sent flying as if he'd been hit by a bull. He crashed into the muddy ground in the middle of the courtyard with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Ow~~!"
Huang Dazui spat out a mouthful of blood. That did it—the few teeth he had left in the front of his mouth were loose, too.
He lay there like a dead dog.
"Fine! Fine! You've got guts!"
Huang Dazui climbed to his feet and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Just you wait!! You just wait!!"
Then, clutching his face, he shoved viciously through the crowd just as he had last time and staggered out the gate.
Everyone present knew the guy had gone to call for his daddy.
Seeing this, quite a few White Servants in the canteen couldn't help feeling a rush of satisfaction.
With his cousin backing him, Huang Dazui had thrown his weight around in the Miscellaneous Room for ages. Everyone had long since grown sick of him.
They just didn't dare stand up to him themselves. They could only hope someone else would take their side, then crowd around afterward to watch the show.
After all, Wang Tiedan had offended Huang Dazui before, and his cousin Huang Bao had crippled him completely. In the end, his corpse had been left in the street.
That had happened only a few days ago. Everyone was curious: what would become of Lin Guanhuo?
"Heh, this'll be something to watch!"
"That Lin Guanhuo is done for... Huang Bao won't let him off when he gets here."
The people around them murmured among themselves. At the same time...
"Brother Lin, that was way too rash!"
Xu Dadao hurriedly tried to talk him down. "Have you forgotten what happened to Wang Tiedan a few days ago?"
"Yeah, run while they're still on their way!" Li Hu urged. "A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him!"
Hearing them, Lin Guanhuo merely smiled calmly and lifted his bowl to take a sip of porridge. "Why run? I haven't finished my porridge."
Seeing how unruffled he was, Xu Dadao and Li Hu tried to say a few more words of warning. But when they looked at Lin Guanhuo again, he seemed completely unconcerned.
In the end, the two could only sigh helplessly and step back a few paces, to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
After all, they were only somewhat familiar with Lin Guanhuo. It wasn't worth getting themselves into trouble for his sake.
Time passed minute by minute.
A quarter of an hour.
Half an hour.
"Huang Dazui's back!"
Someone in the crowd, eager for a show, shouted.
At that, one by one, everyone turned to look toward the gate.
Huang Dazui had returned.
But this time, he had none of the swagger he'd shown when confronting Wang Tiedan. Nor was his Martial Artist cousin at his side.
He had come back alone.
Huang Dazui's head drooped, and his face looked grim beyond words. He even seemed lost and terrified.
Because just moments ago...
He'd learned from the Mad Saber Martial Arts School that his cousin Huang Bao had been brutally murdered a few days earlier!
His head had been separated from his body, and he'd died a gruesome death!!
Huang Dazui was completely stunned. He could barely walk straight and had staggered all the way back.
It was no exaggeration to say that the only reason he could throw his weight around in the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard was his cousin's fearsome reputation.
And now that cousin had died just like that, for no apparent reason.
At that moment, Huang Dazui had only one thought:
I'm finished!!
After all, you couldn't keep a lid on something like this forever. Sooner or later, everyone in the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard would hear the news.
Would the people he'd bullied, the people who couldn't stand him, let him off?
I'll pack up and leave tonight! If it comes to it, we'll all go down together!
I can't stay here...
Then everyone watched as Huang Dazui, looking like his whole family had died, returned to his room with none of his old arrogance, utterly dejected.
"This..."
"What's going on??"
A hush fell over the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard.
Everyone looked at one another, bewildered.
What was going on??
Huang Dazui had been beaten up by Lin Guanhuo, yet he hadn't even said a word before letting it go?
When it became clear there would be no more excitement, it wasn't long before...
The people there dispersed, each going about their own business.
"Lin Guanhuo!"
Just then, Zhao Sihai, the deputy foreman of the Miscellaneous Room, walked over and waved to Lin Guanhuo. "The Government Office is renovating a residence today. Go over and lend a hand. If you do a good job, you might even get a few coins as a reward."
Zhao Sihai then picked out a few other people at random. "When you get to the Government Office, keep your wits about you. Don't go causing trouble for me!"
Only then did Lin Guanhuo get to his feet. "Understood, Chief Zhao."
A busy day came to an end. People came and went through the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard every day.
After just a month or two, Lin Guanhuo noticed that many of the people in the courtyard were unfamiliar faces, while fewer and fewer of the ones he knew remained.
There were two reasons. One was that too many people had no food to eat these days, and they all wanted to squeeze their way in for a meal.
The other was that the lives of White Servants were worth nothing. If they died for no apparent reason, no one cared.
Late at night, inside Lin Guanhuo's little room...
He sat naked in a large vat, the scalding medicinal liquid reaching his chest.
After all these days of preparation and Body Tempering...
The time had finally come.
Tonight, he would break through to the Body Tempering Realm and become a true Martial Artist!!
It was a step that countless people in this Chaotic World could only dream of reaching.
"Glug... glug..."
Lin Guanhuo's heartbeat boomed, heavy and powerful as a war drum.
As time passed, the medicinal liquid in the vat rapidly faded in color, while the layer of bronze-colored sheen on his skin underwent a fundamental transformation.
It was no longer clouded with impurities. In its place was a pure Bronze Skin!
This was the sign that Body Tempering had reached its limit.
One hour!!
Two hours!!
Three hours!!
"Break through!"
In that instant!!
The aura within Lin Guanhuo underwent a qualitative leap.
Crack, crack!!
The bones throughout his body creaked. An unprecedented lightness spread through him, as if the great mountain that had been pressing down on him had suddenly been lifted away.
"I broke through!"
Lin Guanhuo's eyes flew open. He slowly extended his arm, and saw that it had taken on the color of bronze, like a statue cast from the metal.
Even without exerting any strength, a light tap of his finger against his skin rang out like metal striking metal.
Copper Skin appeared, and Body Tempering was complete!!
He had reached the First Rank of the Body Tempering Realm!
That meant he had officially stepped into the first realm of the Martial Dao and become a formal Martial Artist!!
"I've finally entered the ranks..."
Lin Guanhuo clenched his fist.
He felt the blood and qi surging through his body.
In this Chaotic World, ordinary people were like blades of grass. Only after becoming a Martial Artist could you hope to sink your roots into the earth.
Others might train bitterly for decades without ever crossing that threshold. He'd done it in just two months!
That speed was downright astonishing.
But Lin Guanhuo wasn't overly excited. As his strength grew, his state of mind had become steadier as well.
This was only the first step. There was still a long road ahead.
"Let's check the system."
At a thought, the system panel appeared before him:
[Name: Lin Guanhuo] [Realm: Body Tempering, First Rank] [Martial Arts: Precept Breaking Saber Art, Second Layer] [Remaining Lifespan: Twenty-Two Years]
Lin Guanhuo's gaze settled on the line showing his remaining lifespan.
Twenty-two years!
Before, he had only had two years left to live.
But now, with his breakthrough, his lifespan had surged by twenty years in one go!
"So that's how it is..."
A glimmer of understanding flashed in Lin Guanhuo's eyes, then turned into fervor.
"Martial Dao evolution! The higher your realm, the longer you live!"
"Spend lifespan to train in martial arts, break through a realm, and gain more lifespan..."
"Maybe I can even... live forever!"
Before you continue