"You..."
Li Jiangtao wanted to persuade him again, but Lu Lin ignored him completely and walked straight toward the entrance.
Lu Lin hadn't made this decision on a whim. It was the result of careful consideration.
Attacks at the Martial Artist grade could raise his Golden Bell Shield proficiency by 10 points with each punch. Given a little time, he could raise Golden Bell Shield to the fourth layer, the fifth layer, or even higher.
By then, he might not be able to hurt a Martial Master-level powerhouse, but neither would they be able to do anything to him.
He'd only used the system to simplify one technique—Golden Bell Shield. If he could get enough Simplification Points to simplify Mad Ox Strength Fist too, his strength would definitely break through 1,200 kilograms in a very short time. Then, once he learned a method for cultivating Vitality Power...
By then, whether the Ma Family came after him or he went to their doorstep and struck back, it was anyone's guess.
As Lu Lin strode out through the entrance, everyone in the Martial Arts School couldn't help holding their breath for him.
Lu Lin, however, didn't care in the slightest.
The four Martial Artists waiting at the milk tea shop were surprised to see Lu Lin come out so quickly. Then, boundless fury rose in their hearts.
They had come here to make trouble for Lu Lin and put pressure on Liu and Qinglong, forcing him to agree to send Liu Weiran to the Ma Family in a marriage alliance. If a nobody like Lu Lin had quietly slipped out through the back door, they could have let it go.
But now he'd swaggered right out in the open. Did he really think the four of them were made of mud?
The Tiger Head Youth pushed open the door and walked out. "Kid, are you looking to die?"
"Heh."
Lu Lin's mouth twitched. He said casually, "You? You lot?"
"Honestly, is the Ma Family really so hard up that you can't even feed the people you send out to work? Those few punches you landed on me just now weren't even enough to count as a massage."
"Fuck!"
"You little punk, you're asking for it!"
"Let's kill this baleful idiot!"
The moment Lu Lin said that, the young men could no longer hold back.
Without waiting for the Tiger Head Youth to give the order, all four surrounded Lu Lin and attacked, unleashing their Vitality Power.
Lu Lin wasn't the least bit afraid. He kept dodging and weaving, taking hit after hit from the four of them.
Vitality Power was indeed wondrous. If only one person attacked him, Lu Lin could take it easily. But when two or even three attacked at once, even he struggled to bear it.
But as he watched the translucent screen before his eyes, where his Golden Bell Shield proficiency kept climbing, Lu Lin decided to endure a little longer.
[352/1000] [582/1000]
The Martial Artists were much faster than Lu Lin. Though all four were only Beginner Martial Artists, their speed was still beyond his reach. In just a few minutes, his Golden Bell Shield proficiency had shot past five hundred and was nearing six hundred.
Dongshan City was merely a satellite city of Jiangzuo City, and its law enforcement forces were weak. Lu Lin was fighting four Martial Artists in the street, and someone had already called the authorities, but the City Guard was nowhere to be seen.
Li Jiangtao, watching from inside the Martial Arts School, saw Lu Lin hold out for so long against four Martial Artists. He was both glad and helpless.
If the Ma Family weren't causing trouble, Lu Lin could have become a key member of Liu's Martial Arts School thanks to his Golden Bell Shield skills. But the Ma Family's retaliation wouldn't be so simple.
In their eyes, Lu Lin was nothing but an ant. If they couldn't crush him the first time, they'd do it a second. Getting rid of someone like Lu Lin, who wasn't even a Martial Artist, was child's play.
[962/1000] [982/1000]
Under the four men's assault, Golden Bell Shield's proficiency quickly reached its limit, and the system's notification sounded right on time.
[The master meets the conditions for a medicinal bath. Golden Bell Shield has advanced to the Fourth Layer] [Reminder: Two pairs of musk-and-bone-strengthening medicinal plasters are required to advance to the Fifth Layer]
He'd advanced.
This time, he hadn't gained any special effect, but Lu Lin could sense that the four Beginner Martial Artists' attacks could no longer help him much.
[3/10000] [4/10000]
Advancing Golden Bell Shield to the fifth layer would require a full 10,000 proficiency points. And with his defense improved, attacks from Beginner Martial Artists alone couldn't make his proficiency climb quickly again.
"Ah, you've really disappointed me."
Lu Lin shook his head and spoke with a look of regret.
It seemed he had no hope of advancing Golden Bell Shield to the fifth layer today.
Hearing Lu Lin talk so arrogantly, the Tiger Head Youth and the other three were instantly enraged. After fighting for so long, Lu Lin hadn't struck back, but all that dodging and weaving had still drained much of their stamina and Vitality Power. Now, all four were running low.
But Lu Lin's taunt made them summon the last of their Vitality Power, determined to knock him down.
In the end, all their efforts became Lu Lin's proficiency points.
[57/10000]
After taking dozens of punches in a row, the four Martial Artists were completely out of strength. They could only lean on each other as they stood there. Their arms trembled slightly, and Lu Lin could tell they'd been drained dry—not a drop left.
In that case... he'd leave.
It wasn't that Lu Lin didn't want to fight back. He'd only simplified one technique, Golden Bell Shield, and his Simplification Points were at zero. His attacks couldn't hurt Martial Artists at all. Rather than waste time here, he might as well go back and think about how to get more Simplification Points.
"Are you done?"
"Go back and tell your Young Master Ma that I, Lu Lin, have no intention of getting involved in your feud with the Liu Family. If you come looking for trouble again, don't blame me for being rude."
Hearing this, the four Martial Artists were furious. They wanted to teach Lu Lin a lesson, but their arms were so sore they couldn't even lift them. All they could do was let him leave.
But just as Lu Lin had taken two steps, he suddenly turned around. He patted the four men's pockets and pulled out more than a dozen Monster Cores of various colors. "Consider these compensation for what you did to me. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
The four men no longer had the strength to speak. They glared furiously at Lu Lin, but could only watch helplessly as he walked away.
These were only the cheapest, lowest-grade Level 1 Monster Cores. They weren't worth much at all. If Lu Lin hadn't found them, the four men wouldn't even have remembered they had them.
Out in the wilds of Blue Star, Monster Beasts were divided into levels. Levels 1 through 12 corresponded to the twelve stages across the four ranks of Martial Artist, Martial Master, Martial King, and Martial God. A Level 1 Monster Beast was equivalent to a Beginner Martial Artist.
Monster Cores formed inside the bodies of Monster Beasts and served as the source of their power. But there were too many Level 1 Monster Cores, and they were completely useless. No merchant would buy them; they were nothing but worthless trinkets.
Lu Lin taking them had no effect on the four Martial Artists whatsoever.
[Absorbable energy detected. Absorb?]
The moment the dozen or so Monster Cores entered Lu Lin's hand, the system spoke.
"Absorb."
Lu Lin felt a cool energy enter his body and vanish around his forehead.
He hurriedly opened the panel to check.
[Master: Lu Lin] [Level: Advanced Martial Disciple] [Techniques: Golden Bell Shield (simplified), Fourth Layer; Mad Ox Strength Fist (insufficient points), Second Layer] [Points: 16]
Just as he'd thought.
Simplification Points came from absorbing the energy in Monster Cores. Lu Lin hadn't expected that his casual decision would lead him in the right direction.
A single Level 1 Monster Core could be converted into one Simplification Point.
With two hundred Level 1 Monster Cores, Lu Lin could simplify Mad Ox Strength Fist too. Then he could raise it just as quickly as Golden Bell Shield.
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