Strength Test! One Move Deters the Enemy!

The night wind in Nujiang County carried moisture, making the window frames rattle.

In the secret chamber, Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the cold jade bed.

His breathing was extremely light. With each inhale and exhale, two streams of white mist puffed from his nostrils. The mist condensed into tiny ice crystals in the air, falling with a rustling sound.

After mastering the Profound Nether Hand, he felt like a block of ice that would never melt.

Even on this sweltering summer night, the temperature in the secret chamber was terrifyingly low.

Suddenly.

Lu Chen's ears twitched.

A faint sound came from the courtyard.

The sound was very small, like a wild cat jumping off a wall. Ordinary people, and even general Body Tempering Realm martial artists, wouldn't have heard it.

But Lu Chen heard it.

His Iron Cloth Shirt had reached the third stage, making his skin and membranes extremely sensitive. He could feel even the slightest change in airflow.

"They're here."

Lu Chen opened his eyes, his irises pitch black.

He didn't get up; his posture remained unchanged, his back still to the door.

Since the other party wanted to play, he would play along.

In the courtyard.

Two dark figures crept along the base of the wall.

These were guards from the Flying Horse Merchant Association, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu.

Both were at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm and were ruthless individuals who had seen bloodshed in the prefectural city. They had been sent by their manager, Qian Tong, to test the mettle of this "Number One Expert of Nujiang County."

"Big brother, this courtyard is eerily quiet."

Zhao Hu lowered his voice, gripping the poisoned dagger in his hand and warily scanning their surroundings.

"What are you afraid of?"

Zhang Long sneered. "He's just a local bully from the countryside. Even if he could kill the Water Ghost King, it was probably luck, or he used some suicidal tactic."

"The manager said as long as we don't kill him, breaking his arms or legs is fine."

The two exchanged a look, their bodies flickered, and they lunged straight for the main house.

Their movements were swift, clearly indicating they were accustomed to murder and robbery.

As they neared the door.

Zhang Long kicked the door open with a sudden force, his body like a tiger descending from the mountain. His long saber whistled through the air, cleaving directly at the figure inside.

"Lie down for me!"

This saber strike was powerful and heavy; if it landed, it could split a person in two.

However.

The figure with his back to them didn't even turn his head.

The instant the saber blade was about to strike.

Lu Chen moved.

He didn't draw his saber or stand up.

He simply flicked his palm backward.

The palm strike looked slow, not stirring up any wind.

But in Zhang Long's eyes, it was terrifyingly fast, instantly filling his vision.

What terrified him even more was that as the palm strike was unleashed, the stuffy room instantly felt like falling into an ice cellar!

A terrifying coldness, like a breached dam, instantly engulfed him.

"Not good!"

Zhang Long's heart filled with dread, and he instinctively tried to retract his saber and retreat.

Too late.

A dull thud.

Lu Chen's palm landed squarely on the saber Zhang Long was using to block his chest.

There was no crisp sound of metal clashing.

Only a grating "crackling" sound.

Zhang Long felt an icy force surge up his arm along the saber, drilling into his internal organs.

This was no ordinary cold.

This was a cold that froze the marrow of his bones!

"Ah—!"

Zhang Long screamed, as if hit by a charging bull, and flew backward.

He spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air, and before it even hit the ground, it had already formed red ice shards!

"Big Brother!"

Zhao Hu behind him was so scared his soul almost flew out of his body.

He watched with his own eyes as Zhang Long fell into the courtyard, half his body covered in black frost, curled up into a ball and shivering, unable to even stand.

"What… what kind of sorcery is this?!"

The dagger in Zhao Hu's hand trembled violently.

Inside the house.

The figure still sat cross-legged, as if he had just swatted away a fly.

Lu Chen retracted his hand, his voice calm:

"Scram."

Just one word.

Yet it struck the hearts of both men like a heavy hammer.

Zhao Hu swallowed, his scalp tingling, a chill rushing from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.

Too strong!

They were not on the same level at all!

He hadn't even seen the man's face clearly, and one of them was crippled in a single move!

This kind of strength, in the prefectural city, was the kind only possessed by experts in the Meridian Connecting Realm!

"Go! Hurry and go!"

Zhao Hu didn't dare to linger. He scooped up Zhang Long from the ground, slung him over his shoulder, and fled over the wall in a sorry state.

Like two stray dogs.

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Yue Lai Inn.

Qian Tong paced back and forth in the room, his iron ball spinning rapidly in his hand.

He was waiting for news.

Although he had confidence in his two guards, he still felt uneasy.

That Lu Chen was too composed.

He didn't seem like a young man who had just gained power, but more like an old veteran who had lived for decades.

The door was shoved open.

Zhao Hu, carrying Zhang Long, rushed in and knelt on the ground.

"Steward! Help! Save Big Brother!"

Qian Tong's expression changed, and he quickly stepped forward.

Zhang Long had already fainted, his face deathly pale, his eyebrows and hair covered in white frost.

The most terrifying was his right arm.

The entire arm was dark blue and black, stiff as a frozen wooden stick, and bone-chillingly cold.

"This is…"

Qian Tong's pupils contracted sharply.

He was a man who knew his stuff.

This kind of injury could absolutely not be caused by external martial arts.

This was internal true qi!

And it was extremely domineering, extremely sinister cold-attribute true qi!

"What happened? Speak!" Qian Tong demanded.

Zhao Hu stammered through the events.

"One move?"

Qian Tong's face turned ugly after listening, "You mean, he didn't even turn his head, and with a backhand palm strike, he crippled Zhang Long like this?"

"Y-yes!"

Zhao Hu's face was full of fear, "Steward, that person is too strange! When he struck out with that palm, I felt like I had fallen into an ice cave!"

Qian Tong took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He reached out and pressed on Zhang Long's pulse.

A faint but tenacious cold energy was wreaking havoc within his meridians, devouring his life force.

If he didn't save him in time, losing an arm would be the least of it; he could lose his life.

"What a potent cold energy... what ruthless methods!"

Qian Tong took out a red pill and stuffed it into Zhang Long's mouth, then channeled his energy to help him break down the medicinal effects.

After a long while, Zhang Long's complexion regained some color, but his arm remained numb.

Qian Tong stared out at the dark night, his expression grave.

He had underestimated the "number one expert" in this small county town.

This wasn't just good luck.

This was the combat power of the Meridian Connecting Realm, plain and simple!

This ability to project cold energy was definitely a Spirit Tier technique!

"It seems a direct confrontation won't work."

Qian Tong narrowed his eyes, his fingers tapping on the tabletop.

Since brute force wouldn't work, he'd have to try a different approach.

There was nothing in this world that couldn't be bought.

If there was, it simply meant the price wasn't high enough.

"Prepare a generous gift for first thing tomorrow morning."

Qian Tong turned and instructed Zhao Hu, "I'm going to pay Hall Master Lu a personal visit."

"Remember, your attitude must be respectful. Bring those few boxes of 'Cloud Mist Tea' and 'Blood Jade Marrow' we brought."

Zhao Hu was stunned. "Manager, are we... are we just going to let this go?"

"Let it go?"

Qian Tong sneered, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.

"This is called diplomacy before force."

"Since he's a man-eating tiger, we'll have to feed him until he's full before we can make him obedient."

"As long as he's willing to take us into the water, into that Dragon Palace..."

Qian Tong didn't finish his sentence, a chilling murderous intent gleaming in his narrowed eyes.

Lu Chen's small courtyard.

After shooing away two flies, Lu Chen didn't continue his cultivation.

He walked to the window and looked in the direction of the Welcoming Inn.

With that palm strike just now, he had only used thirty percent of his strength.

It was both to establish his authority and to probe.

If the Flying Horse Merchant Association's people were so easily intimidated that they fled in the middle of the night, then these people were not worth worrying about.

If they dared to come again tomorrow...

It meant they were determined to obtain whatever was in the Dragon Palace.

"Profound Nether Sect..."

Lu Chen touched the beast-skin map in his怀.

Within the Dragon Palace ruins, besides the Profound Nether Hand and Netherworld Stones, there must be other secrets hidden.

Otherwise, a major merchant association from the prefectural city wouldn't make such a fuss over these things.

"Perfect."

Lu Chen sneered.

"I also want to know what else is down there."

"Since someone is willing to spend money and effort to be cannon fodder, why should I refuse?"

The night wind rustled a few fallen leaves.

Lu Chen closed the window, locking the chill within the room.

Tomorrow would be the real confrontation.