He Wanted to Kill

Deep in the gloomy dungeon, a murky aura hung in the air. Water droplets that had just melted clung to the grim iron bars of the prison cells, glimmering faintly beneath the silver moonlight outside the window.

"Venerable Luo, you're here." Chen Yan looked at the newcomer in surprise.

"Chen Yan, you..." Luo Puxin looked at Chen Yan, who wasn't utterly exhausted as he'd expected, and hesitated in bewilderment.

"Did you awaken?"

"I did." Chen Yan had to admit it. Luo Puxin had once saved his life and helped him tremendously. Most importantly, he knew Chen Yan had undergone Limit Breaking Awakening.

"Mm... mm." Luo Puxin nodded. He turned slightly, his face obscured by darkness, and said evenly, "That's... not bad."

Though he said this, Luo Puxin's heart was pounding fiercely.

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!

He really had awakened—Limit Breaking Awakening!

How had he done it? Had he just awakened by throwing punches?

Holy shit!

Chen Yan sighed inwardly. Luo Puxin was acting far too casually about his awakening.

The man didn't seem to be a local Town Martial Division official. He had powerful connections.

"Chen Yan." Luo Puxin thought for a while, then grew exceptionally solemn. His eyes were hidden in the darkness.

"Are you willing to accept the Military Martial Guard's Heavenly Pride cultivation funding from the Town Martial Division?"

"I am." Chen Yan answered.

"Hm?" Luo Puxin was taken aback. He hadn't even thought about it?

"The Heavenly Pride subsidy I mentioned is actually part of an evaluation. You still have to meet the requirements to join the Military Martial Guard. It'll be hard, and there may even be danger. Of course, you can also choose not to—"

"I am." Chen Yan answered again.

He was so decisive that Luo Puxin barely had time to react.

"Why don't you... think it over?"

Chen Yan bowed and said calmly, "Venerable Luo."

"Call me Uncle Luo. No, just call me Bro Luo."

"Bro Luo." Chen Yan nodded. "Do you know what I was thinking about when I underwent Limit Breaking Awakening?"

"What?" Luo Puxin perked up. This was the experience of a Heavenly Pride who'd succeeded in Limit Breaking Awakening. He had to learn from it.

"A thousand yuan." Chen Yan saw the bewildered look on Luo Puxin's face. "When I awakened, all I could think about was a thousand yuan.

A while ago, that thousand yuan had nearly crushed my whole family.

Then, at that moment, someone saved me and gave my family Qingju Snake Meat worth a hundred thousand yuan."

Chen Yan's words lingered in Luo Puxin's mind for a long time. At first, Luo Puxin was astonished, then fell silent. Even now, his lips parted and closed without a word.

So that was why.

It was because of him.

He, too, had come from Green Mountain Town. He knew what that thousand yuan Chen Yan spoke of really meant.

A person could achieve Limit Breaking Awakening, crushing nearly everyone else, for no other reason than a thousand yuan.

It was the sorrow of some people, and also their last shred of dignity.

"I didn't help the wrong person, and you didn't make the wrong choice either!" Luo Puxin smiled, pleased and relieved.

Luo Puxin explained a few more things to Chen Yan.

Before long, the crowd that had been gathered outside the former Town Martial Hall stopped condemning them, and Xin Gongxian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The onlookers gradually dispersed. Someone threw a brick at Hu Zeyuan from behind, and his son, Hu Yuan, tearfully took him to the clinic.

"Xiao Yan, you've suffered."

Inside the dungeon, Chen Yuxu let out a long sigh. Seeing his son sitting on the floor, concealed in shadow, left him feeling conflicted.

He really was useless.

"It's fine." Chen Yan smiled and looked at Wang Yang. "Teacher Wang, everything's fine now."

Wang Yang nodded firmly and smiled.

Everything was fine now!

His student was a genius, and he'd attracted an important figure from the Town Martial Division. Wang Yang was proud!

Xin Gongxian stood meekly behind everyone, not daring to move or speak.

Xin Gongxian was going to be taken to the city for investigation.

Secretary Ye had gone to the clinic. His injuries were quite serious, and his boss had called him as well. He'd lost his job for good.

His boss was from the Gong Family, but only an illegitimate child. There was no way he'd oppose Yin Yanjun for Xin Gongxian's sake.

Now, all the arrogance Xin Gongxian had once shown was gone. He watched the young man sitting inside the iron cell with utmost caution.

For some reason, he felt a little afraid. Who could have known that a young man from a village could wield such influence?

Terrifying.

"Chen Yan, come out already," Zhuang Xihang said, but Chen Yan didn't move. A struggle surfaced in his eyes.

"Chen Yan, it's over now," Luo Puxin said.

Chen Yan shook his head, seeming troubled.

"What's wrong?" Chen Yuxu furrowed his brows slightly, sensing that his son seemed to be in a bind.

"Yeah, what's wrong..." Xin Gongxian asked in a trembling voice.

He was scared. Just come out already!

Everyone looked at Chen Yan. With difficulty, Chen Yan looked at Xin Gongxian and said, "I can't come out. Director Xin said I had to behave myself in the Town Martial Hall."

The color that had just returned to Xin Gongxian's face instantly drained away.

Chen Yan continued, "If I don't behave, Director Xin will take my life."

His gaze was shadowy.

"I still want to live."

Everyone was instantly enraged.

Whoosh...

A blaze flickered around Yin Yanjun. He glared furiously at the man behind him.

"Xin Gongxian!"

"Chief, I..." Xin Gongxian hurriedly begged for mercy.

The blaze slammed into Xin Gongxian. He flew backward, crashed into the wall, and passed out.

Everyone was still angry, but Luo Puxin gave Chen Yan a strange look.

His heart lurched. So this kid wasn't so honest after all. He could act.

He could act. Good!

People who could act lived longer.

Chen Yan came out. After hearing everyone explain what had happened from beginning to end, he finally relaxed.

He bowed to them.

"Principal Zhuang, Venerable Luo, Venerable Yin, thank you."

Luo Puxin grumbled inwardly as he watched him. Too natural.

At night.

Yunmeng City.

Tower after tower stood upon the earth, veiled in clouds and mist like gauzy curtains, ethereal as celestial drapery.

Amid the clouds, steel structures gleamed with a cold light, stretching across the city and forming a wondrous landscape like an elaborate Formation.

It was as if this were a city in the clouds, existing only in a dream.

At the edge of Yunmeng City, a tall woman flew along the steel structures suspended high in the air. She moved incredibly fast, her long hair streaming behind her like water.

"Master, I did it!"

Chen Yu's face brimmed with delight. Two golden Formation Disk patterns appeared in her eyes.

"As expected of my disciple. For your first attempt at making a flying Formation, you managed to use Psionic Power to cast it on yourself.

When you go home tomorrow, remember to ask your father for twenty thousand. You need to buy some more materials."

The Red-dressed Woman's voice rang out in Chen Yu's mind as she spoke with a smile.

Thump.

Chen Yu landed on the ground, her expression changing slightly.

She could use Psionic Power to cast a low-altitude flying Formation on herself, but she could only maintain it for five minutes at most.

"What's wrong? Doesn't your family have some money now?" the Red-dressed Woman asked.

Chen Yu hesitated. "But my brother's already in his third year of high school. He needs money. Twenty thousand yuan is a lot, and I've joined the Tianbang Boxing Tournament. I'll be able to earn money from the matches."

Once she earned money, she could help support the family, so her brother and father would never have to suffer indignities again.

That was what she desired most.

She didn't want her family to go through the hardships she'd endured as a child.

The Red-dressed Woman fell silent for a long while.

That morning, Chen Yu had gone to First High School to ask if her brother had joined the Town Martial Class. When she heard the answer, she'd looked dejected.

In the Red-dressed Woman's view, if he couldn't even make it into a county-organized class for gifted students, Chen Yu ought to understand what her brother's talent was like.

The young man was quite handsome and did work hard. He had some talent, too.

But only some.

Yet this girl cared so much about her brother.

After a moment's thought, the Red-dressed Woman sighed. "The boxing tournament can earn you money, but you still need startup funds. You're only just starting out, and your combat strength isn't very high."

Chen Yu walked along, looking troubled. She didn't speak again, leaving the Red-dressed Woman at a loss for words.

Luoshan County.

Wang Yang and Chen Yuxu had gone into town to buy prepared food. Today was a good day.

Yin Yanjun was still organizing the Town Martial Hall. People from the county's Town Martial Division would be arriving soon to investigate the Green Mountain Town Town Martial Hall.

Everyone in Green Mountain Town knew that change was coming.

At Wang Yang's home.

Zhuang Xihang, Luo Puxin, and Chen Yan sat together.

"Chen Yan, have you ever thought about taking a master?" Zhuang Xihang finally asked. He'd been holding back for a long time.

Chen Yan was a little surprised. He'd only just learned that the person he'd fought hadn't been Zhang Tie, but Wu Chuhua.

"Ahem." Luo Puxin cleared his throat. Chen Yan had already accepted the Military Martial Guard's cultivation offer, so Zhuang Xihang wasn't really a suitable choice now.

Chen Yan stood and bowed slightly to Zhuang Xihang. "Thank you for the offer, Principal Zhuang, but I..." Before he could finish, Zhuang Xihang interrupted.

"Don't turn me down just yet. I may only be a vice principal, but I've never taken a disciple."

Zhuang Xihang was utterly serious. He'd let Wang Yang down these past two years, and now he wanted to make it up to him through Chen Yan.

"You have talent, and you need resources.

I'll prepare Treasure Medicine for you, and I'll prepare an external cultivation method, too.

I've saved up some money over the years.

This isn't just a teacher-disciple relationship. You're my first student, and you'll be my last."

Chen Yan parted his lips. Even Luo Puxin was extremely surprised.

Did Zhuang Xihang think that highly of Chen Yan?

Luo Puxin spoke up.

"Zhuang Xihang, I understand that you want to take a disciple, but if you do, Chen Yan will have to support you in the future as well."

Zhuang Xihang nodded. That was only right.

He also wanted to see the world beyond the Five Viscera Realm.

"But you're a Blood Qi Martial Artist, while Chen Yan's a Horizontal Refinement genius. You can't teach him well." Luo Puxin lit a cigarette and said quietly.

"You..." Zhuang Xihang was about to speak, but then he seemed to think of something and looked at Chen Yan. "I can teach Horizontal Refinement, too."

"But Chen Yan has extremely high talent in Horizontal Refinement. You won't be able to teach him after a few days." Luo Puxin cut in again.

Zhuang Xihang fell silent. He still didn't know that Chen Yan had already mastered the Breathing Technique.

Word would have to get out about this, but Luo Puxin was still unsure when to reveal it.

Chen Yan remained silent. Zhuang Xihang sighed, realizing Chen Yan had made up his mind, but still unwilling to give up.

"Chen Yan, Director Luo said earlier that you'd condensed Pattern Lines in the dungeon—three of them, to be precise. Is that true?"

He just couldn't accept it.

He was a Blood Qi Martial Artist and wasn't good at Horizontal Refinement, but even so, he could still teach Chen Yan the Seventy-two Patterns Extreme Forging Realm. Right?

Luo Puxin was deliberately trying to stop him!

Beside him, Luo Puxin froze.

Holy shit.

He'd forgotten about that.

He had only lied to everyone to keep Chen Yan's Limit Breaking Awakening a secret. Now, it seemed, Zhuang Xihang was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Three Pattern Lines?" Chen Yan froze for a moment.

"Yeah. Director Luo said you condensed Pattern Lines in the dungeon. Three of them, at that.

He told us not to disturb you." Zhuang Xihang smiled. From the look on Chen Yan's face, it seemed he didn't even know about it himself.

So why had Luo Puxin told them not to disturb Chen Yan?

Something was off.

Chen Yan glanced at Luo Puxin beside him and noticed his expression had already begun to change.

After a moment's thought, Chen Yan understood. He hesitated, then said,

"They're only faint Pattern Lines, not solid ones."

"Of course. You have to condense faint lines first. If you went straight to solid ones... you'd be one in ten thousand in Yunmeng City, at the very least." Zhuang Xihang smiled.

Still pretending?

Luo Puxin's heart kept thumping. Chen Yan's Limit Breaking Awakening absolutely couldn't be exposed. Should he just knock the old guy out?

No, that was a little crude.

Forget it. Knock him out first, then figure out the rest.

Just as he raised his hand, Chen Yan spoke:

"Faint lines? I did condense some."

"Good, let me see." Zhuang Xihang's smile faded as Luo Puxin raised his arm.

Chen Yan took off his shirt, exposing his chest.

"Phew..." A faint Red Mist drifted from Chen Yan's mouth.

"Hm?" Luo Puxin stopped short. Zhuang Xihang let out a startled sound. That Breathing Technique...

Before either of them could speak, five Pattern Lines appeared across Chen Yan's chest.

One was a fully solidified Strength Stripe.

The other four were faint lines for skin, sinew, bone, and strength. The Strength Stripe among them had already solidified halfway.

Luo Puxin froze on the spot.

"How many is that?" Zhuang Xihang stood up and leaned closer.

"I didn't bring my reading glasses!"

It was nearly two in the morning when Luo Puxin and Chen Yan walked out of Wang Yang's house.

Now that Chen Yan had undergone Limit Breaking Awakening, what he needed most was a cultivation method.

A Qi and Blood Cultivation Method that could nurture Ice Attribute elements.

For that, Luo Puxin would have to take him to the Town Martial Division in Yunmeng City and request one.

This was part of what Luo Puxin had meant when he spoke of the Military Martial Department's support.

Of course, no one else knew about that. They only knew Chen Yan was going with Luo Puxin to register at the Town Martial Class.

Zhuang Xihang followed behind them, his expression complicated.

Chen Yan's talent in the Body Tempering Path was truly astonishing!

He might not be worthy of being Chen Yan's master, but that wouldn't stop him from teaching Chen Yan from now on.

The group was about to go their separate ways when a figure suddenly limped out of a dark corner.

It was Secretary Ye.

"I'm sorry!"

Secretary Ye shouted, his voice breaking with grief as he bowed deeply to Chen Yan.

"I'm sorry. I'm a beast. I looked down on you. I deserve to die!"

He trembled all over, like a helpless dog caught in the rain. The arrogance in his eyes had vanished completely. Slowly, he reached out his right hand toward Chen Yan, hoping for a handshake that would seal their reconciliation.

He'd lost his job. Without his backer, he was nothing.

All he wanted now was Chen Yan's forgiveness.

Chen Yan had such formidable abilities; his talent must be beyond anything Secretary Ye could imagine.

Having an enemy like Chen Yan terrified him.

At that moment, all he wanted was to be forgiven.

Luo Puxin and the others all wore cold expressions. Chen Yan, however, stepped forward and clasped Secretary Ye's right hand.

Secretary Ye's expression eased a little. He looked at Chen Yan gratefully, tears welling in his eyes.

"Thank you. Chen Yan, you can forgive me—ah!!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream shattered the stillness of the night.

Crack!

Secretary Ye's index finger broke. Chen Yan tightened his grip again.

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

"Ah!!!"

Agonizing pain shot through Secretary Ye's fingers. Clutching his right hand, he fell to the ground and writhed, squealing like a pig awaiting slaughter.

Chen Yan had snapped all five fingers with his bare hands.

Everyone was stunned.

Chen Yan was mercilessly decisive.

"This is what you owed Teacher Wang," Chen Yan said coldly.

He'd repaid what he owed Wang Yang.

He hadn't repaid what he owed Chen Yan.

Secretary Ye had come to apologize not because he knew he was wrong, but because Chen Yan wasn't someone who could be broken so easily.

Without the Saint Breaking Realm, without Limit Breaking Awakening, what would have happened to him? To his father? To his little sister?

That beast had nearly destroyed their whole family!

Everyone could only see Chen Yan's back, unaware of the cold light flashing in his eyes and the surging killing intent.

He had wanted to kill him.