Fearless

"Hey, that guy's with Han Mo? Now that's even more interesting."

"Kid, I'll give you a choice. Join me and become a private soldier of the Xing Family. Are you willing?" Xing Penghai sat astride his horse, looking down at Lin Zheyu.

Lin Zheyu frowned slightly and considered it for a moment. "My lord, a melon forced off the vine won't be sweet. Even if I agreed, I'm afraid you wouldn't trust me, would you?"

"Don't worry. I have my own way of making sure I can trust you."

"Just swallow this pill, and you'll be one of the Xing Family. You'll be safe today, too." Xing Penghai took a blackish pill from his robes.

Clearly, the pill was probably some kind of poison, meant to control people.

Lin Zheyu put on an expression of hesitation and struggle, keeping an eye on the movements at the city gate from the corner of his eye.

"Phew..."

"All right, then. I'll join the Xing Family and work for you, my lord."

After a moment of hesitation, he said it as if surrendering.

"Haha, a wise man knows when to yield."

"Work hard for me from now on. If you do a good job, I'll naturally see to your—Damn it, stop him!"

Xing Penghai's smile froze, and he shouted.

He braced his left hand on the warhorse's back, sprang into the air, and chased after Lin Zheyu.

Just as Xing Penghai's guard had dropped while he was speaking, Lin Zheyu had spotted the movement at the city gate and seen his chance to escape.

He immediately drove the Golden Goose Technique to its limit and shot toward the city gate.

"What incredible speed! How could a little Bone Forging Realm brat possibly move that fast?!"

Xing Penghai chased after Lin Zheyu with all his strength, but the distance between them kept growing.

Disbelief filled his eyes. He was a peak Organ Refining Realm expert, yet he couldn't catch a little Bone Forging Realm brat!

"Hah!"

Seeing that he wouldn't catch up, Xing Penghai acted decisively. He gathered his strength midair and hurled the battle halberd in his hand.

Whoosh—

The halberd howled through the air toward Lin Zheyu's back, its momentum astonishing.

A razor-sharp sense of danger surged from behind. Lin Zheyu lightly tapped the ground, twisting aside and narrowly dodging it.

The soldiers at the city gate had also reacted by now. They raised their weapons, trying to stop Lin Zheyu.

He leapt into the air, planted a foot hard on a soldier's spear, and vaulted over the soldier's head, charging into the city and disappearing from sight.

"He got away!"

Xing Penghai stared gloomily at Lin Zheyu's retreating figure, fury rising in his heart.

A little Bone Forging Realm brat had actually escaped right under his nose. His expression darkened.

The kid's lightness skill and footwork were exceptionally agile. He had clearly trained in leg techniques, and had made quite an achievement of them.

"Brother!"

Xing Jinglong caught up. "Brother, he got away. What do we do now?"

"What can we do?"

"So what if the Flying Rainbow Gang finds out we attacked him? He's just some kid who joined them recently. At worst, we'll pay them some money."

"Do you think Xu Jingwu would really turn against the Xing Family over a little Bone Forging Realm brat?" Xing Penghai said with a cold laugh.

He came from the Xing Family and wasn't afraid of Xu Jingwu, the Flying Rainbow Gang's leader.

"Still, the kid's martial arts aptitude is truly extraordinary. In such a short time, he's already reached this level. With his talent, he might meet the requirements for cultivating the secret medicine."

Xing Penghai considered it for a moment, then said, "When we get back, report him to the higher-ups."

He swung himself onto his horse, squeezed its flanks, and galloped away.

His voice carried from a distance: "Come on. I'll take you somewhere."

Hearing this, Xing Jinglong quickly mounted his horse and followed.

"So they're really this brazen?"

Lin Zheyu stared solemnly in the direction of the city gate.

From what had just happened, it would have ended badly if he hadn't made it into the city right away.

He hadn't expected Xing Penghai to dare attack him so openly. After all, the Flying Rainbow Gang stood behind him.

Fortunately, they only dared attack him outside the city. If they dared act so recklessly inside the city as well, that would mean Songyi City's order had collapsed. He wouldn't be able to stay here any longer.

"I have to get stronger as soon as possible!"

A sense of urgency welled up inside him.

If he hadn't upgraded the Golden Goose Technique to the third layer earlier and entered Organ Refining, his breath would not have been as steady as it was now, and he probably would have been done for.

If he had swallowed that black pill, his life and death would no longer have been in his own hands. He would have become someone else's lapdog.

"I'll have to be even more careful from now on. Keep a lower profile."

Lin Zheyu said to himself.

Although he had already been extremely cautious and hadn't revealed much of his strength, Xing Jinglong had still set his sights on him.

Three days later.

Early morning.

Thump, thump... Crack!

The sound of Lin Zheyu's full-strength attacks rang through the courtyard, his whip-like kicks striking the wooden post.

The cold wind howled, and the weather was bitterly cold.

Yet Lin Zheyu was drenched in sweat, his muscles outlined in smooth, perfect lines.

He had been training nonstop for over an hour and had nearly reached his limit.

His face was flushed, and he panted like an ox.

Another half hour passed...

The instant Lin Zheyu reached his physical limit, his essence, energy, and spirit fused into one, and he entered a mysterious state.

The state lasted only briefly, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

He let out a breath and leaned against the wooden post, panting heavily.

His muscles twitched uncontrollably, and every part of his body ached.

Even though he had broken through his limits several times before, Lin Zheyu still found it incredibly difficult.

Every time he broke through his physical limit, it tested both his body and his spirit.

After resting for a while, Lin Zheyu checked the data in his consciousness.

Huh!

A delighted expression spread across his face.

When he had checked a moment ago, his Source Power had still been at 4. Now it had become 6.

After breaking through his limit just now, he had gained two units of Source Power at once!

"Could it be that as my essence, energy, and spirit improve, I gain more Source Power every time I break through my limits?" Lin Zheyu wondered.

He just didn't know whether every breakthrough would give him two units.

Or whether, after breaking through his physical limits several times in a row, his next breakthrough would grant him two units, while every previous one had granted him one.

Lin Zheyu thought the second possibility was quite likely.

As his strength increased, he seemed to gain a little more Source Power with each breakthrough—1.x each time, though it displayed as 1 and didn't show the decimal.

The numbers after the decimal point accumulated, and only appeared once they added up to 1.

But that was only a guess. He would have to test it again later to know for sure.

After resting for a while,

he spent half an hour stretching his muscles and bones, recovering a little of his strength.

He went inside and took out the ingredients for the Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup he had bought earlier.

After using some up before, he had only six sets of ingredients left. Recently, Lin Zheyu had earned some money and bought more, so now he had eight sets.

Making the medicinal soup was delicate work. He had to control the heat carefully and simmer the ingredients for a long time to draw out all their medicinal power.

"These ingredients keep getting more expensive. When will this ever end?"

Lin Zheyu muttered.

When he had gone to buy the ingredients that morning, the price of each set had been nearly one tael of silver higher than before.

The shopkeeper said there were more bandits in the mountains now, and the herb gatherers were often robbed whenever they went in to collect herbs. They rarely managed to bring much back.

With the cost of the herbs rising, the price they sold for had gone up too.