They Had to Die!

Dusk's fading light spilled over the run-down courtyard. Chen Jing sat cross-legged on the ground, steam rising from his sweat-soaked body. He had spent the entire day desperately circulating the Five Harms Technique.

From cautious experimentation at first... to pushing the technique to five times its normal speed!

At that moment, the blood and qi inside Chen Jing surged like a raging tide, and his bones and muscles trembled without pause.

Before long, he felt a resisting force lodged between his meridians, as if he had run into an invisible barrier.

Chen Jing opened his eyes, his gaze sharpening as he pondered, Is this... a bottleneck?

After a month and a half of strenuous training, Chen Jing had already accumulated most of the blood and qi he needed. With the Five Harms Technique boosting his cultivation speed fivefold, it was only natural that he would hit a bottleneck in a single day.

After all, other people practicing the Five Harms Technique might gradually increase their speed from onefold to fivefold.

But Chen Jing had started out circulating it at five times the speed, so his gains were naturally far greater than those of an ordinary practitioner.

Chen Jing licked his cracked lips, excitement shining in his eyes. "No wonder they call it an unorthodox technique. It really is fast!"

"In just one day, I've already hit a bottleneck!"

"Next, I just need to use the Five Harms Technique to break through and become a First Blood Martial Artist. Then, drawing on my experience with the Five Harms Technique, I can cultivate the River-Breaking Fist to the Blood Creek stage!"

"Once I do that, I'll become an official disciple of the River-Breaking Martial Hall and have the status I need to keep practicing martial arts!"

With that thought, Chen Jing didn't hesitate. He took a deep breath.

"Break through!"

In an instant, the Five Harms Technique roared into motion, and his blood and qi raced through his meridians once more.

As the moon rose and the stars came out, Chen Sanwu had already returned, eaten a little dinner, and gone to bed. Chen Jing, however, was still in the courtyard practicing the Five Harms Technique.

As he furiously tempered his blood and qi, Chen Jing suddenly felt a wondrous change take place.

Bang!

It was as if something inside Chen Jing had shattered.

There was no earth-shaking boom, nor any searing pain. It was more like a thin membrane being gently poked through.

Suddenly, Chen Jing's vision brightened. The night no longer seemed dim; even the spiderwebs in the corner of the courtyard stood out clearly. The insects chirped sharply in his ears, and his heartbeat sounded steady and strong. He felt like a different person.

The blood and qi that had been circulating through his body now expanded from a narrow ditch into a small stream.

A warm, gentle force rose from his dantian and flowed into his limbs and bones. All the awkwardness he had felt during the past month and a half vanished, as if clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

"I did it!"

Feeling the changes within himself, Chen Jing slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, unable to hide his delight.

He had become a First Blood Martial Artist!

Now he only needed to draw on his experience as a First Blood Martial Artist and raise the River-Breaking Fist to the Blood Creek stage. Then he would become an official disciple.

But before that, as he recalled Brother Tiger's behavior, a cold glint passed through Chen Jing's eyes.

Brother Tiger had better know when to stop. Otherwise, I'm no saint.

With that thought, Chen Jing took advantage of his excellent state after the breakthrough and began practicing the River-Breaking Fist.

Blood and qi surged rapidly through his meridians, and his fists whooshed through the air.

Chen Jing now understood completely: although the Five Harms Technique and River-Breaking Fist were both martial arts, their breakthrough signs were different.

When the River-Breaking Fist reached First Blood, a red mark like a stream appeared at the base of the arm.

When the Five Harms Technique reached a breakthrough, five bloodstains appeared over the corresponding positions of the five organs.

So Chen Jing still needed to cultivate the River-Breaking Fist to the Blood Creek stage before its signs would appear.

And now, bolstered by his First Blood Martial Artist cultivation, Chen Jing practiced the River-Breaking Fist many times faster than before.

All the places where he had once stumbled or felt awkward now flowed smoothly as soon as he practiced them. Even his punches had grown more ferocious and domineering.

Chen Jing lowered his fists and gently exhaled. "At my current pace, I can practice the River-Breaking Fist during the day and the Five Harms Technique at night, building up my blood and qi..."

"At most, it'll take seven days for my River-Breaking Fist to reach the Blood Creek stage!"

He kept up that routine for two days.

That day, Chen Jing made a point of asking Fei Feng for time off, then waited at home with Chen Sanwu for Brother Tiger to show up.

"Jing'er, I've made a few extra trips these past few days, but I'm still a little short of the money for the protection fee."

Chen Sanwu looked at the money pouch in his hand, his face full of worry.

Hearing his father's concern, Chen Jing hurried to reassure him. "Don't worry, Father. I'm close to breaking through. Once I reach First Blood, they won't dare come asking us for protection money anymore."

"Close to breaking through?"

"Good, good, good."

Chen Sanwu's eyes lit up, and he said "good" three times in a row, beaming with joy.

Crash!

Before Chen Sanwu could finish speaking, a loud bang rang out, and the door was kicked open.

At the sound, Chen Sanwu's body jolted. He hurriedly looked up.

Brother Tiger swaggered in with two lackeys. Each of the three had a short blade tucked at his waist, its edge gleaming in the sunlight.

Brother Tiger swept his eyes over the father and son, then snorted. "Got the protection money ready?"

Chen Sanwu hurriedly held out the money pouch and explained, "Brother Tiger, this old man's been leaving before dawn and getting back after dark these past few days... This is all the money I could scrape together."

Brother Tiger took the pouch and tossed it in his hand. Feeling how light it was, his face instantly darkened. "This is it? You think I'm such a soft touch that you can fob me off?"

At his words, the two lackeys beside him drew their short blades and glared viciously at Chen Jing and Chen Sanwu, looking ready to start a fight at the slightest provocation.

Seeing this, Chen Jing quickly stepped forward and shielded Chen Sanwu.

Chen Sanwu hurriedly tried to explain. "Brother Tiger... there just wasn't enough time. I could only scrape together this much..."

"You had enough money to send this brat off to learn martial arts, but you don't have enough to pay the protection fee!"

Brother Tiger fixed his gaze on Chen Jing with a cold smile, then slammed his hand down on the table.

Crack!

The old table collapsed on the spot beneath his palm.

"It's true, we're out of money. We had to borrow from someone just to pay for his martial arts lessons..."

Under Brother Tiger's threat, Chen Sanwu hurriedly tried to explain.

"Old Chen, I'll give you three more days!"

Brother Tiger narrowed his eyes. Chen Sanwu's expression didn't seem fake, so he continued threatening him. "If you still can't scrape the money together in three days... I'll tear this dump of a house apart!"

"Oh, right!"

Brother Tiger looked around. Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, a lewd smile crept across his face.

"You've got two daughters, don't you?"

"One's in a theater troupe, and the other's at Spring Return Hall?"

"If you still don't have the money by then... I'll sell them to a brothel!"

After he finished speaking, Brother Tiger and his two lackeys burst out laughing.

As their brazen laughter rang out, Chen Jing quietly clenched his fist inside his sleeve, his knuckles turning white. His gaze grew icily cold.

If he hadn't been worried about Chen Sanwu behind him, Chen Jing would already have thrown a punch!

"Fine. Have the money ready within three days."

After speaking, Brother Tiger looked at Chen Jing's furious face, shook his head, and spat. "So what if you've learned martial arts? A good-for-nothing is still a good-for-nothing!"

The two lackeys burst out laughing, then followed Brother Tiger out of the house.

Only after the three men's footsteps had faded away did Chen Sanwu speak, his lips trembling. "Jing'er... three days... They want the money in three days. But what... what are we going to do? They even want... your eldest sister and second sister..."

Brother Tiger's threats had clearly left him completely flustered.

"Father, it's all right."

Chen Jing took a deep breath and reassured him in a firm voice. "As long as I break through to First Blood in the next three days, Brother Tiger won't dare come back!"

Then Chen Jing helped Chen Sanwu to the bed and said, "I'll go to the martial hall and see if I can borrow some money. You stay home and rest."

After reassuring Chen Sanwu, Chen Jing helped gather the scattered furniture, then pushed open the door and left.

He stepped outside into the biting wind, but only one image filled his mind: Brother Tiger's leering smile as he spoke about his eldest and second sisters.

His fist clenched tight, his knuckles creaking.

He had thought that if he just put up with things for a little while, the other side would back off once he showed that he had reached the Blood Creek stage.

But he had never expected Brother Tiger to keep pushing, over and over, until he set his sights on the family Chen Jing treasured most.

He thought of how his eldest sister had given him every last coin she'd saved over the years, and how his second sister had worked so hard to save up for the Blood Recovery Powder...

All he wanted was to practice martial arts and protect his family!

And now that bastard wanted to destroy everything?

How could he put up with that?

How could he allow it?

He had to kill them.