Must Kill Them!

The twilight glow spilled into the dilapidated courtyard as Chen Jing sat cross-legged on the ground, steam rising from his body. He had been pushing the Five Harms Technique with all his might for the entire day.

From the initial cautious probing... to now, driving the technique directly at five times the speed!

At this moment, the blood and qi within Chen Jing's body surged like a wild tide, his muscles and bones vibrating incessantly.

Before long, Chen Jing felt a sense of resistance stuck between his meridians, as if he had collided with an invisible barrier.

Chen Jing opened his eyes, his gaze narrowing as he pondered in his mind: Is this... a bottleneck?

A month and a half of grueling training had long since allowed Chen Jing to accumulate a vast amount of blood and qi. Now, under the five-fold amplification of the Five Harms Technique, it was only natural that he had pushed his blood and qi to a bottleneck in just a single day.

After all, others practicing the Five Harms Technique might grow slowly from one-fold speed to five-fold speed.

But Chen Jing had started at five-fold speed from the very beginning, so the gains he reaped were naturally far beyond those of an ordinary practitioner of the Five Harms Technique.

Chen Jing licked his cracked lips, a glimmer of excitement flashing in his eyes: "It truly lives up to its name as an evil technique; the cultivation speed is just incredible!"

"In just one day, it has already brought me to a bottleneck!"

"Next, I only need to rely on the Five Harms Technique to break through to a First-Blood martial artist, and then use the experience from the Five Harms Technique to cultivate the River-Breaking Martial Hall's River-Breaking Fist to the Blood-Stream level!"

"Once that is done, I can become an official disciple of the River-Breaking Martial Hall and have the status to continue my martial path!"

Thinking of this, Chen Jing did not hesitate and took a deep breath.

"Break through!"

In an instant, the Five Harms Technique roared to life, and his blood and qi surged through his meridians once more.

As the moon rose and the stars grew sparse, Chen Sanwu had already returned, eaten a bit of dinner, and gone to sleep, while Chen Jing remained in the courtyard, continuing to practice the Five Harms Technique.

Under the frantic tempering of his blood and qi, Chen Jing suddenly felt a strange change occur.

Bang!

It was as if something inside Chen Jing's body had been shattered.

It was not a heaven-shaking roar, nor a scorching pain like flames, but rather like a thin membrane being gently poked through.

Chen Jing suddenly felt his vision brighten; the night was no longer dim, and even the spiderwebs in the corners of the courtyard were clearly visible. The chirping of insects in his ears became exceptionally distinct, and the beating of his heart was steady and powerful, as if he had become a different person.

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

A warm, gentle power rose from his dantian and gradually flowed into his limbs and bones. All the stiffness from the past month and a half dissipated instantly, like clouds parting to reveal the sun.

"Done!"

Feeling the changes in himself, Chen Jing slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, an irrepressible joy appearing on his face.

He had already become a First-Blood martial artist!

Now, he only needed to rely on his experience as a First-Blood martial artist to elevate the River-Breaking Fist to the Blood-Stream level, and he would be able to become an official disciple.

However, before that, recalling the situation with Brother Tiger, a cold light flashed in Chen Jing's eyes.

He hoped that Brother Tiger would be wise enough to back off! Otherwise, he was not exactly a saint himself.

Thinking of this, Chen Jing took advantage of his excellent state after the breakthrough and began to practice the River-Breaking Fist.

Blood energy was rapidly mobilized between his meridians, and his fists whistled through the air.

Chen Jing now fully understood: although the Five Harms Technique and the River-Breaking Fist both belonged to the martial path, their characteristics after breaking through were completely different.

When the River-Breaking Fist broke through to the First-Blood level, a red mark like a stream of water would appear at the base of the arm.

When the Five Harms Technique broke through, five blood marks would appear at the positions corresponding to the five internal organs.

Therefore, Chen Jing still needed to cultivate the River-Breaking Fist to the Blood-Stream level before he could display the characteristics of the River-Breaking Fist.

At this moment, with the enhancement of being a First-Blood martial artist, Chen Jing's practice of the River-Breaking Fist was many times faster than before.

Many points of stagnation and stiffness were cleared up the moment he practiced them, and even his fist momentum became fierce and domineering.

Chen Jing retracted his fists and exhaled gently: "At my current progress, practicing the River-Breaking Fist during the day and the Five Harms Technique at night to accumulate blood and qi..."

"In seven days at most, my River-Breaking Fist will be able to break through to the Blood-Stream level!"

He followed this rhythm for two consecutive days.

On this day, Chen Jing specifically asked Fei Feng for leave, and then waited at home with Chen Sanwu for Brother Tiger to arrive.

"Jing'er, I've run a few more trips these past few days, but this money is still... a bit short for the security fee."

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

Hearing his father's anxiety, Chen Jing quickly spoke to comfort him: "Father, don't worry. I am about to break through as well. Once I reach the First-Blood level, how would they dare to come and collect security fees from us again?"

"About to break through?"

"Good, good, good."

Chen Sanwu's eyes lit up instantly, and he said the word "good" three times in succession, his face full of joy.

Bang!

Before Chen Sanwu's voice had even faded, a loud crash suddenly rang out, and the front door was kicked open.

Chen Sanwu trembled upon hearing this and hurriedly looked up.

Brother Tiger swaggered in with two lackeys, each with a short blade tucked at their waist that glinted coldly in the sunlight.

Brother Tiger swept his gaze over the father and son and snorted coldly, "Is the protection fee ready?"

Chen Sanwu hurriedly handed over the money pouch in his hand and explained, "Brother Tiger, this old man has been leaving before dawn and returning after dark every day... this is all the money I have."

Brother Tiger took the pouch, tossed it casually, and his expression darkened instantly after feeling the weight was off: "Just this much? Do you think I'm a pushover you can fool?"

The two lackeys at his side drew their short blades, glaring viciously at Chen Jing and Chen Sanwu, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

Seeing this, Chen Jing stepped forward, shielding Chen Sanwu behind him.

Chen Sanwu hurriedly explained, "Brother Tiger... the time was just too tight, this is all I could scrape together for now..."

"You can find the money to send this brat to learn martial arts, yet you can't come up with the protection fee!"

Brother Tiger sneered, staring at Chen Jing, and slammed his hand onto the table.

Crack!

Under that blow, the old table instantly fell apart.

"It's really gone; the money for his martial arts training was borrowed from others..."

Facing Brother Tiger's threat, Chen Sanwu hurriedly explained.

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

Brother Tiger narrowed his eyes, seeing that the expression on Chen Sanwu's face didn't look fake, and continued his threat: "If you can't scrape the money together in three days... I'll tear down this shack of yours!"

"Oh, right!"

Brother Tiger looked around, then as if suddenly remembering something, a lewd grin appeared on his face.

"You still have two daughters, right!"

"One in the opera troupe, and one at Spring Return Hall?"

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

After saying this, Brother Tiger and his two lackeys burst into loud laughter.

Listening to their insolent laughter, Chen Jing's fists tightened inside his sleeves until his knuckles turned white, and his gaze toward the three became icy.

If not for the concern for Chen Sanwu behind him, Chen Jing would have already thrown a punch!

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

Brother Tiger finished, looked at the furious Chen Jing, shook his head, spat on the ground, and said softly, "So what if you've practiced martial arts? A piece of trash is still a piece of trash!"

The two lackeys laughed heartily at this, then followed Brother Tiger out of the house.

Not until the sound of their footsteps completely vanished did Chen Sanwu tremble and say, "Jing'er... three days... they want the money in three days. But... what are we going to do! They even want... they want your eldest sister, your second sister..."

Clearly, Brother Tiger's threat had completely terrified him.

"Father, it's fine."

Chen Jing took a deep breath and comforted him with a firm voice: "As long as I break through to the First Blood realm within these three days, that Brother Tiger will never dare to come back!"

Chen Jing then helped Chen Sanwu to the bed and said, "I'll go to the martial arts hall to see if I can borrow some money; you rest at home."

After comforting Chen Sanwu, Chen Jing helped tidy up the scattered furniture before pushing the door open to leave.

Stepping outside, the cold wind hit his face, but Chen Jing's mind was filled with only one image: the lewd grin on Brother Tiger's face when he mentioned his eldest and second sisters.

His fist tightened abruptly, his knuckles creaking.

He had originally thought that if he just endured and waited until he displayed the strength of the Blood Creek realm, the other party would naturally back off.

But he never expected that Brother Tiger would keep pushing his luck, even setting his sights on the family he cherished most.

Thinking of his eldest sister giving him all the money she had saved for years, and his second sister working hard to save up Blood Recovery Powder for him...

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

Yet now, that animal actually wanted to destroy all of it?

How could he endure this!

How could he allow this!

He must kill them.