Fierce Battle, Double Kill

Lu Li's pupils contracted sharply at the sight, and he hurriedly turned to flee.

However, two figures had already emerged from the cover of the woods, blocking his only path of retreat.

Both men were burly and tall, clad in brown robes; from a distance, one might have mistaken them for two bears walking upright.

"Li Da, Li Er, come at me if you have a grievance. This has nothing to do with the young brother," Zhao Hongyun said weakly.

Li Da and Li Er curled their lips into sneers, ignoring Zhao Hongyun entirely.

"Brother, this brat must be an accomplice of Zhao Hongyun," Li Er said, his face muscles twitching as he spoke, creating a rather terrifying sight.

"Damn it, you little brat, you've made us waste five days for nothing," Li Da cursed at Lu Li, his eyes filled with a playful, predatory glint.

He looked Lu Li up and down with disdain.

Seeing Lu Li's thin frame, sunken cheeks, and the faint scent of medicinal herbs clinging to him, it was clear he was nothing more than a lowly herb gatherer.

"Brother, I'll leave this one to you. I'll go finish off Zhao Hongyun and take his head back to claim the reward before any accidents happen."

Li Er nodded immediately, a cruel smile on his face as he strode toward Lu Li.

The cracking sound of his knuckles popping was piercing to Lu Li's ears.

He sneered, "Brat, if you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being a busybody and choosing to stand against our Incense Fragrance Sect."

Zhao Hongyun's eyes were bloodshot, and he tried to scramble up to intervene.

But in his severely wounded state, he was powerless; even the slightest movement sent agonizing, bone-deep pain through his body.

"Lu Li, I've dragged you into this," he said, his pupils trembling with guilt.

Lu Li, however, seemed to have been frightened out of his wits; he stood frozen in place, trembling all over with a look of terror on his face.

Seeing this, and convinced that Lu Li was truly just a lowly peasant, Li Er's vigilance plummeted. "Don't worry, my punch is fast. You won't even know what hit you before—"

He was still speaking as he reached Lu Li.

But before the words left his lips, a cold glint suddenly shot from Lu Li's eyes, sharp and soul-piercing, like a hunting falcon spotting its prey.

Lu Li exploded into action, flicking his sleeve to unleash a cloud of lime powder hidden within, throwing it directly into Li Er's eyes.

His arm snapped out like a thunderclap, the speed of the strike so sudden that it caught Li Er completely off guard.

The lime powder hit his eyes, and his eyeballs burned as if they had been plunged into boiling water.

Instantly, his vision went black, as if he had fallen into an endless abyss, and he could see nothing.

"Ahhhhh... it's lime powder! My eyes are ruined!" He stumbled backward, tripped over his own feet, and fell to the ground, wailing and rolling in agony while clutching his burning eyes.

"Brother, this guy is a trained fighter!"

He hurriedly shouted a warning.

"Brother!"

"You little bastard!"

Li Da could no longer care about Zhao Hongyun; he was a dying man anyway. Killing Lu Li was now the priority.

He cursed his own poor judgment for failing to see that this kid, who looked as thin as a monkey, was actually a Skin-Refining Realm martial artist!

And he was shockingly young, yet his methods were so underhanded!

So meticulous, cold, and ruthless—how could this be a trembling youth?

It was no wonder they were fooled; even Zhao Hongyun was stunned, his eyes widening as a glimmer of life returned to them, as if he were experiencing a final burst of vitality.

He actually mastered it?

And in only a few days?

A genius! A peerless genius! he roared in his heart.

Watching Li Da charge toward him, Lu Li calmed his mind and took the stance of the Tiger-Subduing Fist. He sank his waist, dropped his elbows, and coiled his strength, his fists clenched tight as he prepared to strike.

The grand, sweeping momentum of the Tiger-Subduing Fist filled the air, as if a fierce tiger were descending from the mountains!

As Li Da leaped into the air, his iron fist whistling with a violent gale as he smashed it down, Lu Li threw his own punch. The power he unleashed was even greater, his momentum climbing with every passing second.

The two fists collided with a sound like metal striking stone, echoing sharply through the wind and snow.

A massive force surged forward, shaking Li Da to his core. He felt as if he had been struck by a ferocious tiger, his body losing all control as he was sent flying backward.

He barely managed to land, but the residual force forced him to stumble back several more steps before he could steady himself.

He glanced at his fist; the knuckles were bright red, the skin split, and blood was seeping out.

He looked back at Lu Li, who stood rooted to the spot like an ancient tree.

His expression was one of unconcealable shock, and a chill ran through his heart. "Damn it, this kid is freakish!"

"We're both in the Skin-Refining Realm, but he acts as if he's spent countless years honing his craft, with a foundation so solid he's tempered his skin to the absolute limit!"

"How is that possible? He can't be more than fifteen or sixteen years old!"

Lu Li's gaze grew increasingly grim, as cold as the netherworld's ice, radiating killing intent that seemed to overwhelm the biting wind, pressing down on him like a tidal wave, making him involuntarily shiver.

He swallowed, unable to hide his fear.

Just as he was about to speak words of appeasement.

At that moment, Lu Li suddenly moved, his steps halting, his body tensing like a drawn bowstring, the power of his spinal dragon erupting.

The next instant, with a whoosh, he transformed into an arrow, charging towards Li Da.

Li Da's pupils contracted sharply. The force of this punch struck him head-on, instantly chilling him with sweat, and he hastily channeled his blood and qi, bringing his arm across his body.

With a crack, a piercing sound of bone breaking rang out.

Li Da immediately let out a soul-wrenching scream, sent flying backward by the blow, his arms in agony and unable to be lifted.

Clearly, Lu Li's punch had shattered his bones.

Fearing Lu Li would press his advantage, he quickly got up and cried out in terror, "Kid, it's better to resolve grudges than to make them. We're from the Incense Fragrance Sect, why kill each other over Zhao Hongyun?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Li's eyes sharpened, like a falcon spotting its prey, and he charged forward without hesitation.

He had heard of the Incense Fragrance Sect before. They were active in the county town, their reputation spreading far and wide. Although most of their members were commoners, they also had their share of experts.

It was a major force!

He absolutely could not let them leave!

Seeing that Lu Li's killing intent seemed to intensify, completely unfazed by the Incense Fragrance Sect's reputation and acting unpredictably.

Li Da's pupils widened, his liver and gall felt like they would split. Knowing he was no match, he turned and fled.

But he was caught by Lu Li after only a few steps, and a punch to the back of his head sent him crashing to the ground.

He panted, looking at Lu Li's cold, emotionless eyes, and cautiously begged, "Can... can we make peace?"

Lu Li ignored him, clenching his fists and pinning him down, raining blows upon his head like a storm, quickly reducing his face to a bloody mess.

Li Da struggled with all his might, thrashing violently.

But in his current severely injured state, how could he compare to Lu Li?

A hint of regret began to surface in his heart.

If only he had let Lu Li leave back then, he wouldn't be facing this catastrophic disaster today.

Soon, his struggles weakened, until he was completely still.

Only then did Lu Li withdraw his fist, looking at his face.

The flesh was torn, tear tracks remained in his eyes, he must have regretted it completely.

Lu Li's attack was like lightning, everything happening in the blink of an eye.

Li Er then shakily got to his feet, only to hear the profound silence around him, broken only by the sound of wind and snow.

His brother's voice was gone.

He had heard his brother's screams, and now it was quiet, the answer was self-evident.

"Young hero, spare me... Ah!"

He knelt down, begging for mercy with a face full of terror, but Lu Li treated him the same way.

Looking at the two corpses lying on the ground, Lu Li took a deep breath.

In fact, such a swift attack had taken a toll on his weakened body.

Fortunately, he had used lime to incapacitate one of them first, otherwise, he would have barely escaped today.

"My physique is still too weak."

He let out a light sigh, his mind relaxing, and walked towards Zhao Hongyun.

"Great Hero Zhao."

Lu Li saw that Zhao Hongyun's injuries were very serious.

The wounds were so deep that his internal organs were visible, and blood had pooled on the ground. Having lost so much blood, saving him would be extremely difficult.

"Lu Li, cough, cough, cough, you are nothing like a young man..." He had witnessed Lu Li's fight with the two men completely. Frankly, even he couldn't have done that.

It was truly astonishing.

A chill ran down his spine. This seemingly harmless young man could actually be so ruthless!

From using lime to disable one person first.

Then revealing his true strength, like a dormant tiger, astonishing everyone with a single roar!

If they hadn't spent a few days together and he hadn't known this was just a starving and cold young man.

Otherwise, he would have thought Lu Li was some old monster who had crawled out from somewhere!

"Senior, do you have any last wishes?" Lu Li asked.

Zhao Hongyun gave a bitter smile and weakly recounted his past in broken sentences.

It turned out that Zhao Hongyun's family owned a martial arts school, and he had married a beautiful wife, living a prosperous life.

But the good times didn't last. Ji Bochang of the Incense Fragrance Sect took a fancy to his beautiful wife and sought to seize her by force, showing up at the martial arts hall every few days to cause trouble until it could no longer stay open.

One time, taking advantage of Zhao Hongyun's absence, he forcibly abducted the wife and humiliated her, ultimately driving her to hang herself.

What followed was the story of Zhao Hongyun attempting to take revenge, failing, being hunted down, and ending up in this wretched state.

"Lu Li, your talent is the greatest I have ever seen in my life. If you gain the strength, will you help me take my revenge?"

"Bury me together with that Ji Bochang. Even in the underworld, I will not let him go!" Zhao Hongyun pleaded.

Zhao Hongyun was a pitiful man; after all, who could be heartless when faced with such tragedy?

Furthermore, he himself had already become entangled with the Incense Fragrance Sect.

If they sent people to investigate and discovered even the slightest clue, there would be no way to avoid them.

Lu Li struggled internally, but in the end, he nodded.

"Cough, cough... thank you." Zhao Hongyun smiled with relief.

He tremblingly pulled a blood-stained, thread-bound manual from his bosom, upon which the three vigorous characters for Tiger-Subduing Fist were written.

In addition, there was a dark pill the size of a fingernail, stored in a porcelain bottle.

He handed both items to Lu Li.

"My vision was short-sighted; I didn't realize you were a true dragon, so I didn't pass on the complete Tiger-Subduing Fist to you."

"Who could have imagined that even without the subsequent techniques, you could still far surpass the average Skin-Refining Realm practitioner?"

"Do not blame me..."

"Inside this porcelain bottle is a Flesh-Regenerating Pill. It is of great benefit for breaking through to the second stage of body tempering, the Flesh-Refining Realm. Consider it the payment I owe you."

"Cough, cough... this Tiger-Subduing Fist is not worthy of you. If you have the chance, you must go to a broader world. This world is vast, and a body-tempering martial artist is nothing..."

Zhao Hongyun's voice grew weaker and weaker, but he used his final moments to tell Lu Li of the splendor and vastness of the martial path.

The pinnacle of this world was far beyond the Grandmaster level; there were realms that transcended the mundane, where every move and stance could command the power of heaven and earth!

Moreover, such beings enjoyed long lives, remaining eternal and unchanging.

Even emperors had to kneel before them; those were the true immortal figures!

Unfortunately, such transcendent beings existed only in legends.

Lu Li solemnly accepted the items from his hands one by one, listening to Zhao Hongyun's words, which undoubtedly broadened his horizons.

With that said, Zhao Hongyun's arm slowly dropped. He died with his eyes wide open, filled with lingering resentment.

Lu Li bowed respectfully toward Zhao Hongyun's corpse.

Although everything between him and Zhao Hongyun had been a transaction, Lu Li still regarded him as half a master.

He then stood up, quickly looted the bodies, and buried the three of them in the mountains. Only after finishing all this did he turn and leave.

Soon, frost and snow fell, and everything returned to silence.