Give Him a Lesson First

Give Him a Lesson First

Zhang He knew nothing about these things. After walking into the alley and making sure no one was around, he broke into a full sprint.

If you practiced your fists without cultivating your inner power, you'd have nothing to show for it in the end. A true martial artist didn't set aside a fixed amount of time each day to strike poses and train in the practice yard. To them, cultivation could happen at any moment, amid the everyday necessities of life. As the Buddhists said, everything was a form of cultivation. For martial artists, eating, drinking, and even relieving themselves could all be cultivation.

When moving from place to place, running wasn't the goal. The goal was to understand how to use the body's strength. How to run fast while expending as little energy as possible—that was something you had to keep working to comprehend.

He felt the muscles in his legs contract and relax with every bound. It was a pleasant sensation. Still, he wasn't satisfied with the speed he could manage this way.

"Like this, I can run as fast as a Ferghana horse over a short distance. But if I run much farther, my body will tire, and I won't be able to match one. The human body just isn't built for long-distance running like a Ferghana horse." As Zhang He pondered this, he could feel his legs growing tired. However, when his body tired, he could circulate his Rejuvenation True Qi to ease it to some extent.

"If I could circulate True Qi into my legs while running, I'd surely be able to increase my speed by a lot. Too bad that kind of technique has been lost." Zhang He couldn't help sighing. The Tang Sect's three great arts were poison, hidden weapons, and lightness skills. The Tang Sect's lightness skills were incredibly powerful because they knew how to use True Qi.

"Using True Qi in my legs isn't difficult. The hard part is controlling it. That's different from fighting someone. In a fight, you circulate True Qi into your legs to injure or defend against your opponent, so the consumption is enormous. But traveling on foot isn't fighting. You might have to cover a long distance, and if you consume True Qi as you would in a fight, you'll use it all up before you've run very far."

"The trick is controlling the True Qi, using as little as possible to get the effect I want." Zhang He ran at full speed as he thought. "I have to figure this out."

Suddenly, Zhang He's ears twitched. He frowned slightly. "Strange. It seems like someone's following me." There was a bend just ahead, and Zhang He turned into it without hurrying.

Behind him, Zhao Lei saw Zhang He disappear from sight and immediately quickened his pace. A glint flashed in his eyes. "There aren't many people around here. It's the perfect place to make a move." He had already decided to strike just ahead. At the bend, Zhao Lei swaggered around the corner, confident that Zhang He couldn't escape him.

"You've been following me all this way. Aren't you tired?" A teasing voice drifted over. Zhao Lei's face changed slightly. This kid had actually known he was following him? Then, in the corner of his eye, Zhao Lei saw a pale hand dart toward him like lightning. That surprised him.

"You've got some nerve! You know I'm after you, yet instead of running for your life, you stayed behind. Who do you think I am?" Zhao Lei scoffed and clenched his fist, driving it without hesitation toward Zhang He's ribs. In his eyes, his fist was faster than Zhang He. He didn't need to block that reaching hand; he could knock Zhang He down before he was touched.

"You're really going all out?" Zhang He's expression darkened. If he'd been an ordinary person, Zhao Lei's blow would have broken several of his ribs and caused injuries that would be difficult to heal.

Thud!

Pain shot through Zhao Lei's fist. He stared in shock as the other man caught it with one hand. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free. It was as if Zhang He's hand were made of steel. At the same time, that pale hand had closed around his throat. Zhao Lei immediately sensed something was wrong.

Zhao Lei suddenly kicked at Zhang He's groin, but a sharp pain shot through his foot, as if he'd kicked an iron plate.

"Damn, you're really ruthless." A cold glint flashed in Zhang He's eyes. He kicked Zhao Lei to the ground and planted a foot on him. Zhao Lei felt a force weighing a thousand catties slam down on his chest, nearly stopping him from breathing.

"Now tell me, why were you following me? If you dare tell a single lie, I'll make you regret you can't crawl back into your mother's womb." Zhang He looked down at Zhao Lei, perfectly at ease.

Zhao Lei said nothing. His eyes darted about as he tried to think of a way to escape.

Crack! Something snapped. A wave of excruciating pain surged through Zhao Lei's thigh, turning his vision black and leaving him dizzy. His face went deathly pale. When he came to, he saw that his thigh had been trampled and broken!

How vicious! He hadn't said a word, and the other man had broken his leg! Zhao Lei was drenched in cold sweat. He realized he'd underestimated the boy before him. The calm look in Zhang He's eyes made it clear he didn't consider Zhao Lei any kind of threat.

"I'm with the Zhao Family. Our young master sent me over to test your skills." Zhao Lei didn't dare tell him the truth.

"Zhao Feng's family?" Zhang He understood at once. But he didn't believe Zhao Feng had sent someone just to test his skills. He stared coldly at Zhao Lei. "Zhao Feng sent you to cripple me and keep me from taking the Martial Child Assessment, didn't he? What a vicious bastard. Does he really think he's a pile of dog shit that nobody would dare step on?"

At that, Zhao Lei felt a chill creep through him. Most people would have shown some fear when he invoked the Zhao Family. But this boy wasn't afraid in the slightest. It was obvious he didn't take the Zhao Family seriously.

"I'm no villain, but I'm no gentleman either. Zhao Feng wanted to harm me, so of course I'll get even. But the Martial Child Assessment is coming up soon, and I don't want any complications. I'll just give him a warning for now." Zhang He's gaze fell on Zhao Lei, and he smiled menacingly.

The Zhao Family.

Zhao Feng was sipping tea, his brows slightly furrowed. Zhao Lei had been gone for so long. Why hadn't he returned? Zhao Lei was at the first level of the True Martial Realm. Dealing with Zhang He should have been effortless. Was it really taking that much effort?

A commotion suddenly sounded outside.

"What's going on? Why is it so noisy out there?" Zhao Feng frowned and barked.

A servant hurried in, looking panicked as he reported, "Young master, Zhao Lei is dead. The tendons in his hands and feet were all severed, and he was tied up tight. He died with his eyes open."

Zhao Feng sprang to his feet, shock flashing across his face. "What! Zhao Lei is dead?"

Thud, thud, thud.

A flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall. Zhao Feng turned his head and saw his father stride in, his face full of anger. His heart gave a thump. This had to be about Zhao Lei.

"I'm asking you, did Zhao Lei go out with you? Why did you come back alone?" Father Zhao looked at Zhao Feng, his tone unfriendly.

Zhao Feng's heart gave a hard thump, but he nodded. "Yes, but along the way, Zhao Lei said he'd spotted an acquaintance and wanted to go say hello, so we split up." Zhao Feng looked perfectly calm, not betraying the slightest hint of anything amiss.

"Zhao Lei is dead!" Father Zhao let out a long breath, his face troubled. "And he died horribly! The acquaintance he went to see must have been a bad sort—probably an old enemy. Damn it!" Zhao Lei had been one of his most capable subordinates. His death filled Father Zhao with anger and hatred.

Still, fortunately, this had nothing to do with his son. He'd been worried that Zhao Feng had sent Zhao Lei to do something, offended someone, and brought this disaster upon himself.

"This matter cannot be allowed to rest. Six years ago, Zhao Lei swore off his old life and left the underworld. He joined our Zhao Family and has been loyal ever since. Now someone dares kill him in Mengyin City. They clearly don't take our Zhao Family seriously—they're declaring themselves our enemy. We have to find this person and kill him to avenge Zhao Lei!" Father Zhao's face was murderous.

At that moment, Zhao Feng's thoughts raced. His biggest question was how Zhao Lei had died. It couldn't have been Zhang He. Zhang He was at most in the Force Martial Realm. How could he possibly have been a match for Zhao Lei? Could it really be that Zhao Lei had simply been unlucky enough to run into an old enemy while he was out?

Zhao Feng was baffled.

"The Martial Child Assessment is in a few days. Stay home and practice properly until then. Don't go wandering around." Father Zhao reminded him. This was partly to make sure his son prepared for the assessment and partly to guard against whoever had killed Zhao Lei. That person had been bold enough to kill Zhao Lei and was clearly quite skilled. On top of that, their enemy was hidden while they were in the open. If that person truly meant the Zhao Family harm, they needed to be all the more careful.

At home, Zhang He had no idea that the Zhao Family had nearly turned upside down. He was sitting cross-legged and cultivating, the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pill before him glowing pink.

Taking care of Zhao Lei had been a minor interruption for Zhang He. He didn't care how Zhao Feng would react. Zhao Feng had bullied him and wanted to sever his tendons, turning him into a cripple. How could he simply endure that? Not killing his way back to Zhao Feng's doorstep had been an enormous favor.

"I'll give him a warning for now. Once the assessment is over, I'll deal with him slowly. If the Zhao Family dares make a move, I'll erase them from this world." A cold glint flashed in Zhang He's eyes. To destroy a great lineage, he didn't need powerful fists. He only had to slip a little poison into their food, and he could do it with ease.

That was right up Zhang He's alley. He had at least seventeen ways to kill everyone in the Zhao Family without anyone else discovering the cause of death.

"The demon poison in the pill has grown paler as I absorb it. It was blood-red before, and now it's pink. I wonder what it'll look like once I've absorbed it all." Zhang He glanced at the bead in his palm and smiled. The Rejuvenation True Qi lying dormant in his acupoints suddenly began circulating, flowing through his meridians and into his hand.

"Once I reach the Possession Realm, my True Qi will be able to flow out of my body and cling to blades and swords. Then, when I refine the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pill, I won't need to touch it with my body. I'll be able to wrap it directly in True Qi and refine it." Zhang He held the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pill in his palm. Its chill left his hand numb with cold after only a moment.

Strands of demon poison were drawn out of the pill, continuously fusing with and being refined by the Rejuvenation True Qi. The Rejuvenation True Qi continued to grow.

"My strength is increasing every day. I should absorb this pill completely in two more days. By then, my Rejuvenation True Qi will be strong enough to break through to the Possession Realm!" A glimmer shone in Zhang He's eyes. He was already confident that he could break through to the third level of the True Martial Realm, the Possession Realm, before the Martial Child Assessment!