That's All

"This man was worthy of being a distant nephew of a late-stage Channel-Opening Realm martial artist like Zheng Pandao. His cultivation was truly profound."

In the courtyard, Li Chengfeng heard Zhao Lie's voice behind him. He sighed inwardly, feeling that a stab of pain still came from his back. When he looked at his hands again, they were also flushed scarlet and trembling nonstop. He could not help speaking with somewhat complicated feelings.

He had only entered the Neutralizing Power stage for one day. Against a martial artist like this, who had long since fully broken through to the Body Tempering Realm, he truly came up short.

Although he had relied on the marvels of his fighting method to use Hidden Power and catch him with a dirty trick, and had also used Taiji's technique of moving a thousand catties with four taels to do his utmost to avoid clashing with him head-on, during that brief exchange just now, he had still been shaken by the other party's savage strength until his chest and back ached, his hands trembled, and his muscles and tendons stung!

Fortunately, Li Chengfeng could sense that these were only superficial wounds, not serious.

Under the effects of Blood-Qi Pills and his own blood-qi, he would recover in less than two days.

What made him sigh a little was that this was merely one guard leader under Zheng Pandao's command, yet he actually possessed such strength. He had still somewhat underestimated the power of martial artists in this world.

"In this world of martial artists, even because of a tiny misunderstanding, a single careless slip, I'm afraid one would have to bear an unbearable price."

Li Chengfeng sighed inwardly again. Then he roused himself, turned his head, and thanked Zhao Lie behind him. "Many thanks for your help, Brother Zhao. Li Chengfeng is endlessly grateful!"

"No need to be polite, Brother Chengfeng. You've only just begun tempering your body, yet you could contend with him to this point. From what I saw, Zheng Lianqing also suffered a loss. That is already extraordinary."

As Zhao Lie helped Li Chengfeng promote blood circulation and disperse the bruising, he felt the condition of the muscles in Li Chengfeng's back and seemed able to imagine how fierce and hard Zheng Lianqing's force had been. But seeing that Li Chengfeng's bones had not been damaged in the slightest, his heart was even more shaken. He praised him again and again, and the look he gave Li Chengfeng carried disbelief.

"That Zheng Lianqing has an orderly inheritance and practiced martial arts from childhood. Although, because of his bloodline, he did not receive Zheng Pandao's true teachings, he is absolutely not someone ordinary people can withstand. You have no master's lineage at all, only cultivated at home by yourself, and have practiced martial arts for only three months, yet you can already match him blow for blow. This has already surpassed the imagination of ordinary people!"

Zhao Lie could not help saying to Li Chengfeng, "Brother Chengfeng, please, you must not belittle yourself."

"Many thanks for your guidance, Brother Zhao. Chengfeng understands."

When Li Chengfeng heard this, a smile appeared on his face, and he turned back to speak to Zhao Lie.

But when he then thought of the battle just now, a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes, and something faintly stirred in his heart.

Taiji Fist proficiency +100

He could not help looking at his skill panel. Sure enough, a line of information drifted past.

"Under that life-and-death battle with him, I actually surged by a full 100 proficiency in such a short time!"

Li Chengfeng felt all kinds of realizations welling up in his heart. Although he felt somewhat regretful that the increase in proficiency had not also increased his blood-qi, he was still delighted that his grasp of Taiji Fist had deepened by so much.

This one time alone had given him a deeper, clearer understanding of Taiji Fist.

It could be called a great harvest!

"I've only stepped into Neutralizing Power for too short a time and haven't even had the chance to cultivate. The strength of Neutralizing Power has not yet fully been born and is still weak. In this battle, Neutralizing Power actually didn't show much effect. Instead, the Hidden Power generated by my bones exerting force was extremely fierce."

"Once I wait a few more days, until I've trained my Neutralizing Power cultivation to a deeper level and accumulated my blood-qi again, that Zheng Lianqing definitely won't be my opponent."

Thoughts flashed through Li Chengfeng's mind. Just as Zhao Lie had said, he was very clear about the reasons behind this battle and where his own strengths and weaknesses lay, so there was not the slightest discouragement in his heart.

He even had the thought of whether, in the future, he should frequently seek out life-and-death battles with others to improve his skill proficiency.

But as soon as this thought arose, he suppressed and restrained it.

If you often walk by the riverbank, how could your shoes never get wet?

Often seeking out life-and-death battles with others could indeed have an unimaginable effect on one's degree of mastery over skills, but there was also the worry of losing one's life.

Compared with that, he could stay at home, accompany his beautiful wife in ease and pleasure, and diligently cultivate every day to keep improving. Why would he not do that?

His only concern was whether this battle could resolve this matter.

"It's still because my strength is insufficient. Otherwise, after this round, how would that Zheng Lianqing dare make a move against me?"

Li Chengfeng sighed softly inwardly. Then he chatted a couple more sentences with Zhao Lie. With his help, he initially resolved the injuries on his body, and only after he could walk without hindrance did he stand up and thank him with great gratitude.

He knew that if Zhao Lie had not been here, Zheng Lianqing would absolutely not have retreated so easily today.

For this kind of action, even if he knew the other party's purpose, he truly could not bring himself to dislike him, and had no choice but to be thankful.

"No need to be polite, Brother Chengfeng. To avoid that Zheng Lianqing making a comeback, rest well at home for now. It's no trouble for me to stay here a while longer and see what he does next!"

Zhao Lie smiled and spoke to Li Chengfeng, sitting on a bench in the courtyard to see whether Zheng Lianqing would come back.

"Husband."

At this moment, Liu Yuniang inside the house could no longer sit still. She quietly walked out, looking at the injuries on Li Chengfeng's body with tears in her eyes.

During the battle just now, she had been watching from inside the house the whole time, her heart leaping into her throat. It was only that her body's strength was feeble, and if she came out she would only add to the chaos, so she could only follow Li Chengfeng's instructions and stay at home, watching her husband fight that man. The torment in her heart could be said to have reached the extreme.

Li Chengfeng looked at the tears on Liu Yuniang's face, and his heart ached too. He hurriedly hugged her and comforted her aloud.

Fortunately, Liu Yuniang was also a sensible woman. After Li Chengfeng comforted her for a while, she finally wiped away her tears, brought them tea and fruit to eat, and only then, under Li Chengfeng's urging, returned to the house once more with a heavy expression and sat down.

Zhao Lie could not help speaking enviously of the affection between the husband and wife. Li Chengfeng smiled and modestly replied a few words, then also sat by the table, drinking tea and eating fruit, continuously restoring his physical condition with blood-qi as he waited together with Zhao Lie for the Zheng Estate's next move.

"..."

By the side of Wuhou Alley, in an empty lane.

"Hiss..."

Zheng Lianqing, who had walked out of Li Chengfeng's home, came here expressionlessly. After confirming that there was no one around, he could not help baring his teeth and sucking in a breath of cold air.

He quickly took off his upper garment, took out a pill and swallowed it. When he looked at his left arm, it was already covered in greenish-black bruising.

"What a sinister and venomous force!"

Zheng Lianqing bared his teeth and circulated his qi and blood to feel it out. The bones there seemed to have cracks, and his meridians were likely damaged. He immediately gritted his teeth and swiftly used his qi and blood to dissolve the medicinal pill, making up for the injury and recovering from it.

Only when half the pill's medicinal power had been digested and his injuries had steadied slightly did Zheng Lianqing hurriedly get up. Not daring to delay, he swiftly returned to the Zheng Estate.

"Uncle, Lianqing has returned!"

Within the Zheng Estate, outside a secluded study, Zheng Lianqing came to the door and spoke respectfully.

"Come in."

A calm voice came from inside the study. Zheng Lianqing hurriedly pushed the door open and entered, only to see a refined-looking middle-aged martial artist seated upright within. Seeing him return, the man lifted his eyes, then frowned. "How did you end up injured instead?"

"Replying to Uncle, Lianqing followed your meaning. After I went there, I attacked first without asking green or red, intending to give him a shock. Who knew that Li Chengfeng's cultivation was actually quite impressive? This nephew fell into his trap for a moment and was injured by a burst of his power. With him taking the initiative to speak, I had no choice but to settle the matter and withdraw."

Zheng Lianqing gritted his teeth, took off his upper garment, and showed Zheng Pandao his pitch-black left arm. Lowering his head, he gave a bitter smile. "This power is sinister and venomous. I fear it has already injured this nephew's meridians and bones. Please help treat me, Uncle!"

"He has stepped onto the martial path for only a little over three months, yet he could injure you to this extent?"

Zheng Pandao frowned. His figure suddenly shot out like an afterimage and arrived beside Zheng Lianqing. He reached out and touched Zheng Lianqing's arm, and his eyes could not help narrowing. "Good methods."

"Forget it. He is indeed someone of some caliber. In the end, this matter was the estate servants' fault. Let it end here."

"Tomorrow, bind that old dog and send him to that man's courtyard. Let him deal with him as he sees fit, and this matter will be over."