Killing Li Zitian

Deep in the crisscrossing mine tunnels.

Li Zitian led his men through more than a dozen mine passages in succession, yet they failed to catch even Lu Lin's shadow.

"Damn it, that kid's slicker than a loach. He runs fast! Looks like he realized he let something slip." The burly man who had interrogated Lu Lin earlier spat, his face full of viciousness, looking extremely displeased.

"Hmph. The monk can run, but the temple can't!" Li Zitian's eyes were dark and venomous as he said coldly, "Split up and search! Once you find him, don't hold back. Break his arms and legs and bring him to me. The rest of you... go guard the entrance to his communal bunkhouse!"

"Yes!" the Blood Wolf Gang members answered in unison, then scattered, disappearing into different mine tunnels.

In the blink of an eye, only Li Zitian remained where he was.

He snorted coldly and turned, intending to return first to the Blood Wolf Gang's "main altar" and wait for news.

However, he had not gone far when his figure suddenly halted. He whipped around, as an icy sense of crisis seized him without the slightest warning.

A figure stood several zhang behind him, at some unknown point having appeared there like a ghost, silent and soundless, blending into the shadows.

"Who's there?" Li Zitian's hair stood on end. The qi and blood throughout his body instinctively roared into motion, and he instantly entered his highest state of alert.

His sense for danger far surpassed that of ordinary people. At this moment, his intuition told him the newcomer was extremely dangerous.

Very sharp vigilance. Such a strong sense for danger—worthy of someone called a genius... In that respect, he's somewhat similar to me. A thought flashed through Lu Lin's mind as he recalled the inexplicable premonition he had felt when he was ambushed at Taihua Workshop in Blood Baleful City.

But his hands showed not the slightest hesitation.

"The one who's here to kill you!"

Before the words had even fallen, Lu Lin moved.

He was like a nimble spirit cat, the tips of his toes lightly touching the ground. His figure was elusive yet incomparably swift, crossing a distance of over ten meters in an instant as his fist drove straight toward Li Zitian's face, the wind of the punch sharp and bone-piercing!

Li Zitian reacted extremely quickly. Though startled, he did not panic. As he rapidly retreated, the qi and blood within his body surged like boiling water.

He imitated the posture of a demonic ape hunting, suddenly taking one step forward. His right palm turned crimson as blood, carrying the full force of the major achievement realm Demonic Ape Palm as he struck out.

The palm wind howled, actually bringing with it a faint sound of tearing through the air.

He was confident that even in a hasty counterattack, this palm was enough to heavily injure or even kill most opponents of the same level. Yesterday, he had relied on this very palm to defeat the gang leader, Huang Lang!

Boom!

Fist and palm collided ferociously! Two violent surges of qi and blood slammed into each other, releasing a dull roar!

However, the result was completely beyond Li Zitian's expectations!

Crack!

The grating sound of bone splitting rang out clearly!

The confidence on Li Zitian's face instantly turned into horror and agony. His entire right arm twisted and snapped at a bizarre angle, the white, ghastly broken bone even piercing through muscle and skin, blood dripping everywhere.

He screamed as he staggered back violently, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief. "No... impossible!!"

His Demonic Ape Palm at the major achievement realm, combined with his cultivation at the sixth level of Body Tempering, had actually been completely smashed apart by a single punch from the other party?

The other man's strength had utterly crushed him.

Could he be at the seventh level of Body Tempering? But why would a seventh-level expert be here? Or is some steward trying to kill me? Countless thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning.

Lu Lin had succeeded with one strike, and he showed no mercy. His figure pounced forward again like a maggot clinging to bone, the second punch following close behind, aimed straight at the vital point of Li Zitian's chest.

The fist wind was even fiercer. Clearly, he intended to take his life in one blow!

"Wait! Is this a misunderstanding? We have no grudge..." Li Zitian was horrified to the extreme. While enduring the pain and retreating rapidly, he tried to speak.

But under heavy injury, his speed was far inferior to Lu Lin's.

Bang!

Lu Lin's iron fist slammed into his chest with no fancy technique at all!

"Pfft—!" Li Zitian's body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, smashing hard into the solid mine wall.

A large section of his chest visibly caved in. Blood sprayed wildly from his mouth, and his eyes quickly lost focus, filled with despair and unwillingness.

"You... who exactly... are you?" he struggled, squeezing out his final question from his throat.

Lu Lin slowly walked up to him, bent down, and whispered by his ear, "Haven't you been looking for me all this time?"

"It's... it's you?!!" Li Zitian's pupils abruptly contracted to the extreme, his face revealing utter horror and absurd disbelief.

That "rookie" who had only broken through to the first level of Body Tempering a few months ago?

How was that possible?

What kind of terrifying talent was this? He had hidden it... far too deeply!

His elder brother had not died unjustly... and he himself... would not die unjustly either...

With this final understanding and endless unwillingness, Li Zitian's head tilted to the side, and his breath was completely cut off.

To ensure absolutely nothing went wrong, Lu Lin added another punch, thoroughly shattering his throat bone. Then he placed two fingers in his mouth and blew a sharp but not very loud whistle.

A moment later, two burly men from the Black Tiger Gang hurried over, following the sound.

When they saw Li Zitian's miserable, horrifying corpse on the ground, they were immediately so frightened their hair stood on end. When they looked at Lu Lin again, their eyes were already filled with deep awe and fear.

"Bury the bodies here for now. Once night falls, quietly move them away and throw them into the designated poison mine pit," Lu Lin ordered coldly. "Remember, keep it clean. Absolutely no one can see you."

"Yes! Yes! Rest assured, sir!" The two burly men nodded again and again like chicks pecking at grain, so obedient it was unbelievable.

Lu Lin said no more. His figure flashed, and he vanished into the shadows of the mine tunnel.

One hour later.

The Blood Wolf Gang's "headquarters."

Calling it headquarters was generous. It was nothing more than a somewhat wider mine cavern, with a few crude tables and chairs set inside.

The gang leader, Huang Lang, had a face as dark as still water. He was madly practicing "Demonic Ape Palm" over and over, the winds from his palms surging, revealing the anxiety and unwillingness in his heart.

He had lost. He had actually lost to Li Zitian, who had risen from behind to overtake him!

He knew very well that his seat as gang leader was probably at its end. It would not be long before that ambitious fellow replaced him.

He had to push "Demonic Ape Palm" to the realm of great accomplishment as soon as possible. Only then might he win back a round...

A figure, like a ghost blended into the shadows, appeared soundlessly in the darkness at the entrance of the mine cavern, quietly watching Huang Lang practice.

It was Lu Lin.

He watched for a long while, then shook his head slightly. "The Martial Dao Melting Furnace has no reaction at all... Looks like merely watching others practice has no effect. I have to obtain the complete cultivation method... Could I force him to write it out from memory?"

But he immediately rejected the idea. The chance was slim.

The Blood Baleful Demon Sect's rules were strict. Those who privately passed on cultivation methods without permission met an end a hundred times more miserable than death.

The methods of those demonic immortal masters were enough to drive anyone to despair. Threatening him with death would be completely useless.

"Better to avoid trouble when possible. No need to alarm the entire Blood Wolf Gang and create more problems. I should end this quickly."

Having thought this through, Lu Lin hid no longer. His figure shot out like a black hurricane, his fierce assault aiming straight for Huang Lang's vital points.

"Who?" Huang Lang's expression changed drastically in shock, and in his haste, he fought back with all his strength.

But his strength was not even equal to Li Zitian's. Under Lu Lin's full-powered eruption, he had no ability to resist at all. After only a few moves, Lu Lin's precise heavy punch shattered his throat bone. His eyes widened in astonishment, and he collapsed limply to the ground, dead.

After once again calling over the Black Tiger Gang's trusted men to deal with the aftermath, Lu Lin acted as if nothing had happened. He casually found a mine cavern and began his daily mining.

His task was already complete. The remaining dirty work and negotiations with the overseers would naturally be handled by the Black Tiger Gang.

He did not have to wait too long.

Two days later, when he secretly found Liu Heihu again, the other man told him with a pleased look that everything had been settled, and the overseers behind the scenes had also been paid off.

They could officially take over the Blood Wolf Gang's Rich Ore Zone!

Not long after, Liu Heihu personally led a group of Black Tiger Gang elites, along with the disguised Lu Lin, and marched in grand formation toward the Rich Ore Zone that had originally belonged to the Blood Wolf Gang.

"The ore vein patterns coil like entrenched dragons, the sand and stone are crystalline with a faint spiritual glow, and the Black Iron content is even richer... As expected of a Rich Ore Zone. It's far beyond the barren place I was in before..." Lu Lin only swept his gaze roughly over the area, but with his great-accomplishment Mining Essentials, he could already see how extraordinary this place was. His heart could not help but burn hot.

"Brother, according to our agreement, this Rich Ore Zone will be split between the two of us, half each." Liu Heihu pointed at the rich ore vein ahead and smiled as he said to Lu Lin, "You choose first?"

Lu Lin nodded and did not stand on ceremony.

With a professional eye, he swiftly marked out an area where the ore vein's direction was better and where large quantities of Spirit Stones were more likely to be produced.

As for the daily task of six jin of Black Iron Ore? In this place, it was only a matter of swinging the pick a few extra times.

"Good! Straightforward! Then it's settled!" Liu Heihu had no objection to this and agreed readily.

The two sides quickly made their marks and divided the boundaries.

Lu Lin's figure flashed, and he plunged into the depths of the mine tunnel that belonged to him.

Only after confirming that there was absolutely no one around did he remove his face covering, take a deep breath, and raise the iron pick.

Start digging!

In only a short while, a warm, milky-white Inferior Spirit Stone rolled into his hand with a clatter.

Not long after, the second one was in hand!

Although only a small half-day of labor remained that day, when the day's tally was settled, he had actually harvested a full eight Inferior Spirit Stones!

The second day, eighteen!

The third day, sixteen!

The fourth day, nineteen!

The tenth day, two hundred and thirty-six Inferior Spirit Stones, and one pure Low-grade Spirit Stone.