Blocking the Door

As the system notification sounded, an extremely faint red mist slowly rose from around Lin Yun's body, lingering within half an inch of him like morning fog, appearing and vanishing.

This was blood qi steaming out through his pores as the qi and blood in his body boiled at high speed—a hallmark unique to the Martial Disciple realm.

Only after fully tempering everything from skin to sinews and bones could one's qi and blood become abundant enough to steam out through the pores.

Lin Yun clenched his fist, feeling the explosive power contained within it.

Compared to before his breakthrough, his strength had increased by more than double, his speed had nearly tripled, and most terrifying of all was the transformation in the hardness of his body.

Even if he stood still now, he could withstand a full-force strike from a high-level Apprentice Martial Artist without suffering the slightest injury.

That was the meaning of body tempering!

Qi and blood were a quantitative change; body tempering was a qualitative transformation!

He was no longer weak.

Lin Yun took a shower and changed into clean clothes.

He sat on the sofa and calculated the time.

There were four days left until the martial arts examination.

"Now that I'm already a Martial Disciple, this level of cultivation is still far from enough if I want to get into Imperial Capital First Martial Academy."

Generally speaking, even with outstanding academic results, the minimum admission threshold for Imperial Capital First Martial Academy was the fourth level of the Martial Disciple realm. This was also why, in more than a century of martial arts examinations, fewer than eighty people from Azure City had been admitted to Imperial Capital First Martial Academy.

To reach the fourth level of the Martial Disciple realm by eighteen, while also ranking among the best in the city academically, was not something an ordinary genius could accomplish.

With Lin Yun's current cultivation, getting into an undergraduate martial academy would be more than easy. But since he had promised Su Nianhe that he would enter Imperial Capital First Martial Academy, then no matter what, he had to desperately raise his cultivation to the fourth level of the Martial Disciple realm during these last four days.

That meant Lin Yun had to earn at least three hundred thousand in four days. He had no choice but to open the Warrior Hiring App again and start screening for suitable high-paying part-time jobs.

Yet even the highest-paying jobs he could take now only paid a little over ten thousand a day.

Just when he was at his wits' end, the television in the living room suddenly began broadcasting an emergency report on its own.

"Breaking emergency news!"

"At three o'clock this morning, the outer defensive wall of District 33 in northern Azure City suffered a concentrated assault by beasts of unknown rank. A twenty-meter breach has appeared in the wall!"

"At present, the First and Third Squads of the City Defense Army have rushed to the scene and are clearing out the beasts that entered District 33, while making every effort to organize civilian evacuations and repair the defensive wall."

"Citizens are asked not to travel to District 33 or its surrounding areas. Please close and secure your doors and windows at home and await official notice."

On the television screen was a scene of utter chaos.

The once-prosperous streets had become a landscape of devastation, with collapsed buildings and burning cars everywhere.

Terrifying beast roars and dense gunfire came from the distance. Every now and then, several enormous black shadows flashed through the smoke.

City Defense Army soldiers in camouflage uniforms held combat weapons as they covered panicked civilians retreating toward the safe zone.

Some soldiers were pounced on by beasts, their blood staining the ground red.

Lin Yun watched the scene on television, his expression turning incomparably grave.

District 33.

He was no stranger to that place.

His brother had once served in the City Defense Army of District 33. Later, due to his outstanding performance, he had been selected for the Vanguard Army.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians lived there. Once the defensive wall was breached, who knew how many families would be shattered and ruined.

This world was that cruel. Even inside a city, nowhere was one hundred percent safe.

"Maybe I should try my luck in District 33?"

An idea surfaced in Lin Yun's mind: go to District 33, hunt beasts, then sell the materials from their bodies.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. He had not learned any martial techniques, nor did he have a combat weapon. Against even the most ordinary first-rank beast, it would be a nine-deaths-one-life situation.

But if he did not risk everything, how could he earn three hundred thousand before the martial arts examination? He could not exactly turn to shady work.

Suddenly, Lin Yun had an idea.

He would fight in underground boxing matches!

He had grown up following his older brother, Lin Hai. Lin Hai had taught him, without holding anything back, all the fighting techniques he had learned in the military camp.

Over the years, he had never stopped practicing them.

Previously, his low qi and blood had limited him, preventing him from displaying their power. But now it was different.

In terms of combat strength, as long as they had not cultivated orthodox martial techniques, early-stage Martial Disciples were simply no match for him.

Besides, underground boxing was surely less dangerous than hunting beasts. He only needed to win five or six matches.

With that thought, Lin Yun did not hesitate. He put on his shoes, opened the door, and prepared to head to an underground boxing arena.

However, the moment the door opened, he saw three youths blocking the entrance to his home. Their expressions were gloomy; they had clearly come with ill intent.

Lin Yun knew all three of them.

The buzz-cut youth in the lead was Zhang Lei. Ranked seventy-sixth at Qingcheng Academy, he was at the peak of the first level of the Martial Disciple realm, with a qi and blood value of 21 points. He was Wang Dalong's most loyal lackey, and relying on Wang Dalong's power and status, he had bullied plenty of people at school.

The triangular-eyed one on the left was Li Chao, ranked eighty-ninth. He was the most vicious of the three. Once, he had broken a fellow student's arm, and in the end, the Wang Family had stepped in to suppress the matter.

The short, fat one on the right was Sun Yuan, ranked ninety-fourth. He loved stirring up trouble, and many of the bad things they did had been instigated by him behind the scenes.

With both hands in his pockets, Zhang Lei looked Lin Yun up and down, his eyes full of contempt. "You're Lin Yun, right? I thought you'd hidden away because you didn't dare show your face."

"Wang Erhu came to you earlier to demand compensation money, and then he never went home again. My boss is worried sick, so he specifically sent us to ask you—do you know where he is?"

His tone was commanding, as if Lin Yun had been born to answer his questions.

Leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, Lin Yun said flatly, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Zhang Lei sneered and stepped forward. "A lot of people know Wang Erhu came looking for you that day, and you're telling me you don't know?"

"Lin Yun, I advise you to come clean." Li Chao spoke in a sinister voice. "Wang Erhu is the Wang Family's second young master. If anything happened to him, ten lives wouldn't be enough for you to pay for it."

"Exactly!" Sun Yuan echoed. "Tell us everything you know, now. Otherwise, we won't be able to report back, and you won't have an easy time either!"

Lin Yun frowned, his gaze turning cold.

"I'll say it one more time. I don't know. Whether you can report back or not is your problem. It has nothing to do with me. Now get the hell away from my door."

"Heh, a piece of trash like you dares to act tough with us?"

Zhang Lei's temper flared at once. He suddenly reached out, grabbed Lin Yun by the collar, and viciously shoved him against the wall.

"I think you're truly tired of living! If you don't explain yourself today, I'll cripple your arms and legs so you won't even make it into the martial arts examination hall!"

Lin Yun's eyes instantly turned icy.

Before, he could only endure.

But now, he was no longer the piece of trash others could slaughter at will.

"Let go of me," Lin Yun warned coldly.

"I won't. What can you do about it?"

Zhang Lei grinned viciously, curling his other hand into a fist as he prepared to smash it into Lin Yun's face.

At that moment, Lin Yun moved.

The qi and blood within him erupted in an instant, and pale red mist rose from around his body.

His right hand flashed like lightning, grabbing Zhang Lei's wrist before violently twisting it outward.

"Aaaah!!!"

Zhang Lei let out a heart-wrenching scream. The hand clutching Lin Yun's collar immediately released him, and pain bent his entire body over as cold sweat instantly soaked through his back.

"A Martial Disciple! You're actually a Martial Disciple!"

Zhang Lei raised his head and stared at the faint red blood qi swirling around Lin Yun, his face filled with disbelief.

He could not believe that this famous piece of trash with a qi and blood value of two was actually a Martial Disciple!

"No wonder Wang Erhu disappeared! So you were pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger!" Zhang Lei gritted his teeth and roared furiously at the other two, "What are you standing around for? Get him!"

The moment he finished speaking, Li Chao and Sun Yuan, standing on either side of him, attacked Lin Yun at the same time.

Li Chao threw a straight punch directly at Lin Yun's face. The punch carried a whistling sound as it tore through the air, clearly using his full strength.

Sun Yuan, meanwhile, swung his fist at Lin Yun's ribs, trying to land a sneak attack while Lin Yun dealt with Li Chao.

Lin Yun reacted swiftly. He sharply raised his right foot and kicked Sun Yuan in the stomach.

"Pfft—"

Sun Yuan flew backward like a torn sack, crashing heavily onto the concrete floor of the hallway. Clutching his stomach, he curled into a ball and sucked in breaths from the pain.

Almost at the same time, Lin Yun released Zhang Lei's wrist and sharply shifted backward, barely dodging Li Chao's punch.

"Don't run if you've got the guts!" Zhang Lei clutched his aching wrist and roared with red-rimmed eyes.

Looking at the three aggressive youths, an idea flashed through Lin Yun's mind, and he retreated into the living room.

Without a second thought, Zhang Lei and Li Chao charged in after him, intending to trap Lin Yun inside and beat him.

At that moment, Sun Yuan, who had been kicked down earlier, also recovered somewhat. He climbed to his feet, shot Lin Yun inside the room a vicious glare, and rushed in as well. At the same time, with a bang, he slammed the front door shut behind him and casually twisted the lock.

"If we don't cripple you today, then the three of us have been hanging around for nothing!" Sun Yuan said through gritted teeth.

In the cramped living room, the melee officially erupted.