Smiling Old Man's Shock

Damn it, if they wanted to kill him, why go to all this trouble? They had dragged him up so high just to play bungee jumping—only this bungee jump came without any safety gear.

Just as he was seven or eight meters from the ground, Ren Jie suddenly felt a force shove his body upward. The force of his high-altitude fall was completely cushioned, but the next instant, his body began dropping again.

Seven or eight meters was no small height. It would not kill him, but it would hurt like hell. Fortunately, Ren Jie remained fairly clear-headed even in this situation. He thrust both hands downward and rolled across the ground, bleeding off the force. But with the peculiar pressure of the Jade Emperor Art Body Refining Chapter Third Layer still inside him, such violent movement immediately made him bare his teeth in pain.

"Damn it, this is messed up!" Ren Jie could not help cursing.

"What? You egg-sucking bastard, you dare curse this prince?" Before Ren Jie's words had even faded, a black shadow suddenly descended from the air and landed directly in front of him. The figure was dressed entirely in black, with an exceedingly comical smiling-face mask on his face, its mouth split wide open. As he stood before Ren Jie, he radiated a terrifying pressure—far stronger than the pressure Ren Jie had felt when the emperor sat upon the Dragon Throne in the Imperial Palace, borrowing the power of his status, position, and surroundings.

This was the imposing might and pressure of someone who controlled life and death, who commanded power itself, while even the spiritual energy around him fought at his side. It made one feel as though breathing had become impossible.

"Prince? What prince? If you anger this lineage head, I'll curse even the emperor. Which prince are you?" Ren Jie naturally knew this man could not be one of the Imperial Court's princes. He had never heard of any prince possessing such cultivation, unless he was one of those ancient old fossils hidden within the Imperial Palace. But this fellow gave off a wild air; he was clearly not someone who had ever accepted restraints.

As for the aura and pressure he had unleashed, Ren Jie barely noticed them. Even though he had only sensed a tiny trace of the lingering might from the Sage Dao Discussion, after having been there, the pressure and aura of others truly did not feel like much to him.

Although the pressure this man gave off had already reached a terrifying extreme—the strongest being Ren Jie had encountered since arriving in this world—it affected him only minimally. Taking advantage of his rambling nonsense, Ren Jie also observed the person who had suddenly carried him here from his bedroom. This was probably no longer the Ren Family residence. This man was utterly grim and murderous from head to toe, yet he wore a smiling-face mask completely at odds with him. His voice carried a wildness. He probably was not from the Imperial Court, and did not even seem like someone from one of the major lineages.

"Pah! What emperor is qualified to confer a title upon this prince? Do not compare this prince to those unbearably vulgar princes who received their titles as rewards from others. And you egg-sucking bastard, what are you staring at? Never seen someone as handsome as this prince before? Get over there! Every time, use your fists to crack at least one layer of bark. If you do not finish thirty layers by tonight, this prince will spank your ass. Just like how you spank those bastards in your family. One hundred and eight trees, at least thirty layers of bark cracked on each. However many you fall short, that is how many extra spanks you get. Hurry up and get over there."

"Bang!" The moment that fellow finished speaking, Ren Jie felt a heavy kick land on his backside. He was sent flying dozens of meters forward at low altitude. His butt hurt somewhat, but just as his body was about to hit the ground, a force suddenly slowed him down, just as it had when he fell from the sky. Then Ren Jie discovered that he was standing beside a patch of tree stumps. Before him stood great trees requiring two people to encircle them, like fragile blades of grass that had been sliced cleanly at the top and roots, then forcibly planted here.

"Thousand Layer Trees." Ren Jie recognized them at a glance. They were a specialty of the Demon Beast Abyss. Each year, their bark grew by one layer. Every layer was incomparably hard and resilient, with both hardness and toughness increasing layer by layer. They were a rare item used by Body Refining Realm cultivators to temper their bodies. Even direct descendants of the Five Great Families generally only occasionally obtained half a tree or a single tree for use. Where had this fellow gotten more than a hundred Thousand Layer Trees?

Ren Jie was utterly confused at the moment, but his mind remained calm. First, there was one thing he could confirm: this person was not trying to kill or harm him. Still, this fellow's actions were truly strange. Was he trying to train him? At least from what he had seen so far, that seemed to be the intention. The man had not controlled his voice, so he should already be quite old. Moreover, he had carried Ren Jie through the air earlier. Even powerful existences in the Yin Yang Realm who had condensed a Yin Soul would find it difficult to fly while carrying someone else.

In other words, this strange man, who seemed grim and murderous, gave off a chilly feeling, possessed a violent temper yet wore a completely mismatched smiling face, was very old, bore no intention of harming him, and had cultivation at least at the level of a Yin Yang Realm expert who had condensed a Yang Soul—perhaps... even stronger. This place was no longer the Ren Family residence, though it should still be within Jade Capital City. He simply did not yet know the location. And the arrangement of these one hundred and eight Thousand Layer Trees seemed to contain some hidden principle as well. In an instant, Ren Jie had already sorted out several clues in his mind.

"What are you standing around for? You egg-sucking bastard, start hitting them! No questions, no complaints, or this prince will beat you first. If you do not finish the first thirty layers of all one hundred and eight trees, forget about sleeping, eating, or doing anything else." Seeing Ren Jie stand there without moving, the Smiling Old Man roared angrily. Without showing any movement, he had already appeared beside Ren Jie, looking ready to teach him a lesson at any moment.

"No matter how fierce you act, I won't be afraid of you. It's obvious you won't kill me." Ren Jie kept his gaze fixed on the one hundred and eight Thousand Layer Trees ahead, completely ignoring the vicious-looking Smiling Old Man beside him.

"..."

What had this brat just said? Damn it, he was actually speaking to him so calmly. Dragged here by him in the dead of night, nearly falling to his death, and he could still say something like that? Was he pretending to be calm, or had he seen through something? Thinking again of how he had deliberately released his pressure earlier, only for this brat to completely ignore it, the old man was becoming muddled himself.

But he felt extremely uncomfortable. In just two exchanges, why did it seem as if the situation had already slipped out of his control? No, how could he let such a little brat take control of the situation? You egg-sucking bastard, just watch how this prince deals with you.

"Hmph..." The Smiling Old Man snorted coldly, releasing a chilly killing intent. "Do exactly as I say right now. Make even the slightest mistake, and die."

The killing intent released by the old man was cold and terrifying, enough to make one shudder to the bone. Yet Ren Jie truly felt nothing toward such things. He also trusted his own judgment. Thus, he continued staring at the one hundred and eight Thousand Layer Trees and stood there without even acknowledging the Smiling Old Man.

Damn it, even the Smiling Old Man could not believe it. The killing intent he had released was enough to make ordinary people's livers and guts split apart. Even those who had seen some of the world, if their strength and realm were insufficient, would be frightened stupid by it.

But what kind of attitude was this brat showing now? He was ignoring him. Did he think he was putting on a performance? Fine. Fine, brat. So he wanted to lock horns with this prince?

The Smiling Old Man slowly raised his hand, pressing it toward Ren Jie's head as if he were about to crush it. Powerful mana descended from his palm, giving off the feeling that it controlled Ren Jie's life and death, as if heaven and earth were collapsing.

"Four Poles Suppress Eight Directions. Within it should be the battlefield killing technique that all Ren Family disciples must learn, Battle Eight Directions. But it also incorporates many subtle details, creating more variations and adding countless killing moves to the original broad, sweeping style. You want me to strike these trees because you intend for me to shatter them within a month. Through more than a hundred thousand desperate strikes, you want to temper my body into something stronger, while also allowing me to learn this set of techniques that merges Battle Eight Directions with many other martial skills over thousands of repetitions. You have fused at least thirty martial skills into it. This martial skill should have reached the level of a high-grade martial skill. Even after reaching the Divine Power Realm, it can still be combined with certain divine abilities. If one's cultivation reaches the Divine Power Realm, its close-combat power should approach that of a supreme-grade martial skill."

At that moment, Ren Jie suddenly spoke. As he had stared at the one hundred and eight Thousand Layer Trees earlier, the changes within them had continuously evolved in his mind. Very quickly, he had seen through the hidden mysteries inside.

The Smiling Old Man's hand, which he had raised and was slowly exerting pressure toward Ren Jie's head, suddenly froze in midair. He stared at Ren Jie in disbelief.

How could this brat possibly know? He had created this set specifically for today over the past few years. No one could possibly know about it. This brat...

"How did you know?"

Ren Jie shrugged. "Look at their arrangement. Then imagine striking thirty layers of Thousand Layer Tree bark every day, hitting these one hundred and eight Thousand Layer Trees three thousand two hundred and forty times, and keep imagining what it would look like after a month. Then you can figure out what you want to achieve, and therefore understand the effect."

"Bullshit! This is a technique created solely by this prince. You think you can tell its effects just by looking at it a few times? Do you take this prince for such an easy fool?" The Smiling Old Man was truly enraged this time. He glared furiously at Ren Jie, so angry he could barely stand it.

The Smiling Old Man was extremely confident, even arrogant, in this martial skill he had improved himself. In his view, it could absolutely rival the works of the sages of old. If this brat could gain an initial grasp of it in one month and display thirty percent of its form after a year, he would already be among the outstanding talents of Jade Capital City's younger generation.

But now, this brat had merely glanced at it and described all these things. Did he think this was some child's choreographed routine? What kind of damn joke was that? Yet only he knew about this matter, so he was also immensely astonished. How had this brat known? "Four Poles Suppress Eight Directions—opening and closing conceal Yin and Yang. Killing intent hides amid broad, sweeping movements. Do not be bound by fixed forms; seek only the result of battle." Seeing how agitated the Smiling Old Man was, Ren Jie felt his hands itch as well. He had never truly learned a complete martial skill before. Before one could use spells and divine abilities in the Great Dao Divine Power Realm, martial skills were the most effective means of attack. Relying on his realm, he had just evolved this technique in his mind and could sense the power it possessed below the Divine Power Realm.

Seeing the Smiling Old Man so excited, Ren Jie slowly began to move. His motions were neither especially fierce nor fast. Although he had somewhat adapted to the gravity and pressure of the third layer within his body, he could still only move like an ordinary person. Ren Jie stepped through the eight directions, changing his footwork as he threw punch after punch, voicing his understanding of this martial skill.

At Ren Jie's side, the Smiling Old Man's originally furious and enraged expression froze once more as he listened to Ren Jie's words.

Damn it, how did he know all this...

And looking at the punches Ren Jie was throwing, were they not precisely his martial skill? Although Ren Jie was not punching very quickly, the feeling was exactly like someone who had trained for a month, turning this martial skill from unfamiliarity into mastery.

If he had not personally captured Ren Jie just now, merely watching him perform this set of punches would have made him think Ren Jie had already trained it bitterly for an entire month.

Strange. Bizarre. How could something like this happen? Impossible. Even if his father was hailed as Jade Capital City's once-in-a-thousand-years genius, he could not possibly cultivate this supreme-grade martial skill to such a level after one look.

And martial skills needed to be forged through countless hammerings and refinements, bit by bit. Could it be that simply thinking about it in his head was enough? Then what the hell was the point of practicing? "Huff... huff..." Ren Jie's punches had begun normally and slowly, but the more he punched, the more exhilarating it became. Although the unique formation of gravity and pressure formed by the chains created from the one hundred and forty-four Qi Strength Rings of the Jade Emperor Art Body Refining Chapter Third Layer still pressed down upon him, once he began fighting to his heart's content, the Jade Emperor Art circulated much faster than usual. The little Qi Strength remaining in his body became increasingly abundant, while the medicine he had just taken rapidly merged into his body as he drove his strength through the punches.

Ren Jie's body was rapidly mobilized. In this state, he felt the gravity and pressure within him gradually weakening.

No, it was not that the gravity and pressure were weakening. He was rapidly circulating the Jade Emperor Art, using this martial skill to draw out his body's hidden potential. The power bursting forth was continuously strengthening his body.

Thus, Ren Jie punched faster and faster, becoming more and more absorbed as he continuously unleashed all the variations that had evolved in his mind.

Because of that exhilarating feeling, Ren Jie grew more and more addicted to it. He had completely forgotten the Smiling Old Man's existence. With a single forward step, he charged straight into the Thousand Layer Tree stumps.