Tiles shattered beneath his feet, and fragments rattled down the corners of the eaves.
Chen Tie saw the man in black leap away, fleeing over the rolling roof ridges, his fitted black clothes blending into the deep night.
From their brief exchange just now, Chen Tie had already determined that his opponent was also at the Skin Refining realm.
Although the intruder's identity was unknown, anyone coming to spy on him at this juncture had to be connected to Xue Gui. He had to stop him from leaving.
But the man in black merely used the staggered rooftops to keep weaving and fleeing, showing no intention of fighting.
Chen Tie pushed off hard, using his familiarity with the terrain to catch up with the man in black quickly.
Seeing Chen Tie closing in, the man in black abruptly spun around and struck with both palms, carrying a fierce rush of wind.
Chen Tie stamped hard against the tiles, lowering his body as he drove his right hand out to meet the palm strike head-on.
Bang!
Fist and palm collided, an explosive shock scattering the roof tiles as the two men drew apart once more.
Chen Tie felt that his opponent's force was soft and yielding. It was not particularly damaging, but it could effectively cushion the impact of his own fierce, forceful blows.
At this, Chen Tie drove hard with both legs, crushing layers of tiles beneath his feet. He leaped into the air, crossing two zhang of roof ridge and instantly closing the distance between them.
Like a fierce tiger pouncing forward, he drove both fists toward the center of his opponent's back with a rush of wind.
Sensing the bone-piercing wind behind him, the man in black abruptly turned and struck out with both palms!
Chen Tie did not dodge. The Qi and blood throughout his body surged madly through his meridians, pouring entirely into his fists.
Bang!!
An invisible wave of air exploded outward from where they clashed, shattering every surrounding tile and sending fragments flying in all directions.
Chen Tie felt two streams of soft, insidious palm force surge into his arms in overlapping layers. With the continual reinforcement of his Qi and blood, he finally neutralized his opponent's palm force, but the Qi and blood throughout his body churned uncontrollably.
But the man in black shuddered violently. Unable to fully neutralize the fierce force, he felt a sickly sweetness rise in his throat. Explosive pain tore through the organs in his chest and abdomen, his breathing instantly fell into disarray, and he staggered backward, no longer able to keep his footing.
Chen Tie noticed the man in black's abnormal state and forcibly suppressed his churning Qi and blood.
He abruptly stepped forward, crushing the remaining tiles, closed in, and threw a plain Fierce Tiger straight right.
Seeing this, the man in black hurriedly raised his palm to strike back, but fist and palm collided before he could gather his force.
The man in black let out a muffled groan as a crisp crack of breaking bone came from his right palm. Enduring the intense pain, he turned, intending to use the momentum to escape.
But unexpectedly, in that opening, Chen Tie hurled a dagger from his left hand at close range.
With a wet squelch.
The dagger plunged into his back, its tip emerging from the man in black's chest.
The man in black fell straight onto the roof.
"Speak. Who are you, and why were you spying on me?"
Xue Hua tore off his face covering and spoke hoarsely, panting hard.
"You killed my elder brother! My Xue Lineage always conducted business fairly, yet our family was destroyed and our people killed in this city!"
Hearing this, Chen Tie knew his opponent had come because of today's bounty.
"Actually, Xue Gui was already dead when we found him."
"Really?" Xue Hua's voice held a trace of surprise and doubt.
Chen Tie spread his hands. "I have no reason to lie to you."
Xue Hua's tone eased at that. "In that case, there's no grudge between us and no need to fight to the death. Let me off, and we'll consider the matter settled."
"Of course. I thought you were a thief just now and failed to hold back. I nearly hurt an innocent man by mistake."
"But it's dangerous for you to be alone in the city. Are there any other members of your Xue Lineage?" Chen Tie sounded slightly apologetic.
Joy appeared on Xue Hua's face.
"Thank you, brother. The rest of the Xue Lineage were killed by the inner city Lineages a year ago. I'm the only one left now..."
Before he finished speaking, Chen Tie suddenly stepped forward and smashed his right fist into the man in black's head.
"You!"
Before Xue Hua could utter another word, his skull was smashed open, sending red and white matter flying.
Chen Tie panted hard, confirming in the faint moonlight that his opponent was dead beyond any doubt.
He carefully examined the man's face.
He does look a little like Xue Gui. They should belong to the same Lineage.
But he wasn't too bright. After I injured you this badly, you'd definitely come looking for revenge. I could only send you on your way.
Chen Tie thought to himself, his hands searching without pause. In the end, he found a martial arts manual and over a hundred taels in banknotes.
As for why the man had not gone after Shen Yan or Xu Da, it was probably because Chen Tie was the weakest.
By then, the fighting had already alerted people. Chen Tie had no interest in taking care of the corpse. He immediately delivered two more punches to destroy the man's face, tossed him into an alley, and fled.
On his way home, he deliberately took an extra detour.
When Chen Tie returned home, his younger sister Chen Xi was already up, watching him from inside the house.
"Big Brother, what happened?"
"There were a few petty thieves just now. I drove them off."
"I'll go repair the roof. Go back to sleep."
"All right, Big Brother."
Chen Tie soon repaired the roof. No one came to investigate; after all, this was the outer city, and the fight just now had clearly involved martial artists with a certain level of cultivation.
Only the roof needed repairing, and there were no other losses. No one would dig to the bottom of it.
Chen Tie returned to his room and took out the manual he had just acquired to examine it.
Three large, striking characters were written on it: "Supple Bone Palm."
Chen Tie quickly finished reading the entire introduction.
Supple Bone Palm was not a palm technique for confronting opponents head-on. It emphasized catching them off guard. Its defining feature was palm force that seemed as soft as clouds but actually possessed powerful penetration, specifically targeting the internal organs.
Once practiced to a certain level, its palm force could wind around an opponent's force in layers, binding it like silk threads and dissipating heavy blows to effectively defend the user.
The entire manual included four palm moves, each with a different use.
"This counts as an unexpected windfall. Another set of moves means another way to fend off enemies."
Excitement appeared on Chen Tie's face at the thought.
But it was already late at night, and he had to rest.
With that thought, Chen Tie put away the manual and had a good night's sleep.
The next day, Chen Tie arrived at the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall early in the morning as usual and began his training.
Shen Yan soon arrived at the martial hall as well. After exchanging greetings, the two began training on their own.
Xu Da arrived a little later. Seeing him brace his waist and pat his back, Chen Tie immediately knew he must have gone off to seek more pleasure after they parted last night.
At this moment, Shen Yan came over to Chen Tie and asked, "Junior Brother Chen, the work Junior Brother Xu gave you is your only part-time job, right?"
"That's right."
Chen Tie answered honestly.
Over the past few days, Chen Tie had noticed that most disciples in the martial hall had only one part-time job. Only a few disciples with great potential could hold several.
After all, when these factions invested in people, they would certainly prioritize geniuses. Few cast their nets wide.
A martial artist like him, who had taken two and a half months and needed quite a few Qi and Blood Pills to break through to the Skin Refining realm, would struggle to attract the attention of any faction.
His only part-time job had come from Xu Da.
"My Shen Lineage is willing to sponsor you," Shen Yan suddenly said. "Fifteen taels of silver each month, plus one portion of secret medicine. What do you think?"
Chen Tie was deeply shocked. Although the amount of silver Shen Yan mentioned was not large, a portion of secret medicine was difficult to buy even with money.
"Eldest Senior Brother, I remember your Shen Lineage slaughters pigs in the city, doesn't it?"
Shen Yan gave an honest smile. "Slaughtering pigs is only one of my Shen Lineage's businesses. That pork shop you often visit is just one stall."
Only after Shen Yan explained did Chen Tie learn that the Shen Lineage had many businesses tied to people's livelihoods in both the inner and outer cities. Its supplies of rice, vegetables, meat, and other goods accounted for thirty percent of the entire city's market.
They were unquestionably a wealthy household.