139: Chapter 139 Vajra Palm

People bustled past the entrance of Wanbao Pavilion.

Three Martial Artists stood behind Young Master Zhao Qingyun, their gazes following his line of sight to land on a young man across the street who was carrying a dark blue bow case on his back.

The young man didn't walk very fast, but his steps were steady. Within a few breaths, he merged into the crowd on the street and vanished from sight.

One of the Martial Artists turned around. He was a Square-faced Man with an old scar on his cheekbone. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Young Master, who is that?"

Young Master Zhao Qingyun did not look back. Standing in the shadow of the staircase, his eyes remained fixed on the direction where Lin Tian had disappeared. His lips moved slightly: "An ignorant fool who doesn't know the heights of the heavens and the depths of the earth."

He spoke very softly, his tone carrying a deliberate indifference, as if he were speaking of an insignificant trifle. However, his fingers gripped the staircase handrail so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"He's only at the Fourth Rank Early Stage." Young Master Zhao Qingyun withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the three men behind him, his voice dropping even lower. "The three of you should have no problem dealing with him."

He did not mention that the person was a Disciple of the Qixia Sect. It wasn't because he forgot, but because he didn't dare to say it.

He knew the weight of the Qixia Sect all too well—the last time he sent a secret agent to assassinate Lin Tian, his father Zhao Zhenshan had pushed open the door with a face so grim and livid that even now, the memory sent a shiver down his spine.

If he let these three know that they were to kill a Genius Disciple of the Qixia Sect, they might not dare to make a move. Even if they did, it would leave behind incriminating evidence.

So, he kept silent.

In any case, once Lin Tian was dead, who would know who did it? The Taixuan Mountain Range was so vast that a single death was like a needle sinking into the ocean—it wouldn't even make a splash.

The Square-faced Man chuckled upon hearing this. The two companions behind him smiled as well. Three Fourth Rank Early Stages going to kill one Fourth Rank Early Stage—three against one, wasn't that like using a cleaver to kill a chicken?

"Don't worry, Young Master. For the three of us to kill him will be as easy as turning over a hand." The Square-faced Man patted his chest, his tone as relaxed as if he were talking about buying a packet of tobacco on the street.

Young Master Zhao Qingyun did not smile. His gaze swept across the faces of the three men, and his voice turned cold. "Do not make your move in Yunzhou Prefecture. Nor near the city outskirts. Wait until he enters the Taixuan Mountain Range and goes deep enough before you act."

"Understood." The Square-faced Man put away his smile and nodded. He understood Young Master Zhao Qingyun's meaning—Yunzhou Prefecture was the Qixia Sect's territory, and there were patrolling Disciples around the city outskirts.

Killing someone in those places would easily leave traces. The Taixuan Mountain Range was different; it was a deep, desolate forest where few people ever set foot.

Once they killed him and dumped his body in a ravine, no one would find it for ten days to half a month. Even if it were found, it would have long been gnawed beyond recognition by wild beasts, and no one would ever trace it back to them.

The three did not delay any further. They cupped their fists toward Young Master Zhao Qingyun, turned, and left Wanbao Pavilion.

The street was bustling with people. The Square-faced Man walked at the very front, his gaze passing over the shifting heads to lock onto the back of the figure carrying the dark blue bow case.

The three of them dispersed: one followed directly behind Lin Tian, one circled around through the alley on the left, and one threaded through the storefronts on the right.

Like three beads threaded on an invisible string, they trailed behind Lin Tian, keeping a steady distance.

Lin Tian exited the north gate of Yunzhou Prefecture.

On both sides of the official road outside the city gate stood two rows of ancient locust trees. Their dense canopies blotted out the sky, filtering the afternoon sunlight into fragments of gold scattered across the ground.

Pedestrians on the official road gradually thinned out, becoming scarcer the further he walked. After walking for nearly half an hour, the official road turned into a dirt path.

After another half hour, the dirt path also came to an end, and before him lay the entrance to the Taixuan Mountain Range.

Lin Tian did not stop, entering the mountains directly.

The mountain path wound onward, and the trees on both sides grew increasingly dense.

The ancient trees of the Taixuan Mountain Range towered into the sky, their layered canopies completely blocking out the light. Only occasional shafts of sunlight leaked through the gaps in the leaves, dancing on the ground with the mountain breeze.

The air was filled with the scent of decaying leaves and damp earth. A thick layer of fallen leaves had accumulated beneath his feet, soft to step on and making a rustling sound.

Lin Tian walked very fast. His strides were not large, but his frequency was extremely high, his footsteps making almost no sound as they fell on the dead leaves.

As he utilized the Cloud Shadow Step to travel, he was like a cloud blown by the mountain wind, gliding forward noiselessly close to the ground.

The trees on both sides receded rapidly, and mountain rocks and thickets flashed past him.

After walking for more than an hour, he suddenly stopped.

It wasn't because he was tired, but because of a feeling.

He was all too familiar with that feeling—it was the same sensation he felt when he was targeted by a Yao Beast in the Black Wind Forest, when he was targeted by that black eagle in the canyon, and when he was targeted by that masked assassin in the night forest.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up slightly, and his spine felt as if it were being gently pricked by countless fine needles.

It wasn't that he saw or heard anything; it was purely an instinct honed from rolling and crawling through the boundary of life and death countless times.

Someone was following him.

Lin Tian did not look back. Standing where he was, he rested his hand on the cold moon bow case, his gaze sweeping across the dense forest ahead.

The mountain wind blew through the tree canopies, rustling the leaves. In the distance, birds chirped, some long and some short. Other than that, there was nothing.

"Who's there? Get the hell out."

His voice was not loud, but it carried far in the silent mountain forest. The echo bounced between the trees several times before gradually fading away. No one spoke.

The surroundings remained filled only with the sound of the wind and bird calls, so quiet as if nothing had ever happened.

Lin Tian let out a cold snort. Not showing themselves? He drew the cold moon bow from its case.

The dark blue bow body gleamed with a faint, cold light in the dim mountain forest, feeling like he was holding a block of ice.

His left hand gripped the bow, and his right hand drew an arrow from his quiver, nocking it onto the bowstring.

Drawing, aiming, and releasing. The entire movement was as smooth as flowing water; from drawing the bow to the arrow flying out, it took less than a single breath.

Whoosh—The arrow sliced through the air, carrying a sharp whistling sound as it shot toward an ancient tree as thick as a man's embrace, dozens of feet away. The moment the arrow nailed into the trunk, a dull explosion blasted open in the forest.

It was not the sound of an arrow embedding into wood—it was the ancient tree, as thick as a man's embrace, exploding from the center.

The cold iron arrowhead, carrying the Internal Energy Lin Tian had infused into it, spun and drilled into the tree trunk. The force on the arrow shaft erupted inside the wood, tearing the entire tree into fragments from the inside out.

Wood chips flew everywhere, and the cracking sounds of snapping branches merged into one. The massive canopy collapsed with a rushing wind, crashing to the ground with a dull thud that shook the fallen leaves on the ground, making them leap up.

From behind the tree, a figure darted out.

It was a lean middle-aged man, small and thin like a monkey. He darted out from beneath the collapsing canopy, rolled once on the ground, and when he stood up, his face still carried an un-faded look of shock.

He clearly hadn't expected Lin Tian to discover his position, much less that Lin Tian would directly shoot down the entire tree with a single arrow.

"Kid, you're quite agile," the Lean Man patted the wood chips off his body, his voice cold and sinister. "To think you actually noticed us."

He raised his head and shouted toward the other two directions, "Come out, we've been spotted."

From behind two other large trees, two more people walked out. One was the Square-faced Man with an old scar on his cheekbone, possessing a burly build, his clenched fists resembling two iron hammers.

The other was the Tall Thin Man, whose arms hung past his knees, with a pair of water-dividing spikes hanging at his waist, gleaming with a biting cold light.

The three of them stood in a triangular formation, surrounding Lin Tian in the center.

Three middle-aged men. Three pairs of cold eyes. The mountain wind passed between them, making their robes rustle loudly.

Lin Tian's gaze swept across the faces of the three men.

The Square-faced Man—he didn't know him. The Lean Man—he didn't know him.

The Tall Thin Man—he didn't know him either. All three faces were completely unfamiliar, leaving no impression on him.

"Who are you? Why are you tracking me?" Lin Tian's voice was calm, devoid of any tension.

The Square-faced Man grinned. The smile was brief, his lips merely twitching slightly, causing the scar on his cheekbone to twist like a centipede crawling across his face. "Who we are is something you don't need to know."

His voice was deep, carrying a muffled rumble pressed from his chest. "You only need to know that you have offended someone you shouldn't have."

The moment the words fell, he moved.

Although the Square-faced Man had a burly build, he was not slow at all when he moved. He kicked off the ground violently, sending the fallen leaves exploding outward, and rushed toward Lin Tian like a cannonball shot from a barrel.

His right fist was already clenched tight, veins bulging on its surface. Under the infusion of Internal Energy, his entire fist gleamed with a faint, iron-gray luster.

At the same time, the Lean Man and the Tall Thin Man moved as well.

The Lean Man pounced from the left, lowering his body like a snake gliding along the ground. At some point, a pair of short daggers had appeared in his hands, their blades gleaming with a faint blue light, clearly coated in poison.

The Tall Thin Man closed in from the right. Spreading his arms, the pair of water-dividing spikes spun in his hands, emitting a buzzing vibration, their sharp tips pointing directly at Lin Tian's waist, ribs, and throat.

Three people, three directions, three types of weapons, striking simultaneously. Their cooperation was seamless, without any unnecessary communication, clearly a tacit understanding cultivated from years of fighting together.

They had no intention of engaging in a drawn-out battle with Lin Tian—striking together, they aimed to end the fight in a single move.

Three against one, three Fourth Rank Early Stages against one Fourth Rank Early Stage. With this strike, the opponent would either die or be heavily injured.

Lin Tian stood in place, not dodging.

He did not even move his feet.

Three Fourth Rank Early Stages. If this had been three months ago, he might have taken them somewhat seriously.

But now, he was at the Fourth Rank Middle Stage. The difference between the Fourth Rank Middle Stage and the Fourth Rank Early Stage was by no means small. The abundance of Internal Energy, its circulation speed, and its explosive intensity were simply not on the same level.

What's more, these three had made the gravest mistake—they treated him as a Fourth Rank Early Stage.

The Square-faced Man's fist arrived first. The fist, gleaming with an iron-gray luster, enlarged rapidly in Lin Tian's field of vision. The wind from the punch blew against his face, causing the hair on his forehead to flutter backward.

The Internal Energy infused into his fist had already begun to overflow, rubbing against the air to produce a faint hissing sound.

Lin Tian raised his right hand and struck out with a palm.

Great Strength Vajra Palm. He did not hold back, nor did he test the waters.

The Internal Energy in his Dantian surged violently, channeling along his Meridians into his palm. The palm force condensed without dispersing, forming a vortex in his palm that was almost invisible to the naked eye.

This palm strike was completely ordinary, without any fancy movements. It simply thrust straight forward, meeting the Square-faced Man's fist head-on.

Fist and palm collided.

With a deafening boom, it sounded like a hammer striking an anvil. An explosion of energy erupted from the point of contact, sweeping in all directions and sending the fallen leaves on the ground flying, swirling and scattering through the air.

The Square-faced Man's fist shattered.

It was not fractured; it was shattered. The iron-gray luster on the fist's surface was instantly dispersed by Lin Tian's palm force, followed immediately by the phalanges, metacarpals, and carpals shattering layer by layer.

The sound of bones shattering was dense and muffled, like someone crushing a handful of dried walnuts inside a cloth bag.

His arm bent at an unnatural angle, and the residual force of the palm strike lifted him off his feet, sending him flying backward.

Lin Tian's palm did not stop. After shattering his opponent's fist, the palm force advanced with unstoppable momentum, striking the Square-faced Man squarely on the chest.

With a dull thud, the clothes on the Square-faced Man's chest exploded, and a distinct, sunken palm print appeared.

His eyeballs bulged outward violently, and his mouth flew wide open, wanting to scream. But before the sound could escape his throat, he flew backward like a tattered sack.

He flew more than twenty feet through the air and crashed into the trunk of a large tree. The tree shook violently, and fallen leaves rustled down.

His body slid down the trunk, slumping at the roots. A large mouthful of bloody foam surged from his mouth, mixed with dark red fragments. His eyes were still open, but his pupils had already begun to dilate.

With a single palm strike, a Fourth Rank Early Stage Martial Artist was directly obliterated.