51: Lin Haichuan! Lin Haichuan!

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another three days had passed.

Guangling Prefecture, Qinghe County.

It had been a month since the New Year. Even though the pace of life in Qinghe County was always extremely slow, the thick festive atmosphere of the New Year had now slowly dissipated.

On the streets, shops, restaurants, and martial arts halls opened their doors one after another.

At the Lin Family Martial Arts Hall, on a patch of open ground made of rammed earth.

A burly man stood with his hands behind his back, loudly lecturing more than a dozen newly admitted Disciples on the clearing:

"What is the most important thing on the path of martial arts? Talent? Resources? Wrong! The most important thing is hard work."

"Take my son Lin Yi, for example. He started practicing martial arts with me at the age of six. Back then, he would stand in a stake posture for two hours and practice saber techniques for three hours every day."

"Later, as he grew older, his daily cultivation time increased drastically. That is how he achieved his current success at the age of fourteen."

"But most of you little brats are already over eight years old, yet you're already complaining of pain and exhaustion after standing for just a few quarters of an hour."

"If you continue like this, how will you ever step through the threshold of martial arts? How will you ever become a Rank Nine Martial Artist?"

"Zhou Yi, you little brat, you're still laughing! I'm talking about you! Straighten your back!"

"And Li Yao, you little brat, don't try to slack off on the sly. Otherwise, I'll punish you by making you stand for an extra half hour today!"

...On the open ground, Lin Haichuan patrolled the ranks, occasionally shouting reprimands and occasionally stepping in to correct the errors in the Disciples' postures.

Just like that, time quickly reached midday.

"Alright!"

Standing before the group and looking at the sweat-drenched Disciples, Lin Haichuan clapped his hands and spoke:

"This morning's training ends here. Go eat lunch first, then rest for half an hour. In the afternoon, I will have your Senior Brother formally teach you the Breathing Technique. Once you have mastered the Breathing Technique in a few months, I will teach you martial arts."

"Alright! Go eat now!"

"Oh! We can eat!"

"Great! It's finally over! Let's go eat!"

...The children all cheered and then quickly ran toward the main gate.

However, just at that moment—

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out as the gate to the clearing was suddenly smashed open by a violent force, sending wooden splinters flying everywhere.

Immediately after, a corpse covered in blood with a large hole blasted through its chest slammed heavily onto the ground amidst the wood chips.

"Ah! Ah! Ah..."

Witnessing this terrifying scene, the children all screamed in horror and fled back behind Lin Haichuan.

"Longxing!"

Seeing the face of the corpse, Lin Haichuan's pupils constricted, and a look of grief appeared on his face.

Sun Longxing was his eldest Disciple who had followed him for many years. It was also Sun Longxing who had initially convinced him to return from the prefecture capital to the county town to open a martial arts hall.

Therefore, their relationship was extremely deep, even if not quite that of father and son.

To think that the two of them had just seen each other this morning, yet now, only a single morning later, they were separated by life and death.

Thinking of this, Lin Haichuan grew even more sorrowful. However, out of the reason of a Martial Artist, he immediately lunged forward, springing like a lithe ape toward a nearby weapon rack. He quickly drew a long saber, guarding the children behind him while staring intently at the enemies about to arrive at the gate.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

Just as Lin Haichuan was standing ready, a frivolous laugh suddenly rang in his ears.

Then, under Lin Haichuan's sharp gaze, a handsome young man in white clothes, leading four or five mysterious figures in black robes and cloaks, slowly stepped onto the clearing.

He then looked at the solemn Lin Haichuan and smiled faintly:

"Tsk! Truly worthy of being the father of Dongshan Prefecture's peerless Genius, Lin Yi!"

"Even though you are just a mere Eighth-Rank Martial Artist, your courage is quite good."

"Despite just seeing your favorite eldest Disciple die before your eyes, you were able to regain your composure in an instant and draw your saber to face the enemy."

"Not bad! Truly not bad!"

"Yier?"

Hearing this, Lin Haichuan's expression changed drastically, and the long saber in his hand trembled imperceptibly.

"Are you... enemies of Yier?"

"Heh, we wouldn't call ourselves enemies. We just have a bit of business to do with Lin Yi."

The handsome young man continued to smile.

"Business? What kind of business is conducted like this!"

"Hahaha! Naturally, the big business of selling you and your wife to Lin Yi!"

Hearing this, the handsome young man laughed loudly. Then, before the greatly shaken Lin Haichuan could ask anything more, he spoke with a laugh:

"Haha! Lin Haichuan, to tell you the truth, this young master is the only son of Big Boss Lu of Wangwu Mountain's Qingfeng Stockade. Today, I have come on my father's orders to capture you and your wife, then use you to trade with Lin Yi for some silver to spend."

"If you are sensible, then surrender now. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."

"What! Wangwu Mountain? Qingfeng Stockade?"

Hearing these names, Lin Haichuan's heart trembled.

He had, after all, served as an Escort Guard in Guangling Prefecture for two years, traveling far and wide. While he might not be exceptionally knowledgeable, he knew of the prestigious reputation of Wangwu Mountain's Qingfeng Stockade.

That was a first-rate stockade on Wangwu Mountain! The stockade master, 'Six-Armed Nezha' Lu Chong, was a Peak Rank Three Martial Artist expert.

How could such a great expert come to deal with Yier?

Lin Haichuan's heart was filled with doubts, and he had no idea why. However, despite his confusion, he understood one thing: he absolutely could not fall into the hands of these Bandits.

"You want to use me to threaten Yier? In your dreams! I, Lin Haichuan, would rather die than let you succeed!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the long saber in Lin Haichuan's hand moved, intending to slit his own throat.

"Heh."

The handsome young man gave a disdainful smile:

"A mere Eighth-Rank Martial Artist, a thing like an ant, wants to commit suicide before this young master? How laughable!"

"Sit down for me!"

Before his voice had even faded, the handsome man moved, flashing forward like a phantom.

One moment he was still at the gate over ten meters away, but the next moment he was already in front of Lin Haichuan. Then, with a casual flick of his finger, a 'clang' rang out as he shattered the long saber in Lin Haichuan's hand into pieces.

"Damn it! I'll fight you damn Bandits to the death!"

Seeing his saber shattered, Lin Haichuan roared in anger. He raised the broken blade and slashed toward the neck of the handsome young man, who was less than a foot away, attempting to force him back with this attack.

"Just you?"

The handsome young man, Lu Jian, sneered.

But just then—

His expression changed drastically as he felt his whole body go limp. In an instant, he couldn't even muster a shred of strength.

The next moment... Pfft!

The sound of a sharp blade entering flesh echoed in the air.

Under the incredulous gazes of Lin Haichuan and everyone around, the broken blade in his hand actually landed precisely on the handsome young man's neck.

With one strike, his head was severed!