17: The martial arts school provoked him, and he was sent flying with a single palm strike!

West of the city, the Kaishan Martial Arts School.

Two massive stone lions crouched on either side of the tall, vermillion-lacquered gate, their eyes wide open, fangs bared, exuding an imposing and savage might.

Hanging above the door was a huge black plaque with gold characters—"Kaishan Martial Arts School"—the calligraphy vigorous, conveying a domineering sense of splitting mountains and cracking stones.

Faint sounds of dull shouts, flesh colliding, and weapons cutting through the air drifted from inside the gate, indicating the intense activity within.

Lin Jingyu's imposing figure stopped in front of the martial arts school gate, standing firm as a rock. He looked up at the two characters "Kaishan," and a cold curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Kaishan? Today, we shall see who opens whom!

Without hesitation, he took a step forward and walked straight toward the open gate, which was wide enough for several carriages to pass through side-by-side.

Standing on either side of the gate were four Martial Arts School Disciples, all wearing matching black uniforms, radiating fierce Auras. Their temples slightly bulged, and their eyes were sharp, clearly indicating they were experts in the Body Refining Realm.

Seeing Lin Jingyu's unfamiliar, imposing, and aggressive figure walking straight in, they immediately stepped forward and reached out to block him.

"Stop! This is an important area of the Martial Arts School, idlers are forbidden!" the square-faced Disciple leading them shouted sternly, his eyes filled with scrutiny and hostility.

Lin Jingyu did not stop, nor did he shift his gaze. He simply uttered two words faintly: "Challenging the school."

The voice wasn't loud, but it was like a sudden clap of thunder exploding at the entrance of the martial arts school!

"What?!"

"Challenging the school?!"

"What audacity!"

The faces of the four gate-guarding Disciples instantly changed, turning into towering rage! The Kaishan Martial Arts School, backed by the Zhao Family in Black Stone City, was highly renowned. How many years had it been since someone dared to challenge the school? How dare this person be so arrogant?!

"You're courting death!" The square-faced Disciple reacted fastest, roaring in anger, his right fist clenched tight, bringing a whistling gale of force straight toward Lin Jingyu's face! The fist wind was fierce and powerful, clearly utilizing a wide-open, External Boxing Technique!

Lin Jingyu's eyes were indifferent. Facing a punch capable of splitting stone tablets, he merely raised his left hand casually, fingers spread, and waved lightly as if swatting a fly.

"Slap!"

A crisp sound of a slap rang out!

The aggressive square-faced Disciple, whose fist was still about a foot away from Lin Jingyu's face, instantly flew sideways, screaming, as if he had been struck head-on by a charging warhorse. He spun half a turn in mid-air before smashing heavily into the base of the stone lion at the entrance! Half of his cheek swelled up instantly like a steamed bun, and teeth mixed with blood sprayed wildly from his mouth. He instantly passed out on the spot!

Silence!

Deathly silence!

The anger on the faces of the other three Disciples was instantly replaced by extreme horror!

They hadn't even clearly seen how Lin Jingyu had struck! The square-faced Senior Brother was an expert at Body Refining Eighth Level, yet he was casually slapped away by the opponent, like swatting a mosquito?!

"Go together!" After a brief moment of shock, the remaining three, driven by fear and duty, roared and lunged simultaneously! Fists, palms, and legs, carrying fierce gusts of wind, attacked Lin Jingyu's vital points from three directions!

Lin Jingyu didn't even bother using Dragon-Elephant Power. He stood still, neither dodging nor evading. His internal Vital Qi and Blood merely stirred slightly, and the dark golden luster flowing beneath his skin brightened instantaneously!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three muffled thuds sounded almost simultaneously!

The trio's attacks landed squarely on different parts of Lin Jingyu's body!

However, the anticipated sound of hitting flesh did not occur. Instead, it sounded like they had struck steel refined a thousand times! A massive counter-shock force immediately rushed back up their fists and feet!

"Ah!"

"My hand!"

"My leg is broken!"

The three simultaneously let out horrifying screams! The arms and legs they used to attack Lin Jingyu twisted and deformed at strange angles! The sound of bones shattering was clearly audible! Like being struck by a massive hammer, the three screamed as they flew backward, following in the square-faced Disciple's footsteps, falling to the ground, rolling in agony, and completely losing their ability to fight.

Lin Jingyu didn't even glance at the four people howling on the ground. He stepped over the threshold, officially entering the front courtyard of the Kaishan Martial Arts School.

The front courtyard was extremely spacious, paved with bluestone, with stone locks, wooden stakes, weapon racks, and other training equipment placed on both sides. At this moment, dozens of Martial Arts School Disciples who were training were alarmed by the noise at the entrance. They stopped their movements and looked toward the gate with confusion and apprehension.

When they saw the four unconscious or wailing gate-guarding Disciples lying on the ground like dead dogs, and then saw the unfamiliar, imposing figure standing like an iron tower, emitting a cold Evil Qi, the entire front courtyard instantly fell into an eerie silence.

"Audacious madman! How dare you injure my Kaishan Martial Arts School Disciples!" A furious roar, like an explosive clap of thunder, came from the direction of the inner courtyard!

A burly man, equally imposing, wearing a black Martial Master robe trimmed with gold, with a full beard and an Aura as ferocious as a bear, strode out with powerful steps! Behind him followed seven or eight Core Disciples whose Auras were significantly stronger than the regular Disciples.

The person who arrived was none other than the Vice Head of the Kaishan Martial Arts School, Zhao Mang! He was a collateral descendant of the Zhao Family. His proficiency in Horizontal Training Techniques had reached the Body Refining Peak, half a step into the Meridian Opening realm. He possessed boundless strength and was known for his explosive temper and ruthless methods.

Zhao Mang's eyes were spitting fire as he stared intently at Lin Jingyu. When he clearly saw the opponent's imposing figure and the bulging muscles beneath the tattered clothes, his pupils slightly contracted, and his rage intensified: "You're the one who injured my people? State your name! I don't harm nameless nobodies!"

Lin Jingyu calmly glanced over Zhao Mang, as if looking at a slightly larger rock. Too lazy to waste words, he said directly: "Have your Head of the Martial Arts School deliver your best Body Refining Cultivation Technique. Or, I'll go in and take it myself."

"Arrogant!"

"Courting death!"

"Vice Head, cripple him!"

Lin Jingyu's words were like cold water poured into boiling oil, instantly igniting the rage of the entire front courtyard! All the Disciples glared angrily and shouted curses fiercely.

To dare demand the martial arts school's best Cultivation Technique? And demand the Head of the Martial Arts School hand it over personally? This was simply naked humiliation and provocation!

Zhao Mang was so enraged that his hair stood on end and veins bulged on his forehead! He laughed in extreme anger: "Hahaha! Good! Very good! It's been a long time since anyone dared to be so presumptuous at my Kaishan Martial Arts School! You want a Cultivation Technique? First, ask if my fist agrees!"

Before his voice faded, Zhao Mang's muscles suddenly swelled, his Vital Qi and Blood erupted explosively, and his skin faintly glowed with a layer of earthy yellow light! He stomped his right foot fiercely onto the ground!

"Boom!"

A shallow pit was stamped into the bluestone ground!

He shot forward like a cannonball, carrying an unparalleled, savage Aura, charging straight at Lin Jingyu! His right fist was clenched tight, the muscles in his arm coiled like a Flood Dragon, bringing a terrifying shriek that tore through the air, aiming straight for Lin Jingyu's heart! Before the fist even arrived, a heavy wind pressure slammed into Lin Jingyu's face!

"Mountain-Splitting Stone-Cracking Fist!"

This was the signature boxing technique of the Kaishan Martial Arts School. It was fierce and domineering, and when combined with Zhao Mang's brute strength and Horizontal Training Techniques, its power was astonishing! Even ordinary Martial Artists at the Body Refining Peak would not dare to meet this punch head-on!

All the Disciples held their breath, their eyes revealing excitement and cruelty, as if they could already see the tragic sight of this arrogant madman having his chest exploded by the Vice Head's punch!

Facing this terrifying punch, a trace of impatience finally flashed across Lin Jingyu's eyes. He still stood in place, not even bothering to assume a blocking posture.

Just as Zhao Mang's fist was about to graze the front of his robes!

Lin Jingyu moved!

He merely raised his right hand extremely casually, fingers spread, the movement appearing almost slow. But in Zhao Mang's eyes, this palm seemed to instantly obscure his entire world!

An indescribable, terrifying pressure, like the collapse of a mountain range, suddenly descended! Zhao Mang felt his furious charge hit an invisible, towering wall! His proud strength and Aura were as insignificant as an ant before this pressure!

Lin Jingyu's seemingly slow palm arrived first, lightly pressing onto Zhao Mang's aggressive fist.

"Pffft!"

There was no earth-shattering boom, only a dull thud that made hearts tremble!

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Zhao Mang's fierce forward momentum came to an abrupt halt! The savage rage on his face was instantly replaced by extreme shock and disbelief!

"No... impossible..." He felt as though his fist hadn't struck a human palm, but had slammed into an ancient, eternal mountain of steel!

A terrifying, irresistible force, far exceeding the limits of his imagination, violently surged back up his arm like a breaching stellar torrent!

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

A series of teeth-grinding, dense bone-shattering sounds, like popping beans, erupted frantically from Zhao Mang's right fist, wrist, forearm, and even his shoulder!

"Aargh—!!!"

Zhao Mang let out a miserable shriek that sounded inhuman! His right arm, infused with his entire strength and capable of splitting stone tablets, instantly twisted and deformed like a dry branch crushed by immense force, hanging down limply! Furthermore, the terrifying palm force lifted his feet off the ground, sending him flying backward like a broken sack!

"Boom—!!!"

Zhao Mang's massive body slammed heavily into a thick bluestone brick courtyard wall about seven or eight Zhang away!

The hard bluestone brick wall, as if struck by a battering ram, instantly became covered in terrifying, spiderweb-like cracks radiating from the point of impact! Large chunks of brick and stone rattled down!

Zhao Mang's body was deeply embedded in the sunken wall. Blood sprayed wildly from his mouth, mixed with fragments of internal organs! His twisted right arm hung down limply, his eyes unfocused, filled with endless terror and confusion. His head slumped, and he completely passed out!

The entire front courtyard of the Kaishan Martial Arts School was silent, like a graveyard!

The excitement, cruelty, and anger on the faces of all the Disciples froze, turning into boundless fear and stupefaction! They were like statues frozen by invisible cold, their bodies stiff and their minds blank!

The Vice Head... Zhao Mang... Half-Step Meridian Opening... Horizontal Training expert... Mountain-Splitting Stone-Cracking Fist... was... was sent flying by the opponent's casual palm strike?

Sent flying... like swatting a fly?!

And... embedded in the wall?!

This... what the hell kind of monster is this?!

Lin Jingyu slowly retracted his palm, as if he had just performed a trivial task. His gaze swept across the petrified Martial Arts School Disciples. His voice was calm, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness:

"Now, can you have your Head of the Martial Arts School come out?"

"Or, I'll go in and find him myself."