"Whew... I misjudged him. Earlier, I only thought that young man was good at boxing, but I never expected him to be a true master."
The old man slowly let out a breath, his tone carrying a lingering trace of fear.
He turned his head to look at the young woman behind him and said, "We were lucky he didn't want to press the issue with you. Otherwise, given his level of skill, if a real conflict had broken out, we would have been in deep trouble."
"You're exaggerating, aren't you? That guy looks so young, could he really be a match for Uncle Jie?" The young woman asked doubtfully.
"Miss, the old master is not exaggerating at all." The burly man standing nearby gave a wry smile and explained, "To strike out casually with such tremendous power—that must be the fatal move he mentioned. If we were to fight for real, I honestly might not be able to take that palm strike."
The burly man still had a sense of self-awareness.
Although he had once served as a combat instructor and was quite proficient, he was still made of flesh and blood.
The fact that the other man's casual palm strike had nearly pierced through a tree thick enough for three people to hug showed just how terrifying his strength was.
If he had actually taken that hit, no matter how skilled he was, he would have either died or been severely injured.
"Now you know! There's always someone better, and a heaven beyond the heavens! Dragon Kingdom martial arts aren't just for show; true masters do exist!"
The old man took a deep breath and said, "Having encountered a master like this, do you still think your precious Taekwondo is so impressive? To put it bluntly, if he wanted to wipe the floor with Taekwondo, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger!"
The young woman fell silent.
Only a hint of curiosity flickered in her eyes as she looked at the palm print.
In her understanding, Dragon Kingdom martial arts were always just for performance, completely useless in actual combat.
Yet now, having witnessed the terrifying power of that casual palm strike with her own eyes, for the very first time, she realized that perhaps he was right.
Her understanding of Dragon Kingdom martial arts had barely scratched the surface.
The old man, however, was unaware of what the young woman was thinking.
Looking at the clear palm print on the tree trunk before him, the old man pondered for a moment and said in a low voice, "A-Jie, do me a favor. When we get back, investigate that young man's background for me. Someone with this level of skill at such a young age is definitely extraordinary!"
"If we can get on his good terms, it certainly won't be a bad thing for the Ding Family!"
"Yes, old master." A-Jie did not hesitate to nod in agreement.
At that moment, Lin Feng had no idea that his casual palm strike had prompted the old man he had crossed paths with to try to win his favor.
After leaving the open-air park, Lin Feng did not linger outside and returned straight to the Zhao Family villa.
The moment he stepped through the door, however, Lin Feng was taken aback.
Inside the villa's living room, Zhao Tianlong sat on the sofa, looking as though he had been waiting for him for a long time.
On the other side of the sofa, Zhao Qingling sat pouting, her expression clearly brimming with dissatisfaction.
When she saw Lin Feng enter, Zhao Qingling let out a cold snort and turned her head away.
In contrast, Zhao Tianlong let out a hearty laugh, immediately stood up to greet him, and said warmly, "Mr. Lin, Qingling tells me you went out for morning exercise? How was it? Did you sleep well last night?"
"Pretty good. I'm not the type to have trouble sleeping in a strange bed," Lin Feng said, touching his nose with a smile.
In truth, he had slept well during the first half of the night.
As for the second half...
A hot-blooded young man, suddenly given that kind of stimulation, how could he possibly fall back asleep?
That was precisely why he had gone out for a morning run at the crack of dawn.
Zhao Tianlong had no idea what had happened in the villa the previous night.
Hearing Lin Feng say this, he immediately set his mind at ease.
He had been worried that his hospitality had been lacking and might have displeased Lin Feng.
"Mr. Lin, actually, I came here today for another reason."
Changing the subject, Zhao Tianlong got down to business. "You might not know this, but tomorrow is the seventieth birthday of the old master of the Ding Family. To mark the occasion, the Ding Family has sent out invitations far and wide; everyone of any importance in Nancheng will be attending."
Weighing his words carefully, Zhao Tianlong continued, "Normally, this wouldn't be something Mr. Lin needs to worry about, but I figured that since you are new to Nancheng and not yet familiar with the place, if you could use this opportunity to make some connections, it would only be beneficial. What do you think?"
"The seventieth birthday of the old master of the Ding Family?"
Lin Feng did not answer immediately, falling into a thoughtful silence.
To be honest, he didn't have much interest in this so-called banquet.
However, one thing Zhao Tianlong said was quite right.
Using the opportunity to make some connections would ultimately be advantageous.
After all, if he wanted the true culprits behind the annihilation of the Lin Family to show themselves, he needed to maintain a high profile.
The higher his profile in Nancheng, the easier it would be to catch the attention of the mastermind behind the scenes.
With that thought, Lin Feng instantly made up his mind.
"Alright, since that's the case, I'll go tomorrow," Lin Feng agreed readily.
Seeing Lin Feng accept, Zhao Tianlong was overjoyed.
He hurriedly said, "Wonderful! Mr. Lin, Qingling will accompany you tomorrow! If you need anything at all, just tell Qingling—don't hesitate!"
With that, Zhao Tianlong winked at Zhao Qingling and left the villa.
Watching Zhao Tianlong depart, Lin Feng gave a helpless chuckle, thinking about heading back to his room to catch up on some sleep, when Zhao Qingling—who had remained silent until now—suddenly stood up from the sofa.
"My dad might have said that, but you need to know your place," Zhao Qingling snorted. "Don't think I'm your servant. Let me tell you, tomorrow I'm only responsible for taking you there. As for making connections and all that, that's your own business."
"It seems this young lady has a lot of opinions about me."
Sensing the dissatisfaction in Zhao Qingling's words, Lin Feng rubbed his nose and smiled wryly to himself.
Fair enough; late at night, the two of them had suddenly ended up in such close physical contact—it was only natural for her to have some emotional baggage.
"Also, come with me right now." Zhao Qingling snorted again.
"Go? Where?" Lin Feng asked, bewildered.
"To buy clothes, of course." Zhao Qingling rolled her eyes at Lin Feng. "Tomorrow's banquet is a major event in Nancheng, and everyone of any stature in the city will be there! If you go looking all ragged and sloppy, it'll make the Zhao Family look bad. How could I possibly allow that?"
Without waiting for Lin Feng's reaction, she turned on her heel and started walking.
Watching Zhao Qingling's slightly petulant retreating figure, Lin Feng raised an eyebrow and let out a soft sigh.
Fine. Even though her attitude wasn't great, she meant well.
After all, high society was all about appearances.
Shaking his head inwardly, Lin Feng didn't hesitate and quickly followed after her.
Following Zhao Qingling all the way to the garage, moments later, a bright red McLaren roared out from the doors and sped off into the distance.