Duan Lingtian smiled.
Beating a "punching bag"? That was right up his alley.
Li Xin, tied to the execution post, was about Duan Lingtian's age. The scorching sun had already baked his face a sickly pale blue...
Hearing Li Rou's words, his body trembled in fright. Then, as if he had been injected with adrenaline, he screamed in terror, "Father, save me!"
"Li Rou, don't push people too far!"
Seventh Elder Li Kun's expression darkened, and he flew into a rage.
"Push people too far? Li Kun, usually when your son bullies mine, my son's skills are inferior, so sustaining some injuries is inevitable, and I've let it go. But this time, your son almost killed my son. Do you really take me, Li Rou, for someone easy to bully?"
Li Rou swept a cold glance at Li Kun, her tone laced with icy fury.
"Tian'er, go right ahead. I'd like to see who dares to obstruct me from punishing a junior today!"
Every word Li Rou uttered displayed the heroic spirit of a heroine.
Though she was a woman, the aura she exuded at this moment was not the least bit inferior to any man!
"Patriarch."
Li Kun looked toward the Patriarch, Li Nanfeng, who stood beside him, hoping he would preside over justice.
"Seventh Elder, today's matter is a personal affair between you and the Ninth Elder. Try to resolve it privately."
Li Nanfeng shook his head.
"So this is the guy who messed you up this badly?"
Muttering to himself, it was unclear who Duan Lingtian was speaking to...
Slap!
He stepped forward and, without a second word, slapped Li Xin straight across the face.
A slight stinging sensation came from his palm, and Duan Lingtian frowned slightly.
Could this body be any more useless?
He hurts his own hand just from hitting a "punching bag"?
"Duan Lingtian, if you have any guts, untie me and let's fight one-on-one!"
Half of Li Xin's face instantly swelled up, a chilling, murderous glint flashing in his eyes as he roared in a nearly feral growl.
"One-on-one? Sorry, I'm not interested... As for whether I have guts or not, that's none of your concern."
Duan Lingtian smiled, spreading his hands and shrugging indifferently.
Slap!
He gave Li Xin another slap.
"This guy's face really is thick."
Duan Lingtian frowned, exhaling a breath, and blew on his aching palm with a look of extreme displeasure.
The surrounding Li Family disciples watched Duan Lingtian's actions and listened to his words in collective speechlessness.
Someone has been made into a "punching bag" with zero ability to fight back, letting you beat him, and you're still complaining that his face is thick?
What kind of person is this!
"My shoe is more solid after all."
Bending over, Duan Lingtian took off one of the shoes from his foot, held it in his hand, swung it fiercely, and aimed it straight at Li Xin's face.
This scene caused a chill to involuntarily rise from the depths of the gathered Li Family disciples' hearts...
This Duan Lingtian wouldn't really want to beat Li Xin's face with the shoe in his hand, would he?
If he really smacked him with that, wouldn't Li Xin's face be completely ruined!
"Little bastard, you're courting death!"
Seeing this, Li Kun could no longer contain himself. His figure shifted, and like a great roc soaring through the air, he lunged straight toward Duan Lingtian.
"I think *you're* the one courting death!"
Li Rou moved as well. With a shifting of her lotus-like steps, she seemed to transform into the wind, or a fairy drifting down from the nine heavens, arriving before Duan Lingtian a step ahead.
Her slender hand reached out, shimmering with the brilliance of Origin Force, and she delivered a palm strike directly at the oncoming Li Kun.
At the same time, in the empty space above Li Rou's head, wisps of white mist flickered in and out of view.
"Li Rou, today I want to see just how much skill you, the Ninth Elder, actually have."
Li Kun's gaze was fierce as his massive hand descended like a palm-leaf fan.
Origin Force burst forth, and with all his might, he met Li Rou's palm strike!
In an instant, four faint phantoms of ancient mammoths materialized out of thin air above Li Kun's head.
Li Kun struck with all his strength, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth to manifest four ancient mammoth phantoms...
In other words, the power he was unleashing right now was comparable to the power of four ancient mammoths!
A single ancient mammoth possessed ten thousand catties of brute force.
"Mom."
Duan Lingtian frowned, feeling somewhat worried.
The Li Family disciples watched with unblinking eyes; a clash between the Seventh Elder and the Ninth Elder was a rarely seen spectacle.
Thud!
Right under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Li Rou and Li Kun's figures crossed paths as their palms collided.
After their bodies paused for a moment, Li Rou leaned forward slightly, and the white mist above her head also transformed into ancient mammoth phantoms...
A total of six!
The power of six ancient mammoths!
Li Kun's power of four ancient mammoths meeting Li Rou's power of six ancient mammoths in a direct, head-on collision—the outcome was self-evident.
In a split second, Li Kun was sent flying like an arrow released from a bow for over a dozen meters, looking utterly disheveled before he managed to steady his footing.
"Blech!"
Li Kun's face flushed a patch of alternating green and white, and he immediately opened his mouth to spew a mouthful of stagnant blood.
The next moment, he looked at the six ancient mammoth phantoms gradually dissipating in the empty air above Li Rou's head, a look of utter disbelief on his face.
"How is this possible... The power of six ancient mammoths! Is this Li Rou actually a martial artist at the Fourth Level of the Condensing Pill Realm?!"
Li Kun's heart shook violently.
He never would have imagined it.
The Ninth Elder Li Rou, who had practically never made a move in the Li Family and had always maintained a low profile, possessed such terrifying strength!
The surrounding Li Family disciples couldn't help but gasp in cold breath:
"The power of six ancient mammoths... The Ninth Elder is so strong!"
"Judging by the power of the ancient mammoths, the Ninth Elder's strength should have stepped into the 'Fourth Level of the Condensing Pill Realm'."
"I never expected the usually gentle Ninth Elder to possess such formidable strength. If Li Xin hadn't almost killed Duan Lingtian this time, we might never have had the chance to witness the Ninth Elder in action."
...
Li Rou stood there, her slender figure appearing incomparably towering.
"I really didn't expect Mom to have this kind of strength. Being able to draw upon the power of heaven and earth to manifest six ancient mammoth phantoms—she must undoubtedly be at the Fourth Level of the Condensing Pill Realm."
Duan Lingtian breathed a sigh of relief.
In this world, the entry level for martial artists was known as the "Body Tempering Realm," divided from the first to the ninth level.
Cultivating to the Ninth Level of the Body Tempering Realm allowed the physical body to possess ten thousand catties of brute force.
Once unleashing one's full strength, one could draw upon the power of heaven and earth to manifest an ancient mammoth phantom, possessing the power of one ancient mammoth.
Above the Body Tempering Realm was the "Condensing Pill Realm."
The biggest difference between the Condensing Pill Realm and the Body Tempering Realm was "Origin Force."
After reaching the Ninth Level of the Body Tempering Realm, one births Origin Force, which is known as the First Level of the Condensing Pill Realm.
The Origin Force intensity of the First Level of the Condensing Pill Realm is comparable to the power of one ancient mammoth. Combined with physical strength, one can wield the power of two ancient mammoths.
The higher the cultivation level thereafter, the greater the power one can command.
"In my past life, I used 'Xingyiquan' to temper my physique and cultivate internal energy, considering myself virtually unrivaled on Earth... Yet the strongest force I could unleash combining my physical body with internal energy was only around ten thousand catties, comparable to the Ninth Level of the Body Tempering Realm in this world."
"The bodies of people in this world are naturally stronger than the humans of Earth in my past life, and Origin Force is a tier higher than internal energy. In my past life on Earth, I cultivated almost to the absolute limit... But in this world, that little bit of strength of mine can only be considered a starting point."
Thinking of this, a smile surfaced at the corner of Duan Lingtian's mouth.
This world was rather interesting.
"Tian'er, no one is disturbing you now. Continue."
Li Rou's gentle voice reached Duan Lingtian's ears, reminding him.
"Father, save me!"
Hearing Li Rou's words, Li Xin's face turned green, and deep fear welled up in his eyes...
If the shoe in Duan Lingtian's hand really came down on him, it wouldn't be a joke!
Li Kun's expression was gloomy.
Yet, constrained by his fear of Li Rou, he didn't dare to make another move.
Duan Lingtian cracked a grin.
Slap!
The shoe in his hand came down fiercely.
Instantly, Li Xin let out a scream like a butchered pig, and a clear shoe print appeared on his face.
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!
...
Holding the shoe, Duan Lingtian raised his hand and brought it down time and time again onto Li Xin's face.
Every time the shoe descended, the bodies of the Li Family disciples present trembled involuntarily. Just hearing the sound made them feel a creeping dread.
It wasn't until Li Xin passed out cold that Duan Lingtian finally stopped his hand.
"You can rest in peace now. I've avenged you."
Duan Lingtian silently murmured in his heart, though only he knew who he was speaking to.
As he followed behind his mother Li Rou to leave, Duan Lingtian noticed something else:
When the Seventh Elder Li Kun looked at him, his eyes flashed with bloodthirsty hatred, as if he wanted to devour him alive...
His heart sank.
He had seen this kind of gaze countless times in his past life.
People with this kind of gaze were always those who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals!
Therefore, in his past life, anyone who had ever looked at him with such eyes had generally been snuffed out by him in their infancy.
"Today's matter is probably just the beginning... I must rapidly improve my strength, otherwise I won't even know how I die!"
Duan Lingtian felt the pressure bearing down on him.
Although Li Kun was no match for his mother, his mother couldn't possibly accompany him by his side at every moment, nor could she take care of him for the rest of his life.
If he wanted to survive well in this world where the strong ruled, he could only rely on himself.
What he needed now was strength...
Powerful strength!
As the Ninth Elder of the Li Family, Li Rou possessed an independent courtyard.
The courtyard had three bedrooms: Li Rou and Duan Lingtian each lived in one, and the maid lived in the other.
Upon returning, Duan Lingtian exchanged a few words with Li Rou and went back to his room.
"After getting hurt this time, Tian'er seems a little different..."
As the person closest to Duan Lingtian, Li Rou also noticed the subtle differences in Duan Lingtian after he woke up this time.
She didn't dwell on it too much, simply assuming her son had acted this way due to the shock he suffered.
How could she possibly know that while her son's body remained, his soul had already been replaced by someone else.
Back in his room, Duan Lingtian sat on the bed with a depressed expression.
From those unfamiliar memories, he learned that the original owner of this body had been sickly and frail since childhood.
Wanting to complete body tempering, step into the First Level of the Body Tempering Realm, and become a martial artist was harder than ascending to the heavens!
"Your mom is so strong, how could she give birth to a good-for-nothing like you? And I've got such bad luck to actually possess your body."
Duan Lingtian cursed inwardly.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Right at that moment, a series of sinister, hoarse laughter suddenly echoed in Duan Lingtian's mind, sounding just like an eerie specter.
"Who's there?"
Duan Lingtian's expression changed drastically.
"Kid, I never expected you to have such great luck—even with the soul taking that kind of hit, you weren't destroyed! But now it's all the same... No wait, you're not that kid! What are you?! Damn it, how dare you snatch the body I had my eyes on! Die!!"
The hoarse voice suddenly shifted halfway through, brimming with raw violence and fury.