Han Lin walked with a steady stride, took a deep breath, and gathered spiritual qi throughout his body. Reciting the cultivation technique silently in his mind, he stepped forward and threw a punch that knocked the fat man on the opposite side to the ground, sending him flying over a dozen meters away where he lay coughing up blood.
The stall owners on the street clapped and cheered, finding it deeply satisfying.
Han Lin stepped forward, pointed at the fat man before him, and said, "Don't ever let me catch you collecting protection money from them again. If I see you doing it, see if I don't cripple you! I'll let you off this time, now get lost!"
The fat man, who was at the Qi Condensation stage, had actually been knocked down by someone who hadn't even reached the Qi Condensation stage yet. Furious and humiliated, he demanded, "What's your name?"
"Your granddad's name is Han Lin," Han Lin said loudly.
The fat man and his lacklings fled in panic, and a few rogue cultivators helped the fat man away. The fat man roared, "Han Lin, you just wait!"
The fat man and his cohorts returned to a magnificent palace. Three large characters were inscribed on a stone pillar: "Yunlan Sect, Bailong Hall". Furious to the point of a breakdown, the fat man quickly opened his storage pouch and swallowed a Rejuvenation Pill. His injuries were not too severe, and he quickly recovered a few percent of his strength. He barked at his subordinates, "Go and find out what background this Han Lin has."
Senior Sister patted my shoulder and said, "Junior Brother, you really brought honor to the Zixiao Sect this time! They're always the ones bullying our people, so it's only right that you taught them a lesson this time." Furthermore, they had been running amok in the marketplace; teaching them a lesson would let them know there are people beyond people and heavens beyond the heavens, so they shouldn't be so arrogant. Good deeds bring good rewards, and evil deeds will surely meet with retribution.
At that moment, the cultivators in the Lingyun Market square were coming and going in an endless stream, all discussing the matter animatedly. "Han Lin used to be good for nothing, but his cultivation has improved by leaps and bounds nowadays."
Feeling that the fight had been quite thrilling, Han Lin and Senior Sister quickly vanished into the crowd.
Before long, they returned to the Zixiao Sect's quarters. Feng Qing hurried over and said, "Isn't this Senior Sister Ye Hong? I saw you and Junior Brother Han Lin go out this morning. Where on earth did you two go strolling?"
Senior Sister replied coldly, "We didn't go anywhere."
Feng Qing anxiously said, "Next time you go out, can you take me with you?"
Senior Sister turned around and left. He stood there alone like a fool, wondering if the Junior Sister disliked him or if she preferred the kid right in front of her.
Feng Qing had formerly been the top disciple of the Zixiao Sect, but now Li Chao, the sect master's son, had become the top disciple, naturally dropping Feng Qing to second place. Why did Senior Sister hate him so much? Feeling puzzled, Han Lin decided to ask an inner sect disciple about Feng Qing's past.
Although Feng Qing was the son of the Law Enforcement Elder, his romantic escapades were still fresh in everyone's memory. Even Elder Shen's beloved daughter, Shen Wan'er, refused to marry him. Although Elder Shen and Elder Feng were on close terms and their families were well-matched in social status, Elder Shen looked down on Feng Qing from the bottom of his heart—let alone the fact that Feng Qing was a womanizer who not only disgraced the Law Enforcement Elder, but also failed to win the respect of the other disciples.
Xie Tao, the master of the Yunlan Sect, had once wanted to marry off his daughter Xie Linlin to Feng Qing, so he arranged for the two to date. To his surprise, Feng Qing got drunk that night and raped Xie Linlin. Enraged, the Yunlan Sect master flew into a towering fury, immediately called off the marriage, and told his daughter never to associate with Feng Qing again.
Han Lin soon returned to his quarters. This outing had still been fruitful. While Senior Sister had frozen several cultivators in ice, he had seized the opportunity to pocket the Spirit Stones and pills from their storage bags. At this point, Han Lin wondered to himself, judging by the fat man's status, he must have a powerful backer behind him; otherwise, based on his abilities alone, he would never dare to act as a tyrant in the Lingyun Market.
"Forget it, I won't think about it anymore. Whoever he is, no matter how formidable he might be, it's impossible for him to track me down to the Zixiao Sect."
Night descended, and the leaves outside the window rustled in the wind. After finishing his meal, Han Lin hummed a tune as he walked over to the area where the disciples practiced meditation to stretch his limbs. The outer sect disciples all knew that Han Lin's father was an alchemist, so they cast envious and flattering gazes his way, though Han Lin didn't care about it at all.
Han Lin knew this was a world where the strong preyed upon the weak, where the powerful trampled on the dignity of the weak at will. Therefore, if the weak wanted to grow strong, they had to raise their cultivation level.
Once the outer sect disciples finished their cultivation, they all went off to sleep. The hour was growing late, and Han Lin returned to his room to resume the cultivation session from earlier. He opened his Storage Ring, took out two Qi Condensation Pills and one Qi Gathering Pill, and swallowed them all together. He added two bottles of spiritual foundation liquid to the wooden tub; the deep green spiritual liquid was crystal clear and nourishing to the skin of his entire body.
Crossing his legs, he sat in meditation as the surrounding spiritual qi rushed toward him like a tidal wave. With his eyes tightly shut and a solemn expression on his face, his breathing gradually grew steady and deep. The spiritual qi within his body surged like a restless torrent, rampaging through his meridians. He then circulated the spiritual qi to purge all the impurities and turbid breath from his body, leaving him feeling extraordinarily refreshed. Han Lin comforted himself, "I'm about to break through. I can't afford to relax for even a second."
Guarding his mind and spirit, he continued to guide this torrent of spiritual qi along a specific meridian route. Every complete circulation made the spiritual qi purer and more refined.