Lin Xun didn’t know how to respond to Chu Feng’s enthusiastic praise. He smiled bitterly and said, “Big Brother, I came here to thank you for your help that night.”
Chu Feng said with a smile, “It's a trivial matter, so don’t mention it.”
Lin Xun’s voice was serious, “It may be a trivial matter for you, but not for me. You helped me when I needed it the most.”
Three nights ago, Chu Feng not only provided Lin Xun with detailed information, but also supplied him with medicines, weapons, equipment as well as several places to hide and rest.
If it weren’t for his help, Lin Xun felt he likely wouldn’t have been able to survive to the end.
He owed Chu Feng a huge favor.
Che Feng’s eyes widened in surprise. “What!? Little Brother, why are you acting so distant with Big Brother>”
In truth, he was very glad that Lin Xun had accepted his favor.
Most importantly, after what happened that night, Chu Feng had fully realized that Lin Xun was indeed extraordinarily remarkable given that he was able to defeat dozens of powerful forces and make them retreat without uttering a word to the public.
Chu Feng was already very satisfied to maintain a good friendship with Lin Xun.The two conversed for a while before Lin Xun got up and said goodbye.
He had already promised Chu Feng that he would continue to complete consignments in the Rune Master Association once he recovered. On one hand, it was to make money, and on the other hand, he wanted to help Chu Feng.
After all, the fame of Master Xun had resounded throughout the entire Haze City. Lin Xun’s presence could bring tremendous benefits to the Rune Master Association.
Lin Xun had planned to customize a blade for himself so he handed over a list of rune materials to Chu Feng and asked him to help him gather the materials. Naturally, Chu Feng agreed without the slightest hesitation.
After the massacre three nights ago, Lin Xun came to realize that the standard blades on the market weren’t suitable for him despite their tremendous powers. As a result, he couldn’t bring out his full power in battle.
Cultivators who specialized in battles also would often hire a rune master to tailor-make a weapon for themselves. Lin Xun just had been too busy to do so.
Lin Xun finally had the time to customize a weapon for himself since there was still quite a bit of time until the provincial examination.
When Lin Xun completed his tasks in the Rune Master Association, it wasn’t noon yet and so he wasn't in a hurry to return home. Instead, he took a stroll along the vibrant streets.
Haze City was prosperous and bustling, with many novel and rare things that he had never seen in his life.
For example, there were stations opened by beast tamers where one could hire rune beast-pulled carriages and also purchase pets.
For example, there were flower stores opened by plant masters which sold all sorts of beautiful aeth flowers and plants. They were very popular with girls.
There were also fruit and vegetable shops, restaurants, arenas, antique alleys and the slave market square. There were all sorts of stores that dazzled the eyes.
All of which were very rarely seen in a border city like Donglin City.
As Lin Xun briefly browsed the various shops, he marveled inwardly. This is the Ziyao Empire. The more prosperous a city, the more it shows the power of the empire.
However, prosperity and power are both superficial. As a cultivator, the foundation of a person is still one’s cultivation.
Lin Xun reckoned that it would be difficult for him to make another breakthrough any time soon since he had just reached the Human Dipper Stage not long ago.
He also wasn’t in a hurry. One’s cultivation was built on effort and time. It couldn’t be rushed. But there were still other ways he could improve his strength.
For example, upgrading his weapons and equipment. This was one of the most effective ways to increase his powers.
In addition, martial arts practice could also raise his strength in combat. Lin Xun’s mastery of Star-Gather had only just passed the Inkling realm and reached the Elemental Realm. He was still far from reaching the Precise Realm, let alone the Perfect Realm.
If he could further improve his mastery of Star-Gather and reach the Precise Realm, he could bring out even more terrifying power.
However, the circulation of Star-Gather consumed a huge amount of stamina and power and so could only be used as a trump card. Therefore, Lin Xun instead put his focus on his grasp of the Six Word Blade Art.
The Six Word Blade Art was an extremely secretive and ruthless blade technique. Even Instructor Xiaoke and Xu Sanqi regarded the blade art highly.
Lin Xun had practiced the blade art to the Precise Realm but was still a long way from reaching the Perfect Realm. He intended to use the rest of his time to bring his control of the Six Word Blade Art to the Perfect Realm.
If he could achieve that, at least, he wouldn’t need to resort to Star-Gather to smoothly pass the provincial examination.
Additionally, he had achieved unexpected progress in his spirit cultivation. After his battle against his assassins, Lin Xun had illuminated another three spirit stars in his mind-sea. In total, twenty-one spirit stars were shining brightly in the sky of his mind-sea. They shined upon his spirit and made his spirit sense power increasingly stronger.
“Battle strength is very important but I also have to prepare for entering the third level of the Great Azure Cloud Path in the Omega Secret Realm before the provincial examination,” Lin Xun contemplated. There was only less than three months until the third test of the Great Azure Cloud Path opened.
The third level was called Hundred Battles and he only had three attempts to pass. Although Lin Xun didn’t know how difficult and dangerous the third test would be, he wouldn’t dare to be careless.
He had to be fully prepared if he wanted to get his hands on the reward for passing the third level. He speculated that the third test was related to battle since it had the name Hundred Battles.
He thought it over and over again, and came to the decision that it was most important to raise his strength first.
Suddenly, an uproar afar jolted Lin Xun awake from his contemplation. He looked up to see a brawny man dragging a woman into a carriage.
The woman was disheveled and her clothes were torn. She constantly screamed out in tears, “Help, help, I don’t know him, I really don’t know him”
However, with an embarrassed expression the brawny man explained to the onlookers, “Sorry that you all had to see this. This is my daughter-in-law. She had an affair for the past few days and I finally caught her red handed. She not only won’t admit she did wrong but also wants to create a scene so I’m going to take her home now.”
Everyone nearby showed contempt on their faces.
Someone even scolded out loud, “What a slut. She cheated but still won’t admit her wrongdoing. She should be drowned.”
“What a shameless woman! Why are you screaming? No one will save you even if you scream to death.”
“Brother, hurry and take your daughter-in-law away. Don’t let her embarrass you anymore.”
Everyone criticized the woman.
The brawny man said gratefully, “Thank you, thank you for your understanding, I will take her away now.”
He grabbed the woman by the hair and dragged her towards the carriage.
The woman’s face blanched with despair, fear and helplessness. But it was useless no matter how hard she struggled. She could only scream out loud, “Help, help, I really don’t know him.”
Just as she was about to be dragged into the carriage, a voice rang out, “Hold on!”
The crowd of onlookers were utterly surprised, not expecting someone to stand up for the woman.
They looked up to see a handsome young man had appeared out of nowhere. He was blocking the brawny man’s path. The man was of course Lin Xun.
The brawny man narrowed his eyes and yelled, “Little brother, this is my family affair. Why are you, an outsider, interfering in my family matters? Move out of the way!”
“Yes, young man, you are too nosy. Get out of the way and let the big brother take the slut away,” someone scolded Lin Xun.
The others also agreed, telling Lin Xun to move aside.
There was a smug twinkle in the brawny man’s eyes as he was about to shove Lin Xun away by his shoulder. “Hurry and—”
Before he finished his sentence, he screamed out like a slaughtered pig. Lin Xun had twisted his hand and dislocated his joints. He sank to his knees and curled on the ground like a cooked prawn.
“You—you—you want to die—” the brawny man cursed.
Uproar broke out from the onlookers. They had never thought that the seemingly harmless young man would take action without a word.
“Little brother, you are in the wrong. You shouldn’t interfere in other people's family affairs.”
“Yes, you went too far. This is Haze City. Many people are watching this. Don’t tell me you want to kill on the street?”
“Hmph, I think this kid has his eyes on the man’s daughter-in-law. The woman is pretty good-looking, and her skin is fair and smooth. The kid is a hot blooded teen. He must be drawn to the woman’s beauty.”
There was a clamor of discussion around. The street was crowded with people so they weren’t afraid that Lin Xun would dare attack them.
Then, they heard the sound of cracking bones. Without uttering a word, Lin Xun had snapped the brawny man’s limbs. As he knelt on the ground, his face contorted with pain, his forehead beaded with sweat, and anguished screams constantly came forth from his mouth.
The scene immediately drew criticism from the onlookers.
At that moment, a sigh sounded on the third floor of a restaurant. “Why is it that guy, Lin Xun, again?”
The person who spoke was a remarkably handsome young man—Qi Yunxiao, the young master of Jadelight Pavilion.
He was drinking in boredom when the sudden disturbance on the street caught his attention, like it did with Lin Xun. He inadvertently glanced at the chaos, but his face grew overcast and his heart tumbled when he saw Lin Xun’s familiar figure.
He cast his mind back to what happened that night three days ago and the loud slap he received in the face from his father.
“That guy is getting more and more arrogant. He actually interfered in another person’s family affairs in broad daylight. He really doesn’t know what’s good for him. Let’s go and see how he is going to make a fool of himself this time,” Qi Yunxiao said through gritted teeth as he stood up.
The attendant next to him reminded, “Young Master, the head of the clan has issued a strict order to not provoke Lin Xun again.”
Qi Yunxiao interrupted, “Who the hell is going to provoke him? We are just there to watch! Do you understand?”
He turned around and made his way down the restaurant stairs.
The attendant quickly followed him.