[Heaven rewards diligence, success follows faithful efforts.]

[Year after year, you have thrown countless punches, from the initial grasping of fist techniques without understanding the main points, to gradually stepping into the entryway and gradually improving, to reaching the peak, unmatched by anyone.]

[From bitter practice, you have grasped a glimpse of the true martial intent.]

[Four Directions Fist]

[Skill Level: 1/50000 Peak]

[Description: Of this fist technique, you have reached a level unmatched by anyone. Yet the road is long and far-reaching. In the world of martial arts, who dares claim to have reached the ultimate state?]

Li Xian only felt a clear sensation rising from his dantian, rushing first to the top of his head and the soles of his feet. The fatigue of yesterday was swept away, leaving an unspeakable sense of refreshment.

A large amount of inner qi grew...

Flesh, muscles, and skin cheered in delight.

Since the "Qi Circulation," the martial artist's sense of their body became sharper. They could perform "Inner Vision." Although called inner vision, it is actually a form of self-sensing.

Inner qi converged in the dantian.

Like a lake.

Before, Li Xian's qi lake was about a zhang in width and length. Of course, this was just a sensing, a quantification of the qi lake.

After reaching the peak...

The qi lake extended to two zhang, and the lake's body showed a hint of true intent, with waves surging and ripples spreading.

"True Martial Intent?"

"What is this?"

Li Xian observed with a calm mind, yet with limited knowledge, how could he understand its origin. There was nowhere to ask, after all, someone like Pang Long did not possess martial arts mastery at the peak level.

Qi strengthens the spirit, qi supplements qi-blood.

Li Xian had never felt so clear-headed and refreshed.

He just wanted to shout towards the sky, to compete in voice with the eagles flying in the sky, and to test his skills against the monkeys in the trees.

"Exhilarating!"

Li Xian's voice shook.

The snow on the surrounding houses slid off, startling a flock of birds.

"It was not easy for me to achieve blood solidification and aperture closure, to accumulate this martial arts, and to store this qi power."

"There are 'Essence Treasures' resources in this mountain, neither difficult to cook nor difficult to endure. Most suitable for me, now at odds with the Mountain Wind Stronghold, never resting until death."

"If I want to enjoy the treasures in the mountain in peace, I must eliminate all the enemies in the mountain!"

"Instead of passively taking hits, this time... why not take the initiative to cause them trouble!"

...

...

Lu Xuefeng, to avoid leaking the location of Mountain Wind Pass, deliberately took a detour, traveled for a day and night, and finally returned to the stronghold.

When he returned to the mountain's foot, it was just noon.

He saw that the defense in the stronghold was lax, the sentry posts were empty, and the patrol guards inside the stronghold were completely devoid of spirit, executing their duties perfunctorily. He couldn't help but frown, moving qi as he shouted:

"Bold!"

The voice was like thunder, like a tiger's roar and dragon's chant, the surrounding trees shook, and the accumulated snow fell with a roar. In an instant, it scared the slack crowd inside the stronghold to lose control of their expressions.

"Oh!"

"Fifth Leader, you're finally back!"

The crowd gathered around, but there were not many of them, only thirty or forty people in total.

"What's going on, why are there so few people?"

"And why are you so slack, looking for death, it seems!"

After speaking, Lu Xuefeng swept with his sleeve, the inner qi was mighty, and the palm wind swept, knocking some people over.

"Fifth Leader, spare our lives, spare our lives."

The mountain bandits all knelt and kowtowed.

"Where are the other brothers?" Lu Xuefeng saw the scene in the stronghold and knew the situation was not good.

"Fifth Leader, we'll tell you the truth, please don't get angry." A slightly bolder bandit said trembling, "They... they ran away."

"Ran away?!"

Lu Xuefeng frowned.

Mountain Wind Stronghold had about three hundred and forty people in total. Ordinary small bandits, unnamed and unmanned, indeed could run away easily.

"Yes... yes."

The bandit said, "Ever since the Third Leader died, the hold has been full of panic. There are all kinds of rumors, some say there are ghosts, some say we offended an important figure."

"That is why many brothers were scared and quietly... quietly ran away."

"But Fifth Leader, rest assured, those of us who stayed are all loyal to the hold, absolutely not running away."

The bandits were inherently untrustworthy and cruel. Suddenly facing external enemy defeats more severe than ever, with the Fourth Leader and Third Leader consecutively lost.

No longer dared to stay.

Just as trees fall, the monkeys scatter.

"You... you say Third Brother is dead?" Lu Xuefeng was stunned.

"Yes, he died miserably, his abdomen was cut open, his intestines were spilling everywhere." The bandit clicked his tongue.

"Could it be now, that we could share more essence food?" Lu Xuefeng felt a moment of joy, but after the short thrill, a more intense unease emerged.

Third Brother Peng Fox was the mastermind of the stronghold, his assistance greatly contributed to the hold's development.

Deep inside the mountains.

Lu Xuefeng returned to the Brotherhood Hall.

Saw the corpse of Third Leader Peng Fox, covered only with a chill mat, not even a coffin, the precious fox fur cloak on his body already stolen.

Seeing Third Brother's tragic state, Lu Xuefeng felt no sorrow in his heart, but suddenly thought:

"These backstabbing traitors, treating Third Brother like this, would treat me the same way one day. If I met a mishap, would they not strip me and discard me too?"

Anger surged in his heart, suddenly he unleashed a sideways palm strike. "Bang," it hit a bandit.

The bandit's neck snapped, toppling dead straight away.

"How dare you!" Without saying another word, Lu Xuefeng issued several more palms, each ruthless, and in a moment, five bandits died at his hands.

The remaining bandits all fled.

"Guard Third Brother's corpse well." Lu Xuefeng snorted coldly, and walked straight down the mountain.

He originally wanted to return to the stronghold, to plan well with Third Brother, on how to take revenge and make a name. Who would have thought Third Brother was also attacked and killed, leaving the plan in ruins?

He pondered over the content of the letter.

Fourth Leader Niu Liang led the stronghold's people and horses to seek revenge outside the stronghold, life and death unknown. Presumably, they were defeated, which shows the other party also had troops.

With the mediocre men of the stronghold, to gather a force and fight again would be another defeat. It's better to act alone, to probe the enemy's actions, and break them from within, which might be more advantageous.

At worst...

With my own foot speed, escaping should not be a problem.

Therefore, Li Xuefeng didn't think much and relied on memory, approaching the Black River Village.

"Better to catch a villager, torture them, and make them explain the situation in the village."

"Can merely one nursing home, newly arrived, have the ability to severely damage my Mountain Wind Stronghold?"

"I simply don't believe it."

After walking a few miles, Lu Xuefeng gradually formed a plan. Although not as cunning as Peng the Fox, he was also not as dull-witted as Niu Liang.

Immediately, he avoided the main road, taking the hidden paths, and watched all around. If he saw a villager, he would take action instantly.

However, during such unusual times, how could the villagers of Black River Village go far? After traveling more than ten miles without any gain, just as he was feeling irritated...

Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound.

"Who is it!?"

Lu Xuefeng saw through the weeds in the forest a shadow quickly darting out, extremely fast, neither a tiger nor a leopard, nor a bear nor a deer.

But a human figure.

"Great, delivered right to me!"

Lu Xuefeng channeled his Qi into his feet, greatly increasing his speed, leaving deep footprints with each step. Using inner qi rebound to enhance each stride's distance.

As for Li Xian...

His steps were incredibly light, leaving no trace on the ground, and even at high speed, he exerted minimal effort.

It didn't take long for Lu Xuefeng to catch up to a close distance. He thought, "I'll use three-tenths of my strength to test your depth," and executed the [Extreme Iron Palm], his palm radiating with dark light as he slashed it down.

Li Xian suddenly accelerated, instantly pulling several yards away.

With a "bang!" the palm struck empty, and Lu Xuefeng inwardly expressed regret, not stopping his steps. Although Li Xian had clearly pulled far away, he suddenly stopped again.

"This time, let's see how you escape!" Lu Xuefeng fiercely determined, leaping forward with clawed fingers.

Just then, a large stone suddenly fell from above.

"Damn?!"

Unexpectedly encountering a change. But Lu Xuefeng's pouncing momentum was already out, how could he immediately avoid it? He could only twist in mid-air, kicking the boulder.

The stone slanted slightly, merely grazing past Lu Xuefeng's shoulder. If it weren't for the inner qi protecting him, even this slight graze would have severely injured him.

Lu Xuefeng was extremely scared.

Li Xian sneered coldly from the shadows.

He had anticipated the fifth master was coming, and had set traps along the way. He speculated the fifth master would not take the main road, so he set the traps in the dense forest.

Then used himself as bait to lure him beneath the trap.

Li Xian came to a tree, drew his knife, and slashed with force.

A "thwisk" sound arose as a bunch of entwining vines cut, triggering a chain reaction. The pre-set trap activated.

The sound of "woosh woosh" came with the wind.

From high above in the dense forest, several large wooden poles swung down like giant pendulums.

Lu Xuefeng couldn't care about the pain, raised his palm to strike away the poles. Despite the poles swinging fiercely, he could slap them away with a single palm, showing the immense power of his palm technique.

"Great palm technique!" Li Xian shouted in admiration. Each of Lu Xuefeng's palms left several-feet-deep palm prints on the poles.

"What rogue is this, come out quickly to meet your death!"

Lu Xuefeng was busy dealing with the swinging poles, but upon hearing Li Xian's voice, he mustered his Qi to respond, not wanting to appear inferior in momentum.

Li Xian said, "The one meeting death is you!" and shot three arrows.

Speaking of Lu Xuefeng, with his profound martial arts prowess, he was extraordinarily formidable. Unfortunately, first trapped, then a boulder hitting his momentum, and later wooden poles disrupting his tranquil state.

At this moment, three arrows came flying.

Frustrated and angry, Lu Xuefeng let out a loud roar, resorting to "hard qi skill" to forcibly withstand the swinging of the poles, causing a sweet taste in his throat.

At the same time, he reached for the three arrows.

Catching two of them, but missing one.

The third arrow nailed directly into his right foot, the blood soaking his boot.

Li Xian, like a calm hunter, seeing one successful hit, withdrew himself, using the forest cover to move unpredictably.

Lu Xuefeng inhaled sharply, the pain unbearable.

Since becoming a mountain bandit, he bullied and fought people, with more wins than losses.

Yet today's encounter made his scalp numb, cold sweat dripping.

The opponent's maneuvering and hit-and-run tactics had clearly gained the upper hand on him.

Those three arrows just now...

Two aimed at his heart, one at his right foot.

Through multiple calculations, paralyzing his movements, making him a trapped beast in a cage.

Clear intentions, decisive strikes!

Although Lu Xuefeng appeared not heavily wounded, his current predicament was akin to boiling a frog in warm water.

Especially with poison on the arrows...

"If I get harassed a few more times, I'll certainly lose all fighting strength. I'll go all out with him!"

Lu Xuefeng's eyes turned blood-red, suddenly pounding his chest with force.

A "boom" explosion echoed out.

Li Xian's blood froze, a hair-raising sensation coursing through him as he turned to stare at Lu Xuefeng.

It was the Chest Drum Thunder Sound...

Yet Lu Xuefeng's Chest Drum Thunder Sound was not fully formed, the momentum not strong enough.

But each thunder drum sound resonated in Li Xian's chest, making him uncomfortable.

Lu Xuefeng continued his pounding, the thunderous noise reverberating, and by the tenth strike, he no longer needed to drum, his whole body resounded with thunder.

His skin emitted a red glow. He crouched with both hands on the ground, like a beast, leaping forward on all fours, compensating for his right-foot injury, moving with incredible speed.

A martial artist consumes the essence of heaven and earth...

Breaking free from the clay embryo, revealing supernatural abilities.

Being favored by heaven... or having a unique constitution to start, gradually revealing with the consumption of essence treasures. Or perhaps other opportunities...

This kind of ability is termed [Rebirth Appearance]

This Lu Xuefeng's Rebirth Appearance hadn't fully manifested. But even Li Xian's prideful speed was now no match!

That shadow closed in like thunder, like a tiger, like a leopard, like a wolf.

Li Xian's breathing was steady and deep; the only countermeasure was the Four Directions Fist practiced hundreds of millions of times, reaching its peak!

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