Travel through a martial arts world and gain a little breakthrough every day.

It turns out the Iron Rod Gang has come to Xiahe Village to cause trouble again.

Old Wang, the woman from the east end of the village, was rolling on the ground, clutching her head.

"Does your Iron Rod Gang even allow people to live?"

They just collected protection money, and only two days later they came to collect protection money again.

"Last time when we collected protection money, you said you'd only collect it once a year."

A thug chuckled and said, "It's supposed to be collected once a year, but the last one was stolen."

As you all know, that so-called "Qinghe Hero" killed many of our people and stole the protection money from last time.

We have no choice but to come and collect it again.

The thug's voice was loud, and many villagers heard it.

The Iron Rod Gang couldn't keep the protection money they collected, and in the end, they had to make up for it by taking it from the villagers.

Of course, not all villagers think this way.

Old Wang's wife lay on the ground wailing, "That damned Qinghe hero, why did he rob the Iron Rod Gang of their protection money?"

A villager nearby chimed in, saying, "That Qinghe hero is a real scoundrel; he's caused our villagers a lot of trouble."

"Exactly, of all people to rob, this Qinghe hero had to choose to rob the Iron Rod Gang."

"What kind of hero is Qinghe? I think he should be called the dog thief of Qinghe."

The reputation of the Qinghe Hero immediately reversed.

Lin Feng didn't take it seriously when he heard it.

He didn't care about being a great hero or not.

He only wants to take care of his own little family.

He was certain that he had done nothing wrong in robbing and killing the Iron Rod Gang, and that he hadn't done anything wrong in taking the silver either.

Wouldn't it be foolish to kill all the Iron Rod Gang members and leave the silver behind?

If we don't intercept and kill the Iron Rod Gang members, will the Iron Rod Gang stop collecting protection money?

The villagers have made an easy target.

Those Iron Rod Gang members would have to fight to the death.

Whether or not they will collect protection money again depends entirely on the Iron Rod Gang's decision.

The thugs leading this time turned out to be the same ones who had run away last time.

The thugs who came to Xiahe Village last time were almost wiped out by Lin Feng.

This young thug was also bald, probably because he admired his former boss, Bald Bro, and got the same hairstyle.

This kid is quite capable; otherwise, why would he be the only one to survive out of more than a dozen people?

The bald thug waved his hand, and the thugs who were beating people immediately stopped.

The bald thug shouted, "If you don't have enough money, I won't make things difficult for you."

All we need is for them to let us search and take something valuable.

If there's really nothing valuable, then forget it.

As long as everyone cooperates honestly, we definitely won't hurt anyone.

The last time the Iron Rod Gang came, they had already beaten the villagers who wanted to stand up into submission.

After the bald thug finished speaking...

Village chief Zheng Fugui led the shouts: "Bald Brother is righteous, Iron Rod Gang is righteous!"

Several villagers actually chimed in, saying, "The Iron Rod Gang is righteous; at least they won't drive us to ruin and death."

"I hope the Iron Rod Gang brothers can capture the Qinghe Hero as soon as possible."

Only by eradicating this cancerous tumor, the "Qinghe Hero," can everyone live in peace.

A small number of villagers remained silent.

Lin Feng felt speechless, but at the same time he saw the helplessness in the hearts of the people.

The Iron Rod Gang's behavior is akin to beating someone into a cripple and then giving them a crutch.

The man was so grateful to receive the cane that he was moved to tears.

There must be some reasonable people among the villagers.

But what good is understanding? You have no power to resist, so you can only be grateful that they showed mercy.

Sure enough, when the bald hoodlum said that, everyone in the village cooperated.

Most families couldn't afford to pay that much protection money, so they had no choice but to let these thugs into their homes to search.

Many villagers were so poor that their homes were bare, and there was basically nothing to be found.

The thugs kept their promise; as long as you cooperated, they wouldn't beat you even if you didn't have enough money.

The villagers expressed their gratitude once again.

Lin Feng tossed three taels of silver to Zhang Xiaoyu next door.

Let's help each other to the end. When my family was in trouble, Brother Zhang next door helped us a lot.

Zhang Xiaoyu was so grateful she didn't know what to say.

"Xiao Feng, don't worry, Brother Zhang will pay you back as soon as possible."

Lin Feng smiled and said, "No rush to pay it back, Brother Zhang, you should take care of your wife first."

Lin Feng told his family to hide inside the house, while he and his brother-in-law stood at the gate of the courtyard waiting for the group of thugs.

When the protection money was collected from Lin Feng's house, Lin Feng took out ten taels of silver and handed it to the bald thug.

"The protection money for both my family and Mr. Hong's family is here."

This bald thug seemed somewhat wary of Lin Feng.

He didn't say anything, took the protection money and left.

When they arrived at Zhang Xiaoyu's house next door, they only received two taels of silver.

This petty thug escaped death once and seems to have learned something.

The thugs from the Iron Rod Gang left after collecting the protection money.

This time, Lin Feng does not intend to intercept or kill this group of people.

The Iron Rod Gang must have made preparations this time; it might just be a trap.

I am far from being an expert, and I should never take risks unless absolutely necessary.

With the system around, his cultivation speed is unmatched by others. As long as he survives and doesn't crash, he can establish himself in Qinghe County in less than a year.

After the thugs left, no news of them being robbed or killed came out.

Xiahe Village returned to its former state. No one mentioned the Iron Rod Gang collecting protection money, nor did anyone mention the Qinghe Hero again.

People seem to have become numb, no longer harboring unrealistic fantasies.

People have come to realize that no matter what happens, it is ultimately ordinary people like themselves who suffer.

......

Two days later, Lin Feng spent a breakthrough point to master the basic sword techniques, and his life attribute increased by one point, reaching thirty-six points.

He practiced his swordsmanship in the mountains while hunting.

He wielded the basic sword techniques with remarkable skill. Although they were all basic moves like thrusting, slashing, parrying, and hooking, they looked very natural, as if he had practiced them countless times.

Lin Feng felt that as long as he mastered the basic sword techniques, their power would surpass that of the Beast Hunting Fist.

Of course, this is without activating the Beast Heart.

If you activate the Beast Heart and unleash the Beast Hunter Fist, its power will be doubled.

However, the Heart of the Beast is a state of mind. When activated, it strengthens oneself, not just the Beast Hunting Fist. It can also strengthen basic sword techniques.

Lin Feng tried many more times afterward, but failed to activate the Beast Heart.

This kind of mood seems to only be able to be activated when facing a life-or-death crisis.

I hope I'll never need to use the Beast Heart skill again.

Lin Feng decided to practice his swordsmanship diligently after becoming Master Hong's apprentice.

A skilled swordsman is highly sought after throughout Longyuan County.

Whether it's recruiting for the city guards or selecting officials for the government, people with good swordsmanship are given priority.

Today, Lin Feng was so focused on practicing his swordsmanship on the mountain that he only managed to kill one wolf.

It must be said that after mastering the basics of Crimson Gold Glass, hunting efficiency has been significantly improved.

In the past, when hunting in the mountains with bare hands, one still had to go through a lot of trouble to chase the prey.

If you're using a bow and arrow, you'll need to carry both the bow and arrow and the quiver.

After refining the Crimson Gold Glaze, you can hunt with just a small pebble, and the prey won't be able to escape.

The wolf was killed by Lin Feng with a small stone. The stone went through the wolf's left eye and out through its right eye, making a cross-eyed shot without leaving any marks on its fur.

Even with the Six-Shot Hunting Bow fully mastered, this effect cannot be achieved.

Lin Feng carried the wolf down the mountain, intending to clean it up as a gift for his apprenticeship with Mr. Hong the next day.