Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"boring."

Two simple words instantly destroyed the little bit of confidence that Shunzi had managed to regain.

He suddenly realized that he had been playing for so long.

The physical enhancement from the seventh level of the Prajna Skill should be enough to make one's strength comparable to a solid club. A single punch or kick from that level would be far beyond what an ordinary person could withstand; it would have already torn him to pieces!

On Zhang Renfeng's face... there wasn't a drop of blood, not even a scratch or bruise.

Even though they were looking straight ahead, those black eyes seemed to be looking down at him from a place a world apart, incredibly high and distant.

"Didn't you have dinner?"

After leaving behind this sharp comment, Zhang Renfeng suddenly shrugged his neck and tilted his head back... Then, he used his shoulder and neck muscles to deliver a swift and powerful headbutt!

"Boom————!!!"

A fist struck his forehead.

In an instant, the enormous difference in strength became apparent. Shunzi's fist was shattered by the immense force, and his five fingers snapped off with a sound like twisted rope. The broken finger bones, the exposed flesh, and the long-lost pain, along with a jumble of chaotic signals, all traveled from his crippled hand back to his brain.

"Ah... ah—"

His screams stopped abruptly.

Zhang Renfeng grabbed him by the back of the neck like he was catching a cat, swung him around in the air, and slammed him against the wall!

"Click——!!!"

His screams and breaths, red and white mingled together, flowed silently down. Just like his limbs, after a brief moment of stiffness, they immediately relaxed. In an instant, a life quietly vanished in those bronze-cast iron hands.

"Those who know martial arts are江湖人 (jianghu people), and I won't be polite to you."

"Didn't your master tell you what the word 'martial arts' means?" Zhang Renfeng pressed one hand against Shunzi's nape, while glancing at the remaining three. His tone was filled with murderous intent. "You scum who do such despicable things, who only know how to bully and tyranny, you degenerates..."

"Anyone who belongs to the martial arts world has the right to kill him!"

……

"Eee-ah—!"

Squat was overwhelmed by his aura, clenched his teeth, and swung his nunchucks, smashing them down on Zhang Renfeng's head!

Unfortunately, the nunchucks in his hands were not as long as the straight ones in Zhang Renfeng's hands.

"Holy..."

"boom------!!"

Before he could even utter a curse, Zhang Renfeng grabbed Shunzi's ankle and swung the fresh corpse around violently, smashing it down on all four heads, practically pinning him to the ground. The sheer difference in strength left him no time to resist, and the nunchucks in his hand were nowhere to be found.

"Ouch...ah...my neck...is broken..."

Four dogs lay sprawled on the ground, their necks tilted to the right, as if suffering from severe stiff necks. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhang Renfeng take steps and slowly walk towards him.

"No! No, no, no! Please, I... I know I was wrong, it was because of the money, I... I... give me another chance..."

When death comes, prayers and promises always seem so pale and powerless.

Zhang Renfeng raised his right foot and, without any mercy, stomped on his neck, breaking it as if he were crushing an insect, without even glancing at it.

“Whoosh——!!”

The throwing knife made a sharp whistling sound as it cut through the air, and with a flash of cold light, it was caught by him naturally before it could touch his skin.

It was as if it wasn't a hidden weapon, but a slowly moving crumpled piece of paper.

"No...this is impossible..."

Hulu couldn't believe it, but the two silent corpses lying on the ground left her no room for doubt. With a resolute expression, she quickly ducked, half-crouched, and lunged to the right. As she adjusted her position, she flicked her wrist, throwing three gleaming throwing knives almost in a straight line!

A stab to the throat.

A thorn between the eyebrows.

A stab to the heart.

Simultaneously unleashing a three-hit combo is already her limit in terms of micro-management; more is possible, but accuracy would be compromised. Generally speaking, no matter how skilled one is, it's impossible to catch three throwing knives at the same time, right?

Zhang Renfeng didn't actually catch them. As if brushing off something dirty, he slightly swung his right arm and deflected all three throwing knives to the side. Iron against flesh produced a crisp clanging sound. The knives didn't pierce his arm; instead, they were knocked away like wooden toys and embedded in the wall on the other side.

"What?!" The gourd was stunned, its mouth agape involuntarily opening. "Who exactly are you...?"

……

Zhang Renfeng looked at her expressionlessly, then raised his right hand and removed a button from his collar.

Bend your fingers and snap them!

"Whoosh!"

The button pierced the gourd's throat at an incredible angle. She was first shocked, then in pain, and finally in disbelief. After coughing a few times, she quickly collapsed into a pool of blood.

----

"You're the only one left. You should be slightly better than them, right?"

……

The martial artists who had reached the fifth, seventh, and sixth levels of the Prajna Skill were instantly killed within just two minutes.

Zhang Renfeng calmly reminded Tonghua of this incredibly cruel reality. He stretched his shoulders a couple of times, making a cracking sound like popping beans.

"Come on, play a few rounds with me!"

Chapter 509: This is the ladder to the clouds I'm giving you

Tonghua took a deep breath, clearing all distracting thoughts from her mind, including the three gruesome corpses on the ground, and the young master behind her who was so frightened that his legs went weak and his lips were trembling.

All factors that could interfere with this battle, including the strength of the opponent, are unnecessary.

In a state of extreme focus, time seems to flow backward.

----

Sweat soaked through his clothes. The boy gritted his teeth, his hands outstretched, each holding a stone weight. His thin arms were trembling, his back was slender, and his whole body was like a bamboo pole about to snap, but he kept going, never letting up for a moment. Sweat poured from his body, sliding down his trouser legs and pooling beneath him.

"That's enough for today." A deep, rough voice came from behind him, temporarily relieving him from this seemingly endless ordeal. "If you keep practicing, your arm will be ruined."

"Thump!"

The heavy padlock fell to the ground, and the boy, supporting himself on his knees, was panting heavily.

The figure, even smaller than him, silently circled around from behind to the front of the boy, raised his hand, patted his arm that was beginning to show muscle definition, and said, "Prajna Kung Fu is a skill that requires perseverance; there's no need to rush. As long as you can be as serious as you are today every day, you will be rewarded sooner or later."

This was the first time in the boy's life that he had ever seen a man with yellow skin. He was slightly hunched over and always wore a short shirt, over which he wore a hemp robe, regardless of the weather. His gray hair was combed into a strange bun, and his eyes were long and narrow like snakes, sharp and piercing, with a restrained and dignified air.

He walked unsteadily, like an old man in his twilight years, but the people here all respected him greatly.

Dad.

On the right side of his face, there is a star-shaped burn scar that runs across his face, which looks rather horrifying.

These hands, as withered as trees, were surprisingly strong, lifting the boy from the biting cold of that snowy night and pulling him into the warmth of the fireplace.

"Dad, at this rate, the progress is too slow. I also want to break through to the first level of the [Prajna Skill] as soon as possible." The boy bit his lip somewhat unwillingly. "That way, if something happens, I can be used as combat power to repay Dad's... Ah..."

The old man raised the back of his hand and lightly tapped him on the forehead.

"Why would I need you?" He rolled his eyes at the boy and said slowly, "When I need you little brats who practice cat-meowing kung fu to fill in, I won't be able to continue living here."

"Cat...cat's paw?" The boy didn't understand the meaning of this idiom, but he could hear the disdain hidden in his father's tone. "But, wasn't it you, Father, who taught us the Prajna Kung Fu?"

"Yes, I taught them, that's true. But I've never felt there's anything fun about practicing this stuff." Dad waved his hand dismissively and laughed, "Especially the Prajna Kung Fu... it stifles a person's spirituality, do you understand what I mean?"

The boy shook his head in confusion.

"For example, you're not even on the first level yet. Some of your fellow disciples who started earlier have already reached the first or second level. If you have a conflict with them, would you raise your arm and fight them?"

"I... I probably won't," the boy said after a moment's hesitation.

"That's right, no. Similarly, someone who has only reached level one won't think about challenging someone at level two; if someone at level three wants to cut in line, someone at level two has to give up their spot; if someone at level four wants to order someone around, someone at level three can't refuse."

"But why? It's strange, isn't it? There are plenty of ways, right? In a real fight, eye gouging, groin grabbing, throat kicking—if done properly, it can be a fatal blow! You won't necessarily lose to someone with a higher level of skill than you, but you'll have to pay a price to win."

"Kung Fu is supposed to be something full of creativity, but in your hands, it's just turned into playing cards, the simplest way to compare sizes. If you ever run into each other, there's no need to fight. Just announce your level, and the one with the lower level will automatically concede. Hahaha, what a civilized world!"

"But, if that's the case, Dad, you..." the boy hesitated, "Why are you teaching us this?"

The long silence made the boy realize that the reasons behind the problem were perhaps far more profound than he had imagined.

"...Kid, remember this well: in this world, things that guarantee a return on your time are very, very, very rare. What I'm teaching you now is one of them; it's a ladder to heaven that I've built for mediocre people like you."

"This method is clumsy and rigid, but it's very fair; it's an absolute exchange of equal value. You invest time and effort, and in return, you gain a comprehensive improvement in grip strength, physical strength, arm strength, wrist strength, and tendon strength. The more you invest, the more you get."

"You're working hard, kid. I can see you'll achieve great things. Stand on this ladder, use all your strength, and climb upwards. Then one day, when you reach the top, you'll naturally have the chance to see..."

The old man patted the boy on the shoulder and murmured.

"What is the world of so-called geniuses really like?"

----

Without a roar to rouse himself, Tonghua took off his round shield and hurled it violently to the ground!

"when!"

Precise geometry.

The round shield bounced off the ground and struck Zhang Renfeng's jaw at an unexpected angle. Caught off guard, his neck snapped back, and the shield, due to the impact, changed trajectory again, spinning in the air like a giant boomerang before being caught securely by Tonghua, who was rushing forward.

The forward momentum does not decrease.

He concentrated all his weight and strength on one point and pushed hard, slamming himself and shield into Zhang Renfeng's chest.

"Thump—!!"

The impact from behind the shield was astonishing, like a runaway horse galloping wildly, bringing the weight of the carriage with it!

Zhang Renfeng's expression was slightly taken aback. His upper body didn't move; instead, his entire body shifted backward several meters. The soles of his shoes rubbed against the ground, making a sound like fingernails scraping glass, leaving two straight wear marks on the road.

……

They were repelled?

They were repelled from the front?!

Zhang Renfeng's lips curled into a wild, arrogant smile as he muttered, "Yes, that's right! You really are different from the others..."

Tong Hua wasn't the type to spout a lot of words during a fight. He swung his round shield with one hand, spinning halfway through the air. Like a gymnast, he hurled the shield, and as it hit its target and bounced back from Zhang Renfeng's body, he delivered another spinning kick, completing a double shield bash.

"when--!"

"when--!"

The shield returned to his hand a second time, its edges chipped with several nicks of varying sizes. The man standing opposite him, aside from being knocked back twice, seemed unaffected.

In terms of results, there was no fundamental difference between him and his colleagues. This feeling of having given it his all but still achieving nothing left Tonghua with a very complicated expression.

In contrast to him, Zhang Renfeng was in an abnormal state of excitement at this moment.

After searching for so long, finally, finally... there's one that's somewhat presentable.

"Buzz—!!"

With a gentle hook and lift of his foot, Zhang Renfeng sent the 72-kilogram broadsword lying on the ground flying up as lightly as a feather, which he then grasped in his hand.

Chapter 510: I'm so sorry, I couldn't satisfy Lord Hongzhong's desires.

coming!

coming soon!

Seeing that his opponent had also picked up a weapon, Tonghua dared not be careless. From details such as the position of the broadsword—whether it was standing upright or lying horizontally on the ground—he judged that this thing was absolutely incredibly heavy. It was the kind of weapon that could slip from his hands and crush an ordinary person to death. Combined with his strength, even a slight graze would be no laughing matter.

He withdrew his offensive intent, raised his round shield, and prepared to defend against the whistling side slash.

……

In an instant, the direction of the blade changed drastically. Zhang Renfeng flicked his wrist, changing the slash to a thrust, aiming straight for his shinbone.

"A feint?!"

Tong Hua broke out in a cold sweat and immediately jumped back a small step. However, this sudden attack on the calf was also a feint. Zhang Renfeng changed his move again, using his wrist to lift the hilt of the knife, turning the entire blade horizontally, diagonally backward, and suddenly pulling it back!