12: Chapter 12 Second Life, First Glimpse into Martial Arts (Part 11)

Instructor Wang Zhong took a step forward, his gaze icy.

"Head Instructor Zhang Shan, this Heisong Hunting Ground is not the territory of your Liegu Martial Arts Hall. Furthermore, we need to settle the score regarding your interception of our Houshan Martial Arts Hall's transport team. As for this 'iron thread vine', whoever gets it today, it belongs to them."

Head Instructor Zhang Shan let out a sinister laugh, his tone chilling, "Old thing, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. We at Liegu Martial Arts Hall are all law-abiding citizens; how could we ever do something like hijacking a transport team? However, you are right about one thing: whoever gets this 'iron thread vine' today, it belongs to them. The weak do not deserve to obtain such a treasure."

Lin Shi took a step forward, his voice cold and sharp.

"Enough nonsense. We are determined to take this 'iron thread vine' today. Either move aside, or die!"

The smile on Head Instructor Zhang Shan's face vanished instantly. He waved his hand violently and roared furiously, "Kill them! Wipe them all out! The 'iron thread vine' must belong to our Liegu Martial Arts Hall. I'll reward fifty taels of silver for each Ox-Skin Realm cultivator killed, and two hundred and fifty taels for each Stone Skin Realm cultivator!"

Before the words had even faded, the twenty-plus members of Liegu Martial Arts Hall charged forward frantically.

Instructor Wang Zhong also surged forward to confront Head Instructor Zhang Shan, shouting loudly, "Brothers, kill! Take down Liegu Martial Arts Hall, seize the 'iron thread vine', and the Hall Master will reward you handsomely upon our return!"

The narrow gully instantly descended into chaos, with the sounds of fists and palms colliding and bodies crashing against each other ringing out incessantly.

Cries of battle, screams of agony, and the sound of breaking bones merged into a cacophony.

Pine needles were soaked with blood, turning a dark brown, while the weeds were trampled into a pulp, sticking to people's pant legs mixed with bloody mud.

"Head Instructor Zhang Shan, pay with your life!"

Instructor Wang Zhong unleashed a killing move from the Houshan Fist, heavy with momentum, striking straight at Head Instructor Zhang Shan's head.

Head Instructor Zhang Shan was no pushover either.

He swung his right hand horizontally, unleashing a Bone-Crushing Palm. With a dull thud, the fist and palm collided.

Both men felt their tiger's mouths go slightly numb, and they each retreated two steps, crushing the gravel beneath their feet into powder.

"Is that all the skill you have?" Head Instructor Zhang Shan sneered. Shifting his steps, he struck with another palm, carrying the force of a thousand jun, and brought it down fiercely toward the top of Instructor Wang Zhong's head.

Instructor Wang Zhong's eyes narrowed; he neither dodged nor retreated.

He stepped forward with his left foot, crouched down abruptly, and drove his Houshan Fist straight toward Head Instructor Zhang Shan's chest.

This was a suicidal fighting style: you strike my head, I strike your chest; whoever flinches first dies.

Head Instructor Zhang Shan was startled and hurriedly withdrew his strength to jump away.

Still, his chest was sliced open by the force of the fist wind, and as the cold air blew in, it broke him out in a cold sweat.

"Are you fucking crazy!"

Instructor Wang Zhong spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his eyes filled with a reckless, life-or-death ferocity.

"Crazy? If I don't keep all of you here today, I'm not surnamed Wang!"

The two men instantly entangled again.

Between the exchange of fists and palms, every collision shook those nearby, causing them to subconsciously dodge to the side.

After dozens of moves, both men were bleeding.

Yet, they fought more frantically, every move aimed straight at the other's vital points.

On the other side, Lin Shi also clashed with a disciple from Liegu Martial Arts Hall.

The opponent was in the late stage of the Ox-Skin Realm; the gap in minor realms made him dare not clash head-on, so he dodged while striking at his opponent's joints, underarms, and other weak points.

Palm techniques capable of splitting stones and breaking monuments rained down, each strike carrying vicious intent, aiming to kill.

Lin Shi constantly parried and dodged while searching for an opportunity, and soon, the opportunity arrived.

This Liegu Martial Arts Hall disciple suddenly activated his footwork and lunged forward, gathering all his strength into a killing move, striking with a palm toward Lin Shi's crown.

He intended to finish off this opponent who had delayed him for so long in one blow.

Lin Shi was not the least bit flustered; this was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Just as the palm wind approached, he shifted his body to the side, easily deflecting the strike and causing the man to miss.

Seizing the opportunity, he decisively dropped his shoulder and elbow, thrusting his fist forward in one fluid motion, directly punching through the man's ribs.

With a crisp "crack", the disciple screamed, his body folding like a shrimp, and he collapsed limply to the ground, blood continuously pouring from his mouth.

Clearly, he had temporarily lost his combat ability, and Lin Shi did not hesitate to step forward and deliver two more blows, killing him.

This was a life-or-death battle; there was no room for mercy, or else this disciple would not let them off if he recovered.

Without time to rest, he turned and rushed to other battlefields, and before long, three more people had fallen under the siege of him and his fellow disciples.

Seeing that the situation was looking very favorable, the seventeen members of Houshan Martial Arts Hall, though fewer than the twenty-plus people of Liegu Martial Arts Hall, were all working in tacit coordination, forming battle formations due to the characteristics of their cultivation techniques.

For a time, the people from Liegu Martial Arts Hall were unable to break through, and with Lin Shi's sudden outburst breaking the deadlock, he helped Houshan Martial Arts Hall continuously expand their advantage.

Head Instructor Zhang Shan became somewhat anxious when he saw this.

Ignoring the fact that he was fighting Instructor Wang Zhong, he paid the price of taking a punch head-on to roar at two disciples behind him who had the upper hand, "Climb up! Pick the 'iron thread vine', quickly!"

These two disciples did not hesitate upon hearing this; they immediately abandoned their opponents and turned to run toward the cliff wall.

Grabbing protruding rocks and stepping into crevices, they climbed several meters high in just a few moments.

Meanwhile, the two Houshan Martial Arts Hall disciples who had been their opponents were panting, temporarily unable to stop them.

Seeing that they were about to succeed and would likely take the item and run, causing this operation to fail, Lin Shi, upon noticing the movement on the cliff, could not afford to continue helping his fellow disciples expand their gains.

He rushed over, intending to force them down.

Just then, two more people from Liegu Martial Arts Hall abandoned their opponents and lunged over with a roar.

Both palms struck toward Lin Shi's back, wanting to drag him down and buy time for their fellow disciples.

Lin Shi had to turn to respond, and after a dozen exchanges of fists and palms, he gained the upper hand.

After all, these two could not abandon their opponents during battle and expect to escape unscathed.

Unfortunately, he ultimately did not expect that someone would disregard the rules and lack martial ethics.

Seeing that Lin Shi was about to break free to interfere with their fellow disciples picking the 'iron thread vine', one of them, while fighting Lin Shi, feigned defeat and fell to the ground.

Taking advantage of the moment when Lin Shi was fighting the other person, he secretly reached into his bosom, pulled out a short blade, and lunged directly at the defenseless Lin Shi, the tip of the knife stabbing straight toward his heart.

This was originally used for camping and slicing meat for barbecue over the past few days, but at this moment, it had become the most vicious killing move.

Instructor Wang Zhong was also distracted, paying attention to the movement here, and his expression changed drastically as he roared in shock and anger, "Watch out behind you!"

But it was already too late.

The moment Lin Shi heard the shout, he wanted to turn sideways, but he was currently fighting another person and was in the moment where his old strength had just faded and his new strength had not yet been generated; there was simply no time.

When he felt the bone-chilling cold behind him, the icy blade had already plunged fiercely into his lower back, following the gap between his ribs and stabbing straight toward his internal organs.

"Splurt." The tip of the blade pierced through his front abdomen, bringing with it hot blood.

Lin Shi's body stiffened, and intense pain instantly swept through his entire body. His vision went black, and a mouthful of blood surged from his mouth.

This disciple's eyes flashed with wild joy, and he was about to pull out the blade to deliver another strike when he saw Lin Shi turn around abruptly.

Although his face was as pale as paper, it was filled with ferocity.

He ignored the short blade stuck in his body, letting the blade remain wedged in the bone gap, and risking the tearing of his internal organs, he gathered all the remaining blood energy in his body and smashed it fiercely toward the disciple's temple!