"What's wrong, looking at me like that? I mentioned your master, does that displease you? Be careful, or I'll have you arrested as a heretic!" the guard shouted, then actually turned and continued walking down.

It turned out he hadn't recognized Chen Feng at all, mistaking him for Ling Tianshou's disciple. It was a false alarm.

After checking everyone, this group of guards found nothing further and withdrew after a cursory inspection.

Ternankos walked down from the training platform with a cold smile, looking at Ling Tianshou. He laughed, "You lost... Leave Kejia City within three days, and I'll let you go. Otherwise, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

Saying this, he approached the latter and whispered, "Or... hand over the item, and I might spare you!"

"Just you wait!" Ling Tianshou snarled fiercely.

"Then... I'll wait. We'll see who lasts longer. Once your Lingwu Hall is gone, you'll lose the protection of the Holy See. Your life and death will be entirely in my hands, won't they? Haha..." Ternankos laughed triumphantly and slowly walked out.

"Master, accept us!"

Seeing him leave, dozens of onlookers simultaneously knelt on the ground, begging to become his disciples.

Ternankos turned his gaze back to Ling Tianshou one more time, burst into loud laughter again: "Good. Not bad. All of you, stand up... Haha!" A look of petty triumph was plastered across his face.

Only after everyone had dispersed did Ling Tianshou look at the disciples who had originally stood behind him. There was no anger, no fury in his eyes—only profound disappointment.

Not a single one of these disciples was willing to help when he was in danger; not one even came forward when he was injured. The fickleness of human affection was starkly apparent!

"Alas, a dragon in shallow waters is mocked by shrimp; a tiger fallen on the plains is bullied by dogs!" Ling Tianshou sighed, looking at his useless apprentices. With a great wave of his hand, he said, "All of you, go!"

"Master... your unworthy disciples..." The faces of several disciples flushed crimson, their words catching in their throats.

"Get out! I, Ling Tianshou, have no such spineless apprentices!" Ling Tianshou roared. The exertion stirred his injuries, causing him to spit up another mouthful of blood.

The figures on the training platform exchanged glances, then simultaneously knelt and kowtowed three times to him before turning and walking out, apparently following Ternankos of the Tianying Hall.

Chen Feng had also intended to slip away in the confusion, but he didn't know where to go. It was almost midnight, and the streets would certainly be deserted. If he went out now, he risked being discovered.

Due to this momentary hesitation, everyone else had left, leaving only him and Ling Tianshou.

"I never expected that I, Ling Tianshou, would still have a friend like you!" Ling Tianshou suddenly clapped Chen Feng on the shoulder and said, "Knowing Ternankos's strength and still daring to step in and help support me—I thank you here and now!"

"You were injured; helping you was the right thing to do!" Chen Feng quickly replied.

"No, I educated so many disciples, yet when I fell into misfortune, they scattered or left. But you and I were complete strangers, yet you were willing to help," Ling Tianshou murmured with feeling.

Chen Feng hadn't expected such profound gratitude for merely lending a hand. He couldn't help but shake his head; it seemed the man was utterly heartbroken by his own students to interpret such a small gesture so dramatically.

It is cheap to offer praise in good times, but true affection shines when one is down. In this moment of complete abandonment, even a small kindness would likely be magnified infinitely in his eyes.

"Everything I have learned encompasses vast knowledge. Young man, if you are not afraid that I am penniless right now, I can teach it all to you!" Ling Tianshou offered.

"Teach me?" Chen Feng shook his head. Where was this even leading? Helping him slightly, and the man was offering to impart his skills... It seemed a bit too far-fetched... However, if he agreed, he would gain a respectable identity, perhaps allowing him to evade the pursuit of the Kejia Holy See. Once things cooled down in a few days, he could slip away quietly!

Thinking this, a smile touched his lips: "Alright, I agree."

"..."

Well, it made it sound as if he were trying to force someone into apprenticeship, and the other party was hesitant.

That very night, Chen Feng stayed at the Lingwu Hall. Whether it was because they had already searched once or for some other reason, the night passed without incident. In the middle of the night, Chen Feng secretly got up and released the 【Ziran Sect】 artifact he held, intending to enter. Only then did he pitiably discover that the corresponding teleportation gate had been removed and could no longer be used.

When he woke the next morning, he saw Ling Tianshou already standing on the training platform, practicing, looking vigorous and full of life, not at all like someone who had suffered a severe injury the night before.

After finishing a set of forms, Ling Tianshou began packing, having decided to leave Kejia City that day.

Leaving Kejia City was precisely Chen Feng's objective, so he readily agreed.

Seeing that Chen Feng was willing to leave the city 'for his sake,' Ling Tianshou couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion again: "It seems I wasn't mistaken this time..."

He was also a broad-minded person. After packing for a while, he only managed to gather some clothing. Having run the martial hall here for 18 years, he hadn't accumulated much—only a few tens of thousands in total.

"I can't stay in Kejia City, alas!" As he walked out of Ling, he shook his head and sighed, "Ternankos won't give up easily. I think I'll head to Luojia City!"

Luojia City was a subordinate city to Kejia, only four or five hundred li away.

Chen Feng's current goal was to distance himself from the attention of the Kejia Holy See and return to the mine in Hutang Village, so he didn't care much where they went.

The two rented a carriage and headed out of the city. Along the way, Ling Tianshou generously explained the muscle techniques he knew to Chen Feng. Upon hearing it, Chen Feng was filled with admiration.

He had never imagined that simple muscle control could generate such tremendous offensive power. The strength of one jin, when combined with these techniques, could be unleashed as 200 jin!

"If I combine these muscle skills with the application of fighting techniques, would the power increase even more?" A thought sparked in Chen Feng's mind.

Moves like 'Great Snake Pheasant' might not be useful, but incorporating muscle strength into the frenzied tearing motions of 'Eight Maiden Ghosts' would surely result in boundless power!

At this thought, a strange excitement welled up in Chen Feng's heart.

He spent time meticulously considering these fist techniques and the skills of the King of Fighters in his mind. A glimmer of possibility seemed to appear before him, only to vanish in the next moment.

Shaking his head, intending to clear the chaotic thoughts, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder—Ling Tianshou had grabbed him.

"What's wrong with you? You look completely lost!"

"Nothing..." As Chen Feng spoke, he heard a shout from outside the carriage: "Inspection! Get out quickly!"

They had arrived at the gate of Kejia City. A line of patrol guards was assembled outside, and Chen Feng's portrait was posted on the city wall.

Chen Feng never understood why the Kejia Holy See wanted to capture him; it seemed he hadn't offended the Holy See at all. Unable to figure it out, he stopped dwelling on it, as this wasn't the first time he'd encountered such trouble.

The two alighted from the carriage. The path before the gate was blocked by the patrolling guards, but Chen Feng's disguise was good, and they found nothing amiss.

Continuing out past the gate, Chen Feng finally relaxed. Having escaped the most stringent zone of control of the Kejia Holy See, his mood naturally improved.

"After returning to the mine, I'll train the men I summoned, and then... find a way back home!" Chen Feng mused to himself.

The carriage traveled along the road. Chen Feng confirmed that the direction matched where he needed to go and stopped worrying.

"Ah, you are still young, and your muscles haven't matured. Telling you all this might not be useful..." Ling Tianshou sighed.

Chen Feng hadn't revealed his true cultivation level to him. Based only on muscle training, the elder naturally couldn't gauge the depth of his strength. However, in the general perception, a seventeen-year-old boy’s bones hadn't fully developed, and no matter how much he trained, he couldn't reach a high level. Furthermore, the fist techniques he described were movements that could almost only be executed after reaching the Golden Armor Warrior stage, which accounted for his lament.

"Even if I train you, it would take at least five years to reach the Golden Armor Warrior stage. Five years from now, I don't know if this old body of mine will still be around," Ling Tianshou said, a hint of desolation in his tone.

Just as Chen Feng was about to offer some comfort, the coachman's panicked voice drifted in from outside.

"This is bad... There are many bandits outside!"

"Bandits?" Ling Tianshou sneered, "I suspect those are people Ternankos sent!"

He pulled out a thick booklet from his robe and handed it to Chen Feng: "This is the collection of fist techniques I compiled over decades traveling across the Eight Great Holy Sees. I give it to you now!"

"This..." Chen Feng paused in surprise.

"Ternankos has harassed me repeatedly, his goal being to drive me out, all for this book. If you manage to escape, you can cultivate this method in the future... and pass it on!" With that, he climbed out of the carriage. Chen Feng heard a sudden neighing of horses and immediately ran toward the back.

Lifting the curtain of the carriage, he saw a distance away a dozen masked mountain bandits standing before Ling Tianshou.

Chen Feng tucked the booklet into his water flask, a faint pang in his heart, and shook his head with a wry smile.

Ternankos had pushed him to this extent without ever giving this book away, yet he gave it to Chen Feng after they had only just met.

"Go help him out!" Chen Feng stretched his limbs, about to jump out of the carriage, when he heard a horse scream. The center of the carriage suddenly became unstable, and it crashed heavily onto the ground.

A dozen more masked figures had emerged in front!

………………………………………………………………

"Leave the money and we'll let you pass!" The voice of a bandit in front of Ling Tianshou was sharp, like a rooster whose neck was being squeezed.

"Stop playing the Ternankos act. If you want me dead, show your true face! Though I am old, I am certainly not muddled," Ling Tianshou stated, standing in the middle of the road.

"Hahaha..." A loud laugh, matching the rooster-like voice, echoed, "You think letting that brat run away is enough? I've set up two ambushes. If he goes back, he might suffer an even worse fate than you..."

"You are despicable!" Ling Tianshou's expression instantly darkened. (To be continued. To know what happens next, please visit www**com for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)

First release