Promise!

Chapter 179, The Three Lineages

boom!
The door shattered, and two of his men smashed their way in.

"Master Sikong, I've long admired your name. It's great to finally meet you today." A figure in blue robes followed closely behind, staring intently at him.

"Zhuang Jin?!"

Sikong Rui cried out in alarm, her voice sharp and piercing, even cracking slightly.

For someone like him who enjoys scheming and manipulating people, being suddenly summoned by the main target is probably similar to a dark creature being suddenly exposed to the sunlight, causing extreme discomfort.

While exclaiming in surprise, Sikong Rui subconsciously sensed with her martial arts intuition that Zhuang Jin was the only martial artist with open meridians nearby, and immediately calmed down.

"Very well, I was planning to send you on your way in a while! But since you've come to my door to die, I'll grant your wish!"

He flashed and spiraled upwards, seemingly splitting into several figures to attack Zhuang Jin from all sides, with leg shadows falling from all directions.

boom! boom! boom!
Zhuang Jin used his hands to support his legs, swaying left and right like a roly-poly toy, transferring the force to the ground. With a series of cracking sounds, a large section of the solid wood floor cracked and shattered around him.

Wow!
The broken solid wood floorboards, stirred by the aura of the two combatants, spun and fluttered like snowflakes, causing the tables and chairs in the room to hum and tremble incessantly.

It must be said that Sikong Rui is quite skilled. His movement technique, Flying Bat Step, and his leg technique, Whirlwind Kick, are both perfected and perfectly combined, making him one of the top fighters in his lineage.

'However, it's still lacking something; it's weaker than I expected!'

Zhuang Jin thought to himself, and facing the illusion that Sikong Rui's figure was so fast that it seemed as if he had created a clone, he struck out with his palm in one direction.

boom!
The next moment, palms and legs collided, producing a loud bang in mid-air, followed by a ripping sound like tearing silk, and then the crackling sound of residual force eroding the opponent.

The two separated instantly, and Zhuang Jin remained calm and unmoved.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Sikong Rui retreated repeatedly, his face suddenly turning deathly pale. He then coughed, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Um?!"

Seeing this, Zhuang Jin realized that he had only used a portion of his strength, not his full power. And Sikong Rui couldn't even withstand that? With such limited strength, how dare this person scheme against him again and again?
Human emotions can be conveyed through micro-expressions. When Sikong Rui saw Zhuang Jin's expression and eyes, she clearly felt the contempt in them and was immediately provoked and broke down: "Ahhh, if it weren't for me... Zhuang Jin, you're lucky this time, but you won't have such good luck next time!"

He was also rational; after uttering those harsh words, he created a gust of wind, burst through the roof with a loud bang, and fled.

"Small in stature, but with a tone and temper I've never seen before!"

Zhuang Jin shook his head slightly, moved swiftly, and used his Wind Step to catch up. He hadn't completed his goal for today, so he couldn't let this person leave like that.

……

Sikong Rui burst through the roof, his figure like a bat, flitting about on the eaves and rooftops.

a moment.

Swish!
Suddenly, a huge log, as thick as a washbasin, came hurtling towards them with a whooshing sound.

Sikong Rui kicked out, causing the giant tree to deflect and fall, but he himself was also jolted by the force of the kick.

"Master Sikong, why don't you take one of my moves?"

Zhuang Jin intercepted him diagonally, landing in front of Sikong Rui. He then spun around, using both hands and feet to strike and sweep repeatedly.

Wow!
A wealthy family here was repairing their house and had piled up a lot of materials. In addition to the giant logs, there were also red bricks and green tiles. At this moment, all of these were moved and transformed into three tornadoes, which attacked Sikong Rui from both sides.

This is precisely an improved and enhanced version of the move that Zhuang Jin borrowed from Qiu Yizhi back then!
"what!"

Sikong Rui felt a sharp pain in his temples and sensed a strong life-or-death crisis. Ignoring the injuries to his meridians, he forced himself to unleash his full speed, dodging two brick tornadoes. However, he was still grazed by the last tornado, and his whole body was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string.

"Wow!"

He retreated more than ten feet before regaining his footing, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His clothes were disheveled and his hair was loose, making him look extremely wretched. However, he dared not stop for a moment. Using the distance created by this retreat, he suppressed his injuries and fled at an even faster speed.

"Zhuang Jin, I, Sikong Rui, will remember this grudge!"

"That's exactly what I want you to remember!"

Zhuang Jin stood calmly with his hands behind his back, watching the other party's panicked and disheveled figure. He shook his head slightly, but this time he did not pursue them.

If he wanted to kill Sikong Rui, the latter wouldn't have lasted this long!
'This Sikong Rui is only at the first stage of the Meridian Opening realm, and he seems to be injured... while I am nominally at the first stage, but actually at the second, and I also possess a high-grade Earth-level beast hide armor. If I really wanted to kill this person, it wouldn't take much more effort than it would have taken Old Master Fei Yuanlong of the Fei family!'

But what happens after killing Sikong Rui?
The Medicine King Gang's deputy hall master, one of only eight or nine Meridian Opening martial artists, has died. Will the Medicine King Gang retaliate in anger? Yes, the Medicine King Gang's Meridian Opening martial artists are kept in watch by the Shen family's retainers, but it's still possible that they could go to some trouble to send one of them.

'If I kill Sikong Rui this time and expose the strength of the Second Meridian, then if the Medicine King Gang wants revenge, they'll probably send the Third, Fourth, or even Fifth or Sixth Meridians, right?'

Of course, there are benefits to killing Sikong Rui; one could gain approximately 100,000 battle merits.

But does Zhuang Jin need it? This time, he's already made a killing off the Fei family, not to mention the Yao family is still in the pot!
In short: Money is no object!
'Simply put, killing Sikong Rui would have caused considerable trouble, but the benefits would be limited, and it would only invite unnecessary jealousy... I've never forgotten my purpose in coming to the county town: to escape the chaos, gain time and space to cultivate in peace. Compared to this primary goal, everything else can take a backseat!'

Zhuang Jin thought to himself, then turned and left.

……

Zhuang Jin came to the county government office, entered the backyard through the side gate, and came to a pavilion with a grape trellis hanging down.

Teng Yuansong lay on a rattan chair, with two maids fanning him from side to side, and Hong Gu nestled beside him, extending her slender hand to feed him grapes.

Seeing Zhuang Jin approach, he waved for the maids and Hong Gu to leave, then sat up, spat out two grape seeds, and asked, "Master Zhuang, how is the situation?"

"Sikong Rui escaped, but I severely injured him. Without timely treatment and careful recuperation, his foundation will likely become unstable. The county town doesn't have the necessary conditions, so he will probably have to leave."

"Ok!"

Teng Yuansong didn't seem surprised. He pointed to the bunches of grapes above his head, telling Zhuang Jin to pick them if she wanted to eat them.

"Did Magistrate Teng know this would happen?"

"That's for sure. Given how cautious Elder Zhuang is, how could he possibly kill Sikong Rui and incur such hatred? On the contrary, letting this person go would bring Elder Zhuang three great benefits!"

Teng Yuansong held up three fingers.

Although he likes to play dumb to fool others, he also has a need to show off. However, it's not interesting to show off to ordinary people. It's only when he shows off to someone as smart as Zhuang Jin that he feels a sense of accomplishment!

"Oh?" Zhuang Jin chimed in, playing the straight man.

"Firstly, the Medicine King Gang's goal this time was medicinal herbs, and now that they have succeeded, even if Sikong Rui returns severely injured, he has still won. Winners should be magnanimous and will most likely not retaliate."

"Of course, the Medicine King's team winning doesn't prevent you, Master Zhuang, from winning big as well. This time, the Fei family's gains alone are enough for you to report back, and there's still a considerable surplus, is that right?"

“That is indeed the case.” Zhuang Jin nodded slightly. “Secondly, if we let Sikong Rui go, and if the Medicine King Gang has any plans to target Zhuang Gongfeng in the future, Sikong Rui will most likely volunteer to avenge this incident… Now we are at least one realm apart, and the gap will only widen in the future. As time goes by, this person will be even less of a threat to Zhuang Gongfeng.”

Zhuang Jin nodded as she listened, but then realized a blind spot: "What do you mean by 'now at least one realm apart'?"

Teng Yuansong glanced at Zhuang Jin: "Zhuang Gongfeng, are you still playing dumb with me? If you were truly at the same level, would you have gone to find Sikong Rui yourself? You would probably have not only called me, but also prepared elite soldiers, powerful bows and crossbows..."

"You say it's a fight between the Shen family and the Medicine King Gang, and that it's not good for the county government to get involved, but are you the kind of person who would gamble with your own safety for the sake of face? Just like on the first night, regarding the Yao family's plan, didn't you also..."

Teng Yuansong chuckled: "So, you're at least at the second meridian level now. If I'm not mistaken, you've probably also cultivated a secret technique to conceal your aura?"

"also?"

"Ahem, don't worry about the details, let's continue."

Teng Yuansong coughed twice and continued, "Thirdly, you went alone without my help or the army's cooperation in the encirclement. This will give Sikong Rui the illusion that you were lucky to be discovered this time... and that Zhuang Gongfeng is probably also putting on an act..."

Zhuang Jin was indeed acting, pretending to pass by, pausing for a moment, and then rushing in, as if it were a genuine unexpected perception from his martial arts intuition...

"That way, the channel for your daughter Zhi'er can be preserved... Even if the Medicine King Gang doesn't trust this channel as much after this, it can still be used to pass on information and confuse the public at crucial moments..."

Teng Yuansong's chubby face and small eyes were full of shrewdness that no outsider had ever seen. He said smugly, "Master Zhuang, am I right? Don't you want to say anything?"

"Since Magistrate Teng has already said everything, what else can I say?"

"Ha ha!"

It was rare to see Zhuang Jin looking so defeated, so Teng Yuansong laughed heartily twice and continued, "Sikong Rui has left with serious injuries, so the Medicine King Gang's hideouts below can be cleaned up now... With Sikong Rui gone, the Yao family has lost its bargaining chip and will be much more obedient. Let the Yao family join in the effort to search the entire city and eradicate the Medicine King Gang's hideouts..."

Both of them knew that it was impossible to completely eradicate all of the Medicine King Gang's hideouts, but this time they were able to take down more than 90% of them.

Zhuang Jin nodded slightly as he listened: "Perfect timing. Once we've eliminated the Medicine King Gang's hideouts and the integration and assimilation of the Fei family is nearly complete, we can free up manpower to deal with the Yao family."

"Master Zhuang is really discarding us after we've served our purpose!"

Teng Yuansong said confidently, "Unlike Sikong Rui, I dare say that Zhuang Gongfeng will not let any of the Yao family members go, from Yao Gongyan, the head of the Yao family, to Yao Shaoli, who is at the Tongmai realm, and then to martial artists above the Seven Classics realm."

"Tsk tsk, Sikong Rui, the deputy leader of the Medicine King Gang, let such an enemy, Zhuang Gong, go. The Yao family, supposedly a powerful family under your Shen family, are so ruthless, even though they are your own people..."

He sighed and glanced at her with disdain.

Zhuang Jin: ...

Teng Yuansong is right; to some extent, that is indeed the case.

He is submissive and reserved in dealing with outsiders because the Medicine King Gang is the enemy of the Shen family, and killing them would do more harm than good to him; he strikes hard and is ruthless and decisive in dealing with internal enemies because he is fighting for his own interests!
Can public and private matters be treated the same?

Old Man Shen treated Zhuang Jin well. Zhuang Jin initially felt a pang of conscience, but quickly consoled himself, saying, 'Killing Sikong Rui means the Medicine King Gang loses a Meridian Opening martial artist, slightly expanding their advantage, but it doesn't change the overall situation. However, once I grow stronger, my role will be much greater. My ruthlessness towards the Yao family stems from their betrayal; I'm eliminating traitors!'

As for the slightest benefit gained in the process, let's put that aside for now!
……

With Zhuang Jin's intervention, Sikong Rui fled in a sorry state. The Yao family had no choice but to cooperate in clearing out the Medicine King Gang's hideout, thanks to the effectiveness of their previous appeasement strategy. The Yao family believed Zhuang Jin and Teng Yuansong, or rather, they had no choice but to believe them.

The Fei family was integrated and the Medicine King Gang's hideout was dismantled... Time passed in this way, and more than half a month went by in a flash.

On the morning of June 21st, in a quiet room in the Fei family home.

Zhuang Jin finished practicing the meditation technique once and opened his eyes: "At the end of last month, I had completed 80% of the accumulation of the second meridian. This time, I brought the beast tendon ointment of the Yi Jin level beast to Linji County... In addition to necessary affairs, I have never slacked off in martial arts training. Now I have finally completed the accumulation of the second meridian, the belt meridian realm."

"After the Chong Meridian and the Dai Meridian, the next meridian is the third meridian—the Yang Wei Meridian! The Yang Wei Meridian is the convergence point of all Yang meridians. It originates at the Jinmen point, ascends to the trunk, converges at the head, and connects all Yang meridians..."

He circulated his inner energy and carefully made his way towards the Yangwei Meridian. As expected, it broke through immediately upon penetration.

hum!
At this moment, the internal energy circulates through the twelve primary meridians, and the Chong, Dai, and Yangwei meridians once again take a new step in both quality and quantity.

After a cup of tea.

Zhuang Jin opened his eyes: "The Three Meridians Realm is complete!"

"The Yangwei Meridian truly lives up to its reputation as the convergence point of all Yang meridians. Opening up this meridian strengthens the connections between the Yang meridians of the twelve primary meridians. It has reached this stage..."

He stood tall and began practicing the Black Demon Palm.

Wow! Wow!
Each move and stance possessed an inexplicable sense of harmony, until a certain moment when this harmony was suddenly shattered. In a particular move, as if by divine inspiration, the internal energy within the body was compressed and violently increased.

Next.

The first palm strike increased in power by ten percent!
The second palm strike increased in power by 30%!

It was astonishing: Black Fiend Palm had broken through the first level of perfection and reached the pinnacle, reaching the second level of divine skill, and had cultivated his own unique ultimate technique!

call!
Zhuang Jin exhaled and withdrew his palm, his expression pleased: "I was initially worried that my bottleneck-free talent might still be applicable when advancing from the first to the second level of martial arts mastery, and creating a finishing move..."

"Now it seems I misunderstood. Reaching the pinnacle and then transcending it isn't about creating a deadly technique out of nothing, but rather refining the essence of the Black Fiend Palm and then, based on one's individual constitution, fusing it into a unique, personalized ultimate technique. It's a process of mutual adaptation and refinement between oneself and the Black Fiend Palm."

In this situation, the talent without bottlenecks is naturally applicable, which is completely different from creating a martial art or a cultivation method.

'I have no bottlenecks. I've never used any pills to break through them, nor have I experienced any violent medicinal effects. My meridians remain completely undamaged to this day. Furthermore, I've been accumulating potential and nurturing them continuously, and now my meridians are extremely robust...'

This special circumstance, combined with individual physique, and the interaction with the Black Fiend Palm, created a deadly technique with an extremely simple and brutal effect: within the three palm strikes of the deadly technique, the power of the first palm strike increases by 10%, the second palm strike increases by 30%, and the third palm strike increases by 50%!
"Yangguan Triple Strike, my ultimate technique can be named 'Triple Wave'!"

As far as Zhuang Jin knew, his ultimate move, Triple Waves, was already quite good among the many ultimate moves he had heard of.

'However, there are also drawbacks. Such a burst of power requires consideration of the meridians' ability to withstand it. It cannot be used continuously. After one use, it needs to be nourished and restored, otherwise it will damage the meridians and leave hidden dangers.'

"Also, I can't use the five-fold level of the three-layered technique yet; I'm afraid I'll have to wait until I open the fourth meridian, the Yin Wei meridian."

Zhuang Jin first set aside his ultimate technique and carefully sensed the three meridians' realm, gaining further insights: "The Yang Wei Meridian's function is to connect all the Yang meridians, regulate Qi and blood, and resist external pathogens... Connecting all the Yang meridians and regulating Qi and blood allows martial artists to have stronger explosive power in a short period of time, which is why they can support their ultimate techniques..."

"And by resisting external pathogens, I would not say that I would be immune to all diseases, but at least I would be immune to minor illnesses such as common colds and fevers."

"Martial arts cultivation is about transforming, leaping, or evolving towards a higher level... As I relentlessly strive upwards, I will one day reach an unimaginable level."

Zhuang Jin sighed, pulling himself out of his thoughts: "Now that I've reached the Three Meridians Opening Realm and the Fei family has almost completely been digested and integrated, it's time to make a move against the Yao family!"

……

The following day, Zhuang Jin hosted a banquet for Yao's father and son under the pretext of celebrating the successful raid on the Medicine King Gang's hideout and reporting on the mid-year medicinal herb robbery case as he was about to return home.

……

(End of this chapter)