Starting with photographic memory, I've worked my way up to become a martial arts immortal.

Jiang Yuan's ears twitched slightly. He heard the sounds on the path gradually fading away before he followed.

He walks almost silently, using a footwork style from Crane Style Fist called Crane Walking on Sand.

This movement imitates the way a crane walks on the sand without leaving a heavy footprint. It emphasizes light footsteps, a heavy center of gravity, and a light, silent movement of the soles of the feet, like a crane treading on soft sand. It can be used to maneuver around and get close to the opponent in combat, or to stealthily move.

The night wind carried the earthy scent of wild grass, and the waning moon appeared and disappeared among the dark clouds, casting a few pale rays of light.

Jiang Yuan held his breath, carefully avoiding the pebbles and withered grass, his heart at peace.

He slowly drew his dagger, held it upside down in his left hand, and sharpened the once dull blade to an exceptionally sharp edge, transforming it into a bloodthirsty weapon in the darkness.

Before anyone knew it, the commotion ahead had ceased.

As Jiang Yuan climbed up a small hill, he lay prone on the ground.

Below is the location where he dealt with Tian Chang, and not far away is the abandoned ferry crossing.

At this moment, a small awning boat was moored at the ferry crossing.

A dim lantern hung from the slightly upturned bow of the boat, where three figures were busy, seemingly moving some cargo.

"You're quick on your feet; looks like you've done this kind of thing a lot."

He stared intently and saw a human-shaped object being lifted onto the boat.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps sounded from behind.

"Oh no!"

Jiang Yuan had no time to think. He pushed himself up with both hands and dodged to the side, simultaneously turning over.

A stick came hurtling straight toward his head with a whooshing sound.

"Bang!"

Faced with this powerful blow, Jiang Yuan remained calm.

On the contrary, his mind was clear at this moment, and he could even clearly grasp the direction of the stick's movements.

This stems from his rigorous training over the past few days.

He had assumed that his second senior brother, Fang Yan, had only reluctantly agreed under pressure from their master. He hadn't expected that Fang Yan would not only mentor him but also devise a special training plan and impose strict requirements on him.

These past few days, he has been subjected to training that has left him feeling like he's in heaven or hell, and he even has reason to suspect that this is revenge, even though he doesn't believe he has offended his second senior brother.

However, aside from some initial discomfort, Jiang Yuan is now enjoying himself as his strength grows day by day.

Faced with such a sudden attack, a normal person would likely instinctively close their eyes, just like when Jiang Yuan first sparred with Liang Shen; it's a natural human reaction.

So the next day he consulted his second senior brother and learned a training technique.

Initially, feathers are used to quickly pierce the eyes. Once the eyes are trained to stop blinking when not facing such an attack, someone else can hold a sharp needle to assist in the training. Continue training until the needle is inserted into the eyelid and the eyes do not blink even once. At this point, the training is considered successful.

Jiang's combat experience at this moment was much stronger than it had been a few days ago. He had a photographic memory and liked to summarize and reflect, so at least in terms of actual combat, his progress was more than ten times faster than that of the other disciples who came in the same batch.

Just as the stick was about to fall, Jiang Yuan slammed his right hand on the ground, his body shifting three inches away from the ground, and at the same time, he tilted his head to avoid it.

The stick grazed his ear and slammed into the mud with a dull thud, making his ear sting.

Li Han was stunned. His sure-fire strike had missed its mark.

He exerted force with both hands, about to pull back the stick and strike again, when a ray of moonlight shone down, and he suddenly saw the figure lying on the ground.

"Jiang Yuan, it's you, kid!" Li Han exclaimed in surprise.

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a sharp pain in her lower body.

He let out a "whoosh" and knelt down on the ground.

After dodging the dangerous blow, Jiang Yuan didn't hesitate. Taking advantage of Li Han's momentary daze, he braced himself with his hands, thrust his waist and abdomen forward, and kicked out with a groin kick. Unexpectedly, it went smoothly, and the opponent didn't react at all. The kick landed solidly on his groin.

He frowned, and could even faintly hear the sound of the egg yolk cracking.

The next instant, he used a "Crane Turns Over" to flip in front of Li Han, and made a finger-locking gesture that directly imprinted on Li Han's throat.

Li Han's throat was instantly shattered. His painful howl was only audible for a moment before it was muffled in his throat and he could no longer utter it.

Blood gushed from his mouth, and his eyes were bulging as if they were about to pop out.

His hands were still covering his lower body, but his pupils gradually dilated. Soon, he lowered his head and collapsed softly to the ground.

In just a few breaths, Jiang Yuan moved with lightning speed, killing an enemy instantly without any hesitation.

He extended two fingers to check and found that Li Han was indeed dead, then prepared to leave.

The sound must have been heard; others may have heard it.

However, he soon stopped.

"Li Han has already revealed my identity. If someone overhears this..."

Jiang Yuan's eyes turned cold as he turned to look at the lantern on the bow of the boat.

"Killing one is the same as killing a group!"

The next moment, he raised his arms and jumped down the more than two-zhang-high mound like a bird, rushing towards the small awning boat.

At the water's edge, Zhang Yonggang and Sun Hao carried the person onto the boat, when they could vaguely hear Li Han's voice coming from a small hill not far away.

"Jiang Yuan?" He hesitated, looking at Sun Hao. "Did you hear that?"

Sun Hao nodded blankly, "It sounded like Li Han shouted it."

"It's him! Oh no! Something's happened to him!" Zhang Yong finally realized.

"Damn it!" Upon hearing this, Sun Hao pulled out a small knife from his waist, jumped off the boat, and rushed towards the mound.

"Hey, you idiot." Zhang Yong missed his chance and saw Sun Hao disappear into the darkness. He couldn't help but curse.

"What's going on? You've come with a tail?" At the bow of the small awning boat stood a man dressed entirely in black, with a clean-shaven chin and a prosperous-looking face.

Zhang Yong's eyes darted around: "Brother Liu, probably not. He's probably just passing by. We've dealt with each other so many times, when have I ever made a mistake?"

"That being said, there's no guarantee you won't make a mistake. After all, you've been bringing in too many people lately, it's gotten a bit too conspicuous." Brother Liu sneered. "What are you standing there for? Go and deal with the threat to your brother!"

Zhang Yong chuckled: "Brother Liu, you haven't settled the bill for this transaction yet."

"All you care about is money, kid." Brother Liu patted his pocket, pulled out a money pouch, and threw it over. "Here's your money, hurry up and go."

"Thanks." Zhang Yong cupped his hands in thanks, then turned and left.

Actually, ever since I heard the name Jiang Yuan, I thought about it again and my worries lessened.

A skinny young man who does hard labor every day is indeed strong, but Li Han can definitely handle him.

Moreover, with the impatient Sun Hao helping out, they must have already taken down that kid by now.

Thinking of this, he turned his head and smiled, "Brother Liu, don't be in such a hurry to leave. We can still make one more deal tonight. We'll deliver it right away."

Brother Liu was taken aback: "What, you don't mean the guy who made the noise earlier, do you?"

Zhang Yong nodded matter-of-factly: "That's right, that kid was also one of the pigs we had our eyes on before. We didn't expect to run into him here. Alright, I'll go take a look first."

Brother Liu frowned as he watched his figure disappear into the darkness, and his hand, which had been untying the rope, stopped.

Jiang Yuan leaped down the mound and quickly ran towards the small awning boat.

Soon, he saw a burly figure running towards him.

"Sun Hao?"

Without stopping, he rammed into Sun Hao.

At the same time, Sun Hao also saw Jiang Yuan and was immediately taken aback, never expecting that this country bumpkin would dare to rush straight at him.

There was no time to react, so he could only raise the knife in his hand and stab wildly.

"You dare come any closer? I'll stab you to death."

He shouted fiercely.

Jiang Yuan spotted the sharp knife at a glance, twisted his body sharply to dodge the weapon's attack, and then kicked it with his foot.

Knee strike!

His kick was powerful and heavy, hitting Sun Hao squarely on the side of his patella, causing his knee to bend backward.

The white bone fragments protruded from the flesh, appearing exceptionally grotesque in the moonlight.

Sun Hao instantly lost his footing and was about to fall forward, letting out a shrill scream.

Jiang Yuan didn't stop. He slashed the man's neck with his left-hand dagger and appeared behind him, continuing to rush forward.

Sun Hao was left lying on the ground in terror, clutching his neck in confusion.

Fresh blood seeped out from between his fingers and splattered on his clothes.

"Am I going to die?"

A desperate thought lingered in his mind, and he dared not move.

But why is my body getting colder and colder?

"No, I don't want to die..."

He stared wide-eyed in despair, tears streaming down his face, dripping onto the ground and turning into mud droplets.

The crow circling in the air stopped cawing, flapped its wings and landed, pecking fiercely at the already gray eyes.