He achieved the pinnacle of martial arts starting with breaking through the limits of Tiger Fist.

Jiang Lin came out of the inner courtyard; it was already completely dark.

Outside the compound, only Xiao Qi was silently practicing her skills, while Lin Zheng sat on the stone steps without saying a word.

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive, even Xiao Qi noticed it, so she was exceptionally well-behaved today, practicing her skills on her own even without being reminded.

"Don't overthink it, it has little to do with you," Jiang Lin comforted him.

"If I hadn't invited Senior Brother Zhou that day, he would never have offended the Eagle Claw Sect." Lin Zheng's voice was hoarse.

"Did you know that a group of experts from the south arrived at the Eagle Claw Sect the night before last?"

Lin Zheng's eyes reddened: "You mean those were the ones who did it?"

Jiang Lin sighed. This sixth brother was still inexperienced and couldn't see the essence of things.

"What I mean is, this little thing between you and Senior Brother Zhou isn't enough to warrant such a large-scale operation from the Eagle Claw Sect. If it were just for revenge, why would they need to bring in people from elsewhere?"

Seeing that Lin Zheng had calmed down, Jiang Lin continued, "The Eagle Claw Sect is targeting all people and forces that are on good terms with the Long family. Regardless of whether that incident happened or not, Senior Brother Zhou could still be killed."

"What do we do now?" Lin Zheng asked, somewhat agitated, clearly eager for revenge.

Jiang Lin shook his head. This sixth brother still didn't understand; he was only thinking about revenge.

"Who is our enemy? Is it that knife-wielder? Even if we knew, where would we find him? If we held a grudge against the Eagle Claw gang, the two of us wouldn't even be enough to fill their teeth."

"So we'll just leave it at that?" Lin Zheng asked, puzzled.

"Of course we can't just let it go like this, but this is not something we can decide. Instead of sighing and complaining here, we should practice our skills properly so that we can be more helpful when we are ordered to act."

After speaking, Jiang Lin walked to the center of the courtyard to begin his evening meditation practice.

……

At the same time, at the Changning County Government Office.

Gu Yun, the young master of Eagle Claw Sect, was frowning as he looked at a skinny, monkey-like youth opposite him.

"Why alert them? Didn't we say we'd kill that Jiang guy first?"

The skinny monkey remained calm and said indifferently, "It just so happened that the man surnamed Zhou was leaving the city, so I killed him while I was at it. Don't worry, none of the three targets designated by the young sect leader will escape. We have our own way of doing things, so the young sect leader shouldn't interfere."

Gu Yun remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was extremely dissatisfied.

Outsiders are simply not as effective as our own people.

The reason we kept this skinny guy was because he was skilled in assassination, but who knew he would act so capriciously and disobey orders.

"Don't be careless, that Tiger Fist is no ordinary fist technique."

The skinny monkey laughed upon hearing this: "Young Master is joking. They're nothing but easy prey, killed with a single strike. As for the remaining two..."

The implication was that the remaining two were a novice martial artist and not even a martial artist yet, so it would be a piece of cake to capture them.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yun remained noncommittal. The skinny monkey's words made some sense, but he still disliked people who acted on their own initiative.

They were just a bunch of wandering people fleeing war and leaving their homes; they didn't even have the awareness of being homeless dogs.

"You need to be careful not to make a mistake and end up losing your life."

After saying this, Gu Yun left a few bottles of pills as payment and got up to leave.

The skinny monkey put away the pills with a disdainful look on his face.

The people in this prosperous land are timid; even the gangsters operate with extreme caution.

On this mission, he had someone providing intelligence, and the government was responsible for covering his tracks. After the mission was over, he could hide in the county government office. He had all the advantages of timing, location, and people, making it many times more convenient than usual. Why would he need to be so cautious?

Upon returning to the Eagle Claw Sect's headquarters, Gu Yun summoned his trusted subordinates and asked, "Have all the men been dispatched?"

"Reporting to the young sect leader, they have all been deployed, ensuring that every gang below has a martial artist stationed there."

Gu Yun pondered for a moment, "Inform the undercover agents below to only report the whereabouts of the man surnamed Jiang to the county government, so as to prevent him from acting on his own again."

Ever since news of the "Vermilion Fruit" came from the Long family's informant more than ten days ago, he has been preoccupied with it.

The scene at the fish market dock a few months ago kept replaying in my mind.

It was just a little too late then. If he had been able to get his hands on that "Vermilion Fruit," his "innate talent" would have been improved. With his comprehension, his martial arts progress would have been phenomenal.

This physical condition was his greatest regret. Recalling the scene at the fish market that day, he hated Jiang Lin so much that his teeth itched.

The Long family kept this matter very secret. The news only leaked out when the "Vermilion Fruit" was transported back to the Long Mansion, leaving them no chance to make amends.

These past few days, whenever he thought about this matter, his desire to kill Jiang Lin to vent his anger became more and more urgent, to the point that it had become a mental demon.

For someone with good physique, the "Vermilion Fruit" might be nothing, but for someone with poor physique but a passion for martial arts, it can be a chance to defy fate.

With a long sigh, Gu Yun found himself feeling somewhat sorry for himself.

……

In the following days, Li Zhenguan used his connections and intelligence to search everywhere, but he was unable to find any trace of the assassin.

Finally, they even sent Lin Zheng as bait, who circled outside the city for two whole days, but still failed to lure out the murderer who killed their disciple.

For a time, even Li Zhenguan couldn't think of a better solution.

[Proficiency +12]

[Proficiency +12]

Jiang Lin has stopped worrying about the consumption of pills these past few days, and the number of pills has run out in five days.

The progress of "Tiger Warrior Fist" is also rapid, and it is approaching the edge of a breakthrough.

Since breaking through the limits of the "Tiger Soul Stance" last time, Jiang Lin's physical body has been greatly improved, and his speed of practicing boxing techniques has increased significantly since then.

Now, with the aid of these elixirs, his progress is nothing short of miraculous.

And this "Peiyuan Pill" truly lives up to its preciousness, with its effects being long-lasting, strong, and potent.

Jiang Lin

[Breakthrough Point] 1 (Progress 57%)

[Martial Arts] Tiger Fist (Proficiency 0/5000)

【Effect】Spinning Force (The fist is like a drill, the force is like a spiral, the power is not leaked to any side, but penetrates to a single point)

"Finally, we've broken through."

At the moment of breakthrough, Jiang Lin felt his physique strengthen even further.

Although "Tiger Fist" is a killing technique, it also involves breathing exercises during practice, which can strengthen the body and stimulate the growth of qi and blood.

The increased Qi and blood, under the influence of the standing meditation, become more effective in nourishing the body's muscles and bones.

In the long run, Jiang Lin believed that his physique would far surpass that of martial artists of the same level.

"Senior brother, you haven't told a story for two days."

Long Che noticed that Jiang Lin was in a good mood today, and promptly reminded him that it was time to tell a story.

"Oh, it's been two days already?"

Jiang Lin suddenly felt a little guilty. Because of Senior Brother Zhou's death, he seemed to have neglected Xiao Qi these past few days.

"Then let's talk more today."

Tomorrow is his day off, and he promised Li Changfeng that he would take him out on the ship.

But before that, he had to go to Chen Sanlang's stronghold.

Before returning to the city last time, he had asked Chen Sanlang to help him collect materials for "fragrant bait," which would definitely come in handy this time in the Great Swamp.

Among the various "fragrant baits," the ingredients for "Hemp-Clad Guest" are the most common. However, Jiang Lin didn't have time to search for them in order to break through to the Martial Artist level, so he could only ask Chen Sanlang to collect them for him.

Now that so much time has passed, it's probably about time.