Do you know what mythical life is?

"Are you the outsider?"

From the crowd, a woman with disheveled hair and red, swollen eyes suddenly rushed out; it was Zhou Hu's mother.

She pointed at Lu Ping'an, her voice shrill and choked with tears: "Tell me! Did you kill my son?!"

"And my son, Tian Wei!" Another gaunt old man squeezed forward, his eyes blazing with fury. "It must be you! Something bad happened the moment you arrived in the village!"

"Brother Lu!"

When Su Shi saw Lu Ping'an, his eyes lit up and he wanted to rush over, but Su He held him back tightly.

Su He looked at Lu Ping'an, who was surrounded by people, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Su Yongfu's face was also pale, and his body was trembling slightly.

Judging from the past few days, Lu Ping'an should have some special abilities, but even if he does have some abilities, what use are they against so many people?

"Stop arguing!"

Li Yun shouted, parted the crowd, and walked to Lu Ping'an.

The dark-skinned young man from the county town also followed along with his large dog.

"Woof woof!"

Upon seeing Lu Ping'an, the big dog immediately barked twice at him.

Lu Pingan glanced at the black dog and then looked away.

At this moment, Li Yun looked Lu Ping'an up and down, and said in a deep voice, "I am Li Yun."

"This is my senior brother, Zhang Qing, an inner disciple of the Poyue Martial Arts School."

"Zhou Hu and Tian Wei disappeared by the river the day before yesterday, neither alive nor dead. Hei Feng smelled your scent by the river, and now both families suspect that their disappearance is related to you."

"What do you have to say about this?"

"How should I put it?" Lu Pingan glanced at the crowd and smiled. "I've seen those two people you mentioned. I caught a fish, and those two tried to steal it from me. I knocked them down with one punch each."

"What?"

"It really was you!"

"Where's my son? What did you do to my son?"

As soon as Lu Ping'an finished speaking, the room erupted in uproar. A middle-aged man rushed forward and reached out to grab Lu Ping'an's collar.

Chen Ping'an's gaze turned cold. With a casual flick of his wrist, he deflected the other man's large hand, then seized the opportunity to grab his collar and lift him up sharply.

Before the burly man could react, he was lifted into the air, his feet off the ground, struggling in shock and anger.

Lu Pingan didn't even look at it, and flicked his arm.

"call!"

He threw the burly man, who weighed over 100 pounds, with one hand, sending him crashing into the crowd behind him like a tattered sack.

"Bang!"

"Ouch!"

Several people were knocked over and fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

The arena fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared in horror at Lu Ping'an, then at the group of people rolling on the ground, and dared not take another step forward.

"Are you a martial artist?"

Li Yun's expression changed slightly upon seeing this scene.

Zhang Qing's Black Wind not only caught Lu Ping'an's scent by the river, but also the scent of a strange beast.

The reason he came to find Lu Ping'an was because Lu Ping'an had been rescued by Su Yongfu and was probably just an ordinary person.

If they were ordinary people, they could be easily manipulated by him, giving the Zhou and Tian families an explanation.

But if the two families found out that Zhou Hu and Tian Wei's disappearance was related to the underwater monster, he would be in a difficult situation.

Judging from Lu Ping'an's move just now, he is at least a martial artist at the Strength Refining Realm.

Zhang Qing, who was standing to the side, also showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Tick-tock!"

A drop of blood dripped from the pheasant's neck in Lu Ping'an's hand.

Lu Ping'an didn't answer Li Yun, but said to himself, "I saw those two people you mentioned being dragged into the river by an underwater beast. If you want to find them, go look for them in the river."

"Besides, if this dog's nose is really that good, surely it could smell the presence of a strange beast by the river, right?"

Zhang Qing glanced down at the slightly agitated Black Wind, then looked up at Lu Ping'an, cupped his fists and said, "I am Zhang Qing, a disciple of the Po Yue Martial Arts School. I was blind just now and did not realize that you are also a fellow practitioner."

"As for the strange beast, Black Wind did smell an unusual fishy smell by the river before, but it was mixed and hard to distinguish. Now that you say so, it is indeed quite possible."

"Moreover, the Yunxi River is long, and it is not uncommon for ferocious creatures to occasionally drift downstream and attack the banks."

After saying this, he said no more and just looked at Li Yun.

He was brought here by Li Yun.

He had already done what Li Yun had asked him to do.

As for what Li Yun does next, that's none of his business.

Lu Ping'an was also a martial artist, unlike ordinary villagers, and his strength was unknown. So, it was best not to offend him if possible.

Unless Li Yun is determined to offend him and ask for his help, but then it will cost extra money.

Li Yun's expression changed slightly, and he hesitated for a moment.

"Young Master Li!"

Upon seeing this, Zhou Hu's mother immediately screamed, "You promised, you said you'd see him alive or dead! We've given both families the money, you can't just abandon us like this!"

"Yes, Young Master Li!" Tian Wei's father said anxiously, "Whatever this kid says goes! He injured my son and talked about some strange beast, but there's no proof. You must do us justice!"

"Besides, even if there really was a strange beast, if he hadn't attacked first and injured my son, how could he have been dragged into the river by some strange beast!"

"besides……"

At this point, Tian Wei's father paused, then said, "The Tian family agrees to what you said before!"

"Yes! Yes! Our Zhou family has agreed to this!" Zhou Hu's mother immediately added.

Upon hearing this, Li Yun's expression immediately changed.

Not long ago, he, Zhou Hutianwei, and others discovered a blessed ancient temple in the back mountain of Xiaoshi Village.

The Blessed Ancient Temple is a unique type of architecture found only in this world.

Each ancient temple that bestows blessings has its own unique rules; as long as you offer sacrifices, you can receive the temple's blessings.

Upon entering the ancient temple, they each received a temple token. By offering sacrifices according to the rules, they could receive a blessing.

Li Yun was the first to offer sacrifices in exchange for a blessing, which granted him a month of mental clarity and greatly increased his cultivation speed.

This gave him the opportunity to master Ming Jin (a type of internal energy).

Unfortunately, when the blessing ended, the token in his hand also disappeared.

So he set his sights on the tokens held by Zhou Hu and Tian Wei.

Previously, both families refused to budge, but now, in order to get him to step in, they finally agreed.

But that's normal.

With Zhou Hu and Tian Wei dead, neither family has any more martial artists left. The token remains in their hands, serving no purpose other than to cause trouble.

In exchange, he promised to give both companies a fairly generous sum of money as compensation.

Li Yun's mind raced, the hesitation on his face vanished, and his gaze toward Lu Ping'an turned hostile again.

"Zhou Hutianwei is from my Xiaoshi Village. Everyone knows what kind of person he is."

"You're making baseless accusations that they stole your catch; that's utterly slanderous and a complete distortion of the truth!"

"Besides, even if what you say is true, that there are some strange underwater beasts harming people, if you hadn't defeated them beforehand, rendering them powerless to resist or escape, how could they have suffered such a terrible fate?"

"No matter what, you can't escape responsibility for this. Let's work together to capture him!"

Before Lu Ping'an could even speak, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he charged forward with a sudden movement.

"boom!"

He threw a punch, without any fancy moves, straight at Lu Ping'an's heart.

Where the fist passed, the air was brutally torn apart, producing a short, explosive sound.

At the same time, several martial artists trained by the Li family who were standing beside him also surrounded Lu Ping'an.

"Ming Jin?"

Zhang Qing, standing to the side, saw Li Yun make a move and a look of surprise flashed across his face.

Li Yun was indeed his junior brother, but when he was at the Poyue Martial Arts Academy, Li Yun's cultivation level was always stuck at the Strength Refining Realm, so he could only be considered an outer disciple.

Because he had already mastered the Ming Jin technique, his status was far higher than Li Yun's.

Unexpectedly, Li Yun broke through to the next level without making a sound.

The force of this punch clearly demonstrates that the user has mastered the essence of the Breaking Mountain Fist, showcasing the characteristic of concentrating strength into a single line and releasing it through the body.

"Smack."

It was a soft sound, much deeper than the sound of Li Yun's punch.

Lu Pingan casually raised his right hand, his five fingers slightly spread, and precisely placed them on Li Yun's wrist.

Li Yunqian's punching motion froze instantly.

He felt as if he had hit an iron wall, and his fist could no longer advance even an inch.

The concentrated internal energy was silently smoothed and suppressed by a heavier and more stable force, causing him to freeze in place, unable to move.

"This kind of strength..."

Zhang Qing, who was surprised that Li Yun had broken through to the Ming Jin level, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Lu Ping'an's movements remained unchanged this time.

He didn't even put down the pheasant he was carrying in his right hand.

He simply raised and pressed down with his left hand.

This kind of strength is definitely much greater than his.

Although he had already broken through to the Condensation Realm, he was still only at the Manifestation Realm.

He is on the same level as Li Yun.

Judging from Lu Ping'an's actions, his silent and effortless demeanor indicated that he was at least at the level of internal strength.

He took a step back as soon as he moved.

Li Yun is his junior brother, not his parents. In this situation, even if they offered him more money, he wouldn't be courting death.

The big black dog squatting beside him saw its owner retreat, its eyelids drooped, and it immediately tucked its tail between its legs and shrank back.

Just as Zhang Qing retreated, Lu Ping'an made his move.

He took a step forward, his body instantly close to Li Yun's, his left hand on the other's wrist, and with a heavy force, he irresistibly pressed Li Yun's struggling arm down!

Li Yun felt an immense force coming from his wrist, and his entire arm instantly went numb and sore. The condensed strength dissipated completely, and his arm fell limply to the ground.

Just then, Lu Ping'an flipped his hand, changing from pressing to patting, and lightly placed it on Li Yun's chest.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud, not loud, but solid.

Li Yun's eyes widened, and before the look of horror on his face could fully appear, he was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the crowd of Zhou and Tian families who were shouting and cursing behind him.

"what!"

"Ugh!"

"Bang! Crack!"

Several dull thuds and groans of pain rang out.

Li Yun's body was like a rolling stone, smashing into four or five people who couldn't dodge in time, breaking their bones and causing them to fall to the ground.

The once noisy and crowded crowd was instantly cleared, leaving only the suppressed groans of the fallen and the sudden, deathly silence of fear.

No one dared to utter a sound of cursing anymore.

Everyone stared in horror at the still calm figure in the center of the arena.

"you……"

The several martial artists at the Strength Refinement Realm trained by the Li family also stopped in their tracks, hesitating whether or not to make a move.

"Chirp chirp!"

Just as the arena fell silent, everyone stunned by Lu Ping'an's seemingly casual yet devastating attack, a clear bird's cry suddenly rang out from the sky.

A small, jet-black bird, no bigger than a palm and with bright, lively eyes, swooped down from the sky like an arrow and landed precisely on Lu Ping'an's empty left shoulder.

It affectionately rubbed its little head against Lu Ping'an's cheek, making soft "chirp chirp" sounds, as if it were very familiar with Lu Ping'an.

This sudden turn of events left everyone, who were already filled with doubt and uncertainty, stunned.

Almost at the same time—

"Tap tap tap tap!"

From the distant dirt road came the clear, rapid sound of horses' hooves.