Chapter 34

Zhou, the major steward, wanted to stop, but Yang Ji had no such intention.

"Hey, this is just the first move. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Yang Ji suddenly smiled.

"Take a few more of my moves."

Bang!

Yang Ji slapped the ground with his palm and leaped up again. This time, he did not rush to attack but used the "Grass Flying" technique to circle around the major steward, looking for any weaknesses.

The opportunity to fight a martial arts expert was extremely rare. The major steward was currently holding back due to Yang Ji's "mysterious master," but once the truth was exposed, it would be a different story.

"Hmph!"

The major steward sneered, stopped, and narrowed his eyes, standing firm like a rock, allowing Yang Ji to circle around him.

Yang Ji tried to find some weaknesses in the major steward, but he stood still, making it impossible to find any. Yang Ji even felt that the person standing there was not a human but a massive, solid mountain.

"His hands are too fast. The only chance to defeat him is to attack from behind."

Yang Ji's thoughts raced.

"Right now!"

When he circled around to the major steward's back again, Yang Ji's body shrank and shot out, moving at an incredible speed.

Boom!

In a blur, Yang Ji soared through the air and crashed to the ground with a loud thud. This time, the major steward's attack was even heavier, causing Yang Ji's internal organs to vibrate and blood to gush from his mouth.

"Again!"

Yang Ji's pride flared up. He wiped the blood and lunged forward again.

"Brat! Are you never going to give up?"

The major steward's face darkened, and a wave of anger surged in his heart.

He was definitely not a magnanimous and virtuous person. If not for the mysterious expert behind Yang Ji, he would have already killed him.

This time, he had volunteered to track Yang Ji. He originally thought that it would only take some time to naturally find the "master" hiding behind Yang Ji.

However, unexpectedly, he found nothing after such a long time. The mysterious expert seemed to be invisible, never having any contact with Yang Ji.

Seeing that the one-month agreement with the madam was almost over, the major steward could no longer bear it and decided to confront the mysterious expert.

From the beginning, the major steward and the madam's target was the "mysterious expert," not Yang Ji. As long as they could win over or figure out the true strength of the "mysterious expert," Yang Ji's life or death would be irrelevant.

"Brother, since you insist on not showing yourself, I can't be blamed."

A rumbling voice echoed throughout the forest. A cold light flashed in the major steward's eyes, and he finally harbored a killing intent.

Boom!

A fierce wind howled, and in an instant, he covered a distance of over twenty feet. This time, Yang Ji did not use any tricks but charged straight at the major steward.

"Crack!"

Just before the two clashed, Yang Ji's bones crackled. A powerful force centered in his dantian spread through his limbs and gathered in his hand, transforming into a punch that could split mountains and shatter the earth, striking fiercely.

"Bear Form Martial Technique!"

The major steward's eyelids twitched, his face filled with surprise. Yang Ji's punch was clearly the Bear Form Martial Technique used by the deceased White Bone Envoy of the Heavenly Yin Sect. Although Yang Ji's technique was not identical, the power generation method was clearly the same as the Bear Form Martial Technique.

"How is this possible! This brat actually has such high talent?"

The major steward's face changed for the first time since the fight began. The ability to learn the essence of an opponent's martial technique after just one battle was something even he could not do.

In fact, no one in the entire Yang clan could do it.

Although the major steward was shocked, his movements were not slow.

Boom!

The major steward stood still, his arms faintly emitting a black aura. When Yang Ji's fist was still two feet away, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier, causing a loud explosion. Blood spurted out, and Yang Ji was thrown back like a broken kite.

"Ah!"

As Yang Ji flew back, the major steward suddenly felt a pain in his palm and let out a low cry. A small black shadow flew out of his hand and landed on the ground, revealing a thin, line-like snake.

"Iron Wire Snake!..."

The major steward's face turned ashen. He glanced at his palm and saw a wound bleeding profusely. He quickly took a detox pill from his pocket and swallowed it.

The "Iron Wire Snake" was thin and tough but not venomous. However, he never took things lightly.

The origin of the Iron Wire Snake was unknown, and even with his strength, he could not break it with a single palm.

"Brat, where is your master?—"

The major steward, ignoring his hand injury, stepped forward and said sternly. This time, he suddenly felt something was wrong, as if something was amiss.

His attack this time was much heavier than the previous two. Logically, Yang Ji's master, hiding nearby, should have come out to stop him. Unless he didn't care about his disciple!

"Ha ha ha!..."

Yang Ji, who was seriously injured, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Truly, being smart can lead to one's downfall. At this point, you're still thinking about my non-existent master?"

"What do you mean?"

The major steward's face changed dramatically upon hearing this.

"Hehe, Xiao Ji, come here!"

Yang Ji did not answer but suppressed his injuries, extended his left hand, and a black snake slowly slithered over and disappeared into his sleeve.

This time, the combined attack of Yang Ji and the snake succeeded, but Xiao Ji was also seriously injured, moving much less agilely than before.

After retrieving Xiao Ji, Yang Ji clutched his chest and immediately retreated, increasing the distance between him and the major steward.

"Do you think you can run? Do you think you can escape from me?"

The major steward said coldly.

"Why don't you try?"

Yang Ji sneered, his eyes fixed on the major steward's right hand. In the dim moonlight, he could clearly see that the blood dripping from his fingertips had turned purple-black.

However, whether because he felt the "Iron Wire Snake" was not a threat or because he had taken the detox pill, the major steward did not notice this.

"Unbelievable!"

The major steward sneered and took a step forward to capture Yang Ji. He was fine until he moved, but as soon as he did, he felt a numbness in his body, stumbled, and almost fell.

"Brat, you dared to trick me!"

The major steward was both shocked and angry, his face changing completely. His reaction was quick, and in a flash, he realized it was the black snake that Yang Ji had raised.

"That's not an Iron Wire Snake, what is it? Brat, I'll kill you!—"

The major steward, enraged, eyes flashing with killing intent, leaped forward, fingers like hooks, grabbing at Yang Ji. Yang Ji stood still, looking at him as if he were a dead man.

The toxicity of "Xiao Ji" was formidable. The major steward was fine when he was still, but once he moved, the blood flow accelerated, spreading the venom throughout his body, leading to his death.

Thud!

Sure enough, after leaping over ten feet, the major steward's body suddenly sank, and he fell straight down like a frog struck by lightning, eyes wide open, motionless, and dead.

"Phew!"

Yang Ji waited for a while, confirming that the major steward was truly dead, and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

This was the first time he faced such a formidable opponent, and the disparity in strength was the greatest. If possible, Yang Ji did not want to face such a situation again.

"Don't blame me, blame yourself for being careless and trying to find me a master."

Yang Ji walked over, wiped his face, and closed the major steward's eyes.

This victory left Yang Ji feeling particularly exhausted. To deal with the major steward and escape this dangerous situation, he had almost exhausted his mind and used every trick he knew.

The major steward was a powerful and perceptive person. If not for his carelessness and underestimation, even Xiao Ji would have found it difficult to succeed under normal circumstances.

Fortunately, the major steward was preoccupied with the non-existent master behind Yang Ji and did not take him seriously. When he attacked, he hid Xiao Ji between his fingers, and with the cover of the night, he managed to succeed.

The night wind howled, and Yang Ji quickly cleaned up the "battlefield." After searching the major steward's body, Yang Ji found several exquisite small bottles.

"Detox pills, bruise pills, healing pills... He really has a lot of good stuff."

Yang Ji, under the dim moonlight, quickly recognized the small words on the bottles. These items were not even found on the cult follower.

Yang Ji took a healing pill from the small bottle and swallowed it. Soon, a warm sensation spread from his abdomen to his limbs, and his chest injury improved significantly.

"These are all good things. In the future, when traveling outside, these things will be very useful."

Yang Ji put the porcelain bottles away and then searched the major steward's body for some small silver notes. To his surprise, there were only eighty taels.

"The madam has a strong control desire and does not entrust financial matters to outsiders. No wonder the major steward had little money."

Yang Ji thought to himself, feeling a bit regretful. Although the major steward had the title of steward, he had less money than the cult follower.

Yang Ji had hoped to find more money to buy more "Hundred Herbs Pills," but now he had to give up on that idea.

In addition, Yang Ji found a book. The old cover was adorned with a pair of hands and some dreamlike clouds. The title was "Cloud Hands."

"I wonder if this is the strange martial technique the major steward used against me?"

Yang Ji thought to himself.

The major steward's skills left a deep impression on him. This was the first time he encountered such a unique martial technique. He had never seen it in the family training ground.

Flipping through the pages, Yang Ji quickly read. The martial techniques in "Cloud Hands" were very difficult and hard to understand, quite different from the "White Snake Martial Technique" he had learned.

However, Yang Ji could also see that the quality of "Cloud Hands" was clearly much higher than the "White Snake Martial Technique." Even the "Bear Form Martial Technique" used by the White Bone Envoy was inferior.

"My White Snake Martial Technique is flexible but lacks offensive power. The imperial examination is approaching, and there will be many experts. If I want to compete with them, I will have to rely on this 'Cloud Hands.'"

Yang Ji thought to himself.

Rustle!

Flipping to the last page, something suddenly fell out, shimmering with a golden light, landing on the ground.