Chapter 4

About five miles from the entrance of Yishi Village, there is a fork in the road.

The left path leads to Yishi Village, while the right one leads to Liushi Village.

The villagers of these two villages do not get along well and often fight over the porcelain clay resources.

Yichen walked quickly on his way home, feeling relaxed and happy...

"Stop!" A sudden loud voice startled Yichen.

Two people, one tall and one short, were blocking the road. The shorter one was Liu Xi, the third son of Liu An, the village chief of Liushi Village. He was seventeen years old, with a face that did not do justice to his parents, a sharp mouth, and a monkey-like chin, looking rather despicable.

A few days ago, he had been beaten by Yichen and begged for mercy. Today, he dared to show off his power because of the person beside him.

The tall one was Liu Dong, Liu An's eldest son, around twenty-one or twenty-two years old, over 1.8 meters tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, looking dignified and handsome, a stark contrast to Liu Xi.

Two years ago, Yichen had defeated Liu Dong, who was also a Ninth Rank Battle Master. However, times had changed, and Liu Dong had almost reached the Battle Supervisor level, becoming one of the top ten young experts in Tianyun City. Yichen had just returned to the Seventh Rank Battle Master level.

Liu Xi looked at Yichen with a wicked smile, "Should I call you a genius or a madman?"

"Oh, so it's the Liu family... thing," Yichen said coldly.

The last time he beat Liu Xi, it was not only because Yichen's strength had greatly increased after practicing the Earth Technique, but also because Liu Xi had underestimated him, which was a significant reason for his defeat.

Now, one was a Seventh Rank Battle Master, and the other was a Ninth Rank. Facing a Seventh Rank Battle Master like Yichen, they naturally had the right to be arrogant.

Yichen understood that he was at a disadvantage. If he was not careful, he would not only be humiliated, but his reputation as a young genius would also be in jeopardy.

The consequences would be the归属 of the porcelain clay in the back mountain and the crisis facing the Yi family.

Brute force might not work, so Yichen thought of using his wits. He first tried to provoke them, hoping to create some interference.

"Rubbish, we are the two young masters of the Liu family, not some thing," Liu Xi shouted angrily when he heard Yichen's disrespectful words.

"Liu Dong, Liu Xi, you two are indeed not good for anything!" Yichen smiled cunningly, "That's what you said yourself."

"You... " Liu Xi realized he had been tricked and was momentarily speechless.

"Third son, don't argue with him," Liu Dong, the elder brother, was indeed more composed.

Liu Dong looked around and, seeing no one, lowered his voice and said to Liu Xi, "Let's finish this quickly and cripple this guy."

"Liu Xi, have you forgotten how you were trampled under my feet last time?" Seeing the situation, Yichen knew that things would not end well today. His provocation had been seen through by Liu Dong, who seemed to have some depth. He needed to think of a way out: "Are you two planning to gang up on me? I'm not afraid!"

"Gang up? You're flattering yourself. As long as my brother makes a move, you're finished..." Liu Xi was extremely pleased and did not take Yichen seriously at all.

"Stop talking nonsense. You block the retreat, and I'll handle this side." Liu Dong interrupted Liu Xi impatiently. He was afraid that the longer it took, the more likely they would be caught by someone from Yishi Village, which would ruin their reputation.

"Kid, I lost two years ago not because you were strong, but because I didn't take you seriously. Let's see who's better today." A fierce look flashed across Liu Dong's face, but he pretended to be relaxed.

Liu Xi blocked Yichen's retreat, while Liu Dong stood in the path leading to Yishi Village. Yichen was trapped.

Run? He hadn't even thought about it! He was ready for a fight.

Seeing Liu Dong advancing step by step, Yichen seemed to be a bit scared and slowly retreated. When he got close to Liu Xi, he suddenly moved.

"Third son, be careful..." Liu Dong instinctively shouted in alarm and immediately leaped forward, but stopped about five meters away from Yichen.

Pang~

Yichen and Liu Xi's fists collided, and they separated instantly.

Deng deng deng...

It seemed to be a full-force attack, but the outcome was clear.

Liu Xi took a step back, swayed slightly, and then steadied himself. Yichen, on the other hand, staggered back several steps, clearly at a disadvantage.

He really has become a waste!

Although he had heard that Yichen had gone mad and his cultivation had declined, Liu Dong still had lingering fears from their battle two years ago. If Yichen hadn't shown mercy, he might have been dead or crippled.

In just one exchange, Yichen couldn't even withstand Liu Xi's punch. It seemed the rumors were true.

With this, things would be much easier. All they needed to do was seriously injure Yichen, then publicly challenge him, or give him a deadline. If Yichen lost, Liu Dong would take away the title of young genius...

Feeling triumphant, he saw Yichen stagger to Liu Dong.

Liu Dong was overjoyed and was about to move to subdue Yichen when suddenly...

Boom

Liu Dong's vision blurred, and a seemingly delicate but powerful fist, swift as the wind, was heading straight for his chest.

"Damn!" The sudden change caught Liu Dong off guard. He instinctively raised his hands to block.

Although he was caught off guard, Liu Dong was still strong and calm. He tried to use his near-Battle Supervisor strength to counter Yichen's attack.

Given their strength, if Liu Dong had blocked the punch, Yichen might not have had an advantage.

Pang

However, Liu Dong blocked in vain. His face froze as he was hit hard.

"Ahh!" Liu Dong cried out, his nose stinging, and two streams of blood shot out of his nostrils.

Pang pang pang...

Yichen, taking advantage of the situation, did not stop. He took advantage of Liu Dong's slow reaction and delivered several punches to his chest, like a drumbeat.

First, he pretended to be weak, not using his full strength when punching Liu Xi, to麻痹the opponent. Then, he attacked Liu Dong with a mix of real and feigned moves, catching him off guard.

"Brother!" Liu Xi was shocked by the scene. Seeing his brother being beaten helplessly, he didn't know what to do.

Puh

Liu Dong, despite his cultivation, was powerless against Yichen's fierce attacks. He finally couldn't hold back the blood rushing up and spat it out, falling to the ground like a wooden stake.

"Get up, aren't you one of the top ten experts in Tianyun City? How can you be so weak?" After knocking down Liu Dong, Yichen was still angry and stomped on him until he passed out.

Then, leaving the stunned Liu Xi behind, Yichen dusted off his hands and walked away.

Seeing Yichen return safely, the whole family was happy.

His twelve-year-old brother, Yiqi, and eight-year-old sister, Yiyue, asked him all sorts of questions, leaving Yichen no time to answer.

Yi Chunchang remembered that when Yichen was born, he was surrounded by a faint blue halo, and from the halo, he saw many strange phenomena.

Although he couldn't determine exactly what it meant, he clearly felt a voice telling him that this child was different from others and had a special identity...

Therefore, Yi Chunchang was not too surprised by Yichen's experiences. As long as his son returned safely, it was a cause for celebration.

After Yichen returned, everything in the Yi family returned to normal.

Every night, Yichen would hide in a secluded spot by the rockery in the backyard to practice the Earth Technique, consolidating his cultivation and then gradually advancing.

As his practice deepened, the absorbed Earth Qi of the Five Elements gradually became more concentrated, entering his meridians and then being transported to various parts of his body.

He could also control it with his mind, gathering it in one place and releasing it with a punch or palm, greatly increasing his strength, and the air would vibrate when his fist hit.

He could also use it to conceal himself, as the Earth Qi of the Five Elements filled his body, making his color lighter and blending with the surroundings, making him hard to detect.

But Yichen remembered Jinka's advice to consolidate his cultivation and not rush, so these days, his cultivation was still at the Seventh Rank Battle Master level, but his realm had already surpassed it.

At the same time, he had the Sun and Moon Pot refine some of the herbs given to him by Jinka according to the methods described in the booklet.

After refining the herbs into pills, he would put them back into the Sun and Moon space in the pot, ready to use when needed.

The Yi family kiln had recently produced a batch of high-quality ceramics, ready to be sent to the City Lord's residence in Tianyun City.

The person in charge of the escort was Huo Ning, a burly middle-aged man with a cultivation level of Fifth Rank Battle Supervisor. The other fifteen people had cultivation levels ranging from Sixth to Ninth Rank Battle Masters.

Such an escort team for just two carts of ceramics, destined for the City Lord's residence, was virtually foolproof.

Therefore, when Yichen asked his father to let him go along to see, Yi Chunchang agreed without hesitation.

The distance from Yishi Village to the City Lord's residence was about a thousand miles, passing through a hundred-mile forest. Occasionally, small groups of bandits would appear, but they were generally not interested in fragile items like ceramics.

Since the forest was close to the Tianluo Mountains, they might also encounter monsters, mostly of the first and second ranks, with very few third-rank monsters.

On the Tianluo Continent, monsters were divided into nine ranks, corresponding to the cultivation levels of martial artists, such as first rank corresponding to Warrior, second rank to Battle Master... The attack power of monsters was equivalent to the mid-level of the same rank.

As long as a large number of monsters did not appear, they would not pose a threat to the convoy.

At the Liu family residence in Liushi Village.

Liu An was discussing with his eldest son, Liu Dong, "Dong, if you had a fair fight with that kid, you would definitely win, but you didn't listen, sigh."

"For years, we have never had the upper hand in our conflicts with Yishi Village. This grudge must be avenged. Now, the Yi family has a batch of goods worth 50,000 crystals, to be sent to Tianyun City tomorrow, and that kid Yichen is going along."

"Father's meaning... to rob?" Liu Dong had been harboring a grudge and felt that this was finally a chance for revenge: "And to cripple that kid."

"Not us robbing, you go to Tianyun City and find your godfather, who has connections with the Black Eagle Bandits..."

"After the deed is done, all the loot will be handled by your godfather, and you won't take a single coin. As for Yichen, you won't make a move, just tell the Black Eagles to take care of him."

"Keep this a secret, and don't show your face. Always stay 'out of it' and keep yourself clean, remember, remember!"

After their secret discussion, the father and son were both smiling.

Liu Dong and Liu Xi's miscalculation gave Yichen a big advantage. Liu Dong's injuries had not fully healed, and Liu Xi was terrified of Yichen and did not dare to challenge him again.

Although they could not take the title of young genius from Yichen for now, they would never forget this grudge.

Whether for revenge or to vent, Liu An was willing to do anything that would harm the Yi family.

Using others to achieve his goals without involving himself, and doing it secretly, was undoubtedly the best plan.

Under Liu An's scheming, Yichen's journey was fraught with danger.

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