Chapter 13

Li Yan's eyes suddenly became incredibly sharp, like those of a fierce beast about to pounce, staring intently at Lin Yiming. The spiritual energy within his body had already begun to flow.

Sensing Li Yan's change, Lin Yiming's body tensed, and he assumed the starting stance of the Great Peng Fist. The opponent was a late-stage Spirit Lock expert, two levels higher than his own early-stage Spirit Lock. However, he was not without the strength to fight.

The spiritual energy he had absorbed came from the Immortal Realm, far stronger than ordinary spiritual energy. His aura was purer than the opponent's, and he was not necessarily inferior.

"Do you still want to fight?" Li Yan laughed out loud when he saw Lin Yiming assume the starting stance: "You used Farmer's Fist just now. I bet you don't know any other moves besides Farmer's Fist. Ha, what a joke, you actually want to fight me with Farmer's Fist! I'll show you the power of a high-level beginner's fist technique."

Li Yan laughed loudly and pounced on Lin Yiming. As he moved, the air around him even produced a whistling sound. The fact that the opponent was using Farmer's Fist was truly hilarious.

Farmer's Fist was the most basic fist technique, even a six or seven-year-old child could use it to fight. What else could it be but a death wish?

He had learned a beginner's martial technique from the martial arts school, and the fist technique he used was one of the most powerful among beginner's martial techniques.

With a higher realm and a more advanced technique, dealing with this kid should be a piece of cake!

"Flower-Falling Sword Palm!"

Amidst the whistling wind, Li Yan's hands moved swiftly, and his palms struck down, as if sword flowers were blooming, enveloping Lin Yiming.

"Amazing!"

"Master Li Yan is truly incredible. This is the power of a late-stage Spirit Lock expert."

"Using his palms like a sword, creating sword flowers!"

"That kid only knows Farmer's Fist, yet he dares to challenge Master Li Yan. What a fool!"

The crowd from Peach and Plum Village cheered at Li Yan's attack. On the other side, the people from South Lin Village's faces were filled with worry.

"Be careful, Xiao Ming!"

At Lin Ning's alarmed cry, Lin Yiming's body tensed, his muscles instantly tightening as he watched Li Yan's attack. Just as Li Yan's attack was about to land, he shifted his feet and dodged.

Li Yan's palms missed, and he was momentarily stunned. Before he could react, Lin Yiming moved again, stepping forward and darting in front of Li Yan. He bent his elbow, twisted his waist, and delivered a powerful elbow strike to Li Yan's chest.

The elbow struck Li Yan's chest like a sharp spear, causing a piercing pain. A powerful force surged through his body, and he was thrown far away, landing heavily on the ground.

"Thud!"

A dull sound echoed on the riverbank as Li Yan hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The impact made him feel as if his bones were shattered, and his chest was in excruciating pain. His heart seemed to have been displaced by the attack, and he even wondered if it had been punctured.

Li Yan struggled to lift his head, his eyes vacant as he stared at the young man in front of him, his face full of confusion. He had lost, and lost so decisively, in just one move, without even touching the opponent. How could this be?

He was a late-stage Spirit Lock expert, two levels higher than this kid, and his martial technique was far superior to the kid's Farmer's Fist. Yet, he had lost!

That kid didn't look like an early-stage Spirit Lock warrior at all. His speed was incredibly fast, and the power of that elbow strike was far greater than his own. How could an early-stage Spirit Lock warrior have such strength?

Li Yan couldn't understand how this kid could be so strong.

As Li Yan lay on the ground, a few farmers from Peach and Plum Village shouted and, almost instinctively, raised their hoes and swung them at Lin Yiming's head.

Lin Yiming's eyes narrowed, and he slightly turned his head to avoid the hoe, simultaneously slashing his hand like a knife at the wooden handle of the hoe.

The hand knife cut through the air with a cold, sharp wind, and the wooden handle of the hoe snapped as if struck by a sharp mountain cleaver. The iron part of the hoe flew into the river.

He had cut the wooden handle of the hoe with just his palm!

The farmers who had attacked were shocked by Lin Yiming's action. They realized that this young man had defeated Master Li Yan in one move.

Master Li Yan was a warrior who could defeat all of them alone. If not for Li Yan, his father wouldn't have regained the position of village chief upon his return.

If this person could defeat Master Li Yan, how could they possibly be a match for him?

Thinking this, the farmers from Peach and Plum Village looked fearful and quietly retreated.

At this moment, the people from South Lin Village also realized they had won. Lin Yiming had defeated the opponent's expert! It was said that the opponent was a late-stage Spirit Lock expert, which meant Lin Yiming must be at least at the same level or even higher.

However, Lin Yiming had not mentioned reaching the late-stage Spirit Lock.

The old farmers, though surprised, were more joyful. They knew little about martial arts, but now that they had won, they could open the riverbank.

If the riverbank was opened, their harvest this year would be secure.

Among the crowd, Lin Ning was both surprised and delighted, but her joy was mostly for her brother, Lin Yiming, her prodigious brother who had finally returned.

Lin Yiming walked to where Li Yan had been thrown, looking at him, who had almost no strength left to fight. He was even more surprised than the others.

He knew that the spiritual energy he absorbed from the Immortal Realm made him stronger than others at the same level, but he never expected to be this powerful.

Although the fight with Li Yan was brief, he could clearly feel that he had completely dominated Li Yan.

In terms of speed and strength, he was superior to Li Yan.

Despite being two levels lower, he fought as if Li Yan was two levels lower than him.

The spiritual energy from the Immortal Realm was truly extraordinary!

Lin Yiming walked to Li Yan, about to speak, when a group of people rushed up from below the riverbank.

"Village Chief, it's Village Chief Li San Shui!"

Li San Shui led a group of people who rushed up the riverbank. Seeing the situation, they were stunned.

"Li Yan, what happened? Who injured you?"

Li San Shui saw his son lying on the ground and shouted loudly. But as soon as he spoke, he realized something was wrong. His son was a peak late-stage Spirit Lock warrior; who in this area could defeat him? Could it be that South Lin Village or Lin Ning had brought in an expert from outside?

Li San Shui's gaze swept over the crowd from South Lin Village. He had rushed over because he heard that Lin Ning had brought people to argue. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have come, but Lin Ning was different.

Lin Ning was the woman Liu Yuliang had his eye on, and Li Yan, who had just returned to the village, didn't know about this. Li San Shui was afraid Li Yan might have improper thoughts about Lin Ning, so he rushed over to stop him. But when he arrived, he saw this scene.

Li Yan, however, was straightforward and didn't answer his father.

He looked at Lin Yiming, who stood calmly, and gritted his teeth. "Father, open the riverbank and let the water flow. Let's go back."

He knew he had been defeated, and if the other side wanted to release the water, no one could stop them. Since that was the case, he might as well let the water flow. As for that young man, as long as he didn't die, he would find a chance to take revenge. A smart man doesn't suffer a loss in front of others, and Li Yan was not a rash person.

Although Li San Shui didn't know what had happened, he understood the other side's purpose. Without asking more, he waved his hand and said, "Let the water flow."

Then he pointed at his son on the ground and said to the people around him, "Let's go back."

The villagers from Peach and Plum Village understood the village chief's meaning and immediately helped Li Yan up, ready to follow Li San Shui. But before they could leave, Lin Ning's voice rang out.

"Village Chief Li San Shui, you captured our villagers..."

"Oh, you mean that?" Li San Shui had to stop and forced a smile, saying insincerely, "That was a misunderstanding. We'll release them immediately, right away!"

Since his son had been defeated, he had to release the captives.

Soon, the riverbank was opened, and the villagers from Peach and Plum Village released the three captives.

Lin Yiming and his sister, along with the villagers, returned to their village.

Before they returned, the news of what had happened in Peach and Plum Village had already been relayed to the villagers, who were prepared for the water release.

As soon as Lin Yiming returned to the village, he was surrounded by the villagers, who praised their village hero. Even the children he usually taught ran over.

"Brother Yiming, you're so amazing. You defeated the bad guy. We want to learn martial arts from you!"

"Right, Brother Yiming, we want to learn martial arts from you. We won't take the entrance exams for the sects; we want to learn from you!"

"Not taking the entrance exams? That's not right!" Lin Yiming's face turned serious when he heard the children's words. "You still need to take the entrance exams. You must understand that the sects have many resources that Brother Yiming doesn't have. In the sects, you can gain more knowledge, learn more martial arts, and read more books.

Brother Yiming learned everything from the books in the sect. Even I need to retake the entrance exams to rejoin the sect."

As he spoke, Lin Yiming thought to himself that with his ability to absorb spiritual energy from the Immortal Realm, entering the Martial Dao Spirit Heart should not be a problem. Once he entered the Martial Dao Spirit Heart, he would need to return to the sect. He didn't know the cultivation methods after the Martial Dao Spirit Heart.

I wonder how my master is doing in the sect?

At the same time, in Peach and Plum Village.

Through his son's account, Li San Shui finally understood what had happened.

"So it was him. The person you mentioned is Lin Ning's brother. Six years ago, he was the most famous prodigy in the entire county. But because he couldn't draw in qi, he was expelled from the Water Condensation Sect. Now it seems everything might have been a rumor."

Li San Shui sighed. "Now that South Lin Village has Lin Yiming, we can't cut off their water supply or demand money from them. This means we'll have to find another way to fund your martial arts training."

"No need to find another way," Li Yan said with a ruthless look. "My two senior brothers will be coming to our town in the next two days. Father, I'll write them a letter inviting them here. Their strength is on par with mine. I can't defeat Lin Yiming alone, but with the three of us working together, we can definitely take him down!"