Bang!

The drunkard Liu Zhanpeng flew straight out of the tavern, landing heavily on the ground.

His clothes bore scorch marks everywhere, and his hair stood on end.

But the most striking was the blackened knife scar crossing from his right shoulder to his left waist.

"’Kill’?!"

A cry of astonishment from the crowd conveyed the truth.

Exclamations arose continuously, Su Lin patted the dust on his coat and strode out of the tavern, his sharp gaze cutting like a knife over the onlookers outside.

The crowd stood uncertain and astonished.

That drunkard Liu Zhanpeng was defeated?!

And he was bested in a bare-handed fight!

While they mocked Liu Zhanpeng often, they were well aware of his capabilities.

His mastery of Drunken Fist was almost unrivaled among Kidney Lock martial artists.

The eyes of town-level guests flickered with mysterious light, and upon seeing Su Lin’s qi and blood, they looked as if struck by lightning, faces full of shock and disbelief.

"Did he just undergo his First Transformation?"

He just underwent his First Transformation and defeated Liu Zhanpeng, who unlocked his Kidney Lock?

Liu Jun and Zheng Weimin walked out of the tavern, looking at the groaning Liu Zhanpeng lying on the ground, overhearing the stunned whispers of those proud, town-level guests, with shock, joy, and pride overflowing from their eyes.

No one had expected that Su Lin, who just broke through his First Transformation, could beat a powerful martial artist from town!

And it seems this was no ordinary First Transformation!

Could Old Su do it?

Could it be...

Is Su Lin now stronger than Old Su?!

Just at that moment, Mengyi and Dao Guan, entrusted by Su Qi, arrived with the group.

The few who saw the scene were momentarily stunned.

Mengyi and Dao Guan, upon recognizing Liu Zhanpeng lying on the ground, had their gaze change upon facing Su Lin.

"Whoa? No need for us anymore?"

The scruffy Daoist clicked his tongue as he approached, looking at Liu Zhanpeng on the ground with amusement:

"I heard someone was making a drunken ruckus, and I immediately guessed it was you, stupid drunk, tired of living? Came to cause trouble in my Zhoushan Town’s sheltered village?"

He nudged Liu Zhanpeng’s rear with his toe.

Liu Zhanpeng covered his charred wound and moaned twice.

Dao Guan bent down to check his injuries, clasped his palms together, and said:

"Amitabha Buddha, Donor Su acted with control and his qi and blood were precisely managed, only breaking through the armor’s defense, electrocuting and scorching some skin, no serious harm."

Upon hearing this, Mengyi viciously kicked his wound:

"Hear that? Get up quickly!"

"Ouch!" Pretending to be dead, Liu Zhanpeng wailed painfully.

"Still yelling? Not getting up?" Mengyi feigned another kick.

"Getting up! Getting up!"

Liu Zhanpeng scrambled up, cold sweat of pain on his forehead, looking at Su Lin with eyes full of shock and indignation.

He muttered:

"I’m finished, my life is ruined, beaten by a country bumpkin."

Mengyi heard and rolled his eyes, speaking irritably:

"Your life was nearly ruined the moment you became a drunk!"

He turned to Su Lin and said:

"This guy was once a genius on par with me and Dao Guan, but fell into endless drunken stupor because his dog died."

"Lili is my wife!!" Liu Zhanpeng suddenly roared fiercely: "Lili is my wife! And my wife isn’t dead, she was captured by someone! Taken away!!"

Su Lin’s face turned oddly, that’s a lot of information.

"Sure, sure, Lili is your wife, not your dog."

Mengyi replied perfunctorily, then gave Su Lin a helpless look and whispered to him:

"You’ll see many people like this in the future, don’t be too surprised."

Su Lin hadn’t spoken yet, Liu Zhanpeng approached sullenly and shouted:

"Don’t believe them! Lili was indeed captured!"

After saying that, he gave Su Lin a deep look, held his wound, and limped away.

...

...

Su Family’s Old Mansion.

Exhausted from the day, Su Can was relaxing with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, he faintly heard footsteps outside the house, his face tensed, fearing trouble might be coming.

Before long, he discerned the steady and forceful footsteps, and among them, unmistakably was his grandson’s stride!

Su Can’s eyes snapped open, seeing Su Lin’s face, his tired eyes burst into a brilliant light, joy surged within them.

Suppressing his excitement, he softly asked:

"Finished your seclusion?"

Su Lin nodded, smiled, and said:

"First Transformation."

"Good!" Su Can broke into a wide grin, unable to hide his pride.

Su Lin breaking through to First Transformation eased his concern about leaving him in the Heartland Wilderness.

With Divine Speed, even if facing defeat, escape wouldn’t be an issue.

"He didn’t stop at merely breaking through."

Having caught wind outside and rushed home, Su Qi entered the room beaming, announcing without getting close:

"Just after breaking through, he defeated a Kidney Lock martial artist; this news has spread everywhere, even the guests from town were astonished."

Approaching Su Lin, he studied him for a while and heavily patted his shoulder, genuinely happy for his nephew, feeling somewhat sentimental:

"In the past... I never imagined such a day would come."

That was only last month, yet suddenly it felt like ages had passed.

Last month’s nephew was still the useless fool, the mud that couldn’t be lifted from the wall.

Then, seemingly overnight, wisdom awakened within, transforming entirely into his present form.

"...Big brother and sister-in-law, hearing of your current state from beyond, would surely shed tears of relief for you."