"Zhao Feilong? He’s a Zhao, too!"

Zhao Lin muttered to himself. As he spoke, he took off his outer shirt and tore off a large strip of fabric.

Liang Song asked, "What are you ripping your clothes for?"

"We can’t get out of the city tonight. I’m worried the bandits will use the Fragrant Mink to find us. This shirt has the scent of Musk on it, so it should be able to mislead their search."

Zhao Lin explained, his eyes scanning the street. He spotted a stray dog chewing on some trash by the roadside.

He walked over, slowly approaching the stray. Suddenly, he lunged, pinning it down. He wrapped the strip of cloth around its body three times and tied a dead knot.

The stray dog, thinking it was about to be caught and eaten, barked frantically and turned to snarl, baring its teeth.

After securing the cloth, Zhao Lin kicked the dog away.

"Go on, the farther you run, the better."

Having regained its freedom, the stray immediately tucked its tail between its legs and vanished without a trace.

Without further delay, the two of them wound through the streets and alleys, making several loops. Only after they were sure no one was following them did they find an inn near the local magistrate’s office to stay the night.

They deliberately chose a room with multiple escape routes.

The two conferred and decided that Zhao Lin would take the first watch and Liang Song the second.

Liang Song was exhausted and soon fell asleep. Zhao Lin stared at the door, not feeling the slightest bit drowsy.

Today had been the closest he had ever come to death in his life.

Recalling the terrifying moment from before, he felt the lingering fear of his narrow escape.

That incredibly sharp sword strike was still etched in his mind, refusing to fade.

’So strong!’

’Senior Yuan Cheng is also in the Qi Realm. I’ve sparred with him. I’m no match for him, but I never felt he was that much stronger than me.’

But facing the Heartless Pillar sent by the bandits, he felt a sense of powerlessness, of being completely unable to resist.

’No wonder Zhu Huaishan once asked me whether realm or real combat experience was more important.’

’It seems that even at the same realm, there can be a world of difference in strength.’

Yuan Cheng had been training at the Liuhe Sect his whole life. He had plenty of combat experience, but most of it was from friendly spars with fellow disciples or competitions between sects and martial arts schools.

They were contests of skill, not life-or-death battles.

But the Heartless Pillar, Zhao Feilong, was a man who had killed countless people, a veteran of life-and-death struggles.

The difference in their experience with lethal combat was immense.

’I used to think that if I met an enemy I couldn’t beat, I could just run. Now I realize I was being naive.’

’When the enemy ambushed me from the shadows, I was completely powerless to fight back. If Liang Song hadn’t drawn his blade and broken his rhythm, I’d probably be a corpse right now.’

’Even my speed, something I prided myself on—my ability to dodge and weave in tight spaces, my explosive sprints—he was no slower than me.’

’Unless I can also reach the Qi Realm...’

’But unfortunately, advancing one’s realm takes time to cultivate; it can’t be achieved overnight.’

Zhao Lin racked his brain but couldn’t come up with any good counter-strategies.

"CLACK, CLACK, CLACK, CLACK..."

"All’s well..."

The sound of the fourth-watch clapper echoed from the street. Only then did Zhao Lin realize the second half of the night had passed. He woke Liang Song, collapsed onto the bed himself, and drifted into a hazy sleep.

...

"Although the Six Harmonies Staff is named ’Six Harmonies,’ its techniques are completely different from the Fist Skill. It emphasizes fierce, swift, and varied attacks, with practical movements and tight, continuous forms..."

In the courtyard of the Liuhe Sect, Zhao Lin and Sun Xiaofan each held a medium-length staff, facing each other. Yuan Cheng stood to the side, instructing them.

According to the rules of the Liuhe Sect, new disciples spent their first year practicing fist-work and only began learning weapons in their second year.

Having experienced yesterday’s assassination attempt, Zhao Lin understood the power of blades and requested to learn weapons ahead of schedule.

Zhu Huaishan understood his current situation and had Yuan Cheng teach him and Sun Xiaofan the Six Harmonies Staff technique.

"The Six Harmonies Staff isn’t just a staff technique. Wielded in one hand, it can be a saber or a sword; in two hands, it can be a staff or a spear. Your footwork must be nimble, and your power fluid..." Yuan Cheng demonstrated as he spoke.

Zhao Lin studied with extreme diligence, repeatedly practicing the staff forms.

Right now, he only knew two weapon techniques: the throwing axe and the spear thrust. They were difficult to apply in a real fight.

Sun Xiaofan grinned and asked, "Senior Yuan, why do we have to use a staff as if it were a saber or a spear? Why not just use real sabers and spears?"

Zhao Lin had the same question and couldn’t help but look at Yuan Cheng.

Yuan Cheng shot Sun Xiaofan a glare. "What, is using a staff not exciting enough for you?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Sun Xiaofan scratched his head. "I just think sabers and swords are easier to carry, and they’re more powerful, hehe..."

Yuan Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "A regular steel saber costs two taels of silver. A double-edged sword costs double that."

"If you strike with full force, the edge will be ruined in a single day. If we trained like that, it would cost dozens of taels of silver a month. Can you afford that?"

"That’s a fortune!"

Sun Xiaofan stuck out his tongue. "Then never mind."

Yuan Cheng’s expression turned serious. "Money is one thing, but blades and spears don’t have eyes; it’s easy to slip up and hurt someone. A wooden staff is sturdy and durable, and getting hit with one won’t kill you..."

At dusk, Zhao Lin finished his day’s training and went to a blacksmith’s shop to buy a whistling cudgel.

This was the same type of short, self-defense cudgel used by Wu Song in *Water Margin*. It was made from beef-tendon wood, which was difficult to cut through with an ordinary sword or saber.

The head of the cudgel was wrapped in sheet iron, and it made a whistling sound when swung, hence the name "whistling cudgel."

Two days passed in a flash.

Zhao Lin and Liang Song left the city without being ambushed by the bandits again. Paradoxically, this made them even more uneasy, feeling an invisible pressure.

They weren’t naive enough to think the bandits would just let them go. The Heartless Pillar, Zhao Feilong, was like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, ready to strike a fatal blow at any moment.

That night, Zhao Lin and Liang Song left the city, carrying a stray dog.

Halfway to their destination, they let the dog go—after putting a shirt on it—and then scattered chili powder along their path.

For now, the method seemed to work. The only downside was that it was a bit hard on their clothes.

The bandits’ Musk was their own concoction. Since they didn’t know the formula, this trick wouldn’t work forever.

Out of caution, the two didn’t spend the night in Zhou Pao’s cellar.

Going to the same place over and over was bound to give them away.

Under the cover of darkness, the two arrived at the base of a cliff on the northern ridge of Baitou Mountain.

There were many "abandonment caves" here, built long ago. During last year’s famine, several elderly people had died in them.

It was the transition from late summer to early autumn, and the weather was still warm. A layer of dry grass was all they needed to spend the night.

Zhao Lin found a cave that looked relatively clean and had no strange smells. Just as he was about to step inside, three palm-sized black shadows suddenly flew out.

One of the black shadows shot straight for his face.

Startled, Zhao Lin threw a punch.

With a SQUEAK, the black shadow fell to the ground.

Zhao Lin looked down. It was a bat.

"What’s wrong?"

Liang Song asked, poking his head out from a nearby cave.

"Nothing, just a bat," Zhao Lin replied casually.

Specks of silver light gathered as the bat’s Essence Soul rose.

Zhao Lin grinned as he looked at the tiny Essence Soul.

This type of bat was very small, but its ears were exceptionally large. Its nose and mouth were leaf-shaped, making it look like a chrysanthemum flower.

That’s why the locals called them big-eared flying mice, or Horseshoe Bats.

Horseshoe Bats commonly lived in caves, emerging in the summer to prey on nocturnal insects like mosquitoes and moths. They were especially common in the mountains.

Zhao Lin was about to step into the cave when he suddenly felt the Spirit Beast Scroll in his mind begin to tremble violently.

Whenever he encountered the Essence Soul of a Spirit Beast with a special ability, the Spirit Beast Scroll would react. The stronger the ability, the more violent the reaction.

’Isn’t it just a tiny bat?’

Zhao Lin muttered to himself, but the moment the words left his mouth, he froze.

Echolocation!