The Stone Fall Fist: fists like falling stones, strikes like shooting stars. Its intent was awe-inspiring and utterly relentless.

Having landed a successful blow, Lin Hao didn’t pause. His movements were swift and fierce, like a flood dragon bursting from the sea, as he lunged at the next man.

A Martial Artist at the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm had been blown to pieces by a single punch. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, the guards would have dismissed it as an impossible fantasy.

This sudden turn of events stunned them into a second of inaction.

And in that single second, Lin Hao’s fist arrived.

The man under attack was scared witless. He wanted to retreat but was horrified to find that his opponent’s aura had locked firmly onto him.

As if possessed, he repeated the exact same move as the first man.

CLANG!

Unsurprisingly, the broadsword, forged from tempered steel, shattered into innumerable fragments. He, too, exploded and died.

Lin Hao’s cultivation was at the Peak of the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm. His heart was filled with boundless killing intent as he furiously channeled the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill. Now, as he executed the Stone Fall Fist with his full power, its might was immeasurably greater than when he had fought Housekeeper Mo.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Hao had obliterated three men. Bathed in their blood, he looked like a war god straight from Hell.

"Form up! For—" Before he could finish, an overwhelmingly powerful fist arrived. Amidst a spray of gore, someone finally managed to let out a bloodcurdling scream.

As a member of the Lin family, Lin Hao naturally knew the power of their formation techniques. He would never give them a chance to assemble. His body moved like a weaving dragon, his fists like falling stones—utterly tyrannical.

Screams of agony rang out ceaselessly. Before long, another four men fell to Lin Hao’s Tyrant Fist.

"What’s that sound?" Inside the building, Lin Zheng was startled by the screams. He cocked his head to listen, and his expression turned incredibly grim.

Just as he was about to move, the door was violently thrown open from the outside. A guard stumbled and crawled in, collapsing before Lin Zheng and crying out in terror, "Young Master, it’s terrible! Someone is forcing their way into the ancestral shrine! He’s too powerful! We need you to take action, Young Master!"

"What?! The sheer audacity! To dare force your way into the Lin family’s ancestral shrine! I’d like to see just who has such a death wish, daring to run wild on Lin family grounds!"

Lin Zheng’s face twisted with fury as a powerful, malevolent aura erupted from him.

And in the time it took them to speak, Lin Hao, like a wolf among sheep, had finished off four more men. The slaughter continued.

CLANG!

Lin Hao’s fist once again clashed with a broadsword, producing a clear, metallic ring.

The longsword shattered on impact, and the man was sent flying backward like a ragdoll. After tumbling across the ground, he actually managed to sit up.

A look of joy appeared on his face. But in the next moment, cracks spread across his body, and he died, his eyes wide in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao’s body swayed slightly.

The wide, sweeping attacks were a massive drain on his stamina. Lin Hao was beginning to feel his strength wane.

"He’s exhausted! We can kill him!" someone shouted gleefully.

But for all their talk, no one dared to step forward.

Lin Hao’s fists were like the Reaper’s Scythe. He had already claimed eleven lives, striking terror deep into their hearts.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Hao focused on circulating his Cultivation Technique to regulate his breathing and recover his energy.

Just then, the first set of doors to the ancestral shrine swung open.

Lin Zheng looked at the carnage before him, a flicker of shock crossing his face.

A third of his men, dozens of them, had been lost in an instant. Not a single complete corpse remained. ’Even I couldn’t do this!’

’Such methods... so bloody and cruel, it’s enough to make one’s skin crawl.’

Looking at Lin Hao, who stood proudly in the center of the courtyard, bathed from head to toe in blood, Lin Zheng forced a smile.

"W-Who are you, sir? This is the Lin family’s ancestral shrine. Please leave at once, and I can pretend none of this ever happened." Faced with such a terrifying figure, Lin Zheng chose conciliation.

When he spoke, the guards, surprisingly, did not think Lin Zheng was being cowardly. This monster’s rampage had made their very souls tremble; they were terrified beyond words.

Lin Hao’s response, however, was to attack without warning!

His body exploded into motion, and the Tyrant Fist struck again!

CLANG!

Another man, along with his sword, was blown to pieces!

’The Lin family’s Stone Fall Fist! He’s one of us!’ Though Lin Hao’s punches were fast, Lin Zheng, at the Eighth Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm, recognized the martial art at a single glance.

"Stop!" Lin Zheng roared, utterly enraged.

After seeing that one move, Lin Zheng had a rough idea of the intruder’s cultivation level and cast aside his worries.

Lin Hao sneered inwardly. ’Lin Zheng preys on the weak and fears the strong. If the Lin family ever falls into the hands of someone like him, its very foundation will crumble.’

Without breaking stride, Lin Hao charged onward.

When Lin Zheng appeared, the guards seemed to find their backbone and retreated toward him, putting some distance between themselves and Lin Hao.

"Useless trash! Lin Cheng, you get him!" Lin Zheng roared, his face livid.

"Yes, sir." Lin Cheng answered, leaping down from the steps.

The moment Lin Cheng had appeared, the sight of Lin Hao’s fists had sparked a sense of familiarity.

After staring intently at Lin Hao for a moment, the feeling grew stronger. Even if Lin Zheng hadn’t ordered him, he would have volunteered for this fight.

"I don’t kill nobodies. State your name!" Lin Cheng said, landing before Lin Hao with extreme arrogance.

Lin Hao snapped his head up, his blood-red eyes locking onto Lin Cheng.

"It’s you?!"

When Lin Cheng saw Lin Hao’s face clearly, the color drained from his own.

The guards of the Lin family’s ancestral shrine never stepped foot outside its grounds, so of course, they didn’t recognize Lin Hao. But Lin Cheng was different. Even when Lin Hao had been reduced to a living corpse, Lin Cheng had seen him almost every day, taking pleasure in bullying him.

Now, seeing Lin Hao’s blood-red eyes, Lin Cheng was shocked. "Lin Hao, don’t tell me you’ve recovered?!"

’Those eyes held endless killing intent. That’s not the look of a fool.’

"What?!" Atop the steps, Lin Zheng’s expression changed as well upon hearing this.

After a moment, Lin Zheng calmed himself.

But when he thought about what had happened in the assembly hall yesterday, his face turned livid. "Good, good! So good!" he said, his voice dripping with venom. "Lin Hao, so you’ve been playing us for fools all this time! Now that Lu Dieyi is gone, no one can save you, unless she decides to come back for you!"

Little did he know, Lu Dieyi had that exact intention.

「A thousand li from War Dragon City.」 On a main road, a magnificent carriage was speeding along.

Inside the carriage, Nanny Lu was speaking with Lu Dieyi.

"My lady, why did you have to break off the engagement with Young Master Lin Hao?" Nanny Lu asked, perplexed.

She had watched Lu Dieyi grow up; she knew the young woman’s heart. She couldn’t understand why Lu Dieyi would go through this trouble, especially since she was already planning to take Lin Hao to the Proud Moon Sect.

Lu Dieyi, who had been as cold as ice before Lin Tianhao, now looked bashful in front of her nanny.

"Nanny, just think. If I didn’t break off the engagement, and word of it spread to the capital... even if we were already at the Proud Moon Sect, should Lin Wu decide to move against Brother Hao, the Sect wouldn’t be able to protect him."

"Not only that, but after weighing the pros and cons, the Proud Moon Sect might even put pressure on us. It’s far better to end the engagement now than to be forced to do it at the Sect later."

"If Brother Hao hadn’t recovered by then, it might have been fine. But if he had, knowing Lin Wu’s character, news of our broken engagement would spread across the lands in no time. Brother Hao would be devastated."

As she finished speaking, Lu Dieyi’s face filled with indignation.

Now, she was almost certain that Lin Wu had been the one to harm her Brother Hao. Perhaps even Lin Wu’s rumored bloodline awakening was connected to what he’d done to him!

Originally, Lu Dieyi had come to War Dragon City fully intending to take Lin Hao with her. But yesterday, Lin Hao had suddenly disappeared, and she was in a rush to report to the Proud Moon Sect. Weighing her options, she had chosen the latter.

’After all, to protect Lin Hao, I need immense strength. And only by entering the Sect can I advance my cultivation more quickly.’

"My lady, what if Young Master Lin was really just pretending to be a fool? You tell him you’ll take him to the Proud Moon Sect, but then you break off the engagement... Don’t you think he might misunderstand?"

Lu Dieyi had already told her nanny everything about Lin Hao’s situation. Recalling his formidable physique, Nanny Lu’s own doubts deepened.

"Oh!" Lu Dieyi froze, and the color drained from her beautiful face.

’If what Nanny says is true, this is a disaster.’

"Nanny, we’re returning to War Dragon City!" Lu Dieyi made her decision instantly. She had to go back and explain everything in person.

"My lady, this might not necessarily be a bad thing. If he really is faking it, perhaps this will be the spur he needs to strive even harder. It’s just... you may have to suffer being misunderstood for a while."

"For him, I’m not afraid! Nanny, we’ll return to our estate, and then I’m going to the Proud Moon Sect!" Lu Dieyi’s voice was firm.

The carriage rumbled on, growing more and more distant...

What they could never have imagined was that this misunderstanding would only deepen, for they had underestimated a certain someone. Though he was far away in the Imperial City, he had already accounted for innumerable possibilities.

Of course, neither Lu Dieyi nor Lin Hao knew that they were already pawns in someone else’s scheme.

「Outside the Lin Family Ancestral Shrine.」

Lin Hao stood tall and finally spoke. "Play you for fools? You’re not even worthy."

Utterly arrogant!

"I walk my own path! You, Lu Dieyi, Lin Wu... I will crush every last one of you under my heel!" Lin Hao advanced, his eyes fixed on Lin Zheng, completely ignoring the presence of Lin Cheng before him.

Lin Zheng’s face was livid with rage. He roared, "Lin Cheng, take him down!"

Lin Hao’s contemptuous attitude had already enraged Lin Cheng. At the command, he threw a punch, unleashing the Lin family’s martial art—the Celestial Wheel Fist!

The gap between the Third and Fourth Layers of the Blood Coagulation Realm was immense. Lin Hao had learned that lesson on Tiduan Mountain, so he wasn’t arrogant enough to clash head-on.

The last time he’d encountered Lin Cheng, Lin Hao had been powerless to fight back. That didn’t mean he was powerless today.

Body Technique: Phantom Step!

’Although the simplified version of the technique hardly lives up to the name, it’s more than enough to deal with Lin Cheng.’

With a single, strange step, Lin Hao vanished. To Lin Cheng, it was just a blur.

The move worked. Lin Hao appeared at Lin Cheng’s left, his Stone Fall Fist whistling through the air.

Lin Cheng, a Martial Artist at the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer, was nothing like those guards. He sensed Lin Hao’s fist almost the instant it was thrown.

A cold smirk touched Lin Cheng’s lips. He turned and threw a punch in one smooth, fluid motion.

Of course, Lin Hao wasn’t foolish enough to meet the blow head-on. He took another step, and Lin Cheng’s fist once again struck empty air.

Lin Cheng’s smile froze on his face.

"Damn you! I’ll kill you!" Lin Cheng roared, flying into a rage.

Unfortunately for him, words couldn’t kill.

Lin Hao’s footwork grew more and more proficient. Before long, not only had Lin Cheng failed to even touch the hem of his clothes, but he had also taken a punch to the back!

The power of Lin Hao’s punch was terrifying. Although Lin Cheng had instinctively raised his defenses, he was still sent flying, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

One moment, Lin Cheng had been brazenly vowing to kill Lin Hao. The next, he was coughing up blood from his opponent’s blow. Reality, for Lin Cheng, was a cruel thing indeed.