Chapter 41 Critical Situation

Meanwhile, inside a lavishly decorated apothecary in the Holy Capital, a massive deal had just been concluded.

A large batch of premium medicinal herbs, transported from the distant north, had been bought out entirely by this single shop. What delighted the store owner the most was that, given the herbs had traveled such a great distance, the seller logically should not have been in a rush to part with them. Instead, they should have taken their time to compare prices across multiple merchants and select the highest bidder. Yet this seller seemed to be facing some kind of trouble, hurriedly finalizing the transaction without much haggling.

"Daddy, do you think Big Brother Tong Jin is in the Holy Capital?" a little girl asked, her voice ringing out in the bustling market street as she bounced her twin braids, walking beside a child who looked remarkably like her.

"Don't worry. If we are destined to meet, we will surely see each other again," replied the solidly built man walking beside the two little girls.

These three were none other than the head of the Nanrong family and his two daughters, whom Tong Jin had encountered during his time in Shangshui City.

Nanrong Yao had just managed to offload the medicinal herbs he had escorted all the way here. The journey had been anything but easy. Not only had they encountered bandits and highwaymen in the first half of the trip, but unexpectedly, Nanrong Zhan had been forced to return to the family estate midway due to injuries. Without high-level martial artists to escort them through the latter half of the journey, Nanrong Yao had to exercise extreme caution at every turn, holding his breath whenever they were provoked by small-time gangs. After all, a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake, let alone their meager caravan of a dozen or so people, which could hardly be considered a powerful dragon.

Yet misfortunes never come singly. Just one day before reaching the Holy Capital, the caravan was targeted by a gang of bandits lying in wait outside the city. These outlaws specialized in watching the roads a dozen miles from the Holy Capital, specifically preying on caravans carrying goods from distant lands and attempting to enter the city. Nanrong Yao led his men in a desperate, life-or-death resistance, barely managing to escape and rushing into the city by nightfall. The majority of the caravan's personnel were left with varying degrees of injury.

Left with no choice, Nanrong Yao had to grit his teeth and sell the entire cartload of premium herbs as quickly as possible to resolve their immediate predicament. Once the sale was complete, he immediately rented out an entire floor of an inn and hired reputable physicians from the city to treat his injured men. Only then did he drag his exhausted body out to take his two daughters for a stroll to ease their minds.

Meanwhile, within the Tianchen Sect, an entirely different scene was unfolding.

Tong Jin stood glaring with a gloomy face at Sun Hao, who was gnashing his teeth not far away. None of the lackeys surrounding Sun Hao dared to charge forward again.

Though Tong Jin desperately wished to rush over and deliver a few fierce kicks to the man opposite him, his previous, inexplicable palm strike had caused the meridians within his body to churn like chaotic winds blowing from every direction. This turbulence made even the slightest movement trigger tearing pains throughout his frame.

"Damn it," Tong Jin cursed inwardly, quickly circulating his true qi to gradually pacify the violent currents raging within his meridians.

Although Sun Hao saw Tong Jin halt, the memory of that terrifying palm strike kept him from daring to make a reckless move. A moment later, however, he saw Tong Jin slowly walking toward him once again. By now, Tong Jin had largely recovered his mobility. Clenching his jaw tightly, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

Panic flickered in Sun Hao's heart, but he forced himself to maintain a calm exterior. Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a bamboo tube and fired it straight into the sky without a moment's hesitation. *Whoosh*—a flare shot directly into the heavens, bursting more than a hundred feet in mid-air. The smoke gathered without dispersing, forming a ball of vapor high above. It was the distress signal of the Tianchen Sect.

As the signal flared, the sound of several figures cleaving through the air echoed from the back courtyard, rushing toward the scene. Tong Jin’s ears twitched; he clearly recognized the large number of incoming arrivals, and as the rescue party drew closer, a series of oppressive auras bore down heavily upon the entire front courtyard.

Had he retreated right then, he could have escaped unscathed. Yet Tong Jin had no intention of fleeing. Instead, his eyes widened with fury, and true qi once again surged violently from his dantian, circulating along that peculiar pathway.

When the internal energy reached its peak, the airflow throughout the entire courtyard turned chaotic, causing Sun Hao's expression to grow solemn and even prompting a fleeting thought of retreat. The opponent's impending attack felt far more ferocious than the last, reaching the very threshold of the Qi-Transformation Realm's perfection stage. If that palm strike landed on him, survival would be impossible.

Before he could blink, Tong Jin's mind was once again thrown into turmoil by the rushing true qi. With a roar of "Wrath!" he lunged straight toward Sun Hao, thrusting both palms forward with absolute finality.

"Insolent!" A cold snort rang out from mid-air. Out of nowhere, a figure materialized directly between Tong Jin and Sun Hao. With a flick of his left hand, he cast the stunned Sun Hao several yards away, while his right hand glowed with a faint cyan light, crashing head-on against Tong Jin's incoming twin palms.

*Bang!*

Tong Jin felt as though his palms had struck a wall of solid bronze. A sharp cracking sound echoed from his wrists, and the backlash sent his body hurtling backward. He flew a full thirty feet before crashing heavily onto the ground. *Cough!* A surge of blood rose in his throat, and Tong Jin could not stop a stream of blood from spitting out.

As for the person who had abruptly intercepted him, he merely took two steps backward before steadily and calmly regaining his footing, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. A look of puzzlement then crossed his face. "To be able to force me back two steps with the strength of the nascent Spirit-Transformation Realm, you are the first. For that reason alone, I will spare your life, but I cannot allow you to continue cultivating."

He turned around to look at Sun Hao, who had been tossed several yards away and now stood with his head bowed. Frowning and shaking his head, the elder said, "Hao'er, just cripple his martial arts. Since master said I wouldn't kill him, break his tendons and toss him outside the gates." With that, he flicked his sleeve and vanished on the spot. As he disappeared, the several other figures who had rushed over likewise shook their heads and dissolved into thin air.

Sun Hao raised his head, his shifting expression contorting into one of bitter hatred. "You've made me lose such face today. Even if master said I cannot kill you, I will make you suffer every imaginable torture." He roared furiously, "Men, bring this little bastard over to me!"

Watching several burly men in black walk toward him, Tong Jin felt not a shred of fear. His hands were completely numb, yet he forcefully suppressed the churning blood within his chest, continuously regulating the violent currents in his meridians while assessing his surroundings.

Two of the men in black lifted Tong Jin as if he were a corpse and dumped him right at Sun Hao's feet.

Sun Hao lashed out with a vicious kick to Tong Jin's chest. *Thud!* Another mouthful of blood spewed forth, and amidst his scattered vision, Tong Jin caught the crazed expression of the man before him. One kick! Two kicks! Three kicks... Each blow was heavier than the last, every impact slamming like a heavy hammer against Tong Jin's internal organs. His body slid repeatedly across the ground, and at that moment, Sun Hao felt a warped, sadistic thrill.

"I want everyone to know the consequences of offending me, Sun Hao! I'm going to hack you into a human stump and plant you outside the gates of the Tianchen Sect, but I won't let you die. Let's see who dares to come and save you! Hhahahaha..." Bloodshot veins covered Sun Hao's eyes. If Tong Jin had previously made him feel terror, he was now determined to completely eradicate that fear!

Tong Jin endured the relentless barrage of kicks, his teeth nearly biting through his lips. Yet he held on—enduring the agony in his hands, the pain in his chest, and this humiliation that no ordinary person could bear! What he was waiting for was the exact moment his body recovered its mobility!