Chapter 71 - 72: Terrifying Zhu Hu, Perfect Skill

Chapter 71: Chapter 72: Terrifying Zhu Hu, Perfect Skill

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Two figures clashed fiercely in the open clearing. Their exchanging fists and kicks produced harsh, ear-piercing sounds, like hammers striking an anvil.

"What? You..."

After exchanging over a dozen moves, Zhu Hu unleashed a furious punch that forced Lin Lu to stumble backward repeatedly, a grave expression settling on his face.

"Perfect Skill!"

Their martial prowess was relatively equal, but in terms of inner strength, just the initial clash made Lin Lu feel mountain-crushing pressure. Facing Zhu Hu directly, the overwhelming power surged forward like a tidal wave, battering him into a defenseless state. More importantly, Zhu Hu’s energy was exceptionally violent, completely suppressing Lin Lu’s softer, more flexible strength. This made his pressure multiply exponentially.

"Zhu Hu, do you really want a fight to the bitter end?" Lin Lu asked sternly, his face dark as he realized he was no match for his opponent.

While speaking, he swept his peripheral vision across their surroundings, and his pupils quietly contracted. Wherever he looked, the Lin Family Castle was suffering heavy casualties under Zhu Bao’s leadership, with more and more Guards falling. His heart ached at the sight. These Guards had been painstakingly cultivated by the Lin Family Castle, yet now they were dying tragically one by one. The Lianyun Stronghold’s attack on the Lin Family Castle was clearly premeditated, taking advantage of their vulnerability to strike when they were weak.

Zhu Hu sneered at his words. "You still can’t see the situation in front of you. How truly foolish!"

Before his voice could even fade, Zhu Hu flickered and charged at Lin Lu. Lin Lu’s expression changed at the sight. He glanced at the fallen Guards of the Lin Family Castle, a flash of hesitation crossing his face, before he gritted his teeth and pulled back to retreat.

"Trying to run?" Zhu Hu noticed Lin Lu’s intention and accelerated. In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Lin Lu and threw a punch straight at his face.

Hearing the whistling wind and seeing the blurry fist approaching, Lin Lu was terrified but quickly reacted, throwing his own punch to meet it.

BANG!

Their fists collided, sending out trembling sound waves. After a loud crash, Lin Lu’s figure retreated violently, a few drops of crimson trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Die!" Zhu Hu looked at him coldly, his brows knit with murderous intent. Knowing that Lin Lu was already at the end of his rope, he charged forward to kill without hesitation.

"Ah, I’ll take you down with me!" Driven into a corner by Zhu Hu’s aggressive assault, Lin Lu flew into a desperate rage. He roared and fought back with a suicidal frenzy.

Seeing this, Zhu Hu’s pupils shrank. His arm bulged slightly as all the inner strength in his body instantly concentrated into his palm. However, just as he was about to strike and kill Lin Lu with this palm, he saw the man—who had just been rushing at him madly—turn and sprint sideways. Lin Lu directly killed a Lianyun Stronghold bandit, carving out a temporary escape route.

"Bastard!" Zhu Hu cursed under his breath, immediately chasing after him with wind beneath his feet.

"You dog, who the hell told you to run? Take my blade!"

Zhu Bao caught sight of Lin Lu’s fleeing figure. With an explosive burst of speed, he raised his saber with both hands and slashed at Lin Lu in a savage, ruthless posture.

Lin Lu was already panicked. Hearing Zhu Bao’s thunderous voice, his body trembled violently. Then, he saw Zhu Bao’s burly figure descending from the sky, a cold gleam of steel filling his entire field of vision.

CLANG!

Fortunately, Lin Lu reacted in time, pulling away and dodging before Zhu Bao’s blade could land. But what greeted him was not a beautiful future, but Zhu Hu’s punch, brimming with inner strength. The punch flowed like water. The moment it made contact with Lin Lu’s body, the strength swarmed inside him, instantly destroying his heart meridian and killing him on the spot.

SPURT!

A large mouthful of blood spewed wildly into the air. With Lin Lu’s fall, the morale of the entire Lin Family Castle vanished completely.

An incense stick’s time later, the Lianyun Stronghold completely conquered the Lin Family Castle. During this period, some people tried to escape in the chaos, but most were killed by the Lianyun Stronghold Guards stationed outside. A small number were deliberately let go under Zhu Hu’s specific orders.

"Brother, this Lin Family Castle truly deserves the title of Little White Stone City. There are so fucking many treasures!"

After taking over the Lin Family Castle, Zhu Bao led his men to scavenge the castle’s wealth. They were busy until late into the night before he finally reported back to Zhu Hu.

Zhu Hu smiled upon hearing this, then mused, "Separate half of these treasures and give them to Sun Yun."

"Hey, brother, half is too much, isn’t it? How about a little less?" Zhu Bao grew anxious the moment he heard it.

"Hmph, so short-sighted. As long as we capture White Stone City, will we lack this bit of money? Besides, we still need to use Sun Yun later, so naturally, we have to give him a taste of the sweetness," Zhu Hu snorted coldly.

"All right!"

The next day, a piece of news swept through White Stone City like a storm.

The Lin Family Castle had been annihilated by the Lianyun Stronghold, and Lin Lu’s corpse was strung up outside the castle, exposed to the scorching sun and eroded by the rain and dew.

As soon as this news came out, every Martial Artist in the city was horrified. If the Lianyun Stronghold could capture the Lin Family Castle now, did that mean they could invade White Stone City in the near future? Such thoughts spread like a virus among those lacking a sense of security.

When the Inner City’s Lin Family learned of this news, they flew into a thunderous rage. Their furious roars could seemingly be heard streets away. The Lin Family Patriarch, Lin Fu, declared that he would wipe out the Lianyun Stronghold in one fell swoop to avenge Lin Lu.

In an instant, the entire White Stone City was swept with undercurrents due to the Lin Family Castle incident, bearing the faint signs of a looming storm.

However, just as everyone thought this was the end of the news, word arrived the very next day that the Lianyun Stronghold had beheaded an entire Fang Family merchant caravan. Nobody expected that after capturing the Lin Family Castle, the Lianyun Stronghold wouldn’t consolidate their forces, but would instead travel more than a dozen miles away specifically to ambush the Fang Family caravan.

The Fang Family caravan suffered devastating losses. Not only were their goods plundered, but dozens of Guards were also slaughtered. The Lianyun Stronghold tossed their corpses into the woods and left a ruthless threat: if they ever ran into a Fang Family caravan outside White Stone City in the future, they would annihilate them on sight!

Once this incident broke out, passing caravans were all too terrified to leave the city walls. No one could guarantee whether they would encounter Lianyun Stronghold members outside, much less guarantee they would return alive if they did. The consequence of this was that prices for various goods in the city began to soar. Refugees increased in the streets and alleys, and chaos gradually took root.

Behind the scenes, rumors ran rampant, all guessing that the Lianyun Stronghold could attack at any moment, leaving the populace in a state of panic.

Su Chen first learned of this news from Hong Ming. On the second day after the destruction of the Lin Family Castle, Hong Ming gathered everyone together. He instructed them to be extra careful during this period and not invite trouble upon themselves. After giving a few brief instructions, Hong Ming hurriedly left.

After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, Su Chen went to a Money Shop. He had originally planned to exchange his funds for gold so he could use Krypton Gold on his Wind Chasing Step, but to his surprise, the Money Shop bluntly refused his request.

"Sir, the Money Shop’s gold has already been completely exchanged. We temporarily cannot provide this service."

Subsequently, Su Chen visited other Money Shops, only to receive the exact same answer. It seemed that the Lin Family Castle incident had put the Money Shops on high alert, causing them to cease providing such services.

After fruitlessly trying to test them by throwing money at the problem, a helpless Su Chen had no choice but to leave.