Chapter 152: Above the Grandmaster

A claw and a palm collided.

Astonishment instantly filled Elder Ying's face.

"How could this be?"

He had spent decades tempering and honing his claw technique until it was as hard as diamond, but it felt like all that training had been for nothing. Mu Lin's hand was like an iron plate; he couldn't break through it at all.

Instead, the immense force reflected back into Elder Ying's own claw.

The bones in his hand shattered in an instant. Clutching his hand, Elder Ying hastily retreated.

"You cunning young man, pretending to be weak!" Elder Ying howled in agony.

Li Tianxiang asked, "Elder Ying, what's wrong? Why would you say that?"

Elder Ying's expression was grim. "I'm afraid this young man has reached the Grandmaster Realm!"

"Nonsense!" Li Tianxiang said furiously. "Elder Ying, have you lost your mind? How old is he? A Grandmaster? Do you really think I know nothing about the Martial Dao?"

As they spoke, Mu Lin was already pursuing Elder Ying. The old man retreated toward Li Xue and Li Yinhe, and Mu Lin worried that if he let up for even a second, they would be taken hostage.

With a light tap of his foot, he shot forward and landed a punch on Elder Ying.

A mouthful of old blood sprayed from Elder Ying's throat. 'I can't fight this kid head-on,' he thought. 'I have to get away, quickly.'

Li Tianxiang was stunned. Elder Ying, in whom he had placed so much hope, was actually retreating.

'Did I really spend all that money on this piece of trash?'

Mu Lin casually snatched a handful of chopsticks from the table. He threw two in quick succession, and they shot straight into the back of Elder Ying's head, piercing clean through.

Elder Ying's eyes went wide as he collapsed, dead but with his eyes still open.

Li Tianxiang was completely dumbfounded. Elder Ying hadn't even lasted two or three exchanges with Mu Lin before dying.

'Just how ridiculously strong is this Mu Lin?'

Mu Lin walked toward Li Tianxiang, who scrambled and crawled backward away from him.

Mu Lin didn't forget to use a silver needle to seal Li Yinhe's Qi and Blood, temporarily preserving his life.

"Stop him! All of you, stop him!" He regretted not taking Elder Ying's advice to flee for his life.

'Otherwise, how could things have ended up like this?'

"Why run? You're all going to die anyway," Mu Lin said with a chuckle. "Come on, let's take our time."

A human wall formed in front of Li Tianxiang. These were the experts he had brought with him, their strength comparable to Elder Li's. They had solid external martial arts skills, and he had brought them along to deal with petty thieves.

They charged toward Mu Lin without a shred of hesitation. Mu Lin merely gave them a simple glance and, with a few casual punches, knocked them all to the ground.

Mu Lin had no intention of killing them; he just needed to make sure they couldn't get back up right away.

'They're all just trying to make a living. Why bother?'

Mu Lin continued forward, but Li Tianxiang hadn't even had time to make it to the door.

He looked back.

These external arts experts, meant for dealing with petty thieves, were completely useless against Mu Lin!

Every single one of them was down.

My God!

Li Tianxiang realized he had no way to retreat!

And Mu Lin was still closing in, step by step.

"Don't come any closer! Or I won't be so polite!"

Mu Lin just smiled. All of Li Tianxiang's guards had been wiped out. What cards could he possibly have left to play?

Mu Lin was very calm. He first glanced at Li Xue. "Do you want to look away for a moment?"

'What are you pretending for?' Li Xue thought. 'Why didn't you tell me to look away when you killed that Elder Ying?'

'I already threw up everything I needed to in that flowerpot. Now he's feigning concern and telling me to look away? Look away, my ass!'

'This Mu Lin doesn't even blink when he kills someone!'

Mu Lin just said, "Oh," and turned back to face Li Tianxiang.

"Do you have any last words? Go on, spit them out. It'll feel better. Not that I'll remember them for you anyway."

Li Tianxiang gritted his teeth, determined not to show the slightest hint of fear.

"You'll regret touching me!"

"My Di Yang Li Family has countless powerful experts. If I die, they'll line up to annihilate you!"

"At that time, it won't just be you—even the Anhua Li Family will be destroyed!"

Mu Lin chuckled. "Didn't you want to destroy the Li Group anyway? It makes no difference whether I kill you or not, does it?"

Mu Lin placed his hand on Li Tianxiang's forehead. With a surge from his palm, a violent burst of Qi Force turned Li Tianxiang's brain into a pot of tofu pudding.

Li Tianxiang immediately went still.

"See? I considered your feelings and used the least bloody method."

A few of the Li Family bodyguards were still conscious. Seeing Mu Lin's methods, they were too terrified to move.

With Li Tianxiang dead, they would face severe punishment upon their return. They would probably have to spend the rest of their lives in the ancestral hall, accompanied only by a dim lamp.

Mu Lin turned his head to the other side. Here was an even older acquaintance: Wu Long, reeking of alcohol and looking completely out of shape.

"Chairman Wu, what a coincidence to see you here. Li Tianxiang is the esteemed third young master of the Di Yang Li Family. I'm truly surprised he would invite you to his banquet! Let me guess why that is, shall I?"

Mu Lin spoke slowly as he approached Wu Long.

Wu Long trembled all over. In his eyes, Mu Lin now seemed like a god or a demon.

He also had a background in martial arts and knew how strong Elder Ying was.

But Mu Lin had finished off Elder Ying in just a couple of moves.

'I wouldn't stand a chance against him.'

THUD!

Wu Long threw himself to the ground, not even daring to look at Mu Lin.

"Mr. Mu, I beg you! I haven't done anything these past few days! Li Tianxiang forced me to come here!"

"I've been trying to find you every day, but Guo Lei wouldn't give me my phone, so I had no way to contact you!"

The sound of a head repeatedly hitting the floor followed. THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP.

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "Enough. We're old friends, why act like such a stranger? It's the same old deal: when the Yuelong Group belongs to the Li Group, I'll remove my... technique from you. I'm a man of my word."

With that, Mu Lin immediately turned, walked over to Li Yinhe, and picked him up.

Li Yinhe was a businessman, after all, with many social engagements. Combined with being middle-aged, he was surprisingly heavy.

Mu Lin took a deep breath and braced himself, managing to lift him.

It was a good thing he had a thick layer of fat; otherwise, Elder Ying's strike would likely have killed him on the spot, leaving no chance for Mu Lin to save him.

Li Xue was pacing anxiously. "Where can we take him for treatment...?"

Mu Lin sighed. "To the Holy Medicine Hall, of course. Divine Doctor Zhao is there."

Li Xue said "Oh" in sudden realization. She had been so frantic with worry that she'd completely forgotten.

"Actually, we could go home," Mu Lin said calmly, "but there are too many servants and loose tongues around the house. If someone lets it slip later and Mrs. Li finds out, she'll probably worry herself to death."

Li Xue thought about it and agreed. The servants were all from the countryside and loved to gather and gossip in their free time.

Her mother often joined them, too.

Sooner or later, word of this would inevitably reach her mother's ears.

Although her mom was still at the hospital taking care of Elder Li, he was sure to recover, and she would naturally come home.

By then, the secret would be out, and that would be a huge hassle.

Mu Lin called the Holy Medicine Hall, and Zhao Ling'Er picked up.

"Brother Mu, the injured people you sent over have all been treated. They just finished their observation period and are now resting in the backyard."

Mu Lin said, "I have to make another trip. My Uncle Li is injured, very seriously."

"Huh?!" Zhao Ling'Er had met Li Yinhe when she and her grandfather made a house call to the Li Family. She remembered him as a pretty sturdy man. How could he have gotten injured?

But this wasn't the time for detailed questions, so Zhao Ling'Er quickly replied, "Okay, okay! Then come on over!"

Mu Lin hung up the phone and said to Li Xue, "Let's go. I've made the arrangements."

Li Xue glanced at Mu Lin. "Are you really that close with them?"

Mu Lin said, "Of course. We're as thick as thieves! Divine Doctor Zhao even begged me to teach him medicine."

Li Xue snorted. Mu Lin was bragging again.

'Divine Doctor Zhao is already a Divine Doctor. How could he possibly learn medicine from you? You don't even need to think before spouting such nonsense.'

Huangshang Huang was extremely close to the Holy Medicine Hall, and the car arrived in the blink of an eye.

Li Xue opened her door, preparing to open the door for Mu Lin so he could carry Li Yinhe inside.

But when she turned around, she was surprised to see that Zhao Ling'Er, dressed in a small nurse's uniform, had already beaten her to it.

Standing there, for a moment, the look in Li Xue's eyes became very complicated.

Mu Lin, however, was in a hurry. He jumped out of the car, thanked Zhao Ling'Er, and rushed inside.

Divine Doctor Zhao came out and sucked in a cold breath when he saw Li Yinhe's miserable state.

"What on earth happened here?"

"He was ambushed by an expert and beaten unconscious. I stabilized his heart meridian. Without me, he'd probably already be gone."

Mu Lin spoke quickly as he grabbed a pen and paper and began writing rapidly.

"Here, use these herbs. High heat for fifteen minutes, then switch to low heat for half an hour until it's lukewarm."

Zhao Ling'Er rushed off to make the arrangements. Her diagnostic skills were still a bit lacking, but she was more than capable of handling these miscellaneous tasks.

Li Xue stood where she was, feeling like a bystander, completely unable to do anything.