On the surface, Yishun Hall’s move against the Lu Family was driven by greed for the profits of Longyuan Bay Pier.
But in truth, there was a deeper probe hidden in the shadows. The Grand Hall Master, the Second Hall Master, and the other Hall Masters—including himself—all wanted to gauge just how much strength this "tiger" who once held sway over Yun Port still had left.
As the foundation of the Daxia New Country stabilized and the influx of Western thought continued, the "tiger skin" of his titles—Former Martial Scholar and Assistant General of the River Patrol—had long lost its former intimidating power.
If Lu Yun was truly old, frail, and couldn’t put up a fight, then Yishun Hall would have more than enough courage to swallow the Lu Family’s lucrative territory at the pier in a single gulp!
At this thought, an impeccable, deferential smile spread across Wu Zhongyi’s face. He waved away the five bodyguards at his side and walked forward alone, his pace steady and unhurried.
He came to a stop about five steps from Lu Yun and bowed deeply. "Lord Lu, I am Wu Zhongyi. It is an honor that spans lifetimes to be in your presence today."
Wu Zhongyi remained in his bow, the smile never leaving his face, and then casually extended his left hand.
It was a seemingly ordinary gesture for a handshake.
Lu Yun glanced at him. He knew exactly what the man was after.
’I got tired of this routine years ago. All this talk of ’an honor that spans lifetimes’ and ’utmost respect.’
’It’s nothing more than an excuse to use this seemingly normal contact to probe the state of my old body, to see how much strength I, Lu Yun, have left.’
’The world has always been this blatant and cruel.’
’With strength, you’re the boss, you make the rules. Without it, all your past glory is an illusion, and you’ll just be torn to shreds and devoured by more ferocious beasts.’
Lu Yun said nothing, his right hand leaning steadily on his Rosewood Walking Stick. Then, he slowly raised his left hand—an old, wrinkled hand with loose skin.
Seeing Lu Yun’s withered old hand reach for his, the corners of Wu Zhongyi’s mouth lifted slightly.
’Got him!’
’The old bastard couldn’t swallow his pride. He took the bait.’
’Let me, Wu Zhongyi, personally see just how much power the "God of Slaughter" who tore through the Qing Bang twenty years ago has left!’
After all, for a martial artist, turning fifty-five is the watershed. It’s when their vitality begins to decline and their body starts to break down.
No matter how great a hero you once were, you can’t turn back the tide of time.
Unless one could cross that heavenly chasm and enter the Realm of a Grandmaster of Huajin—where one’s internal energy becomes self-sustaining and nourishes the entire body—no one could escape the merciless blade of time.
Their strength would plummet, making it impossible to maintain peak physical power.
Grandmaster of Huajin...
A flicker of almost instinctual awe and desire passed through Wu Zhongyi’s mind, but he forcefully suppressed it.
That Realm was something one could only dream of, and as far as anyone knew, there were only three such individuals in all of Yun Port City.
’Lu Yun? A sixty-year-old Former Martial Scholar? Absolutely impossible!’
With that thought, Wu Zhongyi stopped hesitating. The five fingers of his hand, poised for a handshake, instantly tightened, clamping down on the bones of Lu Yun’s hand!
A sinister and insidious "Bone-Penetrating Force," a technique designed specifically to break through tough Horizontal Training defenses, shot from his fingertips and stabbed viciously into Lu Yun’s palm!
In that one seemingly ordinary handshake, Wu Zhongyi intended to cripple the old man’s hand first and foremost!
At first, the cold smile on Wu Zhongyi’s lips was tinged with confidence, but just an instant later, it froze solid.
He felt as if he wasn’t gripping a withered old hand, but a block of thousand-year-old glacial iron!
’No, it’s more terrifying than glacial iron!’
Beneath the seemingly slack skin, the muscles and sinews instantly tensed, becoming as hard as diamond. An immense, majestic, and irresistible force surged back at him!
CRACK... A series of faint bone-cracking sounds echoed from his own fingers.
The color drained from Wu Zhongyi’s face. The initial triumph in his eyes was instantly replaced by horror, which then morphed into incredulous terror!
’This power... this strength... How is this possible?’
’How can a sixty-year-old man, whose vitality should have long since faded, still possess such terrifying strength?’
’And this doesn’t feel like the power of an ordinary Dark Force expert!’
’Could it be...?’ A chilling thought flashed through his mind.
’Impossible!’
But reality left no room for doubt as unimaginable pain shot up from his left hand.
The pressure was still increasing, as if it would shatter every bone in his arm!
"Hmph!"
A soft snort escaped Lu Yun. With his left hand, which seemed to be holding on casually, he simply tightened his fingers.
CRACK! CRACKLE... Another series of sickeningly clear snaps echoed out!
"AHHH!!!"
No longer able to bear the excruciating pain, Wu Zhongyi let out a shrill, inhuman howl!
The bones in his left hand had been completely crushed by Lu Yun’s grip!
The excruciating pain made his vision swim, and he nearly fainted on the spot.
In the end, his survival instinct overrode everything!
His face twisted in a ferocious snarl, Wu Zhongyi no longer cared about tests or the rules of the martial world.
His unharmed right hand shot out from his waist, fingers curved into a claw, ripping through the air with a sharp whistle as he aimed straight for Lu Yun’s face!
His fingertips were a deathly black—it was his signature technique, the Soul-Chasing Iron Claw!
Lu Yun released the hand that had just crushed his opponent’s, and in a blur of motion that was somehow faster, he caught Wu Zhongyi’s attacking right hand!
The fingers on Wu Zhongyi’s right hand were instantly twisted out of shape, and the agony tore another inhuman howl from his throat.
"AAAAHHH!"
Lu Yun’s brow furrowed slightly. Tired of the grating noise, he released his grip and clenched his left hand into a fist.
A surge of potent Qi, nearly invisible to the naked eye, erupted from it!
BAM!! With a dull thud like a mallet striking leather, Lu Yun’s left fist slammed into Wu Zhongyi’s chest.
His chest visibly caved in. His feet left the ground as he coughed up a spray of blood, and he was sent flying backward at an astonishing speed!
His body crashed through the wooden lattice window of Tonghe Pavilion’s second floor and slammed heavily into the room within.
Seeing their Third Master sent flying by a single punch, his condition unknown, Wu Zhongyi’s five personal bodyguards reacted.
A mixture of shock and anger, all five of them reacted at once!
Five hands shot into their coats, where the bulging outlines were clearly not hiding blades.
’Western guns?’
Lu Yun’s gaze hardened, the calm in his eyes finally replaced by a sliver of icy killing intent.
He didn’t wait for them to fully draw their firearms. In a flash, he closed the distance!
Ten feet. For a trained gunman, this was a lethal distance.
But the same held true for a Grandmaster of Huajin... Within ten feet, one man was an army.
Lu Yun’s right hand, which had been holding the cane, suddenly released its grip. He clenched his fingers into a fist and unleashed a chain of upward strikes!
Not one punch, but five!
The afterimages of his fists moved so fast they were nearly impossible to track, and five invisible streams of penetrating Qi tore through the air.
The five bodyguards had only just managed to touch the handles of the Mauser pistols in their coats when they felt their chests being pierced by a red-hot poker.
A violent, brutal surge of Qi bored straight into their hearts, viciously snuffing out every last spark of life!
Their hearts were shattered in an instant. The five men’s eyes flew wide, their faces frozen with a mixture of shock, anger, and disbelief.
Such was the might of the Mountain-Breaking Inch Force Fist—a devastating blow, whether from the left hand or the right.

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