Several subordinates exchanged glances, cursed at Li Tan, “You good-for-nothing, you’re dead!” and rushed out swinging their clubs.
Both of them were at the early Back-Tian stage; naturally, they couldn’t even think about manipulating true qi, and the martial skills they knew were just the most common techniques you could find anywhere. However, merely relying on their physical strength, they could wrestle with tigers bare-handed. If they landed a blow with their clubs, someone like Li Tan, who lacked cultivation, would instantly lose consciousness.
Li Tan calmly stood in place, expressionless. He used his toe to flick two stones into the air and caught them with his hands.
“Tigers may fall into the hands of dogs when out of their element.”
Li Tan thought to himself with self-mockery, “If those old friends of mine find out about this, they’ll be laughing for a year or so.”
Then, with a swish, he threw the stones. The two rushing men were struck on the head and collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain like soft-shelled shrimps.
Early Back-Tian stage cultivators, although possessing enhanced strength, hadn’t seen any significant improvement in their physical bodies. Li Tan didn’t even use his spiritual awareness to deal with them—he simply threw stones. However, because he always hit critical acupoints, the damage was especially severe.
“How exactly did he pull that off?”
Lin Jingwu looked at his two subordinates, who were dazed and groaning in pain. Naturally, he couldn’t understand how Li Tan had managed it. In reality, Li Tan had actually held back. If he had directly used abilities like Mental Storm, considering Lin Jingwu’s mid-Back-Tian cultivation level, he would probably have collapsed instantly, unable to get up for several days.
Papa—two men at the front tried to charge forward but were hit again by Li Tan with two more stones. However, with unyielding willpower, they managed to pull Li Tan into the striking range of their clubs.
“Die!”
Shouting curses, the two raised their clubs high and swung them down at full force toward Li Tan’s head. They had completely forgotten that Li Tan was the Lin family’s son-in-law, a position theoretically no lower than Lin Cui’s. But even if they had wanted to stop now, it was already too late.
“Getting serious, huh?”
Li Tan’s voice turned slightly cold, and a flash of golden light flickered in his eyes.
At the same time, the two men swinging their clubs at him felt as if struck by lightning. Their heads seemed about to explode, and suddenly they screamed loudly, curling up in agony. The clubs in their hands dropped directly to the ground.
Li Tan kicked aside the people blocking his way and took a few steps forward.
Originally, he had intended to teach them just a slight lesson, hoping to avoid trouble. Now, however, he changed his mind. He realized that constant retreats only emboldened his enemies. Rather than that, he might as well make an example of someone to warn the rest.
Unshaken, Li Tan stood there, his untidy hair fluttering in the wind, giving him an ethereal, almost celestial aura.
When Lin Jingwu met Li Tan’s gaze, a strange sense of unease welled up inside him, as if he were somehow inferior. Anxiety took root in his heart and gradually grew stronger.
He found Li Tan completely different from the rumors—far from being a good-for-nothing who relied solely on his family’s prestige. Instead, Li Tan exuded a noble and unpretentious confidence, clearly displaying the demeanor of a scion from a great family.
How could someone who couldn’t cultivate, who was looked down upon everywhere, possess such a mindset?
Lin Jingwu took a few steps back but finally made up his mind.
After all, the commotion had already drawn many servants to watch. If he retreated now, word would surely spread that a mid-Back-Tian cultivator had been afraid of a powerless nobody. There’s no turning back once an arrow leaves the bow. If he backed out now, how could he face anyone in the Lin family?
“Hmph! Daring to harm others without cause, you truly disregard the family rules!”
Lin Jingwu cracked his knuckles, gradually exuding his mid-Back-Tian aura. He flicked a stone into the air with his toe, planning to use his opponent’s own method against him. As long as he landed one hit, he was confident he could leave Li Tan half-dead. Though it was despicable for a mid-Back-Tian cultivator to act this way against an ordinary person, he had no time for such considerations. If he approached directly, he might end up like before.
“Truly asking for death.”
Li Tan sneered coldly and began walking forward.
Lin Jingwu was instantly ecstatic. Sure enough, this fellow needed to get close to do anything.
“You’re completely figured out—just surrender now!” Lin Jingwu made a throwing motion, planning to toss the stone and then retreat. However, at the very moment he was about to act, his entire body stiffened as if struck by electricity. A terrifying pain surged through him like a tidal wave. Before he could react, his vision went black and he helplessly collapsed to the ground. As Li Tan stepped over him, he completely lost consciousness.
“What a pain.”
Muttering to himself, Li Tan quickly left the dining hall. Soon, the crowd of watching servants erupted into chaos. Some hurried to support Lin Jingwu and the others, some rushed to fetch the family physician, while others remained frozen in place, unable to recover from the shock.
News of Li Tan defeating Lin Jingwu spread like wildfire through the forest.
In an elegant courtyard beneath a parasol of parasol trees, Lin Yuan held a teacup, his eyes shifting with complex emotions.
“Lin Jingwu is at the mid-Back-Tian stage. How could he be defeated by Li Tan without even putting up a fight?”
“Could it be that Li Tan is hiding his true cultivation level, and the rumor about him being unable to cultivate is just a cover?”
“No, if that were the case, the Li family wouldn’t have allowed him to marry into the family.”
“Someone!”
At his command, a guard quickly entered from outside, saluted with a fist, and asked, “What are your orders, Master?”
Lin Yuan pondered for a moment. “Tonight, go and investigate Li Tan’s true abilities. I must know why he was able to defeat Lin Jingwu!”
“Yes!”
The guard acknowledged, standing upright until receiving the order to withdraw, then left.
Elsewhere, inside a newlywed chamber still decorated with red banners that hadn’t yet been taken down.
“Li Tan knocked Lin Jingwu unconscious?”
Lin Cui wore an expression of complete shock. “Xue, you’re joking with me, right?”
Xue, the girl Li Tan had met that afternoon and who was now Lin Cui’s personal maid, looked somewhat flustered. “Lin Jingwu has already been taken to the physician. It must be true.” Lin Cui paced the room twice before stopping at the door, hesitating for a moment. “I’ll go check on Lin Jingwu. Xue, you start tidying up the room first.”
“Understood.”
Xue nodded.
Lin Cui opened the door and quickly walked out but suddenly turned back after a few steps. “You can go find Li Tan later. Well, he might not come. I’ll go myself. Just find out where Li Tan is staying first.”
Clack, clack, clack.
Lin Cui shut the door tightly and left in haste. As she walked down the corridor, she ignored the servants who bowed to her left and right. She recalled her mysterious fainting episode from the previous night, and confusion filled her heart once again.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage