Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 136: What is Fairness

Elder Zhao wasn’t particularly exceptional in his cultivation.

Although he was a martial master, his innate talent for cultivation was not on par with two other members of his clan.

It was only because the Zhao Family had a deeper foundation than other villages, and he was somewhat of a prodigy, that he had advanced to the rank of martial master.

But by this point in his life, he remained a low-rank martial master, with little hope of advancing further.

It was precisely because of this that he earnestly stayed at home, helping to guard his family’s legacy.

Lang Zhen was seven or eight years younger than him and had advanced to martial master earlier, not to mention his combat strength was not something Elder Zhao could compete with.

To speak frankly, if Lone Wolf had his resources, he would at least be an intermediate-level martial master by now, and aspiring to be a high-rank martial master wouldn’t be out of the question.

Once Lang Zhen advanced to intermediate-level martial master, he would certainly dare to challenge high-rank martial masters, unlike Elder Zhao who didn’t even have the courage to face off against Lone Wolf when his power was not fully restored.

Anyone who advanced to martial master was extraordinary, but within the same administrative level, were those who rose through their ancestors’ legacies the same as those who fought their way up through their own abilities?

Elder Zhao’s combat strength was really quite average, but he had his own strengths—he was perceptive!

Having been a martial master for so many years, his eye for talent was unmatched by ordinary people. After all, even the least skilled martial master is still a martial master.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to tell at a glance that Lone Wolf had not fully recovered his cultivation and was just hovering at the threshold of martial masters.

Upon hearing the sound of the finger wind, his expression changed and he cursed inwardly, “Damn it!”

But by that time, it was too late for him to do anything, just as when he made a move against Deng Lao Er. Deng Family’s Second Son’s move was already set, and he could only watch helplessly.

Such suppression at a higher realm created an overwhelming effect that could easily induce a sense of powerlessness.

Elder Zhao, for the life of him, couldn’t have imagined that the merchant collecting Jade was the highest cultivator among the four, involuntarily exclaiming in surprise, “An intermediate-level martial master?” He only managed to get these four words out before the opposing finger wind struck the ribbon in mid-air precisely.

As previously mentioned, generally, low-rank and intermediate-level martial masters couldn’t exert much power in the external release of inner qi-most martial masters couldn’t even use such a technique.

Only high-rank martial masters or even innate experts took an interest in refining such skills.

Feng Jun’s finger wind was not very powerful, just enough to pierce through four or five thick layers of glass. Yet in this realm, it was already considered exceptionally strong among intermediate-level martial masters.

If he had directly attacked the opponent, he doubted he could breach his defense, nor could he effectively rescue Elder Deng. So when he made his move, he targeted the opponent’s cloth whip.

A whip, being inherently flexible, and one made of cloth even more so, was pliable despite the said cloth being exceptionally tough.

Elder Zhao was proficient with the whip and wasn’t afraid of it being blocked. When he struck, he had already planned that if this Deng youth dared to block it, he would take the opportunity to bind and drag him over.

The one thing he didn’t anticipate was that his opponent would be an intermediate-level martial master who was adept at using finger wind.

You see, Elder Zhao’s whipping required him to infuse inner qi into it to wield it as if it were an extension of his arm.

When the opponent released inner qi externally, the finger wind struck the whip hard, disrupting the inner qi he had infused at that instant. The whip lashed back swiftly, striking his chest with the force of thunder and wind before he could react.

There was no helping it; the whip was difficult to master. Though it was a show-off weapon, it was too challenging to control.

It had been many years since Elder Zhao had found himself in such an embarrassing situation-the last time was more than twenty years ago, before he had advanced to martial master.

What was worse, his whip was actually a belt, with a flat, round, palm-sized piece of heavy metal at the tip.

This metal piece, usually worn at his waist like a belt buckle common in Earth Realm, appeared decorative. However, in reality, the metal added significant lethality to the whip, and an inadvertent strike could easily break bones or tear tendons, especially since it was made of heavy, hard metal.

Seeing the metal piece lashing back, Elder Zhao instinctively dodged. If this had happened twenty years ago, he would have chosen to abandon the whip and retreat swiftly.

But now, the situation didn’t allow for that-he couldn’t just discard his weapon. What about his dignity as a martial master?

And besides, the Zhao family members were all around him; he had to consider not accidentally harming them.

So, while dodging, he desperately tried to regain control of the whip by outputting inner qi.

As it turned out, he was overthinking it. The metal piece returned swiftly and harshly, crashing into his right chest.

With that single blow, Elder Zhao saw stars, his chest tightened, and he nearly lost his breath.

Immediately after, Elder Deng’s sword ferociously struck at the young man who had been bullying the little girl.

The young man was an intermediate-level martial artist who had some courage; he didn’t evade or shrink back. Pulling out the machete from his waist, he faced the longsword head-on.

However, the next moment, his body shook, and the machete in his hand was cut into two pieces.

The weapons of the two young masters of the Deng Family were all acquired by Head Escort Deng at great expense. Although they might not be considered the rarest treasures, they were certainly much stronger than the majority of weapons.

The weapons of the Zhao Family members weren’t too shabby either-they weren’t so poor as to not withstand a single blow.

The key to the problem was that, in a fit of rage, Deng Lao Er had exerted all his might in delivering that slash.

Such an unadorned, direct clash cut cleanly through a fairly decent short sword made of fine iron.

Fortunately for the man, he quickly retreated two steps, taking advantage of the force from the strike to dodge the longsword coming down on his head. Having gained the upper hand with one move, Deng Lao Er was not one for words. He lunged forward, his wrist flipped, and his waist exerted force, the longsword swept upwards from below at his opponent, and he continued to give chase.

“Hold on!” someone yelled, as two young men came to flank him, hoping to save their clan member.

“Bastards!” snorted someone coldly, as two streaks of white light shot towards them. It was finally Lang Zhen’s turn to act. He straightened his body and with a flick of his hand, he unleashed two sleeve arrows.

When the two men saw this, they hurriedly dodged, but how could they easily evade the sleeve arrows of Lone Wolf?

In a blink of an eye, one was hit in the arm and the other in the shoulder by the arrows, both letting out a cry of pain.

Seeing this, the two high-rank martial warriors facing Lang Zhen drew out their short staff and longsword, attacking him simultaneously.

“You’re courting death!” A cold snort followed by two more blasts of finger wind.

These two were much more vigilant than Elder Zhao. At the sound of the cold snort, without a second thought, they dragged their weapons and retreated quickly.

Being prepared made a difference, and miraculously, they both avoided the finger winds.

Meanwhile, ayoung man with odd attire and very short hair, which looked awkward no matter how you viewed it, carrying a strangely shaped iron rod with a wooden support on one end, came out of the wooden hut.

Feng Jun stepped out of the house, ignoring Those present, and went to the little girl’s side, asking in a deep voice, “Feifei, does your chest hurt?” He wasn’t particularly fond of children, but he admired Feifei’s resilience and independence.

Feifei shook her head, then coughed twice, spitting out two clumps of fresh blood, and managed a weak smile. “It’s nothing, don’t worry, I’m used to it.” It was only then that Elder Zhao’ s gaze returned to normal. He took a quick look around and decisively yelled, “Stop! Everybody, stop!”

On his words, Everyone stopped. Deng Lao Da and Lang Zhen were just supporting Deng Lao Er and were not going to initiate any attacks. But how could Deng Lao Er possibly listen to him? He wielded his longsword, relentlessly slashing at the intermediate-level martial artist.

However, even though his opponent was weaker, there wasn’t much Deng Lao Er could do if the other man was fully focused on fleeing.

Seeing this, Elder Zhao was so angry he was shaking. He glanced at the short- haired young man, and fumed, “If you don’t control your men, don’t blame me for being rude.”

Feng Jun gave him a sideways glance and scoffed disdainfully. “Who do you think you are? Talking to me… do you think you’re worthy?

He was a troublemaker, but not so defiant to this extent. He had always believed in an “eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Since the other side had spoken rudely to Lang Zhen, they should not be surprised by his retaliation- you don’t give respect to my people, why should I respect you?

Elder Zhao was so angry that he could explode at any moment. He bellowed, “Zhao Family disciples, intercept that scoundrel!”

“I’d like to see who dares!” Lang Zhen spoke menacingly. “Anyone who makes amove… dies!”

Elder Zhao’s whole body trembled with rage. “Lone Wolf, don’t you go too far!” No matter the realm, there were always those who could only see others’ malice towards them and never reflected on what they themselves had done.

Lang Zhen had seen too many of such people and wasn’t really angry. He just said lazily, “They’re in a fair duel. Whoever interferes, dies.

“A fair duel?” Elder Zhao’s anger was about to explode. “A high-rank martial warrior chasing after an intermediate-level warrior, and you talk to me about fairness?”

Lang Zhen spoke unhurriedly, “When your family’s intermediate-level martial artist was picking on a seven-year-old girl, you didn’t find it unfair, did you?” His words were sharp-a jab at the fact that an “intermediate-level martial artist was picking on a seven-year-old girl.”

But Elder Zhao didn’t take it to heart. He shouted angrily, “Is this little girl one of yours? She’s one of Zhige County’s people. It’s an internal matter among us Zhige people, none of your business!”

Such logic was despicable, yet it had its adherents-many people everywhere thought this way. Zhige was for the people of Zhige! Outsiders back off!

Lang Zhen had no interest in arguing, so he just plainly stated, “Feifei is hired by us; she’s our employer’s person now.”

Upon hearing this, Elder Zhao was taken aback. In this realm, there was no notion of hiring child labor-a seven or eight-year-old girl could already do a lot, gather firewood, herd cows, cut pig grass…

Still, he couldn’t stand to watch things spiral out of control. “Stop first, let’s talk this over,” he said.

just then, a voice rang out leisurely, “Say one more word, and I will kill you!”

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