Physical enlightenment begins with Xingyi Quan

A young hunter, seemingly timid and alone, enters the mountains carrying a bag of prey; in their eyes, he is a fat sheep delivered to their doorstep.

"Brother," the square-faced youth stepped forward, forcing a smile, and clasped his hands in greeting, "I am Liu Kui, a disciple of the 'Blazing Wind Martial Arts School,' and these two are my junior brothers. May I ask how you are addressed, brother?"

Chen Jianghe slowly turned around, a look of fear and unease appearing on his face. He clasped his hands in return, his voice low and timid: "I...I am Chen Er, just a herb gatherer...What can I do for you gentlemen?"

As Chen Jianghe spoke, he frantically clutched his backpack: "This, this is the dead roe deer I just found... I, I only cut off a little bit of meat..."

"Found it?" The tall, thin man licked his chapped lips, a greedy glint in his eyes. "Brother, you're in luck. But Black Wind Ridge is now the territory of the Green Dragon Gang. If you get caught hunting illegally, they'll chop off your hand."

He paused, his tone turning cold: "How about this, you give us half of the meat, and we'll pretend we didn't see anything. How about that?"

Chen Jianghe hesitated for a moment, then suddenly gritted his teeth, took off his backpack, and handed it over with both hands: "If you gentlemen want it, you can take it all... I only beg you to spare me..."

He lowered his head, his body trembling slightly, looking terrified.

A look of disdain flashed in Liu Kui's eyes as he reached out to take it.

Just as his fingers were about to touch the backpack—

Chen Jianghe made a move.

His previously trembling hands suddenly steadied, and with a flick of his right hand, the backpack flew out of his hands, but instead of flying towards the square-faced youth, it smashed into the tall, thin man on his right!

The tall, thin man instinctively reached out to take it.

In that instant, Chen Jianghe pulled a bag of lime powder from his pocket with his left hand, flicked his thumb, and the bag burst open. Grayish-white powder mixed with bone-rotting powder burst out like smoke and dust, spraying all over the three people's faces!

None of the three expected that this "cowardly hunter" would dare to suddenly launch an attack.

The distance was too close, and the powder came too fast.

"ah--!"

The screams rang out almost simultaneously.

Lime stings the eyes, rots bones and burns the skin.

Liu Kui reacted the fastest, closing his eyes and retreating swiftly, wildly swinging his sword to protect himself.

The short, stocky man roared and, disregarding everything else, swung his knife fiercely at the spot where Chen Jianghe had just stood!

The blade sliced ​​through the air.

The moment Chen Jianghe sprinkled the lime powder, he had already slid sideways and moved to the left of the short, stocky man.

The butcher's knife was drawn.

The blade flashed like snow, cutting into the gap between the third and fourth ribs on the left side of the short, stocky man, stabbing diagonally upwards, piercing through his heart and lungs.

With a twist of the blade, it was pulled out.

Blood gushed out like a spring.

The short, stocky man shuddered, his eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at the bloody hole in his chest. He opened his mouth, but only a mouthful of foul blood gushed out before he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The tall, thin man had just caught the backpack when he was blinded by lime powder. He was covering his face and screaming in pain when he suddenly heard the sound of wind behind him. He hurriedly swung his knife and swept it backward.

Chen Jianghe had already crouched down, brandishing his tiger-finger fist and delivering a powerful punch that struck the skinny man's right knee!

"Snap!"

The kneecap was fractured.

The tall, thin man screamed and knelt down.

Chen Jianghe stood up, and with a flash of light, the blade pierced through the back of his neck, severing the tendons.

The screams abruptly stopped.

At this moment, Liu Kui had barely opened his eyes, which were burned by lime. His vision was blurry, but he could vaguely see two junior brothers lying on the ground, and the "Hunter" standing there with a knife in his hand, his eyes as cold as frost.

"You!" Liu Kui was both shocked and furious, and lunged forward with his knife.

He was, after all, a formal disciple of the Liefeng Martial Arts Academy, with the cultivation level of Ming Jin. At this moment, he fought back desperately, and his sword strikes were quite fierce.

Chen Jianghe, however, did not engage in a direct confrontation with him.

With a light tap of his toes, his figure retreated like a ghost, while his left hand rose again—

The second handful of lime powder!

Liu Kui was already on guard and hurriedly closed his eyes and turned his head away, but the powder still hit his cheeks, causing a stinging and burning sensation.

At that moment, Chen Jianghe had already cut into his center, his right-hand blade flashing like a venomous snake's tongue, aiming straight for his throat.

Liu Kui listened to the wind to determine the location and swung his sword to parry.

"when!"

The two swords clashed.

Chen Jianghe flicked his wrist, unleashing a surge of hidden energy that pierced straight through the opponent's arm along the blade.

Liu Kui felt a soft, yin-like force penetrate his meridians, causing his entire right arm to feel numb and tingly, and he almost dropped his single-edged sword.

He was terrified and tried to back away.

How could Chen Jianghe let him leave?

Five Elements Fist - Cannon Fist!

His left fist shot out like a cannonball, striking Liu Kui squarely in the chest.

The hidden force penetrated the body, causing a tremor in the heart and lungs.

Liu Kui groaned, spitting out blood, and staggered backward.

His eyes widened as he stared intently at Chen Jianghe, hissing, "You...you actually...use hidden force...and even poison...despicable..."

Chen Jianghe followed closely, his blade flashing once more.

This time, Liu Kui was powerless to defend himself.

The blade pierced through the jaw and into the brain.

His eyes bulged out as he stared intently at Chen Jianghe, making a strange "hoarse" sound in his throat before slowly collapsing to the ground.

Chen Jianghe remained expressionless.

In this world, if you don't kill, someone will kill you. Since the other party has already shown murderous intent and taken action, then they are mortal enemies.

Without further delay, he began to skillfully clean up the scene.

First, drag the three corpses to one place and quickly search them for all valuables—more than twenty taels of silver, several bottles of common wound medicine, and three identity tokens of the Liefeng Martial Arts School.

Chen Jianghe put away the money and medicine, and threw the wooden sign, useless debris, and the three corpses into a mountain stream ahead.

Watching the three corpses in front of him bob up and down in the swirling current, before being swallowed by the turbid waves and disappearing without a trace, he watched as they were swept away.

Chen Jianghe stood by the stream and muttered to himself, "Even the outer perimeter isn't safe anymore."

Even formal disciples of martial arts schools have started robbing and killing passersby for a few bites of meat. The order on the outskirts of Black Wind Ridge has collapsed to such an extent.

Continuing to stay will not only make hunting increasingly difficult, but also increase the risk of being frequently ambushed and killed.

Without further hesitation, he turned and quickly returned to the hidden cave.

There were still quite a few strips of meat left inside the hole that had dried in the shade. He quickly tidied them up, wrapped them tightly in oilcloth, and stuffed them into his backpack.

Finally, they carefully inspected the cave and erased all traces of habitation.

Everything was in place, and he lay in the shadows at the entrance of the cave, waiting quietly.

Based on observations over the past few days, the Qinglong Guard patrol teams have a brief shift change between the hours of Yin and Mao, lasting about 15 minutes.

That was the best time to go down the mountain.

As darkness fell, the mountains and forests returned to silence.

Chen Jianghe closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, adjusting himself to his optimal state.

He quietly emerged from the cave and, following the map and the path he had discovered, swiftly and silently made his way down the mountain.

Everything was going smoothly. Just beyond a dense forest lay a relatively safe area of ​​low hills.

Just as he was about to step out of the forest, an extremely subtle yet sharp aura instantly locked onto him.

Chen Jianghe felt a chill run down his spine, and his steps came to an abrupt halt.

He slowly turned around.

In a clearing in the woods, a figure stood there, seemingly out of nowhere.

The man was about thirty years old, with a cold and hard face.

He was dressed in a finely crafted, dark black outfit, covered with light armor, and had an unsheathed longsword at his waist, the blade of which was dark and faintly glowed with blood.

Chen Jianghe's heart sank.

He recognized the attire—it belonged to a minor leader in the Azure Dragon Guard, at least an elite member with internal strength cultivation.

The man in black's gaze swept over Chen Jianghe, lingering for a moment on the bulging backpack and the butcher's knife at his waist, before he spoke slowly in a low voice:

"At this hour, are you descending the mountain from here?" He paused, his tone unreadable. "State your name, which martial arts school or gang you belong to, and the purpose of your entry."