In chaotic times, one can become a martial immortal.

With a crisp, metallic clang, Lu Yuan felt the longsword in his hand tremble violently.

He looked up and saw that what had attacked him was not an arrow or a dart, but an iron bead the size of a peanut.

Although the iron bead failed to penetrate the blade, it had firmly embedded itself inside, leaving cracks all around it.

The ordinary longsword, bought from the blacksmith's shop for half a tael of silver, broke after only a few days of use.

Fortunately, the knife blocked it; otherwise, if the iron bead had actually hit Lu Yuan, it would probably have drilled a bloody hole in him.

"This destructive power is probably comparable to that of a bullet fired from a pistol!"

Lu Yuan's gaze narrowed slightly. Without thinking further, he charged forward with his sword.

The person who had just attacked him with iron beads was a middle-aged man who looked like a skinny monkey.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Seeing Lu Yuan charging directly at him, the skinny man hurriedly flicked his fingers, and two iron beads shot out.

Although these two iron beads were slower than real bullets, they still arrived in front of Lu Yuan in the blink of an eye.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Yuan suddenly leaned to the left.

His hearing, now enhanced by the circulation of his Qi and blood, has reached its peak. Even if it's not true sound perception, he can still barely avoid the incoming iron beads.

Lu Yuan continued charging towards the skinny man, ten steps, nine steps...

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

After leaning left and right and narrowly dodging three iron beads that came flying at him, Lu Yuan finally came to within five steps of the skinny man.

Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly pulled something from his pocket and threw it forcefully at the other person.

"Bang!"

In an instant, the skinny man flicked his finger again, shooting out an iron bead that struck the object.

In an instant, a large cloud of red and white powder burst forth.

The skinny man was almost entirely covered in red and white powder.

"Ah... hiss..."

The skinny man raised his hand and tightly covered his eyes, while repeatedly crying out in pain.

Take advantage of his illness and kill him!

"Pfft!"

The cold glint of the blade swiftly sliced ​​through the air, and a head rolled to the ground.

"call!"

Lu Yuan let out a long breath, then bent down and quickly searched the headless body of the skinny monkey man.

After taking out about six or seven taels of loose silver, he stuffed it, along with a small bag of iron beads from his waist, into his pocket.

"it's over!"

Lu Yuan turned his head and found that everyone was basically searching through the corpses on the ground, but it seemed that they hadn't found anything of great value.

Of the dozens of bandits, almost all of them, including the burly man wielding two axes, were wiped out, except for a few who managed to escape in the chaos.

On the other side of the convoy, not only were Wu Yu, Chen Pi, Gu Ming, and other martial arts apprentices from Song Academy all lively and energetic, but even the scouts, who hadn't faced the bandits directly, hadn't lost a single hair.

As for Hong Lei and Fang Chang, these two precious darlings of Master Song, they were naturally unharmed, with a master of internal energy personally watching over them.

"I killed three bandits, what about you?"

With blood on his face, Chen Yong asked the crowd with some excitement.

"Two of me!"

"Me too!"

"Hehe... I have four!"

Wu Yu, Chen Pi, Gu Ming, and the others, despite having just experienced a bloody battle, were all incredibly excited.

Even though many of them had some injuries, they were completely ignored.

"I have five!"

Wang Liang wiped the knife in his hand while revealing a victorious smile.

"You're pretty good!"

Everyone cast surprised glances at Wang Liang.

It seems they must work even harder to master the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique as soon as possible.

"A-Yuan, how many did you kill!"

Chen Pi asked Lu Yuan with some curiosity.

"Four!"

Lu Yuan said directly.

However, although he only killed four, the last skinny man was not an ordinary bandit, but should be a minor leader at the Ming Jin level.

The technique he used to flick the iron beads was likely a special skill.

However, his greatest gain from this battle was not killing a bandit leader at the Ming Jin level, but obtaining six or seven taels of silver from him.

For this reason alone, his trip was worthwhile.

If he adds the five taels of reward, plus the two taels of silver he had left, it would be enough for him to arrange three to five servings of medicinal soup to supplement his diet when he got back.

And that small bag of iron beads, maybe we can sell it for some more money.

After a quick cleanup, the convoy continued its journey under the cover of night.

"A total of six taels and three mace of silver. A bandit leader at the Mingjin level is indeed wealthier than ordinary bandits!"

After carefully taking stock of his gains, Lu Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Although Chen Pi and his men had thoroughly investigated all the ordinary mountain bandits, they only managed to obtain a few dozen or a hundred coins at most, far less than what he had reaped.

After putting away the silver, Lu Yuan took out the small bag of iron beads.

Although he had just dealt with the skinny man quickly and unharmed, it was actually quite dangerous.

If he hadn't already completed his first Qi and Blood tempering, becoming a Ming Jin martial artist, and if his Qi and Blood were not much stronger than those of ordinary Ming Jin martial artists, plus the Five Animal Fist, which was nearing completion, making his five senses much more acute than others, he probably wouldn't have been able to avoid those iron beads that attacked him one after another.

"Um?"

Lu Yuan opened the bag and was surprised to find that, in addition to the iron beads, there was also a small booklet about the size of a palm.

He quickly took out the booklet and began to read it carefully, becoming increasingly alarmed as he read.

"This is indeed a special technique!"

Lu Yuan closed the booklet, a strange look in his eyes as he muttered to himself.

The booklet contained information about a special technique called "Finger Flicking Skill".

Its core principle is to use the fingers as a bow and the qi and blood as a string, to ignite the power and concentrate it at the fingertips, then unleash it instantly to launch the object in front of the fingers, causing unimaginable damage.

The projectile can be soybeans, peanuts, water droplets, rice grains, or even small stones or iron beads.

Taking iron beads as an example, if one masters the basics of this finger-flicking skill, one can accurately hit a target from ten steps away and cause serious damage.

If one reaches a certain level of proficiency, whether minor or major, one can easily hit any target from dozens of steps away.

Once perfected, it will never miss its target even from a hundred paces away.

Lu Yuan thought that the windfall of six taels and three mace of silver was already his biggest gain from this escort mission, but he didn't expect there to be an even bigger surprise.

It is safe to say that with this finger-flicking skill, his offensive capabilities will be greatly enhanced.

Once mastered, one can easily kill enemies from a hundred paces away without even needing to get close.

It can even fire in rapid succession, making it impossible to defend against.

Fortunately, the skinny man had only mastered the basics of the Finger Flicking Technique, and his speed and strength had not yet reached their peak. Otherwise, he might not have survived the battle unscathed.

……