Republic of China era: A hundred-year-old still practicing martial arts? Is that right?

Just as he stepped outside, a long, snow-white leg peeked out from the corner and blocked Lin Ji's path.

Beneath the high slit of her red silk cheongsam, her snow-white skin gleamed with a porcelain-like luster.

A jade pipe extends and lightly taps the tip of a leather high-heeled shoe beneath snow-white long legs.

"Drink! Drink!"

The tobacco in the pipe was unlit, yet it emitted a cool fragrance as it was shaken.

Lin Ji looked up and his gaze met a pair of peach blossom eyes.

Her peach blossom eyes were captivating and naturally charming, yet a cold glint lurked beneath them.

Lin Ji's eyes narrowed sharply, and he took a step back.

Shen Jinluan.

Shen Jinluan leaned against the blue brick wall, her red lips slightly curved, her voice so soft it could be pinched out, yet carrying a hint of coldness: "Old man, we meet again. Speaking of which, you already owe me three lives."

Lin Ji, his back hunched, coughed twice, feigning weakness, his cloudy old eyes filled with confusion:

"What makes you say that, Boss Shen? I'm just an old man pulling a shadow puppet show, how could I possibly owe you three lives?"

"Behave yourself and behave yourself?" Shen Jinluan smiled sweetly, twirling the jade pipe in a beautiful flower shape between her fingers:

"Liu San and his companion got into a conflict with you and then died in a mass grave. You can't blame yourself for this; just say that someone was unhappy and took care of it."

As Shen Jinluan spoke, she took a step forward, her swaying red dress almost bumping into Lin Ji's arms, and a fragrance wafted into Lin Ji's nose:

"Boss Si Dezhao got into a public argument with you in the martial arts hall, and died in his study that very night. The Sea Dragon Gang's token was found at the scene. What a coincidence! Old man, do you really think there are no secrets in this world?"

Lin Ji's smile remained unchanged as he slightly rubbed his fingertips together: "Boss Shen is joking. Do I look like I have the ability to kill?"

Shen Jinluan's eyes suddenly sharpened: "The night before last, that prostitute's house caught fire? Did someone try to kill you?"

"Left hand covering the bowl, right palm slapping the knife! You took down one of my Sea Dragon Gang's heroes, wasn't that your doing?"

The smile on Lin Ji's face finally faded.

Was this woman actually there at the time?

"Snapped!"

Shen Jinluan snapped her fingers.

At the corner of the alley, a muscular, burly man strode out.

The burly man wore a short black silk jacket, and on his rolled-up sleeves was a tattoo of a ferocious dragon with bared fangs and claws.

Lin Ji looked at the newcomer, his pupils suddenly contracting.

The man's blood and qi were drawn into the furnace, and with each step he took, the bluestone ground beneath his feet trembled slightly.

Bone Refinement?

No! It's not as simple as just refining bones!

Shen Jinluan toyed with the jade pipe, her tone casual yet carrying a murderous intent: "In this world, the strong prey on the weak. It doesn't matter if you kill a few weaklings who are less skilled."

"But you want to frame my Sea Dragon Gang and make them a scapegoat? That won't do! This matter is over—you're dead!"

"Zhou Hu! Let's do it."

Shen Jinluan hadn't finished speaking.

Lin Ji's gaze suddenly sharpened and fell on Zhou Hu, who was standing to the side.

Zhou Hu lowered his waist and shoulders, twisted his feet, and the bluestone beneath his feet suddenly sank a little.

Then he twisted his waist and hips, and instantly! His calves tensed, his thighs straightened, and his spine almost burst out of his back.

The force originates from the ground, flows through the legs, waist, back, and shoulders, and finally converges in Zhou Hu's right fist.

"ha!"

Zhou Hu let out a low shout, and his huge fist, accompanied by a strong wind, smashed straight at Lin Ji's face.

"Bang—"

A crisp sound exploded in the alley, the echo carrying the thunderous roar of tigers and leopards.

Before the fist even landed, the sharp wind already made Lin Ji's face tense.

"not good!"

"A single resounding sound is priceless; this is the power of Ming Jin!"

Lin Ji immediately lowered his waist and elbows, embracing the air with both arms, and stepped forward to meet the attack.

The instant their fists clashed, a force as heavy as a mountain struck Lin Ji's palm, almost completely dissipating the binding energy he had just gathered.

Lin Ji twisted his wrists quickly, his arms following the fist's momentum to draw circles and dissipate the force, his waist and hips twisted, and his cloth shoes rubbed two white marks on the blue bricks.

"Um?"

Shen Jinluan's eyes sharpened, and she said in surprise, "Ming Jin? No! It's Bone Refining! You've already refined your bones in just a few days?"

Zhou Hu looked surprised and suspicious, and withdrew his fist and took half a step back.

His punch carried seven layers of internal energy, with a force of a thousand jin. Even a peak Bone Refining Martial Artist would have their arm broken by this punch.

But the internal force of that punch just now seemed to have vanished without a trace, failing to penetrate the opponent's body at all.

Could it be that this old man is also a Ming Jin (明劲) cultivator?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Zhou Hu rejected it. The opponent's palm strike lacked any solidity of Ming Jin; it was entirely a matter of deflecting his force through a set of circular fist movements.

That old man! He's really strange!

"Old man! Again!"

Zhou Hu roared, his feet stomping on the ground, sending stones flying, and his fists shot out from his waist with a buzzing sound, aiming straight for Lin Ji's head and chest.

Lin Ji knew this clearly.

After yesterday's tempering, my arms have barely reached the point of bone refining.

If it weren't for his foundation in Tai Chi coiling energy, he wouldn't have been able to withstand that Ming Jin punch at all.

However, just now, during the exchange of fists and arms, Lin Ji vaguely felt a subtle force flowing continuously along the Tai Chi coiling energy, which completely stuck to Zhou Hu's fist energy and led it astray.

No part of the body, including the shoulders, back, waist, abdomen, legs, or any other part, could withstand the opponent's punch.

Seeing Zhou Hu's fists coming, Lin Ji gritted his teeth and endured the pain in his arms. He touched the ground with his toes and began to use his fine, cloud-like steps.

Lin Ji slightly turned his body and his fist grazed past Lin Ji's ear.

"Buzz!"

The thunderous roar of tigers and leopards carried in the force of the punch made his ears ring.

Without a second thought, Lin Ji flipped his palms, extending his cloud hands to the left and right. His left hand wrapped around and grabbed Zhou Hu's wrist, while his right hand wrapped around and pulled Zhou Hu's elbow. He twisted his hips and arms, drawing a full circle, and redirected Zhou Hu's fist force to the side. The fist grazed Lin Ji's shoulder and struck empty air.

Lin Ji continued walking, using the momentum to drift backward.

In Shen Jinluan's eyes, Lin Ji was like a willow leaf whipped up by Zhou Hu's fist, barely dodging this fatal blow.

Just as you dodge one move, another arrives.

Zhou Hu transformed his fist into a claw and aimed it at Lin Ji's heart.

Instead of retreating, Lin Ji advanced, bending down and pressing himself against Zhou Hu's arm, his whole body following the force of Zhou Hu's claws as he was pulled and pushed.

Zhou Hu felt his arm suddenly lose its strength, his center of gravity suddenly shifted, and he staggered forward, his claw-like palm slamming hard against the blue brick wall.

"Sizzle!"

Bricks and stones flew everywhere, leaving five deep cracks, each half an inch deep, on the blue brick wall.

"What kind of weird martial arts is this?!"

……

The two dismantled more than a dozen buildings in the narrow alley.

Even Zhou Hu, who had reached the Ming Jin level, was panting heavily after the fight.

Zhou Hu was horrified.

The old man in front of me was clearly only refining his bones, yet he was able to withstand my Ming Jin strength.

Every time he launched a full-force attack, it felt like he was hitting cotton; his strength was strangely "slipped" away.

Shen Jinluan stood to the side, her brows furrowed, her eyes fixed on Lin Ji's movements, as if trying to dismantle his techniques.

The old man's fist technique was fluid and graceful, combining strength and gentleness, as if it contained the ultimate truth of heaven and earth.

"Get out of the way!"

Shen Jinluan's willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed, her toes touched the ground, she flicked her pipe lightly, and took a step to land in front of Zhou Hu.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Shen Jinluan was about to make a move.

A burst of gunfire suddenly came from outside Dog Tail Alley.

This was followed by a cacophony of footsteps and shouts:

"Don't let him get away!"

"Seize that rebel!"

Shen Jinluan and Zhou Hu both turned to look at the alley entrance.

A group of foreign soldiers in military uniforms, carrying rifles, were chasing each other down the street.

The group followed sparsely by some police officers, trying their best to keep up with the foreign soldiers ahead.

Once the foreigners had completely disappeared from the street corner, Zhou Hu rubbed his shoulder, turned around, and raised an eyebrow slightly:

"Where is that old man?"

The eagle-like eyes swept around the alley twice, only to spot a few neighbors buying groceries.

Shen Jinluan did not respond, still staring at the alley where the foreigners had disappeared, her mind flashing back to the gleaming Western firearms and the preliminary battles that would determine the fate of warriors.

"Never mind." After a long pause, she finally looked away, her voice flat. "These are turbulent times; let's talk about it again in a few days."

……

the other side.

Lin Ji made several turns and made sure no one was behind him before stopping in a secluded alley.

Rubbing his sore arm, Lin Ji cursed inwardly, "Ming Jin is indeed not someone to mess with."

Without lingering, Lin Ji opened his cloth bag, put on a wig, and applied a beard. Disguised, he headed towards the pharmacy in the south of the city.

Along the way, Lin Ji noticed the panic on the streets and guessed that it must be related to the chase earlier.

The matter of the Sea Dragon Gang also needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

Shen Jinluan will definitely not let this go.

After buying the medicine, Lin Ji carefully made his way back to Dog Tail Alley after taking several detours.

The moment the courtyard gate was pushed open.

Lin Ji suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The courtyard was quiet.

Bai Yu'er and Bai Xiaonian were standing in the courtyard, their eyes filled with tension.

Upon seeing Lin Ji return, the two rushed forward as if they had seen a savior.

Lin Ji's heart skipped a beat.

This is trouble!