"Ah, you lowly piece of trash!"

Boom!

"Damn servant, I will kill you!"

Rumble!

"I curse you..."

Crash!

"Aaaaah—!"

The curses mixed with thunderous crashes echoed through the entire forest. In the end, the cursing grew fainter and fainter, leaving only agonized screams, while the rumbling remained as heavy and forceful as ever.

"Die... You... just you wait... I will... will..." Woo Yixuan said in broken gasps. The arrogance and disdain that once filled his face were long gone. Now he looked utterly pathetic and disheveled.

"If we leave him here, there will not be any trouble, right?" Lin Zheyu asked, not even glancing at Woo Yixuan as he turned to Bai Lin.

Martial artists had tough bodies and thick skin. After being swung around and smashed repeatedly by his leg, the energy in Woo Yixuan's body was nearly depleted. He had not suffered any truly serious injuries, though he looked utterly miserable.

Looking at the pitiful state of Woo Yixuan, Bai Lin could not help but twitch slightly. "N... no. He has a way to contact the Woo Family on him. Once we leave, people from the Woo Family will probably come looking for him soon."

His understanding of Fellow Daoist Xiao Yu's strength deepened further. Fellow Xiao seemed even stronger than he had been back at the demon god barrier. No, perhaps he had simply never revealed his full strength back then.

Lin Zheyu dusted off his hands and said casually, "Oh, then let us go."

Seeing Woo Yixuan move his lips as if to curse again, Lin Zheyu lifted his foot and stepped down toward Woo Yixuan's face.

"Aaah!"

A scream rang out as Woo Yixuan's head was driven hard into the ground under Lin Zheyu's foot.

"Mmph... mmph..."

Muffled sounds came from the dirt. Woo Yixuan struggled to break free from Lin Zheyu's foot, but the earlier beating had already drained nearly all his strength.

As he struggled, the muffled sounds turned into sobbing. The man was actually crying. A martial artist, with such a strong martial cultivation will, had actually broken down in tears. Lin Zheyu found it hard to believe. How had such a waste even cultivated to this level?

"Uh... was I a bit too much? This kid probably hates me to death now." Lin Zheyu rubbed his nose, feeling that he might have gone a little overboard just now.

A trace of killing intent flickered in his eyes. Since he had already offended Woo Yixuan, perhaps he should just finish him off and avoid leaving trouble behind.

"Fellow Xiao, Fellow Xiao. This is the Martial Realm. If someone dies here, it will truly be over," Bai Lin hurriedly said when he caught that hidden killing intent in Lin Zheyu's eyes.

He was genuinely worried that Xiao Yu might slip up and actually kill Woo Yixuan. If that happened, they would be finished for real. Not even the alliance leader would be able to protect them.

"You worry too much. I am merely curious about the methods of the legendary ancient martial esteemed family and wished to spar a bit with a fellow martial cultivation practitioner." Lin Zheyu lifted his foot and gave Woo Yixuan a couple of kicks as he asked, "Is that not right?"

Woo Yixuan lifted his head, his expression twisted with ferocity. "You... are dead... mgh—"

He glared with venomous hatred, wishing he could tear Lin Zheyu apart and devour him alive. In all his life, Woo Yixuan had never suffered such humiliation. But before he could finish speaking, Lin Zheyu pressed his foot down again, driving Woo Yixuan's head back into the dirt.

"He said yes. You both heard that, right?" Lin Zheyu looked at Bai Lin and Zong Linjing with an innocent smile.

Bai Lin and Zong Linjing both twitched at the sight. A trace of regret rose in Bai Lin's heart. He began to wonder if inviting Fellow Daoist Xiao to join the Martial Alliance had been a mistake.

"Let's go quickly. That commotion just now was too loud. If it draws people from the Woo Family or the other two esteemed families, we will not be able to leave," Zong Linjing said, quickly changing the subject.

"Fellow Zong is right. Let's go." Lin Zheyu agreed.

"Wait. We should cover this up a bit. If Woo Yixuan dies in the jaws of some ferocious beast here, we will not be able to escape responsibility. Sparring can be explained away, but if someone dies, it is a different matter," Zong Linjing said, looking at Woo Yixuan's miserable state.

She stepped forward, took out a jade bottle, and sprinkled some brown powder over Woo Yixuan. Then, a talisman appeared in her right hand, which she slapped onto his back.

After finishing, Zong Linjing said to the two of them, "Let's go."

The three of them did not delay any further. Their figures moved as they headed toward Yanwu City.

"Lowly slave... damn insect... I will—" Sensing that the three had left, Woo Yixuan slowly raised his head and stared at Lin Zheyu's retreating figure, speaking viciously, before suddenly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

But then he heard Lin Zheyu's voice drift back. His face turned green, and he spat out another mouthful of blood, purely from anger. Lin Zheyu's voice carried a hint of disdain and confusion.

"That idiot is really from the Woo Family? Why does he feel just like those brainless spoiled brats from the mortal world?" Lin Zheyu asked in puzzlement.

Such a foolish second-generation heir, yet with such strength, was far too different from what he had imagined of members from ancient martial-esteemed families.

"He is indeed from the Woo Family. Among the younger generation, his aptitude is top-tier, second only to his elder brother," Bai Lin said with a bitter smile.

"With that kind of temperament, he can still cultivate to this level?" Lin Zheyu asked, curiosity appearing on his face.

Martial cultivation was different from other cultivation paths. It demanded extremely high standards of temperament and will from martial artists. With a disposition like Woo Yixuan's, even with vast resources piled onto him, he should have reached his limit at the Marrow Refining realm. To advance into the Force Transformation realm, one had to cultivate martial cultivation true intent. A martial artist capable of achieving true intent should not possess such a temperament.

"Because he comes from an ancient martial esteemed family." Bai Lin fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly, a trace of unwillingness in his heart.

"Bloodline?" Lin Zheyu voiced his guess.

"Yes. In ancient martial esteemed families, cultivation mainly depends on natural talent. Woo Yixuan's natural talent is incredibly strong, frighteningly so," Bai Lin said with a complicated expression.

He had cultivated arduously for nearly two hundred years to reach his current strength, yet when facing Woo Yixuan, who possessed a special bloodline, he was no match at all. This world was truly unfair.

"The power of bloodlines is truly so extraordinary!" Lin Zheyu said with a sigh.

Bai Lin's explanation resolved Lin Zheyu's doubts. He finally understood why someone as strong as Woo Yixuan in martial cultivation could possess such a temperament. Relying on the Woo Family's bloodline, he did not need to undergo tempering, did not need to refine his heart, and did not need to cultivate martial cultivation true intent. Moreover, according to Bai Lin, Woo Yixuan's talent was astonishing.

Though he was a complete dandy who disliked cultivation and indulged in pleasures, he still reached the peak of the Divine Repository realm within a hundred years by relying on his powerful bloodline talent. His strength was also remarkable. With the boost from his bloodline, even Bai Lin, who was also at the peak of the Divine Repository realm and had touched the threshold of the Shackles realm, and was considered a genius of the Martial Alliance, was no match for him.

It was clear just how monstrous and powerful the bloodlines of these ancient, esteemed families were. If not for Woo Yixuan's lacking temperament, with his talent and aptitude, he would have already advanced to the Shackles realm like his elder brother. After all, within the past thousand years of the Woo Family, aside from his brother, Woo Yixuan possessed the most concentrated bloodline.

The Woo Family's indulgence of him was intentional. They allowed him to act recklessly, believing that once he had indulged enough and grown bored, he would settle down. Alternatively, encountering a powerful enemy and suffering setbacks could also temper his character.

"This is truly unfair!" Bai Lin could not help but sigh.

"Yeah. These ancient martial esteemed family bloodlines are insane. I really want to catch one and dissect it for research," Lin Zheyu muttered under his breath, a strong curiosity rising within him.

Though Lin Zheyu spoke softly, Bai Lin and Zong Linjing were powerful martial artists and heard him clearly. Both were left utterly speechless.

"Fellow Xiao, are your injuries alright?" Zong Linjing asked, changing the topic.

"It is nothing, just some superficial wounds," Lin Zheyu said casually.

Although he had fought to his heart's content just now, he had still suffered quite a few injuries. Woo Yixuan was, after all, a descendant of an ancient martial esteemed family and possessed a powerful bloodline. That bloodline power was indeed extraordinary. Even with Lin Zheyu's formidable defenses, he had been injured by it during Woo Yixuan's struggle. There were more than a dozen wounds of varying sizes on his body, though they were all minor and healed quickly.

"Are you really fine? What Woo Yixuan used was the Woo Family's bloodline divine ability. Its power is terrifying. If that strange energy is not dealt with, the wounds will not heal..." Bai Lin suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Glancing at Lin Zheyu from the corner of his eye, he was shocked to find that all of Lin Zheyu's injuries had already healed. They had even scabbed over, fallen away, and been replaced by fresh, pale new skin. Bai Lin's eyes widened in disbelief.

How is this possible? These are injuries caused by the core bloodline power of the Woo Family, yet they heal so quickly!

"Oh, I cultivate a special technique, so my recovery ability is quite strong. And I just took a medicinal pill specifically for this kind of bloodline power. It has already cleared out the invading energy," Lin Zheyu said calmly, making up an explanation.

Fortunately, he had casually taken a medicinal pill earlier to cover himself, or it would have been hard to explain. What he had not expected was that Woo Yixuan's purple energy had such properties. Within Lin Zheyu's body was a golden energy. Under its effect, the invading purple energy was quickly worn down. Woo Yixuan's bloodline power had not caused him any real trouble at all.

"The pill you took just now... was not it just an ordinary Profound Origin Pill?" Zong Linjing asked, her face filled with suspicion.