Chapter Twenty-Four: The Indifferent Boy

  "It's just like her." Xia Lin said with a hint of melancholy.

  A mother and son are connected by blood, their bond is unbreakable. Although it was just a fleeting glance, the realization of life that he felt in that moment is something he will never be able to forget. It was this person who brought him into this world, making him think he had already died, yet at the same time, gave him new life through this encounter.

  So Xia Lin had a deep impression of this mother, the simple clothes, the beautiful long hair, still remembered vividly today, and unknowingly, even made Lu'er's hairstyle like that.

  One day, I will definitely stand in front of you!

  Xia Lin's expression suddenly became spirited, Heaven rewards diligence, it's just the realm of divine comprehension, no matter how difficult it is, as long as he works hard, he will definitely achieve it!

  Lu'er was startled by the sudden burst of light in Xia Lin's eyes, but quickly came to her senses. The only person who could make Xia Lin react this way had always been just one person.

  She touched her hair on top of her head and only then did she realize that this was completely different from the usual buns she had.

  Is this your wife's hair bun?

  It is said that there is a portrait of his wife at the old master's place, and it seems that the young master has already seen it. The young master is so handsome, and his wife must be a beauty like an immortal fairy.

  "Young master, you're getting more and more impressive. If the mistress were still alive, she would definitely be very happy." Green said comfortingly by his side.

  Xia nodded slightly, and as for his mother's death, he couldn't explain it either, so he just had to accept it this way.

  "Alright, Lü'er, if you're tired, take a rest too." Xia Lin said with a smile, "I'll rest for a while first."

  "En, okay." Lǜér nodded.

  Xia Lin leaned against the carriage and slowly closed her eyes.

  Whoosh!

  The surroundings were quiet on one side. Xia Lin once again arrived at the Chuan Cheng Temple, without any delay, and went straight to the Bai Lian Pavilion.

  At present, the degree of blood vessels has reached 81%, and those low-level spiritual herbs have no effect. For the time being, it is impossible to break through. To enhance strength, the only thing he can cultivate now is the tenth palm of Lingfeng Palm!

  Inside the Hundred Refining Pavilion, Xia Lin looked forward.

  On the left, still floating in mid-air is a familiar scroll with the Heart Method of the Legacy Temple, the Breaking Heaven Technique. On the right side, the martial arts scroll is his own cultivated technique, so far only one, the Lingfeng Palm.

  Lingfeng Palm, First-rate Martial Skill, Control Level: Nine Palms.

  With a faint smile, Xia Lin's mind was on the Lingfeng Palm, and he once again entered the illusion of the Bai Lian Pavilion. The vast earth unfolded before his eyes once more.

  The barbarian teacher stood in the middle and once again began to wield the Lingfeng Palm.

  At this time, Xia Lin finally understood that the barbarian teacher was born in his own cognitive sea and did not truly exist, or it could be said that all of this was an illusion created by the Bai Lian Pavilion.

  Although it has no wisdom, everything around it is as if it were there in person.

  One clap, two claps, three claps...

  Watching these familiar palm techniques being demonstrated again by the barbarian teacher, Xia Lin had some new insights. With a thoughtful expression, he made up for some of the deficiencies when using them himself, and his entire body began to move in harmony with his mind as he started practicing.

  In reality, Xia Lin was still quietly resting against the carriage, while Lu'er stood guard beside him, lost in thought, occasionally flashing a hint of a shy smile on her face.

  The whole team, under Sun Zhong's leadership, marched towards the distance.

  On the south side of Linjiang City, the scorching sun is blazing.

  It was already afternoon, and the temperature suddenly rose a lot. A merchant group of dozens of people was walking vigilantly on the main road. The terrain ahead was more tortuous and prone to ambushes, making it the most likely place for bandits to appear. They had to be highly vigilant; as long as they passed through here, it would be much safer behind them.

  Everyone walked through this section of road with bated breath, and only let out a sigh of relief when they had completely passed through. Fortunately, luck was not that bad.

  "Be careful, we still have a distance from our destination, don't be careless." The leader said, seeing the team lively.

  "Hey, don't worry, head, we didn't even encounter bandits in a place like that just now, how could we possibly encounter them elsewhere?" a young man said.

  "That's right. It was just that the terrain of the road we took earlier wasn't good, it's easy to be ambushed. In a place like this where it's flat and open, we don't have to worry about them. If they dare to come, then let's just fight!" another young man said.

  A group of people laughed in agreement.

  "Hey, you bunch of kids." The leader seemed somewhat helpless, but apparently had similar thoughts with everyone else. Leaving the section that was easily ambushed, on the regular main road, they were not afraid of those bandits.

  "Alright, stop talking nonsense, no matter what, let's just hurry up and get it over with."

  The leader laughed and scolded them a few words, letting the team speed up their advance.

  But just then a loud cry came, and the leader's heart went thud, it was bad.

  "Be careful!"

  The words had not yet left his mouth when a sharp arrow suddenly shot out from afar, whizzing past his cheek and striking the carriage with a loud humming noise, showing its incredible force.

  Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, the leader's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, a visible swallowing motion, he was afraid, a hair's breadth away from being easily killed.

  "Who is it?!"

  "Be on guard!"

  The people around quickly reacted and a group of people quickly gathered together, forming the most basic defensive formation. It can be seen that their quality is still quite good.

  A group of people holding various weapons quickly surrounded them from all sides, their numbers more than twice that of the merchant caravan, swiftly encircling them in the center.

  "A hundred people! A full hundred people, how can this group of bandits be so large-scale?" The leader's heart roared, but his face remained unchanged, looking at the middle of the bandits, that young man who was obviously different from the others, wearing a simple hemp robe, with a powerful giant bow on his back.

  "It's him!"

  The leader's body slightly moved, the arrow just now was absolutely shot by him. That speed, that power, with his physical strength at the fifth level of refinement, he didn't react at all, this young man's power is absolutely beyond his imagination.

  "May I ask who you are?" The team leader asked, plucking up the courage. Being robbed is nothing, but if one is robbed and doesn't even know who the other person is, that's the real tragedy.

  "Hei Feng Zhai, Xia Ming!" Xia Ming said coldly. Having lost his parents at a young age, he was not good with words and appeared to be quite aloof.

  "Heifeng Village...!" The leader's eyebrows twitched, and after a glance at the surrounding formation, he suddenly realized, "Mountain Stronghold Trial! Heifeng Village's Mountain Stronghold Trial!"

  I remember hearing from my elders that every time a young generation grows up in Heifeng Village, there will be such a trial. It's just that, because it has been too long, they have already forgotten about this matter. Moreover, they are not like the Lin family, a large merchant group, so naturally no one notified them.

  "Hand over the goods, scram!" Xia Ming said coldly.

  Some young people, upon hearing this, showed an angry face. Because they were young and not afraid of death, some self-righteous hot-blooded individuals felt their dignity had been insulted and decided to fight to the death.

  "Hmph! You think you can take us down? You won't be having an easy time either!" a passionate young man exclaimed.

  "Right, who's afraid of whom?"

  "We may be few in number, but we can still kill a lot of you!"

  The atmosphere was mobilized, and everyone protested that for a time, one by one, they burst out with the momentum of a desperate fight.

  Xia Ming didn't say a word, but suddenly a huge bow appeared in front of him, and three sharp arrows were already on the bowstring. The leader in the distance saw this and was about to remind him when he heard a "whoosh" sound, and the arrow had already been shot out.

  From Xiaoming drawing his bow to shooting it out, it was done in less than a breath of time!

  How is this possible?

  "Pffft!"

  "Pffft!"

  "Pffft!"

  Three consecutive sounds of flesh being pierced echoed, and the leader turned his head to see that the three young subordinates who had just shouted and taken action had their shoulders pierced through, even pulling them a large chunk thicker, crashing into the carriage.

  At this moment, everyone was shocked.

  He only shot through the shoulder, without piercing the heart, it's clear that this young man had shown mercy, otherwise not just these few young people, probably the leader would have been finished off as well.

  Before everyone could react, he suddenly unleashed such a move, and it was clear that this young man's strength far surpassed theirs!

  "Thanks for sparing my life."

  The leader bowed his head in gratitude and then had several people carry the man on their backs, leading the merchant group to quickly leave.

  Xia Ming waved his hand lightly, and a group of mountain stronghold disciples rushed up excitedly, collecting all the goods together with another batch.

  A mountain stronghold disciple came over and whispered to Xia Ming, "Boss, we can't act rashly anymore. Goods are valuable for their quality, not quantity. We should conserve our strength and aim for something even more precious. If we have too many goods, it's also inconvenient to carry, and may even affect combat."

  "Alright." Xia Ming nodded, "Let the brothers rest for a while, then head directly to the final destination indicated on the envelope!"

  "Yes!" The fake apprentice excitedly said, then went down to make arrangements.

  Xia Ming looked at the excited crowd, walked silently to a big tree on the side, sat cross-legged and started cultivating.

  The mountain stronghold disciples occasionally swept over here, all revealing a respectful expression. Xiaoming's strength and treatment of his subordinates had also gained unanimous recognition from everyone.

  However, at this moment, no one noticed that a drop of fresh blood fell from Xia Ming's wrist, seemingly caused by the excessive recoil force when he opened his giant bow earlier.

  Xia Ming's eyebrows slightly furrowed as she quietly wiped away that drop of blood, as if nothing had ever happened.

  The same situation does not just occur on this side of Linjiang City in the south.

  On the southwest and northwest sides of Linjiang City, several passing merchant teams were ambushed by Xia Yang and Xia Yan. Their team's average strength was relatively strong, so they didn't suffer too much damage. After losing a few people, they successfully gained their first fortune.

  The most bizarre thing is Xia Cheng, Xia Cheng's team seems to have no signs of robbery at all, and has not moved any passing merchant teams, but instead speeds up directly towards the destination.