Chapter 16: Crossing Out 8 Characters

Hearing that Lu Li also wanted the Lin Family's Evil-Warding Sword Manual, the look of admiration in Lin Pingzhi's eyes suddenly faded, replaced by a cold indifference.

"Hmph!

I didn't expect that you, young hero, would be just like those at Songfeng Temple, coveting our family's Evil-Warding Sword Technique!

You have already taken thirty percent of the Lin Family's revenue, so why do you still want the Evil-Warding Sword Technique?"

"Pingzhi, do not be rude."

Lin Zhennan sternly rebuked him, then immediately slapped him across the face, striking Lin Pingzhi into silence.

His heart was pounding in his chest, and he thought to himself that this murderous star was an even more terrifying expert than those from Songfeng Temple; how could he be allowed to anger him like this?

Fortunately, he was a disciple of the Huashan Sect; if he were an expert from the evil path, the Lin Family would be finished based on that one sentence alone!

"My son is ignorant; I ask that you, young hero, do not take it to heart."

Lin Zhennan hurriedly bowed to Lu Li to apologize.

"It is no matter.

As for what decision to make, the Chief Escort should just consider it clearly for himself."

Having said this, Lu Li flicked his sleeves and left.

Left behind, the three in the hall looked at each other in dismay. Lin Pingzhi clutched his face and said, "Father, what did I say wrong!

Although he saved our lives, we already gave him thirty percent of our revenue."

"Shut up."

Lin Zhennan said, "You are simply muddled. Do you know that Young Hero Lu is saving our family's lives?"

This left both Lady Lin and Lin Pingzhi confused, and they looked at Lin Zhennan with bewilderment.

Lin Zhennan pondered for a long while, sighed, and said, "Enough, enough."

"Tomorrow, the two of you follow me, and we shall go to the old residence on Xiangyang Lane together."

... That night, the Lin Family's old residence on Xiangyang Lane.

Lin Zhennan walked in front, with Lu Li and Lin Pingzhi and his mother behind him.

The four walked into the courtyard. At this moment, the Lin Family had not yet fallen into ruin; after all, it was the old residence of a wealthy Fuzhou family, and since people cleaned it often, it was quite tidy.

Lin Zhennan pushed open the door and entered an ancestral hall, then turned to Lu Li and said, "Our ancestor, Lord Lin Yuantu, left a dying instruction: no descendant of mine may look at this, otherwise there will be endless trouble."

Lu Li knew it clearly, while Lin Pingzhi was completely confused.

They saw Lin Zhennan follow the direction of the finger in the portrait and take down an oilcloth-wrapped bundle from the roof.

He unfolded the bundle, revealing a red cassock inside. On the cassock, something was written in dense characters, and the most prominent were four words—'Evil-Warding Sword Technique'!

Lin Zhennan thought to himself: "Could this be the Lin Family's true Evil-Warding Sword Technique? Is this the martial art that the people of Songfeng Temple wanted to force out of us, the one with which our ancestor Lord Lin Yuantu dominated the world?"

His heart surged with excitement. He looked further down and saw that the first eight words were 'To dominate the martial world, one must first castrate oneself.'

Seeing these eight words, Lin Zhennan felt as if the sky were collapsing.

No wonder the ancestor had instructed not to look at it; if anyone practiced this, the Lin Family line would be cut off!

As his mind wavered, another thought emerged.

The ancestor had once dominated the pugilistic world with this technique, which was enough to show its miraculous nature.

Now that I already have an heir, the Lin Family will not be left without descendants.

The desire in Lin Zhennan's heart suddenly grew: 'As long as I practice this sword technique, I will be able to dominate the pugilistic world!

Why should my Fuwei Escort Agency be bullied? That Songfeng Temple—I will definitely kill them all!

And Huashan, taking thirty percent of my revenue for nothing!'

In an instant, distracting thoughts surged, and a boundless greed began to spread.

To others, Lin Zhennan's eyes were already blood-red, and he was muttering to himself while staring at the cassock, his face alternating between wild laughter and angry weeping, which was truly terrifying.

"Husband!

Husband!"

Lady Lin called out twice, but saw that Lin Zhennan had absolutely no reaction.

She subconsciously went to pull Lin Zhennan's arm, but at this moment, Lin Zhennan was already obsessed; he used his finger as a sword and instantly unleashed a move, 'Falling Meteor', pointing it at Lady Lin.

In their daily lives, Lady Lin often saw Lin Zhennan and Lin Pingzhi practicing swordplay, so she was extremely familiar with this move.

But this time, Lin Zhennan's strike was incredibly fast, pointing at her throat like a ghost.

She was completely unable to dodge it!

"Father!"

Seeing his parents turning on each other, Lin Pingzhi turned deathly pale with fright, and the next moment, his mother was about to die at his father's hands.

Just then, a sword scabbard was smashed directly over, and with a *slap*, it struck Lin Zhennan's face.

Boom!

Lin Zhennan's body was sent flying, and the cassock in his hand fell to the ground.

Lin Pingzhi hurriedly rushed over to support his mother, and Lady Lin was thus saved.

Lin Zhennan also woke up from his obsession, gasping for air as he said, "Young Hero Lu has saved this old man's life once again."

Afterwards, he explained to everyone what had just happened.

Only then did Lin Pingzhi realize that what was recorded on the cassock was the true Evil-Warding Sword Manual.

Although it was powerful, it was extremely dangerous, and its harsh requirements for cultivation made one's lower body ache just thinking about it.

Lin Zhennan sighed deeply, knelt before Lu Li, and bowed: "This Evil-Warding Sword Manual is too bizarre; the Lin Family has no fortune to enjoy it. May I ask Young Hero Lu to dispose of it on our behalf?"

Thinking of the eight words at the beginning of the manual, Lin Zhennan felt lingering fear in his heart.

Thinking further of how Lin Lin Yuantu had shaken the pugilistic world, yet his own father, Lin Zhongxiong, had only mediocre martial arts... Lady Lin and Lin Pingzhi understood the reason and dared not covet the manual anymore.

In truth, it was because the Lin family's martial arts were not high and their obsession with the Dao of martial arts was not strong; if it were someone like Zuo Lengchan, they would certainly never give the sword technique away.

For the Lin Family, who had just experienced the pain of separation and death, the most important thing at this moment was for the family to be safe and sound.

Wealth and martial arts were all things external to the body.

Moreover, whenever Lady Lin thought of that terrifying requirement, her heart was filled with incomparable horror.

If her husband truly practiced this sword technique, what joy could she have in the future? She immediately hugged Lin Zhennan, unwilling to keep this sword manual.

If the mistress of a house did not want an item, no matter how precious it was, it could not be kept.

Lu Li took the sword manual and tucked it into his robes.

Lin Zhennan, supported by Lady Lin, walked back to the escort agency.

Along the way, his face remained turned to the other side.

It was not because he felt heartache over the sword manual, nor was it out of shame toward Lady Lin, but rather—his head had been knocked crooked by Lu Li.

... Lu Li held a candle to examine the sword manual.

He saw that the moves of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique were ordinary, but the matching mental cultivation method was extremely violent; when paired together, it allowed the swordsmanship to be as swift as a ghost.

Lu Li tried two moves and felt his lower abdomen burning with an unbearable heat, a wicked fire leaping up and down, and he was shocked in his heart.

"This Evil-Warding Sword Technique is indeed more brilliant than ordinary sword arts in the pugilistic world, but compared to the Dugu Nine Swords, it is not on the same level.

Most importantly, this sword technique has taken a wicked path; although it allows for quick success, its potential is strictly capped, and there is no need to practice it."

Now that Lu Li's internal energy and swordsmanship were both at the pinnacle, looking at the Evil-Warding Sword Technique was merely out of curiosity; for him to castrate himself to practice it was impossible.

What's more, he was still just a youth!

At the mere thought of castration, Lu Li couldn't help but tremble.

In his past life, he had seen various videos of people courting death by getting their crotches caught, and he felt the pain even through the screen; asking him to cut himself? It was simply impossible.

It was too painful!

However, he didn't want to practice it, but there were others who did.

A plan formed in Lu Li's mind; he took out his long sword and scratched out the first eight characters of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique: "To dominate the pugilistic world, one must swing the blade and castrate oneself."

Following that, he continued to make a few cuts on the cassock to make it look tattered, so that the missing beginning would not seem so abrupt, and he removed a few characters from the back as well without affecting the overall practice.

In this way, this faked Evil-Warding Sword Technique was seamless.

"Yu Canghai, Zuo Lengchan, don't you want to practice the Evil-Warding Sword Technique and unify the Five Mountains? Then I shall present this fine gift to you."

"Let's see what kind of state you can reach practicing an Evil-Warding Sword Technique that doesn't require castration."

The corners of Lu Li's mouth couldn't help but curl upward.