Chapter 14: The Mysterious Sphere

Lu Yan ran through the forest for seven or eight miles, only stopping when he was sure no one was pursuing him. He found a spring and washed the blood from his hands.

"The Iron Thread Fist avatar feels different from before."

His attention was once again drawn to the Iron Thread Fist avatar. Climbing a flourishing tree, he concealed himself among the branches and concentrated, guiding his consciousness into his mindscape to appear beside the avatar.

The Iron Thread Fist avatar continued its ceaseless practice. This time, however, it was cloaked in a radiant aura, almost sacred—something it had never possessed before. Simultaneously, Lu Yan felt himself gaining new insights into the Iron Thread Fist with every passing moment. The progress indicator above the avatar’s head steadily climbed: five percent, six percent, seven percent...

Lu Yan estimated that nearly every minute, the progress increased by one percent. With a thought, he merged his consciousness with the avatar and immediately entered a wondrous state. His mind emptied, yet his thoughts became vividly alive, flooded with inventive ideas. Each punch brought fresh perspectives and realizations about the Iron Thread Fist. His cultivation speed soared far beyond the ordinary.

“How extraordinary—this feels like enlightenment.” Lu Yan speculated, elated beyond measure. What was that sphere, really? After absorbing it through the Daoist text, it granted the Iron Thread Fist avatar an enlightened state.

About an hour later, the avatar halted, the luminous aura dissipated, and the Iron Thread Fist’s progress paused at fifty percent mastery. In one breath, he had surged fifty points forward—astonishing, especially considering his current realm was already one of mastery. Ordinarily, consuming meat would barely move the needle. If he started from scratch, he could elevate a third-rate martial art to the pinnacle in a single hour.

One hour to reach the peak...

“That sphere—what is it, to have such miraculous effects? If I could find another, wouldn’t the Iron Thread Fist reach unity between man and martial art?” Lu Yan’s heart burned with desire for such spheres. He resolved to spend more effort searching for them in the future.

Leaping down from the tree, he headed out of the mountains, deliberately catching a yellow goat to carry on his back in order to avoid suspicion. Deep in the Longwind Mountains, animals grew more plentiful, so hunting a yellow goat was no challenge.

At first, nothing seemed amiss, but after roughly ten miles, three figures blocked his path.

Two were burly men, both in their thirties, tall and broad—the taller about six foot three, the other slightly shorter. The third was a rotund man, fiftyish, with a fat face and large ears.

"Stop."

The taller man stood before Lu Yan, like a towering wall. The fat man positioned himself to Lu Yan’s right, while the other blocked his retreat.

“What business do you gentlemen have with me?” Lu Yan asked with a smile, presenting himself as a simple, honest hunter.

“Take everything out. We need to inspect your belongings,” the man in front demanded.

“Sir, isn’t that against the rules?” Lu Yan replied.

“Rules? Listen up, we’re Leaf Seekers under the Wu clan. Our words are the rules.” The burly man sneered.

Wu clan? Could that gaunt middle-aged man from before be a Leaf Seeker under the Wu clan? Lu Yan sensed trouble. Leaf Seekers came in many factions, but the Liu and Wu clans’ organizations accounted for nearly half of them.

Chances were high.

That person near the valley must have been the gaunt man’s companion, who had seen both the corpse and the root of the Red Blade Leaf. Based on the root, they could estimate its weight. That’s why they stopped him for inspection; if the Red Blade Leaf matched the expected weight, they would immediately arrest and interrogate him. Otherwise, the Wu clan wouldn’t go to such lengths.

Lu Yan silently cursed his bad luck.

"Boy, what are you hesitating for?" The burly man before him stared like a beast, his blood surging, exuding a fierce and oppressive aura that weighed heavily on Lu Yan.

"Three breakthroughs—definitely three. No one with only two breakthroughs could have such intense blood energy." Lu Yan’s thoughts raced, though his face remained respectfully pleasant. “Sir, I’m just a common hunter. I only have some game on me. If you wish to inspect, then by all means.”

He laid down the yellow goat and hunting bow.

“What’s in that cloth pouch?” the fat man at his right asked, eyeing the pouch containing the Red Blade Leaf.

“Just a fox pelt. I’ll open it for you, sir.” Lu Yan remained deferential, feigning nervousness as he reached into the pouch.

Suddenly, a handful of fiery red powder flew from his right hand.

It was chili powder—specifically, the Fire Pepper variety, extremely spicy. Lu Yan had purchased a small bag in Longwind City while buying his iron bow, just in case. He had not expected it to come in handy.

The burly man and the fat man were caught off guard by Lu Yan’s sudden move, and got a face full of chili powder.

"Ah, it’s chili powder—my eyes!" the fat man screamed.

The burly man growled, instinctively rubbing his eyes.

Lu Yan struck instantly.

His blood surged, Iron Thread Fist at full power, and he punched the burly man’s chest. Though the man’s physique was indeed formidable—three breakthroughs strong, with astonishing defense—he could not withstand Lu Yan’s full-force punch.

With a crack, his chest caved in, and his massive body flew five or six meters, crashing into a tree.

But the vitality of someone with three breakthroughs far exceeded that of two; the man was not dead yet, struggling to rise. Lu Yan strode forward, seized an arrow, and thrust it into his throat.

He turned and chased after the fat man.

The fat man, his eyes ablaze with pain, sensed disaster and fled blindly, desperately rubbing his eyes to regain some vision. Yet blinded and hampered by his bulk, he stumbled through the rugged mountain path, and Lu Yan quickly caught up.

Just as Lu Yan was about to strike him from behind, the fat man spun and flung a handful of white powder at him.

“Lime—he’s cunning,” Lu Yan cursed inwardly.

Fortunately, Lu Yan had brought the chili powder as a precaution, and his defensive mindset made him wary. As the fat man tossed the lime, Lu Yan dodged to the side, avoiding it, then sprang forward like a leopard and unleashed the Iron Thread Fist.

The fat man’s blood surged as he swung wildly, but his strength was clearly inferior to the burly man—only two breakthroughs, posing little threat to Lu Yan.

Lu Yan found an opening and punched the fat man’s chest. Even layers of fat couldn’t shield him from Lu Yan’s iron fist; his chest was pierced, the heart pulverized.

Lu Yan didn’t even glance at him, but quickly pursued the last burly man.

The last man, seeing the three-breakthrough expert slain, panicked and fled for his life. Being the weakest—only one breakthrough—he knew staying meant death. Escaping to relay the news was the wisest course.

During the chase, Lu Yan snatched up the hunting bow. When he closed within a hundred meters, he loosed an arrow.

With an ordinary hunting bow, such a distance would have been ineffective, but the iron bow’s range was vastly improved.

With a thud, the arrow struck the man’s calf, tripping him.

"You can’t kill me—I’m with the Wu clan..." he shouted.

Lu Yan, running, fired three more arrows in succession; the man blocked two, but the third pierced his throat. After a few feeble struggles, he died.

In just a few minutes, all three martial artists with breakthroughs had been slain.

Lu Yan understood that their carelessness had led to their demise. At first, they hadn’t taken him seriously as a young hunter, so his ambush succeeded.

After all, Lu Yan was only fifteen—though tall, his face was still boyish. How strong could a fifteen-year-old be, even with martial training? He wasn’t the direct heir of a noble clan.

They stopped him only for a routine check, uncertain whether the murderer had accomplices. Otherwise, that three-breakthrough burly man alone would have been a daunting challenge for Lu Yan.

Lu Yan quickly searched their bodies, finding several banknotes. He glanced at them briefly, then stuffed them into his shirt. Unfortunately, there was no sign of another sphere.

He abandoned the iron bow and yellow goat, taking only the Red Blade Leaf, and headed deeper into the mountains.

Returning the way he came was impossible; who knew how many Wu clan Leaf Seekers were out there? He had to detour.

Moving deeper into the mountains, then circling around, he encountered no more roadblocks and returned smoothly to Longwind City.