To catch a bandit, capture their leader first. If you want to kill, kill the strongest one first.
As long as Wu Chaofeng was eliminated first, the other two would be easy.
Lu Yan surged his Qi-blood to its full capacity, and his fist was covered with black lines as he punched towards Wu Chaofeng.
Wu Chaofeng had good reflexes, and when the door was broken, he instantly reacted and instinctively punched back, trying to block Lu Yan's attack.
Their two fists collided.
But the power between them was too disparate.
Wu Chaofeng also practiced third-rate martial arts, but he had mediocre talent. After more than ten years of practice, he had only achieved a slight achievement. His skill was far inferior to that of Lu Yan, who had reached the peak of perfection.
Moreover, Lu Yan had broken his limit, and his total Qi-blood was twice as much as Wu Chaofeng's.
Boom!
As the two fists collided, Wu Chaofeng's arm was twisted, his hand bone shattered, and excruciating pain made him want to scream out subconsciously. But the next punch from Lu Yan struck Wu Chaofeng's chest.
Crack!
Wu Chaofeng's chest caved in, his body flew backward and crashed into a wall, making an impression on the wall.
"It's... it's you..."
Wu Chaofeng's eyes bulged out roundly in shock as he finally recognized the attacker's face. A look of disbelief crossed his face, then his head tilted to one side, dying on the spot.
Lu Yan didn't even glance at Wu Chaofeng. After punching Wu Chaofeng and sending him flying, he immediately turned his fist towards Li Mu, who was on his left.
Li Mu, following in Wu Chaofeng's footsteps, was punched in the chest and sent flying as well, shattering a wooden stool he hit on his way.
Li Shi was greatly alarmed and immediately tried to escape.
But Lu Yan, with his strong Qi-blood and muscular build, quickly caught up with Li Shi in a few strides and punched him in the back.
Li Shi fell to the ground, coughing up a large mouthful of blood. He tried desperately to crawl ahead, wanting to cry for help, but when he opened his mouth, he could only make a wheezing sound.
Lu Yan added another punch, and that was the end of Li Shi.
After checking to make sure that all three of them were definitely dead, Lu Yan left quickly, not taking anything with him.
He didn't want to become a suspect just because of some trivial stuff he took.
Back home, he washed the little blood off his hands, lay in bed and recalled the whole process to make sure he left no clues behind. Only then did he reassure himself and drift off to sleep in exhaustion.
Although it was his first time killing someone, he didn't feel discomfort. Perhaps on the path of exile, he had become accustomed to life and death.
The next day, the character of life in the village was quite serene, the deaths of Wu Chaofeng and the others had not yet been discovered.
This just goes to show how unpopular Wu Chaofeng and his gang really were; nobody associated with them.
It wasn't until the third day that another village thug, who had been trying to join forces with Wu Chaofeng, found that they were all dead at home.
This caused quite a stir, and soon the whole village knew.
Everyone's faces revealed barely suppressed... joy.
The deaths of these three people were not insignificant, the village chief immediately reported to the Liu Family.
That same afternoon, two Red-clad Guards in crimson robes and long swords hanging around their waists came to Kaoshan Village.
In the thriving period of the Da Chu Dynasty, Changfeng City was a county city with a magistrate, a yamen, and bailiffs.
But now, these institutions have become nominal.
The Red-clad Guard was the force maintained by the feudal lords of the Liu Family to maintain order and capture criminals. Their duties were similar to the bailiffs of the past.
"The wounds indicate the victims were killed by powerful punches. Judging from the power shown, the killer should be a Limit Breaking Warrior." A middle-aged, heavily-bearded, Red-clad Guard surmised.
"I've asked around among the villagers. The names of the deceased were Wu Chaofeng, Li Mu, and Li Shi. They had practiced boxing at the martial arts hall and were quite strong. They were bullies in the village, always idling away and extorting others. They were widely resented by the villagers."
"But, apart from Wu Chaofeng and his gang, there are no other martial artists in this village, let alone Limit Breaking Warriors."
A younger Red-clad Guard shared.
"Bah, scum, they deserved to die."
The older Red-clad Guard swept a disdainful look over the bodies of Wu Chaofeng and his gang, and then said: "The answer is quite clear. These three losers have done too much evil and provoked a Limit Breaking Warrior from outside the village, who killed them."
"Xiao Chen, you go and tell the villagers this. I'll report to the higher-ups. Also, have the villagers move these three bodies to the mountain for burial."
...
Soon, the whole village received the news that Wu Chaofeng and his gang had done too much evil, provoked a Master from outside, and were killed with powerful punches.
"They got what they deserved."
"Justice is served."
The villagers clapped in celebration. If conditions allowed, they would have even set off fireworks to celebrate.
"Yan, did you... kill Wu Chaofeng and the others?" Lu Qingshan asked Lu Yan confidentially.
"Yes!"
Lu Yan readily admitted.
He knew well that he couldn't hide it from Lu Qingshan.
He had just broken his limit when Wu Chaofeng and his gang were killed by a Limit Breaking Warrior. Nothing could have been that coincidental.
"Yan, when you're acting, you must be cautious. Remember to pay attention and never be careless. Breaking limits for the first time is simply the beginning among martial artists."
"Dad, I understand."
...
And just like that, the matter let go. Nobody suspected Lu Yan, who was still considered a sickly young man just a few months ago, or Lu Qingshan, an old hunter who had been hunting for more than ten years.
For the Liu Family, the death of three ruffians was just a minor matter, not worth expending resources to investigate.
The next morning at dawn.
Lu Yan, carrying his hunting bow, went into Woniu Mountain alone.
He asked Lu Qingshan not to go hunting anymore, and help Wang Cui with the farm work. He would take over the hunting.
Lu Qingshan hesitated only for a moment before agreeing.
Lu Yan had broken his limit, and his body had also been tempered. Whether it was his strength, reaction, vision, eye strength, or smell, he was far superior to ordinary people.
Coupled with Lu Yan's formidable archery skills, apart from a slight lack of experience, he already far surpassed Lu Qingshan in all other aspects.
It's time for Lu Yan to gain some independent experience.
At the same time, Lu Qingshan gave his hunting bow and arrows, which he had used for five years, to Lu Yan.
Lu Qingshan's hunting bow was far better than Lu Yan's, especially the arrows. The tips were made of iron, far superior to his bamboo arrows.
Lu Yan passed through the outer and inner perimeters and went straight into the deep mountains.
He was confident enough that even if he encountered large ferocious beasts, he should be able to escape unscathed.
Not long after he entered the deep mountains, he saw a roe deer.
Lu Yan held his breath and raised his arrow to shoot, but unexpectedly, the roe in the deep mountains was extremely vigilant and immediately ran away.
"Trying to run!"
Lu Yan circulated his Qi-blood and quickly pursued the roe. In the course of the chase, he drew his bow, aimed at the roe, and shot his arrow.
This arrow directly hit the roe's hind leg. The roe tumbled to the ground, screaming. Lu Yan quickly shot another arrow which silenced it completely.
"This bow from my father is much better than mine, but it is still too light. It seems I need to hunt more game to sell in order to exchange it for a better bow."
Lu Yan walked over, pulled out the arrow, and hoisted the roe onto his shoulder.
The roe was about fifty pounds, which was quite light for Lu Yan with his current strength, and he was still able to stride swiftly along.
"Hmm? Danger."
Suddenly, Lu Yan stopped and deftly leapt backward.
A sharp claw swiped past his ear, almost scratching his neck.
Lu Yan stepped back continuously until he could clearly see what attacked him.
A wolf.
A lone wolf.
Wolves generally move in packs, but Lu Yan looked around and didn't see a second one.
The lone wolf, with its shiny green eyes, stared grimly at Lu Yan.
This lone wolf was nearly two meters long and almost a meter tall at the shoulder, significantly bigger than the wolves on Earth.
"Was this the lone wolf that injured my father when he entered the deep mountains?" Lu Yan thought.
Immediately, Lu Yan put down the roe and made a provocative gesture.
Rooarr!
The lone wolf pushed off its four legs and pounced at Lu Yan.
Lu Yan sidestepped and delivered a punch straight to the side of the wolf's head.
The lone wolf whimpered and staggered back as if it had drunk too much alcohol, swaying for a while before finally collapsing to the ground.
As it turned out, Lu Yan had knocked it out with one punch.
"Just like that."
Lu Yan had a clearer understanding of his own strength. He pulled out an arrow and plunged it into the lone wolf's neck, ending it completely.
He was fortunate today; in such a short time, he had hunted both a roe deer and a wolf. The two combined weighed about 200 pounds, which was more than enough.
Carrying his kills, Lu Yan returned to the village.
This time, Lu Yan didn't hide his catch.
With the three men, including Wu Chaofeng, dead, and Lu Yan no longer as he was in the past, there was no need for him to hide his catch as he used to do.
At the same time, displaying the lone wolf would also serve as a deterrent.
Sure enough, the villagers admired Lu Yan's catch with a hint of fear.
The ability to hunt a lone wolf indicated Lu Yan's strength.
"Lu Yan has really accomplished something."
"Look at his size and build– he's as strong as a bull."
"I've heard his archery skills are also extraordinary. He can hit the target with every shot, he has fully inherited Lu Qingshan's skills."
The villagers were abuzz with joint guesses.
Lu Yan left his catches to Lu Qingshan and Wang Cui to handle, then went back to the bamboo forest to practice his punches.
In the blink of an eye, another month passed by.
Lu Yan's life was very regular– he would go hunting in the mountains every morning and practice punches in the afternoon, and sometimes he would also practice punches at his home courtyard in the evening.
As he started catching more and more game, Lu Yan occasionally took some small game to be sold at the market in Changfeng City.
Like wild rabbits and wild chickens.
Such game could be sold for about 20 Wen per pound, so a piece would cost at least 50 to 60 Wen.
In this world, one ounce of silver is equivalent to a thousand copper coins, which is one thousand Wen.
And the purchasing power of one Wen is roughly equivalent to one Yuan on Earth in his past life.
As for precious items like wolf and cow hides, Lu Yan didn't sell them.
Mainly because he was afraid of drawing attention.
Changfeng City was not like Kaoshan Village. There were many capable people in the city and numerous Limit Breaking Warriors.
With his current capabilities, he could easily protect some small game and several hundred Wen, because those Limit Breaking Warriors wouldn't be interested in these.
Those who would be interested in such things would be some low-end thieves who could be easily dismissed by him.
But if there were more valuable goods, that would draw the attention of Limit Breaking Warriors and cause trouble.
Lu Yan used the money from selling his game to buy some salt, rice, beans, eggs, and other items to improve his living conditions at home.
"It's a pity the progress of Iron Thread Fist is becoming slower and slower."
Lu Yan sighed.
When he was at the Mastery stage, eating one pound of meat could increase the progress of Iron Thread Fist by 1.25%. In theory, upon reaching the Peak of Perfection, the progress would be halved to 0.625% per pound of meat.
But in reality, after reaching the Peak of Perfection, Lu Yan found that eating one pound of meat only increased the progress by 0.3125%.
This progress was only a quarter of that at the Mastery stage.
All of these changes were recorded in explicit detail above his Avatar's head.
Considering that practicing punches to build up Qi-blood also took energy, Lu Yan was currently consuming twelve pounds of meat per day along with some rice and vegetables to achieve less than two percent progress.
It wasn't due to a lack of meat, but the limit of Lu Yan's stomach.
The food he consumed had to be digested by his stomach. After digestion, it would then be absorbed by his body and the Dao Book.
Although the Dao Book assisted in digestion and practicing punches promoted gut movements, eating twelve pounds of meat per day was pushing the limit.
Eating more than twelve pounds of meat would not be indigestible, but it would put an enormous strain on his stomach and could harm him, leaving behind potential health risks.
Right after he broke his limits and was consuming massive amounts of meat every day, exceeding twelve pounds, he began to experience aches in his stomach.
As his martial arts level increased, ordinary meat had a lesser effect.
He wondered what would change after reaching the Transcendent stage.
"Martial Food."
Lu Yan thought of a term.