Two voices rang out almost simultaneously. A blur of motion followed; the adjutant, who had just rushed behind Lin Yao, streaked backward at an even greater speed than when he had charged forward, crashing directly into the wall and shaking the entire building. After the sounds subsided, the adjutant slowly slid down the wall. The blood at the corner of his mouth and the dent in the wall where he had struck showed the severity of the blow he had suffered.
One glance! One move!
General Hong's pupils contracted sharply. Ignoring his adjutant who had been knocked to the floor behind him, he gathered all his inner energy, his eyes blazing with rage, and lunged forward.
The opponent is a master! Someone who could render Hong Hao's full-force attack ineffective and severely injure him in a single exchange must be stronger than himself. Keep in mind that Hong Hao has already reached the early stage of the Earth Rank; even with his mid-stage Earth Rank abilities, he couldn't have achieved that.
The fist, imbued with the full power of General Hong, rushed straight toward Yi Fei, who stood firmly to Lin Yao's left. The decisive General Hong did not hold back at all. After quickly assessing the situation, he launched an attack without hesitation.
The Hung Family Fist's powerful energy, accompanied by a piercing whistle, rushed towards the attacker beside Lin Yao. The fierce force of the fist energy grazed Lin Yao's face, causing him a dull ache. He was quite worried. Without Xiao Cao's intervention, Lin Yao would not have been able to withstand such an attack. If such a fist energy struck him, it would likely cause serious injury, perhaps even punching a hole in his body. Even if Xiao Cao was incredibly powerful, she probably wouldn't be able to recover.
After advancing to the twelfth level of the Luo family's cultivation technique, Lin Yao felt danger for the first time—a danger that could threaten his life. Without Xiao Cao, let alone a mid-stage Earth-level expert like General Hong, he wouldn't be able to defeat even an early-stage Earth-level expert, unless he used flying needles—flying needles infused with highly toxic substances like potassium cyanide.
Moreover, timing is crucial when using flying needles. If a master of the Earth level is aware of the situation and prepares to block the needles with their hands filled with true qi, then one's only means of attack becomes ineffective. This is because with one's current seventh-level human-level true qi, it is impossible to break through the true qi defense of an Earth level master, and thus, the poison cannot be successfully administered.
While Lin Yaoxing was deep in thought, Yi Fei calmly made his move and swung his right arm.
The waving motion that Lin Yao could clearly see seemed slow, yet it was just enough to block the incoming fist in time. General Hong's right fist, imbued with fist energy, had just entered a meter in front of Yi Fei when it felt as if it had sunk into quagmire, its force becoming erratic and unable to aim at the chest standing right in front of him.
He reached out and patted his palm.
The moment Yi Fei's right palm touched General Hong's fist, it immediately softened, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue. It quickly climbed up the general's wrist, and with a burst of force from his five fingers, he gripped the general's pulse point. Then, with increased force, he flung General Hong's entire burly body flying towards Lin Yao's right side, crashing heavily into the wall before sliding down.
General Hong, who had slid down, braced himself against the armrest of the sofa with his left hand, turned and flipped, and landed quickly and steadily. His breathing was steady and long, but a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth revealed that he had been injured.
Just as General Hong was preparing to continue his attack, the light streaming through the window revealed Yi Fei's face clearly, and he was startled. "Yi Fei?!"
"General Hong, it's been a long time." Yi Fei greeted him casually, then turned and bowed to Lin Yao to apologize, "Xuan Lang is late, please punish me, Elder."
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Chapter 187 New Relationship
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"Elder?!" General Hong exclaimed in surprise. The things he encountered today were more shocking than the last. Not to mention that Yi Fei, whom he often saw by the Third Leader's side, had undergone a huge change in appearance, looking more than ten years younger, which made him not recognize him at first glance in the critical moment. Now, Yi Fei, a member of the Yi family, was actually calling Lin Yao "elder," which meant that Lin Yao was already a member of the Yanji Yi family. All the plans he had made in Chengdu could not be carried out, and the tasks entrusted to him by the family elders could not be completed.
"General Hong, I am a guest elder of the Yi family. I look forward to your guidance in the future." Lin Yao calmly bowed to General Hong, using the traditional fist and palm salute of martial arts practitioners when they first met.
A flurry of footsteps sounded as Banan, running at the front, shouted as he rushed into the room, "What's wrong? The boss isn't here...?"
Ba Nan's voice stopped abruptly. He stopped and stared blankly at the scene in the room. After a moment, he looked at General Hong and slowly spoke, "General!"
General Hong did not wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. He glanced at the guards and Banan who rushed in and said indifferently, "You all get out."
"Yes, sir!" Everyone, including Banan, instinctively stood at attention, saluted, and quickly left.
Leaving the room filled with deep questions and worries, Banan didn't even dare to look back. At that moment, his heart was filled with terror. On one side was his most respected general, and on the other was his boss, whom all his brothers sincerely admired. What was he going to do?!
"Are you Yi Fei?" General Hong asked again, still unable to believe it. The vaguely familiar face still made him hesitant to confirm his identity. Just two months ago, when he was received by the leader in the capital, the Yi Fei who appeared next to the third leader looked different. More importantly, at that time, he could clearly feel that Yi Fei was only at the early stage of the Earth Rank. But judging from the fact that the other party made a calm move today, he had at least surpassed him. Wouldn't that mean he had reached the peak of the Earth Rank?
General Hong absolutely couldn't believe that someone could advance from the early stage of the prefecture-level rank to the peak stage in just two months. Yet, the living example before his eyes forced him to question his own judgment. Could anyone in this world truly advance twice in two months?
"That's right, I am Yi Fei." Yi Fei answered General Hong calmly. Now that he had advanced to the top of the Earth level, he didn't need to be respectful to General Hong, who was at the middle Earth level. Not to mention that he was not originally under Hong Guangde's command, with the Yi family's resurgence and him becoming a master, he could at least be promoted from senior colonel to major general or even lieutenant general, which was almost the same level as General Hong. This was the rule for aristocratic families to gain power in the secular world.
The most important reason is that when the Yi family declined, the Hong family didn't offer any help. Instead, they played dirty tricks and cooperated with forces led by the Jiang family to attack the Yi family. This resentment had already taken root in the hearts of all the Yi family members. To expect them to be respectful and courteous to Hong Guangde? Absolutely not!
"These are two 'White Cloud Pills.' General Hong, please take them with this adjutant to avoid further injury." Lin Yao handed the small jade bottle he had prepared to General Hong.
While they were talking, Lin Yao had Xiao Cao put two "White Cloud Pills" into the jade bottle. He felt that this method was much more convenient. He thought it would be even better if Xiao Cao could put the jade bottle in as well, so that he wouldn't have to carry a bunch of empty bottles around all day.
"Thank you, Elder Lin." General Hong politely accepted the jade bottle, first placing one of the "White Cloud Pills" into the mouth of Hong Hao, who was still lying on his side on the ground, before taking the remaining pills himself.
"May I speak with Elder Lin in private?" General Hong glanced at Yi Fei, then stared at Lin Yao. His expression was no longer that of an elder looking at a junior; he now spoke with the respect due to an equal.
If judged purely by the status of aristocratic families, Lin Yao, as an elder of the Yi family, was even higher than General Hong. Therefore, General Hong treated Lin Yao as an equal for the first time.
Lin Yao hesitated for a moment, then turned to Yi Fei and instructed him, "Yi Fei, go out for a moment. I need to talk to General Hong about something."
"Yes, Elder." Yi Fei bowed and left the room with swift and decisive movements, not even glancing at General Hong as he departed. As a scion of a prominent family, Yi Fei considered Lin Yao's words as commands. He didn't need to greet General Hong in the conventional way before leaving, even though the latter held a higher rank than him.
After taking the medicine, Hong Hao managed to leave the room, still consulting the general as required by custom before departing. His injuries were quite severe this time; even with the "White Cloud Pill," he would need to stay in bed for three to five days to recover.
"Alas..." General Hong sighed softly, his drawn-out breath revealing his turbulent emotions.
Looking at this extraordinary young man, General Hong felt that his trip to Chengdu was a complete failure. He had gone astray from the very beginning and even planned to use force and power to coerce the Yi family elders to go with him. This had brought unnecessary trouble to the Hong family.
Although his own skill level was only at the mid-stage of the Earth level, which was not considered very high in the Hong family, Hong Guangde's status in the Hong family had nothing to do with his skill level. He controlled the powerful Eagle Army and it was no exaggeration to describe him as a minor warlord.
Although Hong Guangde wasn't officially an elder in the Hong family, his influence was comparable to that of ordinary elders, and even the First Elder and Second Elder valued his opinions highly. The First and Second Elders were both Heaven-level experts, and five of the five peak Earth-level experts and fifteen top Earth-level experts held the remaining ten elder positions. There were twenty-three Earth-level mid-stage experts with the same skill level as Hong Guangde. In addition, the Hong family had one hundred and fifty-one Earth-level early-stage experts, one of whom was Hong Hao, who served as his adjutant.
The fact that Lin Yao was able to develop the "Bigu Pill" and "Baiyun Pill," which are extremely effective for martial artists, along with the "Dragon Tiger Pill" reported by Shen Ruohua, has stimulated everyone in the Hong family. Opinions within the family have also split into two factions. One faction advocates for goodwill and wining over Lin Yao to help him obtain more resources and maximize the benefits for the Hong family. Hong Guangde is one of those who advocate this approach.
Another faction advocated control, placing Lin Yao, along with Luo Jimin and Lin Hongmei, under the control of the Hong family, restricting their residence, and defining the family as vassals of the Hong family. This faction was led by the Second Elder, as the three types of elixirs were extremely attractive to martial artists, resulting in widespread support. Apart from Hong Guangde and two other ordinary elders, all the elders agreed to this plan, which is why the First Elder decided to adopt it, with Hong Guangde, who had connections with Lin Yao, handling the implementation.
General Hong, who came to Chengdu with a guilty conscience, suppressed his conscience and prepared to take strong measures to carry out the family's orders. He never expected that Yi Fei, a member of the Yi family, would suddenly appear out of nowhere. What surprised him even more was that Yi Fei, who was at the early stage of the Earth level, had actually advanced to the peak stage of the Earth level.
Lin Yao, the ultimate target of the trip to Chengdu, unexpectedly became a guest elder of the Yi family. This sudden change caught General Hong off guard. At this moment, he only wanted to gain Lin Yao's understanding, hoping to mend the rift between the two sides and pave the way for the Hong family to gain benefits from Lin Yao in the future.
The Yi family, possessing a Heavenly-level expert, is someone the Hong family absolutely does not want to offend completely, not even for Lin Yao's sake. It's important to understand that once a martial artist reaches the Heavenly level, although their skill varies, defeating them is easy, but annihilating them is difficult. The Yi family is notoriously meticulous and calculating, and Yi Potian is even more clear about his grudges. If the Hong family angers Yi Potian, they will definitely face dire consequences.
Looking at the struggles of the weak Yi family against numerous families that joined forces to attack them over the past few decades, although they were in a weak position and their power and territory were constantly being eroded and shrunken, they never subdued them.
Among all martial arts families, the Yi family members are the most tenacious, ruthless, and fearless of death. Whenever the interests of the Yi family are involved, with the approval of the family head, a Yi family member will even take someone of the same or higher rank down with them, just to reduce the number of enemies the Yi family has. This is the real reason why the Yi family has stood the test of time. After all, no family can afford to waste its elite members. Fighting the Yi family to the death, even if they win, will only allow other families to take advantage of the situation.
Greed and anger are original sins! General Hong sighed again, the metallic quality in his voice no longer so obvious, "Elder Lin, I was wrong before, please forgive me."
Lin Yao remained silent, quietly waiting for General Hong to finish his thought. Only when he heard the other speak did he regain his composure. "General Hong, it's all in the past now, let it go. May I leave now?"