Without any hesitation, Lin Sheng's dart in his wrist immediately shot out backward.
However, there was no sound from behind, and the icy chill became even more intense.
Without thinking, Lin Sheng's legs suddenly swelled up, stomped heavily on the ground, and he rolled forward.
Only then did he narrowly avoid the strange attack from behind, just grazing his scalp.
At this moment, he turned his head and finally saw the black-clothed man standing where he had just been.
The next instant, the black-clothed man vanished from his sight again.
"No, not vanished, but his speed is too fast..."
This time, Lin Sheng stared intently at the opponent and finally managed to catch a faint glimpse of the black-robed figure like a shadow.
"To the right!!"
The alarm bells rang loudly in his heart. He raised his right arm, the muscles on his arm bulged, and it was directly the killing move of the Raging Bull Fist.
Bull Rushing Horn!
As his fist swept through the air, it produced a sharp air explosion, making it easy to imagine the explosive power behind this punch.
It was only with the two points of agility increase gained from the White Ape Possession that he could even catch a trace of the opponent's movement.
However, as his killing move landed, the opponent merely extended a thin, dry palm and lightly blocked his fist.
The imagined dull thud did not occur. The sensation Lin Sheng felt was not like hitting a human hand; it was more like hitting a soft, cold sponge.
Most of the power he unleashed actually landed in empty space.
Instead, his entire arm felt incredibly cold, as if it had been frostbitten.
This situation greatly alarmed Lin Sheng.
The ability shown by the black-robed man before him was truly somewhat unbelievable.
After this strike, the black-robed man did not attack again but stopped in place, watching Lin Sheng with interest.
"Tsk tsk... not bad. But for someone at the early Forging Tendons Realm to be able to catch a trace of my movements is quite interesting."
A somewhat hoarse, rough voice came from under the black hood.
At this moment, Lin Sheng finally saw clearly that under the black robe was the sallow face of a middle-aged man.
"Senior, who exactly are you? This Junior has never seemed to have met you before. Why did you suddenly attack me?"
Lin Sheng was sure he had never met the other party. He subtly stepped back a few steps, staring at the opponent with a cautious expression, preparing for the next possible attack.
"Who I am is not important. It's just that you've successfully piqued a little of my interest."
The black-robed man ignored Lin Sheng's question and continued speaking to himself.
"Lin Sheng, sixteen years old. You don't seem to have been practicing martial arts for very long, yet you've already cultivated two martial arts techniques to the Great Completion stage. Although they are just ordinary third-rate techniques, it's still quite good. It seems your Aptitude is much better than we imagined."
As the black-clothed man spoke, he vanished from Lin Sheng's sight again the next instant.
Lin Sheng was greatly startled and was about to strike to defend himself, but this time he didn't sense the opponent's presence at all until a thin, dry palm landed on his shoulder.
As this light palm landed, Lin Sheng felt as if his entire body had fallen into an ice cave.
He was completely unable to move even a fraction, and even the flow of blood qi within him seemed to be frozen.
"This is..."
Lin Sheng frantically mobilized his internal blood qi, but it had no effect whatsoever.
And from that palm, a strange current of air seemed to surge from his shoulder into his body, constantly moving throughout his entire being.
A peculiar feeling of being seen through, from head to toe, surged into his heart.
But Lin Sheng could not react at all.
Fortunately, this feeling did not last long, dissipating after only a few breaths.
And the icy chill that enveloped his body also slowly faded.
"None, strange, there really isn't any!?"
At this moment, the black-robed man propped his chin, his gaze fixed on Lin Sheng, his words full of confusion.
Saying this, as if not believing it, he placed his palm on Lin Sheng's shoulder once more. Soon, Lin Sheng experienced that feeling of being unable to control himself again.
The strange current of air surged into his body again, circulating within him. This time, it lasted for almost the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before dissipating.
"Still none. That guy didn't lie."
The black-robed man shook his head slightly, rubbing his chin repeatedly with his palm.
"There's no trace of Bloodline Power, yet his cultivation speed is so fast, and his bone structure and Aptitude are quite ordinary. Could it be due to exceptionally strong comprehension? Strange, truly strange."
The black-robed man mumbled to himself.
Originally, when he heard Lin Miao say that Lin Sheng's cultivation had entered the early Forging Tendons Realm, he thought he had only cultivated one third-rate martial art to Great Completion.
He didn't expect him to have cultivated two third-rate martial arts to the Great Completion stage, and in terms of speed and reaction, he seemed to be quite a bit faster than ordinary early Forging Tendons practitioners. If someone with such talent possessed a Bloodline, their future would be limitless.
"What a pity..."
He muttered, his eyes filled with regret as he looked at Lin Sheng.
"Alright, nothing more here. You can go."
The black-robed man waved his hand, signaling Lin Sheng to leave.
At this point, Lin Sheng finally recovered from that icy state.
He frowned, looking at the black-robed man before him.
From their exchange just now, he could tell that this terrifyingly strong black-clothed man did not seem to bear him any ill will.
After all, with the terrifying strength he displayed, dealing with him would be incredibly simple.
Moving his body, Lin Sheng's gaze fell upon the black-clothed man, but he was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he slowly spoke.
"Senior, were you sent by my Brother Lin Miao?"
"Oh?"
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, a hint of surprise flashed in the black-clothed man's eyes.
"Did he tell you?"
"No, I guessed it," Lin Sheng said, neither humble nor overbearing.
"Guessed it, tsk tsk..."
The black-robed man chuckled twice.
"Your Brother did indeed look for me, but he didn't ask me to come here. The reason I'm here is just that I'm a little interested in you, so I came to test you."
"And what was the result?" Lin Sheng asked.
"To be honest, it's quite ordinary. You don't have a Bloodline."
"Bloodline!?" Lin Sheng raised his eyebrows slightly. This wasn't the first time he had heard this word, but it was the first time he had heard it applied to a person.
"That's right, Bloodline. Something that is beyond your reach..."
The black-robed man said noncommittally, his tone distant.
"Alright, go on. Don't keep your parents waiting anxiously."
Having said this, the black-robed man seemed to lose interest in talking. His figure flashed and disappeared from Lin Sheng's sight.
"Bloodline? What could that be?"
Lin Sheng chewed on the word, not lingering. He turned and quickly walked towards the carriage.
Watching from a large tree nearby, the black-robed man saw Lin Sheng's back disappear and slowly mumbled.
"His temperament and methods are good, coupled with this quite outstanding comprehension, he's worth nurturing... But without Bloodline Power, he won't be a second Lin Miao, so ultimately his value isn't great..."
He shook his head slightly, and his figure melted into the darkness.
...
"A Sheng, where did you go? Why are you only back now!!"
On the other side, upon returning to the carriage, Lin Sheng saw Lin Hong and Xie Guilan sitting restlessly in the carriage.
"Nothing, I just walked a bit far and was delayed for a while. It's fine, let's go."
He casually made up an excuse to brush them off, comforted the two, and then got into the carriage to continue the journey.
However, his heart was far from as calm as it appeared.
The strength of that black-robed man just now still made him feel a lingering fear.
"I wonder what Realm that black-robed man is in?"
"Blood Transportation Realm!? Or stronger than Blood Transportation Realm."
He was more inclined towards the latter. Lin Sheng could sense that the black-robed man had not used much power just now.
"And the Bloodline he mentioned, something that even a master of that level highly values. This so-called Bloodline seems extremely important. From his attitude, the importance of Bloodline is even greater than innate talents like Aptitude and bone structure."
While driving the carriage, thoughts constantly surfaced in Lin Sheng's mind. Finally, he shook his head slightly.
"I'm still too weak. My understanding of martial arts is limited to below the Blood Transportation Realm. Something that sounds as high-level as Bloodline is too far away."
He let out a breath, thinking of his nominal Brother Lin Miao.
"The black-robed man is connected to Brother. The two of them might belong to some organization. Brother's strength should also be very strong, likely possessing the so-called Bloodline."
Just as he was pondering, Lin Sheng's gaze suddenly focused.
Something had appeared on the horse's back at some point.
"When did this happen..."
He scanned the surroundings but found nothing unusual.
After confirming there was nothing wrong, he finally examined the object on the horse's back.
It was a piece of black silk cloth, hanging on the horse's back and swaying.
To be safe, Lin Sheng tore off a piece of cloth from the carriage and wrapped his hand with it before carefully picking up the black cloth.
Even through the thick cloth on his hand, an icy chill subtly seeped in and pierced his skin upon contact with the black cloth.
"This is..."
This feeling was extremely familiar because he had experienced it firsthand more than once not long ago.
"Was this left by that black-robed man!?"
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes. He simply unwrapped the torn cloth from his hand and picked up the silk cloth directly.
There were several lines of small characters on it.
After reading the content, Lin Sheng's eyes flickered. Then, he exerted force with his hand and directly tore the black cloth into pieces.
Two hours passed quickly.
As dawn was breaking, the carriage finally arrived at Yangping Town.
"Is this Yangping Town? It looks so big."
Looking at Yangping Town, which was already bustling with people, Xie Guilan couldn't help but say, a hint of unease on her face.
Wherever her gaze fell, many people in Yangping Town carried weapons and blades with them. This was something not seen in Waguan Street, which naturally made the elderly woman who had never traveled far feel uneasy.
"Father, Mother, this is the territory of the Hunting Beast Hall. We're safe here."
Lin Sheng took them back to his residence, bought some miscellaneous supplies, and they settled down.
After a night of bumpy travel, none of them had rested. It wasn't until the afternoon that Lin Sheng finally came out of his residence.
He found Old Sun and rented another courtyard next to his residence.
Although his previous residence had a decent-sized courtyard, it didn't have many rooms, and the furnishings were too simple. It wasn't suitable for the three of them to live in, so he simply rented another courtyard.
The courtyard he rented this time was much larger than the previous one, and the room furnishings were quite complete, much better than the residence in Waguan Street.
After doing all this, Lin Sheng brought the two of them over.
As for the previous courtyard, he didn't plan to give it up but kept it as his training ground.
Lin Sheng held a few pieces of dried meat and pushed open the door to the training courtyard.
"Big Yellow, come out."
He glanced around the courtyard and called out.
"Woof..."
Immediately, a fluffy dog's head poked out from the firewood pile, cautiously looking over. Upon seeing only Lin Sheng, it immediately darted out and ran towards Lin Sheng.
"Woof woof... bark bark... woof..."
The yellow-haired wild dog kept circling Lin Sheng, drooling constantly, and whimpering non-stop.
It looked quite pitiful.
"This is yours."
Lin Sheng threw two pieces of dried meat from his hand. The yellow dog immediately jumped up and actually caught both pieces of dried meat in its mouth. Then, it turned its head and began chewing and swallowing them quickly.
Lin Sheng put the remaining dried meat into his own mouth and chewed slowly.
Before he left, he had specifically left some food and water for the wild dog. He didn't expect that fellow to have already finished it. As for Big Yellow, that was the name he gave it, which suited its yellow fur perfectly.
Entering the room, he finally took out the gains from his journey this time from his person.
The people who had chased after him this time were all quite strong, and each of their money bags was heavy.
Especially Liu Yuanshan, his money bag alone contained over thirty taels of silver.
As for the money from the others combined, there was also over eighty taels of silver. Including Liu Yuanshan's, there were a total of over one hundred and twenty taels of silver, which was definitely a large sum of money.
Compared to these, what Lin Sheng cared about more was something else.
His gaze fell upon the book on the table.
This was a blue-covered book with a monkey drawn on it, and there were three large characters prominently displayed.
"Ape Embryo Skill?"
Lin Sheng's eyes lit up.
The book that Liu Yuanshan tried to destroy before he died was clearly not something ordinary.
As expected, it was a martial arts technique.
Picking up the book, Lin Sheng quickly flipped through it and then took a deep breath.
"It's actually a second-rate martial art."
Even more rare, it was a complete second-rate martial art.
He took several deep breaths before finally suppressing his excitement.
"This Liu Yuanshan truly gave me a great gift."
Thinking about it carefully, these Liu brothers indeed provided him with tremendous help.
First, he obtained the cultivation method for the White Ape Leg Technique from Liu Ergou, and now he has obtained a complete second-rate martial art from Liu Yuanshan.
"Liu brothers, you're truly generous."
At this point, Lin Sheng was already considering whether he should burn some incense for these two brothers.
This was absolutely a timely rain gift package.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't save the other book. Its value should also have been considerable."
Thinking of the other book that was destroyed by Liu Yuanshan, Lin Sheng felt a slight regret.
"Let me see what's so extraordinary about this second-rate martial art."
He thought to himself, and Lin Sheng had already picked up the Ape Embryo Skill and began to study it eagerly.
Nothing was more satisfying than feeling his own strength increase.
Especially after seeing that black-clothed man, it completely shattered the slight arrogance he had felt after his strength increased.
Although during the exchange, he hadn't had time to switch to his strongest Tusker Mountain Pig Possession, even if he had, the outcome would not have changed.