Chapter 94: The Arrogant One

By now, Lin Le had already advanced in his cultivation to the peak of Foundation Establishment, and the changes in him were not limited to his body; his mind had transformed as well.

The path of cultivation was, from the very beginning, a pursuit of a higher form of life—one that rose above the mundane world and the mortal flesh. This was what the path sought: to ask after the Way and pursue truth.

Lin Le’s body now was already approaching the innate realm. Even if he were to stop cultivating at this very moment, his lifespan would still exceed that of ordinary men by several decades.

If he went further and truly attained the innate realm, his life would be extended by at least a hundred years, perhaps even more.

It could almost be said that Lin Le’s physical constitution had already surpassed the boundaries of ordinary life, and so had his mind.

At present, his state of mind had faintly acquired that transcendent, worldly-detached air possessed by true masters, and his vision had risen far beyond what it had once been.

This was, in truth, a stage that all who walked the path of cultivation would eventually pass through. It was also why those genuine inner-sect Daoists who had truly entered the Way usually chose to cultivate in remote places, far from the mortal world. Aside from the fact that such places held richer spiritual energy, it was also because their minds had already become vastly different from those of ordinary people.

In Lin Le’s eyes, the villains who screamed and raged before him were no different from flies.

No one would care about the life of a fly, yet in the end, because it was so irritating, one would simply slap it dead.

Of course, Lin Le would still treat Gu Huishan, Gu Zhao, and the others as he always had. He merely possessed a higher outlook now; he was not so arrogant as to become rude and overbearing.

Gu Huishan and Gu Zhao had originally intended to accompany Lin Le, but he politely declined.

His car had already been repaired and returned half a month ago, and was parked at the entrance. It had to be said that the young man at the dealership had truly gone to great lengths for Lin Le. Every part used in the repair had been original factory equipment, and the car was now exactly as it had been when it first rolled off the production line.

After getting in, Lin Le floored the accelerator and sped toward the city center.

At that moment, many people had gathered in front of the Lin family noodle shop in Rainbow Bridge Plaza.

The newly renovated storefront of Lin Family Noodles had also been smashed to pieces. The glass doors that had just been installed were shattered into countless fragments, strewn across the floor like diamonds scattered over the ground.

What had been damaged was not only Lin Family Noodles. Seven or eight nearby shops had also suffered damage of varying degrees.

Lin Tenghui was unharmed, but Chen Qiang had been kicked while arguing with someone. Others from nearby shops had been beaten and were lying on the ground, and Lin Tenghui was helping care for them.

“I’m telling you this now—if you dare keep going against me, next time it won’t be as simple as smashing your shop!” a tall, tattoo-covered man barked viciously at the crowd.

“Ever since Commissioner Xue came to our Haizhou, no one has dared collect money from us anymore. Who the hell are you, and why are you still daring to take money from us?” one merchant said angrily.

“Why?” the tattooed man sneered.

“For your mother!”

As he spoke, the tattooed man went up without another word and kicked the merchant. The merchant was sent spitting blood as he crashed to the ground.

Everyone was stunned. They had not expected this tattooed man to be so ruthless, daring to assault someone in broad daylight.

“That was before! From this moment on, this place is under the control of the Crimson Hero Society! Do you all hear me clearly?!” the tattooed man shouted arrogantly.

“The Crimson Hero Society?” The crowd looked at one another in bewilderment, all in an uproar.

They were all people who had lived in Haizhou for many years, and they had only ever known that the underground world of Haizhou was ruled by two major powers: the Black Flame Society in the north of the city and the Heavenly Might Gang in the south. They had never even heard the name Crimson Hero Society before.

“Are you still counting on that Xue Beichuan? Go ahead and call him now, if you want. At worst, I’ll spend a few days inside. But as for all of you on this street, forget about ever having peace again! If I find out who made the call, I’ll make sure his whole family is destroyed!” The tattooed man’s expression was ferocious, his tone brazen.

At those words, a chill ran down everyone’s spines.

In the past, even the people from the Black Flame Society and the Heavenly Might Gang were locals from Haizhou. However they acted, they at least kept some room for civility. But these Crimson Hero Society thugs, judging from their accents alone, were clearly not from here. Not only were they vicious in their methods, they showed absolutely no consideration for anyone. They were outrageously arrogant.

Yet no one dared stand up. They were angry, but they could only swallow it.

Just as fear and fury rose within the crowd, a voice drifted over gently.

“Talking so big. Do you really think there’s no one in Haizhou?”

The voice was soft, with little emotion, yet it struck like thunder in everyone’s ears. The crowd instantly erupted, all turning toward the direction from which it had come.

Then the people parted like a tide, and Lin Le, slim in build and calm in expression, slowly walked in.

“Brother Le!”

“Little Le!”

Seeing Lin Le arrive, Lin Tenghui and Chen Qiang immediately showed looks of delight.

“You brat, you sure have guts. Everyone else is too scared to even fart, but you dare step forward. Looks like you’re tired of living!” the tattooed man cursed arrogantly.

In his eyes, the power of the Crimson Hero Society far exceeded anything these ordinary townsfolk could imagine, and it was by no means comparable to small outfits like the Heavenly Might Gang or the Black Flame Society.

Anyone who dared challenge them would never end well.

A cold glint flashed in the tattooed man’s eyes as he looked at Lin Le.

Since this bastard wanted to make himself known, then he would use him to warn the rest. Let these Haizhou people see just how formidable the Crimson Hero Society truly was.

“Men, break both his legs...” the tattooed man ordered his subordinates behind him.

But before he could even finish the word “legs,” Lin Le’s figure flashed. The tattooed man only felt a searing pain across his face, and his whole body was sent flying. The few subordinates behind him were knocked flying with him.

“Ah!” The crowd cried out in shock at the sight.

Then cheers burst forth from the crowd.

“Serves him right!”

Lin Le steadied himself and looked down calmly at the tattooed man lying on the ground, saying coldly, “I think the one who’s tired of living is you.”

“You...” The tattooed man stared at the young man before him in disbelief. Lin Le’s strike had been too fast; before he had even reacted, he had already been sent flying. Since he had dared to make trouble, he clearly did have some skill.

“Fine, fine, fine. You punk, no wonder you dared challenge me—you’re actually trained!” the tattooed man snorted.

“You’re tough. You hit well. I can’t beat you in a fight. But I refuse to believe you can stay in this shop forever. When you’re not here, I’ll come again, and I’ll make sure your whole family is ruined!” The tattooed man raised his eyebrows and said darkly.

The people around him also began to worry for Lin Le.

As the saying goes, it is easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the shadows. The other side was obviously planning to use underhanded tricks to hurt people. Even if Lin Le possessed great skill, it would still be impossible to defend against everything.

“We’re leaving!” With that, the tattooed man gloatingly prepared to take his men and go.

That was how the Crimson Hero Society handled things: if you were hard and capable, they would not clash with you head-on. But what could you do if they refused to meet force with force?

Just as the tattooed man was basking in his own smug satisfaction and about to leave, a stern voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

“Stop right there!”

The tattooed man turned around and looked at Lin Le with utter arrogance.

“What? You want to fight again? Come on then. Worst case, I get beaten badly by you and then call the police to arrest you!” He was using nothing but shameless tactics.

“Or what, are you going to kill me?” the tattooed man said with a cold laugh.

“I’d like to see whether you’ve got the guts to do anything in broad daylight!” he said provocatively.

His underlings also burst into smug laughter, because they were certain Lin Le would never dare kill someone in broad daylight.

“If you want to die that badly, I’ll grant your wish.”

As he spoke, a chilling light flashed abruptly in Lin Le’s eyes.