A figure sprinted along the crumbling road at the base of the city wall, moving as fast as a phantom.
Before long, a collapsed section of the wall appeared ahead, blocking the road.
Yet the figure didn’t slow down. Instead, with a powerful leap, they soared a good twenty feet into the air.
After landing steadily atop the wall, Wu Liangchen let out a long breath. He felt invigorated, utterly exhilarated.
Now that he had reached the Proficient level, the power of the Wind-Chasing Leg was even more apparent.
For one thing, his running speed alone had skyrocketed.
On top of that, his jumping ability had also improved significantly. Leaping over rooftops was now a simple matter.
This thrilled Wu Liangchen.
’After all, what man could resist the allure of Qinggong?’
That was why he had just been running wild, circling the outer walls several times.
A crisp autumn wind was blowing, and it felt wonderfully refreshing.
Wu Liangchen wiped the sweat from his brow, then turned and descended from the wall, ready to head home.
But just as he reached the main street, he heard the sound of a commotion in the distance.
Wu Liangchen hadn’t planned on meddling, but then he faintly heard a woman’s cry. The voice was incredibly familiar, and his heart jolted in surprise.
’Bai Erya?’
With that thought, Wu Liangchen hurried over.
Sure enough.
A group of vagrants had gathered in an open area on the street. Some were grabbing raw wontons and stuffing them into their mouths.
Nearby, Bai Erya was helping her father up, crying out in anger.
"You... you bastards! Stealing wontons is one thing, but why did you have to hit someone?"
Elder Bai was clutching his cheek, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Wu Liangchen’s eyes grew cold as he strode forward.
"Erya, what happened?" Wu Liangchen asked.
The moment Bai Erya saw it was Wu Liangchen, her eyes lit up, and she pointed at the group of vagrants.
"Brother Xiaowu! We’d just set up our stall when this group came over, demanding wontons. My father told them we’re just a small operation. We could spare a bowl or two, but there are so many of them, we could never afford to feed them all."
"Right after he said that, these guys just started grabbing the wontons. My father got angry and argued with them, and then they hit him."
Wu Liangchen first checked the injury on Elder Bai’s face. It wasn’t serious—just a split lip.
"Xiaowu, these men are trouble. You shouldn’t provoke them," Elder Bai said helplessly. "It’s just a few bowls of wontons. Just let it go."
Wu Liangchen smiled. "Don’t worry, Elder Bai. I know what I’m doing."
With that, he turned and walked over to the wonton pot. The group of vagrants was crowded around it, gorging themselves. One burly man in particular stood out.
The man was nearly six feet tall, big and brawny. Despite supposedly being a refugee, he didn’t look the least bit gaunt.
He was standing right in front of the pot with a ladle, briefly scalding a few wontons in the hot water before scooping them out and eating them.
The other vagrants didn’t dare challenge him, giving him a wide berth.
"Was it him?" Wu Liangchen asked.
"Yes! He’s the one who hit my father," Bai Erya said, then lowered her voice.
"Brother Xiaowu, maybe we should just let it go. That guy is huge."
But Wu Liangchen said nothing and walked straight toward him.
The vagrants didn’t dare block his way, parting to let him through.
Wu Liangchen reached the pot and clamped a hand down on the burly man’s ladle.
The burly man, who had been happily eating, finally noticed someone had approached. He looked up and was taken aback to see a fair-faced youth.
"What do you want, kid?"
"Were you the one who hit him?" Wu Liangchen asked coolly.
"I didn’t mean to hit him. The old geezer was being difficult and asking for a beating. I was just having a few of his wontons, and he wouldn’t let me. He’s way too stingy."
The burly man grew more impatient as he spoke and glared at Wu Liangchen. "You’d better get out of my way, kid, or you’ll get a beating too."
Wu Liangchen smiled. "You can try!"
"You asked for it!"
With that, the burly man swung a slap at him.
Though it was clear the man hadn’t studied any Martial Arts, his physique was so powerful that the slap whistled through the air.
Seeing this, Bai Erya, who was behind him, cried out in alarm, "Look out!"
Wu Liangchen did not use his fist.
’With his current strength, a full-power punch would leave the man dead, or at least severely injured.’
He didn’t want to cause trouble.
So he simply shot out a hand and, with incredible speed, seized the man’s wrist.
The burly man was shocked and tried to pull his hand back, only to find Wu Liangchen’s grip was like an iron vise; no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t budge it an inch.
Not only that, but when Wu Liangchen tightened his grip slightly, the man let out a squeal like a stuck pig.
"AGH, AGH, AGH! IT HURTS, IT HURTS...!"
Wu Liangchen remained impassive. Soon, the pain forced the burly man to double over, his face drenched in sweat.
"Spare me, sir! Spare my life!"
"Are you going to hit anyone else?" Wu Liangchen asked.
"Never again! I swear I’ll never do it again!"
"So, what about what happened today?"
"I’ll pay, I’ll pay!" the burly man’s voice trembled with pain.
"Oh? You have money?" Wu Liangchen asked.
"I do, I do! It’s in my pocket."
Wu Liangchen reached into the man’s pocket and pulled out a handful of copper coins, among which was even a silver coin.
"You’re pretty well-off, aren’t you? Why do things like this?" Wu Liangchen asked, pocketing the money.
"I... I..."
"You’ve gotten used to using your strength to get free meals, haven’t you?"
The burly man stammered, not daring to answer.
"Remember this. If you ever dare to bully people like this again, it won’t be as simple as a broken arm."
With that, Wu Liangchen gave a sharp, sudden twist.
CRACK! Wu Liangchen snapped the man’s arm.
The scream lasted only a few seconds before it was abruptly cut off. The man clapped a hand over his mouth, staring at the youth before him in terror.
"Do you remember what I said?"
The burly man nodded desperately.
Only then did Wu Liangchen release his hand. "Scram!"
The burly man and the other vagrants scattered as if they’d been granted a pardon, scrambling away in a panic.
Only then did Wu Liangchen turn back to Elder Bai and his daughter.
He saw Bai Erya staring at him, her expression a mixture of shock and adoration. He couldn’t help but smile.
"There now. I doubt that man was a real refugee. He’s just a local thug using the disaster as an excuse to get free meals."
With that, Wu Liangchen handed the money he’d taken from the man to Bai Erya.
"This should be enough to cover your losses."
"It’s more than enough! Brother Xiaowu, how are you so strong? You broke that man’s arm just like that!" Bai Erya asked, her voice filled with adoration.
Wu Liangchen laughed. "It’s nothing special. I’ve just been working out lately, so I’m a bit stronger than before."
Then, his expression turned serious. "Elder Bai, Erya, things aren’t very safe on the streets these days. You two should try to avoid coming out so late."