But this time it was different, this time they were facing Ling Zhenfei.

Yesterday, Ling Zhenfei had already witnessed Zhou Tong's deadly prowess with the dagger's triple strikes. Those three consecutive blows were swift and fatal, leaving an ordinary person with no chance of retaliation. Therefore, Ling Zhenfei was extremely cautious this time, wary of Zhou Jian and the others teaming up on him, which was why he disrupted their rhythm earlier.

The moment they started moving, it was clear who had more experience. Even though they hesitated for just a moment, it was enough to throw off their rhythm. An enraged Zhou Jian was the first to strike, while the movements of the others were slightly slower. Perhaps less than a second, but for a master, it was enough to be deadly.

Ling Zhenfei used this slight time difference to sidestep the incoming club strikes to his head, maneuvering outside the encirclement, and with a single kick, he sent one of them flying.

They were momentarily stunned, not expecting Ling Zhenfei's movements to be so fast, but they quickly turned and charged at him again. Ling Zhenfei's level was far higher than theirs, but they had some kind of special formation which amplified their power, allowing them to exchange a few blows with Ling Zhenfei on equal footing.

Initially curious, Ling Zhenfei didn't strike with his full strength. After exchanging a few moves, he understood the principle behind their formation. It turned out that their footwork was quite specific, following a cross-step pattern with orderly advances and retreats.

They also coordinated with each other; when one person's move missed, another would immediately fill in, creating a continuous flow of attacks, which was why their moves seemed so strong.

Understanding the principle, Ling Zhenfei lost interest in prolonging the fight. Suddenly accelerating, he blocked one person's wooden club and punched another in the stomach, who screamed and clutched his belly, collapsing to the ground.

"This guy is tough, go all out!"

Zhou Jian shouted, swinging his wooden club at Ling Zhenfei. In truth, they were all terrified because they had never encountered such a situation before. They were using clubs against an unarmed person, yet none of their strikes landed. Instead, their own people were hitting each other.

What scared them the most was that whenever their opponent retaliated casually, one of their own would go down. They knew their own strengths well; normally, they could easily handle several people. Here, they were being beaten without a chance to fight back.

Bang!

Ling Zhenfei knocked one person down with a punch, snatched the club from his hand, twirled it around, and then smashed it onto another person's head.

Within less than a minute, all eight people were lying on the ground. The worst of them was Zhou Jian, the strongest among them, but he couldn't even withstand two rounds from Ling Zhenfei before being knocked out.

Ling Zhenfei paid special attention to Zhou Jian, punching him in the nose and causing blood to gush out, making his face look frighteningly red.

Ling Zhenfei controlled his strength very well. It would be hard for these people to stand up, but he didn't injure them, demonstrating impressive control.

"Speak, who are you?"

Ling Zhenfei pulled Zhou Jian's head up. Zhou Jian, nose bleeding, wiped it messily with his hand. He could still move, but he dared not make any move, knowing the huge gap in their strengths. Zhou Jian was very self-aware.

"I'm Zhou Tong's older brother. My brother got hurt here last night, so I came to avenge him."

Zhou Jian didn't dare lie, so he told the truth as there was nothing to hide.

"Who taught you your martial arts?"

"We learned from an old man who used to live here. He left after only a few months of teaching us."

Ling Zhenfei was astonished, realizing there were indeed cultivators in the world. Zhou Tong and the others had gained such inner strength after just a few months of learning from the old man. He couldn't imagine what level that old man had reached.

His own cultivation was only at the mid-stage Mingmu, far from a master's level. The reason for his slow progress was the scarcity of Northern Spiritual Energy. He relied on the Heaven-Dropping Essence Marrow space for cultivation to advance quickly. He wondered how other cultivators managed to rapidly enhance their powers in this world.

"So, how do you think I should deal with you? Should I cripple you or call the police? I have quite a few friends at the police station, you know."

"Boss, we were wrong. We won't dare anymore, please let us go."

The eight of them begged for mercy upon hearing Ling Zhenfei mention the police. It was rare to see eight people begging one person, fortunate that there was no one on the street; otherwise, it would be quite a funny sight.

"I don't hold grudges easily. Go back and tell Zhou Tong if he dares to mess with Liu Bingying again, I'll definitely cripple him."

"Yes, yes, boss, we understand. We'll treat her with utmost respect."

They mistakenly thought Liu Bingying was Ling Zhenfei's girlfriend.

"Don't talk nonsense. Liu Bingying is my sister."

"Yes, yes, it doesn't matter if she's your sister; we'll treat her like our sister-in-law."

The more they spoke, the more they confused themselves, almost making Ling Zhenfei laugh.

"Alright, get lost."

With Ling Zhenfei's command, it was like they were granted amnesty. The group scampered off, dragging each other along.

At the fish farm, Fatty told him that the latest batch of fish was growing well and would soon fetch a good price. Seeing Fatty so dedicated to the farm, Ling Zhenfei could finally take it easy.

Before going to bed, he received a call from his sister-in-law, Zhou Yun, asking why he hadn't come home in the past few days.

Hearing her voice, Ling Zhenfei couldn't help but miss her a little. He explained the situation and told her he'd return once Qiu Qing's treatment reached the next stage.

"Zhenfei, I need to tell you something. An old client visited today asking if we could sell our vegetables at a lower price, saying that Xishan Manor is no longer what it used to be, and if we could lower our prices."

"Absolutely not. We have to maintain our original prices."

Ling Zhenfei was adamant about the pricing. Those restaurants used to buy at five times the price, and just because of the current situation, they wanted a discount. He wouldn't agree.

"Zhenfei, our vegetables are piling up. Some are getting too old and will soon spoil. Why not sell some at a lower price now, and raise the prices later when demand increases?"

"No way, sister-in-law. Lowering prices is easy; raising them again is not. Even if I don't sell now, we must uphold the quality and price of our vegetables. This is the price, take it or leave it."

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