Just yesterday, Zhao Lin had broken through the final acupoint on his Hand Yangming Meridian: the Yingxiang Acupoint.

With that, all six of his yang meridians were completely unblocked, and the one hundred fifty acupoints within were now under his control.

"I finally did it!"

Zhao Lin’s spirits lifted. He guided the force through his meridians and found it traveled several times faster than before.

If the force had once traveled along a winding country path, now it was like racing down a wide, grand avenue in a speeding carriage.

With a mere thought, he gathered the force in his palm. It seeped out from his acupoints, instantly forming a continuous film over his skin.

He opened his eyes to see that the pale white of his knuckles had vanished. In its place was a layer of force that, while invisible and intangible, felt utterly substantial!

"Haha, excellent! The First Layer of the Qi Realm!"

Zhu Huaishan knew that Zhao Lin had been only one acupoint away from his breakthrough, so he had come to the training chamber to keep him company. Now, witnessing it firsthand, he couldn’t help but clap his hands and laugh heartily.

Then he added with a hint of regret, "I should be sending out invitations far and wide to all our peers, but alas, we can’t make this public."

A disciple reaching the First Layer of the Qi Realm was a major cause for celebration for any sect or dojo, so it was no wonder he felt this way.

Zhao Lin, however, didn’t mind. He was too busy wondering, ’What would happen if I channeled force into the twenty-four acupoints on my chest and back?’

But with his master right there, if he suddenly started flying, it would be impossible to explain.

The next day, Zhao Lin left the city and found a desolate hilltop to test his ability to fly.

A light breeze was blowing under a vast, clear sky.

Zhao Lin reached the summit and, after confirming no one was around, unbuttoned and removed his outer robe, revealing the Clothes he wore underneath.

This kind of garment was loose and breathable, suitable for summer, but Zhao Lin was wearing it for a specific reason.

He had analyzed it beforehand. ’The Lark Essence Soul modified my acupoints. The most likely way to fly is through a principle similar to that of a jet engine.’

’Force will shoot out from my acupoints, using the reaction to generate upward thrust.’

’Physically speaking, that means my clothes must be breathable, or the thrust will be hindered.’

To test his theory, Zhao Lin silently circulated his Cloud-Piercing Force, guiding a stream of it into the Shen Tang Acupoint just below his shoulder blade.

’Out!’

The force that had accumulated in the acupoint shot out abruptly. Zhao Lin immediately felt a push and stumbled forward two steps involuntarily.

’It really works, and the thrust is surprisingly strong!’

A flicker of joy lit up Zhao Lin’s eyes as he glanced back at the spot where he had just been standing. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

’If a single acupoint has this much power, the combined force of twenty-four will definitely send me to the heavens... no, high into the sky.’

As Zhao Lin guided the force into the various acupoints, a problem suddenly occurred to him.

’The acupoint openings are perpendicular to my body, which means they can only produce horizontal thrust. How am I supposed to fly up, then?’

’Do I have to lie on my back... or my stomach?’

’No, there has to be a way.’

Zhao Lin again guided a stream of force, this time into the Sun and Moon Acupoint on his side.

This time, he directed the force to erupt diagonally downward.

PSSSH!

As the force jetted out, Zhao Lin’s body swayed. He distinctly felt an upward push.

Just as he thought!

The Lark Essence Soul had widened the acupoints, allowing for greater freedom in adjusting the direction of the expelled force.

’All right, now let’s see if I can actually fly.’

Zhao Lin centered himself, dispatching individual streams of force to each of the twenty-four acupoints.

However, he quickly discovered this was beyond his current capabilities.

It wasn’t a lack of force. Rather, simultaneously controlling twenty-four jets of force erupting from his acupoints required an extremely high level of proficiency—one he did not yet possess.

He immediately reduced the number of streams from twenty-four to twenty, and then down to sixteen, which he could just barely manage to control simultaneously.

With his preparations complete, Zhao Lin felt his heart thumping. He took a deep breath and thought, ’Ready... launch!’

Sixteen acupoints activated at once, force spewing out diagonally downward!

In that instant, Zhao Lin felt a rush of air from his sides. The fabric tucked into his belt billowed out from the powerful current, and then his body grew light, and he slowly began to rise.

’I’m flying!’

A wide grin spread across Zhao Lin’s face as he looked down at his dangling feet.

He was filled with emotion. He never thought he would actually develop the ability to fly; it was as if he had grown a pair of invisible wings.

CHIRP CHIRP!

A magpie out searching for food flapped past Zhao Lin, chirping twice in surprise.

He reached out to grab it but clutched at empty air. His body wobbled, and he nearly lost his balance, forcing him to quickly adjust the jet of force from the Jingmen Acupoint at his side to stabilize himself.

This being his first flight, his control was still unrefined. He constantly adjusted the direction of the jets from various acupoints to move forward, backward, left, and right.

Gradually, however, he began to notice some problems.

First, the force wasn’t a continuous stream but came out in bursts.

The force was expelled so quickly that the next burst couldn’t follow up in time, resulting in a stuttering sensation as he ascended.

Second, it consumed force at a rapid rate.

Zhao Lin had only been flying for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, yet he had already used more than half of his force. If he flew much longer, he would likely fall out of the sky.

By now, he was over five zhang from the ground—about as high as a six-story building from his past life. Looking down made him a little dizzy.

’That’s about enough.’

He gradually reduced the force of the jets from his acupoints and descended slowly. He didn’t feel secure again until his feet touched solid ground.

’It’s interesting, but it doesn’t seem very useful for combat.’

Once the initial excitement wore off, Zhao Lin gradually calmed down.

’If I were to fly up in front of an enemy at this speed, I’d be taken out like a sitting duck before I could even make a move.’

’It’s good for escaping, though. As long as I can put some distance between myself and an enemy, I can fly into the sky where no one can touch me.’

Zhao Lin had a nagging feeling that there was more to this ability than that. He pondered it for a long time but came up with nothing, so he began to practice the Six Harmonies Fist in an open area on the summit.

Punching, kicking, leaping forward, jumping back... As he executed his moves, he would release force from one or more of the twenty-four acupoints, causing his body to shift its trajectory.

"So that’s it!"

Excitement flashed in Zhao Lin’s eyes, and the words escaped his lips.

’Using these twenty-four acupoints just for flight is a complete waste! Their true purpose is to change direction while moving at high speed!’

In the past, although Zhao Lin possessed superhuman speed and an extremely fast Body Technique, he could only move in straight lines. His actions were predictable.

When facing an expert, no matter how fast he moved, they could always predict where he would appear next.

If he wanted to change direction mid-attack, he had to hold back power to perform preparatory actions like dropping a shoulder, twisting his waist, or pushing off with a leg.

All of these were tells that an opponent could use for prediction.

But now, it was different. He could take a step and simultaneously expel force from the acupoints on his chest or back, allowing him to change direction at will. It was impossible to defend against!

Zhao Lin practiced the Six Harmonies Fist again and again, each repetition filled with new variations. With the help of these twenty-four acupoints, his movements became phantom-like and endlessly transformative.

"So this is how it’s used!"

After a long while, Zhao Lin stopped. He gazed at the distant, rolling mountains, a smile touching his lips.

...

「Baitou Mountain, Seven Pillar Peak.」

"Damn, the Chieftain’s really something else. It’s already spring and he still won’t let us out. I’m bored to death! I’d kill to find a few broads to help me... limber up."

"Limber up? Looks to me like you’re itching for a whipping. If the Chieftain heard you say that, he’d skin you alive..."

At some point, a stone watchtower had been erected at the entrance to the pass on Seven Pillar Peak. It resembled a beacon tower, and the large tree that had once served as a lookout post was now gone.

Two bandits in filthy, old padded-cotton jackets were sunning themselves atop the watchtower, chewing on flatbread and chatting idly.

The bandit who had just spoken continued, "It ain’t just you. Nobody’s allowed out except the chieftains and the four lieutenants!"

"Why’s the Chieftain being so cautious?"

The bandit who had been grumbling scratched his messy hair in confusion. "That punk Zhao isn’t some god with three heads and six arms. His cultivation is only at the Power Realm. He’s just a little fast, right?"

"A little fast? Heh, you haven’t seen him. And no offense to the Chieftain, but if that Zhao kid ever decided to become a bandit, the title of Drilling Mountain Leopard would probably go to him."

"Is he really that incredible? What, can he fly or something?"

"Not exactly, but it’s close..."

The two bandits chatted back and forth, completely oblivious to a pair of eyes watching them from behind a large, distant tree.

The owner of those eyes observed for a moment before muttering to himself, ’These bandits are certainly cunning. The watchtower not only offers a better vantage point, but it’s also easy to defend and hard to attack.’

’If the sentries retreat into the corridor and seal the entrance, there’s nothing I can do to them.’

After a moment of thought, he turned and disappeared into the dense woods.

The newcomer was, of course, Zhao Lin. Ever since breaking through to the First Layer of the Qi Realm, he had thought of nothing but returning to the mountains to kill bandits.

After observing for the past two days, he had found that most of the bandits were still on Seven Pillar Peak. However, their defenses were significantly stronger; in addition to the new watchtower, he could also see patrols in the valley at night.

As for any changes inside their main lair, he couldn’t yet tell.

Ten days ago, he might have been helpless against the bandits, but now...

Zhao Lin moved through the forest until he reached one side of the valley.

He glanced up at the cliff face, which was over a hundred feet tall, then squatted slightly. Pushing off with his legs, he leaped more than ten feet into the air.

Just as he reached the apex of his jump, his clothes began to flap violently as sixteen jets of force shot downward, propelling him higher.

After many days of practice, Zhao Lin had mastered more advanced flying techniques.

Giving himself some initial momentum before releasing the force, rather than taking off from a standstill, made flying much easier.

To make flying easier, Zhao Lin hadn’t brought his heavy bronze staff, carrying only an iron ruler and a short axe.

The cliff face was steep, but it wasn’t smooth.

As Zhao Lin ascended, he periodically used outcroppings to aid his climb.

A dozen or so breaths later, he landed silently on the clifftop.

Looking down, he saw that the second and third guard posts were both unmanned.

’The bandits’ defenses are lax during the day. It looks like coming at this time was the right choice.’

He had chosen to come during the day precisely for the element of surprise.

Although he would have more cover at night, all their traps and mechanisms would be active, making it far more dangerous.