Rebirth of The Strongest Swordsman

Chapter 4

Gao Shan reached his right hand toward the thirty-five-pound black iron sword.

Lin Feng stepped into the open space between the anvil and the rack, placing his left hand directly over Gao Shan's wrist. The physical grip stopped the disciple's arm mid-air.

"Take your hand off the steel," Lin Feng ordered coldly.

Gao Shan twitched in rage, attempting to channel blue internal Qi into his forearm to overpower Lin Feng's hold. "Impudent trash!" Gao Shan roars, driving a straight left punch toward Lin Feng's jaw at a speed of six feet per second.

Lin Feng tracked the shoulder alignment instantly, shifting his head two inches to the right. The heavy leather fist passed through empty air above his collarbone.

Simultaneously, Lin Feng drove his right thumb into the pressure point located at the base of Gao Shan's left collarbone.

CRACK.

A sharp popping sound echoed through the hot forge as the nerve cluster collapsed under forty pounds of concentrated pressure.

Gao Shan screamed in agony, his left arm dropping limply to his side as his internal Qi flow shattered.

Lin Feng twisted Gao Shan's right wrist downward by forty-five degrees, applying precise joint leverage that forced the Outer Disciple flat onto his knees against the soot-covered floorboards.

The four patrol guards leveled their iron spears in panic, but froze as Lin Feng's dark eyes swept across their faces.

"Return to Liu Tianba," Lin Feng said, releasing Gao Shan's wrist with a sharp push. "Tell him I am collecting the debt he owes this division."

Gao Shan scrambled backward on his knees, clutching his ruined shoulder while heavy sweat poured down his forehead. "You... you shattered my nerve junction!" Gao Shan gasped, terror filling his eyes.

"Retreat!" Gao Shan screamed to the guards, stumbling out of the shop into the alleyway.

The four guards backed away frantically, dragging Gao Shan down the gravel path toward the central zone.

Zhu Tieshan stared at the deep kneeling prints left in the soot, then lowered his heavy iron hammer to the dirt floor. "You disarmed an Outer Disciple without using internal Qi," Zhu Tieshan observed, his eyes fixed on Lin Feng. "How do you know the precise copper ratio of my steel?"

"I commanded ten thousand divine blades before your ancestors forged their first knife," Lin Feng said, stepping up to the weapon rack.

Lin Feng took the thirty-five-pound black iron sword into his right hand, testing its weight and physical center of gravity. He closed his fingers around the hilt and channeled a microscopic thread of silver Divine Sword Qi from his spinal marrow into the steel.

The silver energy entered the dark metal, vibrating through the internal copper nodes.

PING!

A clear, resonant tone echoed off the brick walls as black slag flaked off the edge, revealing a razor-sharp, mirror-like steel surface beneath the soot.

Zhu Tieshan's jaw dropped in utter shock. "Purifying high-density steel through internal resonance... That is an ancient master technique!" Zhu Tieshan stammers, stepping closer.

"The blade is now balanced," Lin Feng said, resting the heavy sword across his right shoulder.

"Take it," Zhu Tieshan said, his voice carrying deep, newfound respect. "It belongs in the hands of a true swordsman."

Lin Feng wrapped a strip of coarse linen around the hilt, securing the blade. "Follow me to the main square, Da Zhuang," Lin Feng said, walking out into the bright morning sunlight. "It is time to settle accounts with Liu Tianba."

They navigated the gravel path leading toward Zone 2, entering the Central Main Square of the Qingyun Sect.

A massive crowd of over five hundred servants and outer disciples surrounded the grand stone platform. At the center of the elevated stage stood Elder Liu Tianba, wearing luxurious purple administrator robes, standing beside a tall man in gold-trimmed red robes—Supervisor Hu Lang of the Canglan Sword Sect.

Supervisor Hu Lang held a golden parchment scroll, his Fourth Layer Sword Meridian Qi pressing down on the kneeling crowd like a physical weight.

"From this day forth, the Fallen Sword Valley belongs exclusively to the Canglan Sword Sect!" Hu Lang's voice boomed across the open square, amplified by spiritual art. "Any servant or disciple who objects will be executed on the spot for treason!"

Elder Liu Tianba sneered beside him, sweeping his cold eyes over the trembling servants kneeling on the stone pavers.

Suddenly, the dense crowd parted as heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed against the stone floor.

Lin Feng stepped directly into the central aisle of the square, the thirty-five-pound black iron sword resting casually on his shoulder.

"I object," Lin Feng's voice cut through the silent square, reaching the elevated stage with absolute clarity.

Elder Liu Tianba's eyes bulged in shock as he recognized the pale youth standing before him completely unharmed. "Lin Feng?! Guards! Execute that rebellious cripple immediately!"

The collective gasps of five hundred servants and low-ranking disciples rippled across the stone square like a sudden wind.

A wide path cleared through the dense crowd as people scrambled backward, leaving Lin Feng standing alone in the central aisle. The thirty-five-pound black iron sword rested heavily across his right shoulder, its freshly purified steel edge reflecting the harsh morning light.

Elder Liu Tianba stood on the elevated stone platform, his purple administrator robes fluttering as his broad face flushed deep red with fury. Beside him, Supervisor Hu Lang of the Canglan Sword Sect remained still, his golden-trimmed red robes unruffled as his sharp, amber eyes locked onto Lin Feng.

"Lin Feng!" Elder Liu Tianba roared, his voice booming across the square as blue Qi surged through his thick neck. "You crippled waste! How dare you disturb an official assembly of the Qingyun Sect?!"

Lin Feng took three slow, measured steps forward, his leather boots striking the stone pavers with deliberate rhythm.

"I am a registered servant of this sect," Lin Feng said, his tone flat and devoid of emotion. "By the core decree established by the Founding Ancestor, any formal transfer of sect land requires the unanimous consent of all three servant divisions."

Elder Liu Tianba barked a harsh laugh, stepping to the front edge of the stage. "The Founding Ancestor's decree applies to human beings, not broken dogs who cannot gather a single thread of Qi in their Dantian!"

Elder Liu turned his head toward the side of the platform, waving his heavy sleeve toward four armored patrol captains. "Captains Zhao, Sun, Li, and Qian! Break his legs and throw him off the stage threshold!"

The four patrol captains leaped down from the four-foot platform, their iron-shod boots landing heavily on the stone floor. Each man wielded a seven-foot iron spear and possessed physical cultivation at the First Layer of the Sword Meridian Realm.

Zhao stepped forward first, channeling his blue Qi into the shaft of his spear until the iron tip hummed with vibration.

"Kneel down, trash!" Zhao shouted, driving his spear point straight toward Lin Feng's left knee at a velocity of seven feet per second.