Chapter 4: A Broken Leg

"Get on your knees!" Lucian Sabey lunged forward and threw a punch at Evan Norman. As the punch came at him, Evan felt something strange stir within him. He could think of at least seventeen ways to neutralize it. Even with the injuries to the meridians in his right arm and leg, he still had four options. Evan was clever, and his talent for the Martial Way was extraordinary, but he had never been this monstrously gifted. In an instant, he understood. These were Colin Umpleby's memories. After inheriting the memories of a Martial Way expert, Evan's insight naturally improved a thousandfold, even ten thousandfold. Evan threw a punch of his own. It looked ordinary and utterly unremarkable, yet it pierced straight through Lucian's attack and slammed into the hollow of his shoulder. "Ah!" Lucian let out a shriek. Evan possessed the strength of two thousand pounds. How could anyone withstand a punch like that? Evan seized the opening and unleashed a barrage of punches with his left hand. Bang, bang, bang! Lucian Sabey was beaten senseless. Once he lost the initiative, he could do nothing but take the beating. When it came to combat experience alone, Evan was hundreds of miles ahead of Lucian. Everyone stared in disbelief as Lucian was knocked flat. This was nothing like the Lucian Sabey of a year ago. His strength had already far surpassed Evan's, and Evan was injured on top of that! The boys looked as if they had seen a ghost. The girls, meanwhile, were thrilled beyond words. This was their Evan Norman. So handsome. So unbelievably handsome. "Evan Norman, you..." Lucian lay sprawled on the ground. From that angle, Evan looked like a giant looming over him, radiating crushing pressure. "What did you call me just now?" Evan asked. "A cripple?" He brought his foot down hard. Crack! Lucian's right leg twisted at a grotesque angle. "Ah!" Lucian screamed again. Tears and mucus streamed down his face. The crowd sucked in a collective breath. Evan had actually done it. He had crushed one of Lucian's legs. That was the Seventh Young Master Sabey! Yet damn, that was domineering. When a man was challenged, wasn't he supposed to hit back? So what if Lucian was the Seventh Young Master Sabey? Evan had crippled him without hesitation. The boys were all consumed by jealousy, but even they secretly gave Evan a huge thumbs-up. The girls had stars in their eyes. "Evan Norman, you're vicious! You're vicious!" Lucian gritted out through the pain. "You dared break one of my legs. You'll never find a place to stand in all of Sunrise City!" People said that injuries to the muscles and bones took a hundred days to heal. Lucian would be unable to resume high-intensity training for at least two months. At best, he could maintain his current strength. Any further improvement was out of the question. Evan gave him a faint smile, bent down, and leaned close to his ear. "You wanted to kill me, so I crippled one of your legs. If you provoke me again, it won't end this easily." Lucian's pupils contracted. How did Evan know? That idiot Bowen Bennitt! Evan straightened and turned away. He waved without looking back. "If you want revenge, I'll be waiting." His manner was utterly carefree and unrestrained. The girls were even more captivated. They clasped their hands before their chests, their eyes shining with worship. Evan strode away while his thoughts raced. With the Nine Cycles Heaven-Plundering Scripture's incredible power, his strength would rise at a terrifying pace. In ten days to half a month, he would be strong enough to ignore the Sabey family entirely. He decided to leave the academy and head for Great Cloud Mountain. First, he needed to avoid the limelight and buy himself time to grow stronger. Second, he needed to heal the injuries to his meridians. In the past, even the academy's physicians would have been helpless. But Evan could treat himself. Colin Umpleby had never specialized in the Medical Art, but he had once stood at an unimaginable height. Even his casual knowledge surpassed that of the greatest Medical Art masters in the Splendid Origin Kingdom. Evan searched through his memories. Given the extent of the damage to his meridians, he only needed to prepare Dragon Tiger Paste. It was an extremely low-grade medicine. "Unfortunately, my strength is still insufficient. My damaged meridians also prevent me from displaying my full power. Going deep into Great Cloud Mountain to gather herbs and prepare Dragon Tiger Paste isn't realistic." "I need another approach." "I'll gather herbs around the outskirts of Great Cloud Mountain and prepare other medicines first. Then I'll sell them at an apothecary in the city. Once I have the money, I can buy the ingredients needed for Dragon Tiger Paste." "What could I do? I'm broke." Evan gave a self-mocking laugh. "I'm starving!" He rubbed his stomach. The sudden increase in strength came with a powerful side effect: overwhelming hunger. "Into the mountains. Gather herbs and hunt." Stellar Gale Academy stood at the foot of Great Cloud Mountain, so entering the mountain was easy. The academy's teachers often organized hunting trips for the students to hone their practical combat skills. Evan had no shortage of basic wilderness survival skills. He entered Great Cloud Mountain. Since his stomach was growling, hunting became his first priority. His luck was good. Not long after entering the mountain, he found a nest of rabbits. He cleaned them beside a stream, built a fire, and roasted them. Then he began devouring them. One rabbit barely touched his hunger. Even after eating three, he only felt a little better. Evan grimaced. He would probably have to worry about finding enough food for the next few days. After that, he began searching for medicinal herbs. Before long, the sun sank toward the horizon and darkness gradually settled over the mountain. The cries of apes and roars of tigers echoed through the woods, raising gooseflesh on his skin. Evan had visited Great Cloud Mountain before, but this was his first time entering alone. Spending the night in the wilderness was an entirely new experience. Fortunately, he was still on the outskirts. The mountains were dangerous at night, but with his current strength, he would be fine as long as he remained careful. The depths of the mountain were another matter. Fierce Beasts lived there, the equivalent of Martial Way practitioners among ordinary beasts. They were terrifyingly ferocious, far beyond anything Evan could handle at present. He whittled a length of wood into a spear, leaned against a tree, and dozed beside the roaring campfire. If any beast dared to attack, it would become his meal. A wild wolf really did come prowling in during the middle of the night. Evan killed it with a single thrust of his spear. He possessed two thousand pounds of strength. Ordinary bears and tigers were no match for him. After the night passed, Evan happily butchered the wolf and prepared himself a hearty meal. His appetite had become astonishing. He ate half the wolf in one sitting before his stomach finally began to bulge. Evan slung the remaining half of the wolf over his back and continued gathering herbs. The medicine he planned to prepare was called Hemostatic Powder. Martial Way practitioners inevitably suffered injuries, so Hemostatic Powder naturally had a ready market. Besides, he could only roam the outskirts of Great Cloud Mountain at present, and that was the only place where he could find the herbs needed to prepare it. In a single day, Evan gathered enough herbs to prepare several batches of Hemostatic Powder. He did not return to the academy. Although he had not been stripped of his status as a student of Stellar Gale Academy, Lucian Sabey would not dare attack him openly. Still, with the power of the Sabey family behind him, Lucian could easily make Evan's life miserable. So why return? To be humiliated? As the sun began to set, Evan decided to practice the Nine Cycles Heaven-Plundering Scripture. His mind felt refreshed, and his Soul Power seemed to have recovered. Here we go. Evan circulated the Nine Cycles Heaven-Plundering Scripture. At once, the world transformed before his eyes, and every kind of energy took visible form. One cycle! Evan was startled. The energy he absorbed this time far exceeded what he had drawn in yesterday. The reason was simple. The energy here was denser and purer. Coming here had been the right decision! Two cycles. Three cycles... Nine cycles. Evan stopped, rose to his feet, and swung his fist. He had no strength tester, but based on his "experience," which actually belonged to Colin Umpleby, he knew that his strength had reached four thousand pounds. He had gained a full two thousand pounds of strength! Even though Evan had been mentally prepared, he was still stunned. The Nine Cycles Heaven-Plundering Scripture was absurdly powerful.