Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible-Chapter 189: Knee And Shin

Chen Yan swaggered away after sticking in a few more threats, smiling and whistling all the way. From the beginning to the conclusion of their conversation, his mood didn’t seem to have changed for one moment.

Even back on Earth, Han Xuhan had not met many opponents in ground-level politics with such a demeanor. The sheer firm calmness behind Chen Yan’s smiling eyes was frightening in its own way.

This feeling was one of the main reasons why he had to relent to the demand. He was cornered from every direction, outsmarted in every aspect, and incapable of fighting with other elements like personal strength or allies.

"You guys sure are audacious. I’ll remember your faces, you know?" Han Xuhan said, surveying the group of four junior disciples who had come with Chen Yan.

"You? Trying to threaten us? Hah!" One of them scoffed, shaking his head as if it was the most ridiculous concept he could imagine.

"Well, he’s a dreamer, alright. He did dream big and make these big plans, no?" The only female disciple of the group said in a mocking tone of praise.

"Lowlife scammers like you should know better than to run their mouths uselessly. I’ll ask Brother Yan to teach you some humility when you’re in the presence of your superiors."

"What superiors?" Han Xuhan said, partly confused, partly amused by the poorly thought-out bullying attempt.

His response was like oil being added into the fire of their passion.

"Han Xuhan, you entered this sect as a damned servant disciple. It’s already insulting enough to us that we have to attend lectures alongside you these days. Know your damn place!"

"Who told you to go out of your way to mess with us? Look at you now! Hahaha!"

"I hope Brother Yan doesn’t let you off so easily for the crime of trying to scam the entire outer court. If it was up to me, I would have just warned everybody during one morning assembly."

Han Xuhan laughed without a shred of guilt.

"It was up to you, you idiots. You didn’t have to go and drag a senior disciple into exacting ’vengeance’ for you. Not only did you do it out of cowardice, but you also did it out of greed."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It’s simple," Han Xuhan shrugged, enjoying the flames of fury turning brighter in their eyes.

"You were afraid to deal with me face to face. Why? Well, cowards can have numerous excuses. So I can’t even guess the exact one you lot gave yourselves.

"Maybe you’re scared of my capabilities as a cultivator. Maybe you’re scared of falling under the wrath of hundreds of disciples of the outer court who appreciate the free access to guidance on a powerful Mystic Art.

"As for the greed part, you know very well what I’m talking about. Senior Brother Chen Yan is going to take a cut of materials worth about five hundred spirit stones from each load of carts. How much of that did he promise to share with you guys as a reward?"

One of them snorted disdainfully. "Not everyone is a greedy piece of shit like you! We didn’t demand a single thing from Senior Brother Yan! We only hoped that he could deliver a sound punishment."

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourselves that until you start to believe your own lie. If you wanted me to be punished, you could have gone to the authorities directly. You could’ve stopped the scheme too, that way. It’s clear to me why you picked a senior disciple instead."

The four disciples exchanged a quick look among themselves before one of them said, "Senior disciples are no different from the Sect Authorities. It’s easier to have them deal with matters like this without causing a big drama..."

"Who asked for an explanation?" Han Xuhan said, shooing them off with a rather rude gesture. "Get the hell out of my sight-"

Before he could finish the sentence, he saw a fist closing in on his face at a speed far beyond mortal limits.

If he hadn’t cultivated his body a little, his reflexes wouldn’t have been enough to even register the arrival of the fist. Unfortunately, his martial cultivation wasn’t at a point that would allow him to evade the attack either.

Bang!

A muffled sound of knuckles crashing against a ribcage rocked Han Xuhan’s consciousness, throwing him back several feet in the air. His back banged into the mound of rocky soil behind them.

The clash took the air out of his lungs and all conscious thoughts out of his head. Han Xuhan tasted a salty warmth at the back of his mouth. Dark red streams of blood spurted out of his nostrils.

He had been dueling Xuanyuan Zhou and Xiao Wu daily for the last few days, and based on that experience, he could assess that the punch had the force of a peak first phase Physique Transformation realm cultivator.

Judging by the speed of the punch, the attacker was probably at the second or third phase of the Physique Transformation realm. He had held back his actual strength under the fear of inflicting grievous injuries.

A month younger version of Han Xuhan would not have been able to stand up by himself after taking that hit. But the current him had a bit more endurance and willpower when it came to physical feats.

With tremendous effort, he was back on his feet, wiping the blood off his mouth with a handkerchief. The quickness of his recovery seemed to piss them off.

"Brother Jiang, were you too soft or what? Can’t even knock out a weak Mystic Artist?"

"Let me show ya how you knock’em down in a way that makes them stay there for a minute, Brother Jiang."

This time, it was the female disciple who stepped forward, stomping a foot onto the ground and springing up more than two meters in the air, her other leg swinging down at Han Xuhan’s shoulder like a scythe.

Watching her figure descend on him from above, the grueling training he had undergone for the last few days flashed through Han Xuhan’s mind, and every strand of his thoughts latched onto a single frame of memory—Swallow Takes Off!

It was as if he could hear every instance when Xuanyuan Zhou had shouted the name of this move from behind, instructing him to leap up and smash both of his knees into the plate of his strength testing apparatus.

Han Xuhan dug his toes into the hard soil, every muscle under his two knees tensing up till it felt like his lower limbs had turned into bars of steel. At the same time, his knees bent fifteen degrees backward, preparing his body to leap up to meet the descending kick head on.

Unfortunately, as Xuanyuan Zhou had pointed out that very morning, there was a lot of room for improvement in his martial moves. The issue that stood out the most to him at this moment was that he was not yet skilled enough in the move to generate vital energy in his body by simply preparing to strike.

Even as he leaned back to let his head and shoulders evade the girl’s foot, not a single strand of vital energy could be felt around his waist, knees, or ankles. Gritting his teeth in expectation of pain, Han Xuhan jumped up gently, channeling all of his strength into his right knee.

Illuminated by the faint light of a dying sun and a gleaming moon, the visage of their airborne clash was like a painted scene from martial folklore. One side descending, one side ascending, both extending their right foot where the majority of their momentum was concentrated.

The three teammates of the girl had only just realized that Han Xuhan was executing a martial move. Pupils shrunk and mouths open, they were about to warn her in alarm. But it was too late for that.

Clack!

Han Xuhan’s right knee crashed into the girl’s right shin with a meaty sound that made them wince. Both fighters yelped in pain, but as they fell to the ground, nobody had doubts about who was the victor between the two.

Han Xuhan’s right knee had been completely dislocated by that kick. It was folded under the rest of his body at an unnatural angle, appearing completely limp.

The way he smacked into the ground was almost cartoonish. His opponent had not held back her vital energy while kicking down. The disparity in their power would have been visible to anybody.

In comparison, the girl’s fall was quite graceful. She even managed to roll over a couple of times and get back up on her feet almost immediately, hobbling on her right foot with a grimace on her face. It was clear that she could still fight with a bit of grit and effort.

"Sister Mei, this is why I keep advising you not to push everything to the extreme. Look at him! We’ll get in trouble for this!"

The disciple named Jiang complained as he hurried over to support the girl, but she slapped his hands away scathingly.

"You really are a coward, Brother Jiang! Why can’t you look at the positive side? I forced him to reveal his secret card!"

"Secret card, my ass! The fact that he’d know a martial move or two is something anyone could guess. Why else would he be stealing materials for martial cultivation? Didn’t we all see him do it?"

"Stop fighting, you two. It’d be unwise to spend a second more in this place. Do you want to be caught by Elder Ye? Let’s go!"

"What if he reports-"

"He wouldn’t dare! We can always expose his business scheme, remember?"

As the group of four ran off towards the direction of the Starheart Mountain Peak, Han Xuhan clutched his knee and raised his head, silently watching their silhouettes disappear in the dark.

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnov𝒆l.com Only