Chapter 24: Warding Off Evil and Quelling Spirits

"What was that sound!?"

Zhang Lingshan was startled.

The sudden, biting chill was eerie enough, but where did that piercing scream come from?

"Mom, Xiaoyu, did you hear something just now?" Zhang Lingshan asked.

"No. What's wrong?" the two replied.

"It's nothing."

Zhang Lingshan realized then that the sound hadn't come from outside; it had truly originated from within his own body.

But what was inside him?

He suddenly remembered when he went to Hongye Temple, and that little novice monk, Huixiu, had tried to sell him a talisman, claiming he had a Ghost-Suppressing Talisman that could suppress the Greed Ghost inside him.

Could that sound just now have been the Greed Ghost?

If he wasn't mistaken, that bone-chilling cold was also the yin energy leaking from the Greed Ghost.

'In that case, once I practice the Hunyuan Zhengyang Stance, fire will be generated within my body, burning the Greed Ghost until it howls in pain and has nowhere to hide. If that's the case, if I keep practicing, won't I just burn it to death?'

Zhang Lingshan was overjoyed, an excited smile spreading across his face.

Who said martial arts couldn't exorcise and shatter evil?

With just the mastery of the Hunyuan Zhengyang Stance, one could drive away evil and suppress spirits!

'Burn, damn it, burn!' Zhang Lingshan roared in his heart.

The Greed Ghost had been tormenting him from the very beginning, causing him to have nightmares every night and wake up every morning covered in painful red marks, which had severely hindered his cultivation speed.

If he hadn't relied on his panel to enhance his physique at the fastest possible rate, he might have been played to death by this Greed Ghost long ago.

Although the Greed Ghost's influence on him had become negligible as his strength increased—to the point where he didn't even need to care about it—having this fellow inside him was always a ticking time bomb. He might be vulnerable to an intrusion whenever he was injured.

Therefore, being able to eliminate it once and for all today was a great stroke of luck.

He had to strike with all his might, using the momentum of a thunderbolt to exorcise the evil!

"Awoooo..."

The Greed Ghost wailed.

"Burn, burn, burn!"

Zhang Lingshan roared internally.

His body became a battlefield, where the raging flames and the evil spirit's yin energy clashed, alternating between intense heat and freezing cold, making even Zhang Lingshan shiver uncontrollably.

Suddenly, an extreme chill surged into his body, causing Zhang Lingshan's movements to freeze for a moment.

It was a counterattack from the evil spirit!

'Hmph, a death struggle,' Zhang Lingshan sneered.

He continued his stance.

Finally, as time passed and more than half the night went by, a *pfft* sound echoed from within his body.

The freezing chill dissipated completely!

At the same time, a bright notification appeared on his panel.

【Energy +30!】

'???'

Zhang Lingshan was stunned.

Then, he was driven into a frenzy of joy.

So, the correct way to use the panel was to devour and destroy evil spirits!

This single Greed Ghost had directly increased his energy by 30 points.

It was much faster than eating food.

If he could encounter a few more Greed Ghosts of this level, why would he ever worry about lacking energy?

Coincidentally, he was still carrying the curse of Li Fu's family of three.

Should he return to the old house on Changning Street and refine Li Fu's family as well, making them make a small contribution?

The thought popped up for a moment and, like a seed, immediately took root in Zhang Lingshan's heart, making him feel itchy with anticipation.

However, after careful consideration, he felt he shouldn't be too hasty.

He was able to destroy the Greed Ghost today because the fellow had stayed in his body long enough and had been mostly worn down.

As for Li Fu's family, he had never officially met them and didn't know how strong they were.

In their territory, the family of three had the advantage of numbers; they wouldn't be easy to provoke.

Therefore, he would wait until he had fully mastered the method of killing evil spirits before dealing with them.

For now, he shouldn't get too ahead of himself; he had to proceed steadily.

Having finally reached this stage, he could not afford to lose sight of the big picture for a small gain.

With these thoughts, Zhang Lingshan calmed down completely.

He opened his panel.

Name: Zhang Lingshan Martial Arts: Red Line Fist (Entry), Hunyuan Zhengyang Stance (Mastery) Energy: 30

Looking at the gains on his panel, Zhang Lingshan fell asleep feeling deeply satisfied.

That night, he slept extremely sweetly.

Without the Greed Ghost causing trouble, he felt comfortable to the extreme; it was the best sleep he had had since he started practicing martial arts.

He slept straight through until noon before finally getting up and stretching.

He felt refreshed!

After a bit of light movement, he felt that his physical strength today was even greater than yesterday.

Not only had he undergone a complete transformation, but because he had rid himself of the evil spirit and broken his shackles, he felt radiant, with every part of his body feeling light and relaxed.

Arriving at the martial arts hall, Zhang Lingshan made it in time for lunch.

After eating, he walked up to the rows of stone locks. He grabbed a two-hundred-jin stone lock and activated the Hunyuan Zhengyang Stance.

'Lift!'

He gave a low shout in his heart.

The two-hundred-jin stone lock was steadily lifted above his head.

Seeing this scene, the fellow disciples in the courtyard all showed expressions of surprise.

"What's going on? How can he lift two hundred jin so quickly?"

"I remember a few days ago he couldn't even hold a set of stance training with a hundred jin, but now he can lift two hundred in one go?"

"What has that guy been eating?"

"I think he's just pushing himself to the limit; he's bound to injure his bones and muscles," someone said sourly.

His name was Lyu Feng.

He wasn't well-acquainted with Zhang Lingshan; they had never even spoken. He only knew that Zhang Lingshan was a pauper who had gotten lucky to be appreciated by Master Hong, but without financial backing, he certainly wouldn't go far.

Since they weren't on the same level, there was no need to know him.

But he hadn't expected that this pauper would actually take a step ahead of him.

Without financial support, relying only on the martial arts hall's two meals a day and one bowl of Four-Harmony Soup every four days, how could he progress so fast?

It was illogical!

Could he really be a genius?

Lyu Feng felt a mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment, but he also reflected on himself—should he have tried to get to know Zhang Lingshan? After all, they were fellow disciples training in the same courtyard; hadn't it been a bit much to never say a single word?

Of course, that was assuming Zhang Lingshan's ability to lift two hundred jin was genuine and not just brute force.

If he had injured his bones just to show off in front of the disciples, then he was just a stupid, useless pauper, and Lyu Feng wouldn't spare him a second glance.

"Junior Brother Shan, how did you do it? You've progressed so fast! After two hundred jin, you can officially begin Skin-Grinding. You're about to become a Skin-Grinding martial artist!" a burly man shouted with admiration and envy.

Just the day before yesterday, he had been practicing fist techniques with Zhang Lingshan, but today, Zhang Lingshan had transformed and reached the two-hundred-jin mark.

He had instantly fallen behind, no longer qualified to spar with him.

But he didn't feel sad; instead, he felt it was only natural.

Given Junior Brother Shan's insane diligence, this was what he deserved.

"Brother Da Zhuang, I think you're close too. We're all going to become Skin-Grinding martial artists," Zhang Lingshan said with a smile.

Da Zhuang nodded heavily. "Yes, I must work hard too."

On the other side, seeing this scene, Shi Lei's face was instantly filled with bitterness.

(End of Chapter)