Chapter 452: Picking a Fight

As soon as the words fell, a thick, powerful arm reached out from behind and grabbed Lin Xiao’s shoulder, shoving him forcefully to the side.

That push carried at least several hundred pounds of force. If it had been an ordinary person caught off guard, they would’ve been sent flying like being hit by a speeding car.

But Lin Xiao was no ordinary person.

Before the man even approached from behind, Lin Xiao had already sensed him, and the clear hostility radiating from him.

The reason he didn’t dodge was simply to see what the other party planned.

However, the recklessness and rudeness of the other party still exceeded Lin Xiao’s expectations. Without understanding his target, he had chosen the most direct and brutish method.

A cold glint flashed in Lin Xiao’s eyes. His feet stayed rooted to the ground, and his body instantly became as steady as a mountain.

Despite the tremendous force behind the shove, Lin Xiao remained motionless. The impact felt no different from a breeze brushing past.

“Hmm?!”

The man behind Lin Xiao seemed surprised by this outcome, letting out a grunt of disbelief. He increased the strength in his grip—his five fingers like iron clamps—holding tightly onto Lin Xiao’s shoulder and yanking with even greater force.

The sound of fabric tearing echoed. Lin Xiao’s body still stood firm, but one sleeve of his shirt was ripped clean off, revealing a muscular and powerful arm.

Chen Lingxin, who had been standing beside Lin Xiao, finally realized what was happening. Her eyebrows shot up, and flames of anger sparked in her eyes. She whirled around, ready to explode in fury at the person behind Lin Xiao.

“Don’t speak.”

Lin Xiao turned his head and glanced at Chen Lingxin, his tone calm but brooking no objection.

“But Master, that guy—” Chen Lingxin protested, unable to contain her anger.

“I’ll handle it. You stay out of this.”

With that, Lin Xiao slowly turned around and looked at the man behind him.

Standing behind Lin Xiao was a young man roughly the same height but bulkier by a size. He appeared to be in his twenties, had a buzz cut, an average-looking face, an arrogant expression, and was still holding the torn sleeve in his hand.

He wore a purple training uniform with the collar open, revealing bronze-colored, chiseled muscles. Embroidered in gold over the chest of his uniform were the words “Blazing Sun.”

Lin Xiao’s gaze passed over the man’s face and swept behind him.

Behind the man stood seven or eight others, all wearing the same style of training uniform. Their expressions were equally arrogant as they crossed their arms, clearly expecting to be entertained.

“What did you just say?” Lin Xiao retracted his gaze and looked at the young man standing before him. “I didn’t catch it. Would you mind repeating it?”

A twitch passed through the young man’s eyes. He glanced down at the torn sleeve in his hand, suddenly realizing that he may have kicked a steel plate this time.

The full-force yank he had just used would’ve been enough to lift a small car, but it had only managed to tear off a sleeve. Lin Xiao’s body hadn’t budged an inch.

That kind of strength was far beyond what he could handle.

‘I thought you were just some out-of-town hick. Didn’t expect you to have some skills,’ the young man cursed inwardly, the arrogance on his face slightly subdued.

But he was used to acting domineeringly. With so many companions behind him watching, there was no way he could lower his head now. He forced a fake smile and said, “My bad, just a misunderstanding. I mistook you for someone else.”

“I don’t care whether it was a misunderstanding or you mistook me for someone else,” Lin Xiao’s gaze was indifferent, his tone ice-cold. “My question is, what exactly did you say just now?”

The questioning tone ignited a fire in the young man’s chest. He lifted his chin and jabbed at the “Blazing Sun” characters on his chest.

“I said, ‘Good dogs don’t block the way. Get lost.’ Got a problem with that? Let me tell you something, I’m a disciple of the Blazing Sun Martial Hall. Judging by your bumpkin look, you’re probably from some no-name place, here in Dongzhou for the martial arts exchange. Let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t mess with me, or you’ll regret it.”

Blazing Sun Martial Hall was a local martial hall in Dongzhou, not a small power by any means. In a city as prosperous as Dongzhou, any martial hall that could establish itself had to be formidable. Blazing Sun was one of the top ten Class-A halls under the Southern Martial Alliance.

“I didn’t provoke you. You’re the one who came at me,” Lin Xiao’s eyes began to gleam with a chilling light. “Fools who don’t know their limits are everywhere. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. I’m curious, how exactly are you going to make me regret it?”

Under Lin Xiao’s icy, emotionless gaze, a powerful sense of danger surged in the young man’s heart!

At that moment, Lin Xiao felt less like a person and more like a beast cloaked in human skin. A chill ran down the man’s spine. His scalp tingled, and without thinking, he struck first.

His right fist clenched, veins bulging on his arm. The thick vessels writhed like worms, and his arm swelled visibly. His body tensed like a drawn bow, and with power from his waist and abdomen, he launched a punch at Lin Xiao’s chest.

For someone to act so recklessly, he clearly had some real skill. The punch was both lightning-fast and powerfully executed, showcasing solid martial ability.

Facing the incoming, ferocious blow, Lin Xiao remained calm. Without any visible effort, he extended a single finger in front of the man’s fist.

Nothing else. Just that.

“Trying to humiliate me? You’re dead!”

Seeing Lin Xiao’s mocking attitude, the young man was nearly driven mad. His gaze turned vicious and murderous. He poured even more power into his punch, driving it straight at Lin Xiao’s finger.

A crisp sound rang out. The punch halted abruptly, unable to advance even an inch.

“Impossible!”

The young man’s eyes flew wide open, nearly bulging from their sockets. His face contorted with disbelief.

He had thrown his full strength into that punch, yet it had been stopped by just one of Lin Xiao’s fingers. That finger felt like a steel wall—unshakable, immovable, and impossibly strong!

“No way!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Am I seeing things?!”

“Qin Sheng’s punch was blocked by a single finger?!”

“Who the hell is that guy?”

“This level of strength… he’s definitely not some no-name. So why haven’t I heard of him?”

The other Blazing Sun Martial Hall disciples who had come for the show were now dumbfounded. Their faces were filled with shock, some rubbing their eyes as if they couldn’t believe what they’d just seen.

When they realized it had really happened, their expressions changed drastically. Their eyes toward Lin Xiao became serious and wary, no longer mocking or dismissive.

In the martial world, strength speaks louder than anything else. That rule applied no matter where you went.