"Transcendent power, this is transcendent power." Zhong Lin was overwhelmed with excitement in his heart.
As an ordinary citizen of the Heavenly Dynasty in his previous life, how could he not yearn for the legendary transcendent power? Moreover, there's the existence of the System Panel, a bug that would make practicing mundane skills a waste of the "Golden Finger."
Zhu Jie and the others also noticed the extraordinary nature of the Tiger of the Mountain, and each one's complexion changed drastically, with fear clearly visible on their faces.
"A martial artist of the ranks, it's a martial artist of the ranks."
The village chief of Xianlu Village sat on the ground, his eyes filled with despair.
"Impossible, it's impossible. How could a ranked martial artist become a bandit here?"
"Uncle Cui, what is a ranked martial artist? Why can't arrows penetrate him?" Zhu Jie asked fearfully, watching the Tiger of the Mountain rush towards them.
The village chief of Xianlu Village slowly got up, his face full of despair.
"A martial artist is someone who has practiced martial arts to the point of ranking. Ordinary people, even if they practice martial arts, can only become a bit stronger, able to do some farming techniques. But if one is ranked, they are completely different. They can be called martial artists, capable of defeating ten people, and ordinary individuals are simply no match for them. Arrows can't pierce the skin, knives leave only white marks—these are the characteristics of the Ninth Grade 'Skin Grinding Realm.'"
A ranked martial artist, even if it's the Ninth Grade Skin Grinding Realm, can make it so arrows can't pierce the skin, knives leave only white marks, as if wearing armor, capable of defeating ten people at once.
Martial artist... ranked... Skin Grinding...
Zhong Lin listened carefully, unable to conceal his excitement. This world truly had transcendent powers.
"Heh heh, the old guy really has a good eye power. Surround them for me, don't let anyone leave today."
The Tiger of the Mountain took big strides forward, his face full of ferociousness.
The bandits behind him also howled as they surrounded them, their eyes greedily fixed on the goods and the women on the ox cart, leaving no doubt about what would happen if they fell into the hands of these bandits.
Zhong Lin's expression also changed, for he realized he had gotten too close trying to better understand the "transcendent", and was now within the bandits' encirclement.
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhong Lin turned and dashed towards the left side.
The encirclement on the left had not yet fully formed. A bandit dressed in tattered clothes, disheveled hair, holding a weapon that could barely be considered a spear, was approaching continuously.
"Kid, stop right there, or I'll poke two holes in you."
The bandit threatened, his face full of malice.
Zhong Lin, carrying Little Stone on his back, didn't stop, and his right hand reached towards the pouch at his waist. A diamond-shaped stone was thrown immediately upon touching it.
Whoosh!
The distance between them was only seven or eight meters, a reachable distance for the Full Level "Flying Locust Stone" skill, aimed right at the bandit's face under Zhong Lin's control.
"Ah! My eye..."
The bandit fell in response, blood dripping through the fingers that clutched his eye, screams of agony escaping his lips. Zhong Lin seized the chance to flee towards the distant dense forest with Little Stone.
Though it seemed like a long time, this scene unfolded in just an instant, and the bandit's cries attracted the attention of the Tiger of the Mountain.
"That damn fool, surround him for me!"
The Tiger of the Mountain roared angrily. The previous round of arrow shooting had already cost him seven or eight comrades. He thought that by showcasing his "ranked" power, people would submit, but he didn't expect someone to dare defy him—if this isn't a slap in the face, then what is?
With the Tiger of the Mountain's order, five or six nearby bandits immediately enclosed Zhong Lin.
Zhong Lin's expression turned extremely grim. The mountain path was rugged, and he was carrying Little Stone, making it impossible to outpace them. If surrounded, given his thin stature, he would surely die.
"Stone, jump down."
Little Stone, without a doubt, heeded the command of his elder brother, releasing his arms from Zhong Lin's neck and leaping off his back.
Zhong Lin's right hand reached down to the Arrow Quiver at his waist, drew a bow, and nocked an arrow, swiftly turning around.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a cold arrow shot out from an angle, heading straight for the Tiger of the Mountain.
It was too sudden, and the angle was too tricky.
The Tiger of the Mountain did not expect Zhong Lin to shoot at him instead of fleeing, and the tricky angle and incredible speed left him no chance to dodge. He only saw the arrow growing larger in his gaze.
The Tiger of the Mountain felt a sharp pain in his right eye, and the next moment, the arrow pierced through his socket, passing through his skull, emerging from the back of his head, with a half arrow tip showing.
"Grand Master?"
The bandits were dumbfounded, shocked beyond measure.
No one expected these sudden cold arrows; even Zhu Jie, Uncle Cui, and all others were full of disbelief.
Just a moment ago they were talking about Ninth Grade martial artists whose skin couldn't be pierced by arrows and knives left only white marks, and the next moment someone shot him through the eye with an arrow.
So it wasn't that arrows couldn't penetrate, it's just that they hadn't been aimed at the right spot.
As if!
Everyone knows the eye is a weak spot, but it takes exceptional archery skills to shoot an eye in one strike.
The village chief of Xianlu Village was the first to react, shouting, "The Tiger of the Mountain is dead, follow me to kill the bandits."
This shout woke everyone up, and Zhu Jie and others called their men to take action against the bandits.
Zhong Lin also stopped his escape, instead raising his bow and arrow. With each twang of the bowstring, a bandit fell, each shot deadly and precise, like a grim reaper's claim, sending over a dozen bandits to their doom in the blink of an eye.
"Run!"
"Don't kill me, don't kill me."
"Run for it."
The boss was dead, and encountering a reaper, the bandits' morale truly collapsed at this moment, turning to flee in a frenzy, wishing their parents had given them extra legs.
Zhong Lin sighed in relief, stepping forward to retrieve the arrows while also scavenging the bodies.
"Little brother, truly a master, a true hero, this old man thanks you."
After instructing their men to clean up the battlefield, Zhu Jie and the others gathered around Zhong Lin's side, and the village chief of Xianlu Village bowed deeply.
They understood very clearly that if not for Zhong Lin's cold arrow killing the Tiger of the Mountain, they could not have possibly gotten through this calamity so easily, and might have all perished here.
Zhong Lin politely raised his hand, lightly saying, "No need to be polite, I was only defending myself."
Zhong Lin spoke truthfully; shooting the arrow was intended to cause trouble for the Tiger of the Mountain to capitalize on the chaos to escape. He didn't imagine it would result in killing him.
Simply put, Full Level archery is awesome.
"This is no place for conversation, we should leave quickly!"
"Yes, yes, little brother is right."
Without saying much more, they cleared up the scene and urged the ox cart to move forward again.
Zhong Lin gathered all the arrows, finally stopping by the Tiger of the Mountain's corpse.
With his right eye pierced through, blood and brain matter flowed along the arrow as it lay on the ground, his left eye wide open, a ghost-like expression frozen on his face.
He probably never thought he would die by a cold arrow, did he?