### Chapter 17: Three Down By the time Lin Yi finished tempering his muscles, the three fourth-level raiders had caught up, bringing Elder Dong's group to six. Lin Yi glanced at them, grinned, and strolled forward. With each step, Dong's group tensed, their stares growing heavier. He halted ten yards away, his face twisting into a sneer of pure disdain. "Rookies, I'm here to kill you." Dong's six rolled their eyes. They'd endured so much of Lin Yi's arrogance, it barely fazed them. "Hmph! Who do you think you are? A second-level shrimp, only lucky with that freak technique. You think you can kill *us*?" scoffed a fourth-level raider—thin, with a pointy face and beady eyes, a dead ringer for a monkey. He hated being called one. "Little Shizong, that monkey's begging to die. Grant his wish," Lin Yi said, never glancing back. The "monkey" erupted. "Fight then! Coward!" Yan Shizong stepped past Lin Yi, wordlessly unleashing his artifact at the monkey. The casual "Little Shizong" grated, but he'd given up arguing with Lin Yi. Weaponless, the monkey dodged, then fired off a spell. As their fight began, Lin Yi charged Dong's group, slamming out palm after palm. Wind howled in the wake of his strikes. "His palm's stronger than before. He's improved this fast… We *must* take him alive. That technique could be mine…" Dong's eyes flickered greedily, scheming. Facing Lin Yi, Dong's group neither counterattacked nor blocked. Why bother? He'd just absorb their spells. They scattered, evading his palms. "You two are too weak. Go fight my boy. Stop getting in the way," Lin Yi snapped at the two remaining fourth-level raiders, sounding like a grumpy elder. It took all their willpower not to bash their heads against a tree. A second-level cultivator calling *them* weak? The nerve! Yet Dong nodded, gesturing for the two to aid the monkey. "Hey! Don't run!" Lin Yi roared, cutting off one fifth-level raider with a palm strike. "Little Shizong, hurry! Finish them! I can't hold on much longer!" "Stay calm… stay calm…" Yan muttered, channeling his rage into his attacks. He loathed "Little Shizong" but refused to bicker with a man he deemed petty. To speed Yan along, Lin Yi darted back and forth, unleashing Iron Sand Palm in a flurry. Moments later, another raider fell to Yan's artifact. With only one fourth-level left, Yan dominated. Dong's group watched, dread coiling in their guts. What if Hall Master Wei never came? "Aaaah!" The last fourth-level raider—*the monkey*—screamed, dying with a look of不甘. Lin Yi snarled, "Told you not to mock me."
