“Judging by the wounds, they were beaten to death with heavy blows. From the force, the killer should be a martial artist who has broken through their limits,” assessed a middle-aged Red Guard with a stubbly face.

“I’ve asked the villagers. The deceased are named Charles Foster, Michael Thompson, and Robert Thompson. They once trained at the martial arts hall and were quite skilled, acting as bullies in the village. They were lazy and gluttonous, often robbing and oppressing others, and the villagers resented them deeply.”

“But in this village, aside from those three, there are no other martial artists, let alone anyone who has broken through their limits.”

Another, younger Red Guard spoke.

“Pah, scum, they deserved to die.”

The older Red Guard glanced at the corpses of Charles Foster and the others with disgust and said, “The answer is obvious. These three scoundrels committed countless misdeeds and provoked a martial artist from outside the village who had broken through their limits, and were killed as a result.”

“Little Brooks, just tell the villagers this. I’ll report to the higher-ups. Also, have the villagers carry the bodies of these three up the mountain and bury them.”

……

Soon, the whole village heard the news: Charles Foster and his two companions had committed many evil deeds, provoked an outsider martial artist, and were beaten to death.

“Serves them right.”

“Heaven has eyes.”

The villagers clapped and cheered. If conditions allowed, they would have set off firecrackers to celebrate.

“Yan’er, those three—Charles Foster and the others—was it you…”

William Clark secretly asked Henry Clark.

“It was!”

Henry Clark admitted directly.

He had long known he couldn’t hide it from William Clark.

He had just broken through his limits, and Charles Foster and the others were killed by a martial artist who had done the same. What a coincidence that would be.

“Yan’er, from now on, you must act with utmost caution. Never be careless. Breaking through your limits is only the beginning among martial artists.”

“Father, I understand.”

……

And so, the matter passed. No one would suspect Henry Clark, who had been sickly just a few months ago, nor would anyone suspect William Clark, the old hunter with over a decade of experience.

To the Liu clan, the death of three thugs was a trivial matter, not worth expending manpower or resources to investigate.

The next morning.

Henry Clark carried his hunting bow and, alone, entered Woniu Mountain.

He told William Clark he no longer needed to hunt, and should help Olivia Smith with the farm work instead. From now on, hunting would be his responsibility.

William Clark thought for a moment and agreed.

Henry Clark had already broken through his limits, and his body had been tempered. Whether in strength, reflexes, eyesight, or sense of smell, he far surpassed ordinary people.

Combined with Henry Clark’s formidable archery skills, he was already much better than William Clark in every aspect except for experience.

It was time for Henry Clark to train on his own.

At the same time, William Clark handed over the hunting bow and arrows he had used for five years to Henry Clark.

William Clark’s bow was much better than Henry Clark’s, especially the arrows—the arrowheads were made of iron, far superior to his bamboo arrows.

Henry Clark passed through the outer and inner areas, heading straight into the deep mountains.

He was confident that even if he encountered a large beast, he could escape if he couldn’t defeat it.

Not long after entering the deep mountains, he spotted a roe deer.

Henry Clark held his breath, nocked an arrow, and was about to shoot, but the roe deer in the deep mountains were even more alert and bolted immediately.

“Trying to get away!”

Henry Clark circulated his energy and blood, quickly gave chase, drew his bow while running, aimed at the roe deer, and let an arrow fly.

The arrow struck the roe deer’s hind leg, sending it tumbling to the ground with a shriek. Henry Clark quickly shot another arrow to finish it off.

“Father’s bow is indeed much better than mine, but it’s still too light. Looks like I’ll need to sell some game later and get a better bow.”

Henry Clark walked over, pulled out the arrow, and slung the roe deer over his shoulder.

The roe deer weighed about fifty jin, but with Henry Clark’s current strength, it was nothing—he still moved with ease.

“Hm? Danger.”

Suddenly, Henry Clark stopped and quickly dodged backward.

A sharp claw swept past his ear, nearly catching his neck.

Henry Clark retreated several steps before he could see what had attacked him.

A wolf.

And a lone wolf at that.

Wolves usually travel in packs, but Henry Clark scanned the surroundings and saw no others.

The lone wolf’s green eyes glared viciously at Henry Clark.

This lone wolf was nearly two meters long and almost a meter tall at the shoulder, clearly much larger than wolves on Earth.

“Last time Father entered the deep mountains, he was injured by a lone wolf. Could it be this one?”

Henry Clark wondered.

Then, Henry Clark put down the roe deer and made a provocative gesture.

Howl!

The lone wolf sprang at Henry Clark.

Henry Clark sidestepped and landed a heavy punch on the side of the wolf’s head.

The lone wolf whimpered, staggered back as if drunk, wobbled for a moment, and collapsed to the ground.

It had been knocked out by a single punch from Henry Clark.

“Nothing special.”

Henry Clark now had a clearer sense of his own strength. He drew an arrow and plunged it into the wolf’s neck, finishing it off.

Luck was good today. In such a short time, he had hunted a roe deer and a wolf. Together, they weighed nearly two hundred jin—more than enough.

Carrying both animals, Henry Clark returned to the village.

This time, Henry Clark did not hide his catch.