At that moment, William Foster noticed that several people around him were trembling in their legs, and a few young people quietly took a few steps back. Instead, a few elderly folks stepped forward, shielding the young ones behind them.

“They say taking a step back opens up a whole new world, but what if there’s a bottomless abyss behind you?”

Thinking of this, William Foster felt that as a man, sometimes you just had to take responsibility. So he stepped forward, actually passing right by James Brooks, and before he knew it, he was already standing at the very front of the group.

Many people secretly retreated, while others stepped forward—this scene was all caught by the eyes of those bandits. They glanced at each other, faces full of amusement. The leader even burst out laughing, “Brothers, look how warmly they’re welcoming us! Let’s be just as considerate!”

The men around him all laughed loudly at his words, their demeanor showing they didn’t take the villagers seriously at all. Before the laughter had even died down, the group of fierce bandits swarmed forward, howling as they charged at the villagers. The leading man even shouted, “Move fast—whoever grabs something, it’s theirs!”

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Chapter 4: Killing Bandits

Seeing the vicious bandits swarm forward, a few young people were so frightened they fell to the ground.

You couldn’t really blame them. This village was remote, and life here was always peaceful and quiet. Even the few adventurous young people had long since left, leaving behind only honest, simple children.

Let alone facing mountain bandits and bullies—even arguments between neighbors were rare here. So even though they held pitchforks, hoes, and other tools, in reality, even if they had spears and broadswords, it wouldn’t be much different from being unarmed.

In contrast, William Foster was much calmer. He didn’t feel any fear in his heart. Maybe it was because his spirit had become tougher after transmigrating, or maybe it was because learning a set of boxing techniques had given him confidence?

So when the big bandit charged forward, William Foster not only didn’t retreat or dodge, but instead took a few steps forward. His left hand swept horizontally in front, his right hand clenched into a fist at his waist, ready to throw a punch at any moment.

This stance was all too familiar to martial artists. The villagers didn’t recognize it, but the bandits—seasoned criminals who’d been around for years—had seen a few people who practiced martial arts. The moment they saw William Foster’s posture, they knew this wasn’t good.

“Damn, this kid knows kung fu! Take him out first!”

He had no idea how this young man had learned martial arts, or from whom. No matter what, kill the young one first—if the elders show up, at least they won’t be able to join forces.

Besides, as bandits, there was no need to play by the rules. As soon as the leader spoke, a few men nearby immediately dropped their grins, grabbed their weapons, and changed direction, charging straight at William Foster—who cares about fair fights? What we do best is rushing in as a group and then running off just as fast.

William Foster certainly wasn’t naïve enough to think they’d fight him one-on-one, so this time he’d made up his mind—this was a life-or-death situation, and showing mercy now would only risk his own life.

“Let’s just treat this as getting used to this cruel world as quickly as possible!”

As he thought this, his right fist suddenly shot out—not at the opponent’s chest, though. He knew his body was still recovering from a serious illness, and his strength was only seventy or eighty percent back. Even if he landed a solid punch to the chest, it might not seriously injure the enemy.

Everyone knows it’s better to break one finger than to injure ten. William Foster’s plan was to cripple the man’s arm directly, so he couldn’t use his weapon.

So, as his fist swung out, he twisted it midway, aiming straight for the big man’s right elbow. If this punch landed, with the force William Foster put behind it, the man’s arm would be ruined for sure.

The knife-wielding bandit hadn’t learned any real martial arts, but he was “battle-hardened” and had some experience in fighting. Seeing the trajectory of William Foster’s punch, he immediately understood what the kid was up to.

“What an arrogant brat!”

With a twist of his wrist, the blade in his hand changed from a downward chop to a horizontal slash!

This move wasn’t anything special—just a technique he’d picked up from years of fighting.

If this had been the old William Foster, he’d probably have been injured by that slash. But having just learned Wild Ball Fist in the “system” space, he happened to have the perfect counter.

Without moving his body, his left hand, which had been held to the side, drew a semicircle and chopped upward. The strike was precise and ruthless, landing directly on an acupoint on the big man’s wrist.

Recognizing acupoints was actually the biggest gain he’d gotten from the space today. Wild Ball Fist included basic finger techniques, and the most important part of that was identifying acupoints. Fortunately, William Foster had a good memory and quickly memorized their locations.

Even more importantly, he’d made a point to memorize the acupoints most useful in close combat, and even asked Charles Bennett to specifically teach him a few moves targeting those points.

That’s actually why Charles Bennett said he was quick-witted—knowing that his strength hadn’t fully recovered, he was already thinking of using technique to make up for it.