Or perhaps, they thought that since they had sent twelve people to deal with just a student, Samuel Thompson, it would be a piece of cake, and never even considered the possibility that he might dare to resist.

Every decision comes with a price.

"Bang!"

Samuel Thompson faced an oncoming man head-on. Before the man could make a move, Samuel Thompson struck first, his fist shooting out like an arrow and landing squarely on the man's chest.

Short-range force.

The force penetrated the skin, going straight to the internal organs.

The man's face flushed red, the pain as if all the strength had been drained from his body, causing him to collapse on the spot.

Then Samuel Thompson stepped back, shifted to the side, dodging a kick from another person coming at him. As their bodies were about to cross, he rammed into the man with force, his shoulder and elbow striking at the same time.

"Thud!"

Dust trickled down from the top of the wall.

The burly man, weighing around eighty kilograms, was slammed hard against the wall, left dizzy and dazed.

After that...

Samuel Thompson retreated again, and struck again.

Each time, he never faced more than two people at once.

And although these people might have been in fights often, they had no technique, no coordination, and were even less skilled than the retired soldiers from the Chi family.

Within a few minutes, all twelve were on the ground, wailing and groaning in pain, their faces twisted in agony.

...

Of the twelve, six were screaming in pain, three had concussions, and three were knocked out.

Samuel Thompson glanced at the man closest to him and squatted down in front of him.

"Brother, it's a misunderstanding, this is all a misunderstanding..."

Fear flashed in the man's eyes as he opened his mouth to beg for mercy, but Samuel Thompson expressionlessly grabbed his right hand and gripped his thumb...

"Crack!"

He broke it!

"Ah!"

A shrill scream echoed through the chilly apartment corridor.

After breaking the man's thumb, Samuel Thompson moved on to the second person.

This man, though he usually collected debts for others, intimidated ordinary folks, and had even broken people's hands and feet before, all of that had happened to others—he had never experienced anything like this himself. He immediately began to beg, "Brother, let's talk this out, I..."

Samuel Thompson didn't give him a chance to finish. He reached for the man's right hand, and the man quickly struggled, trying to back away.

"Bang!"

Samuel Thompson's right foot exploded with force, stomping hard on the man's right foot. The sound of bones breaking mixed with screams echoed once more.

"You... are even weaker than me... so you should be even more afraid..."

Samuel Thompson said in a low voice, his tone utterly devoid of emotion.

Then, he moved on to the third person.

The third man was still dizzy. When he saw Samuel Thompson approach, he instinctively tried to throw a punch, but Samuel Thompson grabbed his right hand, pulled back his thumb, and then...

The sound of bones breaking and screams echoed again.

No unnecessary words, no extra scolding. In the entire corridor, the only sounds were those of Samuel Thompson breaking the thumbs of these Wild Wolf Society members, and their agonized screams.

The terror and oppression brought by this silence tormented the Wild Wolf Society members' minds, driving the few who were still conscious to beg frantically for mercy, nearly to the point of collapse.

Unfortunately...

Samuel Thompson's heart was cold as iron. No matter how they begged, he remained resolute, stepping forward and breaking the thumb of each and every one of the twelve.

If anyone dared to run or curse...

It wouldn't just be a thumb that got broken, but an entire hand, or even a foot.

Just as they had threatened to break both of Samuel Thompson's hands earlier.

The painful screams gradually faded, and the cold corridor grew a little quieter.

Unlike their earlier arrogance, now every gaze directed at Samuel Thompson was filled with fear, and a hidden resentment.

"Big brother, this has nothing to do with us. We were just following orders from the boss. After today, we'll quit the Wild Wolf Society right away and never do anything bad again. You've beaten us, punished us... could you let us go home?"

After a while, one of the dozen or so men finally mustered the courage to ask, trembling.

"Leave anything of value you have on you, and then you can go."

Samuel Thompson said.

The leader, who had a head wound and was still dizzy, forced himself to focus and, as if receiving a pardon, urged, "Hurry, hurry, hand over all your money, hand it over."

Soon, a pile of money had accumulated in the corridor.

It wasn't much, around eight or nine thousand.

Samuel Thompson had already lost his source of income, and practicing martial arts required a lot of meat and supplements.

Method, wealth, companions, and place.

In cultivation, the method comes first, but wealth is second only to the method. Samuel Thompson had the method, but to grow quickly, the "wealth" part was unavoidable.

If he couldn't replenish his nutrition and energy, no matter how miraculous the Star God Body-Tempering Fist was, it would be like a clever woman with no rice to cook, and his progress would inevitably be slowed.

Chapter 5: Brewing Medicine

The twelve Wild Wolf Society members, having handed over all their money, supported each other and quickly left.

Throughout the whole ordeal, the security guards outside the apartment didn't make a sound.

"Nearly ten thousand... this should speed up my training a bit."

Samuel Thompson opened the iron door to his rented room, put his things down on the sofa, then turned around, locked the door, and left the apartment.