The Sacred Ruins

Chu Feng felt an impending headache. There were actually so many missed calls.

"How is it?" Chu Zhiyuan asked from afar.

Chu Feng replied with a frown, "You guessed right, quite a few people were looking for me."

"Don’t worry, it’s impossible for that many to have guessed correctly," said Chu Zhiyuan, because even he had to watch the video several times over to arrive at this conclusion.

Chu Feng nodded. After Chu Zhiyuan left his room, he dialed Lin Naoi’s number.

"Where are you?" Lin Naoi asked. Even though her temperament was cold, her charming voice was, as ever, pleasing to the ears.

"Shuntian," replied Chu Feng with a laugh and also adding that his communicator ran out of battery yesterday, losing all communications.

Very quickly, Lin Naoi sent a video call request which Chu Feng naturally accepted.

Lin Naoi’s figure appeared on the screen. A pair of deep beautiful eyes, charming facial features and a fair complexion that borders on translucency—she was truly flawless and refined.

"So very pleasing to the eyes." Chu Feng laughed as a look of admiration appeared on his face.

Lin Naoi moved towards the window.

Suddenly, Chu Feng felt that she was even more breathtaking.

The red morning mist drifted in from outside the window. Not only did it paint her face with a colorful glow, but it also granted her long hair a golden shine to it. She looked nothing less than divine.

At this moment, not to mention Chu Feng, anyone who saw her would feel that she was the pinnacle of beauty.

"Hey, you have left me dazzled yet again," exclaimed Chu Feng.

"Is that your room?" asked Lin Naoi.

"Indeed, there’s nothing shady here, you can take a look around. I’m certainly not hiding a mistress," said Chu Feng while trying to look at Lin Naoi’s side.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

"Of course I’m trying to peep into your room, I’ve never been there," Chu Feng naturally replied.

Lin Naoi was dumbfounded, but she wasn’t startled. In a casual manner, she rotated the communicator around the room for Chu Feng to see.

The room was very spacious. It looked clean and tidy, and at the same time, warm and cozy.

"Eh? Why..." Chu Feng suspiciously muttered.

"Are you about to ask why my room looks warm even though my personality is cold?" Lin Naoi smiled gently, like a tender flower blooming in the winter snow.

Chu Feng wouldn’t miss a single chance to admire her beauty, but when he spoke, it was another matter. "It’s not about the color—it’s about the tidiness of the room. Isn’t it a known fact that a bedroom would have several stuff on and around the bed? Like trousers, underwear, and..."

Lin Naoi glared at him. This guy... hasn’t changed at all!

"Okay, okay... I won’t say more. How regretful, I didn’t see anything interesting."

"Let me see your hands," she suddenly said.

After hearing her, he put the communicator onto the desk and extended his hand for her to see. His fingers were white, slender and long. He narcissistically asked, "Not bad, right?"

Lin Naoi suspiciously observed his hand in detail.

"Was it you?" She questioned softly, not unlike a murmur.

"Of course, it’s me!" Chu Feng replied.

"Naoi!" A voice was heard from outside her room. Someone was looking for her.

"My mom is looking for me," she said in a hushed tone.

"Let me see how our mother looks like. Let me see, come on!" Chu Feng said with a mischievous smile.

"Du..." Lin Naoi had hung up.

Chu Feng went online and browsed through the news. He saw an official report saying that the man who killed the Ash Wolf had survived the ambush and was alive. However, he had received serious wounds during the battle, such as to his hands and finger webs.

"So, it’s like that." Chu Feng massaged his temples.

"Meal time!" Wang Jing was calling for him to have breakfast.

"Coming!"

After breakfast, Chu Feng returned to his room and decided to go through all the recent news. He had to understand some of the developments brought about by this battle.

Just as expected, the world outside was boiling with heated discussions.

Countless people were guessing exactly who the vanquisher of the Ash Wolf was.

This incident simply had too much influence.

"That man is surely an otherworldly expert, did you all see his fist technique? It’s an ancient style. Many old martial artist experts are guessing that he’s had over 90 years of training."

"90 years of practice? That’s ridiculous! You’re saying he’s a hundred-year-old fogey? People at that age are no longer nimble enough to kill the wolf. I feel that the expert is fit and full of vigor, definitely a young man!"

"Nonsense, eating mutated fruits can increase one’s lifespan. Only an ancestral master with over a century of experience can have that kind of peerless strength!"

"Your theories are becoming increasingly ridiculous, didn’t you just say 90 years old just now?!"

The heated discussions on the internet greatly amused Chu Feng.

And this was only one of the many hot topics of discussion, because there were even more.

All sorts of earth-shattering reports were posted, and a multitude of people were participating in discussions—many of the proposed views were quite interesting.

This man is obviously using the Xing Yi fist techniques, didn’t you see it? His back was tightened like a dragon and his aura was like a tiger - only the Xing Yi fists can incorporate such moves.

"Don’t speak if you don’t know. He was obviously using the Baji fists!"

"Rubbish, he’s an expert who has incorporated the essence of the Bagua Fists and Taiji fists into his own style. You are all amateurs!"

...

This became a hot topic for discussion.

After browsing through the recent news and hot discussion topics, Chu Feng roughly understood the effects of his battle.

It could be said that it was receiving worldwide attention.

Not to mention within the country, even those from abroad were all guessing the identity of the expert who had vanquished the Ash Wolf.

Finally, a person from within the army stood out to inform everyone that the expert was a young man who specialized in ancient martial arts.

This was relatively the most reliable source of information—at least, it was much better than blindly guessing. So, as it turned out, reaching such a level did not require several decades of training after all.

The people realized then that the age of ancient martial arts had arrived.

"Where can one learn ancient martial arts?"

"The vanquisher of the Ash Wolf is my life goal. From now on, I’m also going to pursue the ancient martial arts!"

...

After the report was released, countless people were excited. They all swore to start learning ancient martial arts.

Meanwhile, the Sword Temple of Mount Shu and the Great Woods Temple of Mount Song announced that they were recruiting sect disciples, claiming to have ancient techniques to pass down.

"The Temple of Great Woods and the Sword Temple of Mount Shu are definitely good choices. Rumor has it that during the ancient era, these sects were the holy land of martial arts."

"Although they are of the mutant beast race, they have never harmed anyone. Especially the white crane of the Sword Temple, it even lent a hand to the human race at one point."

This was definitely unexpected—the rise of the ancient martial arts was imminent. With that, the Temple of Great Woods and the Sword Temple of Mount Shu became the recent center of attention.

Chu Feng read all the reports at once, and the sun was already quite high by then.

Suddenly, a piece of news appeared and shocked everyone!

The battles for Mount Kongtong had come to an end. Such a major development was naturally the focus of all the peoples’ attention.

In truth, it was indeed an earth shaking news—finally, it was able to break through the current hype about the slain Ash Wolf and attract everyone’s attention.

After Mount Song and Mount Shu, another famous mountain had been occupied by a master, producing a new overlord who had vanquished all enemy troops.

Regrettably, he was not of the human race!

Everybody was sighing. Even the joy they had gained from killing the Ash Wolf was washed away quite a bit.

Mount Kongtong was one of the several famous mountains. It had a considerable history, enshrouded in mystery and legends since ancient times.

It has been said that therein resided an ancient deity. It was one of the very roots of human culture.

Mount Kongtong, among the famous mountains under the skies, it definitely occupied an exceptionally lofty position.

But now, it was occupied, and by the beast race no less.

"Eh?!"

Very soon, people gasped in astonishment, and afterwards, their expressions became odd.

The reason was that, the new overlord was rather... unconventional. People were at a loss for words.

It was a mountain tortoise [1]. Whether one compared it to the scripture chanting old ape from the Temple of Great Woods or with the divine aura of the white crane, he was obviously lacking background.

No one would’ve thought that a tortoise would be able to defeat all adversaries to become an overlord.

"Don’t look down on it. It’s not just any tortoise. Haven’t you seen the latest news? Not only did it defeat the Pre-Qin research institute, but also the Tonggu Alliance—some of the biggest powers of the human race. Even the beast kings were not his match and had to retreat in dismay."

Indeed, these reports were very detailed, and there were photos attached at the bottom.

Compared to other beast kings, this tortoise wasn’t very large. Only a bit over a meter long, and its body was brass colored.

"Did you all see it clearly? The patterns on the shell looks like the symbol of the eight trigrams!"

The people gasped in amazement after seeing it. The patterns on its shell formed the famed eight trigrams symbol—truly magnificent.

At this point, all the major powers could no longer hide the truth. They stated that the tortoise’s strength was absolutely terrifying.

In the recent days, many major battles had taken place around Kongtong mountains. In many of them, the van were led by beast kings, yet they could not handle the mountain tortoise.

It was impervious to swords and spears, and resistant to firearms. Even the beast kings, those which had enough power to split a mountain, could not leave a mark on its shell. Its defense was too shocking.

Especially later in the battle, when it began to retaliate... The tortoise’s whole body was flickering with the color of golden bronze. Possessing extreme speed, it directly rammed into its enemies, causing the beast kings to cough blood from the trauma.

As for the human experts, they were even more helpless against its impenetrable defense.

In the end, all the powers had no choice but to retreat. Even the most ferocious of beast kings were at their wits end. Being wounded in succession, they could only recognize the tortoise’s position as an overlord.

"This world has gone crazy, I... I don’t understand anymore," an elderly man sighed as he muttered to himself.

"This mountain tortoise has to be at least over a thousand years old," guessed a man.

"He has to be. After accumulating strength for over a thousand years, he rose after the world underwent great changes."

Very quickly, there was news regarding the Kongtong mountains; furthermore, there was a clear video posted on the internet.

The mountain tortoise stood on its legs like a man and placed its forelimbs behind its back. Its extremities were all quite long, so it was possible to take this posture.

If one didn’t look carefully, it would be mistaken for an old man with its hands behind his back. Roundabout 1.5 meters tall, it was standing on Mount Kongtong with a yellow brass pot hanging behind it, carrying with it an aura of vicissitude.

"Henceforth, the Kongtong Sect is established!" the tortoise spoke in the human tongue. With an ancient voice, its announced this astonishing news.

Following Great Woods temple and the Sword Temple, the Kongtong Sect had been born.

The tortoise spoke very little, but its words contained shocking news. It declared its possession of the Kongtong Ancient Techniques, and was willing to let the fated inherit them.

Humans, mutants, any living being could be sworn in as a disciple of the Kongtong Sect!

"Truly Impressive!" Chu Feng muttered to himself. At this time, his communicator rang, someone was trying to contact him.

...

[1] The actual species of the 山龜 is the "forest turtle", although the chinese words mean "mountain turtle".