The Sacred Ruins

Huang Xiaoxian cried a blood-curdling cry. The stomp crumbled the only breast bones that were still holding up the shape of his chest. There was not a single rib that was not broken or fractured.

BANG!

Then, Chu Feng swept the ground with his other foot, sending the crippled man flying in the air. It was a deadly blow as it fractured his arms as well as his spinal cords. The injury was internal, and it was severe.

"Interesting. Aren’t you just a yellow weasel? Demonstrate to me what else you’ve got besides that flying knife," Chu Feng said.

"I’ll kill you!!" Huang Xiaoxian screamed as he toppled over and writhed in agony on the ground. His mouth was full of blood; his body was in a spasm, and because of the pain, sweat had soddened his clothes.

He had never suffered so much since the start of his life.

Before the world was shaken up by the upheavals, he had spent more than twenty years of his life living in this world. He had had the intelligence close to what a human could master. Back then, he used to be given the honorific title as "Daxian" at a remote village. The villagers used to offer up sacrifices to him.

In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, this kind of neurological disease caused by weasels was a special form of hysteria.

As such, back when he was still a beast before treading on the path of evolution, he already knew the tricks to manipulate people psychologically, and after the evolution, he became something that was even more terrifying.

After the evolution, his psychic power steeply rose and the flying knife became his trump card. With this power and strength, he cleaved the bodies and souls of the animals that were still in the "Awakening" realm like a housewife chopping vegetables on an average Friday night.

Chu Feng was perhaps the only one who could check and balance his power in the realm of "Awakening"!

Unfortunately, he was going to meet his Maker today.

"Kill me? Why are you still stubborn?!"

Chu Feng stood by the man’s writhing body, then he trampled over him, giving him a full-body massage with his feet to fracture his bones and snap his tendons.

"You..." Huang Xiaoxian was scared stiff. Pain ran through his body; it was insufferable for him. Writing on the ground, the man trembled and shivered; cold sweat profusely trickled down his cheeks like a stream of cold spring.

Although he was still sulky about the abuse, he was too scared to say a word.

Even so, Chu Feng was still relentlessly trampling over him. His jaw bone was fractured, and his cheeks were sodden with tears. It was a kind of pain that no-one could suffer.

And even if he wanted to get on his knees and beg for mercy, he wouldn’t be able to do so—his kneecap was shattered, and his jaws were disjointed!

The night sky was lit by swarms of stars.

On the balcony, silence prevailed. Even people who had chosen to spectate on the sideline were scared stiff!

Chu Feng was like a demon walking on earth. His blows were powerful and swift, beating up his foe like breaking up dead wood. He finished the battle as soon as he could. Everything was done fast and clean.

No-one had ever doubted the power of Huang Xiaoxian. The shiny sharp blade of his flying knife was a terrifying sight to behold. People quaked with terror and shivered with fear, because who else besides the beast king could subdue someone like him?!

Chu Feng combined the Tiger form with the Dragon form and tore that flying knife apart as it was still traveling in the air.

"So bloody satisfying!"

Ouyang Qing and Du Huaijin were cheering at the back. They leapt and jumped in all cheerfulness as if they were experiencing the fight in person. It felt as if they themselves were the ones who were beating up Huang Xiaoxian. Seeing the man suffer really helped them vent their grievances and resentment.

They had received their fair share of disdain and scornfulness from Huang Xiaoxian earlier today. The two were treated like a complete nonentity. Seeing someone so puffed up with pride and arrogance being beaten up to death was really quite a cathartic experience.

Ye Qingrou was smiling too. She hated this man, because the control of her own mind was almost taken seized by this man. Right now, seeing how he was being beaten up like a dead dog, she was happy.

They were not the only ones who felt satisfied. Everyone who was watching this fight was in high spirits. They had never felt so at ease in their life.

However, for some people, it was a completely different story. People who were hosting this fight was so scared that their whole body came out in a cold sweat. Things were not looking good for them. After all, this man was the son of a beast king, and if he was beaten black and blue, they would have to be held accountable.

Meanwhile, some people were feeling grievous and resentful. Xu Wanyi was one of these people.

She had been eager to see Chu Feng getting humiliated by the son of beast king. She thought that Chu Feng could even die in the hand of this bestial man. There mere thought of Chu Feng’s death put smile on her face. But the reality was quite the contrary.

Her face turned pale with rage. She was irritated by Huang Xiaoxian’s defeat.

People were astonished, especially for the high-ranking officials who were leading the country’s tycoons. They realized that they had underestimated Angel Ox. He had a lot more power and might than they had expected.

Even Jiang Luoshen’s heart was palpitating in fear and astonishment. She could now say with certain that Chu Feng must have been the man who slayed the Ash Wolf.

She used to doubt her own suspicion, but now she was certain.

A sudden commotion from the crowd broke the silence of the place. People could finally come to their senses and realized what had happened. They were silent because Chu Feng’s prowess had astonished them; but now, cheer and voices of discussion suddenly broke out. People were excited and happy.

The organizers hurriedly scurried into the arena and carefully inspected the body of Huang Xiaoxian. In the meantime, they were sending endless stream of apology and sweet-talks to pacify the panic-stricken man.

Chu Feng was like a demon walking on earth, so they were too scared to make any moves into the arena just then.

They silently complained under their breath as they tidied up the mess that had been caused. Huang Xiaoxian had been severely wounded in the hands of Chu Feng, and this made everything a tight fix for the organizers. How would they explain this to the beast kings? Would they be forgiven or would they be punished?

"Chu Feng, you are really..." someone was going to vent his anger on Cu Feng.

But he went silent when Chu Feng cast him a bitingly cold look. That man was scared out of his wit, because everyone with an eye would see that Chu Feng was not some ordinary people. He was a demon walking on earth!

He previously disguised as Angel Ox, but without the mask, he seemed to be ten times deadlier!

"We’re not through yet!" Huang Xiaoxian spat a mouthful of blood and said to Chu Feng. He sounded hateful because he had never been at such a disadvantage in his life before.

"You want ‘through’? I’ll give you ‘through’ then!" Chu Feng coldly said, then he lunged for Huang Xiaoxian with his fist guiding the way.

He darted at subsonic speed, swift as a bolt of lightning. He trampled on Huang Xiaoxian’s legs.

CRACK!

This was the sound of another few fractured bones.

"Ah..." Huang Xiaoxian cried a plaintive cry.

"You were asking for death!" Chu Feng coldly said. He walked a few steps forward then stood on his face, and at once, an array of teeth snapped and fell.

"No!"

Huang Xiaoxian was terrified. Fear had taken hold of his wit; he cried out this word with his last breath. Chu Feng could crumble his skull and mince his brain at this point if he wished to do so. Being so close to death, he was fearful.

The organizers gasped in horror, but they were seized by terror too. With an ashen face and a gaping mouth, they stood on the sideline, watching Chu Feng crushing his heels into the skull of that poor man.

"Brother Chu, enough!"

As Huang Xiaoxian struggled at the fringe of his life, a man suddenly appeared in the arena. He clutched onto Chu Feng’s arm, stopping him from killing his enemy.

This man looked youthful. He looked in his mid-twenties with a slender figure and a finely chiselled facial feature. He looked mild in manner and temperate in attitude. He looked Chu Feng in the eyes and said, "I’m Zhao Yu. I’m from Hollow Jade Temple."

Chu Feng was seized with surprise. He knew this man. There were three young men in Hollow Jade Temple whose talent was greatly valued by the sect, and one of them was named Zhao Yu.

Chu Feng thought that a beast might come here to stop him; it surprised him to see that Zhao Yu would be the first to arrive.

"Let him go, otherwise, things would be difficult for Hollow Jade Temple as well," Zhao Yu said. There was a certain degree of refinement in every move he made. Unsuspecting people might not be able to tell that he was in fact a powerful fighter and a "first seed" in Hollow Jade Temple.

Chu Feng hesitated, but in the end, he agreed to let the man go.

In fact, he wasn’t going to kill the man anyway, at least not in front of this huge crowd. Beast kings had only just offered to make peace with humans, so it certainly wasn’t the wisest thing for him to do to kill the son of a beast king right after the peace agreement was made.

But if this was happening in an open country with no-one gawking, Chu Feng would have ended the life of this man a long time ago!

Under public gaze, the killing of Huang Xiaoxian would start a storm.

The fight had already left Huang Xiaoxian disabled. There was not a single bone throughout his body that was not fractured. Perhaps leaving him like this would yield better results than to kill him. He could serve as a message to the other beasts, warning them against any gratuitous violence.

Chu Feng had sent a clear message: humans were still the strongest species!

"That’s enough," Kong Sheng didn’t say a word until now.

Kong Sheng had a lanky figure, wearing a well-pressed suit that only a human would wear in a formal setting. His purple hair hung loosely by his shoulders; he looked like someone with an unspeakable temperament. Except the suit, nothing about him was human-like, yet he still looked handsome and pretty.

Kong Sheng walked into the arena, and other people followed. Those who were behind him looked nervous, because Kong Sheng was in a quite distinguished position. He had the support of a Peacock King who was said to be invincible!

"Brother Kong, I..." Huang Xiaoxian bowed his head. He looked a bit scared and a bit aggrieved. A crushing defeat like this truly maddened him.

"You can’t blame anyone for your own incompetence, right? Come on, let’s go," Kong Sheng said. He sounded casual and indifferent.

People were surprised to see that he wasn’t trying to be a nuisance to Chu Feng; instead, he just calmly waltzed away.

Xu Wanyi was disappointed. She had hoped that beasts like Kong Shen would at least take some actions to strike back at Chu Feng.

Chu Feng was surprised too. To him, Kong Shen seemed to have a mind that was hard to read. Clearly, Kong Shen had no kindness for Chu Feng, yet he could still walk away with such calmness.

People got Huang Xiaoxian a stretcher and brought him away.

Huang Xiaoxian looked daring and energetic when he came, all puffed up with conceit and arrogance; however, he left while being carried by a team of paramedics. Huang Xiaoxian was having the sulks of defeat, but there was nothing he could say or do. Before he left, he cast Chu Feng a sidelong look over his shoulder.

In both the society of humans and that of the beasts, he would forever remain as a reminder to people of what not to do. In the years to come, he would always be quoted as a material for teaching by bad example. People would remember him as nothing but a loser.

The cocktail party was over. No-one would still have the mood to stay.

Soon, the internet was boiling over, because someone had uploaded the recordings of this fight.

Days without Chu Feng had been quiet and hushed. People on the internet were craving for the new excitement that Chu Feng would bring, and sure enough, Chu Feng had not disappointed them.

"Who is that man? Where did that flying knife come from? Oh my goodness! This is so terrifying! Oh, man! Look! Angel Ox tore that sword apart! How astonishing!"

"Angel Ox might not always ‘cry out’, but once he does, he makes sure that it will startle everyone! Look at this! What a brilliant fight!"

Later, someone pieced together the background story of this fight. They put the information together with the footage; and soon, another wave of uproar broke out on the internet.

People from earlier found the fight to be astonishing only because of the appearance of the flying knife!

But after they learnt the inside story, the internet soon saw a vast upsurge of public feeling. Many people were cheering: "Bloody satisfying! Bloody satisfying!"

"A yellow weasel trying to humiliate humans at a cocktail party? F*ck the weasel and beat him up!"

"Beat him up! My blood was boiling over when I watched the footage of the fight. Oh, you guys have no ideas how much I wish that I could be the one who beat up this arrogant bastard!"

"Chu Feng is our warrior! Single-handedly nullifying the deadliness of a flying knife with no weapons in hand. He is stronger and more powerful than we used to believe. I can say with certainty that he must be some of the best fighters out there!"

...

"I’m so ANGRY!" Huang Xiaoxian was in a large room that was sumptuously furnished. He smashed his communicator, because he had seen the news reports online.

There were two elders in the room too. They were performing osteopathy on him. They were experienced and well-trained osteopath. Their palms were glowing as mysterious force flowed from their veins then were directed onto their palms.

"The injury is quite severe. Xiaohuang was almost rendered permanently disabled by that man. He needs to rest," one of the elders said.

Kong Sheng came into the room. He was a handsome man but with an emotionless face. He was still calm and collected; not a single surge of emotion could be seen on him. Yun Fei and Miao Fei were following him at the back.

"Brother Kong, where were you when I needed you the most? You could’ve helped me kill that man rather than watch me getting beaten up!" Huang Xiaoxian was expressing his great displeasure.

Yun Fei, the descendent of the Cloud Leopard, said, "You and he had both agreed to fight a fair fight. You made the oath in front of the crowd, so how could you hope that under the gaze of the same crowd, our Brother Kong would lend you a helping hand? The fight would be unfair."

"But you could offer to challenge him after I was defeated," Huang Xiaoxian felt very aggrieved.

Miao Fei replied, "Our kings has offered to make peace with mankind. Have you ever considered the influence and the ramification that would result from killing one of their human citizen?"

Huang Xiaoxian bowed his head and said, "I wasn’t expecting him to be a mighty fighter, but the reality is, no-one but our kings could be a match for him. Brother Kong, kill him, or one day, he will kill us all!"

People turned to Kong Sheng, waiting for him to make a definite decision.

Kong Sheng’s pupils shone with purple brilliance. He calmly said, "Tell our people to spread the rumor that Chu Feng was the one who killed the Ash Wolf!"

"What? Is he the wolf-slayer?!" Huang Xiaoxian, Yun Fei and Miao Fei were all dumbfounded by what they heard. Their eyes widened.

Even the two elders seemed to have lost their calmness. Their eyes were glittering with sprinkles of light, looking dumbfounded and surprised.

"I don’t care whether he is the wolf-slayer or not, but if we want to get into a fight and kill him, we’d better find an excuse to do so. Killing our Ash Wolf King should be enough to justify our action," Kong Sheng calmly said.

People in the room were first astounded, then they began to admire his wisdom.

Huang Xiaoxian was happy. He said, "Brother Kong, what a well-conceived plan! Great! He may not be the enemy of everyone, but at least he is now the enemy of us every single beast. We might make a nuisance of ourselves to mankind by killing him, but what can they say? Our action is completely justifiable!"

"We still need to make sure that our killing is going to be a low-key assassination. We’ll keep it as secret and clean as possible," Kong Sheng said. Then, he turned to the elders and said, "Uncle Lin and Elder Huang might have to get involved in this operation this time,"

"Sure!" Huang Yun nodded. He had been waiting for this. He and Huang Xiaoxian belonged to the same family. The suffering of the latter was a revenge that the former would have to seek.

The other elder, Kong Lin, was nodding too. His eyes shone with purple glitter, and his body was shrouded in a purple fume. The dormant force inside him had awakened, forming an air of miasma that was thick enough to make one’s heart palpitate with fear.

Huang Xiaoxian was overjoyed. He knew how terrifying these two elders were. He said, "Great! Lion versus rabbit. Chu Feng won’t stand a chance this time!"

Meanwhile, Mu Tian was reading a book in his private villa. The book was an ancient kind. Age had given it a yellow color over its pages. On the cover, there was the name of this book: Bachi Boxing.

It was not easy to have access to books like this. Bachi Boxing was an ancient martial art, and the recordings of its boxing positions were said to have lost to the world. Mu Zhengtian looked rather casual as he browsed through the book. It was a rare book, but it wasn’t receiving any attention due.

There was another young man in the room. His name was Mu Zhuo.

"Brother Tian, how are sitting here, browsing books, enduring the fact that that man, Chu Feng, was still breathing air? Shouldn’t he be dead already? You saw him today, but why didn’t you fight him? Instead of seeking out revenge, you talked to him... Oh, you have no ideas how much I wanted to beat him up at that moment."

"We’re at the point where the going is the toughest. We don’t need to court troubles for ourselves if it is not necessary," Mu Tian said. He didn’t even raise his head. He seemed to have been engrossed with the book.

"Then when will we take actions? Mu can’t just die for nothing. He is your blood brother!" Mu Zhuo said.

"What’s all the hurry?" Mu Tian had a glance at him.

Mu Zhuo settled down and said, "He is a mighty fighter, so we’d better get rid of him. The sooner, the better! What’s more is that, who else besides you have the daringness and strength to kill him?"

"Tell our people to spread the rumor that Chu Feng is the wolf-slayer," Mu Tian casually said as he put down the book in his hand.

"What?!" Mu Zhuo was astounded and said, "is he the wolf-slayer?"

"Whether he is or not, it’s not of our concern. We just need to give the beasts a reason to take actions and kill him for us," Mu Tian said in a peaceful tone. He then clutched onto that book again and said, "And you’re right, he is the wolf-slayer."

...

At night, Chu Feng put down his communicator. He was in a trance because he had been talking to Lin Naoi on the phone for quite a while.

Lin Naoi contacted him as soon as she heard about the incident. She sounded serious. She said that things were not over yet, and soon, a large wave of troubles would start coming in his way.

According to her, the beast kings and their sons would not let it go that easily. They would start seeking their revenge very soon.

Besides, she also mentioned Mu Tian to him. She warned him of the threat that this man posed.

"He won’t take actions immediately, but he will put you in danger. For example, he will tell the world that you are the wolf-slayer. In doing so, he won’t even have to step out of his villa to get you killed," Lin Naoi stressed.

In the following morning, Chu Feng woke up to find himself to be the subject of a breaking news.

"Chu Feng: the legendary wolf-slayer!"

This had caused a great stir throughout the country. People were astounded, then the world was boiling over with excitement.

"Oh god! What a mighty fighter! I never thought that he was the hero who slayed that wolf!"

"Before this, I’ve already had some respect for this man, but I had never thought that he was not just Angel Ox, but also the warrior who cleansed the evil of our world! How exciting this is!"

...

This was an earth-shattering news!

It soon prompted people into heated debates. The internet was flooded with people who couldn’t hold back their genuine excitement. Many people were commending Chu Feng, while others claimed that Chu Feng would forever remain the one and only idol in their heart.

However, for Chu Feng, this was the beginning of a nightmare and a crisis.

Lu Tong contacted him at once. He sounded serious on the phone. Because everything escalated so rapidly, Hollow Jade Temple was not ready yet. Chu Feng went to see the old man.

"All the strong and powerful beasts had gained human forms, which makes things much more difficult to handle!" Lu Tong was worried.

He raised up from his seat and paced back and forth in the room. Then, he said, "There’s only one way we can do this!"

"What way?" Chu Feng had been calm throughout the meeting.

"This could be your opportunity to become even stronger. You have the potential to be on the equal footing as the beast kings!" Lu Tong said.

Chu Feng looked at him in the eyes. He kept silent.

"I will send you to the pilgrimage grounds!" Lu Tong said in a solemn tone.

"Thank you!" Chu Feng jumped to his feet. He had been waiting long enough for this day to come!