Chapter 36: Kill Without Mercy
Chapter 36: Kill Without Mercy
“What now?”
Mu Feng’s face was icy cold, a vague trace of unease stirring within him.
Remembering the moment he’d been sent flying by Mu Feng’s punch, the steward of the Chuangong Hall still felt lingering fear and dread. Seeing the shift in Mu Feng’s expression only made him more nervous. “Young Master Mu Feng, the Tribute Payment for you and your mother this year… it’s already… already paid!”
What?
Already paid?
Mu Feng’s eyebrows shot up. He snatched the ledger out of the steward’s hand in one swift motion. Sure enough, next to the names of him and his mother, a bright red tick was marked in the ledger. Below it was the note: thirty-two taels of silver. The date of payment was exactly today.
“Thirty-two taels? Where did Mother get that much money?”
Thinking of his mother’s strange behavior over the past few days, Mu Feng felt even more uneasy.
She had often wept secretly when he wasn’t looking, as if hiding something from him. Absorbed in desperately cultivating to break through quickly, he hadn’t paid enough attention or pressed her. Looking back now, the more he thought about it, the more troubled he became.
No, he had to get back immediately and find out clearly!
Mu Feng tossed the ledger back to the Chuangong Hall steward, turned on his heel, and strode away without a word. Behind him, watching his retreating back, the perpetually anxious steward finally let out a long sigh of relief.
After a brief nod to Xing Jiu, who sat cross-legged in meditation outside the Chuangong Hall, Mu Feng departed hurriedly. His heart was burning with anxiety, and he walked faster and faster. Seeing him so preoccupied and seemingly in a great hurry, the clanspeople gathered in the square parted to let him pass. Martial prowess was prized within Mu Manor. That Mu Feng, once known for being sickly and bookish, had overcome challenges and stormed the Chuangong Hall, earning genuine respect from the crowd.
“Huh? Isn’t that Young Master Mu Feng, so mighty just moments ago? Leaving so soon?”
Before Mu Feng had gone far, a group suddenly rushed out from the crowd, blocking his path. At their head was none other than the ill-reputed young noble, Mu Qingyuan, arriving late with a squad of guards.
“Get out of the way!”
Mu Feng’s face was frigid, his voice a sharp command.
Anxious to get home in a few strides and question his mother, he had no patience for the idle words of this spoiled son.
“You…”
Mu Qingyuan flushed with shame and anger, his usual sense of superiority and arrogance completely evaporating.
Though he knew this pauper scholar Mu Feng had always been stubborn and unpleasant, he never expected he’d be so humiliated publicly!
“I bet it feels strange, frustrating, doesn’t it?” Mu Qingyuan snarled, fury twisting his face. He pulled an exquisite hair ornament from his robes, fingering it delicately. “Where did that cheap mother of yours get so much Tribute Payment, you wretch?” he taunted, a nasty grin spreading. “Open your eyes wide and see this, haha! You caught some luck this year. But next year, the tribute doubles! What possessions could you and your mother possibly have left to pawn, eh? Ha ha ha!”
Mu Qingyuan laughed loudly, brandished the beautiful hair ornament openly as an insult, full of contempt and malice.
Pawning possessions?
Staring at the ornament in Mu Qingyuan’s hand, understanding dawned on Mu Feng. Before, he’d sensed something missing about his mother but couldn’t place it. Now he knew – she had pawned this hair ornament to pay the tribute!
“Who,” Mu Feng’s voice was dangerously low as he locked eyes with the sneering, detestable Mu Qingyuan, “did you call cheap?”
He breathed heavily, struggling to suppress the murderous impulse surging within him. As he spoke, he took a sudden step forward. Blood Qi churned violently inside him, radiating a sharp, palpable killing intent far into the distance. Feeling it, the surrounding clanspeople instinctively took several steps back, afraid of being caught in the disaster. Mu Qingyuan, right in its path, shivered violently, the hair ornament almost slipping from his grasp. Involuntary waves of fear crashed over him.
“A crime!”
Seeing the danger, one of Mu Qingyuan’s Personal Guards swiftly stepped forward, shielding his master. With a ‘swish’, he drew a sharp, long sword, fixing Mu Feng with a fierce glare. “Fitting penalty for insubordination against a superior under the Mu Manor rules is death! Kneel and confess your guilt!”
Mu Qingyuan and his cronies were accustomed to trampling others within Mu Manor, acting with arrogance and tyranny. Even the minor guards under them held no respect for ordinary clan members. Much less someone like Mu Feng, a powerless orphan from a poor family – they wouldn’t give him a second glance, just shout him down.
Kneel and confess?
Hearing Mu Qingyuan’s guard demand this, the watching clansmen exchanged glances, their gazes shifting to the guard as if he were already dead.
Hadn’t Mu Feng boldly broken into the stern Chuangong Hall? Hadn’t he killed gods when gods blocked his way, and Buddhas when Buddhas blocked his way? How could he possibly fear a mere insignificant guard?
Mu Feng had emerged from the Chuangong Hall looking grim and preoccupied. Not only had they blocked his path at this moment, but they also insulted and provoked him like this. Was this anything but courting death?
The memory of Mu Feng’s ferocity and savagery sent chills down everyone’s spines. Once again, they retreated several steps.
Sure enough, just as they cleared an open space around him, a dull thud cracked through the air.
Thump!
Without a single word, Mu Feng threw one fist, just one fist. It blasted the guard standing in front of Mu Qingyuan off his feet.
All his boiling fury turned into raw power. A single shrill shriek later, the guard who’d been so puffed up moments ago lay sprawled on the ground, utterly motionless. His chest was deeply caved in, his bones and muscles shattered, his internal organs ruptured. Blood seeped slowly through his pores, dotting his entire skin surface. Even if the High Priest himself rushed here, it would be impossible to save him now.
A one-punch kill!
Mu Feng stood, his killing aura palpable. The blood within him radiated waves of scorching heat, growing hotter and hotter.
In his violent state, he felt as though something inside him was awakening, like a towering blood wave crashing. Killing on the spot brought him no tension or fear; instead, a growing excitement surged – a desperate thirst for carnage, for satisfying combat. His nostrils flared, catching the scent of blood from every person within a hundred paces. The Ancestral Sorcerer’s Essence Blood he’d swallowed earlier began to melt and fuse with his own blood at an accelerated, almost unnoticeable rate. A bloody, oppressive aura poured from him, washing over the onlookers until every person near him trembled in terror.
Blood Shaman world!
Fueled by rage and savagery, Mu Feng unwittingly unleashed the power and presence of a ‘Blood Shaman’. Instantly, everyone felt the blood roiling within their own veins, a sensation of burning blood running hot.
“Mu Feng! You… you killed him!” Mu Qingyuan stammered, the previous amusement wiped from his face, replaced by shock. Instinctively, he lurched backwards. Even surrounded by his squad of guards, an intense, primal fear gripped him coldly in that instant. To kill a Personal Guard at the Early Mortal Realm with one punch! Mu Feng’s strength far exceeded his expectations!
Even more unexpected was that Mu Feng dared to attack in public! Kill someone outright right under Mu Qingyuan’s watchful eyes!
Not far off stood a troop of Punishment Hall Law Enforcement Guards! Yet Mu Feng had killed someone openly without the slightest hesitation. Such ferocity! Such savagery!
Mu Qingyuan thought himself sufficiently arrogant and overbearing. Yet, this once book-weak scholar, Mu Feng, upon unleashing himself, proved far wilder, far more ruthless than he could ever be! A hundred times more!
Ruthless!
Mu Qingyuan swallowed nervously, a sudden regret washing over him: had he come out too hastily tonight, without any true expert by his side?
“Killing him is nothing,” Mu Feng’s voice was a low, bestial growl, his eyes blazing crimson like a bloodthirsty primordial beast. He took another step forward, the heat radiating from him intensifying. “You… today, you die here too!”
This time, not just Mu Qingyuan in the direct line, but even his surrounding guards felt their hearts pound violently in fear. They instinctively retreated. As Mu Feng advanced step by relentless step, not a single one among them dared to step forward and confront him.