The world outside had gone wild. Rumors were saying that Chu Feng had died, and that some mutated animals had torn apart his jumbo jet then murdered him outside the city of Shuntian in cold blood.
Especially when Huang Xiaotian came to the public’s eye on a wheelchair, looking smug and frivolous, people knew as a matter of fact that he must have been somehow connected to the all these.
For the people in the world outside, heaven seemed to have fallen!
There was a vast upsurge of indignation. People were taken hold by anger, and some couldn’t accept this as a reality. People were still singing the high praises of Chu Feng’s magnificent feat of killing the Ash Wolf this morning. Back then, who could’ve thought that at noon on that same day, they would be struck by the tragedy of their hero’s death.
Near the silver mine.
Chu Feng browsed through the record on his communicator. There were many unanswered calls, most of which came from parents and friends.
"I’m still fine. I’m near the silver mine. Quickly, send someone to pick me up."
"People are on your way. Please wait!" Lu Tong said, "What about the quasi-kings?"
"One was killed, the other escaped!" Chu Feng said. His clothes were soaked with blood. Some of that blood was the blood of his own, but most was the blood of his victims. He was badly injured. For him, this had to be the biggest crisis that he had ever encountered.
"What?! You killed one?!" Lu Tong cried.
He had thought of every possibility that this could have turned out, but he had never thought that killing the beast was possible. These were not some crippled old wolf; these were two formidable beasts at the height of their power and strength. No-one but the beast kings could prove to be a match for these quasi-kings.
"Just keep a close eye at the news. I will post some updates on the internet soon!" Chu Feng’s voice sounded frosty and chilling. When the situation had escalated into how they were right now, there was no need to try to keep any secrets anymore. What he needed was a slap in the face for the beasts and a boost in the morale for the mankind.
"Mom, don’t cry. I’m alright!" Chu Feng called his parents. He could hear his mother’s sobbing on the phone. She had been rather worried, because the internet had been boiling over with rumors that claimed that Chu Feng had died.
What had happened today was truly a shocker to the world. Everyone was watching closely. Many people were highly resentful. Some even cried that mankind should start an all-out war with the beasts!
People saw Chu Feng as one mighty warrior with great accomplishment. He was the legendary wolf-slayer, someone who had allowed mankind to stand with their head held high again. However, not only had his death not been fully appreciated and commemorated, but it was instead treated with scorn by people like Huang Xiaoxian. People were shivering with anger and fury.
Kong Sheng was on the phone with Huang Yuan. His smile froze on his face, because what he received was not the news of victory, but rather, it was news of Kong Lin’s death.
Kong Lin was beheaded by Chu Feng; even Huang Yun himself was badly injured.
"There was a silver mine there. This mine was so strange! I couldn’t believe my eye when I saw a metal beast evolved in that mine. I swear, this beast was just powerful as our beast king!" Huang Yun puffed and panted. He had almost died too.
He had lost a leg at the silver mine. Chu Feng caught up with him with his far superior speed, so he was only a hair away from his death.
In the room, Huang Xiaoxian’s face turned ashen. He wished to stand on his feet and run to the roof—he wanted to look up to the sky and let out a long and mournful cry, but he couldn’t. How was this possible? He was a young man, ordinary and inexperienced. How could Chu Feng possibly kill one quasi-beast and wounded the other?
"Look! There is a new update on the internet! It’s sent by Chu Feng!" Miao Fei said.
Chu Feng had logged onto his own social-networking platform. Normally, he barely posted anything on his own platform, but it was different today. He had posted a picture along with some words.
It was a photo of himself. In the photo, he was soaked in blood, but he was still brimming with energy and vitality. Beside him, there was a giant head tossed on the ground. That head was exuding a multi-colored radiance.
It was the head of a peacock. The scene posed an insufferable air of terror even for the people who were watching behind the glass screen of their phone. The head had some ferocious features. It looked savage and bloody.
Below the picture, there was a line of words: "Just went hunting in the wilderness. Killed this peacock by accident!"
"Oh my goodness!"
The internet was boiling over again. People now knew that Chu Feng had come out of the accident without a scratch, or so it seemed on the photo. However, he was bathed in blood, accompanied by the rolling head of a peacock by his side. What happened? And to whom does this head belong?
Some people had determined that this head must have belonged to something extraordinary. It might have been a quasi-king. Right now, people only knew one person working as a subordinate under Kong Lin’s direction; he was also a quasi-king, and his name was Kong Lin.
"BOOM!"
This time, the internet really had exploded. Had Chu Feng just single-handedly killed a quasi-king? People asked.
"Oh my goodness, chief! You’re a legend!" Ouyang Qing commented on the post to express his delight and excitement.
"Chu Feng, I’m glad you’re fine!" Ye Qingrou commented too. Earlier, they had lost contact with him, but now they could finally feel a bit at ease.
"Oh chief! You’ve got no ideas how anxious we were earlier. We thought… we thought you were killed. I almost burst out in tears. But who could’ve thought, you went… ‘hunting’! You’re a legend, chief. You’re a true legend! Ha, ha!" Du Huajin commented.
The words and the picture that were posted were a perfect match.
"Just went hunting in the wilderness. Killed this peacock by accident!"
This gave rise to a surge of lively debate. People reposted the image across all platforms. Soon, the photo was all over the internet. That line of word was especially cathartic to read.
Kong Sheng’s body became vibrant with beams of purple light protruding through the pores of his skin. His eyes were glistening with deadly looks; that strange yet handsome face of his was crawled with hatred.
Nobody in the room dared to utter a sound. They knew that Kong Sheng was furious. Having lost a formidable fighter was one, but what drove him to the boiling point was the fact that the shameful defeat was being broadcasted to the world outside.
"Damn him! Look how puffed up with pride and arrogance he is!" Huang Xiaoxian cursed under his breath.
"Ha! Ha! I feel so bloody delighted!" Meanwhile, Lu Tong the old man blabbered. He was rather cheerful after seeing the photo posted online. No more feelings of depression piled up on his mind.
Soon, Chu Feng posted another photo online. It was the tail of a yellow weasel, but this particular tail was way longer than the length of a normal weasel. Besides, it looked rather fluffy and golden too
This was a selfie of Chu Feng with the tail. The man himself was stained with blood. Beneath the photo, there was another line of words.
"Foul smell of a weasel really stinks to high heaven! I had no choice but to let him go."
The words were simple, but it was enough to convey its meanings.
This stirred up another surge of debates online. Some people instantly guessed that this must have been a quasi-king of the family of yellow weasel!
Soon, experts came out and claimed that this was indeed the tail of Huang Yun. So far, amongst all the quasi-kings from the weasel family, Huang Yun was the only one that had been staying in Shuntian.
"Oh my goodness. Is this real? Another quasi-king got humiliated by Chu Feng? Did Chu Feng cut off the weasel man’s tail, but then he had to let the weasel man go because the weasel man farted in his face? Is this the story?"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
The fact that a yellow weasel was capable of giving off the foulest smell on earth was a secret to none, but for the public, it was still quite comical to see that their hero, Chu Feng, would have to suffer this kind of "humiliation".
This time, the photo and the words didn’t just pose as a sensation to the world outside, but it also served as quite of a slapstick comedy. Many people burst out laughing.
It only took two posts to sweep away the grief and sorrow that had been weighing on many people’s mind. After seeing the posts, they felt comfortable and at ease. People were happy.
"Ah…"
Huang Xiaoxian was screaming. This kind of humiliation was simply too much for him. For the family of weasel, having one’s tail chopped off was a fate worse than death.
"Do whatever to lure him out. I just want to kill him! I want to kill him with my own hands!" Kong Sheng’s face was bitingly cold. Murderous intent mixed with a stream of terrifying power permeated through the pores of his skin and suffused the air in the room.
Even if Chu Feng’s posts had served nothing purposeful, at least it told the world that he was still alive.
Rumble rolled in the distance.
A military helicopter landed near the silver mine.
Many helicopters had already been standing by to await orders in an area nearby, and once Lu Tong sent his orders, the choppers arrived here at once.
Chu Feng hopped into the chopper and headed towards Jin Men.
Shuntian had become a whirlpool where one was apt to get into trouble. Mutated beasts had forcibly occupied the place around the city, so there was every possibility that his chopper might be attacked again by the mutated beasts if he insisted to fly there.
Lu Tong completely agreed. He reckoned that Jin Men was a wiser alternative too.
Meanwhile, Lu Tong, the old man, was holding a discussion on the phone. He told people in Jin Men to get ready for Chu Feng’s arrival. Arrangements had been made. Chu Feng would be escorted to the pilgrimage grounds on a jumbo jet as soon as he arrived at the city of Jin Men.
Chu Feng’s journey to the city of Jin Men was smooth and safe. Then from there, he took off again in a jet plane, heading due south for his destination!
Chu Feng was gone, but what he left behind was a world stirred up by chaos and sensation.
After the photos were uploaded, they quickly spread around the internet. They swept across the globe, taking all major influential forces by surprise. Some people were busy making conjectures as to how he had accomplished this.
He was, after all, just a human who was a tad above the average. Something must have aided him in bringing down two quasi-kings both at once.
Huang Yun came back from the dead with one leg broken and an anus without a tail. He was angry out of embarrassment. The grievance and hatred ran so deep that he wished he could butcher some people in large numbers so that his bitterness could settle.
However, he couldn’t pluck up the courage to do so. If he brought serious trouble on himself near or within the city of Shuntian, even the elders from the family of weasel wouldn’t be able to afford the consequences.
"That dirty bastard! He lured us to a terrifying silver mine…"
Huang Yun mumbled out his resentment on the internet, but no-one empathized with him. People clapped with joy, gloating over Huang Yun’s suffering.
Kong Sheng’s face was overcast with dark clouds. Huang Yun himself wasn’t in high spirits either, because the elders from his family had just contacted him. On the phone, Huang Yun was lambasted.
"The elders said that they were going to forsake us. They said that we had smeared the family’s image," Huang Xiaoxian’s voice sounded terror-stricken. He knew the temperament of those elders better than anyone did. Those elders were people who had lofty aspirations. Failures like this was intolerable.
However, no-one could blame the elders for their rage and anger. The family had become the laughingstock of this world after two battles that they had had with Chu Feng.
The tail of a quasi-king was chopped off, then the photo was posted online. If this could be tolerated, what could not?
"What orders have the elders given us?" Kong Sheng asked.
Huang Xiaoxian said, "The elder was furious. He said that he would send us another quasi-king to aid us in killing Chu Feng. He said that Chu Feng must die! Revenge must be taken!"
"My family will send over two quasi-kings as well," Kong Sheng said. The look in his eyes seemed murderous. After the news had spread around, the peacock family blew up too.
The family of Kong was a family of pride and dignity. They boasted some of the most powerful fighters. The Peacock King was the man in chief. He was said to be an invincible fighter whose power and skill were matched by none. So far, no-one had ever defeated him!
How could such a family of pride stand seeing the beheading of their quasi-king? They had made an oath that Chu Feng must die in their hand. His blood would be used as a sacrificial offering for Kong Lin.
Huang Xiaoxian’s eyes were flickering with joy. He said, "We’ve got the strongest line-up, but our team of warriors will only prove to be a waste if Chu Feng never shows up again. What should we do? Are we going to use his parents as threat once again?"
"Let’s just keep a close watch on him for now. Don’t be reckless!" Kong Sheng darted a frosty glance at him.
Rash actions would only stir up more troubles and create further disturbances. They could not touch Hollow Jade Temple, or they would be courting death. Provoking Hollow Jade Temple would mean provoking the Eight Visions Temple, the Roaming Jade Temple and the Hollow Jade Temple all at the same time. They represented the pinnacles of human evolution. Together, they formed a singular entity whom no-one could claim to defeat.
In the evening on the following day, Chu Feng’s jumbo jet landed near the pilgrimage grounds.
No mountains could be bigger; no history could be longer!
Ever since the ages before the dynasty of Qin, emperors had been coming here to offer sacrifices to the gods. All the greatest emperors during the long run of history had left their traces here.
After Emperor Qin Shihuang unified China in 221 BC, not a single emperor had not come to this pilgrimage grounds to offer their sacrifices to the Heaven and the Earth.
"This is perhaps the most suitable place for the mutants to rise to prominence after the upheavals hit the earth," Chu Feng walked out of his jumbo plane, standing in awe of the majestic mountains in front of his eyes!