The ruthlessness hidden in Fang Shuwen's nature had come from fighting his way through life on the streets.
It was the determination to stake his life for half a steamed bun or a single moldy one!
When there was no danger, he could befriend anyone, call them brother and treat them gently.
That was a necessary skill for survival!
Making more friends and fewer enemies was the way to live a more peaceful life.
It was thanks to this that Zheng Sihai still liked him very much, even though his foundation was damaged.
For his sake, First Senior Brother Mo Beidou had not hesitated to call in a favor from Wang Tao, hoping that this kind, courteous little junior brother with such a pitiful past would have no worries about food or clothing and would never again have to endure the hardships of his former life.
But once something threatened him, that changed.
The ruthlessness in his bones, along with his vitality and tenacity, like that of wild grass, would erupt.
He had become enemies with the Black Sha Cult because he had protected Zhou Qingmei.
But regardless of how it began, the outcome was already set: one side or the other was bound to fall completely.
Fang Shuwen did not want to die. His own life was what he treasured most, so the ones who had to die were the Black Sha Cult!
What was more... Li Nanchen's targets included his own younger sister.
Even though he had not acknowledged the blood kinship he had lost for a full nineteen years, and had not even decided whether to acknowledge her in the future.
That did not mean he did not care.
He had spent only three short days with Fang Lingxin, but during those three days, though he had seemed indifferent, he had committed that little girl with big eyes and a round face firmly to heart.
Li Nanchen wanted to use her life to perfect his [Black Sha Demonic Art], so he had to die!
Whether he was the young cult leader of the Black Sha Cult or the First Senior Brother of the Pearl Pavilion, neither could save his life!
Yet such decisiveness and ruthlessness once again left everyone in the Pearl Pavilion's main hall gaping.
Only Feng Mantian's furious roar rang out:
"Wretch, your life is mine!!!"
When Fang Shuwen killed Qingyangzi and Ghost Scholar and then went after Li Nanchen, Feng Mantian had already rushed over.
But Fang Shuwen was too fast... Li Nanchen, the Pearl Pavilion's First Senior Brother and the Black Sha Cult's young cult leader, had become a ghost without blocking a single move, just like Qingyangzi and Ghost Scholar.
As a result, Fang Shuwen had succeeded before Feng Mantian could reach him.
Now, in his blazing fury, Feng Mantian unleashed the [Black Sha Demonic Art] once more. Wave after wave of terrifying power and Black Sha True Qi, so dense it was nearly solid, surged forth without restraint. All he wanted was to avenge his son.
Fang Shuwen's gaze shifted slightly. His hand was still gripping Li Nanchen's head.
So he simply gave it a casual swing.
Li Nanchen's corpse immediately hurtled toward Feng Mantian.
Feng Mantian's eyes nearly split with rage!!
As his son's corpse came crashing toward him, his shattered mind finally recovered somewhat.
But at this moment, withdrawing all his Black Sha True Qi and catching Li Nanchen's corpse was already a vain hope.
He could only strike the corpse with all his might.
A sound like tearing silk rang out.
Li Nanchen, whose head Fang Shuwen had already crushed, now had his corpse shattered into pieces at his own father's hands!
"My son!!!!!"
A grief-stricken roar rolled out of Feng Mantian's throat.
At that moment, he was no longer the ambitious leader of the Black Sha Cult, returning for another bid at power.
He was merely a pitiful father who had lost his son and could not even keep his corpse intact.
He had no thought to trouble Fang Shuwen again. Kneeling on the ground with grief written all over his face, he tried in vain to gather Li Nanchen's remains.
The righteous disciples of the Pearl Pavilion could not help feeling somewhat conflicted...
There was nothing at all wrong with what Fang Shuwen had done, but why did Feng Mantian somehow seem a little pitiful?
Quite a few people immediately shook their heads hard.
Has lard blinded my heart? How could I find the leader of the Black Sha Cult pitiful?
Weren't the girls massacred by the Black Sha Cult pitiful?
Weren't their fellow members of the jianghu who died at the cult's hands pitiful?
Weren't they themselves, poisoned by Li Nanchen and nearly killed by the Black Sha Cult just now, pitiful?
And didn't that old bastard just call him a "wretch"?
The leader of the Black Sha Cult... called someone else a "wretch"?
That was a thief crying "Catch the thief!"
Having sorted out their feelings, the crowd was indignant once more. They saw Fang Shuwen throw Li Nanchen's corpse, leaving Feng Mantian unable to stop his attack and forcing him to smash his own son's remains.
Then, taking advantage of Feng Mantian's grief and despair, he immediately sent out a palm strike!
[Vajra Tower-Throwing]!
Throughout the entire process, he had not hesitated in the slightest; his movements flowed like clouds and running water.
As the palm rose, wind and thunder rolled. Its force was immense, as though he were advancing with a tower in hand. With a sweep of one arm, the palm force crashed down.
Feng Mantian heard the sound, but never imagined that Fang Shuwen was coming for him.
Not until a black shadow flashed past and forcibly pulled him away did he finally hear a tremendous boom.
Where he had stood, a palm print a full zhang or so across had appeared on the polished floor of the Pearl Pavilion's front-mountain main hall.
Only then did his heart give a violent jolt!
An angry shout exploded beside his ear:
"Cult Leader Feng, snap out of it! Do you want to die here?"
A series of whooshes sounded as Guan Tianyue and Blissful Monk also arrived at their side.
Fang Shuwen had started killing the moment he appeared. Qingyangzi and Ghost Scholar had died without understanding what was happening, and Li Nanchen had followed close behind.
The whole process had happened as swiftly as a rabbit leaping and a falcon swooping. Only when Feng Mantian had nearly died at Fang Shuwen's hands as well did they awaken as if from a dream.
They suddenly realized that with Fang Shuwen's arrival, the situation, which had been entirely in their favor, was shifting.
This man was young, decisive in his actions and ruthless in his blows.
If they did not find a way to deal with him, were they going to wait for him to slap them all dead on the spot, one by one?
On the other side, Fang Shuwen did not care that his palm strike had missed.
He spun on the spot and settled into a solid horse stance. His right hand grasped and drew back to his waist, then his fist shot out like a dragon, its fierce wind like a spear!!
No matter what anyone else thought, from the moment Fang Shuwen decided to act, he had no reason to stop.
What did Feng Mantian's pain at losing his son have to do with him?
His grief and his pitiable state could not shake Fang Shuwen in the slightest.
In the world as it was now, pitiful people were everywhere. Even if they took turns, it would never be Feng Mantian's turn to stand here playing the victim.
The countless bones beneath Qingyang Manor, the corpses piled up at the Cloudflight Escort Agency, the disciples who had died when the Black Sha Cult attacked Nine-Congealing Mountain...
Which of them had not been someone's loved one?
Those people's grief had not appeared before Fang Shuwen, but that did not mean it did not exist.
As the instigator of all this, Feng Mantian had nothing about him that Fang Shuwen found pitiful, and that show of feeling only made Fang Shuwen sick.
His fist shot out like a dragon's roar shaking the heavens!
That majestic force was not something the [Four Seas Dragon Fist] should have possessed at all. It was the might produced by Fang Shuwen's [Muscle Tendon Change] at the great perfection stage!
Blissful Monk let out a furious roar, and a golden light spread over his entire body.
He pressed his palms together and stepped forward to stand in front of everyone, shouting:
"Ultimate Bliss Dharma Body!!"