Killing Technique: Tiger in the Cage, Ape in the Mind!

When Huo Yuanhong returned to the Divine Spear Martial Hall, he saw the grounds in shambles, buildings collapsed, and disciples wailing amidst the ruins.

Two factions stood in a standoff.

On one side, the leader was the Transformation Strength master Zhuang Xiuyuan, with dozens of disciples and stewards standing behind him.

Beside Zhuang Xiuyuan stood the formidable expert Mo Wuji, who was locked in a confrontation with Old Xu.

"Zhuang Xiuyuan! When you were destitute on the streets, it was the Hall Master who took you in, adopted you as his foster son, and taught you martial arts. How can you justify this to him!?"

The other Transformation Strength master beside Old Xu shouted in fury.

"I have never forgotten my foster father's kindness, which is exactly why I must find a way for our Divine Spear Martial Hall to survive!"

Zhuang Xiuyuan replied with a blank expression.

"My foster father is headstrong. For the sake of Huo Yuanhong, he did not hesitate to defy the Martial Guild's rule against taking in those from the Commoner Faction, even pushing the Wu Family into opposition and making enemies of the many aristocratic families who support the Martial Prohibition Decree. Our Divine Spear Martial Hall may look glorious, but in reality, it is as precarious as a pile of eggs!"

"Even the medicinal resources that were supposed to be delivered this month have been cut off!"

"If this continues, sooner or later, our hall will be completely annihilated under the strangulation of the aristocratic families who have run out of patience!"

"I cannot sit by and watch that day arrive, so I must preserve the Seed of Fire for the martial hall and ensure our legacy continues!"

Zhuang Xiuyuan spoke every word clearly, and the disciples, stewards, and instructors standing behind him all showed their approval.

"Heh, that sounds nice, but aren't you just being ungrateful? You don't believe in the future of the martial hall, so you betrayed the Hall Master to find a new master..."

Someone on Old Xu's side sneered.

"True, I do not believe in the future of the martial hall." Zhuang Xiuyuan didn't mind, glancing at Huo Yuanhong who had just walked in, and said indifferently, "Does the future of the martial hall rely on this commoner? My foster father is truly senile and refuses to listen to reason..."

"Even with the potential of a Martial Saint or a Peak Expert, he is only at Heart-Mind Unity now. By the time he trains to Transformation Strength, to the peak, and truly possesses the power to influence the overall situation, who knows how many years will have passed..."

"Five years? Ten years? Or twenty years?"

"Do you think the martial hall can last until then? Under the joint suppression of so many aristocratic families, lasting even a year or two would be a miracle!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the people in the hall fell into a commotion.

Even among the disciples, stewards, and instructors on Old Xu's side, many showed signs of hesitation.

In this world, when no Martial Immortal appears, the Peak Experts represent the overall situation!

Li Shuxing is powerful, and looking across the entire world, he is at the very pinnacle, but he is only one man after all.

Old Xu is old, with one foot in the grave and his vitality withered. He can barely manage to entangle Mo Wuji, but if he were to truly fight with all his might, he would likely pass away as soon as the battle ended. He can only serve as a top-tier deterrent while Li Shuxing is away; he cannot truly engage in combat.

Yet, the Aristocratic Family Alliance has gathered almost all the Peak Experts of the entire Celestial Empire!

To stand against the Aristocratic Family Alliance, which holds the vast majority of Peak Experts, is to stand against the overall situation! Under the crushing wheels of the grand trend, one will inevitably be ground to dust like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!

In the end, Zhuang Xiuyuan took nearly thirty percent of the martial hall's personnel and left under the protection of Mo Wuji.

Before leaving, noticing Huo Yuanhong's gaze fixed on him, Zhuang Xiuyuan swept a casual glance in his direction, showed no reaction, and walked away without looking back.

He was merely at the Heart-Mind Unity stage; even if he had thoughts or emotions, what could he possibly do to him?

The only thing he feared was Li Shuxing settling scores later. As for Huo Yuanhong, who had nearly died because he leaked information...

He had never considered him anything at all.

Following this, people from the Inspection Bureau arrived to investigate the previous incident.

Senior sister Fang Yu arranged for experts to pick up Huo Yuanhong's father while simultaneously investigating the mastermind behind the assassination.

As for Fang Pingsheng, the influential figure of the Fang Family, he had already been recalled by his clan and was no longer at the martial hall.

Huo Yuanhong first bandaged his wounds at the medical hall established within the martial hall, took the Golden Wound Medicine and the martial hall's secret medicine for promoting muscle and flesh regeneration, and then returned to his practice room to sit in silence.

Before long, even before the sky had turned dark, senior sister Fang Yu came to find him.

"It has been clarified. This assassination was instigated by the Blood Axe Society Leader, who incited the Three Oddities of Xiangxi and the Twin Chasing Wind Swords to strike. As for where he found the courage to assassinate you, it is highly likely he did it to curry favor with an aristocratic family, volunteering to act as their blade..."

"The Blood Axe Society Leader and his son have already purchased tickets for the next ship; they plan to flee overseas tonight..."

Senior sister said softly, handing over a file of investigation documents.

"With so many experts in our martial hall, are we just going to sit by and watch him escape without anyone stopping him?"

Huo Yuanhong took the documents, remained silent for a moment, and asked.

Senior sister Fang Yu also fell silent, not knowing what to say.

They both knew that with the strength of the Divine Spear Martial Hall, any Dark Force instructor could easily kill the Blood Axe Society Leader.

But...

No one was willing to act.

No one believed in Huo Yuanhong, and no one was willing to kill the Blood Axe Society Leader and make an enemy of the Wu Family behind him for the sake of a true disciple destined to fail at the Jinmen Grand Competition.

When Li Shuxing was present, these instructors would show respect and follow his orders, but now that Li Shuxing was away, it was impossible for them to stick their necks out for a disciple Li Shuxing had stubbornly taken in.

Old Xu might be willing, but he was too old. Being able to barely keep an eye on Mo Wuji and the others was already his limit; he didn't dare to make any sudden moves.

Once he took action, it would detonate the delicate balance between the few experts who were already teetering on the edge. Regardless of whether he won or lost, Old Xu was destined to die from exhausted vitality; the only difference would be how many experts he could drag down with him.

At that point, the Divine Spear Martial Hall, stripped of its top-tier power, would face true annihilation.

Old Xu, when he wasn't fighting, was the Old Xu who held the greatest deterrent power.

"We have already reached an agreement with the Wu Family. The higher-ups on both sides will not intervene and will maintain restraint; this is already the best possible outcome..."

"Master is away, and Old Xu is getting on in years and can no longer fight, so it's not appropriate for us to make any moves..."

Fang Yu sighed.

"Understood."

After his senior sister left, Huo Yuanhong sat alone, flipping through the files on the Blood Axe Society Leader.

There are three stages to practicing Dark Force: Heart-Intent Harmony, Intent-Qi Harmony, and Qi-Strength Harmony.

This society leader is already in the mid-to-late stage of Intent-Qi Harmony.

He has surpassed Heart-Mind Unity and entered the middle of the next stage.

The gap is an entire major realm!

"The noble families are too strong. Even if they agreed with Old Xu not to intervene, the gang forces beneath them, willing to go mad just to climb the social ladder, are enough to give me a headache..."

"Even if those gang forces don't have any Dark Force Martial Masters, there are still quite a few who have reached Heart-Mind Unity or Intent-Qi Unity..."

"I might be fine, but what about the people around me?"

"Father, the Carriage Shop Owner—can they withstand it..."

"If I continue to fight..."

"I will die..."

"They will die..."

Huo Yuanhong sat quietly, watching the setting sun, remaining silent for a long time.

Uncle Liu was dead.

He did not want the few people he still cared about—his father, the Carriage Shop Owner—to meet the same fate.

He could not afford to lose any more...

Therefore...

Taking a step back would open up a vast sky...

Wouldn't it...

"Disciple Huo!"

Just then, a disciple ran over, panting, "Disciple Huo, your father... your father is at the Medical Hall..."

BOOM!

Huo Yuanhong felt as if he had exploded. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and the entire room seemed to spin; the world turned upside down.

He couldn't hear what the disciple said next and rushed straight toward the Medical Hall located within the Martial Arts Hall!

Arriving at the Medical Hall, he saw his father lying on the bed.

It wasn't a major injury; his arm had merely been grazed by a sharp blade, and he was pale from the shock.

"Ahong, the carriage shop is gone."

Father Huo said, his lips trembling.

The carriage shop—or rather, the Chauffeur's Association—had been wiped out by several masked men. Of the large group of rickshaw pullers who were inside at the time, only the Carriage Shop Owner and Father Huo had survived under the cover of experts sent by Fang Yu.

"Disciple Huo, the Inspection Bureau has already classified this case. Uncle Liu's death has been labeled as a gang turf war, and the Inspection Bureau intends to hold him accountable for murder as the leader of a violent gang..."

"The Chauffeur's Association has also been labeled a violent gang and ordered to disband. The Inspection Bureau is taking charge of sealing the carriage shop!" a disciple who had rushed over whispered from the side.

A violent gang...

Huo Yuanhong remained expressionless, feeling only an immense sense of absurdity.

The Blood Axe Society, which had harmed so many, was never labeled a violent gang and faced no consequences at all.

Yet the Chauffeur's Association, formed simply so the rickshaw pullers could band together for warmth...

These rickshaw pullers who earned their living through hard labor...

Had become a violent gang? Thugs?

Looking at the files in his hands, Huo Yuanhong remained silent, feeling an overwhelming oppression that made it hard to breathe.

The dream of Uncle Liu's life...

Was to see the Chauffeur's Association recognized by the government and become a legitimate force in the open...

But now...

The Chauffeur's Association was gone.

Not only did Uncle Liu fail to become the hero he longed to be, but he would also be held accountable...

As the leader of a violent gang...

Becoming a murderer despised by all...

Old Six...

Everything was gone.

Beside his father, the Carriage Shop Owner lay on the bed covered in blood, his eyes hollow and vacant.

Next to him was a child, picked up from school on the way back to the Martial Arts Hall.

This was Old Six's son.

Old Six's name was Chen Dalin.

His son's name was Chen Tu Lin.

Cold and withdrawn, he stood there quietly, looking at Huo Yuanhong.

"Your father was a great hero."

Huo Yuanhong stepped forward and said softly.

"You're lying."

Old Six's son had a cold look in his eyes. "My classmates all say my dad was a thug, a loser who would get beaten to death sooner or later... The people in the textbooks, those are the real heroes!"

"That's not true."

Huo Yuanhong was silent for a moment before he patted the boy's head and said softly, "Your father will be in the textbooks too; you will definitely see it..."

"He really was a great hero, a very brave man..."

Huo Yuanhong's voice had become hoarse at some point.

He was just an ordinary person.

He only wanted to practice martial arts, pursue the path of the warrior, take his revenge, and then let the people he cared about live a good life, watching himself become the person they were most proud of step by step...

But in the end...

Even such a small, simple wish had become an unattainable luxury.

Old Six was dead, and after death, there was nothing left.

His father, who had sheltered him from the wind and rain for most of his life and worked hard for decades, had finally reached the time when he could enjoy life...

But in the end...

He had almost died too.

He had been severely traumatized; even now, his eyes were filled with panic and terror, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably.

Looking at the scene before him, Huo Yuanhong felt as if he were suffocating.

It was as if he had been pressed firmly underwater; everything before his eyes was a blank white, he couldn't hear any sound, and only distorted patches of light stretched and elongated...

It was as if he had returned to that suffocating, oppressive evening when his dream of practicing martial arts had been shattered.

It felt as if the entire world was drifting away from him.

Empty and silent.

After a long time...

He finally came back to his senses.

He walked out.

At this moment, the courtyard outside the Martial Arts Hall was crowded with people, all curiously looking toward the center of the yard.

Today was the day the traveling performers were scheduled to come to the Martial Arts Hall to put on a show.

This had been arranged long ago, and even though a series of incidents had occurred, there were still many performers who came to the hall for the reward money.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang...!"

Two martial actors stood on the stage, wearing heavy stage makeup, wielding staffs and fighting fiercely, drawing bursts of cheers from the surrounding disciples.

They were performing a folk tale about the Mind Ape Causes Havoc in Heaven, being pressed under a mountain for five hundred years, until one day, it broke out of the mountain and soared into the sky once more!

Beside the stage, in the middle of the courtyard, stood a large iron cage with a fierce tiger locked inside.

It lay there quietly, watching the people who were observing it, motionless, showing no reaction at all.

"Hey! Hey! Come out!"

The Animal Tamer cracked his whip a few times, pulled the iron bolt, and opened the cage door.

The tiger lowered its head and walked out of the cage step by step, very quietly.

But the moment it stepped out of the cage, suddenly!

"Roar!"

A heaven-shaking roar erupted, and the tiger, which had been so quiet, suddenly exploded into action!

It pounced on the Animal Tamer in an instant and began to bite him frantically!

Vicious and insane!

"You beast!"

Several experts rushed forward in a hurry, charging toward the tiger.

The sounds of the tiger's roar, the piercing of blades, and the screams of the wounded intertwined.

In the end, under the siege of several experts, the tiger was run through the neck by a long spear and finally died.

Huo Yuanhong stood to the side, watching silently, staring blankly at the tiger's eyes as they gradually lost their luster.

"Tiger in the Cage, Ape in the Mind..."

Huo Yuanhong muttered to himself.

He recalled the feeling of being ignited by fury when Old Six met with his accident...

He thought of the Mind Ape suppressed beneath the mountain, yearning to soar into the sky...

He thought of the tiger locked in a cage, about to break free...

In Huo Yuanhong's heart, a flame seemed to ignite, sweeping through him in an instant and consuming his entire body.

The fire within his heart illuminated faint characters.

[Killing Technique (Transcendental Skill): Tiger in the Cage, Ape in the Mind!]

[Effect: Ignite the fire within the heart, release the fiercest demon. During the duration, strength and willpower are doubled, pain is ignored, and all negative status effects are negated!]

Looking at the dead tiger before him, Huo Yuanhong's gaze had returned to calm—a calm so profound it was frightening.

He touched the wound on his abdomen; thanks to the hundreds-fold absorption rate of the muscle-regenerating medicine, it had nearly healed and would not hinder him from taking action again.

Since that was the case...

"Ahem..." A light cough sounded from the side. Old Xu walked over slowly, seemingly having discerned Huo Yuanhong's thoughts, and said calmly, "Go..."

"You are the disciple of Li Shuxing, and with me watching, those Dark Force and Transformation Strength experts with status and standing will not dare to make a move against you..."

"But as for the rest, you will have to handle them yourself..."

"Thank you, Old Xu."

Huo Yuanhong slowly stood up.

Running away was useless.

Practicing martial arts required both training and nourishment; without the high-quality medicine monopolized by the great powers, it was like a person training their muscles frantically without eating meat or supplementing nutrition—sooner or later, they would waste away and die.

Besides, in this world, where was there a place free from strife? Even the deep mountains and old forests had long been trampled by the medicine-seeking teams of the noble families and fenced off as their private property.

He would not flee, nor was there any room to flee, unless he was willing to give up martial arts and grow old in mediocrity like an ordinary person.

He only hated—hated that he wasn't training fast enough, that he hadn't yet become a Peak Expert or a Martial Immortal to slaughter all the monsters and demons!

Tonight, the Blood Axe Society Leader was going to flee overseas.

Old Xu was not worth it to make a move for the sake of Intent-Qi Unity, and the Martial Arts Hall Instructor was unwilling to act...

Then...

He would do it!

As a martial artist, as a common man...

He didn't know what the hell the "big picture" of the noble families was...

He only knew that his enemy was about to flee overseas unscathed to enjoy wealth and luxury...

If there was a first time, there would be a second. If he didn't beat them until they were afraid, if he didn't kill them until they were terrified...

More and more gang members would follow suit...

More and more people would lay hands on him and those he cared about, and then flee overseas...

"To hell with the vast sea and sky..."

"To be a blade, one must have the resolve to die..."

"I want those gangs to know: whoever dares to act as a blade for the noble families, whoever dares to touch my people..."

"Whoever..."

"Must die!"

Huo Yuanhong stood up, his expression devoid of emotion.

He was going to...

Kill someone!