Kui Er

He entered the mountains once more. He had come to this valley many times already, and Zhong Shan knew it extremely well.

As usual, he continued chopping trees. This time, he had chosen a large tree—this single tree was worth three of the ones he had chopped before.

He chopped one stroke after another. Just as Zhong Shan was cutting down the tree, all the muscles in his body suddenly tensed. The feeling of being watched lingered in his heart.

Not far from Zhong Shan, two green eyes gleamed from within a patch of grass. At that moment, they radiated a bloodthirsty gaze fixed on him.

Zhong Shan stopped and carefully sensed where the trace of danger was coming from.

Suddenly, Zhong Shan heard an extremely faint sound behind him.

"Rustle~~~~" A soft sound rang out. The owner of those bloodthirsty eyes had finally lost patience, leaping toward Zhong Shan.

With a turn, he rapidly filled the great saber in his hand with true qi and viciously slashed toward the source of the sound.

Kill without mercy!

As the saber fell, a faint layer of Fire Killing Qi enveloped its sides.

"Clang~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The sound of metal and stone colliding rang out. Zhong Shan retreated three steps and finally saw what it was.

A Mountain Cat—a fiery-red Mountain Cat as tall as a man. Its bloodthirsty eyes stared at Zhong Shan, clearly wanting to swallow him whole.

A demon beast. It was definitely a demon beast. That slash had not left the slightest mark on its body.

After the first slash, the Mountain Cat charged at Zhong Shan again. Its enormous claw swept toward him, and Zhong Shan saw that it seemed to carry a trace of red light.

Kill without mercy!

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The huge claw collided with the great saber, sending Zhong Shan flying backward into a large tree. The tree shook violently, raining down a mass of leaves.

Its huge claws were as hard as steel and as fast as lightning. His own strength and speed were both far inferior to the Mountain Cat's. What could he do?

Just as Zhong Shan was growing anxious, the Mountain Cat leaped over again. Its fiery-red claws lunged toward him once more.

Zhong Shan twisted aside and knocked one claw away. He leaped backward, while the Mountain Cat's other claw raked directly into the tree. A hole was torn into the trunk, and the edges were charred black.

Charred black? Was this Mountain Cat fire-aligned? Wouldn't that make it even less afraid of the Baleful Qi in his saber?

With danger right before his eyes, Zhong Shan's eyes widened. His already bare upper body seemed to swell by an entire circle in an instant. Every muscle bulged, and the great saber in his hand once more slashed toward the gap between the Mountain Cat's claws.

Heavenly Devil Body Tempering Great Technique!

But the Mountain Cat possessed a certain degree of intelligence. It quickly saw where the slash was aimed, avoided the gap between its claws, and grabbed at the saber.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Even with his strength doubled, Zhong Shan was still sent flying backward. The Mountain Cat was far too strong. However, with his power suddenly doubled, he forced it to retreat slightly as well.

The Mountain Cat looked at Zhong Shan in surprise, unable to understand why his strength had suddenly increased.

Seeing that the effect was only ordinary, Zhong Shan's heart tightened. He once again lunged at the Mountain Cat's face with his saber. This time, however, a trace of pink energy had appeared within the saber's Baleful Qi.

Heaven Splitting Strike!

The Mountain Cat did not dodge. It merely lowered its head slightly and clawed at Zhong Shan's chest.

"Clang~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The great saber struck the Mountain Cat's head, producing the sound of metal and stone colliding, while its claw also raked across Zhong Shan's chest.

The distance between them had been somewhat great, so the claw only brushed him lightly. Combined with the Heavenly Devil Body Tempering Great Technique, which had doubled the hardness of Zhong Shan's flesh, the wound was not deep. Even so, three long red marks were left across his chest.

Since the slash had failed, Zhong Shan quickly retreated. However, the Red Phoenix Mist had already been successfully inhaled by the Mountain Cat.

After they exchanged blows for a while longer, more bloodstains appeared on Zhong Shan's body, but he had ultimately not been injured.

The Red Phoenix Mist finally took effect. The Mountain Cat suddenly became strange. Its eyes had grown dry and bloodshot, and an indescribable sensation rapidly spread throughout its body. Its movements also became much more chaotic.

This was the moment.

Kill without mercy!

His saber once again slashed toward the gap between the Mountain Cat's claws.

"Shhk~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The Mountain Cat's claw was cleaved apart down the middle, spraying a great deal of blood. The Mountain Cat was gravely wounded and lost the strength of one leg.

In an instant, the Mountain Cat's strength plummeted. Zhong Shan did not hesitate in the slightest, slashing fiercely toward the gap between its other claws.

As his saber crippled both of the Mountain Cat's legs, he twisted around and delivered another Kill without mercy, cutting through its throat.

"Plop~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The Mountain Cat fell to the ground. Blood poured out as it spasmed for a while. After losing too much blood, it died.

Zhong Shan looked at the enormous Mountain Cat. Standing on all four legs, it was as tall as a man, and its body was actually three meters long.

He had already been down here for some time, and Zhong Shan did not dare delay at all. Carrying the blood-covered Mountain Cat on his back, he quickly ran toward his valley. Once the Heavenly Devil Body Tempering Great Technique had been maintained for an hour, his body would become incomparably weak. It was best to leave this troublesome place as quickly as possible.

Covered in blood, Zhong Shan finally returned to his valley within an hour.

When he reached the courtyard, he tossed the Mountain Cat to the ground, threw down his great saber, and collapsed. The parts of his body that had previously grown stronger also returned to normal.

He closed his eyes and sensed himself. His strength was now only thirty percent of what it had been before, leaving him extremely weak. But that was not the most important thing. The most important thing was the pain throughout his body, as though every muscle and bone had been shattered.

Still, he had survived and had killed the Mountain Cat.

"I've finally waited for you, you big liar." A very pleasant voice suddenly came from inside Zhong Shan's house.

The voice was lovely, but the tone sounded less than friendly.

Following the voice, he saw Tian Ling'er emerge from the house in fiery-red clothes, holding a wooden carving in each hand.

Tian Ling'er wore an indignant expression. The instant she stepped outside, she saw Zhong Shan. His upper body was bare, while his trousers had also been torn badly when he had used the Heavenly Devil Body Tempering Great Technique.

"Pervert~~~~~~~~~~~~" Tian Ling'er suddenly cried out.

But at that moment, Zhong Shan's eyes widened.

"Put Bao Er and Kui Er down." Zhong Shan quickly climbed to his feet and shouted angrily at Tian Ling'er.

The shout clearly made Tian Ling'er pause.

"Bao Er? Kui Er?" Tian Ling'er looked at the small wooden carvings in her hands.

Both carvings depicted stunning women. One was the woman whose portrait hung in the Heng Mountain estate—Bao Er. The other was a beautiful woman with a gentle face, so lovely that merely looking at her made people want to bully her. These were wooden carvings Zhong Shan had carved with his great saber while practicing his saber techniques during this period. That such tiny carvings had been made with a great saber showed how painstakingly he had practiced his saber arts.

"Why are you being so fierce? I was only looking." Seeing Zhong Shan's bloodthirsty eyes, Tian Ling'er seemed somewhat flustered.

"Give them to me." Zhong Shan suddenly extended his right palm.

"No." Tian Ling'er pulled both hands back.

"Give them to me!" Zhong Shan shouted angrily.

For some reason, when Zhong Shan shouted, Tian Ling'er's heart suddenly jumped, as though she was genuinely afraid. But she was at the eighth level of the Xiantian realm, while he had only been cultivating for how long? She was stronger than him—why should she fear him?

With that thought, Tian Ling'er thrust out her chest. Her still immature breasts trembled slightly.

"You said my father went to retrieve the Somersault Cloud, but my father never had it. You lied to me." Tian Ling'er immediately shouted.

Hearing this, Zhong Shan frowned, knowing that he had indeed been in the wrong back then. The anger he had felt initially also faded considerably.

"I'm sorry. That day, I truly wanted a good Xiantian cultivation technique. I lied to you that day. I'll make it up to you in the future," Zhong Shan said.

A true man faced the facts. There was nothing shameful about apologizing, especially when he was the one in the wrong.

"Then I really like these two carvings. Just compensate me with them." Tian Ling'er immediately made her demand.

"No. I can carve new ones for you, but these two are absolutely not allowed." Zhong Shan immediately stopped her.

If this had been in the past, Zhong Shan would not have reacted so strongly. But these two wooden carvings were extremely important to him. Even though he could carve them again, he was unwilling to give carvings of these two women to anyone else. If they had been different statues, Zhong Shan would not have cared, but these two absolutely could not be given away.

"Hmph, I want these two." Tian Ling'er also shouted.

In truth, Tian Ling'er was not willful. It was just that Zhong Shan was in the wrong, yet acted as though she owed him something, which made her extremely angry.

"Give them to me." Zhong Shan reached out to grab the carvings.

"No." Tian Ling'er pulled her hands back and was about to retreat.

But Zhong Shan's hand had already reached her. He was just about to seize one of the carvings.

"Smack!" Tian Ling'er exerted force with her hand, crushing the wooden carving.

The strength of someone at the eighth Xiantian level was terrifying. A moment of carelessness could unleash tremendous force, and Tian Ling'er had not expected to crush it. But in that tense moment, she had instinctively used too much strength.

Seeing Kui Er's small wooden carving crushed in Tian Ling'er's hand, Zhong Shan froze, as though he had suddenly thought of something. His eyes instantly turned blood-red.

"Sky Splitting Crown Prince, ah~~~ I'll kill you~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

In an instant, the usually calm Zhong Shan suddenly went berserk. He grabbed his great saber and viciously slashed it toward Tian Ling'er.

Zhong Shan's sudden frenzy startled Tian Ling'er. As she watched that slash sweep toward her, it seemed he truly intended to kill her with a single stroke.

However, Zhong Shan's strength was now less than half of what it had been, while Tian Ling'er was much stronger than him.

"Bang~~~~~~~~~~~~"

A Red Silk suddenly appeared in Tian Ling'er's hand and knocked Zhong Shan's great saber aside. It did not injure him.

"Ah~~~~~~~~~~" Zhong Shan's eyes were blood-red, as though he had already come to regard Tian Ling'er as a mortal enemy. He swung his great saber at her again, each slash faster and fiercer than the last.

"Bang~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Zhong Shan was once again sent flying by the Red Silk.

"Puff~~~~~~~~~~"

In midair, Zhong Shan spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed to the ground.

After spitting out that mouthful of blood, Zhong Shan seemed to regain much of his composure. He slowly stood up, supporting himself with his great saber, but his eyes remained bloodthirstily fixed on Tian Ling'er.

Seeing his blood-red eyes, Tian Ling'er tossed the two wooden carvings onto the ground.

"I'm not playing with you anymore." After throwing down the carvings, Tian Ling'er quickly flew away.

"Thud." Zhong Shan fell to the ground. Tian Ling'er's strike with the Red Silk had clearly carried tremendous force, even greater than that of the demon beast he had faced earlier. On top of his previous grave injuries, it had worsened his condition. The moment Tian Ling'er left, he could no longer hold on and collapsed.

It took Zhong Shan half a stick of incense before he began to feel somewhat better. He slowly stood and walked over to the wooden carvings.

He picked up Bao Er's statue. Bao Er was unharmed, but the other carving had been crushed out of shape.

Gently picking up Kui Er's shattered wooden carving, Zhong Shan revealed another bitter smile. "Kui Er, today, this old master lost his reason for you once again."

He set down the great saber, sat on the ground, picked up Kui Er's carving, and gently caressed it.

"Throughout my life, I, Zhong Shan, have loved only two women. Only when facing the two of you have I ever lost my reason. Bao Er's whereabouts are now unknown. Kui Er, who would have thought that I, the richest man in the Great Kun Kingdom, wealthy enough to rival a nation, would be unable to protect you? The Sky Splitting Crown Prince—he was a cultivator, someone who could kill as he pleased. He searched for the souls of people born in a yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour. You were still fine that morning, but by afternoon, a group of demons descended from the heavens. The leader called himself the 'Sky Splitting Crown Prince.' I remember it clearly—the name was shouted by his subordinates. I will never forget it. The Sky Splitting Crown Prince searched throughout the world for people born in a yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour to refine a demonic banner. With a single grab—with merely one grab—you died on the spot, Kui Er. If—if one of his subordinates had not knocked me unconscious then, allowing me to escape with my life, perhaps there would be no me today."

"Kui Er, rest assured. I can cultivate now, and I have already joined the Immortal Sect. Watch from the heavens. One day, I will find the Sky Splitting Crown Prince. I will tear him limb from limb. I will avenge you for what happened that day." Zhong Shan clenched his fists tightly.

"If we hadn't gone out for an excursion that day, if we had stayed at home, how wonderful that would have been~~~~~~~~~"

As Zhong Shan murmured softly, two hot tears unconsciously slid down from his tiger-like eyes.

"How many years has it been? Forty years, perhaps. Who would have thought—who would have thought that for you, I would shed tears like a horse pissing again." Zhong Shan shed tears while revealing a bitter smile and muttering to himself.

Even an iron-blooded man shed tears when his heart was filled with grief. A man had his own way of handling things. He gently wiped his eyes, suppressed the sorrow in his heart, and transformed it into powerful motivation. Slowly, he closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and began regulating his breath.

As Zhong Shan meditated, he did not know that Tian Ling'er had turned back after flying away. She landed at the corner of the courtyard wall and heard everything he had said to himself. She gently bit her lip as she looked at Zhong Shan's face, covered in blood yet incomparably resolute, and at Kui Er's wooden carving before him. A trace of apology flashed through her eyes.

P.S. During the ranking rush, recommendation tickets are urgently needed.