Divine Punishment Order

Dressed all in black, with an incomparably thin, frail build like a bamboo pole, he had a head of equally strange purple-gold hair. His face could indeed be called handsome, except that perhaps because he had seen little sunlight all year round, it carried a sickly pallor.

At first glance, he seemed only twenty or thirty years old, but on closer look, he also seemed as though he were already seventy or eighty. In particular, those clear eyes that did not quite match him held a sense of endless vicissitudes, making it impossible to determine his true age.

In short, the only feeling the master of this little hut gave Liu Feng was: strange. Extremely strange.

Seeing Liu Feng curiously sizing him up, a teasing smile flashed through the hut master's eyes. "Although I have to admit, most people think I'm very handsome, you don't have to stare at me so fixedly, do you?"

Pfft! Liu Feng instantly had the urge to cough up blood. He finally discovered that not only did this hut master look somewhat strange, his personality was also extraordinarily unlike anyone else's.

With an awkward smile, Liu Feng said, "Well, you... how should my grandfather Bonny address you?" Although the hut master had told Liu Feng to call him big brother, no matter how Liu Feng thought about it, the seniority seemed a little off.

"Bonny? What should Bonny call me again? Let me think! Granduncle? Great-granduncle? Sweat! Sorry, I can't quite remember either!" The hut master frowned, then smiled somewhat sheepishly.

Granduncle? Great-granduncle? Liu Feng's expression changed drastically in an instant. His cheap grandfather Bonny was already seventy or eighty this year, and this hut master was Bonny's granduncle, or even great-granduncle. Just how old did that make him?

Thinking of this, then thinking back to how this hut master had actually told him to call him big brother, Liu Feng completely had the urge to faint on the spot.

"Well... you, how old are you this year?" Barely suppressing the shock in his heart, Liu Feng asked again.

"Age?" The hut master frowned again. "I don't remember either. Sigh! Little fellow, what's the use of studying that sort of thing? Tell me instead, how did you expel the energy from that Gold-Quenching Stone just now? What kind of cultivation method is that?" At this point, intense curiosity appeared in the hut master's eyes. Clearly, he was extremely interested in the Devour skill Liu Feng had just used.

Uh! Liu Feng choked, only then realizing that the reason this strange hut master had come out to talk to him was not because he was interested in Liu Feng as a person, but because he was interested in the cultivation method. It seemed he was actually a fellow who loved martial arts as much as life itself. Then, thinking of the hut master's somewhat terrifying age and the Palister Family's glorious martial strength, Liu Feng's heart stirred, and he smiled as he said, "Old... Ancestor, you must be very powerful. Could you teach me some martial skills?" As he spoke, a feverish look appeared in Liu Feng's eyes.

Although the Palister Family's cultivation methods were basically already beyond Liu Feng's reach, martial skills were still something he could learn. Looking at this hut master's strange appearance, and considering that he was also an elder of the Palister Family, Liu Feng could guess with his butt that this hut master's strength was absolutely not poor. At the very least, he had to be stronger than that cheap father, Count Derek.

Hearing the form of address Liu Feng had helplessly found for him, the hut master frowned again, sighed, and said, "Forget it. Call me whatever you like. I don't know any martial skills. First tell me what cultivation method you used just now. Why is it completely different from the family's methods?"

Liu Feng still understood the principle that if one wished to take, one must first give, and he had no intention of hiding anything, so he slowly gave a rough explanation of the Devour skill's function. However, he did not say how it was cultivated, nor did he mention the cultivation method of the Eight Realms of Divine Soul.

Although, perhaps because of their bloodline, this hut master seemed to give Liu Feng a sense of closeness, they had only just met, after all. Liu Feng had not yet reached the level where he could casually tell a stranger his own cultivation method.

After listening to Liu Feng's description, the hut master's eyes grew even brighter, and he laughed excitedly. "Not bad, not bad. This cultivation method is rather interesting. By the way, little fellow, where did you learn this cultivation method? Why have I never heard of it? Also, why don't you learn the family's cultivation method?"

Sweat! I'd like to learn it, but unfortunately I can't! Liu Feng gave a bitter smile and sighed, then recounted how he had been sealed back then.

The matter of Nicholas being sealed at the age of seven might have been a secret to Count Derek, but Liu Feng had never taken it seriously at all. Moreover, this hut master was also an elder of the family, so there was no need for him to hide anything.

Who would have thought that as soon as the hut master finished listening to Liu Feng's account, his expression would change drastically. A trace of shock appeared in his eyes, and he blurted out in alarm, "You... you're that little fellow who was sealed?"

This old ancestor knows about me being sealed too? Liu Feng could not help but be stunned. Before he could speak, the hut master asked urgently again, "Is the Divine Punishment Order on you? Take it out and let me see!" His tone was incomparably urgent, the shock in his eyes growing thicker and thicker, until in the end even his body began to tremble slightly, as though the hut master had thought of something terrifying.

Divine Punishment Order? What is that? Liu Feng was stunned again, not knowing what madness had suddenly seized this old ancestor. Just as he was about to ask, he suddenly saw that the hut master had been staring at his chest the entire time. His heart stirred, and he yanked off the strange iron-tag necklace around his neck and asked, "Are you talking about this thing? It's called the Divine Punishment Order?"

The moment Liu Feng's words left his mouth, he felt his hand lighten, and the necklace instantly appeared in the hut master's hand. The speed was so fast that Liu Feng had no time to make any reaction at all, making him even more shocked and confirming once again that this old ancestor's strength was definitely very great.

Ignoring Liu Feng's question, the hut master's gaze was already fixed unblinkingly on the necklace. The shock in his eyes grew thicker and thicker, while he kept muttering, "It changed! It really changed! Could that prophecy actually be true? This... how is this possible?"

The necklace no longer had its original shabby appearance. Its color had also deepened quite a bit, and its entire body had already taken on an inky black hue. Its shape also looked even more ancient and plain. What was even stranger was that the dragon-like, snake-like monster on the iron tag had now changed as well. The color on its body had become somewhat deep blue, and the eyes that had originally been tightly shut had now actually opened one. Its gaze was cold and strange, giving anyone who looked at it a feeling of hair standing on end.

Liu Feng had never noticed the changes to this iron tag before, and only now did he realize them. Then, hearing the name Divine Punishment Order that the hut master had called out, Liu Feng could not help feeling somewhat strange in his heart. He faintly sensed that this iron tag was not as simple as merely hiding an incomplete cultivation method. It seemed to contain other secrets as well.

"Old Ancestor, what is the Divine Punishment Order used for? And what does that prophecy you mentioned mean?" Sensing the strangeness of the hut master and this iron tag, Liu Feng could not help growing curious.