[Proper Character Fist—the most important thing is meditation, to achieve a proper heart, proper intent, and proper body. Next, I'll teach you the meditation chant...]
[Pairs of birds sing in the trees, green waters and mountains wear smiling faces...]
[Three spoonfuls of sugar, a little salt, then some light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce...]
[Good brother, it's broad daylight, this isn't right. Ah, don't take it off. Get your dirty hands away—I'll do it myself...]
[Moon Twelve is dead. Damn humans, I'm eating two extra today!]
[Fan Family Saber, first form: Saber Qi Runs Rampant. Follow
For the next while, Zhang Ping spent his time adapting to Wind Whisperer, his new talent.
This ability was both very good and very bad.
Through Wind Whisperer, he learned countless major and minor secrets.
For example, the Cleanup Team captain was named Situ Shibai. His ability was Copy, and he was already over two hundred years old.
Another example was that the Cleanup Team had recently killed another seven Heavenly Foxes.
He even knew the closely guarded secrets of certain martial arts schools like the back of his hand.
But sometimes, he also found it troublesome.
Because the ability was completely passive, he could not avoid learning many things he should not know.
Domestic squabbles, secret affairs, cheating, things ordinary people found hard to speak of, and the terrifying chewing sounds Heavenly Foxes made when eating people.
There were some things he really did not want to know, especially not while eating.
"Wrong move. Again."
Beside the furnace, Zhang Ping was practicing Fire Eater's ability. Not far behind him, Wang Jieming was practicing his boxing.
Wang Jieming had already gotten started with Ape King Form, so Bai De had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue teaching him the later moves. However, Wang Jieming had gotten used to coming to Zhang Ping's place to practice, so whenever he had time at noon, he came over.
Wang Jieming was still practicing Ape King Form, while Zhang Ping had already reached Giant Crocodile Form. It was a technique for training finger strength and happened to share the same underlying principle as the Dough-Kneading Forging Technique. As a result, his progress was advancing by leaps and bounds, and he was already close to meeting the threshold for Phoenix Claw Form.
In fact, Zhang Ping already knew every move and training method of Beast King Fist. The only thing he did not know was the exact physical form of the movements.
After thoroughly understanding Beast King Fist, Zhang Ping had to admit that it was indeed worth the price.
The first three forms of Beast King Fist trained the arms. The middle three trained the legs and chest muscles. The final three could already be called secret arts, while the ultimate meaning was even more miraculous—it was practically a
However, learning Beast King Fist was not so easy.
According to information he had heard through Wind Whisperer, the first three forms and middle three forms were still martial arts ordinary people could master. The final three forms completely tested a person's talent and wealth. To master the ultimate meaning, one needed not only talent but also comprehension. Most importantly, one needed even more wealth.
This was mainly because the final three forms and the ultimate meaning all required the body parts of corresponding Mutated Beasts as medicinal ingredients.
Zhang Ping knew the formulas and knew how to train, but without a master to guide him through the door, he truly did not dare practice. Once Beast King Fist was practiced incorrectly, the consequences would be extremely serious.
At best, one would suffer sprains and strained bones. At worst, one would be paralyzed from head to toe.
[Moon Six, look at those two boys. They look tasty. Shall we have them for lunch?]
"Moon Six, look at those two boys. They look tasty. Shall we have them for lunch?"
While Zhang Ping controlled Fire Element energy, he suddenly heard a hoarse voice. Yet the voice strangely had an echo.
He frowned and looked back, only to discover two Heavenly Foxes standing outside Iron Soul's entrance. They were staring into the shop, sizing him and Wang Jieming up as though choosing prey.
"Wang Jieming and I have been targeted?"
Zhang Ping's heart sank. In the next moment, he gripped Cold Jade and released flames only within his palm.
At that moment, the two Heavenly Foxes slowly walked in. One headed toward Wang Jieming, while the other approached Zhang Ping.
Seeing customers arrive, Wang Jieming helped greet them. "Welcome. What weapon do you need?"
"I'm just looking."
The Heavenly Fox said hoarsely as it continued approaching Wang Jieming.
On the other side, Zhang Ping stood up as well and smiled. "Welcome."
In an instant.
A Black Hole appeared beneath Zhang Ping, Wang Jieming, and the two Heavenly Foxes. The four of them fell into it simultaneously, and in the blink of an eye, they landed in the Dark Room.
The two Heavenly Foxes reacted extremely quickly. The moment they landed, they pounced at Zhang Ping and Wang Jieming.
Zhang Ping's reaction was not slow either. After all, he had experienced this sensation of teleportation several times already. He grabbed Wang Jieming and swiftly retreated. Although Wang Jieming had not yet figured out what was happening, out of trust in Zhang Ping, he quickly followed him back.
As one side advanced and the other retreated, the distance between them continued shrinking.
Heavenly Foxes came in different heights, builds, and weights. Some were fat, while others were thin.
But these two Heavenly Foxes were both very tall. One was at least three meters tall by estimation, while the other was no less than two and a half meters. Unsurprisingly, Zhang Ping and Wang Jieming held no advantage in
"Careful. They're Mutated Beasts."
Zhang Ping gave a warning, then released Wang Jieming and stretched both arms out, unleashing the Fire Element energy within his body.
Flames surged forth. One Heavenly Fox bore the brunt of them, but it could not even be bothered to dodge. It charged straight through the flames and swiped its claw at Zhang Ping's head.
Zhang Ping hurriedly rolled aside, dodging the Heavenly Fox's claw.
"Sisi, if you don't make a move, I'm dead!"
He got up, swept his gaze around, and shouted. But Liu Sishan still did not appear. Unsure whether she was even there, he could only continue circling around the Heavenly Fox.
This Heavenly Fox was an Intermediate Mutated Beast, Level 17, while he was only Level 3.
The disparity in strength was far too great.
Every attack from the Heavenly Fox was a deadly crisis to him. Wang Jieming's situation, on the other hand, was slightly better.
Although Wang Jieming was also a Novice Awakened, he was Level 5. The Mutated Beast facing him was somewhat weaker than the one facing Zhang Ping, only Level 12. Thus, their actual level gap was only seven levels.
However, Novice and Intermediate were ultimately two different ranks. Wang Jieming was still at a disadvantage and could only focus on evasion and defense. He could not find any chance to counterattack, much less support Zhang Ping.
Zhang Ping had already put on the Assassination Ring and held Beauty's Tears Dagger in his hand, but it made no difference to the outcome.
The enemy was too strong.
The Heavenly Fox before him was not only huge, but also had exceptionally long arms. Worse still, it was faster than him.
The longer the reach, the greater the advantage.
Even holding a dagger, he could not reach his opponent. Meanwhile, one outstretched hand from the other side could take his life.
He leaped and dodged, rolling all over the floor, but it was still useless. At most, he could buy a little time.
Thirty seconds.
He was driven into a desperate situation, forced into a corner by the Heavenly Fox.
There was no way back, no room to dodge.
He could not avoid the Heavenly Fox's next punch. Death was certain.
As the Heavenly Fox raised its claw, a blue stream of water flew over in a beautiful arc like a necklace. In the blink of an eye, it swept across the Heavenly Fox's neck.
At that moment, the Heavenly Fox's expression froze.
A large amount of blood burst from the severed wound in its neck. Its head was sent flying along with the blood, then landed on the ground and rolled twice before finally coming to rest.
Zhang Ping looked toward where the water had come from and saw Liu Sishan standing in a corner of the Dark Room, water flowing around her body. Through the hazy water vapor, she looked like a celestial maiden from the heavens.
Looking closer, he discovered countless tiny ice shards within the water flowing around Liu Sishan.
Because of Wind Whisperer's ability, his hearing had actually been subtly enhanced. He could even hear an extremely low vibration.
The water was vibrating violently and moving at incredible speed.
High-pressure water?
Zhang Ping guessed inwardly. Then he stepped around the Heavenly Fox's Headless Corpse and panted, "Sisi, did you really want to see me make a fool of myself that badly?"
As he spoke, Liu Sishan easily severed the other Heavenly Fox's head as well.
"You two go back first. I've already covered for you. We'll talk tonight." Liu Sishan glanced at Zhang Ping and said decisively.
Before Zhang Ping and Wang Jieming could ask anything, they were both ejected from the Dark Room and returned to Iron Soul.
Wang Jieming looked at Zhang Ping and moved his lips, wanting to ask what had just happened. Zhang Ping immediately gave a slight shake of his head. Wang Jieming understood and nodded faintly before resuming his boxing practice. Zhang Ping also sat beside the furnace and devoured flames to recover his strength.
Although his fight with the Heavenly Fox had in reality lasted only around half a minute, both his stamina and Mental Strength had been heavily depleted. Now that he relaxed, he even felt like he was about to collapse.
He had actually leveled up very quickly.
Most ordinary Awakened could rise at most two levels in a year, while he had already gained two levels in just over half a month.
The problem was that his opponents were too strong. They gave him no time to develop. It was like a Level 1 newbie encountering a fully geared endgame boss before even leaving the beginner village. How was he supposed to fight that?
"I'm still too weak."
Zhang Ping stared at the flames in the furnace, gritted his teeth, and squeezed out his Mental Strength to condense a Contract Gem. The moment he swallowed it, overwhelming drowsiness hit him, and he fell asleep against the furnace.
Although every Heavenly Fox looked more or less the same to humans, Heavenly Foxes could easily distinguish one another.
After invading Mingzhu City, the Heavenly Foxes even learned human customs and gave themselves names. They used "Moon" as their surname and named themselves according to their rank within the clan.
The Heavenly Foxes' leader was called Moon King, while Moon King's son was Prince Yue.
The one who had eaten Luo Shiyu was Prince Yue!
At this moment, Heavenly Foxes packed the City Lord's Manor. A golden fox with a huge body and no human skin pasted to its forehead sat in the main seat, while Prince Yue, wearing Luo Shiyu's human skin, stood at its side.
There was no doubt that it was Moon King!
The leader of the Heavenly Foxes.
"Nine have died this week. It seems the humans have found a way to counter my ability," Moon King said in a deep voice. Every other fox revealed a vicious gleam in its eyes, murderous intent overflowing.
A Heavenly Fox with the human skin of a seductive woman pasted to its forehead spoke. "King, why not just kill everyone and take over this city?"
"Then what will you eat? Grass?" another Heavenly Fox, with the human skin of a fat man on its forehead, retorted.
Next, the Heavenly Foxes all joined the discussion. As they talked, it turned into a shouting match, and the shouting match gradually escalated into a fight.
"Stop."
Moon King narrowed his eyes slightly, and a savage aura enveloped the entire City Lord's Manor.
All the Heavenly Foxes immediately froze. Then they released one another and prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.
Moon King looked at Prince Yue and asked, "My son, what do you think?"
"Wiping out all humans is unrealistic, and it would also waste food. We can think of a way to lure out the humans hiding themselves, then eliminate them one by one," Prince Yue said.
At this moment, the only human in the City Lord's Manor, Deputy City Lord Huang Zeming, spoke. "King, Your Highness, perhaps we can lure other races in first and muddy the waters in Mingzhu City. Then we can focus on eliminating some of the stronger humans."
"You think those people are hiding in the city?" Moon King looked at him.
Huang Zeming nodded. "Of the three major organizations, besides the Patrol Team and Investigation Team, there is another team known only to the city lord. King, you severely injured the city lord back then, and he fled while wounded. His whereabouts are currently unknown. I suspect he is hiding within that organization. I know very well that he will not leave the city. He must be waiting for us to reveal a weakness."
"The idea of luring in other races is not bad. I've been wanting to change my diet anyway," Prince Yue said.
During this time, humans had been its only food. It had long since grown sick of them. That was why it only selected young women with the best texture as food.
Moon King closed his eyes in thought. After a while, he opened them and looked at Prince Yue. "My son, if I leave the task of eliminating the strong humans to you, are you confident?"
"Yes." Prince Yue nodded.
Moon King nodded in satisfaction. "Then muddy the waters in Mingzhu City. I will enter false hibernation and conceal my aura. Once my aura disappears, Mingzhu City will have no defenses at all. What happens next will depend on you, my son!"
"Yes. I will drag out, one by one, the humans hiding in Mingzhu City who have been secretly harming Yue Jiu and the others!" Prince Yue replied.
Moon King closed his eyes in satisfaction. His breathing then became long and slow, and gradually, that intimidating aura faded. At most, within an hour, it would completely disappear.
"The King has entered false hibernation. All Moonfolk members are forbidden from leaving the City Lord's Manor. Moon One, Moon Two, and Moon Three will be responsible for catching food. Moon Thirty, Moon Thirty-One, Moon Thirty-Two, Moon Thirty-Three, follow me. We will observe which humans are strong," Prince Yue said as he slowly walked to the center. His tall body blocked Moon King from view as he gave his orders.
All the Heavenly Foxes lowered their heads and answered in unison, "As ordered."
Huang Zeming also lowered his head, but a cold gleam flashed in his eyes as the corners of his mouth gradually lifted.