Unexpected Incident

[Proper Character Fist—the most important thing is meditation, to achieve righteousness of heart, righteousness of intent, and righteousness of body. Next, I'll teach you the meditation chant...]

[Paired birds sing in the trees, green waters and blue mountains wear smiling faces...]

[Three spoonfuls of sugar, a pinch of salt, then a little 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...]

[Yue Twelve is dead. Damn humans, I'm eating two extra today!]

[Fan Family Saber, first form: Saber Aura Runs Wild. Follow my movements.]

For the next stretch of time, Zhang Ping had been adapting to Wind Whisperer, his new talent.

This ability was both good and bad.

Through Wind Whisperer, he learned countless great secrets and trivial secrets.

For example, the Cleanup Team captain was named Situ Shibai. His ability was replication, and he was already over two hundred years old.

For another example, the Cleanup Team had recently killed another seven Heavenly Foxes.

He was also thoroughly familiar with the closely guarded secrets of certain martial arts schools.

But sometimes, it troubled him.

Because the ability was entirely passive, he inevitably learned many things he should not have known.

Family squabbles, adultery, cheating, the unspeakable troubles of ordinary people, and the horrifying chewing sounds Heavenly Foxes made when they ate people.

There were some things he truly did not want to know, especially while eating.

"Wrong move. Again."

By the furnace, Zhang Ping was practicing Fire Eater's ability. Not far behind him, Wang Jieming was practicing his fists.

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 following moves. However, Wang Jieming had gotten used to practicing at Zhang Ping's place, so whenever he had time at noon, he would come over.

Wang Jieming was still practicing Ape King Form, while Zhang Ping had already moved on to Giant Crocodile Form. It was a technique for training finger strength, and it happened to share similarities with the dough-kneading forging technique. As a result, his progress had been astonishing, and he was close to meeting the threshold for Phoenix Claw Form.

In truth, Zhang Ping already knew every move and training method of Beast King Fist. The only thing he did not know was the exact movements.

After fully 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, and the final three could already be called secret arts. Its ultimate technique was even more miraculous—practically a superpower.

However, learning Beast King Fist was not so easy.

According to the information he had heard through Wind Whisperer, the first three and middle three forms were still martial arts ordinary people could learn. The last three forms completely tested a person's talent and wealth. As for mastering the ultimate technique, one needed not only talent, but comprehension. Most importantly, one needed even more wealth.

The main reason was that the final three forms and the ultimate technique all required body parts from corresponding mutated beasts as medicinal ingredients.

Zhang Ping knew the formulas and knew how to train, but without a master to guide him, he did not dare practice. Once Beast King Fist was practiced incorrectly, the consequences would be severe.

At best, tendons and bones would be strained. At worst, the entire body would be paralyzed.

[Yue Six, look at those two boys. They look tasty. Shall we eat them for lunch?]

"Yue Six, look at those two boys. They look tasty. Shall we eat them for lunch?"

Zhang Ping was controlling fire elemental energy when he suddenly heard a hoarse voice. Yet the voice had an echo.

He frowned and looked back, only to find two Heavenly Foxes standing outside Iron Soul's entrance. They were staring into the shop, sizing him and Wang Jieming up like prey.

Wang Jieming and I have been targeted?

Zhang Ping's heart sank. 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 enter, Wang Jieming greeted them. "Welcome. What kind of weapon do you need?"

"I'm just looking."

The Heavenly Fox replied hoarsely and continued moving closer to Wang Jieming.

On the other side, Zhang Ping stood as well and smiled. "Welcome."

In an instant.

A black hole appeared beneath Zhang Ping, Wang Jieming, and the two Heavenly Foxes. Then all four fell into it at the same time, landing in the secret chamber in the blink of an eye.

The two Heavenly Foxes reacted extremely quickly, pouncing at Zhang Ping and Wang Jieming the moment they landed.

Zhang Ping was no slower. He had already experienced this sensation of teleportation several times, so he grabbed Wang Jieming and swiftly retreated. Though Wang Jieming had not yet figured out what was happening, he still followed Zhang Ping back without hesitation out of trust.

As one side advanced and the other retreated, the distance between them continued shrinking.

Heavenly Foxes came in all shapes and sizes. Some were fat, while others were thin.

But these two Heavenly Foxes were tall. One was at least three meters tall, while the other was no less than two and a half meters. Unsurprisingly, Zhang Ping and Wang Jieming had no advantage in speed.

"Careful. They're mutated beasts."

Zhang Ping gave a warning, then released Wang Jieming and extended both arms, unleashing the fire elemental energy in his body.

Flames surged forth. One of the Heavenly Foxes bore the brunt of them, but it could not even be bothered to dodge. It charged straight through the flames and clawed at Zhang Ping's head.

Zhang Ping hurriedly rolled aside, narrowly avoiding its claws.

"Sisi, if you don't help soon, I'm dead!"

After getting up, he scanned his surroundings and shouted. But Liu Sishan still did not appear. Unsure whether she was even there, he could only continue circling the Heavenly Fox.

This Heavenly Fox was an intermediate mutated beast, level seventeen, while he was only level three.

The disparity in strength was too great.

Every attack from the Heavenly Fox was a life-threatening crisis for him. Wang Jieming's situation was slightly better.

Though Wang Jieming was also a beginner Awakened, he was level five. The mutated beast facing him was weaker than Zhang Ping's opponent, only level twelve, so their actual gap was only seven levels.

However, beginner and intermediate were still two different ranks. Wang Jieming was also at a disadvantage, able only to defend and evade. He had no chance to counterattack, much less assist Zhang Ping.

Zhang Ping had already put on the Assassination Ring and gripped Beauty's Tears Dagger, but it made no difference to the outcome.

The enemy was too strong.

The Heavenly Fox he faced was not only huge, but had exceptionally long arms. Worse, it was faster than him.

The longer the reach, the greater the advantage.

Even with a dagger, he could not reach it. Yet the other side could take his life with a single stretch of its arm.

He leaped and dodged, rolling all over the floor, but it was still useless. At most, he could buy himself a little time.

Thirty seconds.

He was driven into a desperate situation, forced into a corner by the Heavenly Fox.

There was nowhere to retreat and no room to dodge.

The Heavenly Fox's next punch was impossible to avoid. 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 huge amount of blood erupted from the severed wound on its neck. Its head was blasted away by the spray of blood, then landed on the ground and rolled twice before coming to a stop.

Zhang Ping looked toward where the stream had come from and saw Liu Sishan standing in a corner of the secret chamber, surrounded by flowing water. Amid the misty vapor, she looked like a fairy maiden from the heavens.

Looking closer, he discovered countless tiny shards of ice within the water flowing around Liu Sishan.

Because of Wind Whisperer's ability, his hearing had actually been faintly enhanced, so he could hear an extremely low vibration.

The water was vibrating violently and flowing at extreme speed.

High-pressure water?

Zhang Ping guessed inwardly. Then he stepped around the headless Heavenly Fox corpse and panted, "Sisi, did you really want to watch 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 said, glancing at Zhang Ping without allowing any argument.

Before Zhang Ping and Wang Jieming could ask anything, they were both ejected from the secret chamber and returned to Iron Soul.

Wang Jieming looked at Zhang Ping, his lips moving as if he wanted to ask what had just happened. Zhang Ping immediately shook his head slightly. Wang Jieming understood and nodded faintly before resuming his fist practice, while Zhang Ping sat beside the furnace and swallowed flames to recover his strength.

Although the fight with the Heavenly Foxes had lasted only around half a minute, both his physical strength and mental energy had been greatly depleted. Now that he had relaxed, he even felt as though he might collapse.

He had actually leveled up very quickly.

Most ordinary Awakened could rise by at most two levels a year, but he had already gained two levels in just over half a month.

The problem was that his opponents were too powerful. They gave him no time to grow, like a level-one newbie encountering a fully equipped 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 energy to condense a Contract Gem. The moment he swallowed it, exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he fell asleep against the furnace.

Although every Heavenly Fox looked roughly the same to humans, Heavenly Foxes could easily recognize one another.

After invading Mingzhu City, the Heavenly Foxes even adopted human customs and gave themselves names. They used "Yue" as their surname and named themselves according to their rank within the tribe.

The leader of the Heavenly Foxes was called Moon King, while Moon King's son was Prince Yue.

The one who had eaten Luo Shiyu was Prince Yue!

At that moment, the city lord's residence was packed with Heavenly Foxes. A tall golden fox with no human skin pasted to its forehead sat in the main seat, while Prince Yue, wearing Luo Shiyu's skin on his forehead, stood at his 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. The other foxes all revealed fierce expressions, killing intent overflowing from them.

A Heavenly Fox with the skin of a seductive woman pasted to its forehead spoke. "King, why not just kill all the humans and take over this city?"

"Then what would you eat? Grass?" another Heavenly Fox, with a fat man's skin pasted to its forehead, retorted.

The Heavenly Foxes soon joined the discussion. As they talked, the debate turned into an argument, and the argument gradually escalated into a fight.

"Stop."

Moon King narrowed his eyes slightly, and a ferocious aura enveloped the entire city lord's residence.

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 are your thoughts?"

"Killing all humans is unrealistic, and it would waste too much food. We can think of a way to lure out those humans in hiding and eliminate them one by one," Prince Yue said.

At that moment, Huang Zeming, the only human in the city lord's residence, spoke. "King, Your Highness, perhaps we can lure other races in first, muddy Mingzhu City's waters, then concentrate on eliminating some of the stronger humans."

"You think these people are hiding in the city?" Moon King looked at him.

Huang Zeming nodded. "Of the three major organizations, aside from the Patrol Team and the Investigation Team, there is another team known only to the city lord. King, you severely wounded the city lord back then. He escaped while injured, and his whereabouts are currently unknown. I suspect he is hiding within that organization. I know him well. He will not leave the city. He is definitely waiting for us to expose a weakness."

"The idea of luring in other races is not bad. It so happens that I want a change of flavor," Prince Yue said.

There had only been one kind of food lately—humans. He had long grown tired of it, which was why he only chose 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 Mingzhu City's waters. I will enter false hibernation and restrain my aura. Once my aura disappears, Mingzhu City will have no defenses whatsoever. What happens next will depend on you, my son!"

"Yes. I will drag out every human hiding in Mingzhu City and secretly harming Yue Nine and the others!" Prince Yue replied.

Moon King closed his eyes in satisfaction. His breathing then became long and slow, and that intimidating aura gradually faded. Within an hour at most, it would disappear completely.

"The King has entered false hibernation. No Moonfolk member may leave the city lord's residence. Yue One, Yue Two, and Yue Three will be responsible for capturing food. Yue Thirty, Yue Thirty-One, Yue Thirty-Two, Yue Thirty-Three, follow me. We will observe which humans are strong," Prince Yue said as he slowly walked to the center, his tall body blocking Moon King from view. Then he began issuing orders.

All the Heavenly Foxes lowered their heads and answered in unison, "As you command."

Huang Zeming lowered his head as well, but a cold gleam shone in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.