Clatter!
Ling Feng said nothing more, nor did he vent his anger pointlessly. He dropped the Black Iron Fragment and the hairpin, then turned and walked away with heavy steps.
For the first time, he felt utterly humiliated!
But he was too weak now. He could only swallow it.
"Little Yanzi, that young fellow seems to have taken a grudge against you."
Yao Chen's voice suddenly rang out in Xiao Yan's mind.
"He's hardly the only one who holds a grudge against me."
Hearing the voice in his mind, Xiao Yan blinked lightly, unconcerned. "Opportunities are hard to come by. If someone else has one, you snatch it. Isn't that what you taught me, Teacher?"
"That's right. To become strong, sometimes you have to use certain necessary means. I just can't understand why he yielded this fragment to you when he's clearly stronger than you."
"Perhaps he doesn't know the secret of this Black Iron Fragment?"
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and offered a possibility. Yao Chen found it reasonable too. "You have a point."
"By the way, Teacher, you said he's stronger than me. How strong is he?"
"Ninth Stage Dou Qi!"
When Xiao Yan asked again, Yao Chen answered directly. At the answer, Xiao Yan's brows furrowed slightly. "Judging by his age, he should be about as old as me. That means his talent is no worse than that of my Xiao Clan's promising young members. I never thought he'd have that kind of talent..."
That afternoon, the sun had begun to sink over a secluded alley in the southern part of the city.
"Xiao Yan! Fuck your mother!"
"Remember this! One day, I'll make you repay today's humiliation a hundredfold!"
Having kept his anger bottled up, Ling Feng could no longer restrain himself once he reached the deserted alley. He punched the wall and kicked the ground, venting the rage in his heart.
Dou Techniques were what Ling Feng needed most.
Although he had acquired the Taotie bloodline and resolved the problem with his constitution, he had even gained talent more formidable than that of someone like Xiao Xun'er, who possessed a Dou Di Divine-Grade Bloodline.
Moreover, he didn't even need a cultivation method. As long as he had cultivation resources, he could force-feed his way through the ranks.
But Dou Techniques were what Ling Feng needed most, and he didn't possess even the lowest-grade Yellow Tier Dou Technique.
Born a commoner, he had nothing to his name.
That was why Ling Feng had been so desperate to obtain the Black Tier Dou Technique within the Black Iron Fragment. But Xiao Yan had thrust himself into the middle and snatched away his opportunity, leaving Ling Feng seething with resentment.
Especially when Xiao Yan had used his wealth and influence to pressure him at the end-it had made Ling Feng hold a grudge against him.
"Without backing or strength, I have to swallow everything and yield at every turn, always a head beneath everyone else... I never want this to happen again."
Bracing one hand against the wall, Ling Feng clenched the other and slammed it into the bricks, his gaze chilling.
Clearly, Xiao Yan's actions had stirred hatred in Ling Feng.
After venting for a while, Ling Feng calmed down. "I still have the system. Surpassing Xiao Yan and crushing Yao Chen isn't impossible. Now I need to cultivate even harder and strive to break through to Dou Zhe as soon as possible!"
The incident with Xiao Yan had instantly brought Ling Feng's plans for the future into sharp focus.
Gathering himself, Ling Feng prepared to return home and devote himself to cultivation.
His home stood at the foot of the mountain south of the city.
Calling it a home was generous. It was really just an old-fashioned thatched hut.
Because his family was ordinary, they could only live at the foot of the mountain south of the city, in a thatched hut they had cobbled together.
Ling Feng's parents were ordinary people, members of the lowest stratum of the Dou Qi Continent. They lived honestly, working at sunrise and resting at sunset. Their family's life hadn't been particularly comfortable, but they had managed.
But a year ago, Ling Feng's father had offended a direct-line descendant of the Xiao Clan. In the end, members of the Xiao Clan had beaten his father to death.
From then on, the pillar holding up Ling Feng's family had collapsed, and money had grown tight. Still, Ling Feng and his mother had depended on each other and managed to get by.
"Well, well, isn't this the Ling family's useless son, Ling Feng?"
"Heh, we've run into this trash again. Just in time to practice on him and see how much stronger I've gotten lately."
"My Stone Shattering Palm has improved lately too. He'll make a perfect test subject."
Just as Ling Feng was about to reach the thatched hut at the foot of the mountain south of the city, trouble reared its head again. Three figures suddenly appeared and blocked his way home.
"Xiao... Ke!"
Ling Feng looked toward those hostile voices, and the sight of their owners instantly ignited the anger in his heart. Especially when he saw the youth leading the three, killing intent surged in his eyes.
His father, and even the original "Ling Feng," had both died because of Xiao Ke and the two lackeys at his side.
The Xiao Clan Back Mountain happened to be near Ling Feng's home.
Xiao Ke and his two companions had once been bullied by members of the Jia Lie Family, so they harbored an intense hatred toward that family.
Because Ling Feng's parents worked as servants for the Jia Lie Family, the three had branded them as belonging to that family too. As a result, Xiao Ke and his companions despised Ling Feng's family and frequently came to make trouble.
One day, after enduring it for so long, Ling Feng's father had finally lost his patience and cursed at Xiao Ke and his companions. Who could have known that they would fly into a rage out of shame and beat his father to death?
The Xiao Clan was one of Wutan City's three great families. Ling Feng's family had no power to take revenge, nor would anyone stand up for them and seek justice. That was how cruel this world was.
The strong could decide the life or death of the weak at will, never caring whether they lived or died!
Of course, Ling Feng's hatred for Xiao Ke and his companions wasn't solely because they had killed his father. They had also killed "him."
Because of what had happened to his father, the original "Ling Feng" had angrily gone to confront Xiao Ke and his companions. But without any strength, he could only suffer their abuse.
In particular, Ling Feng's exceptionally handsome looks-more handsome than any of theirs-had made Xiao Ke and his companions resent him. Thus, every few days, they would come looking for trouble, using him as a human punching bag to practice their fists and tormenting him relentlessly.
In the end, the original "Ling Feng" could no longer bear such humiliation. He had jumped into a lake outside the city and taken his own life, paving the way for the present Ling Feng.
Although this grudge belonged to the original "Ling Feng" and Xiao Ke's group, Ling Feng, whose soul had transmigrated into this body, seemed to have been influenced by his predecessor. He felt an instinctive hatred toward the three.
Especially since, during the month he had spent here, he too had suffered their bullying. Added to what had just happened with Xiao Yan, it filled Ling Feng with hatred for the Xiao Clan.
Crack, crack!
He clenched both hands tightly, the force making his knuckles crack. As memories of past humiliations ran through his mind, a dangerous glint flashed in Ling Feng's eyes.
"Well, well, this trash actually dares to glare at us. Looks like his skin's itching for a beating after a few days without one."
"Heh... what a born wretch!"
In the past, Ling Feng had always cowered when he saw them, but lately, he had repeatedly behaved differently. Today in particular, his openly hateful expression made Xiao Ke and the two lackeys beside him even more eager to torment him.
As always, they treated Ling Feng as trash and paid him no heed.
"Cousin Xiao Ke, I can't stand it anymore. Let me beat this trash first today, all right?"
"Sure."
Listening to the three talk without the slightest regard for him, as though he were a toy they could simply ignore, Ling Feng's anger became impossible to contain.
"Fine, Xiao Yan bullied me. He has backing, and I can't beat him for now, so I swallowed it. But you bastards can forget about riding on my head ever again! Today, I'm going to reclaim every bit of the humiliation I've suffered!"
Ling Feng's slightly hoarse yet icy voice carried over to them. At the sight of his bloodshot eyes, the corner of Xiao Ke's eye twitched, and an inexplicable unease quietly rose in his heart...