Linghu Chong's Hatred

After a round of wild, haphazard Hulk-smashing, Black Bear was almost crippled, despite having cultivated his internal power to the Houtian Realm and practiced Hard-Body Training.

Most of his ribs were broken, his internal organs were severely damaged, and Houtian True Qi rampaged through his meridians, piling injury upon injury.

But Tian Hao wasn't finished. He brought both fists down and shattered Black Bear's kneecaps.

He was very interested in the technique this fellow used to train his arms, so he would spare his worthless life for now.

He even dislocated Black Bear's jaw to prevent some melodramatic twist where he bit his tongue off to kill himself.

"You call yourself a mighty warrior?"

Tian Hao curled his lips in disdain. This fight had been thoroughly unsatisfying; his opponent was far too useless. Or perhaps his own fighting style was too brutal-but that was exactly how he liked it.

Honestly, he wasn't particularly fond of the martial arts of the Jin System. They dragged on far too much. Unless there was an enormous gap in strength, fights took hundreds or thousands of moves, with some even lasting days and nights.

By comparison, the neighboring Gu System was much more decisive, with victory decided by a hair's breadth. Some of its formidable fighters only practiced one or two moves, while the one called A Fei was even more straightforward: he started right off with No-Move Beats Moves.

The battles in the Gu System were true fights to the death. Unfortunately, it had far too many ruthless characters. With his intelligence, he might end up dead in the street on his second day there.

The fight inside the courtyard ended at the same time. White Bear also cultivated both internal and external arts, but losing the use of one hand had cut his fighting strength in half. Faced with the combined assault of Lao Denuo and Zhao Bulu, two Inner Qi Realm martial artists, along with constables firing arrows from the surrounding rooftops, his defeat was inevitable.

"Stop his bleeding. Don't let him die."

Glancing at the blood-drenched White Bear, Tian Hao walked into the house and caught a faint foul, bloody stench mingled with the aroma of meat.

There was some half-finished food and wine on the table in the bedroom. It looked as though the two men had just been eating, but that meat...

Even for a ruthless man who had slaughtered hundreds at Guan Family Fort, the sight before him made his stomach churn.

"Urgh!"

He walked out with his brow tightly furrowed. The moment he emerged, he saw Lao Denuo rush out of the kitchen and vomit violently. Zhao Bulu followed close behind, his expression equally grim.

There was no need to guess-the scene in the kitchen had to be even more horrifying.

What martial artist didn't have a few lives on his hands? But killing people and eating them were entirely different things, let alone cooking them into dishes.

It was sheer madness, an offense against humanity.

"Do you enjoy eating people that much?"

Squatting down to look down at White Bear, whose bleeding had been provisionally stopped, Tian Hao felt murderous intent surge within him. He truly couldn't understand how such deranged people could exist.

"Ptoo!"

"Just a few two-legged sheep. So what if I ate them? Shame I never got to taste your meat. With that build, yours would have plenty of chew."

Knowing he had no hope of surviving, White Bear threw caution to the wind and spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm at him.

Tian Hao tilted his head to dodge the filthy glob. He had already sentenced both brothers to death-death by a thousand cuts.

Just then, Constable Zhao also emerged from the kitchen, his face livid. Clearly, he too had seen that horrifying sight. He was carrying an unconscious little girl, with a deathly pale boy following behind him.

The moment the boy saw White Bear, his bloodshot eyes grew redder still. He drew the saber at Constable Zhao's waist and slashed at him, his face twisted like a vengeful ghost.

The saber was about to strike White Bear's forehead when a greatsword blocked it.

"Kid, killing that beast outright would let him off too easily. Ever heard of Death by a Thousand Cuts? I'll ask the county magistrate to let you be the executioner."

The black-and-white pair's sins ran too deep. Simply cutting them down would be far too merciful.

Besides, there was no telling how many similar villains existed in the world. Subjecting them to public torture tomorrow would also deter those evildoers, keeping them from stirring up trouble and committing crimes in secret within Mount Hua Territory.

"Thank you, sir, for capturing those villains and saving my sister and me. Please take me as your disciple. I want to learn the skills to kill every last one of them."

After a moment's silence, the boy dropped to his knees with a thud, his heart already filled with hatred.

He had endured far too much over the past few days. His parents and eldest brother had been killed before his eyes, then dismembered and cooked. How could his heart not be filled with hatred?

He hated villains like the Desert North Duo even more fiercely. He wanted revenge-revenge against every villain under heaven.

"I can't agree to that right now, but later I'll take you and your sister up Mount Hua and introduce you to my master."

Tian Hao didn't agree immediately. He didn't want taking a disciple to delay his own cultivation. Still, this boy had witnessed such a tragedy without breaking down, showing commendable mental fortitude. As long as his aptitude wasn't too poor, Tian Hao could recommend him to his master.

"Thank you, sir!"

The boy kowtowed in gratitude. Though he hadn't personally witnessed Tian Hao defeat Black Bear, anyone who could overcome those two villains had to be immensely strong. And the elder who had taught such a powerful man had to be stronger still.

Studying under an expert like that would surely let him learn great skills, then cut down every villain under heaven.

"This family used to sell tofu. There were five of them altogether. Now only the brother and sister are left."

Constable Zhao sighed. Earlier, he had sent men to ask the neighbors about this family. Now, of the five, only the two children remained. As for the other three...

Alas! What an atrocity!

"Constable Zhao, I'm very interested in their martial arts, particularly the technique they use to train their arms. Could you do me a favor?"

Tian Hao pulled Constable Zhao aside and asked in a low voice.

Next, the Desert North Duo would be escorted to the county office's prison, questioned and sentenced according to procedure, then executed.

It wouldn't be appropriate for them to interfere in that process. But given his connection to his esteemed master, Ru Zhigang, Constable Zhao and the county magistrate surely wouldn't refuse this small request.

Besides, they were the ones who had discovered and captured the Desert North Duo. The official credit was useless to them, but it would greatly benefit government officials like the county magistrate and Constable Zhao.

It could count as a trade.

Of course, they still wanted the reputation. At most, their role would change from taking the initiative to assisting the county office in capturing the Desert North Duo.

"That's easy enough. Leave it to me."

Constable Zhao readily agreed. It wasn't a major matter anyway, and he was interested in the Desert North Duo's martial arts himself.

Just like that, the two completed a little backroom deal.

"Two men stay behind to clean up the scene. Gather the victims' remains and bring them back to the county office. Everyone else, escort the villains of the Desert North Duo back."

At Constable Zhao's command, he personally escorted the two crippled members of the Desert North Duo.

The killers had already been captured, so everything left was a minor matter. Besides, the facts of the case were clear, with little remaining to investigate.

Tian Hao and the others returned to the courtyard where Zhao Bulu had been staying to await the county office's results.

The results came quickly. During the nighttime operation, Constable Zhao had already sent someone to report to the county magistrate, and the county office had made all the necessary preparations well in advance.

The Desert North Duo were taken straight to prison and brutally interrogated, yielding everything the officials wanted to know. That afternoon, notices were posted announcing that, with the assistance of the Mount Hua Sect's heroes, the county office had captured the Desert North Duo, who had committed atrocities for years. The notices also commended the Mount Hua Sect.

The next day, the Desert North Duo were escorted to the execution ground to undergo Death by a Thousand Cuts as a warning to others.

"Brother Bai, I've doomed you!"

In a private room at a restaurant, Linghu Chong stared toward the distant execution ground. His grip made his sword sheath creak, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He didn't believe the government's notices for a moment. Tian Hao must have harbored a grudge, secretly attacked Brother Bai and his brother afterward, then framed them.

How could a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect behave like this?

How was such conduct any different from that of the Demon Cult's fiends?

"How dare he do something like that?"

Beside him, Lu Dayou was equally furious. Though he knew little about White Bear, anyone who could converse so pleasantly with his eldest senior brother had to be a heroic man.

Yet now, simply because he had stood up for their eldest senior brother at the brothel, that damned fellow had colluded with the authorities to frame him.

As a martial artist, Lu Dayou instinctively distrusted the government. Its officials were nothing but curs who persecuted common folk and wagged their tails, begging for scraps from the wealthy and powerful. How could anything such people said be credible?

Someone had barely offended you before being arrested and slapped with the ridiculous charge of murdering and eating people.

How could anyone in this world possibly eat another person?

Besides, they had just seen with their own eyes that White Bear and his brother were covered in wounds. Clearly, they had undergone brutal torture. Their confessions had been beaten out of them!

What he hated was that the other side was too powerful. They couldn't show themselves and rescue Brother Bai and his brother.

It was truly hateful!

"Dayou, go to Guan Family Fort yourself and investigate that fellow's true identity. We can't let him keep ruining the Mount Hua Sect's reputation. I'll smooth things over with Master for you."

Forcing down his grief and anger, Linghu Chong understood that this couldn't continue. Otherwise, that fellow would surely destroy the Mount Hua Sect.

"I'll go right now!"

Concerned for the Mount Hua Sect's future, Lu Dayou immediately turned and left, preparing to ride at full gallop to the area around Guan Family Fort to investigate.

Though Guan Family Fort had been wiped out, the Guan clan still existed. He believed he should be able to uncover some information.