Using Oneself as the Drug Primer

After Jin Bing finished speaking, he rose to his feet with an ashen face and slowly walked out of the Martial Arts Hall.

He stood at the entrance with Chen Lihua, as though they were waiting for something.

Ren Qing's expression was strange. Having seen those veteran actors from his previous life, he felt that every inch of Jin Bing reeked of unnaturalness.

He swept his gaze around from the corner of his eye. Everyone sat motionless on their prayer mats, but the sweat covering their faces revealed the turmoil in their hearts.

Negative emotions gradually brewed.

After a long while, the dark-skinned man broke down.

He muttered, "I can't die. There are people at home waiting for me..."

The dark-skinned man staggered back several steps. Yet when he reached the others' backs, he pulled a wooden spike from his robes.

He viciously drove the wooden spike into another person's back, blood soaking through his clothes.

As though waking from a dream, the dark-skinned man stared in horror at his bloodied palm. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

The Martial Arts School disciples in the corner could not help but laugh mockingly.

The injured man touched his back in shock. Seeing that the wound had not harmed his organs, he pounced on the dark-skinned man without hesitation, and the brawl grew ever more intense.

No one paid Ren Qing any attention instead.

But as time passed, there would always be those willing to take desperate risks.

Hong Biao had spent some time hanging around the Qingxia Society. Though he had never earned any standing there, he had gained enough experience in the martial world.

He felt that the newly arrived Ren Qing was simply impossible to read.

If he killed this man, he would surely be the last one alive, and he would also have the greatest chance of holding out until the Yamen discovered them.

Hong Biao swung his fist mercilessly at the back of Ren Qing's neck.

"Don't blame me for being ruthless. Just obediently die."

Ren Qing had not understood what was going on in the Martial Arts School, so he had originally intended to stay out of it first. But it seemed he could not avoid being dragged in after all.

The wooden blade slid free.

It was a simple slash, yet it created the illusion that there was nowhere to dodge.

To the onlookers, it looked as if Hong Biao had taken the initiative to move closer to Ren Qing's wooden blade.

How was that possible?!!

Hong Biao raised both arms to shield his head.

Ren Qing twisted his wrist, and the wooden blade abruptly changed direction, stabbing straight through Hong Biao's instep.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Hong Biao screamed and instinctively tried to pull the wooden blade from his foot.

Ren Qing snorted coldly and struck Hong Biao's neck with the edge of his right palm. The instant Hong Biao passed out, Ren Qing threw him toward the doorway.

Chen Lihua said excitedly, "Alright."

The room immediately fell silent.

Everyone stopped their desperate fighting and returned to their prayer mats without another word. Even those whose wounds were a mangled mess of flesh and blood endured it by force.

Hong Biao was dragged away from outside, and the two Martial Arts School disciples in the corner also left the room.

The main doors were locked shut with iron chains.

Everyone remained wary of one another, especially the severely injured. Ren Qing, meanwhile, was faintly isolated.

Just as Ren Qing was about to ask something, a thin, small figure edged close and whispered, "Big Brother, I'm a Lictor from Chenyang Street. My name is Jiang Jie."

Jiang Jie swallowed and asked, "I've seen you at the Yamen before. Big Brother, when you came to the Martial Arts School, did the Yamen know where you were going?"

Ren Qing shook his head. "They didn't. But if I go missing for more than five days, someone should come looking."

Jiang Jie's eyes were filled with terror as he muttered incoherently, "In less than two days, everyone here will be dead. How could we possibly wait for the Yamen..."

Ren Qing grabbed Jiang Jie by the arm. "Tell me what happened."

Perhaps Jiang Jie wanted someone to confide in, so he began explaining haltingly.

After hearing him out, the doubts in Ren Qing's heart did not lessen. They only grew denser.

The registered disciples in the Martial Arts School had all arrived one after another within the past two days. Once they entered, they had been locked in the room without explanation.

Every day, Chen Lihua dragged away three or four people, always around mealtime. The outcome spoke for itself.

From time to time, they could even hear the Martial Arts School disciples outside discussing how sweet and delicious human flesh was, their voices brimming with undisguised greed.

Of course, some had tried to escape. But there was only one corridor in the Martial Arts School. Having gone so long without food or water, how could they fight more than a dozen trained martial artists?

Since death awaited them whichever way they turned, perhaps cowering in the room might still let them wait for rescue.

Ren Qing quietly pondered without changing his expression. To him, the disciples in the Martial Arts School did not even count as cultivators and posed no threat whatsoever.

The most urgent matter was how to obtain the Divine Feet Scripture safely, then keep himself out of it afterward.

Of course, even if Ren Qing exposed his Art, the worst outcome would merely be joining the Forbidden Guards. Song Zongwu could also testify to the origin of his Art.

After roughly two or three hours, Jin Bing and the others returned to the Martial Arts Hall.

A foul stench wafted from their bodies, and the muscles in their feet had swollen to varying degrees.

Jin Bing was especially so. No matter how much pain he displayed, he could not conceal that the Aberration in his legs was the most pronounced.

With a sigh, Jin Bing took out bandages to stop the injured men's bleeding, then deliberately handed them some dried provisions to fill their stomachs.

This even made the crowd feel deeply grateful to Jin Bing.

Ren Qing accepted the provisions without showing anything unusual, but he had no intention of eating them. Who knew what trickery might be hidden inside?

The longer he looked at Jin Bing, the more awkward he felt. He simply closed his eyes to rest, waiting for events to continue fermenting.

To his surprise, Jin Bing truly began teaching Eight Extremities Leg.

Aside from Ren Qing, who listened with great interest, no one else cared. Using the spare time to recover some strength was the most important thing.

When night fell.

A great many footsteps appeared outside. It seemed that people had gathered again.

Ren Qing noticed that everyone around him had fallen into unconscious sleep from excessive exhaustion.

He stood and asked, "Senior Brother Jin, I want to understand before I die. Before my death, I want to see the manual that records Eight Extremities Leg."

"..."

Jin Bing's expression became somewhat strange. After hesitating for several breaths, he took out a thin book and handed it over.

Ren Qing casually flipped through a few pages, set the book aside, and closed his eyes again to rest.

He had not expected the manual to contain so much information.

Eight Extremities Leg

Created by Chen Yongxing, it was divided into primary and secondary sections. The secondary section contained thirty-six stances, while the primary section required a drug primer to begin.

Drug primer: Chen Yongxing used the flesh of his own legs as a drug primer. After consuming it and relying on Aberration, one could unleash strength far beyond that of ordinary people.

Such a manual could not be considered an Art at all. At most, it was an unusual martial art created to help the body adapt to an Eerie Object.

Ren Qing gained a few guesses about the chain of events.

When the Martial Arts School disciples first began cultivating Eight Extremities Leg, their demand for human flesh was not great. Raising humans like livestock could sustain them for a long time, but their appetites grew larger and larger afterward.

No wonder the Divine Feet Scripture clearly had nothing to do with eating people, yet the Martial Arts School had become such a foul and smoky den.

Jin Bing's eyes reddened. In his view, Ren Qing's actions were nothing less than a provocation.

Though he tried his utmost to maintain the appearance of a refined gentleman, his features still twisted, and he could barely suppress his killing intent.

Human nature receded, while beastly nature began to awaken.