Chapter 9: The Serpent Warrior's Battle Spirit

After the fox-headed eagle flew away, Chu Feng neither pursued nor tried to hide. Since he had resolved to fight, rather than wasting his strength searching for the enemy, why not conserve his energy and wait here for them to come courting death?

Following the illustrated instructions in the "Taiwu Power Cultivation Manual," Chu Feng continued to train, focusing on strengthening his chest and back. According to the manual, the best way to train these areas was to use specialized equipment or training posts, which would make the training far more effective.

Here in the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Ridges, when it came to training aids, none could rival the ingenious devices crafted by the Tianji Wood Clan. Many well-to-do martial artists would pay handsomely to rent the clan’s public training grounds for a day, though the cost was steep, the results were indeed remarkable.

"After eating the python meat, I now possess the physique of a golden giant python. The training devices that work for others may not suit me! Since there’s no equipment available, I’ll just have to make my own!"

An idea flashed through Chu Feng’s mind. After a bout of busy work, within the time it took to brew a cup of tea, he had fashioned his own training apparatus. He used tough and elastic tree branches as the bowstring, two large trees as the bow’s frame, and a thick, over-two-zhang-long tree trunk as the arrow, thus creating a giant bow and arrow.

"Let’s see how this works!"

With a slash, Chu Feng cut the branch. The tree trunk, held taut between the two trees, instantly shot toward him!

Bang!

The tremendous impact struck Chu Feng’s chest, forcing him back three steps. His whole body trembled, but with a strong thrust of his chest, he sent the trunk flying far away with the force of his muscles.

Again and again, the trunk, weighing over a thousand catties, crashed into his chest and back. By the fifteenth or sixteenth time, as the trunk slammed toward him, Chu Feng not only withstood the blow but even stepped forward a few paces, suppressing the force and sending it rebounding back!

Crack!

The tremendous force of impact, combined with the explosive power of Chu Feng’s chest, caused the trunk, thick as a washbasin, to split apart in an instant, shattering into countless pieces that flew in all directions.

After this hour of grueling training, Chu Feng’s chest and back had reached perfection!

With his arms, legs, head, chest, and back all honed to their peak, he was now but a step away from channeling power through his entire body and reaching the seamless state of force.

Chu Feng picked up a stone weighing about two catties and hurled it with all his might skyward.

"One, two, three..."

"Twenty-five, twenty-six..."

"Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty!"

From the instant the stone left his hand, Chu Feng silently counted. When it finally crashed to the ground with a thud, he had counted to fifty!

A stone weighing two catties, thrown skyward by Chu Feng, had stayed aloft for a full fifty seconds before landing—a force as vast and mighty as a tidal wave, far more than a mere thousand catties!

Chu Feng felt that he could reach the state of total-body force at any moment. He was now at the pinnacle of the second level of the Body Refinement stage.

Ordinary martial artists at the same stage couldn’t match the intensity of Chu Feng’s training, nor could they rival him in combat.

Screech!

Just then, the piercing cry of an eagle sounded again—it was the same fox-headed eagle.

"So, you’ve come? Perfect timing!"

Battle lust surged through Chu Feng, filling every muscle with eagerness for combat. His fists rubbed together in anticipation.

He had intended to fight right here, but then he thought better of it. If his adversaries saw the wreckage of shattered trees, they might guess at his newfound strength, which would not work to his advantage. So, he strode toward the direction of the eagle’s cry.

A hundred or so paces on, Chu Feng heard the sound of hurried footsteps and voices up ahead.

"Fourth Young Master, this is Tianji Wood Clan territory. Is it really appropriate to seize Chu Feng here? Should I try to lure him across the river with a trick?"

"Trick my ass! You think the kid’s a fool? The real risk is you’ll tip him off and he’ll escape!"

"Then, Fourth Young Master, should we wait for Third Young Master to arrive and capture Chu Feng together? More people, fewer risks!"

"Nonsense! I’ve already made a bet with Third Brother before our eldest. Whoever catches Chu Feng first gets a rich reward from him. Have you lost your mind?"

"Uh…"

The three of them, talking all the while, hurried this way.

Chu Feng could tell that this was the youngest of the Five Tiger Brothers of the Xiong family—Xiong Meng, the fourth son of Xiong Zhan. The other two were his close henchmen.

He saw the fox-headed eagle circling overhead. Xiong Meng’s face lit up with joy. "Be careful, both of you. Don’t let Chu Feng hear us and run off!"

"Don’t worry! I won’t be running—if anything, I’m afraid you’ll be the ones running."

A cold voice suddenly came from behind.

Chu Feng stood two zhang behind Xiong Meng, his gaze as sharp as a blade, staring coldly at him.

"Yo? Chu Feng? Ha! That racket really is you!" Xiong Meng spun around. "You might have disguised yourself, but that smell of yours can’t slip past the fox-headed eagle’s nose! Will you come quietly, or do I need to break a bone or two to make you?"

Chu Feng said nothing, his gaze sweeping over Xiong Meng.

Though Xiong Meng called him “boy,” he was actually a year younger than Chu Feng. Well fed, he was about the same size, his muscles bulging. He was already at the second level of body refinement, nearing the third, soon to be eligible to study external martial arts.

Among the tens of thousands of disciples in the Terror Sect, no one under eighteen surpassed the martial strength of Xiong Gang and Xiong Meng, third and fourth sons of Xiong Zhan. With no shortage of resources, it was no wonder they could tear wolves and break tigers even at their age.

Chu Feng fixed his gaze on Xiong Meng and asked, "My brother Xiao Dao—what’s become of him?"

"None of your damned business!" Xiong Meng’s face darkened. "A Heng, A Leng, both of you, seize him!"

"Yes!"

The two henchmen, A Heng and A Leng, instantly drew their steel chains and rulers, advancing on Chu Feng.

The urge to fight surged in Chu Feng’s chest. Without a word, he took three strides forward, clamped his right hand around A Heng’s throat, and stuffed him under his left arm.

"I—damn—"

Crack! Crack!

Spurt!

A Heng had barely cursed when the sound of snapping bones and a gush of blood drowned him out.

Chu Feng’s arm and waist muscles exploded with force, constricting like a python crushing a wild bull. The hapless A Heng, at the first level of body refinement, was squashed flat in three moves. His torso from chest to waist was as thin as a sheet of meat, his ribs shattered, his organs squeezed out.

When his corpse hit the ground before Xiong Meng, A Heng’s head and hips were connected by only a thin membrane of skin, and a chunk of liver still hung from his mouth.

A Heng, the henchman, was the first enemy Chu Feng had killed with his own strength.

Though he’d smashed the mountain leopard before, that was luck, not skill. But this—this was the first time Chu Feng had slain with nothing but his own power, no tricks or traps.

Just moments earlier, he had even wondered how best to kill his first true enemy, but when the moment came, his body instinctively mimicked the python’s strangling technique—crushing his foe into a meat patty!

Having eaten the golden giant python’s flesh and gallbladder, Chu Feng knew his physique, temperament, and courage had all been shaped by the great serpent. Especially in battle, he felt an uncontrollable urge to unleash his strength, to crush his enemies slowly and mercilessly.

This violent battle lust was as natural as a fish yearning for water or a bird longing to fly—utterly impossible to restrain.

"Chu Feng! You—"

Seeing A Heng die so terribly, A Leng, for all his name, was no fool. He instantly understood, backed away two steps, and dared not attack.

Chu Feng wasted no words, darted forward, seized A Leng by the chest with his left, and smashed his right fist into him.

Bang!

The savage punch landed squarely on A Leng’s chest. He died instantly, but his corpse, carried by the force, flew over a dozen zhang before slamming against a giant boulder with a smack.

The force was so great that A Leng’s body was pulped, his ruined remains plastered to the rock, sticking there as if nailed in place, not even falling.

"Impressive! In just ten days since escaping the Terror Sect, you’ve come a long way! I, Xiong Meng, want to see just how strong you are now!"

Xiong Meng had keen eyes. He could tell at a glance that Chu Feng was no longer the weakling from the Terror Sect, but he didn’t know how strong Chu Feng had become, so he’d sent in the henchmen first to test him.

He never expected Chu Feng’s power to be so ferocious!

Xiong Meng was truly shocked. Even he, if he tried, would be hard pressed to kill A Heng and A Leng so brutally.

Still, while surprised, Xiong Meng felt no fear.

From the age of six, he had drunk raw wolf blood daily, sometimes even sleeping in a wolf den. He had a wolfish nature deep in his bones, and now, under these circumstances, it emerged in full.

"Xiong Meng, I’ll ask you once more: My brother Xiao Dao—is he alive or dead?" Chu Feng demanded.

He thought, if Xiao Dao had already been killed by the Terror Sect, then Xiong Meng could die here and now. If not, he would capture Xiong Meng and use him as a hostage to ransom Xiao Dao.

"You’d best ask whether you’ll live or die first!"

With a roar, Xiong Meng threw a punch at Chu Feng.