Li Jun’s sharp rebuke still echoed across the plain, but Fang Li, mounted on his Cloud-Treading Golden-Lined Hou, was filled with internal panic: How could this be? How can that woman speak Beast Tongue? Only the Tianfeng Clan of the Northern Cold Domain speaks Beast Tongue in this entire realm. There are billions of subjects in the world, how could it be such a coincidence that someone who understands Beast Tongue appears right here!
In Teng Qingshan’s eyes, sparks of lightning seemed to flash, and killing intent surfaced: “This Fang Li is truly ruthless, ordering the savage beasts to kill those wearing white. No wonder he wore white robes yesterday and a golden battle robe today. He intended to kill me and Xiao Jun and the others! Such a person… deserves to die!” For a man like this, Teng Qingshan felt no shred of pity.
“Fang Li, you are courting death yourself!!!”
A roar, like rolling thunder, spread in all directions.
This furious shout startled Fang Li, making his heart tremble and his face turn pale. He shrieked loudly, “This person means to assassinate! Stop him! Quickly, stop him!!!” Fang Li’s desperate cries were clearly heard by all five hundred cavalrymen. Soldiers must obey orders, and all the cavalry immediately moved to protect Fang Li.
“Young Master!”
“What’s happening?”
Only a small fraction of the five hundred riders heard Li Jun’s words; the vast majority did not, and many looked on in confused bewilderment.
“Fang Li, do you think you can escape!”
It was like the roar of a God of War, reverberating through heaven and earth.
Teng Qingshan seized the iron chain connecting the savage beast youth beside him to the carriage and pulled with immense force. With a sharp Chī, it sounded as if he were crushing soft tofu; the chain snapped. Teng Qingshan held the severed chain, shaking it violently. Even though a portion was detached from the savage beast youth, the chain was still nearly thirteen zhang long!
Rumble~~ The shockwave from the rattling chain transmitted to the carriage, causing it to sway violently!
“Shield formation!” the cavalry leader bellowed. The five hundred riders instantly arrayed themselves in an orderly fashion, the foremost rank bristling with spears, waiting in silence.
“Hmph!”
Teng Qingshan moved like a War God descending from ancient times. Every step he took caused the ground to tremble. After only two steps, his third brought him to the massive, six-thousand-pound black metal carriage, where he kicked it. An earthy-yellow streak of electric light shot up from Teng Qingshan’s foot, bursting forth and completely engulfing the entire carriage.
“Boom!” The entire carriage exploded, the remaining parts of the chain finally breaking apart.
Teng Qingshan, wielding the thirteen-zhang iron chain, followed up with two swift, powerful kicks. His savage Inner Family Gang energy was directed entirely onto the fragments of the carriage.
“Rumble~~~”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The tens of thousands of metal shards from the carriage shot forward like meteors, piercing the formation of cavalry who had lined up neatly in rows, preparing their defense.
“No!”
“Run for your lives!”
Especially the cavalry in the front row, their faces instantly drained of blood in terror, screaming as they abandoned all formation.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
The metal shards either pierced chests, tore through abdomens, or went straight through skulls! The first rank was particularly hard hit; some riders were shredded into sieves! “Aww~~ Aww~~” The mounts and beasts of burden, usually obedient, also let out roars and bolted in chaos under the barrage of piercing fragments.
In that first wave alone, although only dozens died, far more were wounded. Most critically—
The panicked flight of the beasts of burden completely shattered the cavalry formation.
“Hahahaha~~” Teng Qingshan laughed loudly. Each step he took covered five to six zhang, causing the earth beneath him to split open as if he were the God of the Earth. Simultaneously, he swung the thirteen-zhang long, dark iron chain!
Whoosh~~ Whoosh~~
The chain became a churning wheel of wind!
Once the thirteen-zhang chain began to spin, it created a death zone with Teng Qingshan as the epicenter, extending thirteen zhang in all directions—front, back, left, and right (thirty-two and a half meters)! Facing such a vast area, many cavalrymen cried out in terror, frantically trying to flee and escape the zone of death.
Seeing they couldn't escape in time, they jumped off their mounts and threw themselves onto the ground.
“Whoosh whoosh~~”
The wheel of wind from the chain swept over. Those who hadn't reacted quickly enough or couldn't escape were instantly mangled into shredded meat by the spinning chain. In the blink of an eye, Teng Qingshan, wielding the chain-wheel, charged straight through the cavalry blockade.
“How terrifying!”
“Is he… human?”
The surviving soldiers of the cavalry watched the retreating back of Teng Qingshan as he pursued Young Master Fang Li, their legs still weak and their hearts hammering wildly! To these soldiers… the terrifying figure swinging the chain-wheel was nothing less than the Grim Reaper! Fighting him meant certain death!
……
Xiao Ping and the coachman, Old Wang, watched the scene in horror.
“Master is… unbelievable…” Old Wang knew Teng Qingshan was powerful, but witnessing this scene made his heart tremble.
“Uncle, you are too amazing!” Xiao Ping clenched her fists tightly, then glanced down at the savage beast youth bundled up by the chain: “You! You actually tried to kill Uncle, tried to kill us? Now look like a fool. If Uncle wants to kill you, it’s as easy as killing a fish!” Xiao Ping was clearly proud to be following Teng Qingshan.
The savage beast youth, unable to comprehend a word Xiao Ping said, simply stared in shock at the unfolding events in the distance. Having been bound by that iron chain for so long, he intimately knew how sturdy and heavy it was! He possessed nearly a hundred thousand jin of brute strength, yet he could not break it.
It was easy to surmise that the chain was extraordinary!
This chain was forged at great cost by the Fang family, who hired master craftsmen specifically for the task. The fifteen-zhang long chain alone weighed nearly ten thousand jin! The fact that Teng Qingshan could wield nearly ten thousand jin of chain, swing it so ferociously, and still move so quickly! It was truly frightening!
The savage beast youth’s simple intellect allowed him to grasp one thing—
That human was vastly, vastly stronger than him!
……
“Quick, stop him, stop him!” Fang Li shrieked as if insane.
His Cloud-Treading Golden-Lined Hou galloped wildly, but although the beast was fast, when Teng Qingshan unleashed his speed, he was even faster!
“How can this be, how can this be?” Fang Li was completely thrown into chaos.
The sound of Teng Qingshan’s earth-shaking footsteps and the sound of the spinning chain-wheel rapidly closed in from behind.
“I, I am to be the future Patriarch of the Fang family!”
“I am meant to lead the great armies and conquer every major city!”
“I am destined to unify the world and have all people submit to me—how can I die today!”
Fang Li refused to believe it.
He still had grand ambitions unfulfilled!
“How could this happen? I calculated everything perfectly; even if the savage beast failed, this man shouldn't have known it was my arrangement! But, but how did someone who understands Beast Tongue appear by his side? And how is that man so strong? Five hundred cavalrymen—they couldn't even hold him off for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!”
Fang Li was consumed by resentment.
“It is Heaven that has abandoned me!” Fang Li roared.
“Fang Li, you still think you can run?” A deep, powerful voice sounded. The swinging chain swept toward Fang Li like a terrifying giant python, immediately forcing the several men closely guarding him to abandon any thought of confronting the python-like chain.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Everyone, including Fang Li, leaped to the ground.
Fang Li stumbled, about to scramble away.
“Fang Li!” That voice almost shattered Fang Li’s soul. He looked up to the front; Teng Qingshan stood before him, holding the thick, blood-stained iron chain.
“It’s over!” Fang Hong, standing not far from Fang Li, sighed inwardly.
Teng Qingshan looked down at the crestfallen Fang Li, who had completely lost all his previous composure.
“You, you can’t kill me!” Fang Li suddenly lifted his head, stammering, “This, doing this… it won’t benefit you! My Fang family—”
“Fang Li, I thought you were quite intelligent, but now you are muddled,” Teng Qingshan’s voice was flat, his gaze like that cast upon a corpse. “I don't wish to kill, but you provoked me. As for the Fang family you mentioned… hah, what do you think your Fang family amounts to in my eyes!”
Teng Qingshan kicked out instantly.
Pu!
Fang Li had no time to dodge. Teng Qingshan’s toe struck Fang Li directly on the throat.
“Hoo-hoo~~” Fang Li’s eyes widened roundly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Before death arrived, scenes flashed through his mind: his diligence in childhood, his exceptional talent among the younger generation of the Fang family. From then on, he was the favored son of heaven; who didn't know of Young Master Li?
He had a grand vision to paint, dreams he intended to realize. Alas…
With Teng Qingshan’s kick!
Everything vanished into nothingness!
Fang Li’s eyes dimmed completely, and his body slumped to the ground, motionless.
Clang! Teng Qingshan released his grip, and the iron chain dropped to the ground.
Then, Teng Qingshan turned back, leaving Fang Li’s personal retainers exchanging bewildered glances.
“Oh, right.” Teng Qingshan turned back to Fang Hong. “I’ve seen you a few times before; you seem to be called Fang Hong. Go back and tell the Fang family Patriarch… if you want revenge, I don’t mind! However… right now, this is just the enmity between me and Fang Li. If the Fang family involves itself, it becomes enmity between me and your entire Fang family.”
“Before you seek revenge…”
“Your Fang family will be wiped from the Duanmu Continent!”
Teng Qingshan spoke these words casually, but the command sent a chill down the spines of everyone who heard them.
As Teng Qingshan walked past the remnants of the cavalry, the soldiers kept a distance of over twenty zhang away from him.
“So terrifying!”
“Captain, how is this man so powerful?”
The soldiers’ minds were in utter disarray. The captain being questioned had a streak of blood on his face; he stared at Teng Qingshan’s retreating figure with a trembling heart, then glanced at the surrounding devastation, muttering, “Why did we provoke him? How dare we try to stop him? We were asking for death!”
If they had known the consequences, the cavalry would never have dared to intervene!
Thinking back now, it truly was courting death!
“Brother Fang Hong, what do we do now?” Those men looked at Fang Li’s corpse and then turned to Fang Hong.
Fang Hong gathered Fang Li’s body into his arms, his face grim: “Do not spread the news of the Young Master’s death for now. Everything will be decided by the Patriarch!”
……
“Uncle!” Xiao Ping cheered.
“Master, Old Wang has truly opened his eyes today.”
Teng Qingshan smiled and looked at the savage beast youth trussed up like a package: “Xiao Jun, help me ask him if he is willing to become my disciple!”