The Sacred Ruins

"Clonk!"

The two clinked glasses to success.

Wan Qing lifted the goblet to her peachy lips and decorously sipped her win. Then, she set the goblet aside before seating herself by a grand pianoforte. Her slender fingers skimmed over the black and white keys, giving birth to a tuneful and silvery piece of impromptu.

Mu swooped out a crystal bottle from his pocket. It only had the size of a thumbnail, but the blue substance within gave off a dreamlike color, exuding a peculiar shine of an unusual color.

This was a new type of drug that enabled that horde of mutants in the depth of the woods to unleash all their potential. This was a naturally occurring substance, but one that was difficult to extract. The astonishing effect, on the other hand, proved that all efforts that had gone into the production of this drug was worthwhile.

Mu’s flashing eyes were mildly gazing at the substance in hand. He displayed the look of a pilgrim in the face of a holy god. With profound admiration, he lovingly handled this piece of crystal bottle while waiting for news of victory to pour in.

"Everything is destined," he murmured.

In the woods, amongst the thirteen survivors, four had almost instantly tumbled and dropped dead. Blood was gushing from both of their ears and eyes.

They had been in a shaky mettle at the time of Chu Feng’s discharge of his sonic waves. The waves acted as a stimulus that provoked the mutants to go beyond the limits that neither of their body nor their mentality could bear.

"Ah..."

The others, though alive, were all suffering from profound agony at every breathing second. Their facial expression turned ferocious and feral. Some were busy clutching to their crackling skull while writhing in agony. Their lives were no better than the fate of their dead comrade.

Some mutants chose to knock their head against the tree trunks around them. As the unending battering thump continued, the trunks of many trees snapped and tumbled.

The blue drug was undeniably a potent one. It could grant its user power as well as suffering and death. The miserable death of the dead and the profound suffering of those who were still alive were all the indirect result of this dreary drug.

"This drug is the fruit of my painstaking work. It is not a failure. It just needs improvement. I’ll make it perfect. I can make it perfect..." the old chemist muttered to himself. He tried to stand on his feet, but his enfeebled body eventually crumpled down. He threw himself flat on the soggy floor of the humid forest while blood continued pouring from his mouth.

He did not take the drug, so his mental state still stayed relatively calm; however, all in all, he was just an old man without any mutated power, so in face of Chu Feng’s deadly sonic waves, he was also critically injured.

"Hahaha..." Suddenly, one of the mutants turned around. He was a three-meter giant with a colossal body. Saliva was drooling from the corner of his mouth while his pupils gradually dilated.

The strenuous fluctuation of his mental state had turned him into a madman. Muddleheaded, the giant mutant had lost all consciousness and became a walking corpse.

Puff!

The mutant reached out his arm and swooped up the old chemist. He

gored and trampled on the chemist until finally, with sheer brute force, the crazed mutant tore the chemist’s body apart. Screeching shrill cries, the chemist soon died of his own creation.

Chu Feng could not endure seeing this gory scene. Even though his own killing from moments earlier was nevertheless gory, it was nothing of this degree of ruthlessness and brutality. The forest had become a madhouse, catering for this combination of insanity and gore. The scene made Chu Feng’s blood boil.

On the ground were another few mutants writhing in pain. Some

had started tearing into each other, exchanging deadly blows and unleashing their entire scheme of tyranny onto one another. The madhouse had turned into a chaotic battleground with no rules set and no decimations between enemies and allies.

At last, Chu Feng was resolved to deliver his final blow to end all misery and suffering for these mutants. He walked with big strides into the disorderly horde with the black dagger in hand. At the blink of an eye and at the beat of a heart, all the rampaging mutants were now turned peaceful, albeit headless.

If Chu Feng had allowed these madmen to leave the forest for the villages nearby, tremendous inflictions on those towns and villages would have ensued.

Besides, Chu Feng had never wanted to let off these mutants in the first

place. "Anyone who had ever wished me dead would die before me." This was the motto that Chu Feng would keep for life.

"Cold-blooded and heartless. You’re not a man. You’re an animal!"

Beneath the pile of dead mutants, a man suddenly opened his eyes and exclaimed. He had managed to stand up. Although he was vacillating and staggering on his feet, his consciousness had returned. He was aware of Chu Feng’s killing of his comrades, but in his eyes, there was an evident look of alarm and panic, in addition to his anger and vexation induced by the witness of the killing.

"I’m an animal? What about you? Ambush a single man with all these firepower and advantage in numbers. Is this what a real man would do?" Chu Feng rhetorically asked.

"Kill!"

The mutant vented out a blaring cry. Although his pupils had started dilating, the dogged man still braced himself to fight his enemy to the death.

It was not him being fearless or wanting to die an honorable death, but because he knew that without fighting for his life, this man who was posing in front of him would soon claim his life without a doubt. Only by putting up a desperate fight would there still be a slim chance of survival.

Suddenly, his body started petrifying. Then, his whole body turned into a formidable mountain of stone; however, this mutated form of his did not seem to slow him down. Each step was accompanied by a thumping boom that trembled the earth and shivered the trees. Enveloped in a dusty cloud, the stone man looked both terrifying and mystical.

Everything he touched or landed his feet on was petrified to a stone-like substance without exception.

Clonk!

Chu Feng nimbly wavered his dagger. Afraid that, upon contact, he might be rendered into a human-shaped stone and sealed under a petrified layer for eternity, Chu Feng avoided the use of his formidable fists.

The black dagger glanced by the stone man’s palm, lacerating the tendon that connected his petrified thumb to the rest of his stone hand. Blackish red blood poured out from the cut. The stone man wavered his traumatized hand, pluming a screen of yellowish mist that surged towards his enemy.

The billowing mist took Chu Feng by surprise, but he quickly restored his composure and employed Demon Ox Boxing Style. When the yellow mist finally arrived at his body, there was only a negligible numbness running through his arm.

The mist was what rendered others into a stone, but its effect was expelled by a peculiar power Chu Feng extracted from the boxing style.

Chu Feng could feel the existence of a secret power enveloping around the skin of his body when Demon Ox Boxing Style was employed. The power deflected the yellow mist and allowed him to stay harmless from the mist’s petrifying power.

Chu Feng was now a man with no scruples. He had proven that the stone man’s

power was, though terrifying, ineffective when used against him.

Pong!

After rounds of clashes, Chu Feng finally landed his formidable fist on the man’s chest. The sheer force that it delivered sent the man flying like a weightless kite. Then, after a sequence of crackling noise, the structure of the stone man lost its integrity and completely disintegrated in mid-air.

Clonk!

The fragmented body part that consisted of nothing but stones plummeted to the mushy floor of the humid forest. Blood was seen oozing out of the conspicuous cracks left on the stones, while the misty yellow fog slowly dissipated into the void. The formidable stone man was dead, alright, but the dreary scene left by the battle was a fearsome one nevertheless.

"I don’t mind whether you’re a freak or a monster, it would only take me a single strike to kill you anyways," Chu Feng calmly said.

Now, the only one left was the one whom Chu Feng had previously perceived to be the most perilous: the one whose feet swathed in lava. But, as of this moment, he was almost completely incapacitated. He tightly clutched to his skull, sitting listlessly by an old tree.

He was the only survivor thus far, and he was also the most powerful of all. Even though there were clear signs that signalled his mental breakdown, his consciousness was still intact. The lava granted his complexion a ruddy color. He gazed at Chu Feng with his crimson pupils that screamed profound hatred and anger.

"All dead. Stamping on the bones of these mutants with hands stained with the blood of my comrades... I had never guessed that you were the so-called master behind these all."

He recognized Chu Feng since he had once seen his photo. He was the leader of this team of expediting mutants, so naturally, he knew some of the unmentionable secrets

"Time for you to go," Chu Feng said to him. This was not a clamorous remark, but rather like a solemn elegy chanted in a grim tone.

Boom!

The mutant’s body suddenly unleashed rays of blazing flames. The flames soared skyward, reaching a height of at least ten meters. The blaze incinerated every tree into plain ashes at the beat of a heart.

He was eager to fight, even if it meant a miserable death for him. Propelling himself with the last set of physical strength that was left in him, the mutant pounced himself on his enemy. His fist turned into a fearsome pool of scorching lava, fiercely pouncing its way towards Chu Feng.

That pool of lava underfoot melted the earth that formed the floor of this forest. Soil and boulders had both reached their boiling points, melting away as this flaming beast glanced by.

Chu Feng secretly admired the sheer power that this blazing beast could deliver. Had he not been incapacitated long before he could unleash his real power, Chu Feng would have long become a dead man now.

However, his body’s status quo could not allow him to make use of any of his power or abilities. The severe headache coupled with an enfeebled body made him a weaker man than an ordinary person.

After so many rounds of life-or-death battles, Chu Feng had trained to become an experienced fighter. He stood firm on his feet, waiting for his opponent to seek his own doom like moths flying into flames. Then, as the blazing man finally came closer, Chu Feng skilfully maneuvered his limbs, and summoned the black yak once again. It emerged above Chu Feng’s head like a black aura that lit the darkened woods. As Chu Feng wavered his fist forwards, the yak dashed at its opponent simultaneously.

Boom!

The fight ruined all that were present on this hill. Ancient trees had their trunks split in half, while the shorter bushes were incinerated into void. A sizeable explosion had just happened as the shadow of the black yak clashed with the flaming figure. It destroyed everything in its path and those around it.

"Ah..."

Enshrouded in flames, the fire man was still hovering above a pool of molten stones; however, he had been profoundly traumatized. Grasping to his unbridled hair, the mutant coughed blood and suffered in great agony. His head felt like on the edge of exploding because of the combat. The black yak ran through his body, crashing his soul and shredding his organs. He was bleeding from his mouth, nostrils, eyes, and ears.

At the same time, a sizeable indentation also formed on his chest. Half of his upper torso had caved in and sunken into a gaping hole that had formed on his back.

"It was the drug... the drug had killed me!" The mutant roared and groaned. His eyes were burning in rage while his face was twitching in agony, but he still could not bear the thought of giving in to his enemy. However, he had also realized that he was a mere skeleton, with neither skill nor power. His fearsome appearance was only an empty shell with no substances within.

At the same time, Chu Feng also sensed danger coming. He looked up and noticed that the helicopter had been homing back towards him, poised for another round of strafing run.

The pilot of the helicopter had only just recovered from the blasting of Chu Feng’s sonic waves. As a non-mutant, it was a truly terrifying experience for him. Although he had been staying relatively distant from the battleground as the mutants were marching, he still almost had a complete mental breakdown because of the devastating power of Chu Feng’s sonic attacks.

While the action on the ground reached a white-hot stage, the helicopter had been struggling all this time to keep itself stable in the air in the hands of an unconscious pilot; but finally, the pilot regained his senses and decided to come back for another strike on his target.

Boom!

The forest detonated under the intense fire raining down from the helicopter.

Bullets were coupled with rockets, showering the region with sheer devastation.

This provided a perfect cover for the fire man to flee in panic helter-skelter. However, as soon as he turned his back, a sudden chill ran through his spine. The frosty feeling at his back soon became numbness before he could realize that amidst this rain of bullets, Chu Feng had beheaded him with the same black dagger that had claimed the lives of many of his trusty comrades. In shock and terror, the hideous head fell rolling, free from the restraint of the body. The head now lived as a free entity, though lifeless, it would enjoy the rest of its existence on the soggy floor of a humid forest before eventually rotting away into another despicable speck of mud.

Having dealt with this last mutant, Chu Feng hastily retreated into the dense forest in the surrounding, still calm and composed.

Soon later, he found a den of enemies in a negligible pit, all equipped with serious firearms. Unfortunately, none of the weapons fired a single bullet before all of them had their throat slit by Chu Feng’s merciless blade.

Moments later, the roaring turbine of the hovering helicopter sounded again. Chu Feng borrowed one of the rocket launchers from his dead enemies, then boldly swaggered out of the pit. Without a hint of scruple, Chu Feng fired the rocket straight at the helicopter.

Boom!

In mid-air, the wreckage of the helicopter burned with a glaring light. It then completely disintegrated into a collection of blackened metal frames, plummeting out of the sky into its demise.

In a mansion at a county town.

The music produced on the piano was a perfect reflection of Wan Qing’s mastery in music. The melodious sound was trickling sluggishly like a small brook. At times, it sounded like a butterfly dancing lightly to the beautiful sunshine and rose.

Every note carried a distinguishable character, with all subtly teasing the sense of its listeners while staying as a joyful tune composed by a virtuoso musician.

This reflected Wan Qing’s state of mind. Clearly, she was in an up spirit.

The music stopped. She turned to Mu, and with a visceral smile, she asked, "Has the news of our victory arrived?"

"Not yet, but soon." Mu smiled back. He was confident that his men’s victory had been fixed since the start of his deployment.

Meanwhile, the communicator suddenly came back to life. It rang a tune of great liveliness. The two smiled at each other, ready for celebration.

"Dead... Everyone... They’re dead!" On the other end of the line, there was the voice of a terrified man. His sentence was stuttered and fragmented, and his breathing was heavy and intrusive. He still sounded alive, but he was in no good shape.

"What did you say?!" Mu leapt to his feet from the couch.

"Every one of our mutants had been killed by... by that monster!"

"Stay calm and tell me what just happened!" Mu’s rosy cheeks turned pale. He loudly scolded at the caller, giving him another chance not to confirm his fear.

"No... no... don’t kill me... let me go..." These were the last words of that man. They were said in profound terror, but they soon ended abruptly. Nothing could be heard anymore.

In the forest.

Chu Feng picked up the communicator of the dead man beside him. He attentively listened by his ear, but there was no sound coming. It was all still and hushed. The other side of this line had turned muted.

Without uttering a word, he stood still in the middle of this once chaotic battleground with the communicator in hand.

At last, the call was abruptly cut.

Chu Feng went back to the dense forest once again, searching for his killers. There was then another few going down. All were equipped with heavy firearms, and all were dead without firing a bullet from their firearms

Half an hour later, the restless forest finally came to a rest.

Chu Feng mopped off the blood stain on the blade of his black dagger, then shovelled it into his knee-length boots. Trampling underfoot the blood-stained earth and the entrails-sprawled ground, Chu Feng was once again on the road, setting off for the county town.