Blood Butcher seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, clutching his stomach and laughing wildly, doubled over with laughter.
The fallen soul masters behind him also joined in with unrestrained laughter.
"How dare someone without even soul power shout at Lord Blood Butcher?"
"He's got a death wish!"
"Sir, let me twist his head off!"
Blood Butcher waved his hand, stopping his men from requesting to fight.
He wiped away the tears of laughter and walked step by step toward Zhang Yong, his eyes filled with a teasing, cat-and-mouse mentality.
"Interesting, very interesting. In this lifeless city, there are still such courageous ants as you."
He stopped three meters in front of Zhang Yong, without even releasing his martial spirit.
An invisible, overwhelming aura, as vast as mountains and seas, suddenly erupted from his body!
That aura, carrying a strong sense of bloodshed and slaughter, was like an invisible hand that gripped Zhang Yong's throat tightly.
"Thump!"
Zhang Yong felt as if he were carrying a mountain on his shoulders, his legs went weak, and he uncontrollably knelt down on the ground.
He barely managed to stay upright by leaning on the ground with his long sword.
His teeth were clenched so tightly they were grinding together, and veins were bulging on his forehead. He tried his best to stand up, but the force of the pressure was so strong that it pressed him firmly to the ground.
"Look, this is the difference."
Blood Butcher looked down at him, a cruel smile on his face.
"Your courage is worthless in the face of absolute power."
As he spoke, he raised his foot and seemingly casually kicked Zhang Yong in the chest.
"Bang!"
A muffled thud.
Zhang Yong's body flew backward like a tattered sack, tracing an arc in the air before crashing heavily to the ground more than ten meters away.
"puff!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the ground in front of him red.
Countless bones in his chest are broken.
"elder brother!"
Xiao Feng let out a piercing scream, rushed over without thinking, threw herself on Zhang Yong, and burst into tears.
Blood Butcher seemed unsatisfied. He slowly walked up to Zhang Yong, stepped on his face, and ground his foot into it.
"See? This is what happens when you defy me."
He looked around at the people who dared not speak out against their anger, his voice filled with a warning.
"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare your life for now."
"But while the death penalty may be avoided, punishment is inevitable."
A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he raised the blood-red scimitar in his hand, preparing to sever Zhang Yong's arm.
At this critical moment!
"call out--!"
A sharp whistling sound suddenly rang out from the blacksmith shop not far away!
A red-hot iron ingot, the size of a washbasin, carrying a scorching heat wave, spun and flew towards us!
Its target wasn't Blood Slaughter, but the ground at his feet!
This came down so suddenly, and from such an extremely tricky angle!
Blood Butcher's expression changed; he could feel the terrifying kinetic energy contained in that iron ingot.
If he were hit, even he would have his foot smashed to pieces.
He instinctively took a step back, avoiding the sudden attack.
"boom!"
The red-hot iron ingot slammed hard onto the bluestone pavement, bursting into a dazzling shower of sparks!
The hard stone slab shattered instantly, revealing a deep pit emitting blue smoke.
This sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.
Blood Butcher suddenly turned his head, his gaze sharp as a knife, and shot towards the inconspicuous blacksmith shop.
"who?!"
However, inside the blacksmith's shop, all was quiet, except for the bellows still making a "whooshing" sound.
In the chaos, several indignant people seized the moment when Xue Tu was distracted and rushed forward, dragging the seriously injured Zhang Yong and Xiao Feng into the crowd, where they quickly disappeared.
Blood Butcher's face was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.
The prey that was within reach just slipped away.
What angered him even more was that someone dared to make trouble in front of him!
He stared intently at the blacksmith shop, and the Soul Emperor's divine sense surged towards it like a tidal wave.
However, when the divine sense swept over, the shop was empty except for a bellows that was running automatically and a furnace that was burning brightly.
It was as if that piece of iron had flown out of the furnace on its own.
"Hmph! Playing tricks!"
Blood Butcher snorted coldly, but ultimately did not choose to rush in.
For him, the most urgent task was to get his hands on this batch of precious medicines.
As for the person who secretly made the move, there will be plenty of time to deal with them later.
With a wave of his hand, he led his men and the convoy loaded with medicine away.
The street was left in a mess, with a bottomless pit.
And countless pairs of desperate, empty eyes.
...
Zhang Yong's injuries were more serious than expected.
Blood Butcher's kick almost shattered his internal organs.
If he hadn't practiced martial arts for many years and had a solid physical foundation, he probably would have died on the spot.
He was carried home by several kind neighbors to a dilapidated, cramped room that was filled with the smell of medicine all day long.
Unable to afford a doctor, they could only apply the cheapest herbal remedies to the wound, which was better than nothing.
Xiao Feng's condition deteriorated rapidly after losing medication and witnessing his brother's severe injury.
He started coughing incessantly, his phlegm streaked with blood. His already pale face became even more bloodless, reduced to a deathly ashen color.
It's late at night.
Zhang Yong lay on the hard bed, each breath causing excruciating pain in his chest.
But he couldn't feel any pain.
He simply turned his head to the side, staring blankly at his younger brother lying on another bed, his breath growing weaker and weaker.
His heart was filled with numbness.
Regret, resentment, anger...
All emotions eventually settle into a deathly silence of despair.
"elder brother..."
The faint sound of a gentle breeze roused Zhang Yong from his numbness.
He struggled to his feet, scrambling to his brother's bedside and taking his cold hand in his.
"Xiao Feng, I'm here, I'm here..." His voice was hoarse and choked with sobs.
Xiao Feng's eyes were already squinting, and he was breathing heavily, but he managed a weak smile on his face.
"Brother, I don't blame you..."
"I know you did it for me..."
"Don't be sad... I believe... there is always light in this world..."
His voice grew softer and softer, like a candle flame that might be extinguished at any moment.
"Like...like that blacksmith who gave you the knife...he...he is the light..."
After saying this, Xiao Feng's hand fell limply to his side.
The light in his eyes went out completely.
"Little Wind—!!!"
Zhang Yong let out a heart-wrenching cry, tightly hugged his younger brother's gradually cooling body, and wailed uncontrollably.
Outside the door.
A figure stood silently in the shadows.
In Dongfang Jing's hand, he was also carrying a bag of wound medicine that he had just bought.
He had come to visit Zhang Yong to check on his injuries, but outside the door, he overheard the two brothers' last conversation.
Xiao Feng's words, "He is the light," struck his heart like a massive hammer.
Light?
Him?
He was merely a passerby who, in order to complete the divine test, detachedly observed the suffering of the world.
He only threw out a piece of iron blank when Blood Butcher was about to kill him, so as not to let this man, who was still somewhat pleasing to the eye, die too ignominiously.
That wasn't salvation, it was just a fleeting feeling of pity.
Yet this tiny bit of pity became "light" in the eyes of that dying boy.
What an irony!
He has always believed that experiencing human suffering is a process of "clarifying one's aspirations".
He must witness all the darkness and injustice in the world before he can establish his own "way" in his heart.
But he forgot.
He possessed the power to overturn the chessboard, yet chose to sit by and coldly observe, watching the pieces struggle and die in despair.
This in itself is a sin!
Dongfang Jing clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white from the force.
The crying inside the room was like steel needles piercing his ears and his heart.
His inner struggle reached its peak at this moment.
His initial purpose in coming here was to find his own path.
But now, he has lost his way on this path.
Should we continue to be indifferent observers, waiting for the "Tao" to reveal itself?
still...
He raised his head and looked towards the west of the city.
The night sky there was filled with a nauseating aura of blood and violence.
Deep within his deliberately calm purple eyes, something was quietly shattering.
He didn't go into the room; he simply placed the packet of medicine gently at the doorway.
Then, he turned around and walked back to his blacksmith shop step by step.
Every step felt like stepping on a red-hot iron.
Back at the shop, he did not light a lamp.
He simply picked up that heavy iron hammer in the darkness.
He neither started a fire nor did he forge anything.
He simply stood in front of the anvil, mechanically repeating the action of swinging the hammer over and over again.
Empty swing.
Each swing is accompanied by a whistling wind, as if to shatter all the restless struggles and confusion in one's heart.
He remembered the hint from the Blazing Sun Divine Test.
A mirror can reflect all things, but one must first wipe away the dust from one's own body.
His heart was clouded.
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(End of chapter)