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Chapter 13: Chapter Thirteen: Kui\'er

Suddenly, a faint sound emanated from behind him. "Shh..." It was the owner of those bloodthirsty eyes, unable to contain its predatory instincts any longer, leaping toward Zhongshan.

Reacting swiftly, Zhongshan spun around, channeling his qi into his blade, and ruthlessly cleaved towards the direction of the sound.

"Slash!"

As the blade descended, a faint aura of flame enveloped its edge.

"Clang!"

The sound of metal striking metal reverberated as Zhongshan staggered back three steps, finally discerning his assailant.

A mountain cat, fiery red and towering over a man\'s height, its eyes fixed hungrily on Zhongshan, evidently intending to make him its next meal.

A demonic beast, no doubt. Zhongshan realized that his earlier strike had left no trace on its body.

Following the clash, the mountain cat charged at Zhongshan once again, its massive claws swiftly swiping towards him. Zhongshan noticed a faint red glow emanating from the claws as they approached.

"Slash!"

"Boom!"

The clash of the giant claw against Zhongshan\'s blade sent him flying backward, crashing into a large tree and dislodging a shower of leaves.

The cat\'s claws, as resilient as diamond and as fast as lightning, outmatched Zhongshan in both strength and speed. What could he do?

As Zhongshan fretted, the mountain cat lunged again. Its fiery claws aimed straight for him.

Zhongshan sidestepped, deflecting one claw, then leaped backward. But the cat\'s other claw struck the tree directly, leaving a gaping hole in its trunk, scorched black.

Scorched black? Was this mountain cat of the fire element? Wouldn\'t that make it even less susceptible to Zhongshan\'s blade imbued with killing intent?

With danger looming, Zhongshan\'s eyes widened. His already muscular upper body suddenly swelled even larger, muscles bulging. He swung his large blade once more, aiming for the gap between the mountain cat\'s claws.

"Demonic Body Tempering Technique!"

However, the cat, displaying some degree of intelligence, swiftly avoided the strike, dodging Zhongshan\'s blade with a quick swipe of its claw.

"Boom!"

Despite his doubled strength, Zhongshan still found himself being knocked backward by the mountain cat\'s overwhelming power. However, the sudden increase in strength caused the cat to stagger back slightly.

The mountain cat looked at Zhongshan in surprise, unable to comprehend the sudden surge in his strength.

Noticing the limited effect, Zhongshan\'s heart tightened. He lunged at the mountain cat once again, his blade aimed at its head. But this time, a faint pink energy accompanied the killing intent of his blade.

"Force Splitting the Heavens!"

To his surprise, the mountain cat didn\'t evade. Instead, it lowered its head slightly and swiped its claw towards Zhongshan\'s chest.

"Clang!"

The blade struck the cat\'s head, producing a sound akin to metal striking stone. Simultaneously, the cat\'s claw grazed Zhongshan\'s chest.

Although the distance was far, and Zhongshan\'s body had doubled in hardness due to the Demonic Body Tempering Technique, three long red marks were left on his chest.

Unable to land a successful blow, Zhongshan quickly retreated. However, the Red Phoenix Mist had already been successfully absorbed by the mountain cat.

After another round of fighting, Zhongshan\'s body bore more bloody marks, but he remained uninjured.

Finally, the Red Phoenix Mist began to take effect. The mountain cat\'s behavior suddenly became erratic. Its eyes became dry and red, and an indescribable sensation swept through its body, causing its movements to become disordered.

"Annihilate Everything!"

Once again, the blade struck towards the gap between the mountain cat\'s claws.

"Crack!"

The mountain cat\'s claw was split apart, and a large amount of blood splattered out. The mountain cat was severely injured, losing the use of one leg.

With the mountain cat\'s strength greatly diminished, Zhongshan didn\'t hesitate. He swiftly aimed another strike at the gap between its claws, ruthlessly severing them. Then, he swiftly swung his blade to end the mountain cat\'s life by cutting its throat.

"Snap!"

The mountain cat fell to the ground, blood gushing out. It convulsed for a moment before succumbing to its excessive blood loss.

Zhongshan looked at the giant mountain cat before him. Standing on all fours, it was as tall as a person, with a body length of three meters.

Having been some time since the battle, Zhongshan wasted no time. He slung the bloodied mountain cat over his shoulder and hurried back to his valley. After an hour of utilizing the Demonic Body Tempering Technique, he would become extremely weak. It was crucial to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible.

Covered in blood, Zhongshan finally returned to his valley within the hour.

He tossed the mountain cat to the ground and threw his blade aside before lying down. The parts of his body that had previously bulged with strength returned to normal.

Closing his eyes, Zhongshan gently assessed his condition. His strength had dwindled to only about thirty percent of its usual level, leaving him extremely weakened. However, that wasn\'t the most critical issue. The most pressing matter was the intense soreness that pervaded his entire body, as if every muscle and bone had been shattered.

However, he ultimately survived and killed the mountain cat.

"It\'s you! You big liar!" Suddenly, a very pleasant voice came from inside Zhongshan\'s room.

Though the voice was pleasant, the tone sounded somewhat unfriendly.

Looking toward the sound, he saw Tianlinger dressed in fiery red attire, walking out of the room with a wooden carving in hand.

Tianlinger\'s face was full of anger as she stepped out and immediately spotted Zhongshan, whose upper body was bare, and whose pants had been torn during the previous practice of the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Technique.

"You rascal!" Tianlinger suddenly exclaimed.

But at that moment, Zhongshan\'s eyes narrowed.

"Put down Bao\'er and Kui\'er." Zhongshan quickly got up and shouted angrily at Tianlinger.

His shout made Tianlinger visibly pause.

"Bao\'er? Kui\'er?" Tianlinger looked at the small wooden carvings in her hands.

The two wooden carvings depicted two stunning women. One was a woman whose portrait hung in the Hengshan Manor, Bao\'er. The other was a woman with a gentle expression, so beautiful that one couldn\'t help but want to bully her. These were wooden carvings Zhongshan had made with his big knife while practicing his swordsmanship. The fact that he had carved such detailed figures with a large knife showed how diligent he was in his sword practice.

"Why so fierce? I was just looking." Tianlinger\'s expression seemed a bit flustered as she looked at Zhongshan\'s bloodthirsty eyes.

"Give them to me," Zhongshan suddenly extended his right palm.

"No," Tianlinger recoiled with both hands.

"Give them to me!" Zhongshan shouted angrily.

At Zhongshan\'s shout, Tianlinger inexplicably felt a flutter in her heart, as if she were genuinely afraid. But why should she be afraid? She was at the Eighth Stage of Innate Realm, how long had he been practicing? She was stronger than him, so why should she fear him?

Thinking this, Tianlinger straightened her chest, and her breasts, which seemed not yet fully matured, trembled slightly.

"You lied to me about my father going to get the Cloud Stepping Boots. My father never had them; you deceived me," Tianlinger immediately exclaimed.

Hearing Tianlinger\'s words, Zhongshan frowned, knowing he was in the wrong. His initial anger subsided considerably.

"I\'m sorry. I really wanted a good innate technique back then. I lied to you that day. I will make it up to you in the future," Zhongshan said.

A real man should be honest. There\'s no shame in apologizing, especially when you\'re in the wrong.

"I like these two wooden carvings. Give them to me as compensation," Tianlinger immediately demanded.

"No, I can carve new ones for you, but these two are absolutely not up for grabs," Zhongshan immediately objected.

In the past, Zhongshan wouldn\'t have been so agitated, but these two wooden carvings were very important to him. Even though he could carve new ones, he was unwilling to give away the images of these two women to anyone. He wouldn\'t mind if it were other carvings, but these two women were absolutely off-limits.

"Hmph, I want these two," Tianlinger retorted.

Speaking of which, Tianlinger was not a member of the Ren family. However, Zhongshan\'s obvious guilt and his attitude as if she owed him something made Tianlinger extremely angry.

"Give it to me," Zhongshan reached out to grab the wooden carving.

"No," Tianlinger recoiled, her body about to retreat.

However, Zhongshan\'s hand was already close, and he was about to grab one of the wooden carvings.

"Snap!" Tianlinger exerted force, crushing the wooden carving in her hand.

Being at the Eighth Stage of Innate Realm meant terrifying strength. A moment of carelessness resulted in immense force. Tianlinger hadn\'t expected to crush it herself, but in that tense moment, she unintentionally used too much force.

Watching the small wooden carving of Kui\'er being crushed in Tianlinger\'s hand, Zhongshan paused, as if suddenly realizing something. His eyes instantly turned red.

"Prince Lie Tian, ah~~ I\'ll kill you~~" Zhongshan suddenly went berserk. He grabbed his large knife and viciously slashed at Tianlinger.

Zhongshan went mad all of a sudden, startling Tianlinger. She watched as the knife came slashing towards her, as if it were really going to end her life with one blow.

However, Zhongshan\'s strength was now less than half of what it used to be, and Tianlinger was much stronger than him.

"Bang~~" Suddenly, a red silk appeared in Tianlinger\'s hand, blocking Zhongshan\'s big knife. Zhongshan was not injured.

"Ah~~"...

With eyes blazing red, Zhongshan seemed to have regarded Tianlinger as a mortal enemy. He swung his big knife at Tianlinger again and again, each blow more fierce than the last.

"Bang~~" Zhongshan was once again knocked away by the red silk.

"Poof~~" Zhongshan spat out a mouthful of blood while in midair before crashing to the ground. After vomiting blood, he seemed to regain a bit of calm, slowly standing up and using his large knife for support. However, his eyes still burned with murderous intent as he glared at Tianlinger.

Seeing Zhongshan\'s bloodshot eyes, Tianlinger threw the two wooden carvings to the ground. "I\'m not playing with you anymore," she said before quickly flying away.

"Thud!" Zhongshan collapsed onto the ground. Clearly, Tianlinger\'s strike with the red silk carried immense power, even stronger than the beasts he had encountered before. Coupled with his already severe injuries, the additional blow was too much for him, and he couldn\'t hold on any longer after Tianlinger left.

After a while, Zhongshan felt much better and slowly stood up, walking over to the wooden carvings. He picked up the carving of Bao\'er, which was unharmed, but the other one was deformed from being crushed.

Gently picking up the shattered carving of Kui\'er, Zhongshan\'s face showed a bitter smile. "Kui\'er, today, I lost my mind for you once again."

He set down his large knife, sat on the ground, and carefully caressed the broken carving of Kui\'er. "In my life, I have only ever loved two women. Only in front of you two would I lose my sanity. Bao\'er is now missing without a trace. Kui\'er, to think that I, the once richest man in the Great Kun Kingdom, wealthier than the nation itself, could not protect you. Prince Lietian, practitioners like you kill as you please, searching for souls born on yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour. In the morning, you were fine, but by the afternoon, a group of demons descended from the sky. The leader was called \'Prince Lietian.\' I remember it well, as his subordinates called out his name. I will never forget it. Prince Lietian, to forge a demonic banner, searched the world for those born on yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour. With just one grab, you died on the spot. If not for a subordinate knocking me unconscious and allowing me to escape, perhaps there would be no me today."

"Kui\'er, don\'t worry. I can cultivate now, and I\'ve joined an immortal sect. You can watch from above; one day, I will find Prince Lietian. I will tear him to pieces and avenge you," Zhongshan said, clenching his fists tightly.

"If only we hadn\'t gone out that day, if only we had stayed home..." Zhongshan murmured to himself, and tears began to flow down his tiger-like eyes.

"How many years has it been? Forty years, right? I can\'t believe that for you, I\'ve shed tears once again," Zhongshan said, smiling bitterly through his tears. The tears of a strong man reveal a heart full of sorrow. Men have their own way of dealing with things. Gently wiping his eyes, he suppressed the sadness in his heart, transforming it into a powerful motivation. Slowly, he closed his eyes and began meditating in a cross-legged position.

Unbeknownst to Zhongshan, after Tianlinger had flown away, she had returned and was now hiding in the corner of the small courtyard wall. She had heard everything Zhongshan had said to himself. Biting her lip gently, she looked at Zhongshan\'s blood-covered, resolute face and the wooden carving of Kui\'er in front of him. A hint of remorse flickered in her eyes.