Chapter 5: Ripples of Retribution
Feng Tao woke up to the feeling of an entirely restructured existence. The fractured, fragile pathways of his previous trash body were completely gone, replaced by thick, roaring meridians that pulsed with an aggressive, dual-natured energy.
Moving from the 3rd to the 5th layer of Qi Condensation in a single night wasn't just a minor step up the ladder; it felt as though a narrow, clogged stream in his chest had suddenly widened into a roaring, thundering river.
When he circulated his inner energy, the standard dark, oppressive demonic Qi of his clan didn't just flow, it spun with a core of blinding white light, a permanent byproduct of the system's "purification" process.
He glanced down beside him. Lilou was still fast asleep, curled tightly against his chest with her fluffy fox tail wrapped securely around his leg. A brilliant, thoroughly satisfied, and euphoric smile was plastered across her face.
The frantic, anxious energy that usually hung around her like a shroud was entirely gone. Her previously chaotic, unstable demonic beast Qi had completely smoothed out, leaving her skin with a radiant, pearlescent sheen.
The moment she stirred and opened her eyes, blinking against the dim morning light, her fox ears twitched. A deep crimson blush immediately rushed up her neck, coloring her pale cheeks. She didn't flinch or look down as she usually did out of fear. Instead, she looked at him with an intense, unconditional, borderline obsessive loyalty.
The [Angelic Charm] passive trait was already doing heavy work; to her heightened demonic senses, he smelled of clean ozone, fresh rain, and an intoxicating hint of absolute, unyielding authority.
"Fourth Young Master..." she whispered, her voice practically dripping with a sweet, melodic devotion she had never dared show before. She slid closer, resting her cheek directly over his racing heart, completely submissive to his presence.
Feng Tao smirked, gently running a hand down the soft fur of her ear, making her shudder with pure delight. "Get dressed, Lilou. Our lives change starting today. No one in this estate is ever going to treat us like dirt again."
"Yes, Master," she whispered, the word Master slipping from her lips with absolute, unshakeable finality.
Feng Tao slid out of the silk sheets, pulling on his dark sect robes. The fabric felt tighter across his shoulders now, his body denser and far more muscular from the sudden, violent breakthrough.
As he stepped out into the private courtyard to stretch his limbs and test his new foundation, he immediately noticed something bizarre.
The stray spirit birds that usually flew away from any demon were currently sitting in a neat row on his courtyard wall, staring at him with dazed, glassy eyes. Even more ridiculous was a passing low-tier maid who was carrying a heavy laundry basket down the outer path.
The moment she caught a glimpse of Feng Tao through the open gate, she froze dead in her tracks. Her eyes dilated, her mouth fell open, and she dropped her entire basket into the dirt, staring at him with a thoroughly infatuated, drooling expression.
The [Angelic Charm] passive was working a little too well. He literally radiated a lethal mix of raw masculine danger and intoxicating, irresistible holiness.
'Well,' Feng Tao thought, a wicked, thoroughly un-angelic grin crossing his face as he watched the maid frantically try to pick up her laundry while keeping her eyes glued to his chest. 'I guess there are worse problems to have in hell.'
Before he could enjoy the view any longer, a loud, violent CRASH shattered the morning silence, echoing from the front of his estate.
The heavy wooden doors of his private courtyard didn't just open; they were kicked completely off their iron hinges, splintering into jagged pieces across the stone tiles. A cloud of thick dust erupted into the air, and through the haze stepped a young man dressed in lavish, incredibly expensive purple silk robes.
It was Feng Shui, the 3rd Young Master and Feng Tao's arrogant half-brother. Flanking him were four heavily armed elite clan guards, their hands resting on the hilts of their dark steel scimitars, and the trembling, pale-faced thug who had escaped from Feng Tao's fists the afternoon before.
"Feng Tao! You worthless, pathetic trash!" Feng Shui bellowed, his face twisted in a mask of absolute, unbridled fury. "You dared to touch my lackeys? You think because father gave you this tiny, rotting courtyard, you can act like a big shot in my territory?!"
The old Feng Tao would have already been on his knees, trembling, crying, and begging for mercy. But the current Feng Tao just casually stood in the center of the courtyard, stretching his arms over his head and letting out a massive, exaggerated yawn right in his brother's face.
Feng Tao calmly evaluated Feng Shui's aura. The guy was radiating a proud, dark energy, sitting comfortably at the 4th Layer of Qi Condensation. In the outer branch of the Feng Clan, Feng Shui was widely considered a minor genius for reaching that level at his age.
He walked around like he owned the heavens, completely unaware that his "trash" little brother was secretly looking down on him from the 5th Layer.
"Hand over that fox-kin bitch as compensation for my dead guard," Feng Shui sneered, pointing a trembling, enraged finger at Lilou, who had nervously stepped out onto the porch behind Feng Tao.
"Then get on your knees, crawl over here, and break both of your own arms. Do it right now, and maybe I won't order my guards to beat you into a bloody pulp."
Before Feng Tao could even open his mouth to deliver a sarcastic reply, a majestic, incredibly loud angelic choir mixed with booming brass trumpets violently blasted inside his skull at maximum volume, nearly making his eardrums bleed.
[Ding!]
[An unholy oppressor seeks to violate your sacred sanctuary and steal your purified flock!]
[Urgent Quest: Teach the sinful hypocrite a lesson in humility.]
[Condition: Defeat Feng Shui using only ONE hand.]
[Reward: 200 Purifying Points, 1x Iron Body Tempering Technique.]
[Failure Punishment: The System will forcibly trigger a temporary "Bitch Slap" curse. For the next 3 days, your own hands will violently and repeatedly slap your own face whenever you attempt to speak to a beautiful woman.]
Feng Tao's left eye twitched violently in pure frustration. 'A bitch slap curse?! You holy piece of garbage, my hands are meant for fondling and caressing gorgeous women, not turning my own face into a punching bag!'
Faced with the terrifying threat of self-inflicted, maiden-less behavior, Feng Tao didn't hesitate for a single second. He calmly shoved his right hand deep into his robe pocket, leaving only his left hand hanging casually at his side.
Feng Shui saw this movement, and the veins on his forehead practically burst in sheer outrage. "Putting a hand in your pocket?! You dare mock me, you worthless cripple?!"
"I don't need two hands to deal with a circus clown," Feng Tao said flatly, his voice deadpan. "Come at me. Show me what a 'genius' looks like."
"Die, you trash!"
Feng Shui roared, circulating his dark demonic Qi to its absolute, crushing limit. A thick, shadowy, snake-like energy swirled around his right arm as he executed the family's high-tier martial art, the Shadow Serpent Strike.
He lunged forward like a striking viper, his fist tearing through the air with an audible, piercing whistle, aimed directly at Feng Tao's throat.
To the elite guards standing by the doorway, the strike looked blindingly fast, a blur of lethal cultivation power.
But to Feng Tao, who had spent 18 brutal years dodging lightning-fast, cannibalistic Diablos in a literal post-apocalyptic swamp wasteland, Feng Shui's movement looked like it was happening underwater. It was slow, predictable, and utterly pathetic.
Feng Tao didn't even bother using his newly acquired Qi to dodge. He simply waited until the last possible microsecond and tilted his head a mere inch to the left. The whistling, shadowy fist passed harmlessly by his ear, cutting nothing but empty air.
Feng Shui's eyes widened in absolute horror as the momentum carried him forward, suddenly realizing he had completely missed a stationary target.
"My turn," Feng Tao muttered icily.
Using his ruthless apocalyptic combat instincts, Feng Tao moved in like lightning, closing the distance before Feng Shui could even attempt to pull his arm back into a defensive guard. His left hand erupted with a volatile, swirling mix of dark demonic Qi and a brilliant, blinding core of white holy light.
"Double Demon Punch!"
BOOM!
The left-handed strike slammed directly into the center of Feng Shui's chest. The first instantaneous impact shattered his brother's defensive Qi shield like cheap glass, and the secondary, holy-infused shockwave blasted straight into his ribcage.
Feng Shui let out a choked, bloody gasp as he was launched violently across the courtyard. He flew straight through the air like a broken doll, crashing through a solid stone structural wall and collapsing into a chaotic heap of rubble, shattered tiles, and dust.
His cultivation foundation violently rattled from the sheer, unyielding weight of the 5th-layer strike, temporarily crippling his energy pathways and leaving him writhing in the debris.
The four elite guards and the surviving thug froze in utter, absolute terror. Their jaws practically hit the stone floor.
The notorious trash young master had just hospitalized a 4th-layer genius using a single hand while keeping the other casually shoved in his pocket.
Inside Feng Tao's head, the angelic trumpets blared a glorious, triumphant melody.
[Ding!]
[Quest Completed: Teach the sinful hypocrite a lesson in humility!]
[Thy righteous left hook has thoroughly shattered the ego of the unholy! The temple remains safe and pure!]
[Rewards Granted:]
[200 Purifying Points (Total: 1,200 PP)]
[1x Iron Body Tempering Technique (Successfully transferred to inventory)]
Feng Tao casually pulled his right hand out of his pocket and dusted off his dark robes, completely unfazed by the destruction. He turned his cold, bloodthirsty eyes toward the terrified guards. "Pick up your garbage and get out of my sight before I decide to take my other hand out."
The guards scrambled over one another in a panic, frantically digging a groaning, coughing, blood-spitting Feng Shui out of the stone rubble. They hoisted him onto their shoulders and sprinted out of the ruined courtyard as fast as their legs could carry them, terrified of looking back.
But just as Feng Tao turned around to flash a confident smile at a wide-eyed, completely awestruck Lilou, a massive, heavy, and utterly suffocating pressure suddenly descended upon the entire courtyard from above.
The air instantly grew thick, cold, and hard to breathe. A powerful, booming voice echoed all the way from the main estate, vibrating the very stones beneath their feet and cracking the remaining pillars.
"Who dares break the sacred peace of the Feng Clan?!"
An elder or a direct enforcer of the Patriarch had just noticed the massive energy disturbance. Feng Tao had officially caused a scene, and the true heavy hitters of the clan were finally looking his way.
Feng Tao looked up at the crimson sky, a dangerous, arrogant grin spreading across his face as his hybrid Qi flared around his body. "Finally. Let them come."