"Senior brother, you're amazing! When we go back, I'll cook for you as a reward," Senior Sister Shen Nianchu said, her eyes curving with a smile full of admiration. She spoke in a crisp tone to Fang Cang.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, they made Fang Cang's hairs stand on end. In his mind, the terrifying memory of the last time he ate food made by Shen Nianchu flashed before him.
The taste of that meal was a nightmare; he even thought eating excrement would have been better than the food she made.
Fang Cang forced a smile that was worse than crying and quickly waved his hand. "No, Senior Sister. I really have to go out today. You wouldn't believe it, but I heard yesterday that Yuanfei keeps praising your cooking and really wants to try it. I can't steal that rare chance from him, haha. Teacher, I'm off now!"
Before he could finish, Fang Cang quickly turned and fled, running away as fast as he could.
After leaving the martial arts arena, Fang Cang twisted and turned, weaving through streets and alleys.
Before long, he arrived at the entrance of a slightly hidden bar.
The lights at the bar were dim, and a mysterious atmosphere filled the air.
A staff member, with sharp eyes, spotted Fang Cang immediately and smiled respectfully, rushing over to lead him into Room 001.
Once inside, the staff member skillfully opened a hidden door, and without hesitation, Fang Cang walked in. As the door closed slowly behind him, his figure disappeared into the underground basement.
Ever since Fang Cang unified the smaller factions, their assets naturally became his. Not only that, but he also dismantled those factions, reorganizing them into a larger, more mysterious organization , Root.
This organization developed quietly in the shadows, gradually becoming a force that could not be ignored.
"Sir, the item has arrived."
Just as Fang Cang was thinking, a low voice broke his concentration.
Three people entered in succession, the one at the front holding a bag. He carefully placed the bag in front of Fang Cang and slowly opened it.
Inside the bag was something that looked like flour, pure white in color, and very tempting.
One of them skillfully took some and poured it on the table before nodding to the other to check the goods.
The second person dipped his finger lightly into the white powder, then slowly brought it to his tongue.
"Ah!"
In an instant, a pure, immense spiritual energy spread from his tongue, rapidly flowing through his entire body.
His body trembled uncontrollably, a mixture of ecstasy and shock on his face as he murmured, "This stuff is too pure."
Don't get the wrong idea; this was just flour nourished by spiritual energy. Consuming this kind of flour could slowly increase one's spiritual power and was an advanced aid for cultivators.
Fang Cang was living quite well now, but he couldn't help but think back to Fang Zheng.
"Dammit, what the hell is this!" Fang Zheng couldn't help but curse, his face flashing between pale and red. His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath.
His legs felt like they were filled with lead, trembling uncontrollably, each step a struggle.
After he dealt with the small team, he had no idea where things went wrong, but two Golden Core stage experts appeared and began a relentless pursuit.
He couldn't figure out how he had been exposed.
These two seemed like ghosts, clinging to him without letting go, chasing him relentlessly for over 100 kilometers.
All the way, Fang Zheng felt the wind whistling past his ears, the shadow of death following closely behind. In his panic, he didn't even have time to consider where he was running.
Stopping in his tracks, Fang Zheng looked around warily, a mixture of anger and despair filling his eyes as he shouted, "Damn it! Just got out of the Beast Forest and now I'm being chased back in! I've really got the worst luck in the world!"
The forest was filled with strange mist, and distant growls of beasts could be heard.
"Dammit, when I get my revenge, I'll tear you all apart!" Fang Zheng growled through clenched teeth.
Though he was in a pitiful state, his eyes reflected a strong will and determination. He knew this wasn't the time for rash action. The saying goes, "A gentleman seeks revenge, even if it takes ten years."
As long as he survived and had the chance to develop quietly, he was sure he would have his revenge one day.
"Speaking of which, I wonder how Fang Cang and Sakaski are doing now. This damn system is useless; it doesn't even have a call function," Fang Zheng muttered to himself, then a smirk appeared on his face. "But they should be in a worse situation than me, haha."
This thought unexpectedly lifted his spirits slightly. He could suffer, but as long as someone else was worse off, it was fine.
At that moment, light rain began to fall from the sky, the raindrops cool against his face.
Fang Zheng looked up, letting the rain wash over his exhausted face, and couldn't help but curse again, "This bad luck really never ends. Even drinking cold water gets stuck in my teeth."
But Fang Zheng wasn't the type to stay down for long. After a brief moment of complaint, he quickly regained his composure.
In the blink of an eye, his pupils changed dramatically, turning into a kaleidoscope of Sharingan.
Purple chakra surged out of his body like a roaring tide, gathering around him and transforming into the mighty, imposing form of a purple Susanoo.
With the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, there was no risk of blindness, and despite the rain falling, his expression remained calm and composed.
The Susanoo glowed with a faint purple chakra light, and strands of lightning flowed through it. As the raindrops hit its surface, they evaporated into steam, adding to its imposing aura.
As he savored the power and pride this brought him, a rustling sound came from the grass behind him.
Fang Zheng's eyes snapped to attention, and without hesitation, one of his eyes instantly transformed into the Rinnegan, the strange patterns slowly rotating in his iris.
At the same time, he thrust his left hand forward, activating the "Chibaku Tensei" , a powerful gravitational pull that drew everything toward the grass.
With a struggle and a soft whimper, a half-human-sized cat was forcibly pulled into his grasp.
Fang Zheng furrowed his brows, his keen senses immediately enveloping the cat.
To his surprise, the seemingly ordinary cat had a cultivation level of Qi Refining Stage Three.
After observing closely, he saw that the cat's hind leg was severely injured, with skin and flesh turned outward, blood mixing with rainwater, its fur sticking to its body in a pitiful way.
Fang Zheng stared at the cat, which was now weakly mewing at his feet, and fell into a brief moment of contemplation.
After a while, his eyes turned cold and decisive. Without hesitation, he reached down and snapped the cat's neck.
The cat didn't even have time to scream before it collapsed, lifeless. Fang Zheng bent down, picked up the cat's corpse, and casually tossed it to the system.
Almost immediately, the system's prompt echoed in his mind: "Progress +4."
Fang Zheng's face showed a satisfied expression as he murmured to himself, "Nice! It really does increase the progress."
It was as if the cruel scene just now was nothing to him; in his eyes, as long as it advanced the progress, any means were acceptable.