Essence Devouring Art

Upon seeing the newcomer, the fury on Meng Qingshuang’s face subsided slightly. He let out a breath and said, "My apologies for the trouble, Mr. Zhao."

The man’s name was Zhao Gou, the head Instructor for the Red Fire Mine’s guards. Though only at the Inner Strength Realm, his seniority in the Four Seas Gang was so high that even Meng Qingshuang had to treat him with respect.

(The four steps of Foundation Establishment: Nourishing Power, Firmness and Flexibility, Inner Strength, and Divine Power.)

Zhao Gou lived up to his name; he had the nose of a dog, able to detect, distinguish, and remember many scents ordinary people couldn’t.

"This wasn’t an inside job, but we can’t rule out the possibility of Tong Liao’s involvement."

Zhao Gou’s nose twitched, his expression growing somber. "The lingering scent of the person who did this gives me a faint, yet distinct, sense of danger. They must be a Martial Artist at the Peak of Internal Strength, at the very least... Hm?"

As he spoke, Zhao Gou’s expression suddenly changed. He narrowed his eyes and said, "He’s here."

Meng Qingshuang froze. He slowly turned his head, his blood-red vertical pupils fixed on the main gate.

RATTLE~

The other Four Seas Gang members also sensed something was amiss. It felt as if an Evil Beast from the woods was staring at their backs, a bone-chilling sensation that made them spin around in unison.

In the next moment, expressions of shock appeared on everyone’s faces as a single thought surfaced in their minds—

’How can this savage be so tall and powerfully built?’

WHOOSH~

A morning breeze, tinged with a slight chill, swept through the doorway, sending a wild, thick mane of waist-length black hair flying.

His two-and-a-half-meter, tower-like physique blocked the doorway like that of a colossal god!

Most importantly... the gazes of the Four Seas Gang members drifted downward.

They saw Wu Dao’s inhuman hands and feet. His twenty fingernails, each four to five centimeters long, resembled the talons of a tiger-eagle, glinting with a cold, black metallic sheen.

And... as his lips slowly curled into a grin, they revealed upper and lower rows of sharp, triangular, shark-like teeth, interlocking like the blades of a steel saw!

’This isn’t a man!’

’This is a feral beast from the top of the food chain!’

GULP~

Hearts pounded and legs trembled.

Crushed by the overwhelming aura of a Beast King, the dozens of Four Seas Gang guards at the front were like rabbits stared down by a tiger-bear. Their teeth chattered as they retreated involuntarily.

But when they looked back and saw Meng Qingshuang’s icy glare, they gritted their teeth and stood firm. Drenched in cold sweat, they drew the long sabers from their waists and raised their long spears.

The oppressive presence of this "giant beast"—they couldn’t tell if it was man or monster—was terrifying. But more than the unknown, they feared Meng Qingshuang’s vicious methods.

"Master Si, he comes with ill intent."

Zhao Gou, standing beside Meng Qingshuang, had already unslung the Fine Iron Long Spear from his back. He frowned, his tone grave as he warned his master.

The brutal, wild aura emanating from Wu Dao reminded him of a ferocious bear he had encountered in the mountains as a child!

It was the naturally exuded aura of a king of beasts—primitive, savage, soul-shaking, and extremely dangerous!!

"Ill intent? Heh."

Meng Qingshuang gave a cruel smile. His vertical pupils turned completely crimson as he stared at Wu Dao like a great python hunting in the mountains. "Speak. Your name. Who sent you? Was it one of my ’dear’ brothers, or another gang? And..."

By the end, Meng Qingshuang was grinding his teeth. "Where is my Great Medicine?!"

’Wu Dao exuded a vague sense of danger, but that was all. In the Foundation Establishment Stage, no one could possibly consume that much Great Medicine in a single night.’

Therefore, Meng Qingshuang was certain the "medicine" was still hidden somewhere. As long as he recovered it, this whole affair could be forgotten.

’Of course,’ he thought, ’this reckless fool who dared to steal from me must be cut into a thousand pieces. No, he must be skinned and eaten alive. Only then will my hatred be satisfied!’

At this thought, Meng Qingshuang extended his inhuman, snake-like tongue and greedily licked his lips.

Facing the poised members of the Four Seas Gang and a Meng Qingshuang who looked like he wanted to tear him apart bone by bone, Wu Dao didn’t gloat or sneer. He simply turned without a word and shut the two massive doors.

CREAK~

The sound of the heavy doors slowly swinging shut was grating, setting teeth on edge.

With his back to the crowd, Wu Dao pushed the heavy doors. The muscle groups on his back swelled of their own accord, resembling an ancient demonic crab—imposing and immense, a terrifying sight that made hearts pound.

"Kill!!"

Feeling ignored, the rage in Meng Qingshuang’s chest erupted. He spat a single word through gritted teeth.

"Cut him down!!"

The hundred or so guards of the Four Seas Gang exchanged uncertain glances, but they ultimately suppressed their terror, gritted their teeth, and charged.

THUNK!

The heavy iron-and-wood bolt slid into place.

Wu Dao turned. Facing the guards swarming him from all sides, his savage, beast-like eyes passed over the crowd to fix on Meng Qingshuang, a ferocious smile playing on his lips.

THUD, THUD, THUD—

He advanced with unhurried steps, as if on a leisurely stroll, yet each footfall sounded like the beat of a great war drum. The Power accumulated within his body and the savage killing intent in his very bones were awakening, like a Celestial Blade being drawn from its sheath!

WHIZZ!

The first spear thrust at him.

Wu Dao didn’t even look at it, a ferocious grin still plastered on his face. His massive, topaz-like hand shot out like lightning, seizing the spear’s shaft. With a sudden burst of strength—CRACK!—the ironwood snapped in two.

His hulking, bear-like physique surged forward. Wu Dao grabbed the hair of the Four Seas Gang member before him with his left hand.

SQUELCH!

He gave a cruel smile into the man’s terrified eyes, then violently rammed the broken spearhead in his right hand upward through the man’s jaw until it burst out from the top of his skull—his Heavenly Spirit Cover. Hot blood sprayed across Wu Dao’s face.

His massive hand slid down and gripped the man’s neck.

He swung the corpse like a great club, sweeping it in a wide arc.

BANG! BANG! BANG!!

An elephantine burst of strength sent the surrounding Four Seas Gang members flying. Bones snapped and tendons tore. Amidst the chaos and screams of agony, a dozen guards were instantly taken out of the fight.

"Die!"

Still, an agile man managed to get close to Wu Dao, his long saber whistling through the air in a horizontal slash, its blade glinting with cold light.

Wu Dao’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. With his leopard-cat-like reflexes, everyone around him seemed to move in slow motion, posing no threat at all. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

But he had no intention of dodging.

As the blade swung toward him, he opened his cavernous mouth and snapped his two rows of triangular shark teeth shut around it.

CLANG!

Sparks flew!

He caught the blade with his teeth!

CRUNCH!

His jaw muscles bulged. Before the horrified eyes of the onlookers, he chewed, and the steel blade in his mouth was bitten clean in half!

WHOOSH!!

Immediately after, his fan-sized hand lashed out like a tiger’s paw, fingers curved into talons. The hook-like claws tore through the air with a shriek before striking the attacker’s face.

SMACK!

RIP!

Flesh tore and bones shattered!

Before the saber-wielding guard could even register his shock, half his head was torn to shreds by Wu Dao’s palm. A spray of red and white filled the air as the broken saber clattered to the ground and the mangled corpse was flung away.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

A vicious gust of air.

Two more men slashed at him with their sabers.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Wu Dao twisted aside, dodging the blades.

CRACK! CRACK!

The power from his waist drove his massive, dragon-like legs into a high spinning kick, exploding both men’s heads on the spot in a spray of red and white.

Once the slaughter began, there was no respite!

BOOM!

The coiling muscles on Wu Dao’s thighs—each as thick as a man’s waist—tensed. He sank low, bending his knees. The muddy ground exploded into a crater as his bear-like form launched into the crowd.

RRRIP!!

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

"AH!!"

A tiger descending the mountain! A wild beast uncaged!

There was no technique, only the pure, unrestrained venting of primitive, savage Power. It was a one-sided massacre!

Howls echoed without end as flesh and severed limbs filled the air. The World became a black ink wash painting, constantly splattered with vivid crimson.

Brutality! Gore!

A graze wounded, a touch killed!

Sharp blades were like toys, incapable of inflicting any harm on his terrifying, tyrannosaurus-like body!

A five-meter radius around Wu Dao had become a Hell of flesh and blood, awash with gore and scattered limbs.

Fear spread. Death loomed.

In the blink of an eye, barely ten seconds had passed!

Dozens of Four Seas Gang guards were already dead or wounded. The courage they had just summoned was annihilated by Wu Dao’s brutal methods. Not one of the remaining men dared to advance.

"Heh."

Wu Dao, now drenched in red, saw the remaining guards merely circling him, too afraid to attack. He sneered and tossed aside the head and attached spine he was holding.

’Time for the main course.’

He gave Meng Qingshuang a sadistic look and licked a smear of blood and flesh from his own face. A vicious light flashed in his eyes as he kicked the butt of a long spear lying in the bog of mud and gore.

BANG!

WHOOSH!

Mud flew as the spear shrieked through the air!

"Get out of the way!"

The cry of alarm had just begun!

SHLUK! SHLUK! SHLUK!

Like a bolt from a siege crossbow, the long spear pierced through the chests, abdomens, and heads of five guards, skewering them together like fruit on a stick.

WHOOSH!

Without losing any momentum, the spear—now dyed completely red—shot through the line of men and flew straight for Meng Qingshuang’s head.

CLANG!

A Fine Iron Long Spear swung out, knocking the blood-soaked spear aside at the last possible second!

VMMMMMM—

The long spear hummed, and the web of Zhao Gou’s hand split open from the impact.

Zhao Gou’s face, already the color of a dried date, flushed an even deeper red. His chest heaved and his arm trembled; it felt as if he had just deflected an entire iron mountain.

"Master Si, this man is at least at the Great Success level of Divine Power... If you don’t make a move, we can’t stop him."

He gasped for breath, his expression grave. He was also reminding Meng Qingshuang not to waste any more lives.

A Divine Power Martial Artist at the Great Success of Foundation Establishment is only One Step away from a complete Rebirth.

Their Power is that of a savage elephant, their skin is like armor, they are faster than a raptor and as agile as a wildcat. Their stamina is such that they can fight a hundred battles without tiring. They are, for all intents and purposes, humanoid Fierce Beasts.

Only a well-trained and coordinated regular army—equipped with heavy armor, steel blades, and Gold-Breaking Crossbows—could hope to surround and kill one through sheer numbers.

To an ordinary band of scattered guards, it wouldn’t matter if there were a hundred or even five hundred of them; it would be like slaughtering chickens and dogs. They could never hope to stop a Martial Artist at the Great Success of Divine Power.

"If I don’t test him, how will I know his strength?"

Meng Qingshuang cracked his neck, the sound sharp and grating. His aura grew more dangerous. He handed the brocade box he held to Zhao Gou for safekeeping and uttered a sentence that sent a chill down the spine.

Zhao Gou took the brocade box, the corner of his eye twitching.

’Your little "test" got dozens of the Four Seas Gang’s best men torn to shreds.’

’Don’t act until you understand your enemy.’

’It’s a rational strategy, but a cruel one.’

’One could only say "like father, like son." None of the Four Seas Gang’s Young Masters, including the old Gang Leader himself, gave a damn about human life.’

BOOM!

A sudden sound, like an exploding cannonball, rang out.

From within the crowd, Wu Dao, having lost all interest in tangling with small fry, crouched slightly. His legs, like those of a giant grasshopper, exploded with terrifying power, blasting a large crater in the ground beneath him.

He launched himself five or six meters into the air like a golden eagle diving for prey. Mid-flight, he stomped on the heads of a few unlucky souls, using them as springboards to propel himself forward again, crossing nearly twenty meters in the blink of an eye!

THUD!

Mud and stone flew as he landed.

His hulking, sky-blotting figure landed squarely before Meng Qingshuang. Head bowed, his wild hair flying, he looked down with quiet cruelty through scarlet pupils, like twin suns of blood, as if studying a helpless rabbit.

DRIP... DRIP...

Bits of flesh and blood dripped from his majestic, Divine Mountain-like physique. The acrid stench of gore mixed with a wild, searing torrent of masculine pheromones.

Meng Qingshuang felt as if he were standing before a blast furnace. The searing, masculine aura, combined with the oppressive presence of an apex predator, made something deep within him stir with restlessness, exuding an instinctive revulsion.

"In Guangqing Prefecture, Divine Power Martial Artists are not nobodies. Who exactly are you? What power do you represent?"

Even with a life-or-death battle imminent, Meng Qingshuang couldn’t suppress his curiosity. He tilted his head back and demanded coldly.

’From start to finish, Wu Dao hasn’t uttered a single word, only slaughtering like a mute. If he really is one, who am I supposed to seek revenge against later?’

Evidently, Meng Qingshuang was so confident that he was already planning his revenge for after he killed Wu Dao.