Chapter 18: The Determination of a Stronger

In the pitch-black night, the clouds obscured the silver moon, casting the world into darkness. In the endless Demon Beast Mountains, the roars of demon beasts echoed everywhere.

"Rustle!... Rustle!..."

A figure slowly walked through the mountains, pushing aside the surrounding shrubs, making slight sounds.

The surrounding darkness made Feng Hao tense up, not daring to be the slightest bit careless, as at any moment, venomous snakes could attack. Fortunately, he possessed the Divine Farmer's Pharmacopoeia; otherwise, Feng Hao would have already perished.

His clothes were torn in many places, all from being scratched by the shrubs. There were several holes in his legs, all from being bitten by venomous snakes.

"I can't go on any further."

Feng Hao stopped in his tracks.

He couldn't distinguish directions and couldn't remember the way back.

Climbing up a large tree, under the dim moonlight, Feng Hao observed his surroundings and found that all around were endless mountains, with not a single trace of firelight visible.

"It seems I've indeed gone deep in."

He inwardly sighed bitterly.

"Master!"

Looking at the ancient ring on his finger, Feng Hao's eyes lit up, and he softly called out.

"What is it?"

The ancient ring emitted a faint glow, and the voice of Fen Lao came from within.

"I've entered the Demon Beast Mountains."

"Demon Beast Mountains? Not a bad place. You'll cultivate here from now on!"

Fen Lao spoke casually, as if the Demon Beast Mountains were just his backyard.

"Uh..."

Feng Hao was taken aback, "Cultivate here?"

"What? Afraid?"

Fen Lao's voice turned serious, "Kid, do you want to be a flower in a greenhouse for your entire life? Without the trials of life and death, without external pressure, do you think you can become a strong person just by burying yourself in practice? Do you want to get rid of 'False Martial'? I'll tell you, if that's your plan, you might as well wait to die!"

Fen Lao's words pierced Feng Hao's heart like sharp knives.

Feng Hao fell silent, his tense emotions gradually easing. Reflecting on the events, it seemed that everything was due to his lack of strength.

A single martial artist had already forced him into such a predicament. What would he have to face three years later, when Yun Ying was already a Spirit Martial Artist?

The young man's gaze gradually focused, his expression becoming resolute. He slowly said, "I will become a true strong person!"

"That's more like it."

Fen Lao's voice softened, "Rest for the night, and start your cultivation tomorrow!"

"Okay!"

The glow from the ring slowly faded, and Feng Hao sat cross-legged on the treetop, his brows furrowed.

"Who is that person? Why do they want to kill me?"

A martial artist could easily kill him. If it weren't for the Divine Farmer's Pharmacopoeia, he would have already died. Thinking about it, he felt a chill of fear.

His vigilance was still not enough.

"Wan family? Yang family? Hu family?"

Various possibilities ran through his mind, his gaze gradually turning cold. "No matter who it is, if they dare to touch the Feng family, I will make your entire clan pay!"

A faint aura of killing intent flowed through the young man's eyes.

At this moment, Feng Hao felt an unprecedented sense of urgency. His time was limited. If they dared to attack him, it was only a matter of time before they targeted the Feng family.

"I hope the Elegant Pavilion can lend a hand!"

At the auction that day, he deliberately made those actions in front of Ouyang Peng. He believed that if anything happened, Ouyang Peng would definitely speak up.

Of course, he couldn't rely on others. If the black-robed man didn't appear for a long time, Ouyang Peng might not continue to support him.

"Starting from tomorrow."

Feng Hao clenched his fists. Tomorrow, he would cultivate alone in the perilous Demon Beast Mountains!

...

"What? He ran away?"

Hu Li stood up abruptly, his aura exploding, making the black-clothed man kneeling before him tremble.

He felt extremely wronged. A mere martial apprentice had survived his powerful strike, which was like a fairy tale.

"Waste! You couldn't even deal with a fifth-level martial apprentice. Why don't you just die?"

A roar echoed in the secret room. Thinking about it, Hu Li suddenly flew into a rage, striking the black-clothed man with a palm, sending him flying into the wall. His chest caved in, and blood bubbles gushed from his mouth, clearly on the verge of death.

"Hmph!"

Hu Li glanced at him and hurriedly left. Unbeknownst to him, the black-clothed man, who was supposed to be dead, opened his eyes and staggered out.

The next day, the people of Yulan City found the atmosphere outside their doors seemed off. The guards of the Hu and Yang families were patrolling the city, questioning passersby, as if searching for someone.

In the Hu family's main hall, Hu Li had shattered everything in sight. After discussing with Yang Chong, he returned to find that the supposedly dead black-clothed man had vanished.

"Damn it!"

His face was dark, filled with anger.

"You were too careless!"

Yang Chong's expression was also grim.

"What's the point of saying this now?"

Being scolded by Yang Chong, Hu Li was naturally displeased, "This isn't the time for arguments. If he goes to the Feng family, everything will be for nothing!"

"I've already arranged people to guard the Feng family. He won't be able to get in!"

An elder of the Yang family replied.

"That's not enough."

Hu Li's eyes flickered, and he shouted at the elders below, "Notify everyone to be on full alert and keep a close watch on the Feng family's movements!"

"Yes!"

An elder of the Hu family responded and quickly left.

After doing all this, Hu Li felt slightly more at ease.

"We can only pray that the mysterious black-robed man has no significant connection to the Feng family."

As he spoke, a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

Offering ten thousand gold coins for a Profound-level martial technique and a high Yellow-level secret technique, what else could it be but a gift? And it just happened to be given to Feng Chen, which must have some hidden reason.

...

In the Feng family's meeting hall, Feng Lie, the four elders, Feng Chen, Feng Ren, and four others were present. On the ground lay a black-clothed man, who seemed to have been dead for a long time.

"Do you believe what he said?"

Feng Lie furrowed his brows, looking at the grim-faced Feng Chen.

"Hu family! Yang family!"

Feng Chen's eyes were red, his fists tightly clenched, a killing aura slowly rising. He turned and walked out.

"Brother Chen, don't be impulsive!"

Feng Ren blocked his path.

"Move aside."

The aura of a Great Martial Artist erupted, sweeping Feng Ren to the side. Feng Chen strode out.

"Trouble!"

Feng Lie's face changed, "Gather all the clan members and attack the Hu family!"

"Yes!"

The main gate of the Feng residence opened, and Feng Chen, with a group of Feng family members all above the martial artist level, marched out, heading towards the Hu residence.