Chapter Two: Magical Artifacts

Wang Kun was sent flying by the blow, blood spurting from his mouth as he crashed heavily to the ground. Liu Feng gave him no chance to recover, striding over in a flash and appearing before Wang Kun in an instant.

He raised his foot and stomped down with brutal force. The sound of bones snapping echoed twice, and Wang Kun howled in agony.

Liu Feng looked down at him coldly and said, “Remember, those who disgrace others will themselves be disgraced. This is the retribution you deserve.”

With that, Liu Feng turned to his father.

“Father, let me carry you to town for treatment,” Liu Feng said, his eyes red with worry.

“There’s no need. We have healing elixirs at home.”

“Is that true? You’re not deceiving me, are you?”

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t gamble with my own life.”

Liu Feng nodded, crouched down, and carried his father home on his back.

“Boy, just you wait! I’ll make sure you die a miserable death!” Wang Kun shouted venomously after them.

Ignoring him, Liu Feng quickly carried his father back home and laid him on the bed.

“Father, can the healing elixir really cure your injuries?” Liu Feng asked anxiously, examining his father’s wounds.

“Don’t worry. They’re nothing serious; the medicine will suffice.” His father took out a small jade vial from the bed, poured out a verdant green pill, and placed it in his mouth.

“How do you feel, Father?” Liu Feng asked with concern, watching his father swallow the elixir.

“I’m fine now.” His father got up, changed out of his bloodstained clothes, and put on a fresh set.

“Xiaofeng, what about your injuries?”

“No need to worry. I’ve already recovered.”

“Don’t mention what happened today to your mother, or she’ll worry.”

“I understand, Father.”

At that moment, Liu Feng recalled how, in the midst of his own severe injuries earlier, a mysterious power had suddenly surged within him, instantly healing his wounds and greatly increasing his internal energy. It must have come from some item on his person.

He searched his belongings and soon discovered a palm-sized piece of strange animal hide in his hand. His father had brought it home from his travels when Liu Feng was still a child. Out of curiosity, Liu Feng had started carrying it with him, enjoying the cool, soothing sensation it gave. Strangely, in summer, it seemed to ward off the heat entirely.

Snapping back to the present, Liu Feng looked at the hide in delight. “Father, this animal hide seems to have changed.”

The once black hide had turned silvery white, smooth and lustrous as if cast from silver. In Liu Yuming’s eyes, a complex expression flashed as he thought silently, “Xiaofeng, I wonder whether this change will be a blessing or a curse for you.”

“Father, why did the hide change color?” Liu Feng asked, puzzled.

Liu Yuming’s gaze flickered. “Xiaofeng, perhaps this is your destiny. Try dripping your blood on it and see what happens.”

Liu Feng immediately pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the silver-white hide. The blood was quickly absorbed.

Suddenly, Liu Feng felt the hide magnify in his vision, and on its surface, an entire cultivation method was inscribed—the “Qi Qian” technique.

At once, a gray, misty energy flowed from the hide into his body. Liu Feng felt every part of himself—bones, flesh, organs, meridians, even his mental strength—undergoing a profound evolution and metamorphosis.

Then, excruciating pain assaulted him as his bones and flesh were repeatedly broken and reforged, his body purified like iron under a relentless hammer, all impurities forced out, leaving only the essence.

Gritting his teeth, Liu Feng endured the agony, muffled groans escaping his lips. After about an hour, the pain slowly faded, and the transformation abated.

He felt his vital energy had grown several times stronger, reaching the third stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. A sense of rebirth filled him.

“Xiaofeng, are you all right?”

At that moment, his mother, Zhao Jing, returned from work in town. Hearing Liu Feng’s cries of pain, she rushed in, concerned.

“I’m fine. In fact, I feel better than ever. My strength feels boundless, and even my senses have improved dramatically,” Liu Feng said joyfully.

“I saw you standing there in a trance, then your body began trembling and you started bleeding. I was terrified. Your father told me it was a cultivator’s transformation, so I calmed down.”

“Yes, I felt a magical energy refining my body from within,” Liu Feng recounted to his parents, then added, “There’s also a cultivation method within the hide.”

Liu Yuming’s expression grew grave. “Xiaofeng, you must never let outsiders know about this technique.”

Liu Feng nodded.

“I’m going to bathe and change,” he said, noticing the bloodstained clothes—evidence of the impurities purged from his body.

After washing and changing, Liu Feng went out to the courtyard and sat on a bench, focusing his mind on the palm-sized hide. Inside, he discovered a Qi Condensation breathing technique.

He began to practice according to the method inscribed, finding his cultivation speed had increased more than tenfold. Vital energy from the world surged visibly into his body, continually tempering his flesh and strengthening his bones.

An hour later, Liu Feng stopped to rest, then turned again to the hide. Besides the energy technique, there was also a martial skill: “Rend the Sky.”

Practicing “Rend the Sky” was simple—one circulated inner energy along the unique route of the “Qi Qian” method, then slashed forward with a blade. The weapon would unleash overlapping waves of force, each one battering and breaking the target like crashing waves. At mastery, it could unleash tens of thousands of strikes, even tearing through the fabric of space.

Liu Feng substituted his palm for a blade, directing his energy and repeatedly slashing at the air. The space before him began to tremble.

He practiced tirelessly for two hours, until the air itself began to buzz faintly under his strikes. Only then did he finally stop.

Eager to test this skill, Liu Feng spotted a watermelon-sized stone in the corner of the courtyard. He strode over, gathered his energy, and chopped down with his palm.

With a bang, the stone shattered into pieces, the impact two or three times greater than before. Elated, Liu Feng was about to celebrate when a commotion erupted outside.

Four men in their thirties appeared, barging into Liu Feng’s home and smashing things in the courtyard while cursing loudly.

Liu Feng strode over to stop them.

Hearing the noise, his parents hurried out.

One of the four sneered, “You’ve got guts, beating our young master like that.”

“Enough talk, Fourth. Cripple them all for the young master to deal with later,” another ordered.

At these words, Liu Feng’s parents turned pale.

“How dare you break into our home! Don’t you care for the law?” Zhao Jing, trembling with rage, demanded.

“Ha! The law? What’s that?” The four laughed wildly.

Liu Feng turned to his parents, his expression serious. “Go inside, quickly. I’ll handle them.”

“How can we just leave you alone?” his parents protested.

“Don’t worry, I can handle this. If you stay, I’ll only be distracted protecting you.”

Hearing this, his parents hurried inside.

“Boy, you dare face us alone? How reckless.”

“Enough talk. Beat me first if you can.”

“Courting death!”

One of the men suddenly charged at Liu Feng, both fists shrouded in fierce energy as he struck with deadly force.