Ren Qing casually threw a few punches, sending several stubborn martial disciples flying, it was clear that at the very least, their tendons were severed and bones broken.
Seeing this, who would still dare to attempt a sneak attack?
Chen Lihua's eyes were red, her lips trembling with neurotic muttering, but for now, she only watched from a distance.
Ren Qing paid no mind to the fleeing disciples. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest, as if waiting for something.
A few breaths later, Chen Yongxing's corpse began to show abnormalities.
Suddenly, the corpse trembled violently, not because it had come back to life, but because the Supernatural Remnant within was gradually separating from its flesh.
A crack split open in the right leg bone, and a thick, viscous liquid oozed out.
Ren Qing's hair stood on end. Though he had seen Supernatural Remnants before, this was the first time he had witnessed one being born.
It was like cordyceps feeding on an insect's body, the more he thought about it, the more horrifying it became.
A peculiar scent spread through the air.
All the disciples froze mid-step, their breathing heavy and ragged.
Ren Qing hadn't been wrong. After consuming flesh tainted by the Supernatural Remnant's aura, their bodies could no longer resist the urge to mutate.
In a sense, the tragedy had been set in motion years ago, the moment these disciples first ate Chen Yongxing's flesh.
Ren Qing grabbed the Supernatural Remnant barehanded. The thick liquid immediately tried to seep deep into his flesh, but his resilient skin blocked it.
BANG!!!
The wooden doors of the hall shattered into pieces.
The disciples lunged at Ren Qing like zombies, but he dodged them with effortless ease.
He knew from experience such as with the Human Skin Book, that prolonged contact with a Supernatural Remnant or cultivation manual was necessary to trigger the information stream.
[Divine Leg Sutra]
[Created by the Crippled Daoist. To cultivate this art, one must sever both legs at the root during childhood, then confine the body in a vegetable vat while feeding it a specific catalyst. Survive for three years, and divine legs will regrow.]
[Daily consumption of wolf, elephant, or leopard blood accelerates cultivation but the body will gradually erode, eventually becoming fully bestial.]
While absorbing the information, Ren Qing pushed his double pupils to their limits.
Every disciple had joined the frenzy, attacking him like wild beasts, with their humanity completely gone.
This was the flaw of the Divine Leg Sutra. And thanks to Chen Yongxing's reckless methods, even if these disciples consumed the Supernatural Remnant, their most likely fate was becoming mindless beasts.
Chen Yongxing's corpse wasn't spared either. Several disciples tore into it with their teeth, reducing it to a mangled mess in moments.
Including his own daughter, Chen Lihua.
Ren Qing dodged attacks as he retreated into the dark corridor.
He avoided counterattacking unless absolutely necessary, using only his arms to deflect; all to minimize the evidence left behind.
[Leopard-Footed: Agile and Silent]
[Elephant-Footed: Overwhelming Strength]
[Wolf-Footed: Tireless Traveler]
Ren Qing studied the three mutation paths of the Divine Leg Sutra, deducing that Chen Yongxing had likely pursued the Elephant-Footed route.
He must have regularly consumed elephant blood, but the limitations of the Supernatural Remnant prevented him from breaking through to the Half-Corpse Realm.
[Can be mastered by expending 30 days of lifespan, exempt from side effects.]
Ren Qing had expected the cost to be higher. Surprisingly, it was the same.
It seemed that only Supernatural Remnants beyond the Half-Corpse Realm would drastically increase the lifespan cost, it was a losing trade.
He didn't rush to expend his lifespan. Instead, he weaved through the chaos, barely making it to the training hall's entrance.
Once he confirmed the technique's mastery, he hurled the Supernatural Remnant against the wall.
The disciples immediately turned on each other, fighting like rabid animals.
[Ren Qing]
[Age: 17]
[Lifespan: 7 years, 227 days]
[Techniques: Blindless Method (Double Pupils), Human Skin Book, Divine Leg Sutra]
Ren Qing's legs burned with surging energy, a primal urge to rip everything apart flooding his mind.
But with his Half-Corpse Realm cultivation, he forcibly suppressed the mutations and stumbled through the door.
Jiang Jie and the others were trembling in fear when Ren Qing suddenly shouted:
"They've gone mad! Run, or it'll be too late!!!"
With that, he turned and sprinted away. After a brief hesitation, the dark-skinned man gritted his teeth and followed, the rest scrambling behind him.
They couldn't resist glancing back, only to see the disciples tearing into each other, limbs and gore splattering the hallway. A severed arm even landed near them.
"Move! Do you want to live or die?!"
Ren Qing urged them again, even helping Jiang Jie, whose legs had turned to jelly to his feet. The group fled in a panic, not stopping until they were hundreds of meters away.
By now, the hour of the ox had passed. The sky was just beginning to lighten, but the streets were still empty; most residents still asleep.
The dark-skinned man leaned against a wall, gasping. "So many dead… I'll report this to the authorities-"
Jiang Jie gave a bitter laugh. "Don't forget, Chen Yongxing was backed by the Blood Dog Gang. People like us can't afford to provoke them. We might just get burned."
Ren Qing nodded. "Best to keep it to ourselves. The yamen will handle it soon enough."
"Right, right…"
Too mentally exhausted to argue, the group dispersed, each desperate to return home.
Only Jiang Jie tried to stay close to Ren Qing, but the latter slipped into an alley and vanished without a trace.
Ren Qing pretended to hurry back to the yamen, but in reality, he climbed into a distant teahouse, settling on the second floor with a clear view of the martial hall.
Bestial roars echoed from inside. Nearby households erupted in chaos, chickens flapping, dogs barking.
The Blood Dog Gang reacted swiftly.
A hulking man; easily over two meters tall, with legs far thicker than a normal human's had arrived at the scene. Likely an Elephant-Footed mutant.
He didn't enter immediately. Soon, a woman joined him.
Ren Qing couldn't spot any obvious mutations on her; her legs were slightly longer than average, but still within normal limits.
Had she not reached the Half-Corpse Realm in the Divine Leg Sutra?
ROAR!!!
The woman's body swelled rapidly, her skin sprouting yellowish-brown fur as she transformed into a half-human, half-leopard hybrid.
Ren Qing immediately revised his judgment.
Just then, a twisted beast burst out of the martial hall, its fur matted with blood, its face barely recognizable as human.
The beast clashed with the leopard-woman, but the fight ended in seconds.
She sank her teeth into its throat, then dug her claws into its belly, ripping out its organs before tossing the corpse aside.
Once they retrieved the Supernatural Remnant, they left without hesitation.
Before departing, the woman wiped blood from her lips. Her gaze subconsciously flickered toward the teahouse, but Ren Qing was already gone.
The man frowned. "Mei, what's wrong?"
Zhou Mei's voice was icy. "I felt someone watching us."
"Probably just your imagination. This is a residential area."
"Well, let the yamen clean up this mess."