13: Chapter 13 My brother's leg, you'll have to give your life for it.

It was not some enchanting fragrance of a young woman.

Rather, it was a nauseating stench, a mixture of cheap cosmetics and the thick, metallic smell of rust.

Ye Feng's gaze swept across the dim cellar, his pupils suddenly contracting to pinpricks; the killing intent he had forcefully suppressed back at the Scripture Pavilion erupted like a volcano, rushing straight to his crown.

On the straw mat, Sun Dazhuang was curled up like a skinned toad, his entire body convulsing violently.

His originally sturdy legs were now twisted at a grotesque angle; the flesh at his knees was torn open, and jagged, stark white bone shards had pierced through his coarse cloth trousers, exposed to the damp air. Blood had long since soaked the straw beneath him, snaking across the floor.

He had passed out, but his body was still instinctively spasming from extreme pain.

"Who did this..."

Ye Feng's voice sounded as if it were squeezed out from between his teeth, as hoarse as two pieces of coarse sandpaper rubbing together.

No one answered.

Only the line of blood-red text on the wall, not yet dry, was shocking—

【Before the Life and Death Stage, break one of his limbs every day.】

Each character looked as if it had been gouged out forcibly with a finger, exuding a playful yet cruel air, like a cat toying with a mouse.

That was the handwriting of Shen Lang's lackeys.

Because they didn't want Ye Feng to live too comfortably during these last three days before his death, they wanted to drive him insane mentally first.

"Crack."

Ye Feng's right hand gripped the doorframe tightly, his fingernails digging deep into the rotten wood; his fingertips bled from the excessive force, the blood dripping down through the gaps between his fingers onto the muddy ground.

Targeting me is one thing.

But touching my brother?

"Yo, looks like you haven't gone crazy yet."

A slightly disgusted female voice sounded from behind him.

Su Man pinched her nose and stepped over the threshold with a look of disdain, as if the very air in the cellar would soil her lungs.

She glanced at Sun Dazhuang, who lay like a dead dog, without a shred of pity in her eyes, only her usual air of superiority.

"If you had known it would come to this, why act as you did in the beginning?"

Su Man casually tossed a dirty little porcelain bottle, which rolled to Ye Feng's feet. "This is the lowest-grade hemostatic powder. While it won't heal this trash's leg, it can at least let him linger on for two more days. After all, it would be a pity if he kicked the bucket before seeing you die."

Ye Feng did not move; he only turned around slowly, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Su Man.

It was the look of a beast about to pounce on its prey.

Su Man's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively took half a step back, then puffed out her chest in a fit of angry embarrassment: "What are you looking at? Ye Feng, don't be ungrateful. I came here to show kindness one last time and tell you some news that will make you give up all hope."

She lifted her chin, her Face showing a sickly look of adoration and fanaticism.

"Senior Brother Shen has already perfectly integrated his family's 'Iron-Shock' Sword Intent into his life-bound sword this morning. That is a Medium Grade Profound Rank Sword Intent! Even the Outer Sect Elder couldn't stop praising it. As he is now, he only needs to move a finger to kill you."

"Take my advice: to spare this big idiot from suffering more, kill yourself now. Perhaps if Senior Brother Shen is in a good mood, he might even reward this idiot with a meal."

Iron-Shock Sword Intent? Medium Grade Profound Rank?

A cruel arc curled at the corner of Ye Feng's mouth.

If it were before, he might have despaired.

But now, to him, these words sounded just like a delicious feast.

"Since you've come, leave something behind as interest."

Ye Feng suddenly stepped forward, his speed so fast that he left an afterimage in the air.

"You... what do you want to do? I am an Outer Sect Disciple, how dare you touch me?!" Su Man's Face turned pale with fright, and her long sword instinctively unsheathed and thrust toward Ye Feng.

This was a long sword forged from refined steel; although it was not a Spiritual Artifact, in the eyes of a Utility Disciple, it was already a divine Sharp Weapon.

However, Ye Feng did not dodge or evade.

Under Su Man's terrified gaze, he grabbed the sharp blade.

The flesh of his palm was torn open, but he didn't even frown.

"You want a sword?"

Ye Feng grinned, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth; the smile appeared exceptionally ferocious under the dim oil lamp.

"Then I'll give you some Face and eat it."

Crunch!

Under Su Man's gaze, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets, Ye Feng opened his mouth and bit down hard on the refined steel blade.

The crisp sound made one's scalp tingle.

The hard steel was like a crisp cracker in his mouth, snapped clean by his strong teeth.

"Gulp."

Ye Feng's Adam's apple rolled, and that sharp, cold-glinting piece of the blade was swallowed whole into his stomach.

Chaos Devouring Sword Body, activate!

It felt as if a furnace had been instantly ignited in his stomach, and the refined steel he had swallowed was instantly decomposed and smelted.

A faint but pure Metal-attribute spiritual energy surged through his Meridians toward his limbs and bones; his Dantian, which had been exhausted from the previous battle, actually began to feel a trace of warmth.

"It tastes a bit astringent, not cooked enough."

Ye Feng spat out some iron filings and bit down again.

Crunch! Crunch!

Three bites.

In just three bites, the refined steel long sword that Su Man was so proud of was reduced to nothing but a bare hilt.

"Mon... Monster..."

Su Man's legs went weak, and she collapsed into the muddy water, her Face as pale as paper.

She had seen people kill, but she had never seen anyone eat a sword!

This guy was not human at all; he was a Vicious Beast in human skin!

Ye Feng casually tossed away the hilt, feeling the newborn spiritual energy in his body rapidly converting into a restorative force.

He bent down, ignored the woman collapsed on the ground, and gently carried the unconscious Sun Dazhuang on his back.

"Dazhuang, hang in there."

Ye Feng whispered, then carefully channeled the newly devoured and converted Metal-attribute spiritual energy into Sun Dazhuang's broken wounds to protect his heart meridian.

After finishing all this, he strode out, kicked Su Man out of his way, and walked straight out of the cellar.

Outside, the night was as dark as ink, and the cold wind was biting.

Ye Feng carried the mountain-like Sun Dazhuang on his back, each step leaving a half-inch deep bloody footprint on the muddy ground.

There was only one direction.

The Sect Martial Arts Arena.

That was where all the Outer Sect Disciples gathered, and it was also the only way to the Life and Death Stage.

Since you want to play big.

Then I will play with you until the end.

At this moment, in the direction of the Martial Arts Arena, a wave of scorching heat vaguely surged into the sky.

Even from several miles away, Ye Feng could feel the scorching fluctuation that seemed capable of setting the air itself on fire.

That was Shen Lang testing his sword.

The crimson Sword Qi had not yet left the sheath, but it had already dyed half the night sky red, like an evil ghost waiting to drink blood, quietly awaiting that foolhardy sacrifice.