Chapter Thirty-Five: Fei Liuhuo's Fury

Previously, if Lu Sheng wanted others to notice the muscles on his body, he would have to take off his outer clothes. Now, that was no longer necessary—the clothes he wore were stretched taut by his muscles, revealing his robust and well-proportioned physique. At a glance, he appeared neither weak nor excessively bulky; his muscles were just right, exuding an aesthetic balance.

Pleased, he pinched his own body with satisfaction. With half a day remaining, Lu Sheng decided to reward himself with a rest. Since arriving in this world, apart from sleeping at night, he had not truly allowed himself a moment's respite. Now that his strength was considerable—at least enough to ensure his safety in this settlement—and his breeding industry was developing rapidly, enhancing his power was merely a matter of time. Even if his life card could not advance quickly in rank, he could always improve his other cards.

At present, his life card had reached purple quality, but to ascend to the next tier, orange quality, required far more cards than Lu Sheng had anticipated. He had tried feeding ten first-rank, perfected Bloodthirsty Mosquito cards into it, but the progress bar barely moved, not even reaching one percent. It was clear that advancing to the next quality was no simple feat.

In his room, he reclined on a lounge chair he had crafted himself, eyes half-closed, savoring this rare moment of leisure.

...

Heaven’s Ox City – Heaven Blade Gang

“Boss, we’ve caught a member of the Blazing Fire Gang—one who was involved in that operation,” reported a subordinate standing before Yan Dao.

Upon hearing this, Yan Dao’s eyes gleamed with a cold light. “Excellent!” He bared his chilling white teeth and strode toward the prison cells. His men followed behind, visibly uneasy. Since their leader’s last defeat, Yan Dao had become terrifying—not because of what he did, but because of the cold indifference that now radiated from him. This chill was not directed at any particular person or event; rather, it was as if he were indifferent to all life under heaven.

Yan Dao arrived at the cell where a man was detained on a bench, the Blazing Fire Gang uniform clearly identifying him.

The prisoner struggled ceaselessly, and when he saw Yan Dao approach, his arrogance only grew. “Yan Dao, let me go at once, or our gang leader will raze this place to the ground!” he shouted.

Yan Dao turned calmly to the man at his side. “Has he always been this arrogant?”

The man wiped sweat from his brow, his voice trembling. “Yes, that’s right.” He dared not even attempt to lie.

Yan Dao snorted coldly. “Then what are you waiting for? Use the prison’s tools on him for ten minutes—but don’t kill him. I still have questions.”

The subordinate hurried to obey, grateful to be given a task that allowed him to avert Yan Dao’s chilling presence, which was more frightening than hunting monsters outside. The coldness he exuded was as biting as the underworld’s frost.

Gu Wan picked up an instrument of torture from the dungeon and approached the Blazing Fire Gang member. As one device after another was applied, horrific wounds appeared across the man’s body: crushed fingers, slashed skin like the slow torment of death by a thousand cuts. The prisoner’s screams echoed relentlessly.

Yan Dao watched these grisly scenes with utter indifference, unmoved by the agony before him. Gu Wan, glancing at Yan Dao’s expression, could not discern his leader’s thoughts and dared not pause, continuing to employ each tool in turn. The captive’s screams grew weaker, his wounds appalling to behold—enough to sicken any compassionate soul. But in the apocalypse, sympathy was a luxury; neither Gu Wan nor Yan Dao felt any pity for their wretched captive.

“Enough.” Only then did Yan Dao speak, signaling Gu Wan to stop. He approached the man and asked, “I want to know where those twenty extra men came from during that operation.”

The gang member coughed up blood. “Why didn’t you just ask? Why the hell did you have to torture me?” he spat, his voice a hoarse roar. He was furious, feeling as if disaster had descended upon him for no reason. He knew there was no chance he would leave this cell alive, so he showed Yan Dao no respect whatsoever. In his heart, he cursed Li Kuang for dragging him into this disaster—if not for them, he would never have been captured and tortured. Since these were not his own people, what did it matter if he let the information slip?

Yan Dao regarded him in silence, thinking the man’s words made sense, but the deed was done and he certainly would not admit fault.

“Are you looking for death?”

The gang member scoffed. “Who are you trying to scare? The extra men came from a settlement next to the instance, that’s all. Which one, you’ll have to find out yourself. Now hurry up and kill me!”

Yan Dao already had his suspicions, and now they were confirmed. He was certain he had been set up by those wretches outside the main city. Very well—if he killed them, they would only be getting what they deserved.

Yan Dao stood and left. Gu Wan, just about to breathe a sigh of relief and put the man out of his misery, heard Yan Dao’s voice: “Torture him to death. Arrogant even in the face of death.”

The captive was silent for a moment, then burst out cursing, “Yan Dao, you son of a bitch, born of a whore! ...”

Yan Dao was already gone. Gu Wan dared not disobey. The cell filled with anguished screams, which eventually faded into silence.

Blazing Fire Gang

Fei Liuhuo’s face twisted in rage as he listened to the report. “What did you say? Yan Dao’s dog has captured Xiao Cai?”

The informant below was clearly flustered. “Yes—he snatched him right off the street. I reported it as soon as it happened, but you weren’t here, and none of us dared make a move without you.”

Fei Liuhuo’s expression was grim. “Very well. I didn’t go looking for trouble with you, but you’ve come to me instead. Call everyone together!”

“Prepare to attack the Heaven Blade Gang—we’re getting Cai Ming back!”

As the Blazing Fire Gang mobilized, a team had already left the city gates. Yan Dao was among them.

“Boss, from Heaven’s Ox City to that large instance, there are fifteen settlements along the way. Of those, five have three-star strength on record...”

“No need to say more—we’ll kill our way through. I won’t spare a single one.”

“This... isn’t that a bit much?” The subordinate hesitated. Fifteen settlements—with old, young, women, and children, the death toll would be over ten thousand. These were real people, not mere numbers.

Yan Dao smiled, his words as cold as a demon’s: “What does it matter if we kill them all? They’re responsible for the deaths of fifty of our brothers!”

Those thousands of lives, to Yan Dao, were nothing but digits. The slaughter wasn’t because he was a monster at heart, nor truly for his fallen brothers—it was simply to justify his actions.

The evolution requirements of the Phantom Mantis were clear: the more spiritually aware the creature slain, the faster its evolution. And what beings possessed more spirit than humans?