Heavens' Laughter

No response…

They stood frozen, stunned into silence, the grisly memory of their fellow clan brother's head being severed played out in their minds like a nightmare they couldn't escape.

The image replayed in their minds over and over.

Nobody could've expected this…

"You son of a bitch! Die!!" the plump young man roared, his voice trembling with rage.

His hands moved swiftly in a flurry of practiced gestures, summoning Qi, that crackled and pulsed around him.

Above the plump young man's head, a glowing, intricate circle began to form, symbols and runes spinning in place as his power gathered.

"Hmm~?" Feng Shen merely watched, an amused, almost mocking look in his golden eyes.

He caught a glimpse of the technique. His eyes narrowed, and for a split second, he knew what he was dealing with.

"Ah~ I see… This is a surprise."

Feng Shen's black fan remained open, fluttering gently in his hand as if he were simply enjoying a calm afternoon breeze.

"You're all from the Undomesticated Clan," Feng Shen murmured, tilting his head with a smirk:

"I thought I had wiped out your people in the past… Well then, let's see if you can last longer than your ancestors."

Ignoring the stranger before him, the plump young man was still weaving the final motions of his technique, a fierce glow flaring in his eyes as he yelled, "Stop standing around! Buy me some time!"

The other men, shaken, snapped out of their shock, their own Qi surging as they prepared. They tightened their grips and fell into formation, each beginning to weave complex motions with their hands.@@novelbin@@

However, Feng Shen had no intention of letting them complete their techniques.

Allowing that would be sheer foolishness.

Feng Shen vanished from where he stood, moving like a ghost, reappearing and vanishing in a dance. With each step, his fan sliced cleanly through the air—and through flesh.

Heads fell, one by one, blood spraying in arcs that hung suspended for an instant before cascading down, painting the forest floor in fresh red.

Feng Shen moved with an elegance, reappearing just long enough for each strike before disappearing again, his figure a mere blur.

"Shit! Where is he!?" one of them cried, turning sharply to the right.

But as he did, he froze once again—a blur of movement caught his eye just a second too late.

He watched, horrified, as one of his brother's head was severed cleanly, the lifeless body slumping to the ground with a thud.

Warm blood splattered across his own face, the sticky, metallic scent filling his senses as he staggered back, paralyzed.

"Monster… he's a monster…" he whispered, his voice trembling as he desperately looked around.

No one could predict where this stranger would appear next.

Panic rushed through the rest, who began to turn and run, desperation in every step.

"Forget this—I'm out!" one of them yelled, his voice breaking as he stumbled to his feet, tripping over a root.

"Someone get me out of here!" screamed another, his eyes wide with terror, as he began running away into the bushes.

"Mommy, save me!" whimpered one, shaking as he curled up into a fetal position.

But their escape was futile. One by one, as they tripped and clawed through the dense forest, a chilling darkness swallowed them.

All they saw was black—a void that crept up without warning, overtaking each of them in silence.

In the end, their screams faded, muffled, leaving only a stillness in the blood-stained clearing.

The plump young man, feeling triumphant as he completed the final motion of his technique, opened his mouth to summon his mighty Spirit Beast, a creature he was certain would turn the tides:

"Gla—" he began, but the words froze in his throat. A chill swept across his neck, slicing through his words, and in the next heartbeat, his entire world spun.

The plump young man blinked in shock, seeing the ground rush up to meet him from an impossible angle.

His vision tilted wildly, and as he tumbled, his last glimpse was of his own body, collapsing limply to the forest floor, the lifeblood pooling around it.

Feng Shen appeared, this time pausing his movements to crouch and casually lift the severed head. His fingers gripped it by the hair as he studied the face with a twisted smile.

"What a pig~…"

With a chuckle, Feng Shen tossed it aside, watching it roll into the grass. Then, his gaze shifted, locking onto the last two remaining.

Da Leung's breath quickened as his heart hammered in his chest, the overwhelming instinct to survive clawed at him from the inside.

He had never expected this outcome… His clan had always prided itself on its strength, its resilience, its ability to rise from the ashes of a long-buried past.

Yet it all crumbled before him. Most of the younger generation—the future of the clan—had just been brutally wiped out.

Feng Shen suddenly took a step forward, placing his black fan away inside his robe.

"I—I didn't touch her, I swear! She's all yours, take her!" Da Leung's voice was a frantic plea, each word more desperate than the last.

His fear outweighing even his "love".

Da Leung hurriedly got off his senior sister, scrambling back, his heart pounding in his chest like a war drum, each beat reverberating through his entire body.

His trembling hands clawed at the rough bark behind him as he backed into a tree.

Despite knowing that the stranger in front of him was in a lower realm, Da Leung felt no sense of relief.

The sheer mastery and power the stranger wielded with his technique: Shadow Step…

Da Leung's will to fight was completely shattered, knowing such a thing, like dominos falling one after another.

Each step the stranger took toward him seemed to put more and more fear into him.

"Please! Spare me! I—I didn't mean it! I was just... I was just blinded by lust!" Da Leung's words were a garbled mess of excuses.

Feng Shen stopped right in front of the young man, his hand rising to his mouth.

With a slow, deliberate motion, he pressed his fingers together, making a soft "hush" gesture as his lips curled into a smile.

"Silence," Feng Shen whispered.

"I—I'm sor—" Da Leung's apology was cut short as a sharp, sudden pain shot through his nose. He gasped as he felt a rough grip seize his nose ring.

Before he could even react, it was yanked downward with a force that sent searing pain through his entire face.

"AAAAAEEEEEEEEEIIIIEEEIEIEIEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Uh~ why are you screaming louder now!? I told you to be silent!" Feng Shen was annoyed, his expression one of displeasure.

Wasting no time, his knee collided with the face of the young man in a brutal strike, and the sickening sound of his nose bone breaking resounded through the air.

Da Leung's body went limp, and a gurgled scream escaped his lips once more, as more blood sprayed from his nose, splattering across the grass.

"AAAAAEEEEEEEEEIIIIEEEIEIEIEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"I swear—you don't shut the fuck up!" Feng Shen's patience snapped completely. With a swift, fluid motion, he reached for his black fan.

In an instant, the fan was unfurled, its edges as sharp as any blade.

Without hesitation, Feng Shen swung the fan down in a single, graceful motion, slicing through the air with effortless precision.

Da Leung's body stiffened even more, as everything seemed to slow down around him.

Before he could even blink or process what was happening, a chilling coldness enveloped him, and his world flipped upside down.

Da Leung saw her—his senior sister, Mini Yang, standing motionless. Her eyes were void of any warmth, any affection.

They were cold, indifferent…

The sight was a death sentence in itself.

It was not the impending death at the hands of the stranger that struck Da Leung the hardest, but the realization that, after everything, his senior sister didn't care.

Feng Shen, who stood before the lifeless body, let out a deep sigh. "A lot better," he muttered under his breath:

"I swear, why can't anybody ever just not make so much noise?"

"Um… Thank you so much for saving me! I don't have anything to offer in return right now, but I promise I'll repay you in the future. For now, could you please help me pass this trial?" Mini Yang called out, her voice filled with gratitude.

She was immensely grateful for being saved from the assault, though it was a bit embarrassing to realize her robe was torn and in shambles.

Feng Shen didn't respond immediately. Instead, he studied her from head to toe, his gaze lingering for a moment before he shook his head. Without a word, he began walking toward her.

"Ah! How rude of me… My name is Mini Yang, and I come from the Undomesticated Clan! May I ask for your name?" she said, flustered but eager to make a proper introduction.

However, Feng Shen once again didn't respond as he continued walking.

As he passed the young woman, with no visible motion, her head suddenly fell from her neck.

"Ah~ I really need to find my personal servant… it's getting dark." Feng Shen glanced up at the sky through the gaps in the leaves and trees:

"Hopefully she's still breathing…"