Chapter 10: The Meat Market at the Obsidian Gates
The grand plaza before the obsidian gates of the Heavenly Asura Blood Sect didn't look like an elite cultivation entrance trial. It looked like a cross between a post-apocalyptic military checkpoint and a highly aggressive lingerie convention.
Thousands of hopeful applicants from across the continent were crammed into registration lines, segregated by regional clans. Because it was a demonic sect, the dress code apparently mandated that the less armor you wore, the higher your cultivation base was supposed to be.
Slinky succubus-wannabes in skimpy crimson silks were casually flashing compliance officers for better positions in line, while arrogant young masters flexed their pectorals, oiled their swords, and loudly threatened to murder anyone who breathed their oxygen.
Feng Tao stood in the middle of the crowd, his eyes darting across the plaza with a sharp, hungry intensity. He wasn't looking for hidden traps. He was running a highly important, tactical evaluation.
'Target southwest: Cultivation base, Qi Condensation Stage 5: Double-D cup, questionable structural support in that silk bodice. Threat level to my pants: Severe.'
Feng Tao nodded.
Target northeast: Qi Condensation Stage 6: Leg-to-body ratio is optimal, wearing a high-slit leather skirt that defies the laws of physics. Commencing deep-level visual aid.'
Feng Tao nodded.
Beside him, Feng Xian'er was still recovering from the slaughter on the highway, her thighs pressing tightly together every time she stole a glance at his profile. She noticed his intense, unblinking stare locked onto a well-endowed vixen from a rival snake clan.
"Feng Tao..." Xian'er whispered, a sudden, unfamiliar spike of possessive jealousy flaring in her chest as she intentionally nudged her own massive peaks against his arm. "Are you... analyzing the rival factions' hidden techniques?"
"I am analyzing the local preys , Xian'er," Feng Tao replied smoothly, his eyes not moving an inch as the snake-vixen bent over to tie her boot. "This place is surprisingly rich in resources. The landscape is incredibly lush and bouncy. I am merely thinking of the best way to enter."
Before Xian'er could process the sheer, unhinged degeneracy of his statement, the Holy System violently chimed inside his brain, its mechanical voice dripping with synthesized excitement.
[Ding!]
[Detectable hormone levels in the vicinity have exceeded the safety threshold by 400%!]
[System Mission Unlocked: "The Great Gates Conquest"! ]
[Objective: Establish dominant territory at the registration desk. Face-slap the nearest arrogant young master to prove your alpha status, and successfully coerce at least one high-tier vixen into giving you her communication talisman.]
[Mission Reward: 1,000 Exp, +1 inch to Core Thrusting Capacity, and a passive buff: [Primordial Chad Aura (Level 1)].]
[Failure Punishment: Your spatial ring will permanently lock itself for 48 hours, and your robes will instantly dissolve into pure light, forcing you to cross the registration gates completely naked while reciting the 'Celestial Chant of Purity' in a high-pitched soprano voice.]
[Oh, Holy One, your current Stage 7 Qi Condensation base is throbbing with raw, unchristian potential. Look at the registration elder.]
[She is a mature, Core Formation cougar with a leather corset. Put some holy energy into your stride and go hunt, you magnificent, pious bastard.]
Feng Tao's eyes practically turned into stat points. A naked soprano solo at a demonic gate trial? Absolute tactical suicide. The System really knows how to threaten.
"Move aside, trash!"
A loud roar shattered the atmosphere as a heavy, gold-trimmed carriage drawn by two flaming skeletal rhinos plowed straight through the crowd, scattering lower-stage cultivators like bowling pins.
The carriage door flew open, and a young man in extravagant, loose-fitting emerald robes stepped out. He had the classic look of a minor villain, a punchable face, dark circles under his eyes from excessive dual cultivation, and an aura that screamed wealth over actual talent.
This was Young Master Zhao Kang of the Iron-Viper Citadel, a proud 9th stage Qi Condensation who clearly thought he owned the mountain.
Zhao Kang scanned the crowd with absolute disdain until his eyes locked directly onto Feng Xian'er's curvy, disheveled figure. His eyes widened as a greedy grin spread across his face.
"Well, well, what a delicious little morsel hiding in the commoner lines," Zhao Kang sneered, completely ignoring Feng Tao as he strutted forward, his Stage 9 pressure flaring to intimidate the crowd.
"You there, girl. Your robes are torn. Come to my carriage, and this Young Master will personally cover you in fine silks, and inspect your lower meridians for... blockages."
The surrounding crowd gasped, instantly backing away. Nobody wanted to cross the Iron-Viper Citadel. Two lower-stage disciples from a minor sect nearby didn't move fast enough, and Zhao Kang's personal guards, two brutes at the 8th stage of Qi Condensation Stage 8, brutally backhanded them into the dirt, laughing mockingly.
"Look at these peasants," one guard mocked. "They see Young Master Zhao and they don't even know how to kneel!"
Feng Xian'er shrank back, her hand instinctively reaching out to grab the hem of Feng Tao's coat. Her fingers were trembling. "Feng Tao... he's at the ninth stage... his father is the Sect Elder of the outer council—"
"His father is about to have a very disappointed medical bill," Feng Tao interrupted.
He stepped directly into Zhao Kang's path, his broad shoulders completely blocking the young master's view of Xian'er. Feng Tao wasn't looking at Zhao Kang's face. His eyes were dead-locked on the heavy, jade-encrusted storage ring on the guy's finger, and the pristine, silk-embroidered coin purse hanging right next to his groin.
"Who let this peasant speak to me?" Zhao Kang barked, his face twisting in fury. "Do you know who my—"
"Your fly is open, your stance is terrible, and you're suffering from a severe case of premature qi ejaculation," Feng Tao said, his deadpan voice carrying across the entire silent plaza.
"Your Stage 9 foundation is hollowed out because you spend too much time practicing your 'inner meridian inspection' on low-tier cultivation escorts. You have exactly three seconds to hand over that storage ring as a tactical emotional damages fee, or I will structurally re-arrange your pelvis."
The entire plaza went dead silent. The two guards stopped laughing, their faces freezing in utter disbelief. A few of the vixens in the back actually let out shocked, amused giggles.
"You dare—! Guards, cut off his limbs and feed his dangles to the rhinos!" Zhao Kang screamed, his face turning an explosive shade of purple.
The two Stage 8 guards roared, lunging forward simultaneously. The guard on the left swung a massive spiked mace wrapped in dark viper-qi, aiming to crush Feng Tao's skull. The guard on the right unleashed a volley of toxic green needles from his sleeve, sealing off any path of retreat.
[Tactical Threat Assessment: Dual guard assault.]
[Synergy: Poor.]
[Strike speed: Pathetic.]
[Commencing room-clearing.]
Feng Tao didn't even blink. Utilizing his [Heavenly Dragon-Elephant Strength], he stepped directly into the volley of toxic needles. The needles struck his skin and instantly shattered with a series of metallic pings. His physical body was simply too dense for low-grade metal to pierce.
Before the right guard could even process why his ultimate technique failed, Feng Tao's hand shot out like a hydraulic press, grabbing the guard by his throat. With a casual twist of his wrist, he used the right guard's massive 300-pound body as an improvised blunt weapon, violently swinging him like a baseball bat directly into the oncoming mace of the left guard.
CRASH!
The two guards collided in an explosion of broken bones and shattered armor, flying backward into the flaming rhinos, who panicked and trampled them into the cobblestones.
[Total operational time: two seconds.]
"Incompetent," Feng Tao muttered, adjusting his collar.
"I'll skin you alive myself!" Zhao Kang shrieked, realization and panic finally setting in. He raised his right hand, his dark viper-qi condensing into a wicked, venomous green claw that lunged straight for Feng Tao's throat, pouring the entirety of his Stage 9 cultivation into a desperate, all-or-nothing strike.
[Tactical Threat Assessment: Primary target's strike speed is pathetic.]
[Left flank completely exposed due to emotional instability.]
[Commencing Holy Face-Slap execution.]
Feng Tao didn't even draw a weapon. He didn't even use a defensive stance.
He simply stepped forward, his body executing a hyper-efficient lateral slip that let the venomous claw pass over his shoulder. At the exact same time, he channeled his liquid qi directly into his right palm, mixing it with the raw, terrifying mass of his dragon-elephant strength.
WACK!
The sound of Feng Tao's open palm connecting with Zhao Kang's left cheek echoed across the mountain pass like a thunderclap.
It wasn't just a slap, it was a catastrophe. The sheer physical force, combined with a sudden, malicious burst of blinding Holy Light from the system, completely shattered Zhao Kang's defensive qi. The young master's teeth pop-corned out of his mouth in a neat, white arc as his body spun like a malfunctioning helicopter blade through the air.
CRASH!
Zhao Kang flew a full thirty yards before his head buried itself directly into the side of his own gold-trimmed carriage, leaving his legs dangling out, twitching rhythmically.
Feng Tao casually walked over to the twitching, upside-down young master. With smooth, practiced mercenary efficiency, he violently yanked the jade storage ring off Zhao Kang's finger, unclipped his gold-embroidered coin purse, and gave his rear end a kick just for good measure.
"Too easy," Feng Tao muttered, tossing the coin purse into his jacket.
He turned back around to face the registration lines, stepping fully out of the shadows. As the grey fog parted, the ambient light caught his face, and the entire plaza collectively stopped breathing.
This was the terrifying power of his passive [Angelic Charm].
In a mountain pass filled with scarred demonic cultivators, Feng Tao looked like a literal deity dropped from the highest heavens. His face possessed an otherworldly, breathtakingly pure symmetry. His eyes were wide and striking, his skin had a flawless, radiant glow that seemed entirely untouched by the world's filth, and his features held a celestial, innocent beauty that practically screamed "righteous chosen hero."
Combined with his new [Primordial Chad Aura] which the system locked in permanently the moment Zhao Kang's body hit the carriage, the contrast was a flashbang. He looked like a pure, holy angel, but he moved with the terrifying dominance of an alpha predator.
Several weak-willed demonic vixens in the back lines instantly suffered minor nosebleeds from the sheer, holy handsomeness. The mature registration elder in the leather corset practically melted into her stone chair, clutching her chest and fanning herself frantically as if she had just seen a vision of paradise.
Feng Xian'er was standing with her jaw completely dropped. Watching him pimp-slap a Stage 9 master while looking like a breathtaking, innocent portrait from a holy painting was too much for her fragile mind to bear. The heat in her lower abdomen was a raging wildfire.
Feng Tao, however, completely ignored the chaos. His eyes locked onto the snake-vixen with the high-slit skirt who was currently staring at his angelic face with wide, glassy, completely hypnotized eyes.
He strutted straight up to her, his broad chest practically casting a shadow over her trembling frame.
"Your dress is too seductive," Feng Tao said, his deep, sultry voice completely betraying his pure, angelic face as he reached out.
His long, beautiful fingers casually slid a stolen gold coin deep into her straining cleavage, his knuckles brushing against her warm skin. "Give me your communication talisman. We need to discuss your defensive blindspots. In my tent. Tonight."
The snake-vixen didn't even hesitate. She let out a soft, embarrassing squeak, her face flushing a deep, explosive crimson as her tail coiled tightly in arousal. She rapidly handed over her jade talisman with trembling fingers, completely ruined by his holy face.
[Ding!]
[Mission "The Great Gates Conquest" successfully completed!]
[Rewards Distributed: 1,000 Exp injected! +1 inch added to Core Thrusting Capacity!]
Before Feng Tao could even pocket the talisman, a massive, gold-tinted transaction ledger flashed across his retinas, accompanied by the chaotic ringing of a digital cash register.
[Ding! Calculating total energy refinement from the Asura Blood-Ridge sequence...]
[Harvested: 12x Qi Condensation Bandits -> 1,200 Raw Dark Units.]
[Harvested: 1x Core Formation Leader -> 5,000 High-Density Core Units.]
[Harvested: 2x Stage 8 Guards -> 600 Guard Units.]
[Harvested: 1x Young Master Zhao Kang -> 1,500 Arrogant Viper Units.]
[Total Dark Qi Purified and Processed: 8,300 Units!]
[Conversion Complete! Host has been credited with: 8,300 Purifying Points!]
[Current Purifying Points Balance: 11,550 PP]
[Experience threshold reached! Oh, Holy One, your Stage 8 foundation has become incredibly dense and thick with raw power!]
[The R18 Adult Section has just unlocked a limited-time sale on [Divine Silk Lubricating Qi] and [Aphrodisiac Resistance Layer 2]. Alternatively, you can save up to upgrade your [Angelic Charm] to Level 2 to give women heart palpitations just by blinking. Invest wisely, you degenerate angel.]
Feng Tao looked at his surging point balance and his Stage 8 status, his angelic face twisting into a thoroughly greedy grin. Over ten thousand points. That's enough to turn my physical body into a walking tank and still have leftover currency to buy some... specialized bedroom gear. And I'm officially one stage higher than Xian'er now.
He turned back to a dazed Feng Xian'er, who was still staring at his glowing profile with a face red enough to cook an egg on.
"This is going to be a fun," Feng Tao said smoothly with a smirk, casually tossing his newly acquired jade communication talisman into the air and catching it. "Let's go sign up for the meat grinder, Xian'er. I've got some shopping to do later."