Stealing The Heavens
chapter-124

Shi Tianmo, the true master of Shi Martial Club.

Unlike his skinny and short son, Shi Tianmo stood nearly ten feet tall, burly and stalwart. He looked strong as a bear in the hips and with a back supple as that of a tiger. His stature was almost identical to Xiong Qing and his brothers after transforming into human form. He had a head of polished dark hair, which were so dark they almost looked devilish, like a black hole that sucked all of the nearby light into it. In contrast, his skin was unusually pale, dull and lifeless. However, just like his son, Wu Qi could see a light hue of green underneath his skin.

Bringing together a strong breeze, Shi Tianmo sprinted out from the backyard, shattered the raging flame and the blast wave created by the explosion of three hundred Explosive Talismans with a powerful punch. A towering aura was emanating from him, and a strong invisible breeze was wheeling around his body, as he kept pressuring towards Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le. When he was on his way sprinting towards them, his tiptoe was seen lightly touching the ground, and all the two feet thick stone bricks were shattered by his feet.

Wu Qi could see and hear everything clearly. When Shi Tianmo was running just now, he did not use any of innate energy, and was solely depending on the strength of his muscles to achieve the great speed. However, his speed was almost on par with the speed of an ordinary Human Immortal flying with a sword. In addition to that, when his feet landed on the ground before the next leap, the tread sounded like muffled thunder; it was quite a heavy step. It was a sign that his body weight was far greater than any ordinary man, and judging from the sound, the density of his muscles was at least thirty times than that of an ordinary man. It could be compared to an iron essence that had gone through a hundred times of tempering.

A body like this, how powerful a strength did it contain? Without the slightest doubt, Wu Qi believed that with just his body, this guy could even fight face to face with the magic and flying swords of a Human Immortal. However, he did not show any strange signs of a Gold Core realm Human Immortal. His current cultivation base should be at the Embryonic Breath tier of Xiantian realm. Nevertheless, the strength of his innate energy was probably one hundred times stronger than his son, as it had been compressed and became a substance that looked like mercury.

"What a monster, what a monstrous technique of cultivating!" Carefully, Wu Qi kept his glance fixed on Shi Tianmo, while grabbing Princess Zhang Le's little hand tightly with his right palm and standing before her. A gleam of four colors was flickering in the depth of his eyes as he kept examining every movement of Shi Tianmo, fearing this man would launch a sudden attack on Princess Zhang Le.

From behind, four Ghost Immortals walked up slowly, standing and protecting at four corners of Princess Zhang Le. Four pairs of deadly still eyes had fixed straight on Shi Tianmo.

Shi Tianmo had a handsome face, and looked merely in his thirties. While carrying his son with both his arms, whose body was badly mutilated and had been dripping with blood because of the violent explosion, Shi Tianmo let out a furious roar, "What kind of grudge does Wugou have with you? You little junior, how many Explosive Talismans had you used to make him wounded like this? You, you!"

After letting out a few furious roars, Shi Tianmo cared not to talk further with Wu Qi as he quickly shot out threads of greenish gas from both palms and slapped them forcefully onto Shi Wugou's body. After that, he took out a few dark green pills, which were emanating a strong scent of grass and wood, and made Wu Qi feel a dizziness upon smelling it. Without hesitation, he shoved them into Shi Wugou's mouth, and very soon, the wounds on the skin of Shi Wugou began to heal. The recovery speed was so fast that it made no one believe he was still an ordinary human.

Wu Qi caught a glimpse at those few dark green pills, and from the smell of it, he was able to identify a few poisonous herbs. He read about these herbs in Scroll of Stealing before. Not only did they contain a deadly poison, but they also contained some strange effects that could temper muscle and stimulate the potential of the body. However, these herbs were not meant for human consumption, but were used by some cultivators who took the evil path in tempering all sorts of demon beasts into pets, and using them as the gatekeepers and guards.

Why was Shi Tianmo feeding his own son with this peculiar pill - 'Beast Body Pill'? Were this pair of father-and-son demon beasts that had transformed into human form, or they had been tempered by someone using an evil technique? Wu Qi pondered for a brief moment, and reckoned that the latter had a higher possibility. After all, if a demon beast wished to transform into human form, he would have to form his Demon Core, just like Xiong Qing and his brothers. Before they could cultivate into a Demon Immortal, they could only stay in the beast form.

Looking at how the wounds on Shi Wugou's body were healing in an incredible speed, Wu Qi said with an indifferent voice, "They are the best quality Explosive Talisman produced by Heavenly Spirit Sect that one can buy. Hmm, the market price for each of this talisman is sixty gold coins. In order to hurt Shi Wugou with the explosion, it cost me a hefty fortune."

Princess Zhang Le did not have much idea about money. From behind Wu Qi's shoulder, she poked half of her smiling face out and said, "That's right, an Explosive Talisman that cost sixty gold coins, and three hundred of them cost eighteen thousand gold coins. Aye, these eighteen thousand gold coins can't even kill a man. The Explosive Talisman of Heavenly Spirit Sect must have been mixed with water!"

While putting up a high level of vigilance with his subordinates from the Scouting Office, Yan Bugui nearly fell to the ground upon hearing what they said. Ruefully, he threw a glance over at Wu Qi and kept shaking his head. That was a stack of three hundred Explosive Talismans! How could he use all of them in one go? Although they were the lowest grade talisman produced by Heavenly Spirit Sect, they still cost eighteen thousand gold coins! Yan Bugui kept muttering under his breath, unable to understand how and where did Wu Qi find so much money.

Yan Bugui still remembered when Wu Qi purchased two hundred Explosive Talismans from him for the first time. But, when did Wu Qi purchase these three hundred Explosive Talismans?

Both Princess Zhang Le and Yan Bugui had a completely different response to Wu Qi's big spending. On the other side, Shi Tianmo's body was shivering with anger. He snapped loudly, "Three hundred Explosive Talismans! What kind of grudge does my son have with you that made you want to hurt him with such an approach? Who the hell are you people? Is your visit to Shi Martial Club really for the challenge?"

Finally, Shi Tianmo came to a conclusion. Both Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le did not look old from their appearance, and it was not because they had consumed some pills or cultivated with an evil technique that kept their young look, but they were both actual youths in their teenage. None of them had their age exceeding eighteen years. Nevertheless, such a pair of youth actually possessed the cultivation of Xiantian realm. Without even asking, he knew they had a strong background.

Furthermore, just because they wanted to hurt somebody, they had ignited three hundred Explosive Talismans in one go. It was not something an ordinary person would have done.

Putting aside the fact that it cost more than ten thousand gold coins to purchase these three hundred Explosive Talismans, for any people with a reasonable mind, who would ignite a thick bundle of Explosive Talismans in one go? With the explosion of one talisman, it was sufficient enough to severely wound a warrior who had cultivated some innate energy, and ten Explosive Talismans were able to severely wounded a Daoist of Respiration tier. When one hundred Explosive Talismans were ignited at the same time, it was able to bring threat to the life of even a Human Immortal. So, for a man with a sane mind, would he take the risk of getting himself killed together by the explosion and igniting three hundred Explosive Talismans in one go?

It was not merely a wasteful act, but it also carried a manner of insanity. Judging from Wu Qi's style of work, he did not look like someone with the origin of an ordinary warrior clan. And those wealthy clans with their members comprising of good civilians could never cultivate a man such as him. His style did give forth an air of a warrior who had gone through blood and war, and was definitely an elite who had crawled out from mountains of corpses and ocean of blood.

And this was Shi Tianmo's biggest concern. No matter how he looked at Wu Qi, this young man did not look like he had reached eighteen years of age. So, how could he possess the temperament and experience of a warrior who had gone through blood and war?

Although Shi Tianmo was fuming with rage, he still tried his best in controlling his temper and calming his mind. Deep inside of his eye sockets, a pair of eyes glittering was staring straight at Wu Qi with a strange gleam.

Under Shi Tianmo's palm, Shi Wugou was seen struggling violently, yelling and asking Shi Tianmo to take revenge for him. If not for him and his father cultivating with a profound technique which gave them a much stronger body compared to ordinary warriors and cultivators, he would have had long been ripped into pieces by Wu Qi's sudden strike. It was lucky that he could react in a timely manner and circulated a secret defensive technique that protected his body from being torn apart by the explosion. But still, all his viscera suffered a serious injury.

"Dad, kill all of them! I want that little girl to be captured, and I'll teach her a good lesson!" Shi Wugou yelled out with a shrill and hoarse voice, glaring at Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le with an aggressive look in his eyes.

Shi Tianmo stretched out his hand and covered Shi Wugou's mouth, then after staring at Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le, he snapped, "Who do you work for? And why are you stirring troubles in my Shi Martial Club? Although I carried myself with a rather overbearing manner in Ji City, I don't remember I ever offended any members of prestige. With the cultivation base of you two, and..." He threw a glance over at Meng Xiaobai and few other men, sneered and continued, "The guards protecting both of you are not someone who can be owned by ordinary people. So tell me, who exactly have I offended?"

Wu Qi did not say anything. There was a strange gleam glittering in his eyes, as he kept casting an examining glance at Shi Tianmo.

How much of blood essence did it cost to temper such a formidable body? Despite what kind of evil technique Shi Tianmo was cultivating with, that gave him his current achievement, it was no doubt that he had a mighty corporeal body. For other people, this body of Shi Tianmo did not have too much of usage. If it was fell into the hand of some evil cultivators, it could be a good material to produce all kind of combative puppets. But for Wu Qi, Shi Tianmo's corporeal body was simply an incredible tonic.

How much of spirit and energy was contained in this powerful and vigorous body? If he could capture Shi Tianmo alive, Wu Qi would be able to use the energy essence in his body and make the cultivation for the Source of Earth, Wood, and Fire Chapter to quickly break through Meridian Cultivating and Physical Strengthening tier. Currently, Wu Qi's body only had the characteristic of 'softness'. If he were able to make Earth, Wood, and Fire element in his body attain the cultivation of Physical Strengthening, then his body would possess the characteristic of heaviness and sturdiness of Earth element, suppleness of Wood element, and the vigorous vitality of Fire element.

"It is indeed good stuff… I can't let him slip past my fingers!"

Using a weird glance, Wu Qi kept looking at Shi Tianmo, and it made Shi Tianmo feel a shivering sensation in his mind.

By surveying him with such an impolite glance, that even carried an undertone of looking over from aloft, if Wu Qi was not a madman, he must have something mighty supporting him from the back. Shi Tianmo had his eyes fixed right on Wu Qi's face, holding back the uneasiness he felt in his mind and shouted, "Who exactly are you? Why are you creating trouble here? If I've ever offended you before, I'm willing to apologize and compensate you."

A loud clamor instantly broke out from all the surrounding apprentices. Since when had they ever witnessed Shi Tianmo bow his head with such a low bearing? He was the strongest Grandmaster of martial art in Ji City, so, why would he bow his head and surrendered to two youth who came wreaking havoc at their door?

Wu Qi still did not say anything. He just kept glancing at Shi Tianmo from top to toe, with a weird smile on his face.

But Princess Zhang Le could not hold herself anymore. She jumped out from behind, let out a loud laugh and said, "Why are we creating troubles here? Ugh, actually I don't... ugh, no, I've taken a fancy to your courtyard. Sell it to me for three taels of gold, then you can go wherever you want!" She still remembered that Wu Qi had said he wanted to purchase Shi Martial Club with three taels of gold just now.

Shi Tianmo paid no attention to Princess Zhang Le, who obviously was here to create a disturbance. His gaze was fixed at Wu Qi, then with a cold and stern voice, he said, "Why are you not talking? Are you waiting for something?"

Before he could finish his words, suddenly, the ground shook for a brief moment, and a muffled boom of explosion came from the backyard of Shi Martial Club. Vaguely large pieces of broken tiles and bricks could be seen shooting high up into the sky. A couple dozens of human figures were ripped and shattered into pieces amidst the blast wave and broken tiles. Looking from afar, a great number of broken limbs were falling off from the sky like a rain shower.

Shi Tianmo's face fell instantly. "Who breached the formation to my secret chamber?" He cried out with a stern voice.

Howling of ghosts soared high up into the sky from the direction of the backyard. Four half-transparent, grayish figures shot right up into the sky. Countless miscellaneous articles were carried by a chilly breeze, following behind these four figures in a messy order and flying in Wu Qi's direction.

As the ear-splitting howl of ghosts approached, a white figure flew straight beside Wu Qi, together with a few objects.

"Mister Wu Qi, here's the identity token of Duke Yan Le, and it had been sealed with multiple layers of defensive mechanisms!"

Identity token of Duke Yan Le? Wu Qi sneered.

Shi Tianmo's expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he hugged tightly on his son, then shot himself into the sky like a cannonball ejected from a barrel.