Then, as if he'd thought of something, Kingpin forced himself to suppress his animalistic urges.
Ren Qing didn't notice this at all, and of course, even if he did, he probably wouldn't have cared.
The Information Flow indicated that it would only cost five days of Lifespan to master the "Eight Extremes Leg."
It seemed like a bargain, but he gave up without much hesitation.
To Ren Qing, the so-called Eight Extremes Leg was like an inferior version of a Magic Technique. What's more, there was no information about any possible advancements, meaning it had zero potential.
After cultivating it, one would only be slightly stronger than an ordinary person, but the resulting mutation of the legs was too obvious. The cost far outweighed the benefit.
However, from the Cultivation Technique's information, he could tell that Chen Yongxing had been using his own leg meat to nurture his disciples a long time ago. At that time, things likely had not yet spun out of control.
Ren Qing glanced at Kingpin from the corner of his eye and remained silent.
Time trickled by. Eventually, footsteps sounded outside the Martial Arts Hall, and Chen Lihua's familiar voice rang out, "It's about time for the night meal."
Everyone was immediately jolted awake.
Ren Qing clearly sensed Kingpin swallow. Then, putting on a look of feigned terror, he said, "Only one more person can be chosen."
"I'll go."
The dark-skinned man stood up resolutely. He even said gratefully, "Senior Brother Jin, thank you for your care these past two days."
Kingpin, however, turned his malicious gaze toward Ren Qing, considering what excuse he could use to intervene and take him away.
Just then, Ren Qing walked to the door without hesitation.
A delighted look crept onto Kingpin's face. His mind was consumed by a craving for flesh and blood, and he wished he could devour Ren Qing alive on the spot.
The dark-skinned man was about to say something, but when he saw Kingpin turn and give him a cold glance, a chill shot down his spine.
"Shut up."
Kingpin walked out of the Martial Arts Hall, leaving the five men to look at each other in dismay.
Chen Lihua remained expressionless as she led Ren Qing deeper into the Martial Arts Hall.
The narrow corridor was not lit by candlelight and was extremely dim, but Ren Qing's night vision allowed him to see many details that were hard to notice.
There were fingernail scratches on the walls, bloody drag marks from corpses on the floor, and even a few fragments of human bone.
The bones were already weathered; they had been there for at least several years.
Chen Lihua opened the wooden door at the end of the hallway. A spacious hall filled with disciples from the Martial Arts Hall came into view.
They stared at Ren Qing with horrifying eyes.
Ren Qing, however, seemed unfazed. As if he owned the place, he found a seat and sat down. Noticing a cauldron of oil in the center of the hall, he couldn't help but reveal an intrigued expression.
"Fellow Senior Brothers, please wait for a moment."
Chen Lihua turned and walked out of the hall.
Firewood was added to heat the cauldron of oil. Other disciples sharpened their knives, while Kingpin stayed glued to Ren Qing's side.
A short while later, Chen Lihua returned to the hall. Behind her, several disciples carried Chen Yongxing's bed on their shoulders.
Chen Yongxing struggled to get up, but his limbs were clearly tied down. He could only watch helplessly as he was carried to the side of the oil cauldron.
Even though Ren Qing had anticipated something like this, he couldn't help but find it utterly absurd. Still, Chen Yongxing was no saint either.
Describing it as 'you reap what you sow' was indeed fitting.
Chen Lihua turned her head and said, "If you can survive what comes next, you can join the Martial Arts Hall and pursue the Martial Dao with us."
Kingpin wanted to speak up and stop her, but he saw Ren Qing walk up to the bed on his own accord.
From his angle, Chen Yongxing could just barely see Ren Qing's half-open eyes. The swirling Double Pupils were clearly related to a Magic Technique.
A look of astonishment on his face, he wanted to warn Chen Lihua, who was not far away, but unfortunately, he couldn't utter a single word.
Based on the information he had gathered, Ren Qing pieced together the whole story behind the Martial Arts Hall.
Chen Yongxing had probably started preparing for his death several years ago. His main concern was the ownership of the Mysterious Object after he died.
Although it was supposed to be reclaimed by the Blood Dog Gang, Chen Yongxing wanted to pass it down to his disciples instead.
But even mastering a Magic Technique by consuming a Mysterious Object was not without risk.
So, Chen Yongxing took an unconventional approach. He secretly fed his own leg meat to his disciples, hoping they would gradually adapt to the mutation.
But the Mysterious Object could make people lose their sanity. How could ordinary people resist it? Before long, they began to go mad.
Chen Yongxing still didn't give up. He had newly recruited disciples eat the leg meat, and after killing them, had the hall's own disciples devour their remains.
He thought that this extra step would reduce the side effects, but he was clearly mistaken. Their minds were still being subtly and imperceptibly altered.
When the disciples discovered the truth about the "medicinal primer," they didn't understand the Mysterious Objects of the Martial Artist Realm, so they resorted to killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.
Ren Qing asked curiously, "Chen Lihua, when did you all discover that Chen Yongxing's flesh and blood was the medicinal primer?"
As soon as he said this, more than a dozen pairs of murderous eyes locked onto Ren Qing. The sound of heavy breathing rose and fell around him.
Ren Qing continued, "I'd guess it's been a few months, right? Otherwise, it would have been quite difficult to bring Chen Yongxing under control with drugs without him noticing."
Chen Lihua took several steps back. Kingpin, beside her, was already bursting with impatience, wanting to incite the other disciples to attack Ren Qing as a group.
"We can't let him get away! Only by eating his flesh and drinking his blood..."
Ren Qing walked straight over and threw back Chen Yongxing's blanket, revealing his legs.
The flesh on Chen Yongxing's right leg was almost completely carved away, leaving only white bone that reeked of rot.
His left leg was still relatively intact, so Ren Qing took the opportunity to examine it closely.
On the surface, it looked quite ordinary, but the skin was grayish and slightly rough, covered in deep, ravine-like wrinkles.
It reminded Ren Qing of Elephant Hide. This was likely one of the branches of the Divine Sutra, and the mutation wasn't obvious.
Kingpin could no longer hold back and charged forward.
Although his legs were covered in muscle, he made little noise when he moved. Combined with the fact that he deliberately circled around from a blind spot, his approach was silent.
Confident he wouldn't be noticed, Kingpin forcefully kicked his right leg toward Ren Qing's head.
He could almost see brains splattering everywhere, his face filled with irrepressible excitement.
But suddenly, Kingpin's expression turned to one of shock.
The Ren Qing in front of him had somehow turned sideways. His frigid gaze met Kingpin's, scaring him half to death in an instant.
Unsurprisingly, Kingpin's kick missed. A sharp pain then shot through his supporting left leg, and he collapsed to the ground.
Ren Qing bent down and wrapped an arm around Kingpin's neck. He gradually increased the pressure until the bones shattered.
"I've been sick of you for a while. What's with the act?"
Kingpin's eyes bulged as the life left him. Seeing this, the surrounding Martial Arts Hall disciples scattered like birds and beasts.
A strange sound came from Chen Yongxing's throat. It was unclear whether he was trying to protect his disciples or attack Ren Qing.
Stimulated by the Divine Sutra, he actually began to move, but his remaining Lifespan was burned away in the process.
But it was all for naught.
Ren Qing drew his Wooden Blade and slashed several times.
As the blade broke the skin, Chen Yongxing's spine shattered. A look of relief washed over his face.
Ren Qing sighed.
'What a hassle. When you're not strong enough, you still have to worry about escape routes...'