We agreed to seek enlightenment together, but how did you end up seeking enlightenment for my mother

"Hand over all your secrets, and I can make your death less painful."

Chi Feng stopped fifteen meters away, a distance he could cross almost instantly with his current physique.

In his eyes, the short knife in Xu Zhou's hand was no different from a teaching tool and had no deterrent effect whatsoever.

On the contrary, the presence of the True Words Hair brought him some pressure, but only a little.

Xu Zhou neither retreated nor dodged, but stood in front of Wu Lulu with his knife, staring directly at the priest.

"Chifeng, look at what you've done! Slaughtering villages, sacrificing people—is this the path to transcendence you've chosen?"

"Interesting. If it weren't for the current situation, I wouldn't be discussing the path to enlightenment with an ordinary person. But the fact that you've pushed me to this point proves your ability. So I'll answer your question for now."

Chi Feng crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly, looking down at Xu Zhou with a solemn tone.

"You ungrateful young lads never realize your own limitations. You don't actually believe that any path to advancement can be taken with just a burst of courage, do you?"

"Do you know how many people in this world awaken their spiritual path? Of those, how many can step into the extraordinary realm and awaken more than three times within that level? Not to mention the realms beyond the extraordinary, which are inherently a path fraught with difficulty!"

"To survive in the extraordinary realm, you need power and connections! If you can't seize opportunities, you'll only stagnate forever. Your laughable sense of justice is worthless to the path—God doesn't care!"

Finally, Chi Feng suddenly spread his arms wide, and the energy within his body emitted a deep, muffled sound like a drumbeat. The halo under his skin became increasingly intense, and his whole being resembled a volcano about to erupt.

Xu Zhou did not entirely agree with this statement. Even in the extraordinary world that everyone yearns for, there should be things that can be done and things that cannot be done.

So he vehemently retorted:

"God doesn't care, but I do! Someone else will!"

Chi Feng was stunned for a moment, then burst into wild laughter.

"Listen to that! Listen to that! Ah~ I wish this were a stage, so that all the audience members could hear your incredibly childish statement in person!"

After laughing, he touched his bald head and sighed helplessly, as if lamenting Xu Zhou's naiveté.

"So what? You care, but what can you change? Can you stop me?"

"I kill, I set fires, I sacrifice, I rise in rank!"

"I behold the flame, I transcend the ordinary!"

Chi Feng went completely mad, and the residual power of his supernatural abilities further tempered his body, making him look like an incarnation of lava, with scorching heat emanating from his entire body.

The surrounding grass withered rapidly, the earth cracked inch by inch, and a frenzied, mysterious energy surged wildly within the priest's body, almost bursting out.

Just then, Wu Lulu stood in front of Xu Zhou, extending her intact right arm to shield him from view, her gaze fixed straight on Chi Feng.

"Xu Zhou, you can go now. I can stop him one more time. I'll be fine."

The slender yet resolute figure before him made Xu Zhou understand his own heart even more clearly.

He still wanted to be a kind person, a good person who could be recognized by others.

If he had taken advantage of the chaos to loot the village earlier, would Wu Lulu still be standing in front of him now?

So he reached out, pressed down on Wu Lulu's shoulder, and pulled her into his arms without saying a word.

The wolf-like girl had no strength to resist. Her words were only meant to reassure her companions. In reality, she was no match for Chi Feng in her current state.

"Wu Lulu, you say you can't see the way, but in my opinion, you've already found your own path."

It's unclear how Wu Lulu interpreted those words, but her cheeks suddenly turned red, and she began to stammer.

"This...this is all because of you..."

"Chaos is merely a facade; justice is the true essence of your character, isn't it?"

"Is...is that so?" Wu Lulu tilted her head, her eyes somewhat blank.

"That must be it."

Xu Zhou released her and looked at the priest in front of him, who had been fully enhanced. He put away his dagger and the hair of the True Word, and stood straight in place as if resigned to his fate.

Chi Feng shook his neck, his knuckles cracking. At that moment, he felt as if he had entered a completely new realm, and a wonderful realization welled up in his heart.

"Flames, blood... So that's how it is. So this is the true secret technique of burning blood."

Losing a supernatural power is certainly a heavy price to pay, but being able to experience this unprecedented strength and confidence makes it all seem worthwhile.

He looked at the two people nestled together under the fire wall, and an uncontrollable smile appeared on his lips.

"Little Shiba Inu, since you're not planning to hand over everything, then... are you ready to die with your new lover?"

Xu Zhou's expression was resolute as he held the soft, warm body tightly in his arms, refusing to budge an inch.

"Chifeng, justice cannot be killed!"

"Then burn yourself out with your so-called ideals!!"

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, an iron fist was aimed straight at his face. Xu Zhou could already picture himself being smashed to pieces by a single punch, but he never closed his eyes.

The next instant, a sharp gust of wind whistled past my ears.

A huge, angular metal fist shot out from the wall of fire, passed over Xu Zhou's shoulder, and collided violently with Chi Feng's fist!

boom--!!

The scorching heatwave knocked Xu Zhou and Wu Lulu off their feet, causing them to roll over and land on their backsides. The violent explosion nearly tore Xu Zhou's eardrums apart, while Wu Lulu, who had exceptional hearing, rolled her eyes and fainted on the spot.

"What?!"

The fatal blow was blocked midway, and Chi Feng's eyes were filled with disbelief, but he soon saw clearly what was happening.

Blocking his way was a nearly three-meter-tall metal puppet, its crimson eyes flashing incessantly beneath a cold mask.

This was precisely the moment Xu Zhou had planned to counterattack, but he hadn't expected the timing to be so precise. Xu Zhou felt a chill of fear; if it had been half a second later, he probably would have been blown away.

Chi Feng immediately tried to retreat, but it was too late. The iron golem couldn't think, but he had genuinely been stunned for a moment. At this moment, the second iron fist was already smashing down on his head.

Thump—bang!

With just one punch, he slammed Chi Feng into the ground!

In an instant, soil and rocks flew everywhere, and the ground cracked!

buzz-

As soon as the iron golem landed its first punch, a second punch followed immediately, aimed at the ground and unleashing a full-power attack.

Chi Feng hastily unleashed a surge of mysterious energy, barely managing to halt the opponent's continuous attacks. However, before he could break free, a golden thread quietly wrapped around his ankle, holding him in place for half a second.

In that half-second, the iron golem's attack had already poured down like a torrential rain.

Chi Feng instinctively started cursing.

"Xu Zhou, your mother—"

Boom boom boom boom boom!

The iron golem remained silent, only throwing punches repeatedly.

The earth trembled slightly, each punch felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and the continuous bombardment echoed throughout the village, even drowning out the roar of rising flames and collapsing houses.

Xu Zhou withdrew the strand of hair that had been uttered, finally revealing a relieved smile.

"I told you!"

"Justice cannot be killed!"

[Seed of Acquisition Method: Destruction - Judgment]