"Heh..." After hearing Li Xiang's words,
"I came here to meet Senior
"You want me to guard the Ruined Bamboo Forest now? I can do that. I'm fairly confident I can temporarily protect the Ruined Bamboo Forest's peace."
"But... what happens after I'm gone? What will the disciples of the Ruined Bamboo Forest face then?"
"This..." Li Xiang fell silent. He hadn't considered this question.
But now he could imagine it — if Chu Feng had protected the Ruined Bamboo Forest's dignity while he was here, then after he left, the disciples would face far worse humiliation.
"Actually, Senior Hong Qiang was absolutely right. Dignity is something you claim for yourself. If they don't even care about it, how am I supposed to protect it?" Chu Feng smiled and patted Li Xiang on the shoulder.
"No, I care." But just then, a tender, youthful voice suddenly rang out. Looking toward the sound, there stood a boy of only twelve years old.
This little boy was dressed in tattered rags, his hair a tangled mess — like a little street urchin.
Yet on his face there still lingered the innocence of childhood. He was still a boy, not yet a man.
But this boy was missing an arm, and he had only one eye. And on both his lost eye and his lost arm, there remained shocking scars.
"Senior, I care about dignity. I want to reclaim my dignity. I want my body restored to whole."
"Will you help me?" The boy walked up to Chu Feng, his face full of earnest pleading.
In that moment, Chu Feng was moved. Although this little boy was only twelve, he had already reached the first level of the Xuan Martial realm.
Such a level might not be anything special in the Holy Land of Martial Arts, but on the
After all, when Chu Feng was fifteen, he was still in the Spirit Martial realm. At that time, a Xuan Martial realm expert was a terrifying existence to Chu Feng.
And this little boy, at only twelve years of age, already possessed the strength of the first level of the Xuan Martial realm.
But unfortunately, this little boy lived in a very cruel world of martial cultivation — the Holy Land of Martial Arts.
So even though he had achieved the Xuan Martial realm at such a young age, in most people's eyes, he was nothing more than a little waste.
"His name is Xiao Ming. Before the age of eight, he lived in a wealthy household. But in his eighth year, his clan was massacred, and he was the only survivor."
"Later, Senior Brother Shao from our Ruined Bamboo Forest came across him. Seeing how pitiful he was, he brought him into the Ruined Bamboo Forest." Li Xiang recounted Xiao Ming's tragic backstory.
"Do you really want to reclaim your dignity? Restore your body?" Chu Feng asked.
"I carry a blood debt of vengeance deeper than the sea itself. If I can't even reclaim my dignity, how will I ever have the right to seek revenge?"
"I want dignity. I want to be a man who stands tall and unyielding. Only then will I have the qualifications to speak of avenging my family. Otherwise, I won't even be worthy of talking about revenge."
Xiao Ming spoke with absolute conviction. Despite his young age, there was a sharp, fierce gleam in his eyes. Chu Feng could see that this boy truly bore something heavy on his shoulders.
The hatred of a massacred clan — Chu Feng had experienced that too. That desperate, urgent desire for vengeance — Chu Feng understood it better than anyone.
"Alright, I'll help you." Chu Feng didn't hesitate. He decided to help this boy who carried the weight of a deep blood vendetta.