Chapter 348: Divine Knight

This toad roared, spitting golden mist and unleashing lightning. It was incredibly powerful, yet after battling Chu Feng for a short while, it was still defeated.

With a thud, Chu Feng slapped it, sending it flying sideways.

Chu Feng's palm was charged with immense energy, enough to collapse a mountaintop. How terrifying! If it had struck a creature of flesh and blood, the effect would have been even more astonishing.

However, the toad had tough skin and thick flesh. It trembled violently from the blow but sustained no serious injuries and could still hop around.

"Roar!"At that moment, it stopped croaking and let out a beastly roar that was quite astonishing. The forest floor erupted, plants were shredded, and stones weighing thousands of pounds flew into the air.

It charged at Chu Feng again, fighting desperately.

"If you don't surrender, I'll really roast you," Chu Feng said.This time, he showed no mercy and struck hard. His fingers emitted a brilliant light, containing astonishing energy that seemed to radiate, causing the surrounding rock walls to twist and collapse.

Finally, the toad was barely moving, blood oozing from the corner of its mouth.

"Do you surrender?" Chu Feng squatted down and asked it.

It spat saliva, which he quickly dodged.

"Still not surrendering, huh? Then I'll hit you again!" Chu Feng declared. He had no desire to "subdue by virtue" anymore. This bizarre toad, spitting at him and calling him illiterate, clearly couldn't be subdued by normal means.It was better to be direct and simply overpower it.

The toad went limp, but Chu Feng continued to strike, picking it up and hitting it.

"I'll fight you to the death!" the toad roared in anger, hopping and struggling free before engaging Chu Feng in battle once more.

Unfortunately, it was no match and received another thorough beating.

This continued, with Chu Feng hitting it, pausing, and then hitting it again, until the toad completely lost its temper.

"Illiterate fool, if you give me two years, I'll take on ten of you!" The toad, glowing golden and with flames in its eyes, yelled at Chu Feng.

"I don't need you to give me time; I can take on ten of you right now!" Chu Feng continued to strike with heavy blows.

The toad shrieked, "You're too shameless! Can't you be a bit more heroic? Let me go! We'll have a decisive battle in two years, and if I lose again then, I'll surrender at your feet."

"Little brat, stop with the nonsense. I won't let you go. This is your final ultimatum: surrender, or I'll roast and eat you!" Chu Feng declared.

With a thud, the toad was sent flying again. This time, Chu Feng picked it up and took it to the river to wash it.

Then, his right palm glowed, emitting flames directly. He used his energy to create fire and began to roast the toad.

"Aow..." the toad cried out, its eyes rolling back in pain as it struggled fiercely.

However, Chu Feng suppressed it, his body simmering with energy, holding it firmly and roasting it directly.

"Ah, I'm cooked, I'm cooked! Let me go!" the toad shrieked.

"Do you surrender?"

"I surrender." The toad was crestfallen because it saw that Chu Feng was genuinely going to roast it. A creature as slippery as it would never wait to endure such physical suffering.A toad that had so defiantly spat during battle would certainly not sacrifice itself for integrity to become a piece of cooked meat.

Finally, Chu Feng sat down and began to roast fish. He tasted it, found it delicious, and offered a fish to the toad, asking, "What exactly is your true form?"

At the mention of this, the toad became dejected and quite distressed. It scratched its head and said, "I don't know what I am either."

"Do you want to be roasted again?" Chu Feng felt the creature was being dishonest and still needed to be disciplined.

"Truly, I'm not lying. When I was first born, I was covered in scales, like a true dragon. But not long after, I turned into a bird. Who would have thought that after another while, I'd become this? It infuriates me! Others get stronger and stronger, but I get worse and worse, becoming a toad."

It grumbled indignantly, savagely eating the roasted fish.

Chu Feng was filled with doubt. Could such transformations exist? However, recalling the golden scales and feathers, he felt reassured; this creature was indeed peculiar.

"You're already this miserable. What will you transform into next, a cockroach?" Chu Feng chuckled.

"Go to hell, go to hell!" the toad snapped, opening its mouth as if to spit at him again.

"I'm warning you, no spitting from now on! It's disgusting. Especially if you dare to do that while we're eating, I'll throw you directly into the fire and roast you!"

The toad sighed and said, "You see, I get more pathetic with each transformation. I hope I don't really turn into something even more ridiculous next time."

It was very uneasy, disgusted with itself, feeling its current body was too inferior.

Chu Feng had many questions in his mind. "How long ago were you born?" he asked.

"How would I know? There's no distinction between day and night here; there's no concept of time, alright?"

"If no one taught you, how do you know how to write oracle bone script?" Chu Feng asked it.

The toad looked scornful again. "Illiterate fool, you don't understand, do you? Those are energy characters; they should be considered the universal script of cultivators."

"How dare you call me illiterate, just because you know some ancient characters?!" Chu Feng directly punched it, making the toad tumble and eventually beg for mercy before he stopped.

"Too crude! They say that with knowledge comes elegance; you certainly lack that!" It dared not call him illiterate directly but expressed its contempt indirectly.

"Ahhh, I surrender, I surrender!"

Chu Feng subdued it by force, leaving the toad with no fight left. It finally hung its head listlessly, no longer daring to be arrogant.

"You hatched from a golden egg. Who taught you these characters? You seem to know a lot, and you even know about cultivators?" Chu Feng had various questions on his mind.

The toad was dejected, but it still recounted some things.

Many eons ago, it was on Mount Tai, waiting to hatch in this sacred Fengshan site.

At that time, it had some awareness, but it only woke up occasionally, mostly remaining in deep slumber.

For a period, rituals were performed here to worship heaven. Some people discovered it, lectured to it, and taught it various characters, which were transmitted through the eggshell into its mind.

Chu Feng was astonished. Ancient cultivators worshipping heaven—that was a very distant era!

"One day, many more people discovered me. They actually started fighting, saying I was a cursed divine egg, and who knew what could hatch from it. Then... there was no 'then'."

After that, it fell into a complete slumber and only awakened in this current era, finally breaking out of its shell.

Chu Feng was surprised. This divine egg was cursed? What exactly was it? It had been on Mount Tai since ancient times, having witnessed the era of ancient powerhouses performing Fengshan sacrifices.

This was truly astonishing and terrifying!

Chu Feng asked, "Don't divine beasts all have bloodline inheritances? Can't you sense your own blood memories?"

"No, I'm cursed. I haven't found any blood imprints," the toad shook its head.

It believed it was a true dragon, or possibly a Kunpeng, or even a phoenix, or perhaps a Qilin.

Of course, it was completely self-absorbed, rattling off many names, all of which were top-tier mythical creatures, with no low-level species mentioned.

"I think you're just a toad!" Chu Feng said.

"In two years, I'll beat you into a toad!" it yelled, full of resentment.

"Quite confident, aren't we?" Chu Feng chuckled.

"Of course! Even though there's no distinction between day and night here, making it hard to measure time, I have a hunch that it hasn't even been a year since I hatched. To be only slightly weaker than you after such a short time, imagine in another two years – I'll beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you."

"You rotten toad, you're asking for a beating!"

The toad shrieked, receiving another severe beating.

Chu Feng's heart was troubled because he felt the toad had a point. It might indeed have hatched not long ago, perhaps less than a year.This timeframe precisely coincided with the onset of the world's great transformation.

Was this even fair? To be so powerful after just one year of birth, surpassing many king-level creatures—this bloodline was incredibly formidable.

However, he recalled what the Yellow Ox had said: some creatures from powerful stars were terrifyingly mighty, capable of standing at the top of the food chain on Earth even in their infancy.

Chu Feng suspected that this creature might be the descendant of a powerful entity from a top-ranked life-bearing planet, left behind on Earth.

"Hmm, perhaps..."Suddenly, he thought of another possibility: Earth once ranked eleventh in the cosmic starry sea, a period of its greatest glory.Could this egg have been left behind by a powerhouse from Earth during that era? If so, its origin would be immense.

"Are you sure you're cursed? That's why you don't know what you truly are?" Chu Feng asked.

The toad's spirits sank again. "Yes," it said, "even before I was born, the people performing rituals here were saying there was something wrong with me and that they didn't know what I would eventually become."

"Alright, don't be so sentimental. You're already a toad; how much worse can it get? Maybe next time your luck will turn, and you'll transform into a turtle, a mouse, or an ant."

"Stop talking! Is that how a scoundrel like you comforts someone? It'd be better if I didn't change at all and just stayed like this!" the toad fumed.

"Okay, okay, okay, I won't say anymore. Let's aim for you to transform into a fairy. Come on, let's leave here first." Chu Feng stood up.

He led the toad out of the area, traversing the void along a pebble path, and finally emerged into the outside world.

"This is the divine beast?!" The old grandmaster, who had been waiting outside, was stunned. Seeing Chu Feng bring out a toad, he was at a loss for words.

"What are you looking at, old fart? Haven't you ever seen such a handsome toad? Five hundred thousand years ago, I was a true dragon, a Kunpeng, a Qilin!"

The toad retorted self-righteously, disdainfully looking at the old grandmaster from Mount Wudang.

Chu Feng immediately slapped it. "This is my master; you must show respect."

"Respect my foot! I'm out of here! You two go play by yourselves!" The toad yelled oddly, laughing heartily.

It stood upright and shot away with a whoosh, running on two legs, emitting golden light and bolting like a flash of lightning.It was incredibly fast, exceeding five times the speed of sound, comparable to Chu Feng's previous speed.

However, after purifying his energy with the small millstone, Chu Feng could now, if he pushed himself, briefly approach six times the speed of sound, terrifyingly fast.

"Goodbye, illiterate!"The toad was almost out of sight, but its voice carried back. It laughed heartily, feeling as carefree as a dragon returning to the sea.

However, its joy didn't last long. Just as it reached the foot of Mount Tai, someone tapped it on the shoulder.

"Where are you planning to go?"

"The Dragon Palace under the sea, you... Ahhh!"The toad instinctively responded, but then screamed repeatedly. Chu Feng was too fast; he had instantly caught up and grabbed it.

Another brutal beating ensued.

When the old grandmaster descended the mountain, Chu Feng was sitting on the toad, using it as a mount, doing his utmost to make it submit.

"Even if you beat me to death, I won't be your mount! I am a divine beast, a sacred beast, a supreme existence. When I grow up, even cultivators of the Demon Saint level will treat me with respect. Why should I be your mount? If you, instead, become my mount now, when I become a Saint, I will remember your kindness and grant you eternal life."

"So, you won't submit even if I beat you to death? Then I'll keep hitting you," Chu Feng said.

"Stop hitting me! You need to convince people with reason. You're too aggressive and crude."

"I subdue people with force."

"Ahhh, I surrender!" The toad submitted again, actually agreeing to be a mount. It was genuinely terrified of Chu Feng; its bones felt like they were about to break. And judging by his demeanor, it believed this demon would do anything, so it didn't want to actually be roasted.

"Didn't you say you'd never submit, even if beaten to death, and wouldn't be my mount?" Chu Feng asked.

"But I wasn't beaten to death, was I?" The toad replied shamelessly, without a hint of embarrassment.

On the rest of the journey, Chu Feng tested the toad's speed. The old grandmaster also rode on it, as the toad could enlarge its body to the size of a room.

Its entire body was bathed in golden light, flowing with golden mist, appearing quite divine.

"Whoosh!"Chu Feng was speechless because it was an exceptional jumper. Every time it leaped, it was as if it were riding clouds, not taking the usual path, but specifically jumping over mountains.

"Jumping up and down like this is really uncomfortable. An ordinary person riding you like this would have their body fall apart," Chu Feng remarked.

The toad was definitely doing it on purpose, jumping up and down because it didn't want to carry them. It said, "This is just how my body is right now. Once I transform into a true Phoenix, I'll definitely spread my wings and soar through the sky."

"Go ahead and jump; I'm not afraid. You're considered a divine beast, so I'll be a divine knight from now on," Chu Feng said.

The toad puffed out its cheeks, wanting to spit again. Was it really going to be a human's mount long-term? It wanted to eat Chu Feng, but unfortunately, it couldn't win. It made up its mind to escape at the first opportunity.

Chu Feng and the old grandmaster didn't dare to return to Mount Wudang because shortly after descending, they heard that an old Daoist priest was about to go mad with rage and was looking for Chu Feng to settle a score.

When the old Daoist priest was mentioned, people on the road showed strange expressions. He reportedly looked like he was being chased and bitten by a dog, yet no dog was visible.

"He holds quite a grudge, doesn't he?" Chu Feng muttered.

The old grandmaster was speechless. How could he not hold a grudge? Every time he activated his energy, dog barks emanated from his backside. Who could stand that? He definitely had to get revenge.

The toad, being two-faced, said, "Where is that old Daoist priest? I hate Daoists the most! Let's go settle the score with him, beat him to death!" It eagerly inquired with passersby, wanting to chase him down.

Chu Feng sat on it, tapping it. "Don't think about escaping through him. I'm telling you, that old Daoist priest is even more ruthless. He'd definitely throw you directly into a medicine furnace to be refined into a divine beast pill if he saw you."

"This world is too terrifying. Never mind, I'll stick with you then." The toad went limp.

Chu Feng, riding the toad, returned to Mount Wudang with the old grandmaster.

Upon returning, he immediately set up various force fields, fully fortifying Mount Wudang, fearing the old Daoist priest would come looking for him to settle the score.By now, he had an abundance of magnets and jade pieces, with a mountain-like pile of them in his spatial bottle.

At Mount Zijin and Mount Tai, various consortiums had brought too many materials, many of which he had stuffed into his jade purity bottle.

"Luoshen, your father said he wants to recruit Chu Feng as his son-in-law. What do you think?"That day, Jiang Luoshen was stunned when she received a message from her mother.Simultaneously, major consortiums and some top-tier powers began to make their moves. The journey to Mount Tai had a massive impact on them.Once they had control over Chu Feng, as his mastery of force fields improved, all the famous mountains would effectively be undefended to them, allowing them to seize terrifying opportunities in the future!

"Nuoyi, write a letter to Chu Feng and invite him to Heavenly God Biotech."