Volume 1: Bo'an Awakening & The Calamity Storm
Chapter 20
Tearing the Contract
Golden radiance from the enchanted crystal chandeliers suspended along the arched vaulted ceiling illuminated every opulent corner of Moon Garden Manor’s grand banquet hall.
The entire chamber had plunged into a stifling, suffocating silence. Hundreds of distinguished guests—from wealthy merchant tycoons to the elite mages of Bian’an City—held their breath, their gazes glued to the plain-clothed youth standing motionless before the central banquet table.
In the seat of honor, Ling Zhuofeng sat with legs crossed upon an armchair upholstered in savage beast-hide, his manicured fingers tapping out a slow, rhythmic cadence against the armrest. In the eyes of the Ling Clan’s patriarch, Lin Feng’s lingering silence was nothing more than the stunned stupor of a pauper confronted with an unimaginable windfall: two Magic Crystals every single month and a high-grade Magic Shield set valued at five hundred thousand magic coins.
To a destitute carriage driver’s family forced to pinch every scrap of copper just to purchase medicine for a crippled daughter, such resources were nothing short of a miracle. The old patriarch was utterly convinced that no sixteen-year-old boy from the wretched slums of South Street could ever resist such a lure. For Lin Feng to drop to his knees in tearful gratitude, press his thumb to the parchment, and sign his life away was merely a matter of time.
A few paces to the side, Ling Bai stood preening in his immaculate white designer suit, the corners of his lips curved in a smug, self-satisfied smirk. He was counting the seconds until his arrogant rival was forced to bow his head and accept the master-slave collar, doomed from this day forth to stoop his back and subserviently address him as “Young Master.” Beside him, Deacon Ling Gang sneered with venomous gloating, his own oppressive aura already radiating outward like a heavy, suffocating shroud over the room.
“Pick up the pen, you South Street trash!” Li Peng scurried out from behind the tables, his voice shrill and urgent. “Becoming a servant of the illustrious Ling Clan is a blessing accumulated across ten lifetimes of your family’s ancestors! What are you standing there gaping for?!”
Yet Lin Feng did not reach for the gold-nibbed fountain pen resting upon the velvet-lined silver platter.
Instead, his slender hands moved. His fingers tightened their grip around the thick enchanted sheepskin parchment and the resplendent golden silk ribbon binding it. Slowly, he raised his head, a frigid sneer playing upon the corners of his mouth.
And then...
RIP——!!
A sharp, violent, ear-splitting tearing sound detonated across the heart of the banquet hall!
The sound ripped through the hollow, pretentious atmosphere of the aristocratic gala like a crack of thunder!
The golden silk ribbon embroidered with the Ling Clan’s snowflake crest and the thick magical parchment were torn clean in half by Lin Feng’s iron hands in a single, brutal motion! Golden silk fibers snapped, and fragments of parchment fluttered through the air like dying moths!
He didn’t stop there.
Lin Feng’s face was carved from granite, devoid of hesitation. He folded the two halves together, locked his knuckles, and tore with raw, furious strength once more!
RIP! RIP!!
Two more bone-chilling tearing sounds rang out in rapid succession!
The thirty-year contract of indentured servitude—the soul-binding shackle the Ling Clan had crafted to imprison another human being—was ripped into quarters, then eighths, reduced to a crumpled handful of shredded trash in Lin Feng’s fist!
The decisive, unhesitating act struck like a thunderous slap across the face of the entire Ling Clan!
Lin Feng’s right arm snapped forward with a whip-like flick.
SMACK!
The fistful of torn, mangled parchment sailed through the air in an arc, crashing squarely into the silver platter holding the roasted goose in black pepper sauce that was steaming directly in front of Ling Zhuofeng!
Sizzling hot grease splattered across the pristine white velvet tablecloth. Several sauce-slicked scraps of paper bounced into the old patriarch’s crystal goblet of red wine, bobbing atop the crimson liquid like a grotesque, mocking insult!
Clatter... CRASH——!!
Beside the table, the wine glass in Ling Bai’s hand shook so violently that it slipped through his trembling fingers, shattering against the polished marble floor into a hundred sparkling shards!
Deep crimson wine splashed across Ling Bai’s tailored trousers and immaculate white leather shoes. His eyes bulged in utter horror, pupils shrinking into pinpricks as if he were staring at an ancient fiend, his teeth clattering against one another:
“You... You dare...”
Stunned disbelief. The entire banquet hall was paralyzed in absolute, deathly silence!
Not a single soul dared to breathe. Dignitaries and municipal officials choked on their words, aristocratic ladies pressed manicured hands over their mouths in horror, and wealthy merchants stood petrified like statues. Li Peng, standing nearby, felt his knees turn to water; he swayed dangerously, nearly collapsing backward onto the floor.
Tearing the Ling Clan’s contract? Throwing shredded garbage into Ling Zhuofeng’s dinner platter right in front of the entire high society of Bian’an City?!
BOOM——!!
A deafening roar rocked the grand hall to its very foundations!
Ling Zhuofeng’s right palm slammed savagely down onto the banquet table! The three-inch-thick slab of polished marble instantly shattered, deep fissures webbed across its surface as the corner collapsed into crushed gravel that clattered onto the floor. Silver platters, crystal decanters, and gourmet delicacies were hurled through the air!
Ling Zhuofeng surged to his feet! His normally dignified, imperious countenance was contorted into a hideous, livid mask of rage, dark veins pulsing violently along his temples and his thick beard trembling with apocalyptic fury:
“Vile cur!! How dare you!!”
ROAR——!!
Following his bellow, a bone-chilling tempest of glacial mana erupted from Ling Zhuofeng’s body, sweeping outward in all directions like a tsunami!
That was the genuine wrath of an Advanced Mage!
An invisible blizzard engulfed the banquet hall. Within seconds, the room’s cozy warmth plummeted into the freezing depths of an arctic wasteland!
Crack, crack, crack...
Thick layers of white rime spread across the granite walls. The crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling froze over, groaning ominously under the creeping ice. The crimson velvet drapes flanking the arched windows stiffened like sheets of solid iron. The porcelain vases of white lilies adorning the tables froze solid and exploded into powdery snow!
“Fall back! Activate your defensive magic artifacts at once!” guests screamed in terror, stampeding and trampling one another as they scrambled toward the perimeter of the room.
That terrifying aura of glacial oppression was channeled with laser-sharp focus by Ling Zhuofeng, locking onto Lin Feng alone! Beside the patriarch, Ling Gang stepped forward, his face twisted in venom as he unleashed his own oppressive deacon aura, compounding the crushing weight to break the boy’s defiant spirit!
The marble tiles beneath Lin Feng’s boots cracked in spiderweb patterns! The razor-sharp frost sought to shatter his knee joints, attempting to force him down onto the frozen stone floor!
The bones throughout Lin Feng’s body groaned beneath the immense gravitational weight. His breath crystallized into thick plumes of frigid vapor.
And yet!
Hum——!
Against Lin Feng’s chest, beneath his threadbare uniform shirt, the black dragon pendant—the Primordial Dragon Pendant—suddenly flared with a torrent of surging heat!
That thermal current, like scalding magma, flooded into his meridians in a heartbeat. It wrapped around his Sea of Consciousness and his heart, utterly dispersing the suffocating frost!
Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the crimson Fire Stardust and the deep violet Lightning Stardust roared in unison! Seven Fire Star Cores blazed in furious revolution; seven Lightning Star Cores howled, discharging violent arcs of amethyst lightning, proudly grinding the encroaching foreign pressure to dust!
Lin Feng did not kneel!
Even as the marble floor underfoot fractured and crumbled, the sixteen-year-old youth’s feet remained planted into the earth like two unyielding pillars of cast bronze!
Slowly, he raised his head. His spine was as straight as a spear pointed directly at the heavens, his chest thrust forward in proud defiance. His dark, abyssal eyes held not a shred of fear as he locked gazes with Ling Zhuofeng’s murderous glare!
“A boon from the Ling Clan?”
Lin Feng’s voice rang out like hammered steel, resonating like a great bronze bell amid the howling blizzard:
“How does this wretched contract differ from selling myself into slavery as your family’s watchdog?!”
Every word that tore from his throat crashed down like a sledgehammer against the breathless silence of the hall:
“Thirty years of unconditional servitude! Forfeiting eighty percent of the blood and sweat earned from hunting magical beasts! Forbidding me from joining the military, forbidding me from ever stepping foot outside Bian’an City! You even dare plot to lock my aging father and crippled little sister in a gilded cage as hostages, all to turn me into an obedient hunting hound that bites whomever your main lineage commands?!”
The youth sneered, his gaze dripping with boundless, biting contempt:
“Ling Zhuofeng! Hear me loud and clear! I, Lin Feng, cultivate magic to roam freely beneath the heavens, to possess the strength to protect my father and sister so they may live with decency and dignity! Not to kneel down and lick the heels of others for a few scraps of filthy charity from your Ling Clan! My fate belongs to no clan!”
Every word echoed with thunderous weight, striking terror into the hearts of everyone present!
The entire assembly gasped in utter shock! No one could have imagined that a plain-clothed teenager from the slums, standing before the life-and-death mana pressure of an Advanced Mage, could utter declarations of such breathtaking valor and unyielding pride!
“Insolent beast... You have a death wish!!”
Ling Zhuofeng roared, his right palm gathering a lethal surge of glacial frost! Razor-sharp ice shards swirled about his fingers, screaming with the piercing shriek of tearing wind!
Murderous intent burned like a bonfire in the patriarch’s eyes. With a single flick of his wrist, an advanced Ice spell would be unleashed, more than enough to freeze the boy’s internal organs into shattered glass!
Yet, the exact moment the icy blade was poised to shoot from Ling Zhuofeng’s sleeve, the corner of his eye twitched.
In the western corner of the banquet hall, two lieutenant colonels from the Cang Lei Ridge Frontier Garrison stepped forward in unison, their hands resting heavy upon the hilts of the magic blades at their hips, their cold eyes staring unblinkingly at him. Beside them, two Enforcers of the Bian’an City Tribunal furrowed their brows, subtle currents of Earth and Wind mana churning faintly around their robes.
Remote as Bian’an City might be, it was still territory of the Federation! The garrison under Commander Lei Zhen held the military lifeline beyond the frontier outposts, while the Tribunal held jurisdiction over all mages within the city walls. Lin Feng was the sole student to attain Rank S at Feng Lan High in the past decade, his name already submitted directly to the provincial authorities. If Ling Zhuofeng were to publicly execute an unarmed prodigy in broad daylight before hundreds of prominent citizens, the price the Ling Clan would pay would be astronomical!
He had to swallow his fury! In the light of day, under the watchful gaze of the military and the Tribunal, he could not strike!
Crack...
The frost coating Ling Zhuofeng’s fingertips slowly receded, but his face remained as dark as the bottom of a charred cauldron, sinister and dripping with venom:
“Good! What impressive spine! A pathetic ant crawling out from the filth of South Street, stumbling upon the Fire Element through sheer dumb luck, and you actually believe you possess the right to stand as an equal before my Ling Clan?!”
Ling Zhuofeng ground out each syllable through clenched teeth, his voice laced with venomous cruelty:
“Today you spurn the Ling Clan and shred my face to pieces... Let me tell you, within this Bian’an City, there will never be a place for you or your family to stand! Forget about gaining admission to the premier magic universities—even when it comes to finding a single patch of dirt to scrape together a living, my Ling Clan will make sure you and your father wish you were dead!”
Hearing the ruthless threat, Lin Feng’s expression did not waver in the slightest. He didn’t even bother to respond. Lightly brushing away the frost dust clinging to his lapels, a mocking smirk touched the corner of his lips.
Before the eyes of hundreds of onlookers, Lin Feng turned on his heel!
His faded uniform shirt billowed gently with every stride. Under the stunned, awestruck gazes of the dignitaries, the sixteen-year-old youth strode proudly across the grand banquet hall, stepping over the shattered porcelain and broken marble littering the floor, heading straight for the colossal double doors!
His solitary back was as straight and steadfast as a towering pine, leaving behind an entire Ling Clan seething in unprecedented, burning humiliation!
“Bastard! Stand right there!!”
Ling Bai could no longer contain the wildfire of rage consuming his mind. Seeing Lin Feng walk away with head held high like a triumphant conqueror, he lost all semblance of sanity! Disregarding his wine-soaked designer suit, he bolted forward, sprinting after Lin Feng’s retreating figure!
Outside, the night wind howling from the Cang Lei Mountains tore violently through the ancient pine groves. Silvery moonlight cast a cold, desolate sheen across the cobblestone pathway leading toward the grand wrought-iron gates of the manor.
Just as Lin Feng stepped past the gates forged with dragon motifs, rapid, furious footsteps caught up behind him.
“Lin Feng! Stand your ground!!”
Panting heavily, Ling Bai threw himself directly into Lin Feng’s path. His handsome features were violently distorted into a grotesque, demonic grimace, his eyes bloodshot:
“You think tearing up that contract makes you a hero? You’re nothing more than an ignorant clown who personally severed the lifeline of your entire family!”
He ground his teeth until they creaked, stepping in close to Lin Feng and dropping his voice into a vicious, venomous hiss:
“Lin Feng, don’t celebrate too soon! Do you know where Feng Lan High’s upcoming wilderness combat trial will take place? At the savage frontier outpost of Cang Lei Ridge!”
Ling Bai’s lips twitched into a sickening, twisted smile:
“In that godforsaken wilderness, mutant beasts and demon wolves roam free, and the mist is thick enough to choke on. Even the supervising instructors won’t be able to protect every single student! My Ling Clan has already positioned our people out there... I swear to you, on Cang Lei Ridge, I will make you beg for the sweet release of death! I will snap every single one of your fingers, cripple your magic core, and make you crawl at my feet like a mangy dog begging for mercy!!”
Every word reeked of blood and unbridled hatred, spat directly into Lin Feng’s face.
Yet, facing Ling Bai’s grotesque, twisted visage, Lin Feng merely stood quietly beneath the cold moonlight. The night wind ruffled the black hair across his brow, causing the hem of his thin shirt to flutter.
Deep within the depths of the youth’s eyes, a strange arc of violet-black lightning suddenly flickered and vanished—a primal, destructive aura of raw bloodlust and ruin belonging to the Lightning Element, a terrifying power that a sheltered clan scion like Ling Bai could never hope to comprehend.
Lin Feng’s lips curved into a smile as cold as ancient permafrost. He brushed past Ling Bai’s shoulder without slowing his stride by even half a beat.
Only a calm, tranquil statement, yet heavy as a falling mountain, drifted back through the stillness of the night:
“Cang Lei Ridge? Excellent.”
“I, Lin Feng... shall be waiting for you!”
Beneath the endless, shadowy expanse of the frontier night, the solitary yet steadfast silhouette of the youth slowly dissolved into the swirling mist, advancing straight toward the Cang Lei Mountains looming against the horizon, where dark storm clouds churned with the distant roar of thunder...