Chu Hao was also slightly startled; a Treasure Artifact was a very magical object that could greatly enhance a Martial Artist's Combat Power. Generally, it was used to enhance strength, which is the most fundamental element for a Martial Artist.
However, how precious was a Treasure Artifact, and how could it possibly end up in Feng Ming's hands?
"Sharp eye." Feng Ming laughed heartily, brimming with pride, "This was obtained by my brother not long ago in an Ancient Tomb, capable of enhancing a Lesser Mahayana realm Martial Artist's strength by 1500 jin, but unfortunately, it has been decaying since it was unearthed and won't last for more than a few days."
1500 jin of strength.
Sun Yi had only about 900 jin of strength; naturally, he was at a disadvantage fighting Feng Ming with an additional 1500 jin of strength. No wonder he was defeated after only a few exchanges; there was really no helping it.
"Beat him up for me." Feng Ming pointed decisively; this guy actually dared to meddle, failing to teach him a lesson just wouldn't do.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Though Sun Yi's strength was not weak, he was no match for Feng Ming, who seemed to be using a cheat code, and with the numbers on his side, Sun Yi was soon beaten like a punching bag, letting out miserable cries.
"Just with this little strength, you dare to meddle in others' business? I spit on that." Feng Ming was full of disdain.
"Brother Ming, this guy hangs out with Han Yun, is it enough?" Li Shuangyuan said hesitantly.
Han Yun was an Expert ranked ninth in the Eastern Sect of the Earthly Institute, possessing a strength of over 4000 jin, on the verge of crossing into the Middle Mahayana realm and advancing to the Heavenly Court.
"Pah, the ninth Expert of the Earthly Institute counts for nothing." Feng Ming spat dismissively, "My brother is in the Heavenly Court! Any random person from the Heavenly Court is way above the first Expert of the Earthly Institute. Beat him up; he dares to meddle, so he must be taught a memorable lesson."
Li Shuangyuan and Zhou Ding thought about it and agreed; after all, isn't everyone in the Heavenly Court at least at the 5000 jin level? Aren't they all in the Middle Mahayana realm?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They were also extremely thrilled, for Sun Yi was regarded as a genuine Expert in their eyes, and now they were hitting an Expert in the face without restraint, which gave them a strong sense of achievement.
"Hehehe, idiot, are you scared?" Feng Ming halted his assault and turned his attention to Chu Hao.
Chu Hao smiled faintly and said, "How much silver did you take from me before, and how many times have you beaten me up?"
"What, you want us to return the money and you want to hit back?" Feng Ming laughed loudly, an idiot is an idiot, and the things he says are truly laughable.
Chu Hao nodded and said, "Not only do I want it back, but I also want interest."
"What guts you've got." Feng Ming sneered, "When your dad was still alive, we weren't afraid, let alone now. Idiot, quickly take out the money you have on you, or you'll get beaten like him."
He pointed to Sun Yi, who was lying on the ground powerless to fight back, getting kicked and beaten by Li Shuangyuan and Zhou Ding.
Chu Hao shook his head, thinking to himself that the former Chu Hao was just too meek, which was why he had been manipulated by Lin Yuqi and even bullied by these three hooligans without daring to tell Lao Tzu, as they had threatened to beat him up every time he snitched.
However, the owner of this body now was him.
"I don't like debtors; it's time to collect some interest today, and you guys don't look like you have much money," Chu Hao said.
"An idiot is still an idiot, always saying stupid things. It seems you need a beating, having forgotten how pain feels," Feng Ming said as he leaped forward, throwing a punch towards Chu Hao's chest.
However, this time he didn't use the Treasure Artifact, for Chu Hao's strength was too weak. What if he ended up killing someone? Even if it was just severe injury or crippling, he would have to bear a heavy responsibility.
Whoosh, his punch swung forward.
All full of flaws.
Chu Hao thought to himself, his eyes capturing the trajectory of the opponent's attack, his brain quickly deriving Feng Ming's next actions. He clearly knew where the punch would land, what the path would be, and how much damage it would cause.
Too easy.
Chu Hao reached out and grabbed Feng Ming's wrist, pulling off the bracelet in disbelief, seizing it effortlessly.
Having been so underestimated by his opponent, he saved the tactics he had prepared before—the absence of a Treasure Artifact, what was Feng Ming but nothing?
Thump, he launched a kick, sending Feng Ming stumbling several steps back until he steadied himself. However, Chu Hao's kick was vicious, striking right between his legs, causing his face to turn white.
Chu Hao fiddled with the bead chain, curious how such a small object could grant an ordinary person as much as 1500 jin of strength. If such an item appeared on Earth, it could reset the records in weightlifting, javelin, shot put, and other sports to terrifying heights.
"Give it back, give it back to me," Feng Ming said, clenching his legs together, his face pale.
Even though the Treasure Artifact could only be used for a few days—if not, his brother Feng Yuan wouldn't have given it to him but would have sold it for a good price—it couldn't fall into the hands of an idiot like Chu Hao. If word got out, where would Feng Ming place his face?
Even worse than an idiot.
Chu Hao inspected it closely and saw that the beads were actually carved from bone. As for whether it was from a Beast Bone or human bone, he could not discern. His thoughts immediately turned to ferocious beasts, creatures with strength comparable to Martial Artists; it seemed even their bones had significant uses.
He put the bead chain on, and at first, there was no reaction, but with a little effort, one of the beads lit up, and a mysterious power surged into his body. It made his cells instantly filled with energy, bursting with great strength.
Chu Hao's current limit was around 490 jin, but the limit did not mean every strike could deal that much power. However, with the beads on, Chu Hao found that each of his strikes could deal at least 1500 jin of force without an increased expenditure of physical energy.
Treasure Artifact. Truly worthy of being a Treasure Artifact.
This bead chain must be the lowest level of Treasure Artifacts, and there certainly must be Advanced items that could allow one to deal 10,000 jin, 100,000 jin, or even a terrifying million jin of force. But for an ordinary person to deal a million jin of force, the result would be shattering themselves first—the body simply couldn't withstand such immense power.
Unfortunately, this Treasure Artifact had existed for too long, and cracks covered each bone bead. It would not last long before completely crumbling and losing its effect.
"Give it back to me quickly," Feng Ming shouted again.
"The item is not bad, it can barely offset a portion of the interest." Chu Hao would never return it to him. Since he entered Thousand Winds Academy, how much money had these three squeezed out of him? How many times had they beaten him?
"Brother Ming." Li Shuangyuan and Zhou Ding stopped their beating of Sun Yi, whose combat power was already gone, leaving him just a breath away from collapse. They found it somewhat unbelievable that a fool could actually snatch away Feng Ming's treasure artifact.
Feeling the burning glances of these two on him, Feng Ming's face felt scorching hot, and he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
To lose was one thing, but to lose to a fool?
"I just got careless, that's why the fool snatched away the treasure artifact so effortlessly," he defended himself.
"We didn't ask," Li Shuangyuan murmured softly.
"What did you just say?" Feng Ming was angry and ashamed.
Li Shuangyuan and Zhou Ding immediately shook their heads, with Zhou Ding even raising both hands as a sign of his innocence.
"Hold down that fool for me, I want to beat him to death." Feng Ming said viciously, not that he dared to actually kill anyone, he was only trying to show his dominance and simultaneously intimidate Chu Hao.
Neither Li Shuangyuan nor Zhou Ding had a brother in Heavenly Court, so they naturally looked to Feng Ming for direction, and both moved towards Chu Hao. After all, the kid was just a fool who had somehow gained powerful strength from a treasure artifact, but did he even know how to use it?
It's like a child wielding a sword; they only end up hurting themselves.
As the two approached, they lunged at Chu Hao, each reaching for one of his arms.
Slap! Slap!
The sound of two crisp slaps rang out, and Li Shuangyuan and Zhou Ding spun around, their cheeks swelling instantly red.
How could this be possible?
The three stared at Chu Hao dumbfounded. Even Sun Yi, lying battered on the ground, stopped to watch. How could a fool have such swift moves?
"Now it's my turn," Chu Hao said with a smile to the three of them, stepping forward.
"I don't believe it!" Li Shuangyuan shouted and leaped towards Chu Hao once again.
Bang, with a heavy sound, he was kicked away, hitting the wall before bouncing back, his face turning deathly pale. His chest had been kicked hard, as if his bones were broken, and he struggled to catch his breath because of the tightness in his chest.
Zhou Ding, terrified, retreated over and over again until he was behind Feng Ming, where he finally felt a bit more settled.
"You bastard!" Feng Ming immediately slapped him across the face. What kind of follower acts like that? He slapped him and still didn't feel relieved, so he kicked him too, saying, "Fight with me."
"But this fool is too strange," Zhou Ding said weakly.
"What are you afraid of? He's just a fool. He only has this strength because he activated a treasure artifact. Can't you dodge?" Feng Ming cursed.
Zhou Ding uttered an "Oh," but his expression clearly showed complete disbelief—Chu Hao's current performance was anything but that of a fool.
Chu Hao was already upon them.
"Attack!" Feng Ming ordered loudly. He was the superior master, and Chu Hao his plaything. He would never allow a reversal of roles.
Zhou Ding gritted his teeth and charged at Chu Hao, fists swinging.
Chu Hao took a slight breath, entering the state of Mad Wind Fist.
Feng Ming and Zhou Ding suddenly felt a bit dazed. The young man standing before them seemed to become a towering and immovable expert, while they were nothing more than insignificant underlings, unworthy of being his opponent.
Chu Hao threw his punch.
Whoosh!
The mad wind howled, thunderous to the ears.
Feng Ming and Zhou Ding only heard the rumbling wind in their ears, so loud and piercing it threw them into disarray. And at that moment, Chu Hao's fist met its mark.
Bang! Bang!
There was no suspense—both were punched in the lower abdomen, the force of 500 pounds surging through. Even though they had made some achievements in body refinement, their skin and muscles were highly resistant and could dissipate some of the force, but the pain was still unbearable.
This was Chu Hao not even utilizing the power of his bracelet; otherwise, it could very likely have killed someone.
With the shock of the powerful force, they were both slammed into the wall, then bounced back. But before they hit the ground, Chu Hao's fist landed again, sending them crashing back into the wall.
Bang, bang, bang, bang.
The two were like punching bags, repeatedly hitting and bouncing off the wall as if the wall itself was slapping them. Soon their faces were bruised and swollen, and they were hardly recognizable even to their own mothers.
The scene was somewhat amusing, but neither Sun Yi nor Li Shuangyuan could find it in them to laugh.
Sun Yi felt his face flush with embarrassment. He had boasted earlier that he would protect Chu Hao, but what had happened? He was beaten down, and Chu Hao, who was supposed to be under his protection, turned around and handled Feng Ming and his henchmen like dough, kneading them however he pleased.
Li Shuangyuan was pale as a sheet, but at the same time, he felt a secret sense of relief. Thankfully, he was lying on the ground—otherwise, he would have joined the ranks of the human punching bags.
But how could a fool be so powerful?
Sun Yi and Li Shuangyuan just couldn't figure it out, and they found it even harder to accept.