Li Feng slowly stood up, turning to face Zheng Xiaoyang, who was missing an arm and approaching step by step. “Why?” he asked.
“Because tomorrow next year will be your memorial day too,” Zheng Xiaoyang replied, stopping three metres from Li Feng, his gaze filled with chilling murderous intent.
“Hahaha, Third Master Zheng, you want to kill me that badly?” Li Feng laughed, his eyes fixed on Zheng Xiaoyang.
“Anyone who kills my Zheng family deserves to die,” Zheng Xiaoyang said coldly. With Du Wu dead, killing Li Feng would complete his mission.
“So you really hate me?” Li Feng’s tone was calm, his thoughts unreadable.
“Hate? I can’t wait to kill you right now,” Zheng Xiaoyang said, his eyes flashing with deep-seated hatred. If not for Li Feng, Zheng Haoyuan wouldn’t have died, he wouldn’t have come to Kunyang Town, his family members wouldn’t have perished, and he wouldn’t be in such a wretched state, missing an arm. In his eyes, it was all Li Feng’s fault.
Initially, he wanted to kill Li Feng for Zheng Haoyuan, but now it was personal.
As a peak Acquired Realm martial artist, he was the Zheng family’s best hope for breaking into the Innate Realm. Losing an arm made that nearly impossible. Though Du Wu had cut it off, Li Feng was to blame.
“I didn’t expect I, Li Feng, could make the great Third Master Zheng hate me so much,” Li Feng said with a smile.
“You’re still laughing at a time like this?” Zheng Xiaoyang glared coldly.
“Third Master Zheng, can you kill me in your current state?” Li Feng slowly raised his blade, his gaze icy, a trace of disdain at the corner of his mouth. “With only one arm and gravely injured, are you sure you can take me down?”
“Hmph, even with one arm, I, Zheng Xiaoyang, can still kill you,” Zheng Xiaoyang snorted, stomping the ground and throwing a punch. His true qi erupted, forming dozens of fist shadows that surged toward Li Feng with thunderous force.
Facing the barrage of fist shadows, Li Feng stood still, his face full of disdain, as if unfazed rather than frozen in fear.
“Arrogant!” Zheng Xiaoyang’s anger flared at Li Feng’s expression, his fists unleashing countless shadows toward him.
“Overestimating yourself,” Li Feng sneered, finally moving.
With a single slash, a blade light shot out, carrying terrifying energy toward Zheng Xiaoyang.
“Die!” Zheng Xiaoyang roared, meeting the blade light with a punch.
But Li Feng’s power was overwhelming. The blade light, infused with immense force, sliced through the air, unstoppable, its might earth-shaking.
Boom!
In a single clash, Zheng Xiaoyang’s fist shadows shattered. The energy shockwave sent him flying, his face pale, eyes filled with disbelief.
Li Feng showed no mercy. In a flash, he appeared before Zheng Xiaoyang, slashing down while his opponent was reeling.
Zheng Xiaoyang’s face changed. Using all his strength, he dodged to the side.
Pfft!
His other arm was severed by Li Feng’s blade.
“How can you be this strong?” Zheng Xiaoyang, now armless and in agony, stared at Li Feng in disbelief. He had seen Du Wu injure Li Feng, yet in their clash, Li Feng’s strength, though slightly diminished, far surpassed his own.
“It’s not that I’m strong, it’s that you’re too weak,” Li Feng said with a cold smile. Zheng Xiaoyang was already injured from fighting Du Wu, then further crippled by him, losing an arm. With less than thirty percent of his strength left, how could he match Li Feng? Li Feng didn’t even need his prepared trump cards.
“Impossible…” Zheng Xiaoyang muttered in disbelief.
“Nothing’s impossible, Third Master Zheng. Now, I’ll send you to join Du Wu for a showdown in the underworld,” Li Feng said, advancing with a cold laugh, blade in hand.
Fear flashed in Zheng Xiaoyang’s eyes. “Li Feng, you can’t kill me.”
“Can’t kill you? Give me a reason,” Li Feng said, his eyes flashing with disdain. These clan heirs were all the same, threatening even on death’s door.
“I’m the Third Master of the Zheng family, and my brother is the head. If you kill me, he won’t let you go,” Zheng Xiaoyang said hurriedly. Though armless and in despair, he didn’t want to die.
“Didn’t you say those who kill Zheng family members deserve death? I’ve already killed several. Since I’m already a dead man in your family’s eyes, I don’t mind adding one more, right, Third Master?” Li Feng said calmly.
“It’s different. Zheng Haoyuan was just a rising star, a branch member. The other three were mere lackeys. But I’m the Third Master, and my brother is the head. Kill me, and he’ll never forgive you. Let me go, and I’ll overlook everything you’ve done,” Zheng Xiaoyang said desperately, focused on survival, planning revenge later.
“Third Master, you’re that generous?” Li Feng sneered.
“I mean it. Let me go, and I’ll give you everything I have. I’m armless now, a cripple. You don’t need to worry about me causing trouble later,” Zheng Xiaoyang pleaded.
“Haha, your offer is tempting,” Li Feng laughed.
Zheng Xiaoyang’s face lit up, but Li Feng’s next words changed his expression.
“Unfortunately, I prefer to cut the grass at the root,” Li Feng said, his gaze icy with killing intent.
“You’re not afraid of the Zheng family’s retaliation?” Zheng Xiaoyang asked in disbelief.
“The Zheng family? Just a first-rate clan. My Li family isn’t afraid,” Li Feng sneered, slashing down.
“The Li family, one of the eight top clans? Hahaha, I, Zheng Xiaoyang, was used!” Zheng Xiaoyang gave a bitter laugh before dying.
“Used?” Li Feng frowned. What did Zheng Xiaoyang mean? Was his vendetta more than just avenging Zheng Haoyuan?
Li Feng regretted killing him so quickly, wishing he’d asked more. But it was done, and he wasn’t fazed. Whatever came, he’d handle it. He believed nothing in this world was beyond him.
His attention quickly shifted to Zheng Xiaoyang’s space bag and the treasures it spilled.
Though not as plentiful as Du Wu’s, they were mostly items Li Feng needed. He unhesitatingly packed them into his own space bag.
Killing and looting proved true; between Du Wu and Zheng Xiaoyang, Li Feng’s haul was immense.
Finally, he hung Zheng Xiaoyang’s space bag on his waist and struggled to stand.
Killing Du Wu and Zheng Xiaoyang had taken a toll. Du Wu’s strike had caused internal injuries, and moving now made his blood surge. If Zheng Xiaoyang had withstood his last strike, killing him wouldn’t have been easy.
“I need to find a place to heal,” Li Feng thought, frowning at the littered corpses. He hadn’t noticed while killing, but now he saw he’d slain nearly a hundred, if not two hundred, including Du Wu and Zheng Xiaoyang.
His resolve was strong, or such bloodshed might have shaken his mind and hindered his martial path.
The battle had likely alerted all of Kunyang Town. It was night, and ordinary folk, fearing death, stayed indoors. But daylight would bring onlookers. Though Du Wu and Wild Leopard were dead, some loyal Du Clan members might seek revenge.
His injuries were worsening. He could handle ordinary foes but didn’t want more killing. The main culprits were dead, and the Du Clan would soon collapse. Besides, some Du Clan members had guns, which could cause trouble.
But where to heal? Unfamiliar with Kunyang Town, if someone found him at a critical moment, it could ruin his recovery.
His gaze swept around, landing on the depths of the back mountain.
The remote wilderness, quiet under the night, seemed the perfect place to avoid disturbance.
Decided, Li Feng headed into the back mountain.
Shortly after, a figure appeared by Zheng Xiaoyang’s body. Looking at the corpse, the man let out a long howl, “Third Master, who killed you? I’ll avenge you, I swear!”
If Li Feng or Wild Wolf were here, they’d recognise him as Zheng Kai, brought by Zheng Xiaoyang.
Wasn’t he dead? How was he here?
Zheng Kai had survived Wild Cat’s ambush, shot but not fatally. He faked death to escape, treated his wounds, and came here, only to find Zheng Xiaoyang dead.
Fury consumed him. Zheng Xiaoyang had given him opportunity; without him, Zheng Kai would be a nobody in the Zheng family.
“Third Master, rest assured, whoever killed you will pay dearly,” Zheng Kai vowed, his eyes burning with hatred. He kowtowed three times to Zheng Xiaoyang’s body before leaving.
After Zheng Kai left, a black-robed figure appeared by Du Wu’s body, a cold voice sounding, “Useless trash, killed so easily. I misjudged you, thinking to bring you into the organisation. But since I chose you, I won’t let your death go unavenged. Li Feng, hmph, the Li family has produced a talent, but what a pity…”
The black-robed figure snorted and vanished.
An hour later, a group arrived at the back mountain, over a dozen strong, led by four members of the National Security Bureau, the rest Kunyang Town police.
In the Du Clan’s days, the town’s police were its peripheral members, too afraid to act without orders. This time, the four bureau members had issued strict commands.
Wild Leopard’s plan was for Wild Cat to kill the Zheng family and then target the bureau members, but the blood refinement array’s destruction led to Wild Cat’s recall, sparing them.
The bureau members had stayed quietly in the town government, but the night’s commotion was too great. They gathered the police and came here.
Unlike the trembling local police, the four bureau members were grave. They never imagined such a large-scale gunfight in this border town.
Seeing the corpse-strewn mountain, their faces changed. “Who’s bold enough to stage a massacre in Kunyang Town?” one said.
These bureau members, from Yongzhou’s deputy branch, were only peripheral agents. Though experienced, the bloody scene shocked them. One even ran to vomit.
“That’s Lord Wild Wolf!” a local policeman exclaimed, recognising a body.
“Lord Wild Wolf? Just an underworld boss,” a bureau member snapped, slapping the policeman.
“Yes, yes,” the policeman muttered, lowering his head. But he disagreed. The Du Clan was deeply rooted in Kunyang Town. His grandfather and father were Du Clan men, and seeing Wild Wolf dead filled him with dread.
“This is a major incident. We must inform Director Zhang Baowen immediately,” a bureau member said gravely.
