Swish!
A long blade light slashed ferociously towards Zhao Xiu with the force of a thunderbolt.
“Li Feng, since you court death, do not blame me for showing no mercy.” Facing the oncoming blade light, Zhao Xiu gave a cold laugh, drew a flexible sword from his waist, and flicked it lightly. A bloody glow burst forth from the sword, resembling boiling fresh blood. A chilling killing intent surged out from it, sweeping in all directions as if carrying a ghastly aura of death that could devour all vitality.
Zhao Xiu swung his sword. The sword light arched like a rainbow, a streak of flowing brilliance that met Li Feng’s blade light head-on.
Boom.
Sword light and blade light collided, producing a heaven-shaking explosion. Waves of energy radiated outwards in all directions like ripples.
Step, step, step…
Zhao Xiu was forced back several paces, a trace of gravity flashing through his eyes.
He had cultivated for decades and had never drawn his sword in front of anyone before. This flexible sword was his ultimate life-preserving trump card, his final ace. Yet now, to face Li Feng, he had been forced to use it, only to discover that he was still no match for his opponent.
Zhao Xiu felt utterly bewildered. Earlier, when he had fought Li Feng, he had clearly held the upper hand. How had the situation suddenly reversed so completely?
Li Feng stared at the flexible sword in Zhao Xiu’s hand. His entire aura changed, as though he had transformed into a razor-sharp broadsword, irresistibly keen.
“This is momentum. Blade momentum? How is this possible?”
Zhao Xiu’s expression altered drastically. Among the four great family heads, his cultivation was the highest, so he had spent the most time in the presence of the Venerable Lord. From the Venerable Lord, he understood what momentum truly was. He had never imagined that Li Feng would actually possess momentum, and domineering blade momentum at that.
Of all types of momentum, blade momentum was the most tyrannical. Sensing the blade momentum radiating from Li Feng, Zhao Xiu felt an instinctive sense that he could not possibly prevail.
“How can this be? Why do I feel this way?”
Zhao Xiu’s eyes narrowed. He roared and charged towards Li Feng.
Li Feng’s aura was astonishing. Zhao Xiu feared that if he delayed any longer, he would not even have a one-in-ten chance of killing him. Given Li Feng’s strength, if he missed this opportunity today, killing him in future would be far more difficult.
With a thrust of his sword, the bloody glow on the flexible sword blazed brightly, as though it would dye the sky crimson. Massive sword energy transformed mid-air into tens of thousands of sword beams carrying boundless power as they streaked towards Li Feng.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Sharp whistling sounds split the air. Wherever the bloody beams passed, they scraped a layer off the ground.
“Li Feng, let’s see how you die this time.”
Murderous coldness glinted in Zhao Xiu’s eyes. To kill Li Feng, he unleashed his strongest move right from the start. The crimson sword beams sealed off every direction, forward, backward, left, and right. Razor-sharp sword energy twisted towards Li Feng.
Facing the whistling sword energy, Li Feng’s expression grew solemn.
This Zhao Xiu truly deserved his reputation as a veteran peak Ninth-Layer Acquired realm expert. His hidden cards were endless, and just this single move was something ordinary people could never withstand.
However…
Li Feng gave a cold laugh. His current combat strength could rival a peak Ninth-Layer Acquired expert, and now that he had comprehended blade momentum, he might not necessarily lose to Zhao Xiu.
With that thought, Li Feng smiled icily, stepped forward, and circulated his true qi frantically throughout his body. He raised the broadsword high and brought it down in a single slash.
Rumble!
The aura around Li Feng fused with the colossal blade light, carrying boundless pressure as it cleaved through the air.
The blade light, infused with momentum, shot forward like a rainbow, fast as lightning, instantly cutting into the bloody radiance.
Pfft!
The crimson glow was sliced in two. Countless strands of sword energy were shredded and vanished without a trace. The blade light continued unabated and struck Zhao Xiu’s body.
Swish!
Zhao Xiu’s flexible sword flew from his hand. A deep, bone-revealing gash appeared on his shoulder.
Puh!
Zhao Xiu spat out a mouthful of blood. The force contained within the blade light sent him staggering back several steps before he collapsed to the ground.
“Impossible. How could you defeat me so easily?” Zhao Xiu’s face was deathly pale. He stared fixedly at Li Feng, disbelief filling his eyes.
Even if Li Feng had comprehended blade momentum, he should not be this strong. Just a few days ago, Zhao Xiu could have defeated him with a single move. Now the tables had turned completely, and he could scarcely accept it.
Li Feng carried his broadsword and walked towards Zhao Xiu, murderous intent rolling off him in waves. He would cut the weed and eliminate the root. Today, he was determined to kill Zhao Xiu.
“Zhao Xiu, this day next year will be the anniversary of your death.” Li Feng gazed coldly at Zhao Xiu, his killing intent almost tangible.
Zhao Xiu’s expression shifted. Only now did he truly feel the threat of death, yet unwillingness filled his heart. He kept asking himself how he could possibly lose to Li Feng.
At the same time, an intense desire to live surged within him. He did not want to die. He was only in his forties, still in the prime of life. He refused to perish here.
It seemed he had no choice but to use that item.
Zhao Xiu’s eyes narrowed. That item had been prepared to trap the Innate realm expert beside Li Feng. He had never expected he would have to use it on Li Feng himself, and merely to escape with his life. The irony was bitter.
With that thought, Zhao Xiu reached into his robes.
“Hmph. Die.”
At that instant, an icy voice rang out. Immediately afterwards, a sharp pain shot through his neck. Zhao Xiu discovered his body growing farther and farther away, then everything sank into endless darkness.
Li Feng gave a cold laugh. The moment Zhao Xiu’s hand moved towards his robes, he had already slashed out. He did not know what Zhao Xiu intended to retrieve, but he would never give him any chance to counter-attack. If he had killed Zhao Xiu earlier, before Qu Senpu and Zhang Shengping arrived, he would not have needed to waste a Wind-Thunder Array talisman. Zhao Xiu might still have other trump cards, and Li Feng had no intention of repeating past mistakes.
He walked to Zhao Xiu’s corpse and used the tip of his broadsword to lift the clothing aside. Li Feng’s eyes narrowed. “This is a spirit talisman?”
Back in the underground city, he had been mocked for not recognising array talismans. After leaving, he had deliberately asked the Ge siblings for guidance on the subject. Thus, he immediately recognised the talisman in Zhao Xiu’s robes as a spirit talisman.
Joy surged within Li Feng. He had just wasted one array talisman dealing with Zhang Shengping, so obtaining another spirit talisman was an unexpected windfall. Although he did not yet know its exact power, having one was always better than none.
He took the spirit talisman and placed it into his spatial pouch, then turned to look at Zhang Shengping.
Within the Wind-Thunder Array, Zhang Shengping was already on the verge of death. Silver Snake and Gale continued their relentless assault. It would not be long before Zhang Shengping perished.
Witnessing this scene, Li Feng was inwardly shocked. The Wind-Thunder Array talisman was truly formidable. It had reduced a Ninth-Layer Acquired expert to such a miserable state.
Li Feng then shifted his gaze to Qu Senpu and the Bloodkill Twin Eagles. The twin eagles’ combined assault technique was extraordinarily powerful. Although Qu Senpu was two whole realms above them, without divine sense he was thoroughly overwhelmed by their joint attack and beaten into a sorry state. It would not be long before the Bloodkill Twin Eagles cut him down.
Li Feng secretly rejoiced. If he himself had lacked divine sense, he would never have been the twin eagles’ match that day. At the same time, their divine sense was relatively weak. Otherwise, breaking their combined technique would not have been so easy.
After subduing the Bloodkill Twin Eagles, Li Feng had studied their joint assault technique. In truth, it was a method that relied on divine sense control, much like his own Divine Control Technique. His Divine Control Technique could dominate people, while the twin eagles’ technique controlled weapons.
The difference was that once someone fell under Divine Control, a strand of the controller’s divine sense remained in their sea of consciousness. Unless another person’s divine sense invaded, the victim would never detect it. The twin eagles’ technique, however, had power directly tied to the strength of their divine sense. The stronger the opponent’s divine sense, the easier it was to break.
Still, Li Feng believed that as the Bloodkill Twin Eagles’ divine sense grew stronger, the might of their combined technique would increase accordingly.
While Li Feng was lost in thought, a miserable scream rang out. He turned to see Zhang Shengping blasted to death. The Wind-Thunder Array dissolved into the air.
“Qu Senpu, Zhao Xiu and Zhang Shengping are dead. Why do you not join them?” Li Feng shouted at Qu Senpu.
“What?” Qu Senpu’s expression changed. He glanced back and saw the corpses of Zhao Xiu and Zhang Shengping lying on the ground. Disbelief flashed through his eyes.
Zhao Xiu and Zhang Shengping were actually dead? They had failed to kill Li Feng and had died instead. Who had killed them? Li Feng?
At this moment, terror gripped Qu Senpu’s heart.
Earlier, when he had attacked the Bloodkill Twin Eagles, he had believed he could slay them effortlessly. Reality had proved otherwise. Under their combined assault, not only had he failed to kill them, he had been beaten black and blue. He had planned to wait for Zhao Xiu and Zhang Shengping to finish off Li Feng before coming to his aid. He had never expected that before the twin eagles killed him, Zhao Xiu and Zhang Shengping would already be dead.
How could Li Feng possibly be this strong? Or had that Innate realm expert at Li Feng’s side returned?
“Die.”
While Qu Senpu’s mind raced, the Bloodkill Twin Eagles snorted coldly. A purple scythe streaked through the air towards Qu Senpu.
Qu Senpu’s face paled. He hastily raised his protective astral energy to block, but it was too late. The purple scythe smashed through his defences with unstoppable force and struck his chest.
Spurt!
A deep, bone-revealing wound opened across Qu Senpu’s chest. He grunted, spat out a mouthful of blood, and crashed to the ground.
“This is impossible…”
Qu Senpu felt his life force fading rapidly. He knew death was near, yet he could never have imagined that he would perish at the hands of two Seventh-Layer Acquired cultivators.
The Bloodkill Twin Eagles sneered, then struck once more without hesitation, ending Qu Senpu’s life. Their orders were to kill him. They would never grant him any chance of turning the tables.
“Master, Qu Senpu has been slain,” the Bloodkill Twin Eagles reported, dropping to one knee before Li Feng.
A trace of shock flickered through their hearts. Although they were under Li Feng’s control, they still retained their own thoughts. Seeing the deaths of Zhao Xiu and Zhang Shengping, two Ninth-Layer Acquired ancient martial artists, no matter how Li Feng had killed them, left them deeply shaken.
“Well done. Return for now,” Li Feng said. His gaze turned towards a certain direction, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
