A low voice broke the silence.
"You are Lin Feng."
Lin Feng didn't respond. His eyes remained closed, his breathing steady, his sword resting across his knees.
The Martial Sect disciple's lips curled. "Hmph. You've got some guts to ignore me."
He lunged forward, spiritual energy surging around his saber.
"Die!"
"Wait!"
"Don't—!"
His fellow disciples' warnings came too late.
Lin Feng's eyes opened, twin sword-lights flickering like lightning.
Swoosh!
He vanished. The air rippled where he had been sitting.
A heartbeat later—
Hiss!
A head rolled across the stone road, eyes still wide in disbelief.
"Damn it!"
"You won't get away with this!"
"Attack together! Use the formation!"
The remaining Martial Sect disciples slammed their palms together, forming complex hand-seals. Golden runes spiraled outward, weaving into a barrier that encircled Lin Feng.
Boom! Boom!
The killing formation activated. The air thickened with suppression. Lin Feng felt his cultivation sink to the Seventh-Grade Xiantian Realm.
He exhaled slowly, unfazed.
"Fools. My battle prowess isn't something your tricks can cage."
Gasps rippled through the onlookers.
"Is that not the Martial Sect's Killing Formation?"
"They're using their deadliest array just to deal with one man!"
Lin Feng's aura expanded, shaking the ground.
"Azure Sword Art – Kill Any Under Heaven!"
A streak of white brilliance split the formation's light.
"Hmph!" The Martial Sect disciples drew their sabers in unison.
"Heavenly Saber Art – Fifth Stance!"
Steel met steel. The sky flashed.
Bang! Bang!
The collision shattered the air like thunderclaps. Lin Feng slid back several steps, his boots carving deep trenches in the stone, but the Martial Sect disciples were hurled five kilometers backward, coughing blood.
"What – how is this possible?!"
"The formation's suppression didn't even weaken him!"
Lin Feng laughed softly. "You're surprised? Then you know nothing of destiny."
He vanished again, reappearing behind one of them, the wind screaming as he swung his sword.
"Azure Sword Art – Fifth Stance!"
A blinding arc erupted.
"Formation, reinforce—!"
Too late.
Their sabers clashed once more, but the Heavenly Saber Art – Sixth Stance shattered like glass.
Hiss! Hiss!
Blood sprayed into the air as two disciples were cleaved cleanly in half.
The last pair trembled, faces pale.
"Lin Feng, spare us! We—we'll never come after you again!"
"Yes! We'll forget this ever happened!"
Lin Feng tilted his head slightly, eyes cold.
"You really think too highly of yourselves. Trash like you isn't even worth remembering."
He blurred.
Hiss! Hiss!
The final two bodies fell, split cleanly at the waist.
Murmurs spread through the watching cultivators.
"He killed them even after they begged for mercy."
"Ruthless… truly the God of Death."
---
Farther away, the Duan Family elites watched with ashen faces.
"Senior Brother," one whispered, "shouldn't we… back off?"
"Yes. If we fight him, we die."
They exchanged nods. "Let's return to the family and report to the Patriarch. We'll deal with Lin Feng another day."
Within minutes, they were gone.
The news spread instantly:
"The Duan Family's top five elite disciples have retreated!"
Laughter echoed through taverns and sect halls.
"Cowards!"
"They fled after seeing Lin Feng's ruthlessness!"
Lin Feng heard the chatter and smirked faintly. "I never knew the Duan Family bred cowards."
---
A ripple of qi approached from the horizon.
"The Ouyang Family's elite disciples are here," someone murmured. "Another battle's about to begin."
The five landed, radiating arrogance.
"Where's Lin Feng?" one sneered.
Lin Feng stepped forward, sword in hand. "I should be the one asking where your arrogance comes from."
"Hah! Still insolent." Another disciple scoffed. "Cripple your cultivation yourself, and we might spare your life."
"You people of the Ouyang Family are amusing," Lin Feng said flatly. "If you've nothing else to say, let's fight."
"So be it."
"Kill him!"
Their qi flared, shaking the sky.
Lin Feng's Battle Intent and Third-Level Sword Intent erupted together, intertwining into a golden-white cyclone. His robe snapped violently in the storm of power.
He vanished into the gust.
"Azure Sword Art – Fifth Stance!"
"Hmph!"
"Great Fist of Devastation!"
"Sky Piercing Saber Art – Third Stance!"
Fist shadows the size of boulders collided with crescents of saber light, all crashing against Lin Feng's sword strike.
Bang! Bang! BOOM!
The collision created a shockwave that turned the ground molten; the air shimmered with residual heat.
Lin Feng was blasted ten kilometers back, his chest slashed open, blood streaming down his torso.
He steadied his breathing, feeling the burn in his meridians. "They're stronger than the ones I fought earlier," he muttered.
Across from him, the Ouyang disciples staggered, spitting blood, their robes torn.
"He's too strong."
"No wonder the Duan Family fled."
"Contact the Tenth Elder," one hissed. "We must end him now—he's a threat to our entire plan!"
Lin Feng's expression hardened. His dantian pulsed with violent qi.
He clenched his fist, golden light wrapping around it like coiling dragons.
He whispered.
"Dragon Fist."