The mere sight of the three fleeing figures instantly painted the vile picture for Lin Feng—these bastards intended to sacrifice Chang Gong Xiaojing and the others as pawns to save their own skins!
How utterly despicable!!
"Damn it!!" Infinite rage exploded within Lin Feng's heart. A furious roar tore from his throat as he unleashed his true essence, surging forward like a gale.
Just a step behind, Loong Tian and Loong Xin also took in the horrific scene below. Loong Xin couldn't stifle a gasp of shock before both siblings poured on speed, racing after Lin Feng down the slope.
The trio charged downhill towards the chaotic battlefield. By cruel irony, Wang Licang and his two accomplices, having just fled the fight, were now heading straight towards them!
"Clang!!" Mid-stride, Lin Feng flicked his right hand. A flash of crimson-silver light erupted before him as the Soul Sunder flying sword shot out, far faster than his own speed, aimed like a deadly arrow at Wang Licang!
"Hmm?!" Wang Licang, reveling in his narrow escape mere meters away, was jolted by the sudden appearance of three figures descending from the mountainside. His shock deepened as the lead figure attacked without a single word of warning!
Stunned but not helpless, Wang Licang reacted instinctively. His gaze sharpened. With a thought, purple light flared above his head as his own flying sword streaked forth to intercept the incoming crimson streak.
"Clang!!"
The crisp clang of colliding blades echoed. The Soul Sunder Sword was deflected. Yet, immediately after, Wang Licang felt an intense wave of heat slam into him. Fiery light bloomed before his eyes—a deep crimson net of flames materialized out of thin air, plummeting down to engulf him!
"Hmph!" Wang Licang snorted, recovering swiftly from his initial surprise. His right hand flicked commandingly. The purple sword, having just parried the Soul Sunder, pirouetted mid-air. A beam of violet sword radiance sliced upward, cleanly bisecting the flaming net and continuing its deadly arc towards Lin Feng behind the collapsing flames.
Lin Feng responded equally fast. A mere wave of his hand summoned the Soul Sunder Sword back. It arced sideways, intercepting the purple sword light with another sharp Clang.
"Who are you?!" Wang Licang finally halted his retreat, his voice thick with both fury and apprehension.
"The one who ends you!" Lin Feng didn't slow his relentless charge for even a heartbeat. His cold retort hung in the air as his right hand swept out again in another unmistakable attack gesture.
"Seeking death!" Murderous intent surged in Wang Licang's eyes. He had now clearly sensed Lin Feng's aura—only at the Foundation Building stage! A Foundation Building cultivator wielding a flying sword? His first thought was Juejian Sect, but the intruder's identity became irrelevant. A mere Foundation Building ant daring to block his escape? The fool had signed his own death warrant!
Seeing Lin Feng's gesture, Wang Licang anticipated another flying sword assault. But his expectations shattered in the next instant. Lin Feng's sword remained still. Instead, from the dissipating embers of the shattered fire net he'd just cleaved, a fist-sized sphere of deep, murky crimson flame suddenly shot forth, hurtling straight for his face!
"Fireball Technique?" Wang Licang's gaze narrowed in confusion but caution prevailed. He raised a finger, directing his hovering purple sword downward. It slashed diagonally, effortlessly obliterating the incoming fiery orb.
"A feint?!" The thought flashed through Wang Licang's mind, dismissing it as a clumsy diversion. Before he could formulate his next counter, the 'scattered' sparks of the destroyed fireball… sprang to life! Like vengeful fireflies, they swarmed towards his face!
Wang Licang's pupils constricted to pinpricks. Shock and primal fear triggered his reflexes. He threw up his right hand instinctively to shield his face, simultaneously channeling true essence to form a shimmering protective barrier over his hand and head.
Fizz... Crackle! The glowing sparks struck the transparent barrier. They clung for a fraction of a second… then pierced through like hot needles, landing squarely on the back of his exposed hand!
"Wha— GYAARRRGGHHH!!!"
Confusion flickered in Wang Licang's eyes, replaced instantly by bulging horror as an agonized, inhuman scream ripped from his throat.
—The moment those 'sparks' touched his skin, they behaved like drops hitting gasoline. They exploded! A blazing inferno erupted, engulfing his entire hand in roaring crimson flames!
Excruciating, bone-deep agony lanced up his arm, a pain far beyond any he'd imagined. He flailed his right hand violently, a reflexive attempt to dislodge the fire, while desperately surging true essence towards the limb, trying to smother the unnatural flames.
"Clang!!" Yet, overlaying his own scream, came the chillingly clear chime of a sword. Wang Licang's head snapped up in terror—just in time to see a blinding streak of crimson-silver sword light filling his vision!
On the razor's edge of death, Wang Licang's body reacted with desperate, adrenaline-fueled speed. He wrenched his head sideways. The blade, aimed for his skull, missed by a hair's breadth. Instead, the Soul Sunder Sword sliced cleanly through his left ear!
As the ear severed, Wang Licang's mind exploded with a deafening "BZZZT!" It felt like a sledgehammer crashing into his skull. Soul-rending agony tore through his consciousness, wrenching another involuntary shriek from his already raw throat.
This scream, however, was brutally cut short. A fist wreathed in flickering crimson flames slammed into his face with crushing force. The impact lifted him bodily off the ground, hurtling him backwards through the air.
...
The sequence was overwhelmingly complex, yet it unfolded within mere seconds. To outside observers, it appeared brutally simple: Lin Feng charged Wang Licang; their swords clashed once; Lin Feng cast a 'Fire Net' that Wang Licang swiftly cut apart; a lingering ember somehow struck Wang Licang's hand, causing him to scream; Lin Feng's sword followed instantly, forcing Wang Licang to dodge wildly at the cost of an ear; Lin Feng closed the distance unimpeded and delivered a devastating flaming punch that sent his foe flying.
Lin Feng's momentum never faltered. Even as Wang Licang tumbled away, Lin Feng continued his forward rush! As he charged past, his voice, cold and commanding, sliced through the chaos:
"Loong Tian! Block the other two! Don't let them escape!!"
At that moment, shock had paralyzed everyone—the two male cultivators who had been following Wang Licang, and Loong Tian and Loong Xin themselves. They were still reeling, struggling to process the impossible scene they had just witnessed. Lin Feng's sharp command jolted them awake. Four pairs of eyes snapped towards the crumpled, blazing form of Wang Licang… and widened further in sheer terror.
Wang Licang was now a writhing human torch, completely engulfed in furious, unquenchable crimson flames...
"AAAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!" His agonized screams echoed across the plain as he rolled frantically on the ground. Waves of true essence pulsed from him in desperate, futile attempts to extinguish the unnatural fire consuming him. But these were no ordinary flames. They were Abnormal Fire... Melting Core Fire!!
Wang Licang's defeat under Lin Feng's rapid sequence of attacks wasn't solely due to underestimation. He simply could never have anticipated Lin Feng possessing Abnormal Fire. The devastating soul damage triggered when the Soul Sunder Sword severed his ear delivered a critical blow to his focus and defenses. The final, crushing punch to the face shattered his remaining guard, allowing the Melting Core Fire to instantly consume him, rendering resistance utterly futile.
Lin Feng didn't grant the screaming inferno that was Wang Licang a single backward glance. His eyes were locked with lethal intensity on the battle raging ahead. Even before fully entering the fray, his will lashed out. The Soul Sunder Sword shot forward like lightning once more. Simultaneously, his left hand blurred, hurling out a third-grade top-quality Fire Meteor Talisman.
The crimson-silver sword streak was blindingly fast. Its light flashed across the ground, pinning the Phantom Wind Wolf threatening Chang Gong Xiaojing through its skull before it could react!
Above, a massive ball of fire, like a plummeting meteor, crashed down with crushing force. It obliterated the peak Grade 2 Phantom Wind Wolf that had been lunging towards the severely wounded Biquan Sect female cultivator, smashing it into the earth and incinerating it into a charred husk.
But Lin Feng wasn't finished. His right hand flashed again, clutching the White Tiger Fierce Soul Talisman. His entire reservoir of true essence surged violently, pouring into the spirit talisman.
"ROOOAR!!!"
An earth-shattering tiger's roar split the air. From an explosion of dazzling white light, the colossal phantom form of a majestic White Tiger coalesced mid-air. It roared its defiance and launched itself with primal fury at the final foe—the Grade 3 Phantom Wind Wolf!