The instant Wang Licang and his companions betrayed them, Yan Can, Chang Gong Xiaojing, and the others were choked with shock and fury. Yet, they were utterly powerless to stop it. Wang Licang's abrupt retreat plunged the four of them into immediate peril, squarely in the sights of the three Phantom Wind Wolves.
Chang Gong Xiaojing and Zhang Fangzhou were faring slightly better, but the other female disciple from the Biquan Sect was teetering on the brink of death. She had been struck by a beast when the other two fled and now lay completely incapacitated. The peak Grade 2 beast, refusing to relent, lunged at her, its intent clearly to tear her apart.
As death by wolf fangs seemed imminent, Yan Can, gritting his teeth nearby, desperately maneuvered his flying sword to intervene. He managed to deflect the attacking beast. But this desperate act left him exposed to the furious assault of the Grade 3 Phantom Wind Wolf he had been holding off. It unleashed a savage green wind blade, its claws tearing through the air straight for his head.
Luckily, Yan Can was shielded by the protective barrier of his low-grade spirit artifact, the Spirit Radiance Shield. It trembled violently but held—barely. The shield flickered precariously, a hair's breadth from collapse. If it shattered, his life would surely follow.
The already precarious situation had suddenly plummeted towards catastrophe. Desperation clawed at them all, a creeping tendril of despair taking root...
Then, abruptly, Yan Can registered an unusual commotion from the direction Wang Licang had fled. His gaze snapped sideways just in time to witness the astonishing scene: Lin Feng descending like an avenging storm from the hillside and annihilating Wang Licang in a heartbeat.
Shock slammed into Yan Can, instantly replaced by soaring elation. Hope, fierce and bright, reignited in his eyes. He poured every ounce of his true essence into maintaining the flickering Spirit Radiance Shield against the relentless Grade 3 beast. Simultaneously, he directed his flying sword to harry the peak Grade 2 beast threatening the fallen Biquan disciple. Normally, slaying a Grade 2 beast would be effortless for him, but divided focus against the Grade 3 foe drastically weakened his sword's offensive power. Yet, merely tying up the Grade 2 beast, denying it the chance to finish off its wounded prey, was achievable.
And Yan Can's burgeoning hope was surpassed by the astonishing speed, power, and sheer... impossibility of the rescue unfolding.
—Before the rescuer had even reached them, a flying sword and a third-grade top-quality Fire Meteor Talisman instantly eradicated the two Grade 2 Phantom Wind Wolves! Then, without pause, an even more formidable artifact was produced, unleashing a terrifying phantom form of a White Tiger that pounced with earth-shaking fury!
While Yan Can was still reeling from this, the colossal White Tiger phantom roared overhead, crashing onto the Grade 3 Phantom Wind Wolf. The wolf sensed the danger, its eyes widening in primal fear. It spat out a wind blade more potent than any it had used against Yan Can. Yet, the attack passed through the phantom tiger harmlessly, as if slicing air. Its claws slashed futilely, offering no resistance. The White Tiger phantom passed through the beast's physical form. The wolf remained standing, seemingly untouched, but when the phantom emerged on the other side, clamped firmly in its spectral jaws was the writhing, ghostly image of a giant wolf.
Yan Can recognized this scene. The White Tiger Soul began rending and tearing at the Phantom Wind Wolf's spirit with soul-shredding fangs. The wolf spirit fought back ferociously, its struggle creating a momentary, horrifying stalemate.
Not far away, Lin Feng, having activated the White Tiger Fierce Soul Talisman, stood rooted. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he strained, pouring every shred of his remaining true essence into the talisman. The fight against Wang Licang had drained him, and the subsequent activation of the top-grade Fire Meteor Talisman had pushed him further. His reserves were critically low, teetering on the brink of failing to sustain the White Tiger Soul long enough to finish its grisly task. He bellowed out, his voice raw with effort, "Kill it now!!"
The shout jolted Yan Can back to the present. He understood instantly—the command was for him. A fierce light ignited in his eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, he swept his hand back. His flying sword, a trailing green blur, shot back from its harassment duty and plunged with lethal precision into the skull of the paralyzed, spirit-locked Phantom Wind Wolf!
"Thwack!!"
With its spirit absent and its body defenseless, Yan Can's sword met no resistance. It pierced fur, shattered bone, and drove clean through the beast's head.
Instantly, the Grade 3 Phantom Wind Wolf convulsed violently. Its massive body crumpled lifelessly to the ground. Beside it, the wolf spirit phantom caught in the White Tiger's jaws flickered wildly once, then exploded into countless shimmering motes, vanishing into nothingness.
The White Tiger phantom dissolved into a streak of white light that retreated into the talisman clutched in Lin Feng's hand. Relief washed over Lin Feng's face. He steadied his turbulent true essence, letting out a long, ragged sigh of exhaustion.
He stowed the White Tiger Fierce Soul Talisman and swiftly swallowed an Energy Recovery Pill, replenishing his strength even as he strode towards Chang Gong Xiaojing and Zhang Fangzhou.
Zhang Fangzhou and Chang Gong Xiaojing, however, stood utterly transfixed. From the moment the crimson-silver flying sword had slain the beast threatening them, and they'd spun around in shock to see Lin Feng, they had remained frozen. They stared at him, dumbstruck, as if petrified by some powerful enchantment.
Lin Feng walked right up to them, taking in their stunned expressions. A warm, relieved smile touched his lips. "Xiaojing, Old Zhang. Are you both alright?"
His familiar voice shattered their paralysis. Zhang Fangzhou's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Joy and disbelief warred on his face as he stammered, "B-B-B-Big Bro?! Y-y-you... A-am I dreaming?!"
Chang Gong Xiaojing instinctively raised her right hand to cover her slightly parted lips. Her eyes, wide and luminous, shimmered with utter incredulity.
Lin Feng chuckled softly at their reactions. "What? Do I look so different now? Don't you recognize me?"
"Big Bro!! It really is you!!" Zhang Fangzhou finally confirmed this wasn't a hallucination. He lunged forward, wrapping Lin Feng in a crushing bear hug, roaring with laughter, "Wahahaha!! Big Bro! It really, truly is you!!"
"Cough, cough..." Lin Feng wheezed, patting Zhang Fangzhou's back as he struggled for breath. He managed to push the burly man back, grinning. "Alright, alright! Two grown men hugging for too long... people might get the wrong idea." He turned his gaze to Chang Gong Xiaojing, opening his arms invitingly, a playful glint in his eye. "Now, embracing a beauty? That I wouldn't object to. Xiaojing? How about a reunion hug?"
Reuniting with his friends filled Lin Feng with genuine joy, and the quip was meant lightly. What he didn't expect was Chang Gong Xiaojing's reaction. Before his words fully faded, the young woman flung herself forward, burying herself in his chest. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
"Lin Feng, it's really you... it's really you..." Her words were muffled against his tunic. He could feel her shoulders trembling slightly beneath his hands, the intensity of her emotion palpable.
No one could fathom the storm of feelings raging within Chang Gong Xiaojing. Amidst the crushing despair of moments before, facing what seemed like certain death, her thoughts had inexplicably flown to Lin Feng. She remembered past dangers, moments where he had appeared to save her. And in that desperate instant, a fervent, impossible wish had bloomed: if only he could be here now...
Even Chang Gong Xiaojing herself didn't understand why such a 'bizarre' and 'unrealistic' thought surfaced then. She had inwardly scoffed at her own naivety. But when Lin Feng did appear, materializing like an answer to that desperate prayer, she was utterly stunned. A wave of dream-made-reality happiness washed over her. Watching him burst onto the scene, overpowering their betrayers with ruthless efficiency, then annihilating the terrifying beasts in moments—it felt surreal. Overwhelmed by emotion, all sense of restraint evaporated. She simply obeyed his joking suggestion and threw herself into his arms.
"Uh..."
Now it was Lin Feng's turn to be stunned. His arms hung frozen in the air, uncertain whether to return the embrace or not. He offered an awkward chuckle. "Heh, well... of course it's really me. Who else would it be?"
While the sensation of a beautiful woman pressing against him was undeniably pleasant, Lin Feng knew this wasn't the time. He glanced towards the injured Biquan disciple nearby and gently patted Chang Gong Xiaojing's shoulder. "Xiaojing... that senior sister of yours looks badly hurt. We should help her first..."
"Ah!" Chang Gong Xiaojing gasped, snapping back to reality. She pulled back from Lin Feng's embrace, her cheeks flushing faintly, though the urgency of the situation overshadowed any lingering embarrassment over her impulsive action. She immediately rushed towards the fallen female cultivator. Lin Feng and Zhang Fangzhou hurried after her.
Chang Gong Xiaojing carefully helped the injured woman sit up. Lin Feng knelt beside them, swiftly examining her wounds. "External injuries aren't severe. Internal organs likely suffered impact trauma, but it's not fatal. Don't worry, she'll recover." Even as he spoke, he produced a top-grade Hemostasis Pill and a top-grade Energy Recovery Pill, placing them gently into the woman's mouth. The pills dissolved instantly. Color visibly returned to her pallid face. Her eyes fluttered open briefly, meeting Chang Gong Xiaojing's worried gaze, before closing again as she focused her energy on circulating her true essence to heal.
Seeing her stabilized, Chang Gong Xiaojing and Zhang Fangzhou both heaved sighs of profound relief. Lin Feng handed each of them an Energy Recovery Pill. "You should both meditate and recover your strength too. We can talk about everything else shortly."
He started to turn towards the others, but a sharp cry of agony cut through the air from further back. Whirling around, Lin Feng saw the two cultivators who had been with Wang Licang collapse simultaneously, felled by a single flying sword. The wielder standing over them, sword dripping crimson, was Yan Can.
After dispatching the Grade 3 Phantom Wind Wolf, Yan Can had felt immense relief. Seeing Lin Feng, Chang Gong Xiaojing, and Zhang Fangzhou in their emotional reunion, he hadn't immediately approached. Instead, his gaze had shifted towards the ongoing struggle nearby: Loong Tian and Loong Xin locked in combat with Wang Licang's two remaining companions. Yan Can still possessed some fight left. Swallowing an Energy Recovery Pill, he dashed towards the fray without hesitation.
For treacherous, backstabbing scum like this, Yan Can felt no shred of mercy. Wang Licang's companions were merely at the eighth level of Foundation Building—utterly outmatched against Yan Can's flying sword. Their deaths were swift and brutal justice.
Yan Can, Loong Tian, and Loong Xin then turned in unison, making their way towards Lin Feng and the others.