Three Golden Core late-stage cultivators—each an elite among their peers—had fallen before Lin Feng. Not one could withstand even a single blow, nor were they given the chance to unleash their most potent techniques. In the span of mere blinks, they had become three cold corpses.
In that moment, Duan Weiqi finally believed—truly believed—the rumors about Lin Feng. He understood they weren't exaggerated boasts as he'd thought. He also grasped the sheer stupidity of his own attempt to challenge him.
Realizing victory was impossible, terror and bitter resentment warred within Duan Weiqi. He shot Lin Feng one final, venomous glance, then made a desperate decision. Abandoning his own flying sword, he tapped his foot against the ground, launching himself backward towards the dense jungle behind him.
Yet, just as he soared upwards, poised to land on a thick branch, he felt an unexpected, vice-like grip tighten around his right ankle. A powerful force yanked him backward!
Whipping his head around in panic, Duan Weiqi saw his trouser leg constricting around his ankle. Peering closer, he discerned the cause: a thread as fine as a silkworm's silk, almost transparent, was coiled tightly around it. The force pulling on it was immense, threatening to snap his ankle bone clean through.
"Aah!! Let me go!!"
Duan Weiqi's face paled drastically. He thrashed wildly, desperate to shake off the Spirit Snake Silk binding him. But his momentum was spent, and unlike a Nascent Soul cultivator, he couldn't tread air. He plummeted helplessly downwards. Knowing every second lost increased his peril, he twisted violently mid-fall. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled a purple orb straight at Lin Feng!
The instant Lin Feng saw the purple orb, his pupils contracted slightly. Yet, no trace of panic crossed his features. He even murmured under his breath, 'As expected, he has one too…' Gu Yulu had nearly cost him dearly with such a Thunder Pearl. Knowing Duan Weiqi was also Liu Zhengyang's disciple, how could Lin Feng be unprepared? A mere thought directed the Soulburn Sword hovering ahead of him. With a resonant hum, the fiery silver blade shot upwards, intercepting the purple orb mid-flight.
"BOOM!!!"
An earth-shattering detonation erupted. Struck by the Soulburn Sword, the Thunder Pearl exploded violently in the air between Lin Feng and Duan Weiqi. A blinding eruption of violet light consumed the space, warping the air itself into visible ripples. The concussive force tore outward, gouging countless charred trenches into the earth directly below. Lin Feng was forced back several steps by the surging lightning energy, his spiritual power flaring as he strained to maintain his protective barrier. The distraction caused his grip on the Spirit Snake Silk to slacken, giving Duan Weiqi the crucial instant he needed to wrench himself free.
Seeing his deadliest trump card fail to kill Lin Feng, Duan Weiqi's eyes flashed with hatred and bitter frustration. But he dared not linger. The instant his feet touched the ground, he kicked off with explosive force, hurtling deeper into the forest.
"ROARRR!!!"
He hadn't fled more than a hundred meters when an ear-splitting tiger's roar shook the air behind him. Simultaneously, an aura of soul-chilling dread slammed into him. His face contorted in terror as he instantly recalled rumors of one of Lin Feng's most formidable treasures. Cold sweat drenched his back instantly. Pouring every ounce of strength into his flight, he risked a single, terrified glance over his shoulder.
That glance nearly stopped his heart. Through the lingering violet haze of the explosion, a colossal white tiger phantom surged forward. It covered the hundred-meter gap separating them in a single, effortless bound, its enormous maw gaping wide to swallow him whole!
Before the immense White Tiger Soul, Duan Weiqi felt like a field mouse confronting a mountain cat. Not being a Nascent Soul cultivator, he possessed neither the power nor the means to withstand its assault. Even in his prime, calm and focused, his speed would have been utterly insufficient to evade the Tiger Soul's attack. Panic rendered him completely helpless.
The Tiger Soul's ethereal white glow cast Duan Weiqi's already bloodless face into stark, ghastly relief. He instinctively threw up his hands in a futile gesture of defense. The motion was barely half-completed before the colossal spectral jaws engulfed him. Strangely, his physical body remained untouched, yet he froze rigidly in place. The Tiger Soul passed through him, emerging behind his frozen form. Clenched within its spectral jaws was a hazy, struggling human silhouette…
Without reaching the Nascent Soul stage, one's soul spirit possesses no power to resist the White Tiger Soul. The mighty phantom beast whipped its head violently sideways in a savage tearing motion. Duan Weiqi's soul spirit shredded like paper, dissolving into countless motes of light that scattered into the void.
Thud! Duan Weiqi's physically unharmed body collapsed heavily to the forest floor. His eyes stared blankly, devoid of life or spirit. He was now merely an empty husk.
Silence descended upon the forest once more, deeper and more absolute than before. The overwhelming pressure radiating from the White Tiger Soul had clearly terrified even the nearby beasts into stillness. Not a single sound remained.
From start to finish, the entire confrontation had lasted less than a minute. Four elite Golden Core late-stage cultivators had met their end here, paying the ultimate price for their greed and folly.
"..."
Watching Duan Weiqi fall, Lin Feng's expression eased slightly. He scanned the surroundings, his gaze finally settling on the Scaleclaw Beast that had first ambushed him. It lay utterly motionless. A sweep of his divine sense confirmed the creature had succumbed to its grievous wounds—Xiaoqiu's spirit stone 'grenade' was now potent enough to outright kill a Grade 3, Tier 8 demon beast.
Assured all threats were neutralized, Lin Feng relaxed fully. His face grew serious as he contemplated for several seconds. Then, moving swiftly, he tidied the scene, erasing all traces of the battle and the bodies, before immediately departing.
...
He traveled without pause for half a day, only slowing his pace as dusk began to fall. He encountered no further ambushes during this time. It seemed Duan Weiqi and his three companions had been the only ones harboring ill intent towards him; the other competitors had likely long since forged ahead on their own paths deep into the island.
While the night held greater dangers than the day, Lin Feng didn't seek shelter. He pressed onward. The obstacles he faced henceforth were solely the demon beasts inhabiting the island's depths. Mostly Grade 3 creatures, they posed no real threat to him. Guided by Xiaoqiu's keen senses, he even managed to locate several valuable natural treasures along his route.
Thus, Lin Feng's journey unfolded smoothly over the next two days. He steadily advanced towards the heart of Wu Song Island, gathering rare herbs and materials as he went, gradually drawing nearer to the other competitors converging on the same destination...
...
As contestants from all directions converged on the island's center, their ultimate goal lay at the very peak of the tallest mountain dominating the landscape.
On a broad, flattened area near the summit, over a dozen cultivators stood or sat cross-legged. Their attention was fixed on the empty space before them. Suspended there like holographic projections were dozens of shifting images, each depicting a different scene across the island. These were the real-time feeds transmitted by the surveillance arrays hidden throughout the competition grounds.
In the lower right corner of this mosaic of views, a figure flashed into existence—lean, agile, moving with blistering speed. He vanished from the monitored area almost as quickly as he appeared. Yet, the keen eyes of Liu Zhengyang and Yu Ping had no trouble identifying him: Lin Feng.
The instant Liu Zhengyang saw Lin Feng, his pupils contracted sharply. A flicker of profound shock and disbelief crossed his features, as if witnessing the impossible. Then, a realization seemed to strike him. His face darkened abruptly, his gaze darting frantically across several other surveillance feeds, clearly searching for something. The deepening scowl on his face indicated he hadn't found his target.
Liu Zhengyang's reaction went unnoticed by most. But Yu Ping, standing nearby, caught it instantly. He cast a subtle, sidelong glance at Liu Zhengyang, then followed the man's gaze to the same clusters of images. A hint of confusion appeared in Yu Ping's eyes at first, quickly replaced by dawning comprehension. The faintest trace of a cold, knowing smile touched the corners of his mouth...