On the mountainside of a small hill, Lin Feng stood atop a Wu Song pine tree towering over fifty meters, gazing into the distance.
It was the afternoon of the third day of the competition. By Lin Feng's estimation, he had covered roughly two-thirds of the journey. Had he not spent time searching for natural treasures or deliberately zigzagging since morning to encounter other competitors, he might have already reached the destination mountain.
Just two hours prior, he had crossed paths with a trio from the Scaleback City faction. He had been gathering a spirit herb after defeating a Grade 4, Tier 1 demon beast when the commotion drew them near. They had immediately attempted to seize his competition token along with the herb. The outcome was predictable. However, since they hadn't pressed for a lethal outcome, Lin Feng spared their lives. He took only their tokens before letting them go.
He now possessed ten tokens in total: his original one, four from Duan Weiqi's group, and five from the Scaleback City trio. The extra tokens the trio carried were, of course, taken from others they had defeated.
Lin Feng calculated that securing twenty-six tokens would guarantee first place in the competition.
…
After surveying the landscape from his vantage point, Lin Feng selected a direction and prepared to move. Just before departing, his eyes flickered almost imperceptibly towards a cliff face not far to his right. He tapped his foot lightly, descended, and vanished among the trees in a series of swift leaps.
On that cliff, Lin Feng had sensed faint ripples of array energy. He'd detected similar traces several times along his journey. He refrained from investigating further, suspecting they were the surveillance arrays deployed by the adjudicators from the Five Cities.
To prevent cheating, each of the Five City factions had installed surveillance arrays across the island. Crucially, their locations were kept secret from rival factions before the competition commenced. Typically, the arrays were sparser towards the outer regions where competitors were less likely to encounter rivals initially.
When Lin Feng left the site of Duan Weiqi's ambush, he had checked meticulously. No trace of a surveillance array existed there. While plausible for that location, it deepened Lin Feng's suspicion. If Duan Weiqi and his crew chose that spot precisely because they knew it wasn't monitored… then the plot runs deeper than it seemed…
"ROARRR!!!"
A sudden beast's roar, accompanied by several thunderous impacts, shattered Lin Feng's contemplation. His eyes sharpened instantly. Without hesitation, he sped towards the source of the sound.
By a small forest lake, a male and female cultivator fought desperately against a colossal beast covered in ink-green fur, resembling a monstrous ape. Both cultivators were at the Golden Core Ninth Layer, yet the demon beast was Grade 4, Tier 2. The power disparity was immense. Driven relentlessly backward, they relied solely on seamless teamwork to avoid immediate death.
"It's hopeless!! We can't win! Junior Sister, go! I'll hold it off!!"
Knowing escape was impossible for both, the male cultivator shoved the woman back with controlled force. He then spun towards the charging beast. His spiritual power surged violently around him – a clear sign he intended to detonate his Golden Core, sacrificing himself to buy her a sliver of survival.
"Senior Brother!! No!!"
The blue-robed woman, thrown backward by the unexpected shove, screamed in terror as she witnessed his resolve. She landed heavily, then stamped her foot, lunging forward as if to rush back towards him.
"Go!! Do you want my death to be meaningless?!" The man, on the brink of detonation, turned and roared at her furious gesture. His shout froze her mid-step, leaving her trembling and lost.
"Whoosh!!"
At that critical moment, a clear ringing of steel sliced through the air, approaching rapidly. The man instinctively turned. A streak of fiery silver light flashed past, intercepting the ape beast mere meters from him. Not only did it force the beast back, but it also carved a deep, bone-deep gash across its thick forearm.
"ROOOAAARRGH!!!" To the man's astonishment, the beast unleashed a scream wildly disproportionate to the injury – as if its entire arm had been severed. He couldn't know it was the soul-searing agony inflicted by the Soulburn Sword's unique property.
"Fwip!!"
"Thunk!!"
Before either cultivator could fully process this turn of events, a thin violet streak shot from the forest behind the beast, faster than the previous silver light. As the beast reeled from the blinding pain in its arm, the violet light struck true, piercing the base of its skull. What happened next left the two witnesses utterly stunned and incredulous.
The beast's head exploded like a rotten melon under the impact. Its colossal frame stiffened abruptly. Without even a final grunt, it crashed face-first onto the ground with a force that shook the earth. Silence descended once more.
Utter stillness gripped the scene. Both cultivators stared dumbfounded at the massive corpse, minds struggling to comprehend the swift, brutal resolution.
"Rustle... rustle..." Soft footsteps approached. The sound jolted them back to awareness. They looked up to see a young cultivator emerge from the forest shadows opposite them. The fiery silver streak that had attacked the beast flew back, vanishing into his grasp with a casual wave.
It was, naturally, Lin Feng. After retrieving the Soulburn Sword, he approached the beast's corpse, examined it briefly, and stored it away in his spatial ring. Only then did he turn his gaze to the pair he'd rescued.
"Senior Brother!!"
The woman finally snapped out of her daze. She rushed to the man's side, instinctively clutching his arm, before casting a fearful glance towards Lin Feng.
The man regained his composure, eyes flickering rapidly. He gave the woman a reassuring look, gently extracted his arm, and clasped his fists towards Lin Feng in a respectful bow. "Esteemed fellow Daoist, thank you for your timely intervention. We owe you our lives. Dong Tianyang is eternally grateful."
Lin Feng nodded slightly. "A mere trifle. Think nothing of it."
Dong Tianyang blinked, momentarily speechless at the dismissal of killing a Grade 4 beast as a "trifle." He pressed on earnestly, "I am Dong Tianyang. This is my Junior Sister, Xu Yurong. We hail from Whirlpool City. Might we know your esteemed name?"
After a brief pause, Lin Feng replied, "Lin Feng. From Seaguard City."
"Lin Feng?" Dong Tianyang's expression shifted instantly, a spark of recognition lighting his eyes. "You are that Lin Feng? The 'Restoration Expert' from Seaguard City?!"