Counterkill to Establish His Might

The sense of being watched behind him clung like a disease to the bone—cold and viscous.

Lin Feng's expression remained unchanged, and his steps stayed steady. He even deliberately slowed down slightly, like a traveler exhausted from a long journey. Yet his Spiritual Power was like a precise radar, firmly locking onto the ghostlike figure behind him.

The other party was cautious, always keeping several hundred meters away. He used the sparse roadside trees and undulating terrain to conceal his tracks, his aura perfectly restrained. If Lin Feng's Spiritual Power had not far surpassed those of the same rank, and if it had not undergone its transformation in the secret realm, he likely would not have noticed him.

Late Stage Martial Artist, strange movement technique, skilled at concealment and one-hit kills... a professional assassin. Lin Feng made his judgment swiftly. That faint scent of blood on the man, almost blended into the shadows themselves, was not something an ordinary martial artist could possess.

Without giving anything away, he continued onward as if completely unaware of the danger about to descend. Within his body, the Thunder Foundation Establishment Chapter had already begun circulating silently at full force. Newly born violet Thunder True Qi surged through his meridians like a thunderstorm poised to erupt. The incomplete method for the second level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade, which he had just deduced, was also being repeatedly analyzed in his mind as he sought the best moment to use it.

Up ahead, the highway curved toward the edge of an industrial district abandoned for many years. The rusted skeletons of factory buildings towered like the remains of giant beasts, their shattered windows like hollow eye sockets. Weeds carpeted the ground, which was strewn with discarded construction materials and garbage. The place was deserted—an ideal spot for murder and robbery.

A cold glint flashed through Lin Feng's eyes. This is the place!

His foot "slipped," as if he had tripped over a stone on the ground. His body staggered slightly, and he "panicked" as he turned into the shadows of a half-collapsed factory building nearby. Every movement was utterly natural, vividly portraying a young man who had exhausted his strength through battle and carelessly sought a place to rest.

Almost the instant his figure disappeared into the factory's shadows, the figure following him suddenly accelerated! Like a venomous snake that had lain in wait for ages, it finally bared its Fangs!

Whoosh!

A blurry gray shadow tore through the air at astonishing speed, nearly skimming the ground as it silently slipped into the factory. The short blade in his hand gleamed with a ghostly blue chill, like Death's kiss, stabbing straight toward Lin Feng's back! The angle was vicious and tricky, the strike utterly ruthless!

This attack contained all the True Qi and killing intent of a Late Stage Martial Artist, seeking to kill with one blow! A cruel, smug smile had already appeared on the sinister middle-aged man's face, as though he could already see the crystal core and spirit herbs in his hands.

Yet, at the very instant the short blade was about to touch Lin Feng's clothes—

Lin Feng, who had been "facing away" from him, twisted and spun at an unimaginable angle as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He narrowly let the fatal strike graze past beneath his ribs! The fierce energy carried by the blade only tore open the clothing at his waist, exposing the bronze-colored skin beneath, but failed to injure him in the slightest!

"What?!" The smile on the sinister middle-aged man's face instantly froze. His pupils contracted sharply, and alarm bells rang wildly in his mind! He had missed?! How was that possible?!

Before he could change moves, Lin Feng's left arm, which appeared to have been flung out by the spin, struck like a long-prepared python. His fingers spread slightly, and a thread of dark violet lightning, condensed to the extreme, erupted from his fingertips—Electric Light Finger! Yet this strike incorporated the explosive force method of the second level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade!

Screech!

The finger wind struck after yet arrived first, swift as lightning, accurately stabbing toward the sinister middle-aged man's throat, which had been slightly exposed during his attack!

The sinister middle-aged man's face drained of color. In his haste, he could only barely tilt his head aside while sweeping his short blade back, attempting to block it.

Pfft!

Though the finger wind did not hit his throat, it struck viciously into the Jianjing acupoint on his left shoulder! An incomparably violent surge of Thunder True Qi instantly penetrated his body, exploding through his meridians like thousands upon thousands of steel needles!

"Urgh!" The sinister middle-aged man let out a muffled groan of agony. His entire left arm went numb at once, and the short blade nearly slipped from his grip! Terror surged through his heart as he realized he had kicked an iron plate. This kid was no helpless fat sheep—he was a ferocious beast disguised as a lamb!

Run!

The thought instantly occupied his mind. Enduring the tearing agony in his left shoulder and the erosion of the Thunder True Qi, he stepped repeatedly, his body retreating explosively like a phantom as he tried to melt into the factory's shadows.

"Trying to leave? Too late!"

Lin Feng's icy voice rang beside his ear like a death-summoning chant.

Thunder Flash!

Lin Feng left behind a faint afterimage where he stood, while his true body had already closed in on the rapidly retreating sinister middle-aged man like a disease clinging to the bone! His right fist clenched. This was no longer a simple Thunderclap Break; he had fused his newly comprehended incomplete force method of the second level into it. Dark violet lightning no longer scattered from his fist, but instead compressed inward, forming a thin layer of destructive energy that constantly twisted and leaped!

Nine Heavens Thunder Blade—Thunder Gang Emerges!

The punch shot out soundlessly, yet carried a suffocating pressure! Wherever the fist passed, the air itself seemed to be annihilated by the condensed Thunder Gang!

Reflected in the sinister middle-aged man's pupils was that dark violet fist, growing ever larger and radiating an aura of destruction. Desperate terror instantly drowned him! He desperately raised his still-functional right arm and held the short blade horizontally before him, trying to block it.

Crack!

The finely forged steel short blade shattered inch by inch like fragile glass the instant it came into contact with the dark violet Thunder Gang! The punch did not slow in the slightest as it slammed brutally into his chest!

Boom!!

A muffled, thunderous crash rang out, like striking rotten leather!

The sinister middle-aged man's body suddenly arched. His eyes bulged wide, filled with endless terror and disbelief. He clearly heard the horrifying sound of his breastbone shattering and his internal organs being instantly pulverized by that explosive thunderous energy!

No blood sprayed out. All the destructive power had been confined by the condensed Thunder Gang, erupting within his body!

He flew backward like a torn sack, crashing heavily into a rusted steel frame behind him and warping it out of shape. Then he slid limply to the ground. Purple-black blood seeped from his seven orifices. His body twitched twice, then fell completely still.

One move. Enemy slain!

Lin Feng slowly withdrew his fist as the layer of dark violet Thunder Gang around it gradually dissipated. His face was slightly pale, and his breathing somewhat hurried. Forcibly activating Thunder Gang, which he had yet to fully master, consumed a tremendous amount of True Qi and mental strength.

He walked over to the corpse, his gaze cold and devoid of the slightest pity. Mercy toward an enemy was cruelty toward oneself. He quickly began searching the body.

Aside from some loose change and inconsequential personal belongings, Lin Feng found a palm-sized black token that felt icy to the touch. He did not know what kind of metal it was forged from. A ferocious ghost head was carved on its front, while its reverse bore a scarlet character: "Kill." It radiated a chilling Sha Qi.

"Shadow Kill Token..." Lin Feng's eyes narrowed. He had heard Mentor Li Zhenhai mention this organization before: an infamous assassin organization active throughout Jiangnan Province and its surrounding regions. So long as the money was right, there was no one they would not kill. The number of Fangs on the ghost head of the token seemed to represent the assassin's rank.

"System, analyze the token."

[Analyzing... The token is made of 'Yinhun Iron' and contains a faint spiritual imprint and tracking runes. The holder's information has been erased, but the source that issued the mission can be reverse-traced through the core runes (higher authority or a specific method required). Mission issuer information encrypted... decrypting... Associated information indicates an 87.3% probability of connection to the Jiangnan Zhang Clan.]

The Zhang Clan! So it really was you!

Killing intent flashed through Lin Feng's eyes, then vanished. Zhang Kuang's father, Zhang Tianba! It seemed that after he had severed his son's arm and made the Zhang Clan lose face before Lei Lie, they had been driven into a corner like dogs and were willing to hire assassins from the Shadow Kill Pavilion to eliminate him!

He put away the token. It would serve as one piece of evidence when he settled accounts with the Zhang Clan in the future. He also found several bottles of pills with unknown effects and a small stack of Federal Currency on the assassin's body, which he accepted without the slightest hesitation.

Then, a spark of thunderfire shot from his fingertip and landed on the corpse. Lightning flickered as the body rapidly blackened and turned to ash. Together with the shattered short blade, it vanished completely from this world, leaving behind no trace whatsoever.

After disposing of the corpse, Lin Feng did not linger. His figure flashed, and he swiftly left the abandoned factory district, racing toward the city.

The sunlight completely dispelled the morning mist, stretching his shadow long behind him.

His first counterkill since entering the Martial Artist Realm had been clean and decisive. It also gave him an even clearer understanding of this world's cruelty.

Strength was the only pass.

He clenched his fists, feeling the thunderous power surging within him, his gaze growing ever more resolute.

After returning to the city, he did not go straight home. Instead, he first visited an official Martial Artist Association store, exchanging some low-tier thunder lizard materials he had no use for into Federal Currency and several universal mid-grade Energy Liquids. Only then did he return to the low-rent apartment and begin an intense period of secluded training.

He needed to digest the gains from the secret realm, consolidate his realm, familiarize himself with the use of Thunder Gang, and await the official opening of the Jiangnan Province martial arts examination qualification tournament.

The storm was about to arrive.