The surging power of a Late Stage Martial Artist raced through his limbs and bones like a breached river, swiftly washing away and repairing the lingering fatigue and injuries from the fierce battle. Lin Feng stood at the edge of the charred crater, faint violet arcs of electricity flowing around him. His aura was more than a notch stronger than before!
His gaze was as sharp as an eagle's as it swept over the surroundings. The battle with Tu Gang had caused far too much commotion and was bound to have drawn the attention of other nearby examinees. In the Myriad Phenomena Battlefield, a wounded beast was most likely to attract the gaze of hyenas.
Without pausing for even a moment, he moved. Thunder Flash combined with Galloping Thunder Steps, and his speed soared. Like a bolt of genuine lightning, he swiftly left this troubled place and slipped deeper into the Crimson Mountain Range.
Along the way, he encountered several first- and second-order demon beasts that did not know their place. A casually condensed Electric Light Finger or an ordinary Thunderclap Break easily dealt with them, turning them into points. After his breakthrough, he did not even need to use Thunder Gang against such ordinary demon beasts.
His goal was clear—more points, and... the other assassin sent by the Zhang Family, Shadow Fox Mo San!
After traveling for roughly an hour, a stone forest made up of countless massive, weathered crimson stone pillars appeared ahead. The terrain within the stone forest was intricate, filled with jagged strange rocks. It was an ideal place for ambushes and counter-ambushes.
Lin Feng slowed his steps, his mental power highly focused like invisible tendrils as he carefully probed every inch of the stone forest.
[Warning: Multiple concealed energy signatures detected in the area ahead. Hostile intent detected.] [Analyzing... Energy attributes lean toward darkness and concealment. 78% compatibility with known Shadowy Specter Academy cultivation methods.]
Shadowy Specter Academy? Lin Feng's eyes turned faintly cold. He had noticed this academy, famed for its assassination arts and unorthodox methods, during the qualifying competition. He had not expected to encounter them so quickly—and judging from the situation, they had specifically laid an ambush here.
He pretended not to notice, walking toward the entrance of the stone forest with slightly "weary" steps, like an ordinary examinee who had just endured a hard battle and was eager to find somewhere to rest.
The instant he stepped into the stone forest's shadows—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several piercing whistles suddenly rang out from different directions! Seven ghostlike black figures shot out from behind stone pillars, cracks in the ground, and even fissures in the rocks overhead, like venomous snakes fused with the shadows! Seven daggers coated in a ghostly blue sheen—clearly steeped in deadly poison—carried chilling killing intent as they sealed off every possible angle for Lin Feng to evade!
Their coordination was flawless, their timing vicious, their strike meant to kill in one blow! It was the classic style of Shadowy Specter Academy!
Had Lin Feng still been a mid-stage Martial Artist, facing the joint ambush of these seven Shadowy Specter geniuses, each at least at the middle stage, he might have been able to kill several of them in return—but injury would have been unavoidable. He might even have capsized in the gutter.
But now—
Cold light burst from Lin Feng's eyes, and that trace of feigned "fatigue" vanished without a trace, replaced by thunderous ferocity and precision!
"Thunder Gang, quake!"
Rather than dodge, he stomped hard! The dark-violet Thunder Gang surrounding him condensed at an unprecedented speed. It was not used to attack, but formed a solid ring of lightning around him that explosively spread outward and shook the surroundings!
Bzzzz—!
Where Thunder Gang passed, the air let out an overwhelmed hum! The seven attacking black figures seemed to crash into an invisible wall brimming with destructive force. Their speed plummeted, their bodies stiffened, and even the daggers in their hands buzzed violently from the impact of Thunder Gang, the ghostly blue poison-light upon them dimming considerably!
"What?!"
"Something is wrong with his protective true qi!"
Startled cries came from the shadows, filled with shock and panic. Their famed concealment and combined assault techniques had been shattered in an instant beneath that tyrannical thunderous shockwave!
"Now, it's my turn!"
Lin Feng's cold voice was like the proclamation of death itself. The instant the seven were slowed by Thunder Gang's shockwave, he moved!
Galloping Thunder Steps erupted, leaving a faint afterimage behind. His true body had already sliced into the midst of the seven like a ghost! His two fingers flashed like lightning as Electric Light Finger was driven to its limit. Yet the finger wind was no longer a single straight line—it was like leaping thunder serpents, tracing bizarre arcs through the air!
Ssst! Ssst! Ssst!
His speed was utterly extreme! Dark-violet finger shadows flickered and weaved among the seven black figures. With every flicker, they precisely struck the wrists, shoulder wells, or vital qi seas of a Shadowy Specter examinee!
"Argh!"
"My hand!"
"My true qi!"
Miserable screams rose one after another! The seven Shadowy Specter geniuses fell out of their concealed states like cut rice stalks, collapsing to the ground in convulsions. Their wrists had shattered, their weapons fallen away, and their true qi been sealed. In an instant, they lost all combat power!
The entire process took no more than two or three breaths! Seven Shadowy Specter geniuses skilled in combined attacks had not even touched the corner of Lin Feng's clothes before their entire force was wiped out!
Lin Feng did not even look at the seven people sprawled on the ground without combat power. Their points automatically flowed into his token. His lightning-like gaze abruptly shot toward the rear of the thickest stone pillar deep within the stone forest.
"You've watched for so long. Aren't you coming out yet?"
He had long sensed another aura concealed there, steadier and more dangerous than the seven others! It was not the style of Shadowy Specter Academy, but carried a mountain-like heaviness and oppressive force!
"Heh heh, worthy of being Lei Lie's disciple. You truly are perceptive."
A deep chuckle sounded. A bald, brawny man with a towering frame, bronze skin, and muscles knotted like granite slowly stepped out from behind the stone pillar. Every step he took made the ground tremble faintly. His aura was heavy and solid—he was unmistakably a Late Stage Martial Artist, and one who specialized in body tempering!
"Vajra Gate, Shi Meng." The burly man clenched his fists, his joints cracking like fried beans. "Someone has offered a price for one of your arms. Will you do it yourself, or shall I help you?"
His gaze was disdainful, brimming with absolute confidence. Clearly, he credited Lin Feng's instant defeat of the seven Shadowy Specter examinees to Thunder True Qi's restraint over dark cultivation methods, and did not truly take Lin Feng seriously. To a Vajra Gate successor specializing in body tempering and possessing astonishing defense, lightning power might be strong, but it might not necessarily be able to break his defenses!
Lin Feng looked at that body seemingly cast from metal and could sense the terrifying power contained beneath it. This was a formidable opponent. In terms of pure physical strength, Shi Meng was likely far beyond others of the same level.
"You want one of my arms?" A cold curve rose at Lin Feng's lips. "That depends on whether your fists are hard enough!"
"You're courting death!" Shi Meng's gaze sharpened. He stopped wasting words and stomped fiercely! A shallow crater exploded in the ground, and he shot forward like a cannonball leaving its barrel, carrying an unstoppable momentum as he drove a fist straight at Lin Feng's face! The force of the punch was unrivaled, as though it could shatter mountains!
Facing this strike of pure force, battle intent blazed in Lin Feng's eyes. He actually neither dodged nor retreated. The Nine Heavens Thunder Blade mental cultivation method circulated, lightning gathered around his right fist, and he met the attack head-on! He wanted to see just what level his strength had reached after breaking through!
Boom!!
The two fists collided without any flourish! Like two enormous hammers smashing together, they produced a deafening explosion! A visible ring-shaped shockwave burst outward, shaking stone dust down from the surrounding pillars!
Lin Feng's body swayed as he took half a step back, his fist tingling with soreness and numbness. Shi Meng, however, staggered back three steps with heavy thuds. A flush rose over his bronze face, and his eyes were full of horror!
"Your strength... how is that possible?!" Shi Meng could not believe it. Since childhood, he had tempered his muscles and bones and consumed secret medicines, granting him strength far surpassing Martial Artists of the same stage. He had thought he could crush Lin Feng with one punch, yet in a contest of pure strength, he had actually fallen behind!
"Looks like your fists aren't hard enough." Lin Feng shook his wrist, his tone calm yet intensely insulting.
"Bastard! Indestructible Vajra Body!" Shi Meng flew into a rage and roared. A metallic sheen instantly covered his skin, and his aura rose once again! His fists became heavy hammers as he unleashed Vajra Gate's ultimate art. Fist shadows piled up like mountains, carrying the might to collapse mountains and split rocks as he launched a frenzied assault on Lin Feng!
Lin Feng's gaze tightened as he pushed the Thunder Flash movement technique to its limit, no longer meeting Shi Meng in a direct contest of strength. Once Shi Meng activated his body-tempering secret art, his defenses had greatly increased and his power had risen again. Trading blows head-on was not the wise choice.
Like a butterfly flitting among flowers, he weaved through the overwhelmingly fierce fist shadows. Strands of Electric Light Finger were like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, precisely striking the major acupoints and joints throughout Shi Meng's body. Yet that metallic sheen possessed formidable defenses. The finger arrows could only leave white marks on it, ringing with the clamor of metal striking iron. They could not break through.
"Hahaha! Useless! How could my Indestructible Vajra Body be broken by your finger force?" Shi Meng laughed wildly, his attacks becoming even more ferocious.
Lin Feng's expression did not change, but his eyes grew increasingly calm. As he evaded, he carefully observed the flow of energy within Shi Meng's body. No body-tempering technique could be without flaws, especially when one was moving and exerting force.
"There!"
The instant Shi Meng threw a heavy punch, when his old force had just faded and his new force had yet to arise, the metallic sheen over the Tanzhong acupoint on his chest rippled ever so slightly—
Violet lightning burst from Lin Feng's eyes. His right fist, which had long been gathering force, suddenly shot out! This time, it was no ordinary Thunderclap Break. Instead, he drove the second layer of Thunder Gang to its utmost limit, his entire fist seemingly transforming into an energy mass formed purely from destructive lightning!
"Nine Heavens Thunder Blade—Lightning Annihilation!"
The punch left his fist without a sound! Yet it was so fast that it surpassed the eye's ability to follow! Like a true bolt of heavenly punishment, it instantly crossed the distance between them and struck with incomparable precision upon that faint ripple over Shi Meng's Tanzhong acupoint!
Squelch!
It was like a hot knife cutting into butter! That seemingly indestructible metallic sheen was torn apart like paper before the terrifyingly penetrating Thunder Gang condensed to the extreme! Violent lightning power instantly penetrated Shi Meng's body and struck the core of his qi and blood!
"Uh... im... possible..."
Shi Meng's wild grin instantly froze, turning into utter pain and bewilderment. He looked down at the charred fist mark on his chest and felt lightning power raging through his body like an erupting volcano. His massive body swayed, then crashed to the ground like a mountain pushed over and a jade pillar toppled, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Lin Feng slowly withdrew his fist, his breathing slightly ragged. Repeatedly using Thunder Gang had drained him greatly. He glanced at the unconscious Shi Meng, whose aura was weak and feeble, but did not take his points. Turning around, he prepared to leave.
However, at the instant he turned, another change arose!
A faint whistle, so subtle it was nearly impossible to detect, came from the blind spot behind him! Its speed was inconceivably fast, aimed directly at the Yuzhen acupoint on the back of his head! At the same time, a sweet, cloying fragrance quietly spread through the air. The moment it entered the lungs, it made one dizzy and disoriented, even causing the circulation of true qi to stall slightly!
Poison! It was Shadow Fox Mo San!
The true killing move had only now bared its fangs! He had actually been lurking nearby all along, waiting for Lin Feng and Shi Meng to both suffer losses—or for this moment, when Lin Feng's guard was at its weakest!
Before you continue