Setting out

Winning—that's going to be quite a challenge.

Chen Feng glanced at the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader, who was much more imposing than the Flying Lightning Rat, and asked, "May I ask what your Clan Chief level is, Chief?"

"Squeak!" Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader extended three claws.

"Xiao Feng, the Clan Chief has 30,000 years of cultivation, you need to be careful," Xiao Wu reminded him.

Thirty thousand years of cultivation? Chen Feng silently considered it for a moment and decided it was worth the challenge.

He had just acquired a new Soul Bone, which could serve as a trump card. As long as Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader was caught by Sky Azure Sluggish Divine Claw, Chen Feng would definitely win this match.

However, the Sky Azure Sluggish Divine Claw needs a few seconds to charge before it can be released, and the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader's speed will definitely be very fast, so how to hit it is a problem that needs to be considered.

"I accept this challenge," Chen Feng said.

"Should we find a more open space?" Tang San suggested.

He felt that since the Lightning Rat clan lived in this forest, they must be very well adapted to the environment here, while Chen Feng was not. Therefore, he wanted to set up the location in an environment that was favorable to Chen Feng.

"No need for that, this will do." Chen Feng summoned his Martial Soul.

The forest environment is indeed quite complex, which is theoretically disadvantageous for his battle with Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader, since the latter has the home-field advantage.

However, with the Cycle of Rebirth in hand, Chen Feng can turn any environment into his own domain with this skill.

This is the confidence that the Xiao Hei gave him.

Hearing Chen Feng's words, Tang San understood his plan, so he said no more and, together with Xiao Wu and the Flying Lightning Rat, moved aside.

Chen Feng and Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader distanced themselves, each finding a place to stand and facing each other from afar.

"Preparation"

Xiao Wu raised her palm and then slashed downwards sharply.

"Start!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader transformed into a bolt of lightning and attacked.

Wow, so fast!

Faced with the lightning bolt shooting towards him, Chen Feng instinctively activated "Shunatsu," which slowed everything in front of him down considerably, allowing him to make a timely blocking move.

Bite!

That was the sound of the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader's claws clashing with Chen Feng's sword.

Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader showed a human-like expression of surprise, seemingly not expecting Chen Feng to be able to keep up with his speed. At this moment, Chen Feng also tried to counterattack, wanting to use his signature Art of Light and Heavy Sword.

As long as he can bring Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader into his rhythm, then the outcome of this match is already decided for him.

However, just as Chen Feng slightly shifted his longsword and before he could make any move, the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader's claws made contact with the sword and separated instantly, and the next attack came again.

Chen Feng frowned slightly. He could sense that the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader was faster than him, making it difficult for him to react in any way. He could only try his best to block the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader's attacks.

Whenever he tried to parry and then made a small move, Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader would quickly disengage as if startled, and then launch the next attack, giving him no chance whatsoever.

"Tsk, I've been drawn into my opponent's rhythm," Chen Feng sighed inwardly.

Of all the types of opponents, the ones he disliked the most were still those with exceptional speed, especially those who were even faster than him.

The last speed-type Soul Master that Chen Feng found extremely troublesome was Bai He, the Clan Chief of the Min Clan, who left Chen Feng, who was still Soul Elder at the time, completely helpless.

While Tai Tan and Niu Gao are also difficult to deal with, at least they will interact with you. Whether it's Tai Tan's powerful force field or Niu Gao's absolute defense, at least you have something to fight against.

But the Bai He doesn't interact with you at all. During training, you can't even touch the hem of your clothes. You lose without any competition, which is extremely frustrating.

Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader seemed to share this sentiment. Although it appeared to be engaged in a fierce battle with Chen Feng, with the clanging of claws and swords creating a lively atmosphere, Chen Feng knew that Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader held back in every attack. This allowed it to quickly withdraw when faced with a change in circumstances and then choose to launch the next offensive or simply retreat.

In addition, the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader's own extreme speed allows its attacks to be continuous, a fighting style that the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader has developed over a long period of survival.

"Xiao Feng seems to be falling behind," Xiao Wu said worriedly from the sidelines.

She saw Chen Feng struggling to defend himself against the lightning attacks. Although he blocked all of his opponent's attacks, he looked quite disheveled.

"Besides the Bai He Clan Chief, this is the first opponent he can't keep up with." Tang San shook his head slightly. "He used to use his speed to bully others, but this time the tables have turned."

"What should we do then? If Xiao Feng's sword strike misses, we won't be able to pull Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader into the Cycle of Rebirth." Xiao Wu frowned.

Tang San looked at her with some surprise, "What does whether the sword points to the center or not have to do with whether or not we can be pulled into the Cycle of Rebirth?"

Xiao Wu blinked. "Isn't it supposed to be that you have to point your sword at someone to pull them in? I've seen Xiao Feng point his sword at someone every time he uses the Cycle of Rebirth technique."

Tang San laughed, "That's just Xiao Feng's personal habit. If he absolutely had to point his sword at someone, how could he possibly enter the Cycle of Rebirth alone?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two saw Chen Feng point his sword at Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader, but given Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader's speed, he naturally couldn't hit him at all.

However, the man and the rat still vanished from the spot, turning into two blurry shadows.

The sudden change in the surrounding environment startled Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader slightly, and Chen Feng took the opportunity to launch an attack with his sword in his right hand, while his left hand began to charge up the power of the Sky Azure Sluggish Divine Claw.

Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader quickly reacted and transformed into lightning once again to clash with Chen Feng. However, this time his movements were not as fluid as before. In his "Shunatsu" state, Chen Feng's movements became somewhat sluggish between attack and turn.

This is because the Cycle of Rebirth suppresses and depletes the spirit of the beings within it.

Although both sides were bearing this suppression and attrition, Chen Feng had become completely familiar with the environment through repeated use, while Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader was a newcomer, and the situation was completely reversed from before.

Furthermore, although Chen Feng did not directly Spirit Summoning to possess the body, he kept activating the trigram position belonging to Snow Empress, which made it difficult for Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader to concentrate on dealing with Chen Feng. He would always pay attention to the changes in the Kan Trigram position from time to time.

With this shift in momentum, the original speed difference between the two has been significantly reduced.

Four seconds passed quickly. Chen Feng had gradually gained the upper hand, seized the opportunity. Just as the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader was about to attack again, he first clashed with the chief with his sword, and then, without warning, as the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader was about to break away, he suddenly grabbed him with his left hand in a claw shape.

A massive cyan claw shadow appeared, directly grabbing the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader's body. The Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader felt a pain that came from the depths of his soul, and his entire mind seemed to become much duller.

Before it could react, Chen Feng's longsword was already at its neck.

"Clan Chief, I've won."

At this moment, the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader was still under the influence of the Sky Azure Sluggish Divine Claw. It took him several seconds to process the words he received and react. He slowly nodded, indicating that he had admitted defeat in the contest.

Chen Feng smiled slightly, released the Cycle of Rebirth, and took a few steps back, waiting for the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader's sluggish state to disappear.

A few seconds later, the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader returned to normal, and Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the Flying Lightning Rat also came over.

The Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader looked at the Flying Lightning Rat with some reluctance, but still pushed the clan's most outstanding child towards Chen Feng.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak."

"This child is now in your care," Xiao Wu translated.

"I will protect and nurture it well," Chen Feng promised.

Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader looked deeply at his left hand, hugged the Flying Lightning Rat, and turned to walk into the forest.

It had sensed the power of the Sky Azure Sluggish Divine Claw and recognized its origin, which made it feel much more at ease.

Having the Flying Lightning Rat follow such a human would definitely be beneficial to its growth, so the Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader decisively chose to let it go.

Watching its father leave, the Flying Lightning Rat's eyes showed reluctance.

Chen Feng stroked its furry ears. "Don't worry, we'll have another chance to come back and see Flying Lightning Rat Clan Leader. By the way, you don't seem to have a name yet. How about we call you A Fei from now on?"

"Squeak." The Flying Lightning Rat nodded.

Chen Feng then said to Tang San, "Xiao San, take out the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch and let A Fei go inside. See if he can adapt to it. If he can't, we'll probably have to go straight back to the Academy, and we'll have to stay hidden by day and go out at night to avoid attracting attention."

"Alright." Tang San took out his Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch. "A Fei, I'm going to put you in here now. Don't resist. I've also put some herbs in here. If there's anything you're interested in, you can tell me, but don't touch it yourself. Many herbs need special processing before Consuming, otherwise they can be harmful or even fatal. Understand?"

"Squeak." A Fei stood up obediently, indicating that he would not do anything reckless.

After confirming that A Fei understood what he was saying, Tang San put it into his Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch, and released it again a few minutes later.

"How are you feeling? Is there anything that's bothering you?" Chen Feng asked.

A Fei first shook his head, then called out twice more.

Xiao Wu's expression was a little strange. "It said it's quite comfortable inside, but it makes the mouse a little sleepy."

Chen Feng breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Go to sleep if you want, as long as you're not uncomfortable. By the way, A Fei, can you sense the outside world from inside? Can you get out of the magic pouch by yourself?"

To these two questions, A Fei responded with "yes" and "not sure," respectively, because it hadn't tried to come out on its own yet.

So the three men and the mouse tried again and discovered that when A Fei figured it out, it could crawl out of the magic bag on its own.

"From this perspective, the Hundred Treasure Pouch is indeed a container that can hold Soul Beast very well. If it can be successfully replicated, it can play a significant role in the relationship between humans and Soul Beast," Chen Feng said, stroking his chin.

"I can try to replicate its circuitry, but this material..." Tang San touched the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch in his hand and shook his head helplessly.

He can identify metals, but when it comes to identifying fabrics, he's completely clueless.

"It's alright, someone will eventually recognize it. If all else fails, we can try it little by little. We can mobilize the masses in this regard; maybe we can even come up with some different kinds of magic bags," Chen Feng said.

You mean... a bounty?

"More or less."

Xiao Wu also became interested in the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch at this moment. She said eagerly, "Xiao San, can you put me in too? I want to see what it's like to be inside."

Chen Feng's lips twitched, but he remained silent.

Tang San didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Since Xiao Wu wanted to play and there was no danger, he agreed and put Xiao Wu into his Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch.

After a while, Xiao Wu came out from inside, yawning, and said, "A Fei is right, it is indeed quite comfortable in there, but it makes you sleepy."

Chen Feng joked, "Then we'll have a portable sleeping bag when we go camping in the wild."

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "Xiao San, from now on, if we're outside, I'll sleep in my Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch."

Tang San was both amused and exasperated. "Let's sleep in a tent if we can. The Hundred Treasures Pouch isn't exactly a proper place to sleep."

"But it's comfortable in there. If it's really camping in the wild, sleeping in the magic bag is much better than sleeping in a tent." The more Xiao Wu thought about it, the more reliable it seemed.

"Well... we'll talk about it later..." Tang San replied somewhat helplessly.

After resolving the issue of carrying A Fei, the three set off again, heading towards Crimson Sand City on the edge of the Death Desert.

On the way, Chen Feng briefly told Tang San and Xiao Wu why they were going there. Apparently, there were rumors that members of the Chen Clan members had been spotted there, but they didn't know if it was true or not, so they went to check it out.

Tang San and Xiao Wu both knew something about Chen Feng's background, so they had no doubt about this reason, let alone connect it to Ma Hongjun.

Soon the three arrived at Crimson Sand City again. After entering the city, Chen Feng first went to the local Spirit Fighting Arena with Tang San and Tang San Xiao Wu, hoping to find any clues there.

Finding someone in a city is difficult, especially in this era when the household registration system is almost non-existent, and the target may be hiding their identity.

Therefore, the Spirit Fighting Arena, a place with a large flow of Soul Master, became Chen Feng's target, since the Martial Soul characteristics of the Chen Clan members are quite obvious.

However, after staking out the Spirit Fighting Arena for several nights, the three of them failed to find any suspicious targets or learn of any outstanding Sword Soul Masters who had appeared there.

And during these past few days, their daytime searches yielded no useful information.

Chen Feng was already mentally prepared for this outcome. He didn't linger there any longer, but instead set off back to the Academy with Tang San and Xiao Wu.

It's okay if the three of them can't be found; the sect can send people to continue the search.

As long as the Chen Clan members is really here, they will eventually find clues over time.