Deep within the Imperial Prison, the air was cold and damp, thick with the mingled stench of decay and blood.
Lin Feng was roughly shoved into a narrow cell by two wardens.
The heavy iron door slammed shut behind him with a clang. Chains wrapped around it, scraping against the metal with a grating sound that set one's teeth on edge.
The lead warden did not leave at once. Through the bars, he jerked his chin toward the burly man huddled in the corner of the cell, his hands and feet shackled with heavy manacles, and spoke with undisguised malice.
"Old Black, this is Lin Feng, the new Battalion Commander who just got sent down. Quite the big shot, isn't he?
"Lord Qianhu ordered you to 'take good care of him.'"
He deliberately emphasized the words "take good care."
The condemned prisoner known as Old Black raised his head. Beneath his tangled hair, his eyes glittered with a beastlike light. He licked his cracked lips, revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth, and chuckled.
"Don't worry, sir. I understand."
The warden nodded in satisfaction. He glanced at Lin Feng's expressionless face, snorted, then turned and left with his men, their footsteps gradually fading into the distance.
Only Lin Feng and the condemned prisoner remained in the cell.
Old Black slowly rose to his feet, his shackles clattering.
He was powerfully built and half a head taller than Lin Feng. Though he had been imprisoned for a long time, the savage air about him was still oppressive.
He circled Lin Feng once, his contemptuous gaze sweeping over Lin Feng's bloodstained Flying Fish Robe and pale face.
"Tsk, a Battalion Commander? You look so delicate and pampered. How'd you manage to offend Qianhu Sun?"
Old Black's voice was hoarse and mocking.
"Once you're thrown into this Imperial Prison, even a dragon has to coil up! Looking at you, I doubt you've suffered much before, have you? Don't worry, your grandpa Black will let you have a good taste of it..."
He stretched out a fan-sized hand, seemingly intending to slap Lin Feng across the face and humiliate him to the fullest.
Lin Feng's gaze remained icy, utterly unruffled. He could not even be bothered to look at him.
A wretch like this had already been fated to die the moment Lin Feng was brought here.
Just as Old Black's hand was about to touch his face, a cold light screen, visible only to Lin Feng, abruptly unfolded before his eyes:
Kill the condemned prisoner Old Black to obtain 10 Slaughter Points
Without the slightest hesitation, before the light screen had even fully stabilized, Lin Feng moved!
He held his fingers together like a sword. The last trace of faint true qi within him—the portion that had not been completely sealed—abruptly gathered at his fingertips, carrying a razor-sharp Killing Intent as it stabbed straight toward Old Black's throat!
Fast! Precise! Ruthless!
The savage grin on Old Black's face instantly froze, changing to shock, then to boundless terror.
He had never imagined that this seemingly weak "pretty boy" would dare to strike first—and with such ruthless decisiveness!
He tried to block, but those fingers seemed to break through the limits of space. Before he could react, they had already struck precisely against his Adam's apple.
"Crack!"
A faint, brittle sound rang out.
Old Black's eyes bulged. His huge body convulsed violently once, then collapsed limply to the ground, dead.
Even in death, an expression of disbelief remained on his face.
Killed the condemned prisoner Old Black. Obtained 10 Slaughter Points Current Slaughter Points: 65
Lin Feng did not even glance at the corpse on the floor, as though he had merely swatted a fly to death.
He slowly withdrew his fingers, feeling the thread of power within him stir faintly as his Slaughter Points increased. His expression remained utterly calm.
At that moment, footsteps came from outside the cell.
The same warden from earlier returned, humming a little tune and looking pleased with himself, eager to see Lin Feng's miserable state after being "taken care of."
"How was it, Battalion Commander Lin? Did you enjoy Old Black's hospitality—" His voice abruptly cut off. His gaze fell into the cell, and his pupils suddenly constricted.
On the floor, Old Black lay limp as mud, clearly dead.
Lin Feng, meanwhile, still stood where he was. His clothes were tattered and stained with blood, but his posture was straight as a pine. His cold gaze fixed on the warden, sending an inexplicable chill through the man's heart.
"You... you actually killed him?!" The warden was both shocked and enraged. He pointed at Lin Feng. "You good-for-nothing Lin Feng! You dare commit murder in the Imperial Prison? Looks like you don't know how the word 'death' is written!"
He shouted with a show of strength that barely concealed his fear, instinctively gripping the hilt of the saber at his waist.
"Don't think being a Battalion Commander before makes you something special! Once you're here, even a dragon has to coil up!
"I'm a Seventh-Rank Martial Artist, a real expert! Crushing you in your current sick-cat state won't take any more effort than crushing an ant!"
He tried to use his volume to mask the shock and unease in his heart.
Almost as soon as the warden's voice fell, the cold light screen appeared before Lin Feng's eyes once more:
Kill the Imperial Prison warden to obtain 15 Slaughter Points
The corner of Lin Feng's mouth lifted in a barely perceptible arc. Once again, he did not hesitate.
His body moved, swift as a ghost. Before the warden could even draw his saber, Lin Feng had already closed in on the bars.
Through the thick iron bars, Lin Feng's right hand shot out like lightning. His five fingers curled like hooks and clamped precisely around the warden's throat!
"Urgh!" The warden's furious barking turned into a strangled whimper as he struggled desperately.
The powerful true qi of the so-called Seventh-Rank Martial Artist within him was as flimsy as paper before the force of Lin Feng's fingers, imbued with the Baleful Intent of Evil Tiger Heart-Plucking Palm.
Lin Feng's gaze was cold as he suddenly tightened all five fingers!
"Crack!"
The warden's neck was crushed by sheer force. His head lolled to one side at an unnatural angle, his eyes filled with terror and bewilderment, before his body crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
Killed the warden. Obtained 15 Slaughter Points Current Slaughter Points: 80
Lin Feng slowly withdrew his hand, as though he had done nothing more significant than swat away a trivial nuisance.
He brushed nonexistent dust from his hand and calmly looked toward the corridor outside the cell.
Everything had happened too quickly. Only now did the other nearby wardens react.
They stared in horror at their fellow warden's corpse, then at Lin Feng, who stood in the cell like a demon of slaughter. Their faces had gone deathly pale, as though they were looking at a ghost.
"He... he killed the chief!"
"Quick! Surround him! Don't let him out!"
"Go get Lord Qianhu!"
The wardens drew their sabers one after another and nervously surrounded the cell entrance, yet none dared step forward. Even less did any dare open the cell door.
Their hands trembled around their sabers as they looked at Lin Feng with terror.
"Lin Feng! You... you're finished!"
"You actually killed two people in the Imperial Prison! You even killed a warden! You're vicious, lawless, and utterly beyond redemption!"
"Lord Qianhu will be here any moment! Just wait for death!"
Their noisy scolding and threats echoed through the gloomy passage, only making the weakness in their hearts more obvious.
Lin Feng stood in the center of the cell, ignoring the shouts around him.
He even slowly closed his eyes and began silently circulating his inner force, attempting to break through the meridians that had been partially sealed.
Just then, he heard footsteps outside the cell, leather scraping against the ground. The sound was very familiar to him.
The person who had arrived was Qianhu Sun Dehai.
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