The soldiers of the Northern Garrison Command shielded Lin Feng, their blades pointed outward as they faced the Imperial Inspector and the remaining private troops of the great clans in a tense standoff.
The Imperial Inspector gripped the Imperial Inspector's Sword and snarled with false bravado, "Seize this brute! Execute him on the spot!"
However, although the private troops behind him closed in under pressure, their footsteps were hesitant, and their gazes toward Lin Feng were filled with terror.
That one-sided massacre had already planted the seeds of fear in their hearts.
Lin Feng stood behind the defensive line formed by his own soldiers, his eyes sweeping over the enemies closing in as his heart turned cold.
In his eyes, these people were no different from walking Slaughter Points.
His thoughts raced, and he suddenly spoke aloud in a solemn tone that seemed impartial: "Brothers of the Northern Garrison Command, sheath your blades and withdraw to the side on guard. Stand ready at all times!"
The squad captain guarding him froze and hurriedly said, "Lord Qianhu! You mustn't!"
Lin Feng raised a hand to cut him off. His voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable force.
"Military orders are as weighty as mountains. Fall back! This is a private grudge between me, the Imperial Inspector, and these undisciplined soldiers. There's no need for you to slaughter one another and add needless casualties."
His true concern, however, was that these elite soldiers might make a move and snatch the "heads" that should have belonged to him, reducing the Slaughter Points he could gain.
Though the soldiers of the Northern Garrison Command did not understand, they obeyed orders without question. At his words, they immediately sheathed their blades and withdrew, forming a loose encirclement around the perimeter while keeping a wary eye on the scene within.
Seeing this, the Imperial Inspector and the private troops first froze, then burst into even louder jeers.
"Hahaha! See that? He's scared!" A minor clan officer pointed at Lin Feng and laughed. "He knows he's made everyone furious and doesn't dare drag his men into dying with him!"
The Imperial Inspector seemed to have seized a lifeline as well. In a shrill voice, he said, "Lin Feng! You know fear now? Too late! If you kneel and beg for mercy right now, this Imperial Inspector might still leave you a whole corpse!"
"Beg for mercy?" A mocking curve tugged at Lin Feng's lips. He slowly raised the blood-dripping saber in his hand, its tip successively indicating the Imperial Inspector and the nearly hundred private troops itching to attack. "Come at me together!"
He paused, then uttered something astonishing: "I, Lin Feng, will stand right here. If any one of you can so much as touch a corner of my clothes, I'll hand over my position as Qianhu of the Northern Garrison Command!"
The entire scene erupted in an uproar.
"Arrogant!"
"You don't know whether you're alive or dead!"
"Kill him! The position of Qianhu will be ours!"
With great rewards, brave men would always emerge. What was more, in their eyes, Lin Feng's move was plainly seeking his own death.
The surviving private troops of the great clans—especially the soldiers of the other two clans, who had already been dissatisfied with Lin Feng—were now joined by the profit-blinded private soldiers and several trusted men brought by the Imperial Inspector. Their eyes went red. With a roar, they brandished their weapons and surged toward Lin Feng from all directions!
The flash of blades and swords instantly swallowed Lin Feng's isolated figure.
Facing the surging attacks, Lin Feng stood where he was as if he had not noticed a thing.
His mind sank into his consciousness.
System, expend all Slaughter Points to upgrade "Netherworld Ghost Blade"!
Expenditure of Slaughter Points detected. "Netherworld Ghost Blade" is being upgraded...
Vast insights instantly poured into Lin Feng's consciousness. Every understanding he possessed of blade techniques was shattered, reorganized, and sublimated!
The barrier of "Netherworld Ghost Blade," which had already reached the Perfection realm, shattered with a thunderous crash, carrying him into an entirely new and mystically profound realm—Unity of Man and Heaven!
An epiphany of controlling the Netherworld and transforming qi into blades surged into his heart.
He felt that as his inner force circulated, a frigid, razor-sharp power—formless yet tangible—had attached itself to his blade, held back and ready to strike.
"Netherworld Ghost Blade" had been upgraded to the Unity of Man and Heaven realm! Netherworld Blade Qi comprehended!
To the Imperial Inspector and the soldiers surrounding him, Lin Feng seemed to have been frightened witless by the terrifying formation. He stood frozen in place, without moving an inch.
"He's not moving!"
"Hahaha, he really is all flash and no substance! Where did that fierceness from earlier go?"
"Die! The position of Qianhu is mine!"
Amid the jeers, the blades and swords at the very front were about to hack into Lin Feng!
At this critical moment!
Lin Feng moved.
The bloodstained saber in his hand swept out seemingly at random.
There was no earth-shaking momentum, only a bleak, dim arc of energy, like a sigh from the Ninth Netherworld. Centered on him, it spread soundlessly outward!
—Netherworld Blade Qi!
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
The dense sounds of sharp edges tearing through flesh rang out, dull and deadly.
The soldiers at the very front, whose faces still wore feverish, greedy smiles, abruptly stiffened.
Thin lines of blood appeared without warning across their necks and chests, then blood gushed wildly from the wounds!
Their screams cut off mid-cry, like chickens strangled by the throat.
One figure after another fell like wheat beneath a reaper's blade!
Slaughtered soldier, obtained 15 Slaughter Points Slaughtered soldier, obtained 18 Slaughter Points Slaughtered...
The cold notification chime flooded Lin Feng's mind in a frantic barrage.
Lin Feng's figure flickered like a ghost as he wove through the crowd. With every swing of his blade, that deadly Netherworld Blade Qi became a reaper's scythe, precisely harvesting several lives. The ordinary soldiers' protective inner force was as flimsy as paper before this formless blade qi, collapsing at the slightest touch.
It was like chopping melons and vegetables!
This was what true chopping melons and vegetables looked like!
In the space of just a few breaths, most of the nearly hundred soldiers surrounding him had already fallen. The ground was thoroughly dyed red with blood, and severed limbs lay scattered everywhere.
Total Slaughter Points obtained: 300
When Lin Feng's figure became clear again, there was not a single standing enemy within thirty feet of him.
The few survivors were scared out of their wits. They dropped their weapons and fled backward on their hands and knees, only to be coldly stopped by the soldiers of the Northern Garrison Command forming the outer perimeter.
Lin Feng stood with his saber in hand. The blade qi remained concealed and ready, yet an even more intense Killing Intent and chill than before permeated his body, making him seem like the sovereign of the Netherworld.
His gaze passed over the corpses carpeting the ground and landed on the pale, beardless Imperial Inspector.
The Imperial Inspector had long since collapsed to the ground in terror. The Imperial Inspector's Sword fell from his hand with a clatter.
His face was bloodless, his lips trembling as he looked at Lin Feng approaching step by step, as though he were looking at Yama coming to claim his life.
"Lin... Lord Lin Qianhu... spare... spare me!" The Imperial Inspector's tears and snot ran freely as he crawled backward with both hands and feet. "I... I was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai! I offended the authority of Lord Qianhu! I beg Your Lordship to show mercy and spare this dog's life! I... I'm willing to offer up all my family's wealth..."
Lin Feng's gaze was cold and utterly unmoved. He slowly raised the saber in his hand, its tip aimed at the Imperial Inspector's throat.
The Imperial Inspector's soul nearly fled his body. Feeling that tangible killing intent, he shrieked in terror, "No! You can't kill me! I'm the Imperial Inspector of the court! If you kill me, even Lord Shen won't be able to protect you!"
The blade's gleam suddenly fell!
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