Disguise

The icy proclamation echoed through Fallen Eagle Ravine. The surviving bandits came to their senses as if waking from a dream, and the clatter of weapons hitting the ground rang out without end.

The bandits dropped to their knees and kowtowed like pounding garlic: "My lord, spare us! We're willing to surrender! We'll serve you like dogs and horses!"

Lin Feng's killing intent eased slightly. Destroying Black Wind Stronghold would require careful planning, and these surrendered bandits might prove useful as pawns.

He expressionlessly took several crude porcelain bottles from his storage pouch.

"Surrender? Fine."

Lin Feng's voice was cold and hard. "These are Bone-Corroding Heart-Piercing Pills. After taking one, you'll need to take an antidote at a fixed time every month.

"If you miss the deadline, the poison will flare up. Your organs will feel as though ants are gnawing them, your tendons and bones as though pierced by needles. You'll howl for seven days before your flesh melts away and you die."

His tone was flat, yet every word was an icicle that stabbed into the bandits' hearts.

No one dared doubt it. Lin Feng's thunderous killing of Hu Biao in an instant had carved an indelible terror into their hearts.

This was an open scheme, an inescapable shackle.

After a brief silence, a bandit underling's leader shakily stepped forward, took the pill, shut his eyes, and tilted his head back to swallow it.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his face instantly went deathly pale.

With someone taking the lead, the others, though ashen-faced, knew this was their only path to survival. They hurried forward one after another to collect the pills and gulped them down, as if swallowing their own death warrants.

Subdued the Black Wind Stronghold bandits, obtaining 150 Slaughter Points.

Slaughter System notification sounded.

Lin Feng's eyes shifted slightly. He walked to Hu Biao's corpse and crouched to search it. Soon, he pulled a thin booklet from Hu Biao's robes—"Thousand Faces Illusionary Art."

After flipping through a few pages, he found that it was indeed an art of disguise.

A plan to annihilate Black Wind Stronghold instantly took shape in Lin Feng's mind.

He put away the manual and addressed the bandits, who had just taken the poison pills and whose faces were drained of color.

"If you want to live, do as I say. Take me back to Black Wind Stronghold."

The bandits were all shocked. The underling leader blurted out, "My lord, are you trying to..."

"From now on, I'm Hu Biao." Lin Feng's tone brooked no argument. "You'll take me back to Black Wind Stronghold to report."

He found a secluded spot beside a mountain stream and sank his mind into the system.

Martial art "Thousand Faces Illusionary Art" detected. Would you like to spend Slaughter Points to learn and improve it?

"Raise it to mastery."

Lin Feng locked onto it with his mind.

He had exactly 350 Slaughter Points, and 100 vanished in an instant.

Consumed 100 Slaughter Points. "Thousand Faces Illusionary Art" raised to the mastery realm!

A vast stream of information surged into him. It contained not only the exquisite use of disguise materials and subtle control of the facial muscles and bones, but also the deeper essence of simulating one's aura, making minute adjustments to one's build, and imitating behavioral habits.

The mastery-level "Thousand Faces Illusionary Art" was already close to the Dao.

Lin Feng's hands flew as he gathered whatever materials lay at hand, supplemented them with miscellaneous items he carried, and rapidly kneaded and outlined his face.

After no more than the time it took to brew a cup of tea, he turned around again, and every bandit was horrified.

The man before them had the same build and face as the dead Hu Biao. Even the ferocity between his brows and the brutality in his eyes were identical!

Even his voice had become hoarse and unpleasant. "What? Don't I look like him?"

"Like him! Too much like him!" The bandit underling's leader hurriedly bowed, a chill rising from the depths of his heart.

"Let's go."

Lin Feng—now "Hu Biao"—imitated Hu Biao's posture from his memories and swept out a large hand.

The group headed toward Black Wind Stronghold.

The mountain road was rugged, and the woods grew denser.

About an hour later, a fortified settlement built against steep mountain terrain came into view. Watchtowers stood everywhere. It was none other than Black Wind Stronghold.

As they neared the gates, the atmosphere suddenly tightened.

The bandits guarding the gate recognized "Hu Biao" and his men, but procedure was still procedure.

"Leader Hu, you're back?" A guard underling's leader came forward, his gaze sweeping over Lin Feng and the somewhat bedraggled men behind him. "Looks like things were troublesome. Did you lose a few brothers?"

"Yeah." Lin Feng spoke in a deep, muffled voice, imitating Hu Biao's arrogance. "Those hounds from the Northern Garrison Command did have some tricks, but I butchered them all."

He patted the Nine-Ringed Ghost-Head Saber at his waist, which had originally belonged to Hu Biao.

The guard underling's leader nodded, but his eyes continued to roam suspiciously over Lin Feng. His brows drew together slightly. "Leader Hu, you... seem a little different today.

"You look... somewhat pale, and your walking posture is also..."

He left the sentence unfinished, but his suspicion was plain to see.

In an instant, the air froze.

The surrendered bandits behind Lin Feng felt their hearts stop, cold sweat pouring down them.

If they were exposed, they would certainly die at the entrance to this den of dragons and tigers!

Everyone's heart leaped into their throat. The crisis was on the verge of erupting.

At that critical moment, Lin Feng's expression changed dramatically. He strode forward and pointed at the guard underling leader's nose, cursing so viciously that flecks of spit nearly hit the man's face.

"Bullshit!

"I led my brothers through life and death and butchered a thousand-household commander from the Northern Garrison Command! Several brothers died before we made it back!

"You bastard, instead of opening the gate, you're standing here yapping about how strange I look?

"Are your eyes smeared with shit? If you delay me from reporting back to the stronghold chief, can you afford the consequences?!"

The tirade was fierce in voice and expression, brutish and arrogant—exactly like Hu Biao's usual conduct!

The guard underling's leader was startled by the sudden outburst. Looking again at "Hu Biao's" savage appearance, as if he might devour someone, he believed it eight or nine parts out of ten.

The trace of doubt in his heart was instantly overwhelmed by fear, and he hurriedly put on a sycophantic smile.

"Leader Hu, please calm down! This lowly one was blind and failed to recognize you! Please, go right in!"

As he spoke, he quickly waved to his men, signaling them to move the obstacles aside.

Lin Feng relaxed slightly. Imitating Hu Biao's habit, he snorted coldly and swept out a large hand, leading the surrendered bandits into the stronghold.

However, at that moment, a sinister voice suddenly came from inside the gate:

"Wait."

The voice was not loud, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness that made the heart tremble.

A tall, thin man in a green robe slowly walked out of the shadows and stopped in front of the gate. His face was pale, and his eyes resembled those of a venomous snake.

His gaze hooked onto Lin Feng and held him fast. The corner of his mouth curled into a cold arc.

"Hu Biao, you just said... you butchered a thousand-household commander from the Northern Garrison Command?

"As far as I know, the one specially assigned by the Northern Commander to lead the team that went to provide support was a Yellow Ranking Expert... How did you snatch this achievement from him? And..."

The man in green slowly advanced, lowering his voice as undisguised suspicion and scrutiny filled it.

"Why has the blood-fiend qi around you weakened so much? It almost looks like... you suffered internal injuries?"