Spring Embroidered Saber, Mystic Iron Armor

Battalion Commander Zhou Gang's face darkened as he was about to speak and stop them.

The Life and Death Arena was no trivial matter.

Lin Feng had only just stepped into the early stage of Ninth-Rank Martial Artist, while Chen Jiong had long since reached the late stage, just one step away from the peak. The gap in their strength was obvious.

But Lin Feng beat him to it, saying loudly, "Uncle Zhou, since this concerns a blood feud, let us settle it by the rules.

But why bother going to the training grounds? We can settle this right here, quickly and decisively. What do you say?"

His sharp gaze fixed on Chen Jiong. "Captain Chen, do you dare?"

Lin Feng knew that going to the training grounds to sign a life-and-death contract would involve cumbersome procedures.

There was a risk that something might change.

Besides, he had just acquired a precious saber and urgently needed to test his increased strength.

More importantly, the reward of 1.0 Slaughter Points in his mind was simply too tempting.

With Zhou Gang presiding here, fairness could at least be relatively guaranteed.

It would also prevent anyone else from interfering.

Chen Jiong was stunned for a moment before delight surged through him.

He had been worried Zhou Gang would forcibly stop them, but he had never expected Lin Feng to seek death himself and propose settling it on the spot!

Wasn't that exactly what he wanted?

"Fine! Right here! Lord Zhou, you heard him yourself—this was his own choice!"

Afraid Zhou Gang would object, Chen Jiong immediately agreed, then added viciously.

"Since we aren't going to the Life and Death Arena, there is no need for a life-and-death contract either. The result will be the same anyway—one of us dies, the other lives!"

Zhou Gang gave Lin Feng a deep look. Seeing the unwavering determination in the latter's eyes and not a trace of retreat, he was worried but no longer tried to stop them.

"Since that is the case, we shall do as you wish.

Everyone, back away and mark out the field! In this battle, life and death shall be left to fate. No one is allowed to interfere!"

He emphasized that last sentence, his gaze sweeping over the Banner Officers Chen Jiong had brought with him in warning.

The Imperial Brocade Guards immediately dispersed and formed a circle, leaving Lin Feng and Chen Jiong in the middle.

With a ringing clang, Chen Jiong drew the Spring Embroidered Saber at his waist.

The blade was snow-bright, with a faint cold gleam flowing over it.

He spun the saber in a flourish and taunted smugly.

"Lin Feng, see this? This Autumn Water saber was a treasured weapon my family spent a fortune acquiring for me. It can slice a hair blown against its edge, far superior to standard-issue Spring Embroidered Sabers!

"You poor bastard, a lone star of misfortune who brought death to his adoptive parents—have you probably never even touched a saber this fine?"

He deliberately mentioned Lin Feng's adoptive parents, every word piercing the heart as he tried to provoke Lin Feng and disrupt his focus.

Lin Feng remained expressionless.

He merely watched Chen Jiong perform in silence, his right hand slowly closing around the hilt of the dark, heavy saber at his waist.

But he did not draw it at once.

Seeing that Lin Feng remained unmoved, the malice in Chen Jiong's eyes deepened. His internal force circulated as the aura of a mid-stage Ninth-Rank Martial Artist erupted from him.

It faintly overwhelmed Lin Feng's.

He shouted, "Still pretending to be calm when death is at your doorstep? Watch as my Wind Breaking Saber Technique takes your dog head!

"Your Eagle Claw Skill is nothing more than a grappling technique, not a body-tempering martial art. Your flesh is weak—I'd like to see how you plan to receive my precious saber barehanded!"

Before his words had even faded, Chen Jiong charged forward.

The Autumn Water saber in his hand became a fierce streak of cold light, chopping straight at Lin Feng's face!

The blade wind howled, its momentum terrifying!

This strike contained all his power, aimed at killing with a single blow!

The surrounding Banner Officers held their breaths, as though they could already see the bloody sight of Lin Feng being cleaved in two.

Even Battalion Commander Zhou Gang unconsciously clenched his fist.

Facing that swift and savage strike, Lin Feng's pupils contracted slightly.

Chen Jiong was right. With only the Eagle Claw Skill at Minor Mastery and the body of an early-stage Ninth-Rank Martial Artist, trying to block a precious saber infused with internal force was no different from smashing an egg against a rock.

But he was not without a trump card!

His consciousness instantly sank into his mind.

Current Slaughter Points: 0.3

Martial art available for enhancement: "Brute Ox Strength" (Not Initiated)

Consume 0.3 Slaughter Points to raise Brute Ox Strength to Great Mastery!

Lin Feng recited silently in his heart.

Consumed 0.3 Slaughter Points. Brute Ox Strength has been raised to Great Mastery!

A scorching current of air appeared from nowhere, instantly sweeping through every limb and bone in Lin Feng's body!

His muscle fibers seemed to be pulled and reshaped by an invisible force, becoming tougher and denser!

His bones gave off faint crackling sounds as their density increased sharply!

Beneath his skin, a thin yet tangible bronze sheen flashed and vanished!

Lin Feng's blood and qi surged like a rushing river, and his strength soared!

The barrier that had marked his entry into Ninth-Rank Martial Artist shattered with a bang, his cultivation stabilizing directly at the mid-stage Ninth-Rank Martial Artist realm!

All of this happened in the flash of a spark!

To outsiders, Lin Feng's body merely seemed to swell imperceptibly in the instant before the blade reached him, while his aura suddenly surged!

"Seeking death!" Seeing that Lin Feng still had not drawn his saber and had instead assumed a barehanded stance, Chen Jiong's grin became even more sinister as his blade accelerated!

Just as the blade was about to touch his scalp, Lin Feng moved!

The five fingers of his right hand came together. No longer shaped like an eagle's claw, they curled into a fist. The muscles in his arm knotted, veins bulging as a savage, tyrannical aura burst from his body!

A faint bronze luster spread across the surface of his fist!

"Brute Ox Strength! Shattering Fist!"

Lin Feng shouted, neither dodging nor retreating, and his right fist—carrying unparalleled, fierce force—smashed viciously into the side of the Autumn Water saber!

Clang—!

A deafening crash of metal rang out!

Chen Jiong felt an unimaginable force travel through the blade. The web between his thumb and forefinger split open instantly, blood streaming down!

The Autumn Water saber he treasured like his life was knocked high into the air by that punch, nearly flying from his grasp!

"What?!" Chen Jiong's face drained of color, disbelief written all over it. "Your strength... how is that possible?! Aren't you cultivating the Eagle Claw Skill?!"

Taking advantage of the violent shock to his mind, Lin Feng shot out his left hand like lightning, precisely gripping the back of the swaying blade. He activated Brute Ox Strength and wrenched it away!

"Let go!"

With his hand already split open and caught completely off guard, Chen Jiong actually had his Autumn Water saber seized barehanded by Lin Feng!

Lin Feng casually threw the stolen Spring Embroidered Saber onto the ground with a clatter. He looked coldly at the dumbfounded Chen Jiong and mocked him.

"A precious saber? In your hands, it is a pearl cast before swine.

"Now then, who is the worthless one?"

"You! You dare seize my weapon?!" Chen Jiong was shocked and enraged, trembling all over. Seeing his treasured saber tossed onto the ground like trash by his opponent made the humiliation unbearable.

But he was experienced after all. He quickly suppressed his rage, and his eyes turned vicious as he yanked open the front of his Flying Fish Robe, revealing an inner armor beneath that gleamed with a dark metallic luster.

"You little bastard! Don't celebrate too soon!"

Chen Jiong pointed at the inner armor on his body and declared arrogantly.

"Recognize this? A protective treasure armor woven from Thousand-Year Mystic Iron Thread! Blades and spears cannot penetrate it!

"Even if you use that Spring Embroidered Saber, you will never harm me in the slightest! Hahaha! A poor bastard will always be a poor bastard—what do you have to fight me with?"

He firmly believed that Lin Feng's greatest reliance was the formidable strength that had suddenly erupted from him, along with some body-tempering art learned from who knew where.

But before this Thousand-Year Mystic Iron Armor, no amount of strength mattered without a divine weapon or sharp treasure.

The surrounding Banner Officers revealed looks of envy and wariness upon seeing the Mystic Iron inner armor.

Zhou Gang's brows furrowed tightly. This Mystic Iron Armor was indeed troublesome; the Spring Embroidered Saber Lin Feng had just taken would likely be unable to break through its defense.

Seeing Chen Jiong's fearless, smug expression, Lin Feng's lips instead curled into a cold arc.

He slowly raised his hand and finally gripped the hilt of the dark, heavy saber he had obtained from the Treasure Box.

"Who told you I was going to use that piece of scrap iron?"

Before his words had faded, the Great Mastery Brute Ox Strength within Lin Feng roared into motion. Bronze light surfaced on his arm once more as he violently drew his saber!

The dark saber cut through a shadowy arc. Under the infusion of Brute Ox Strength, the faint ghostly gleam on its blade seemed to brighten by the slightest fraction, carrying a sharp aura that could sever all things.

Without any flourish, it chopped viciously down at the Thousand-Year Mystic Iron inner armor on Chen Jiong's chest, which glimmered with dark light!

The arrogant smile on Chen Jiong's face froze instantly. Reflected in his pupils was that seemingly plain dark saber, yet it made his soul tremble!

The blade had arrived!