"Chen... Feng..."
The Shadow Figure stared at the sleeping man before him, hesitating for a moment before a decisive glint flashed in his eyes.
The next second.
The Shadow Figure drew the long saber at his waist!
Its icy blade reflected the flickering firelight.
"Sorry...!"
He brought the saber down!
However...
Clang!
Metal struck metal, ringing with a trembling hum.
The Shadow Figure felt his hand go numb, and the saber nearly flew from his grasp.
At the same time, he felt no blade sinking into flesh.
He looked more closely.
Chen Feng had already rolled to the side.
Not only had he dodged the strike, he had also sprung to his feet in a flash. Now he was staring coldly at his attacker.
As soon as Chen Feng stood up, he recognized the man before him.
He was one of the Escort Team.
"Xie Fei... why did you attack me?"
Chen Feng asked icily.
At the same time, he took brass knuckles from his clothes and slipped them onto his hand.
He readied himself for a fight to the death.
"Who?!"
The Escort Guard named Xie Fei did not answer Chen Feng.
Instead, he warily turned to look in the opposite direction.
Just moments ago.
Xie Fei had felt a pebble strike his saber.
It had slowed his swing for an instant.
Someone had clearly interfered.
Chen Feng followed Xie Fei's gaze.
The Bone Forging Realm martial artist from the Cheng Family slowly emerged from the shadows.
"I have no interest in your business... but don't interfere with the Escort Mission..."
Chen Feng had also heard the sharp sound just now and knew this Bone Forging Realm martial artist had stepped in to help him.
But...
He could thank him later.
Right now, he needed to deal with Xie Fei.
Xie Fei's face had gone pale.
He had never expected the Cheng Family's martial artist to interfere.
He had failed to kill Chen Feng with one strike.
Now, killing him would be nothing short of a pipe dream.
"Zhang Jinsong, handle your man..."
The Cheng Family martial artist tried to wake Zhang Biao Tou.
He made no effort to lower his voice.
However...
There was no response.
Instead, the others began to stir at the noise, gradually waking up.
One after another, they shifted in their sleep, rustling softly. In the dead of night, the sound was especially noticeable.
The Cheng Family martial artist furrowed his brows.
He seemed puzzled that Zhang Jinsong still hadn't answered.
He looked at Xie Fei again.
All color had drained from Xie Fei's face. He knew everyone would be awake soon, and by then, his plan would be completely ruined.
He would not only walk away empty-handed.
He would also be thrown out of the escort agency.
"No! I have to kill Chen Feng before they wake up!"
A vicious glint flashed through Xie Fei's eyes.
As the Cheng Family martial artist went to check on Zhang Biao Tou, Xie Fei suddenly struck.
He raised his saber and swung it at Chen Feng!
But Chen Feng had been waiting for this chance too.
After being ambushed, he hadn't immediately called for help because he'd been set on killing Xie Fei!
Chen Feng's principle was simple—
If someone wanted to kill him, he would kill them first!
Chen Feng's gaze sharpened.
At that moment, he seemed to enter a special state.
The Xuan Yuan Jin in his body began to flow quietly.
His perception surged.
In his eyes, Xie Fei's attack seemed to play in endless slow motion.
The swift, chopping strike was riddled with openings.
The next instant.
Chen Feng moved!
He simply sidestepped, easily dodging Xie Fei's downward slash, then lowered his center of gravity...
He stepped forward, dropped his shoulder, and gathered his strength.
All in one smooth motion.
Chen Feng's front foot stamped heavily on the ground, kicking up a faint cloud of dust as his Qi Blood surged through him.
He drew his right fist back to his waist.
His knuckles tensed until they turned white.
Power traveled from his sole, up his calf and thigh, through his waist, and onward.
Mighty Force gathered at the tip of his fist; every inch of his body brimmed with strength!
Chen Feng had completed the entire sequence of movements.
In just a few short breaths.
Xie Fei's eyes widened, terror on his face. He had just swung his saber and hadn't yet managed to pull back his full strength!
All he could do was stare helplessly at Chen Feng before him.
The Cheng Family martial artist had taken only two steps when he sensed the astonishing aura. Shocked, he turned around.
He hadn't expected the two men to fight in front of everyone.
Still less had he expected a man in the Blood Refining Realm to unleash such an astonishing aura!
At this distance, he could no longer stop them.
The only thing he could do was call out a warning:
"W-wait! Don't—!"
But...
It was too late.
A red gleam flashed in Chen Feng's eyes—
"Now—"
"Cannon Fist!"
Chen Feng's fully charged right fist, wrapped in Burning Blood Qi and accompanied by a rush of wind—
BOOM!
It was like High-Explosive Gunpowder.
It detonated in an instant.
BOOM!
Xie Fei felt as if a hole had been blasted through his chest.
The fierce, domineering Fist Force sent him flying. Before he could speak, blood gushed from his mouth!
He slammed into the old tree behind him.
With a dull thud, he slid to the ground.
Whether he lived or died was unknown...
After throwing the punch, Chen Feng felt as if most of his Qi Blood had been drained. He quickly swallowed two Great Tonic Pills.
He recovered in a flash.
"Looks like using Cannon Fist is still a little too much for me. I can manage three punches at most."
"If I throw any more, I won't have enough Qi Blood left. I'll have to wait for the Tai Chi Profound Origin Technique to recover a little..."
"Or take some pills to make up for it..."
Chen Feng clenched his fist, feeling refreshed from head to toe.
Explosions. Power.
That was a man's idea of romance!
The tremendous noise woke everyone.
Awake or not—
Now they were all wide awake.
They looked up and saw Chen Feng standing with his fist clenched, while Xie Fei lay beneath the tree, covered in blood...
"What are you doing?!"
The awakened Escort Guards hurriedly drew their weapons and surrounded Chen Feng.
Those with medical experience went to check on Xie Fei.
His injuries were severe. Even after they used all sorts of healing medicine, they could only keep him clinging to life.
Even if he somehow survived, he would be crippled.
He could forget escort work; he would not even be able to keep practicing martial arts.
"Chen Feng? Don't you have anything to explain?"
Several Escort Guards who were close to Xie Fei had already drawn the sabers at their waists.
The air instantly grew tense.
"He tried to kill me. I acted in self-defense. It's that simple. If you don't believe me, you can ask that gentleman."
Chen Feng said.
Everyone looked toward the Cheng Family martial artist, their expressions questioning.
He nodded with a complicated look on his face.
After he confirmed it, the Escort Guards didn't know what to do. They looked at one another.
How had Chen Feng become the victim here?
Zhang Biao Tou also woke up just then.
He clutched his head, his skull splitting with pain.
"Xie Fei! What happened?!"
Zhang Biao Tou roared.
He realized that someone must have drugged him—and with a massive dose of Sleeping Drug!
And the person in charge of managing the food—
Was Xie Fei.
"..."
The Escort Guards said nothing.
They simply stood there in silence.
The Cheng Family martial artist also lowered his head in thought, but unlike the others, he was silent because of Chen Feng's Cannon Fist.
He was utterly stunned.
He replayed the details in his mind, carefully mulling over each of Chen Feng's movements as he threw the punch.
His footwork, waist and abdomen, shoulders...
There wasn't a single wasted movement. Everything had flowed smoothly, like a work of art—an astonishing feat of craftsmanship.
It was almost impossible for a human to do.
As he thought it over, he actually gained some insight!
The bottleneck that had held firm for years began to loosen ever so slightly.
"Are you all deaf?! Didn't you hear me?! Where's Xie Fei?! Call him out!"
Zhang Biao Tou was furious.
A Bone Forging Realm martial artist, and yet he had been knocked out by Sleeping Drug!
If word got out, who would hire him for an escort mission?
The reputation of the Changwei Escort Agency would suffer, too.
After trusting Xie Fei so much, he'd still made such a huge mistake. Thankfully, there was another Bone Forging Martial Artist on the team.
Good thing nothing had gone wrong.
Otherwise...
Seeing that no one had spoken for a long while, Zhang Biao Tou furrowed his brow and strode over.
"Where's Xie Fei?"
"...Over there." An Escort Guard pointed beneath a tree.
Zhang Biao Tou saw Xie Fei, covered in blood from head to toe.
His heart gave a sudden lurch.
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