City 003.
Beside Li Wei's corpse, Vina stood silently, tears in her eyes.
"Whoever killed my son, I will never let them get away with it!!!"
"Make the news of Awei's death public across the world. Let every warrior know." Vina gritted her teeth. "I, Venina Polenas, will put up every penny I've earned over the years as a bounty: 100 billion Huaxia Currency. Anyone who knows who killed my son, as long as they can provide sufficient evidence, will get the 100 billion!"
The astronomical 100-billion bounty spread across every platform. Almost everyone knew about it—not just warriors, but ordinary people too.
If Zhou Ze hadn't known the plot, he would have been shaken as well. He couldn't have helped feeling a flicker of greed. After all, 100 billion was enough to buy a vial of Dragon Blood, and with a little more money, he could buy a vial of Water of Life!
Not only could it send someone soaring straight to War God, it could even restore lost limbs!
"That kid Luo Feng is facing this kind of pressure for the first time in his life, isn't he..." On the rooftop, Zhou Ze gazed up at the starry sky, a faint smile on his lips.
This kind of pressure was far greater than the threat of death alone. Once he was exposed, there would be nowhere for him to run—and even his family wouldn't survive.
On the eighth floor of a twelve-story residential building in City 023, Luo Feng sat cross-legged on a worn mat, gently wiping a throwing knife. The shocking "astronomical bounty" he'd received on his Communication Watch earlier came to mind.
"I can't believe they're offering so much money to put a bounty on me. Even I'm tempted to turn myself in." Luo Feng set one throwing knife on the ground, then took out another and continued wiping it.
"100 billion... But Li Wei's parents aren't fools. They wouldn't pay up just because someone gave them a vague tip. They'll definitely demand solid evidence."
Luo Feng wasn't worried that anyone had evidence of him killing Li Wei and the others. The only exception would be if he'd been unlucky enough to have someone happen to film his face as he attacked.
The only people he was a little worried about were his teammates in Fire Hammer Squad!
"The bounty gave detailed descriptions of the other three men's movement techniques and abilities, and even said the killer was likely either a War God-level warrior or a Spiritual Psychic."
Luo Feng's expression darkened. "If the four of them see this, it'll be hard for them not to suspect me!"
Spiritual Psychics were far too rare. And he'd stayed in City 003 specifically to hunt Tiger Fang Squad. One of the four dead men had been the squad leader, Pan Ya!
Luo Feng was under immense pressure at every moment! Especially after he'd spoken on the phone with his squad leader, Gao Feng, and teammate Wei Qing not long ago.
"People are the hardest to see through. After all, you can't look into someone's heart."
"And with so much money on the line, brothers turn on each other, husbands and wives fall out, fathers and sons cut ties. I've seen it happen online countless times. And this is a 100-billion bounty!"
Luo Feng huddled in a corner, his heart growing cold. Ever since he'd begun to suspect his squad leader, Gao Feng, and Wei Qing, his outlook had changed.
"Do they see me as a brother, or do they want to trade me for the money? It's a hundred billion! Or maybe they haven't done anything because they don't have enough evidence." Luo Feng's gaze turned icy.
Consumed by suspicion, Luo Feng realized that the 100-billion bounty was changing his state of mind.
"Self-discipline..."
Luo Feng recalled the method his teacher had taught him for cultivating his mind and began to steady himself. Thinking of his teacher made him want to call him, but when he tried to reach Zhou Ze, the call wouldn't go through, no matter how many times he tried. That made him suspicious all over again.
"Why can't I get through?" Luo Feng's pupils contracted as fear welled up inside him. No one knew him better than his teacher. His teacher knew everything about his situation, including his feud with Tiger Fang Squad and the fact that he was a Spiritual Psychic.
"Could my teacher be reporting me right now?" Luo Feng gasped for breath. "He's not answering because he wants to keep me calm..."
Luo Feng's thoughts ran wild, and his pressure mounted, but soon he calmed down again. After all those years together, he trusted Luo Ze completely—or, to him, Zhou Ze was no less important than family.
"Strength! If I had the strength of a Senior War God, or even someone Beyond War God, all of this would be settled!"
"If I can't suppress my fear, then I'll accept it. The best way to resolve all this is to get stronger!"
Under crushing pressure, Luo Feng drew the Blood Shadow Battle Blade from his back and began practicing the Ninefold Thunderblade alone in the deserted residential building in the wilderness of City 023.
Gradually, Luo Feng's mind grew calm. The immense pressure had forced him into a state of perfect stillness, and his mindset reached new heights.
He forgot everything and focused on his blade technique. Even when his Communication Watch rang with an incoming call, he didn't bother to look. He just kept practicing his blade technique.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
He didn't know how many times he'd swung his blade, but the Blood Shadow Battle Blade began to emit a strange vibration, like a flash of lightning.
"Hm? The Fourth Layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade! I've actually mastered the Fourth Layer so quickly!" Luo Feng was stunned.
After breaking through to the third layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade during the tide of rats, he'd spent all his time combining his blade technique, movement technique, and Guidance Technique. He'd only reached the point where he could control them a few days ago, and that was when he'd started practicing the fourth layer. He hadn't expected to master it today!
That was incredibly fast! Was this really the most difficult blade technique in the world to master? Why did it feel easier than when he'd first practiced basic blade techniques?!
What Luo Feng didn't know was that the Ninefold Thunderblade really was much easier for him to practice than basic blade techniques. Unlike in the original story, where he could only figure things out on his own, he now had Zhou Ze's guidance.
From the time Luo Feng started learning basic blade techniques, Zhou Ze had already been guiding him toward the Ninefold Thunderblade. And when he started practicing it, Zhou Ze's cheat had activated, allowing him to point out Luo Feng's mistakes in real time. When Luo Feng followed Zhou Ze's instructions, his ability to learn and comprehend improved dramatically.
So even though he was combining his blade technique, movement technique, and Guidance Technique, he was progressing far faster than he had in the original story, when he'd only practiced blade techniques.
"I should call my teacher and tell him the good news..." Luo Feng was excited. Just as the thought crossed his mind, his Communication Watch rang. He looked down and saw that his teacher was calling. He took a deep breath to calm down before answering.
"Teacher, I've mastered the Fourth Layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade!" Luo Feng blurted out excitedly as soon as the call connected.
"Mm..." Zhou Ze paused, then said, "I guess people really are pushed to their limits..."
"It seems the pressure you're facing in City 003 is even greater than I thought. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Otherwise, you wouldn't have mastered the Fourth Layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade so quickly."
Luo Feng froze, then said softly, "Teacher, I..."
"There's nothing to say." Zhou Ze cut him off. "Strength is what matters. Turn pressure into motivation. Everything has its pros and cons. Once you grow stronger, a lot of things become much simpler."
"Mm!" Luo Feng nodded firmly, feeling much more at ease.
"Keep practicing. Don't let a little trouble get to you." Zhou Ze smiled faintly. "No matter how immense the pressure is, you have to calm down, slow down, and focus on the present..."
"I'm such a fool. I actually suspected my teacher!" Luo Feng wanted to slap himself, ashamed of what he'd thought earlier.
"Xu Xin!" After ending the call, Luo Feng noticed that the woman he loved had called. "Oh no, I was so absorbed in practicing that I didn't notice!"
While Luo Feng happily chatted with the woman he loved, Zhou Ze—who had just finished talking with Luo Feng—lay bored in a chair on the rooftop, gazing up at the starry sky.
"Some things have to be faced alone. If you always rely on others, you'll never grow up..." Zhou Ze sighed.
"But Luo Feng's progress is way too fast. He's already at the Fourth Layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade. He's much faster than before. If this keeps up, I really won't be able to teach him anymore. Sigh..."
Zhou Ze felt happy and proud of Luo Feng's progress, but the problem was that he couldn't afford to buy the seventh layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade. It cost over ten billion Huaxia Currency. Damn, it was expensive.
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