Death Brushes Past My Face, I'll Pay You to Come In!

A ring of barbed wire surrounded the entrance to the rift, along with a simple guard post.

Lin Feng walked up to the post, and two men wearing the uniform of the "War Wolf" Martial Artist group reached out to block him.

The leader was a burly man, his aura as a Martial Artist at the Eighth Stage radiating without restraint.

"Stop. What's your business?"

"Entering the rift." Lin Feng's words were concise.

The burly man looked him up and down twice and let out a sneer.

"New here? Don't know the rules?"

"What rules?"

"Entry fee, eighty thousand." The burly man extended a finger and gestured. "Cash."

Eighty thousand?

Lin Feng frowned.

That expensive?

Of the one million two hundred thousand he'd earned from the Black Market, four hundred thousand had been sent to his sister, seven hundred and eighty thousand spent on the blade, and the remaining twenty thousand kept as pocket money.

After killing three people in the Black Market earlier, he'd gained another fifty thousand, bringing the total to seventy thousand.

Wang Tie had given him some pills; he didn't know if they could cover the ticket.

He pulled the pills from his pocket.

"I only have seventy thousand. With these pills added, it should be enough."

The burly man's face darkened.

"Pills? You think you can fool ghosts with this junk?"

The lanky man beside him chimed in: "Kid, if you're broke, scram. Don't waste our time here."

Lin Feng was silent for two seconds, then pulled the Sergeant Major badge from his pocket.

"I'm a Sergeant Major from the Sixth Defense Line. Do me a favor and cut me a discount."

He wasn't trying to throw his weight around; he just genuinely had no money left.

The burly man froze at the sight of the badge, then exchanged a glance with the lanky man and burst into roaring laughter.

"Hahahaha! Sergeant Major? You?" The burly man laughed so hard tears nearly came out. "Kid, where'd you buy that fake from a street stall? I know pretty much all the Sergeant Majors on the Sixth Defense Line, and you're not one of them."

The lanky man clutched his stomach, laughing too. "Kids these days, to save a few bucks, they throw away all dignity. Sergeant Major, why not say you're the Commander?"

Lin Feng put the badge away.

Looked like this route was a dead end.

He looked at the burly man and spoke: "How about this—let's make a bet."

"A bet?" The burly man stopped laughing and looked at him with interest. "What kind of bet?"

"I'll put everything into one slash. If you can stand and take it, I'll turn around and leave right now. If you can't take it..."

"Can't take it, then what?"

"Let me in for free."

The burly man listened and burst into another fit of laughter.

He pointed at his own nose and said to the lanky man: "Did you hear that? This kid says he's going to cut me down with one slash."

The lanky man was amused too. "Brother Ma, he probably doesn't know you're a Martial Artist at the Eighth Stage, one of the top five experts in our War Wolf group."

The burly man was named Ma Kui, and he had some reputation around here.

He twisted his neck, making a cracking sound.

"Kid, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll play along. But I'm warning you, I'm going to fight back. Don't blame me if you get hurt."

Lin Feng said nothing, gripping Mountain Splitter and beginning to gather power.

Ma Kui's eyes shifted slightly when he saw the blade.

A fine blade.

Though the scabbard was shabby, the material of the blade was extraordinary, and the spirit patterns flowing over it clearly indicated a high grade.

"Interesting." Ma Kui dropped his dismissive attitude, drawing a thick-backed cleaver from his waist and holding it across his chest. "Come on, kid..."

Before he could finish, the smile on Ma Kui's face vanished completely.

This blade momentum.

Something was wrong!

This was absolutely not the aura an ordinary Martial Artist could have!

"Wait!"

Ma Kui suddenly sensed something off—a fear rooted deep in his soul made his scalp tingle.

He wanted to call a stop, but it was already too late.

Lin Feng's blade came down.

Mountain-Breaking Slash!

Lin Feng struck in the most violent way possible.

The blade edge tore through the air, letting out a sharp howl.

Ma Kui's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpricks.

Fast!

Too fast!

Only one thought remained in his mind.

Run!

He wanted to dodge, but his legs began trembling uncontrollably, no longer obeying him.

The breath of death rushed toward his face.

He could even clearly see the dark-gold spirit patterns flowing on the blade edge, could feel the scorching heat as the blade cut through the air.

Time seemed to slow down in that moment.

Ma Kui's mind went blank.

He was going to die, about to be split in two by this strike.

Just as the blade edge was about to touch the tip of his nose, that world-destroying power abruptly vanished.

The tip of Mountain Splitter stopped less than a centimeter from the space between his brows.

The gust of wind brought by the blade blew his forehead hair backward, leaving a faint white mark on his brow.

Ma Kui froze in place, not daring to move.

Cold sweat poured wildly from his temples, instantly soaking his battle suit.

The tall, thin man behind him had long since gone weak in the legs from fear, collapsing to the ground with a thud, a stench of urine wafting from his crotch.

Lin Feng slowly sheathed his blade.

Mountain Splitter returned to its scabbard.

That suffocating pressure also dissipated.

Ma Kui's legs gave out, and he fell to his knees with a thud, his cleaver clattering to the ground.

He gasped for air, his chest heaving violently.

In that instant just now, he really thought he was dead.

"Now, can I go in?"

Lin Feng's voice was very calm, impossible to read as pleased or angry.

Ma Kui looked up at this young man who seemed far too youthful, and the contempt and arrogance in his eyes were gone, replaced only by deep fear and reverence.

"Y-yes..." His voice trembled.

He was now one hundred percent certain that the Sergeant Major badge was real.

How could someone who could unleash such terrifying blade momentum be an ordinary Martial Artist?

Martial Master!

This was absolutely Martial Master-level power!

A Martial Master under twenty years old?

Ma Kui didn't dare think further.

He struggled to get up from the ground, picked up his blade, and bowed respectfully to Lin Feng.

"Sir, I failed to recognize your greatness. I offended you greatly. Please forgive me."

He pulled a card from his pocket and offered it with both hands.

"This is your entry fee. I'll pay it for you, as an apology."

Lin Feng glanced at him, didn't stand on ceremony, took the card, and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks."

With that, he turned and walked toward the rift entrance.

Ma Kui watched Lin Feng's back, just letting out a sigh of relief, when the next second his eyes went wide again.

He saw Lin Feng's figure leave a faint blurry afterimage in place, and the next moment, he was already at the rift entrance over ten meters away.

Whoosh.

It was like teleportation.

Lost Trace Step!

Ma Kui swallowed hard.

That movement.

That blade technique.

He had actually thought about fighting this monster earlier?

That was like an old man hanging himself—begging for death.

"Ma... Ma-ge..." the tall, skinny man beside him crawled over, trembling. "Who was that person?"

Ma Kui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Someone we can't afford to mess with."

He watched Lin Feng, who had already vanished into the crack's entrance, his expression complicated.

But then, as if remembering something, his face changed again.

"Damn it!"

"What's wrong, Ma-ge?"

"Inside the crack, 'Ghost Blade' went in today too!"

The moment the tall, skinny man heard the name 'Ghost Blade,' his face went pale.

Ghost Blade was a ruthless Martial Artist from the area, at Martial Artist Perfection, with a blade technique so masterful it was unfathomable, like a ghost's work.

"That lord just now... he won't run into Ghost Blade, will he?" the tall, skinny man asked worriedly.

Ma Kui gave a bitter laugh.

"He'll definitely run into him. The crack's only so big."

He paused, then shook his head.

"But right now, the one we should be worried about isn't that lord."

He stared into the depths of the crack, muttering to himself.

"I just wonder... whether Ghost Blade's blade is faster, or that lord's blade is fiercer."