"You—say that again?"
Lin Feng slowly turned around. Beneath his cloak, his gaze gradually turned cold.
He had already made the greatest concession he could.
Not only had he returned the Magic Core, he had also offered up all the spoils he'd fought so hard to seize as compensation.
This was no longer backing down. It was cutting flesh from his own body.
But the other party still didn't seem satisfied.
They didn't just want the meat—they wanted to swallow the bones, too.
"Sir, don't you think you're getting a little carried away?"
Lin Feng's voice no longer held any of its earlier "kindness." Instead, it carried a bone-piercing chill.
Uncle Fu looked at him expressionlessly.
"My young master's sword is a C-Rank weapon worth over a million. You broke the blade, and you think you can settle this by paying a few E-Rank Magic Cores?"
He raised a finger and pointed at Mountain Splitter on Lin Feng's back.
"That blade of yours is no low-grade weapon. I'd say it's at least C-Rank. It'll make perfect compensation for my young master's broken sword."
The White-Clad Youth beside him finally caught on and chimed in, "That's right! Uncle Fu is right! You broke my sword, so you owe me an even better one! Hand over your blade!"
Greed filled his gaze as he looked at Mountain Splitter.
The scene of Lin Feng killing the Exotic Beast with a single slash was still fresh in his mind.
That blade was definitely a divine weapon.
If he could get his hands on it, his strength would surely rise another level.
Lin Feng laughed.
He laughed in sheer fury.
Now he understood.
These two had never intended to let him go.
Their so-called compensation was nothing but an excuse.
What they really wanted was the A-Rank War Blade in his possession.
"You want my blade?" Lin Feng gripped Mountain Splitter's hilt. "Sure. Let's see if you have what it takes to take it."
The instant the words left his mouth,
Lin Feng moved.
He didn't retreat. Instead, he launched an attack.
Against an opponent skilled at stealth, passively defending was tantamount to waiting for death.
His only chance of survival was to seize the initiative and throw off his opponent's rhythm with attacks that were more fierce and more relentless.
Mountain-Breaking Slash!
Lin Feng held nothing back. He opened with his strongest killing move.
The blood energy of a Fourth-Stage Martial Artist surged into Mountain Splitter, and the dark golden Spirit Pattern on the blade lit up.
A crescent of golden Gale Wind ripped through the air and came crashing down toward Uncle Fu.
This strike was even three parts more powerful than the one he'd used against the Exotic Beast.
Uncle Fu's expression finally changed.
He hadn't expected the cloaked man before him, who seemed to be only a Fourth-Stage Martial Artist, to unleash such a terrifying attack.
The power of this strike was already infinitely close to that of a Martial Master.
He didn't dare block it head-on.
His figure suddenly blurred, as if merging with the air, and vanished from where he stood.
Boom!
The golden Gale Wind struck the spot where Uncle Fu had just been standing, carving a bottomless trench over ten meters long into the ground.
Caught by the lingering force of the blade's momentum, the White-Clad Youth flew backward like a kite with its string cut. He slammed into a distant rock wall, spat out a large mouthful of blood, and passed out on the spot.
Such was the might of a single strike!
Lin Feng's slash missed, but he didn't hesitate. He immediately used the Lost Trace Step, scattering in different directions.
At the same time, he focused his divine sense to the utmost, alert to the slightest movement around him.
Uncle Fu's stealth technique was far too bizarre. He had to stay on guard at all times.
"Interesting."
Uncle Fu's voice came from every direction, drifting unpredictably. There was no way to pinpoint his exact location.
"Boy, you've got quite a few secrets."
Lin Feng ignored him and closed his eyes.
If he couldn't see with his eyes, he'd use his senses.
His divine sense spread out from him like an invisible net.
One meter, five meters, ten meters...
Found him!
He was in the shadow of a rock behind Lin Feng's left shoulder, at the seven o'clock position, about fifteen meters away.
There was a faint fluctuation in his aura, so weak it was almost impossible to notice.
That was him!
Lin Feng's eyes snapped open. Without a second thought, he swung his blade behind him toward that spot.
Another Gale Wind roared out.
"Good reaction."
Uncle Fu's voice rang out again, carrying a trace of praise.
The shadow of the rock twisted, and his figure vanished once more.
Boom!
The rock shattered.
Lin Feng immediately swung again, this time toward the front right.
He could no longer afford to conserve his blood energy. He could only use these wide-area attacks to force his opponent to reveal himself.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
For a time, blade light flashed and thunderous roars filled the entire cavern.
The hard ground was carved with crisscrossing trenches, and enormous stone stalagmites were severed at the waist.
Lin Feng unleashed seven or eight slashes in a row. He'd expended more than half his blood energy, and sweat had appeared on his forehead, yet he still couldn't force Uncle Fu to reveal his true form.
His opponent was like a ghost, always vanishing from Lin Feng's senses in the instant before he swung.
"It's useless." Uncle Fu's voice carried a note of mockery. "Your senses can't keep up with my speed. If we keep this up, you'll be the one to run out of blood energy first."
Lin Feng stopped, gripping his blade as he panted heavily.
He knew the other man was telling the truth.
This wasn't working.
His mind raced as he searched for a way to break the stalemate.
He was no weaker than his opponent in strength, speed, or weapons.
The only things he lacked were cultivation and battle experience.
And—
That bizarre ability of his, something beyond the realm of Martial Artists.
It wasn't merely a stealth technique.
It was more like some kind of interference on a mental level.
Every time Lin Feng was about to pinpoint his opponent's location, an invisible force would interfere with his senses, throwing off his judgment by a fraction of a second.
That tiny fraction of a second was all Uncle Fu needed to calmly dodge his attacks.
Psychic power?
A rare term he'd once come across in the martial arts school library suddenly surfaced in Lin Feng's mind.
Could it be?
The instant his attention wavered,
a deadly sense of danger came from overhead.
Lin Feng jerked his head up.
Uncle Fu had somehow appeared directly above him. His hands formed a seal, and he pointed one finger down at Lin Feng.
At his fingertip gathered a terrifying energy, invisible to the naked eye, yet powerful enough to make even the soul tremble.
"Boy, you can be proud to die at the hands of a First-Rank Psychokinetic Master like me."
"Now, get on your knees!"
Before you continue