Deep in the cave.
When Lin Feng arrived, he saw a scene of carnage.
More than twenty people were crammed into a natural hollow in the rock.
The hollow's entrance was narrow, barely wide enough for two people side by side. It was their only barrier.
Four people stood at the entrance. The edges of their weapons had long since been chipped, their Combat Suits were riddled with holes, and blood seeped from wounds all over their bodies.
In front of them, more than a dozen enormous Exotic Beasts were attacking.
Dark-Scaled Giant Lizards, C-Rank.
Each one was eight or nine meters long, its body covered in hard, dark scales. Its claws were twice as large as a person's palm.
Martial Ancestor-level Exotic Beasts.
The strongest of the four guarding the entrance was only a second-stage Martial Master. The other three were all at the peak of Martial Artist.
They were using their Martial Artist and low-level Martial Master strength to withstand a horde of C-Rank Exotic Beasts.
They were barely holding on, relying entirely on the terrain.
But they wouldn't last much longer.
The second-stage Martial Master leading them had his left arm hanging limp. It was clearly broken.
He held his blade in one hand, and every time he blocked a giant lizard's claw, the impact sent him skidding backward.
Inside the hollow, Lin Feng took a quick look around.
There were wounded veterans, young Martial Artists with pale faces, and a few people clearly dressed like civilians.
In the farthest corner, a frail figure was huddled against the rock wall. Torn strips of cloth were wrapped around his arm as a bandage, and his face was streaked with dried blood.
Li Ming.
Alive.
Lin Feng felt his heart settle.
He'd found him.
Now it was time to get down to business.
"Everyone behind me, make way."
Lin Feng's voice wasn't loud, but in the chaos, everyone heard him.
The four people guarding the entrance glanced back.
A strange young man was approaching at an unhurried pace, a dark golden longsword in his hand.
"Who are you? Get in here! Don't stand outside."
The burly second-stage Martial Master hadn't finished speaking when—
Lin Feng walked right past him.
Out through the entrance to the hollow.
Straight into the horde of Exotic Beasts.
"Is he crazy?"
The burly man blurted out.
Lin Feng didn't look back.
The first Dark-Scaled Giant Lizard pounced at him, its enormous maw gaping wide as a foul stench washed over him.
Mountain Splitter leveled.
One slash.
The giant lizard's head split down the middle, spraying brains and blood all over him.
Its corpse kept charging forward, sliding past him on either side before crashing into the rock wall behind him with a boom.
[Defeated C-Rank Exotic Beast: Dark-Scaled Giant Lizard ×1, gained Martial Path Points ×500]
[Steel of the Blade: 282/500]
Everyone froze.
One slash?
A C-Rank Exotic Beast, killed in a single blow?
Lin Feng gave no one time to react.
He activated Lost Trace Step, his figure leaving three afterimages in the cave.
His real body had already charged into the very center of the lizard horde.
The second giant lizard spun around and swept its tail at him.
Lin Feng ducked low. The tail skimmed over his head, and he used the opening to slash upward into the giant lizard's belly.
The penetration effect was in full force. The blade pierced its belly scales and came out through its back.
The giant lizard let out a shrill cry, its legs splaying as it crashed to the ground.
[Defeated C-Rank Exotic Beast: Dark-Scaled Giant Lizard ×1, gained Martial Path Points ×500]
[Steel of the Blade: 283/500]
The third and fourth giant lizards charged in from both sides at once.
Lin Feng didn't dodge.
He charged Mountain-Breaking Slash for half a second.
A golden Gale Wind tore along the ground, and an arc of energy swept across the cave.
Thanks to the penetration effect, the Gale Wind didn't weaken at all after piercing the third giant lizard. It kept going, piercing the fourth as well.
Both giant lizards fell at the same time.
[Defeated C-Rank Exotic Beasts: Dark-Scaled Giant Lizard ×2, gained Martial Path Points ×1000]
[Steel of the Blade: 285/500]
Four giant lizards, all dead in less than ten seconds.
It was as if the air had been sucked out of the cave.
More than twenty trapped people stared with their mouths open, unable to utter a word.
The second-stage Martial Master guarding the entrance dropped his blade. He didn't even notice.
He'd spent six years in the Northern Territory.
In those six years, he'd seen plenty of experts.
But he'd never seen anyone utterly dominate C-Rank Exotic Beasts like this.
Lin Feng sheathed his blade and glanced back into the hollow.
"Is anyone else injured? Can you walk?"
The burly man was the first to snap out of it. He hurriedly answered.
"Fifteen can walk. Seven are too badly wounded to move, and two of them are already unconscious."
"Bring everyone with us. Follow me."
The burly man was stunned.
"Go? Where?"
"Out."
"Outside... Outside, it's crawling with C-Rank Exotic Beasts. We've run into more than thirty just in this area, and there were only a dozen or so among the ones that surrounded us just now."
Lin Feng rested Mountain Splitter on his shoulder.
"More than thirty?"
He turned and headed deeper into the cave.
"Then we'll kill our way out."
Before you continue