Thirty-odd C-Rank? I thought there'd be more.

Lin Feng walked at the front, his pace neither fast nor slow.

Behind him followed over twenty people, those who could walk supporting those who couldn't, limping along as they trailed behind.

The burly man at Martial Master second stage was called Old Zhang, the captain of a nearby private martial artist squad.

They had stumbled into this nested rift two days ago, and the moment they entered, they were surrounded by C-Rank Exotic Beasts. Four people had already died.

"Brother, just what background do you have?" Old Zhang held his blade in one hand, walking beside Lin Feng, his mouth never stopping.

"Sixth Defense Line."

"Sixth Defense Line? Military?"

"Sergeant Major."

"A Sergeant Major with strength like this?" Old Zhang's face was full of doubt. "That slash of yours just now was at least Martial Ancestor level output..."

"You talk too much."

Old Zhang shut up immediately.

From the corner of the passage ahead came heavy footsteps.

Three Dark-Scaled Giant Lizards blocked the center of the tunnel, six dark red vertical pupils all turning in their direction at once.

Someone behind him sucked in a sharp breath.

Lin Feng didn't even look back. He lifted his blade and advanced.

The first giant lizard opened its mouth and spat a stream of acid.

Lin Feng sidestepped to let it pass, kicked off the ground, and shot along the rock wall.

Mountain Splitter came down from above.

The giant lizard's skull split open along a crack, dark green brain matter oozing out.

Before it even hit the ground, Lin Feng had already turned to face the second one. A horizontal slash sent out a blade wind with a penetrating effect.

The second giant lizard's front legs were severed cleanly at the root, its body losing balance and pitching forward. Lin Feng finished it with a thrust through the throat.

The third tried to run.

It turned, all four legs clawing at the ground, desperately fleeing deeper into the passage.

Lin Feng didn't chase.

He thrust Mountain Splitter forward, and the blade wind detached from the weapon, tearing along the tunnel floor.

Twenty meters out, the giant lizard's body was caught by the blade wind. From tail to head, a golden line split it in two.

The two halves of the corpse toppled in opposite directions, crashing against the rock walls.

[Killed C-Rank Exotic Beasts: Dark-Scaled Giant Lizard ×3, gained Martial Path Points ×1500]

[Steel of the Blade: 288/500]

"Move."

Lin Feng flicked the blood off his blade and continued forward.

The team behind him was dead silent.

Even the groans were stifled.

Not because they didn't want to make noise—they were too scared.

Old Zhang walked behind Lin Feng, the corner of his mouth twitching twice, unable to force out a single word.

He had fought for over a decade, and for the first time, he felt like everything he'd trained all these years was fake.

They pressed on.

The passage widened, and a larger cavern appeared ahead.

A pile of Exotic Beasts was sprawled inside the cavern.

It wasn't just Dark-Scaled Giant Lizards anymore. There were two larger creatures—Blazing Horned Rhinos, C-Rank high-tier, their horns gleaming with a metallic red luster.

Plus seven or eight Dark-Scaled Giant Lizards scattered around.

Ten C-Rank Exotic Beasts.

Old Zhang's face turned green.

"Brother, maybe we should go around..."

Lin Feng had already charged in.

Lost Trace Step erupted at full power, three afterimages scattering.

The Blazing Horned Rhinos attacked first, lowering their heads and charging. The ground cracked beneath their stomps, gravel flying.

Lin Feng didn't dodge.

He met them head-on, Mountain Splitter raised high above his head.

Mountain-Breaking Slash.

The golden wind, charged with full force, met the rhino's head head-on.

Boom!

The rhino's proud crimson horn was split down the middle by the wind.

The wind pierced through the horn, continuing downward, cleaving the rhino's skull.

Its massive body lurched forward five or six meters by inertia, then crashed to the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

[Killed C-Rank Exotic Beast: Blazing Horned Rhino ×1, gained Martial Path Points ×800]

[Steel of the Blade: 289/500]

The second rhino, enraged by its companion's brutal death, pawed the ground and charged with full force.

Lin Feng changed his approach this time.

Lost Trace Step shifted direction, his body sidestepping right, closing in on the rhino's flank the moment it rushed past.

Mountain Splitter dragged a cut along its belly armor.

With the penetration effect, the thick armor was slashed open, a half-meter gash spilling entrails.

The rhino let out a roar, its legs gave out, and it rolled onto its side.

Lin Feng leaped onto its back and drove his blade into the nape of its neck.

[Killed C-Rank Exotic Beast: Blazing Horned Rhino ×1, gained Martial Path Points ×800]

[Steel of the Blade: 290/500]

The remaining seven or eight Dark-Scaled Giant Lizards, seeing both rhinos dead, instinctively began to retreat.

Would Lin Feng let them escape?

He sprang off the rhino's corpse, sweeping his blade midair.

The golden wind blanketed the entire front half of the cavern.

The lizards hadn't taken three steps before the wind caught up.

The penetration effect drove the wind through every target, not one missed.

Thud, thud, thud—

A series of dull impacts.

Seven or eight lizard corpses hit the ground one after another.

[Killed C-Rank Exotic Beast: Dark-Scaled Giant Lizard ×8, gained Martial Path Points ×4000]

[Steel of the Blade: 298/500]

Lin Feng landed, the area around him in chaos.

He let out a breath and glanced at the System Panel.

[Current Martial Path Points: 10700]

Adding the 872 he'd saved before, that was over ten thousand total.

Nice.

Just then, a weak voice came from behind.

"Lin... Lin-ge?"

Lin Feng turned around.

At the back of the group, Li Ming, supported by two people, lifted his blood-smeared face.

"It's me."

Li Ming's lips trembled twice, and his eyes suddenly reddened.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but only a hoarse wheeze came from his throat.

Lin Feng walked over, crouched down, and examined his wounds.

His left arm had been bitten, the wound deep and already inflamed.

His right leg had a tear from a lizard claw, the pant leg soaked through with blood.

But nothing vital was hit.

He'd survive.

"The hell are you doing, a Martial Disciple fifth-rank, running into a C-Rank Rift?"

Li Ming's mouth puckered, tears mixing with the blood on his face.

"I... I didn't know there was another layer. I came in looking for Magic Cores, and when I got to the fifth floor, I saw that opening, got curious, and..."

"Curiosity killed the cat. You almost got yourself killed too."

Lin Feng pulled out the Energy Recovery Pill Chen Lie had given him from his pocket and shoved it into Li Ming's mouth.

"Eat it. Can you walk?"

Li Ming chewed a couple of times, warmth flooding into his limbs as some color finally returned to his face.

"I can walk."

Lin Feng stood up, sweeping his gaze across everyone.

"How many Exotic Beasts are left ahead?"

Old Zhang walked over, licking his cracked lips.

"We ran into about thirty-plus when we came in. You killed..." He counted on his fingers, "...seventeen. That leaves maybe fifteen to twenty, scattered across a few caverns near the exit."

Lin Feng slung the Mountain Splitter over his shoulder.

"Then let's move, while I'm still hot."

He turned and strode toward the exit.

Old Zhang and the others followed close behind.

Li Ming, supported by two men, limped along in the middle of the group.

He stared at the blood-soaked figure walking ahead, and his nose stung fiercely.