Martial Ancestor Stage Three Blocks the Path? Slice Him Down With One Blade!

The team walked for another twenty-plus minutes within the nested rift.

Lin Feng led the way ahead.

Along the path, Dark-Scaled Giant Lizards kept emerging—twelve in total, scattered about—and he cut through every single one.

Not a single one lasted more than three seconds before him.

[Killed C-Rank Exotic Beast: Dark-Scaled Giant Lizard ×12, gained Martial Path Points ×6000]

[Steel of the Blade: 310/500]

Old Zhang followed behind, counting the corpses. He stopped after the eighth.

Pointless.

It was like watching someone slaughter chickens.

Passing through the dark purple nested entrance, they returned to the fifth layer of the E-Rank Rift.

The temperature dropped sharply, and the air turned crisp.

Someone behind let out a long sigh, and several injured soldiers collapsed directly to the ground.

"Don't stop. Keep moving." Lin Feng didn't even look back.

From the fifth layer to the rift exit, there were still four more layers to go.

E-Rank Exotic Beasts were like mosquitoes to him, but the team had too many wounded, slowing their pace.

Lin Feng simply hoisted Li Ming onto his shoulder.

"Brother Lin, I can walk on my own..."

"Shut up."

Li Ming's voice caught in his throat, and he said nothing more.

Old Zhang led the others behind. Along the way, Lin Feng had cleared every Exotic Beast cleanly—not even a cockroach was left.

Forty minutes later, the light of the rift exit appeared.

Everyone quickened their pace.

The moment sunlight hit their faces, several people dropped to their knees and burst into loud sobs.

Three days.

They'd been trapped inside for three days. Four had died, and every survivor was wounded.

They'd thought their lives would end there.

"Brother." Old Zhang walked up to Lin Feng and knelt on one knee.

Lin Feng frowned and yanked him back up.

"Don't bother with that nonsense."

"No, you saved over twenty of our lives. I have to—"

Before he could finish, Lin Feng spoke.

"If you really want to thank me, just give me some compensation."

Old Zhang froze for a moment, then broke into a grin.

"Done! Absolutely!"

He pulled a business card from his chest and handed it over. "Northern Territory Third Martial Artist Regiment, squad leader Zhang Qingyang. Brother, I didn't bring any money on this trip. If you ever come to our regiment, I'll repay you handsomely!"

"Alright, I'll take it."

Lin Feng pocketed the card and set Li Ming down from his shoulder.

"Can you walk now?"

Li Ming nodded. His right leg was still trembling, but the Energy Recovery Pill was taking effect, and the wound had mostly stopped bleeding.

"Back to the Seventh Defense Line." Lin Feng patted his back.

The two bid farewell to Old Zhang and his group and headed toward the Seventh Defense Line.

After about twenty minutes of walking, they spotted the camp's perimeter wall in the distance.

Lin Feng stopped in his tracks.

At the camp entrance, two black off-road vehicles were parked.

Eight people stood beside them.

Seven martial artists, their auras flaring outward—the weakest at Martial Artist Level Six, the strongest at Martial Artist Perfection.

And one more.

A middle-aged man in his fifties, lean, wearing a gray robe, hands clasped behind his back as he stood at the front.

Martial Ancestor Level Three.

The Zhao Family.

Lin Feng shoved Li Ming backward.

"Stand aside. Don't come over."

Li Ming's face went pale. He recognized those vehicles—the debt collectors. But the force they'd brought today was several times larger than before.

"Brother Lin, those people..."

"I know."

Lin Feng hefted his war blade and strode toward the camp entrance.

The gray-robed middle-aged man swept his gaze over and locked onto Lin Feng.

"You're Lin Feng?"

"Yeah."

"Two collectors sent by the Zhao Clan Bank went missing earlier. Their last known location was around here."

The gray-robed man pulled a photo from his sleeve. It showed the two debt collectors Lin Feng had killed.

"Have you seen them?"

"Yes."

The gray-robed man's brow twitched.

"Where?"

"Waiting for you underground."

"Waiting for me underground?" The gray-robed man's face darkened.

Before the other could react, Lin Feng moved.

No wasted motion.

He drew his blade.

The gray-robed man's name was Zhao Wei, Third Elder of the Zhao Family.

His reaction was fast enough.

The instant he sensed killing intent, he stepped back half a pace and barked an order to attack.

But the seven Martial Artists behind him were slower.

Lost Trace Step sent Lin Feng into the center of the group.

Three afterimages scattered at once, while his true body pressed right up against the face of the nearest Martial Artist at the Sixth Layer.

Mountain Splitter swept horizontally.

The first man's head flew off, spun twice in midair, and rolled into the roadside grass.

The second had barely drawn his blade halfway.

Lin Feng's sword had already passed through his waist.

His upper and lower halves slid apart in opposite directions.

The third turned and ran.

Gale Wind chased him down, cutting through his back from left to right.

Three men. Two seconds.

The remaining four finally drew their weapons, but the hands gripping their blades were trembling.

Lin Feng didn't give them a chance to encircle him. He stomped the ground and shot three meters into the air.

Midair, Mountain Splitter raised high.

Mountain-Breaking Slash.

Golden gale wind slashed downward from above. An arc-shaped wave of energy swept over the four men's heads.

Full penetration activated. Two were cleaved into chunks on the spot. The third was flung back by the residual force of the gale, slammed into a car door, and left a massive dent in it.

The last one held his ground, raising his blade to block, but both arms were shattered by the impact, and his weapon flew from his hands.

Lin Feng landed and finished him with one more strike.

Throat slit.

[Killed targets ×7]

[Steel of the Blade: 317/500]

Less than five seconds had passed.

Zhao Wei stood frozen in place, as if nailed to the ground.

His seven Martial Artist subordinates—all eliminated within five seconds.

How could a Martial Master have this kind of killing power?

That blade, that footwork, and the penetrating force of that Gale Wind.

Zhao Wei's hand touched the sword at his waist, his fingertips cold.

In thirty-plus years of cultivation, for the first time, he felt the threat of death before a junior.

"You..."

Before he could finish.

An invisible force slammed directly into his mind.

"Not good! A Psychic Master!"

Zhao Wei realized something was terribly wrong, but it was too late.

His brain felt like someone had grabbed it and twisted it around.

His vision blurred, his body lost control, and he stood frozen in place for a full half-second.

Half a second was enough.

Lin Feng was already in front of him.

Mountain Splitter raised high overhead.

All his blood and qi poured in, the Dark Gold Spirit Pattern blazing to its limit.

In that half-second, Zhao Wei fought desperately to regain his senses, both hands grabbing his sword and thrusting it upward.

Martial Ancestor, third stage.

Even with psychic interference, there was no way he couldn't block a single strike.

That's what he thought.

Mountain Splitter came down on the sword.

There was no sound of metal clashing.

The sword split cleanly down the middle.

The blade met no resistance, passing through the sword's steel, through Zhao Wei's skull, through his chest.

Armor Piercing, penetration—one smooth motion.

Zhao Wei looked down.

A golden crack ran from the crown of his head all the way to his abdomen.

"This, this can't be..."

Zhao Wei's body split in half from the center, toppling to both sides.

[Kill target: Zhao Wei (Martial Ancestor, third stage)]

[Steel of the Blade: 318/500]

Lin Feng flicked the blood off his blade and turned around.

Li Ming stood twenty meters away, his legs shaking, his mouth wide open, unable to close for a long time.

"Let's go."

Li Ming slowly shuffled up behind him.

After a few steps, he blurted out, "Brother Lin, that guy—Martial Ancestor!"

"Yeah."

"You one-shot him..."

"Yeah."

Seeing this, Li Ming swallowed everything else he was about to say.

The two reached the camp entrance and ran into Wang Tie.

"The guy? You brought him back?" Wang Tie's eyes were red the moment he saw Li Ming. He rushed over, looking him up and down. "What happened to your arm? Leg's hurt too? Damn it, who did this?"

"Bitten by an Exotic Beast." Li Ming hissed as Wang Tie hit his wound.

Lin Feng pulled out from the items he'd taken off Zhao Wei a collection notice from the Zhao Clan Bank and a stack of documents stamped with the Zhao Family seal.

He spread them out in front of Li Ming and tore them up, one by one.

"The money you owe the Zhao Family—as of today, it doesn't exist."

Li Ming's hand reached out, then pulled back, finally gripping the seam of his pants so hard his knuckles went white.

"But the Zhao Family..."

"I'll handle the Zhao Family."

Wang Tie watched Lin Feng's expression from the side, his mouth twitching, but in the end, he didn't ask.

He knew Lin Feng too well.

When that man said "I'll handle it," it meant he would tear the problem out by the roots.

Back at the camp, Lin Feng first went to the medical tent, treated Li Ming's wounds, and left him in Wang Tie's care.

Then he returned to his tent.

The System Panel unfolded in his mind.

code
[Host: Lin Feng]
[Spirit: First-Rank Psychokinetic Master (260/1000)]
[Realm: Martial Master, Fifth Stage (0/5000)]
[Art: Heavenly Gale Body-Forging Art (1/10000)]
[Skill: Mountain-Breaking Slash (Perfected), Lost Trace Step (Perfected)]
[Talent: Steel of the Blade (318/500)]
[Martial Path Points: 13500]

Not enough points.

Zhao Wannian, head of the Zhao Family, First Stage Martial King.

With his current strength, he couldn't win.

The gap wasn't just a little—it was an entire major realm.

He had to grind.

Lin Feng rolled off the bed and grabbed Mountain Splitter.

Outside the tent, the sky was already pitch black.

He pushed aside the door flap and strode toward the camp entrance.

Zhang Qian caught up, panting.

"Sergeant Major? Going out again? It's already dark."

Lin Feng didn't look back.

"I'm going to grind some mobs. Don't come looking for me."