Heavenly Pool Assassins

Over the next while, Li Chenfeng remotely directed the forces under his command in counterattacks against the World Society while personally guiding the four of them in martial arts.

Duan Lang truly deserved his reputation as a martial arts prodigy no less gifted than Nie Feng or Bu Jingyun in the original story. In just a few days, he had completely mastered the Ao Family Swordsmanship, and his Wind God Leg training had not fallen behind either.

His progress made Ao Tian and the Liu sisters, who trained alongside him, keenly feel the gap between themselves and a true genius.

The others were one thing, but Liu Qingluan, the younger of the Liu sisters, felt particularly pressured. Unlike her elder sister, she was wholly devoted to martial arts. Seeing a ten-year-old child nearly surpass her in swordsmanship after only a few days, when she herself had practiced for years, dealt her a heavy blow.

As for Ao Tian, if Li Chenfeng had not kept an eye on him, the fellow would likely have run off somewhere to fool around long ago. Even Madam Ao had no way to deal with that...

Li Chenfeng saw all of this, but there was little he could do. Talent was innate, after all. Even he could not raise Liu Qingluan's aptitude overnight.

As for his younger brother, Li Chenfeng had devoted himself entirely to cultivation over the past few years and had barely paid him any attention. He had assumed Madam Ao would push him to practice martial arts, but he had never expected Ao Tian to nearly be spoiled useless.

Li Chenfeng found this deeply puzzling.

Given Madam Ao's character, she could not possibly indulge her younger son so unconditionally merely because she loved him. Her previous actions had seemed more like she was deliberately raising Ao Tian to become a wastrel...

Li Chenfeng had never been able to understand such behavior before, but as he continued handling the villa's affairs these past few days, a vague suspicion had begun to take shape in his heart.

Another three months passed in the blink of an eye.

At Sword Worship Villa, Li Chenfeng still sat imposingly in the main hall.

Watching Changli Sword Elder and the Sword Servant hurry back from outside, he was the first to speak. "Changli Sword Elder, how goes the battle at the front?"

Changli Sword Elder's face was filled with joy as he looked at Li Chenfeng. "Villa Lord, over these past few months, with the cooperation of the Sword Guards, not only have we reclaimed all the territory we lost before, but we have expanded outward once more. The Edge-Refining Forge alone has gained over a hundred new branches.

"Furthermore, because Sword Worship Villa has maintained the upper hand throughout this conflict with the World Society, many martial forces across the Central Plains that bear grudges against the World Society or refuse to be swallowed by it have come to pledge allegiance. Rather than weakening from our battle with the World Society, the forces under our command have more than doubled!"

The old man could hardly contain his excitement. Although Sword Worship Villa had always possessed considerable foundations, how many people in the martial world had ever known of it as a martial force?

But now, though their formerly peaceful lives were gone, Sword Worship Villa had leapt into becoming a colossal power capable of dividing the martial world into three with the World Society and Unparalleled City. Naturally, this stirred the hearts of the villa's old retainers.

Turning his gaze to the Sword Servant, Li Chenfeng asked, "How are the Sword Guards now? How severe are the losses?"

The Sword Guards had been the main offensive force in this struggle against the World Society. Their duties were far more dangerous than those of the guard corps responsible for holding territory and cleaning up behind them.

"Young Master, over the past month or so, the Sword Guards have fought more than a hundred battles of all sizes. We lost a total of one hundred and thirty-two Late Houtian Realm martial artists, fifty-four Acquired Peak Realm martial artists, and two Half-Step Xiantian Realm martial artists."

Li Chenfeng immediately frowned. It was not that the losses were too great. The World Society was no weak opponent, and casualties were unavoidable in battle against them.

"Did you encounter Xiantian Realm martial artists from the World Society?"

The Xiantian Realm martial artists Li Chenfeng referred to naturally did not include the martial forces that had submitted to the World Society. Those people were all crafty. Whenever they encountered experts from Sword Worship Villa, they only went through the motions; at the first sign of trouble, they fled at once. They would never risk their lives for the World Society.

The Sword Servant nodded. "In response to Young Master, when we attacked a World Society branch altar, we were ambushed by their Xiantian Realm experts. Judging by their appearance, they should have been the Twelve Fiends of Heavenly Pool you mentioned!"

Li Chenfeng's gaze sharpened at once. "Are you certain they were the Twelve Fiends of Heavenly Pool?"

"Yes, Young Master. There were two of them. One could easily tear a person in half with his bare hands, while the other coordinated his hands and legs, multiplying his power!"

Li Chenfeng frowned and pondered aloud, "Claw techniques and leg techniques? It should be Hand Dance and Foot Dance."

"Although the Heavenly Pool Assassins have submitted to Xiong Ba, I do not believe anyone in the entire World Society besides Xiong Ba can command them."

There was another point Li Chenfeng did not state outright. These Heavenly Pool Assassins were no good people. In the original story, Xiong Ba fought Feng and Yun at sea and was ultimately defeated by the Maha Boundless unleashed when Feng and Yun joined forces.

Taking advantage of Xiong Ba's severe injuries, the Twelve Fiends of Heavenly Pool rebelled and nearly took his life. He only barely escaped to China Pavilion, where Wuming, the martial world's legend who lived there in seclusion, saved him.

This was likely also why Xiong Ba had not returned directly to the World Society after Li Chenfeng left!

"Now that the Heavenly Pool Assassins have appeared, Xiong Ba has most likely already returned to the World Society!"

This was actually within his expectations.

Although Xiong Ba had been seriously wounded at the time, his injuries had not been fatal. A few months were enough for him to recover considerably.

Of course, after directly suffering the Meridian-Severing Sword Qi, along with the contingency Li Chenfeng had left behind, how much fighting strength Xiong Ba could still wield remained to be seen.

Yet judging from the World Society's current performance, Xiong Ba's injuries must have been severe. Otherwise, Sword Worship Villa, which now lacked anyone capable of matching him in combat, would certainly have suffered his bloody retaliation.

By now, Li Chenfeng's cultivation had broken through from the peak of the Mid Xiantian Realm to the Late Xiantian Realm. Even against Xiong Ba at his peak, he would now have the strength to fight him.

All of this was thanks to the Blood Bodhi he had obtained back then. With such heavenly treasures providing ample energy, his true qi cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds!

"Looks like it is time to pay the World Society another visit," Li Chenfeng thought to himself.

Li Chenfeng no longer intended to keep draining strength against the World Society like this. He had no desire to see Sword Worship Villa exhaust the foundations it had accumulated over the years against the World Society, only for other forces to sit back and reap the benefits while the snipe and clam fought!

With that thought, Li Chenfeng looked at everyone and said, "For the time being, all forces under Sword Worship Villa are to remain where they are and focus on defense. There is no need to continue fighting the World Society for territory."

The Four Sword Elders were immediately stunned upon hearing Li Chenfeng's order. They exchanged glances, each of them confused by his command.

In their view, although Sword Worship Villa had lost quite a bit of combat strength during this period, they had always held the upper hand and were practically crushing the World Society. Compared to the territory and martial forces they had gathered, such losses were hardly worth mentioning!