"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Ling Feng pulled out a Shuriken with his right hand and circulated energy into it. Soon, the Shuriken was spinning around his index finger, forming a ring-shaped vortex.
"Qi-Controlled Sword!"
Ling Feng controlled the Shuriken with his mind. In an instant, it shot out, becoming a blur as it hurtled toward Mu Li and his men.
Qi-Controlled Scissors was Shadow Seven's technique. Since Ling Feng had performed Spirit Imbuement on him, he could use his techniques too.
As for energy, every character Ling Feng created had an unlimited mana buff. He could also freely switch to any form of energy from the world of a character he had performed Spirit Imbuement on.
In other words, the characters Ling Feng created were not limited by energy depletion. Whatever form of energy an imbued character's skills required, Ling Feng could switch to it and use them.
"Shhk... shhk..."
Under the terrified gazes of Mu Li and his men, the Shuriken sliced their heads clean off, ending their lives.
From beginning to end, Mu Li and his men had been utterly powerless to fight back. Such was the gulf in strength.
Before the strong, the weak could only be crushed and slaughtered...
"Whoosh!"
Having dealt with Mu Li and his men, Ling Feng pushed off the ground and became a blur, covering more than a dozen meters in a single breath.
Soon, Ling Feng caught up with Xiao Yi Xian and the others. By then, she had passed through the small grove, only to be driven by three Ape Gibbons to the edge of a steep cliff. Below it stretched a lush green forest, quite a beautiful sight.
But trapped in this desperate situation, Xiao Yi Xian was deathly pale, and thoughts of dying began to sprout in her heart.
Meanwhile, the three Wolfhead Mercenary members hiding on a thick branch of a large tree could no longer sit still.
"Why isn't the young commander here yet?"
"We can't wait any longer. If anything happens to Xiao Yi Xian, the young commander will never let us off."
"Let's move first!"
Just as the three finished discussing their intervention, they saw a spinning object resembling a Wind Blade suddenly shoot toward the Ape Gibbon closest to Xiao Yi Xian.
"Who's there?"
All three mercenaries startled at once and turned to look behind them, only to find a young man dressed in black who had appeared silently at their backs.
They were immediately alarmed. But the moment their gazes met Ling Feng's Sharingan, the world before their eyes changed. They found themselves in a blood-red world, while Ling Feng transformed into a flock of crows and vanished, the birds wheeling across the crimson sky.
All three mercenaries had fallen under Ling Feng's Sharingan illusion.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
Two beastly roars suddenly rang through the area. Ling Feng's Qi-Controlled Sword had sliced the head off the Ape Gibbon closest to Xiao Yi Xian. Seeing their companion mysteriously die, the other two were terrified, but they still beat their chests with both hands and roared in fury.
"What are you two beasts howling about? Don't you know you're disturbing the peace?"
Frowning, Ling Feng moved both hands and activated his technique with a thought.
"Let's split up, Shuriken!"
Under Ling Feng's control, the flying Shuriken split in two and shot toward the remaining Ape Gibbons.
This was an advanced skill of Shadow Seven's Qi-Controlled Scissors, allowing him to split his scissors in two and launch simultaneous attacks. Ling Feng simply used a Shuriken instead.
Sensing danger, the two Ape Gibbons' enormous eyes flashed with an almost human terror. They immediately took to their heels.
But the Ape Gibbons were merely rank-one magical beasts, no match for Ling Feng at all. Under his mental control, the Shuriken sliced straight through their waists, cutting their towering bodies in half amid sprays of blood.
Everything happened within a few breaths. The sudden turn of events left the previously despairing Xiao Yi Xian stunned.
"Whoosh!"
A figure came hurtling through the air, and soon Ling Feng appeared within Xiao Yi Xian's sight.
At the sight of Ling Feng's sudden arrival, Xiao Yi Xian snapped out of her daze and eyed the stranger warily. When she saw his Sharingan, brimming with sinister power, her pupils contracted in fear.
Seeing this, Ling Feng softened his cold expression and deactivated his Sharingan. "Xiao Yi Xian, don't be afraid," he said kindly. "I'm not a bad person."
"H-how do you know my name?"
The fact that Ling Feng actually knew her name only made Xiao Yi Xian more wary of him.
Ling Feng said nothing further and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the three Wolfhead Mercenary members trapped in his illusion walked over. Their eyes were vacant, and they moved like walking corpses.
"You're... Mu Li's men!"
Xiao Yi Xian clearly recognized the three Wolfhead Mercenary members. "What are they doing here?"
When Xiao Yi Xian looked at him in confusion, Ling Feng did not answer. Instead, he ordered the mercenaries, "Tell her why you came here."
"Yes."
"The truth is, Xiao Yi Xian was chased by the Ape Gibbons because the young commander ordered us to arrange it in secret. He has his eye on Xiao Yi Xian. So he wanted to use this herb-gathering trip to deliberately put her in danger, allowing him to play the hero rescuing the beauty and slowly win her over..."
Hearing the Wolfhead Mercenary member reveal the truth, Xiao Yi Xian cursed furiously, "Despicable!"
Her face flushed with anger. Unfortunately, she had no idea that Ling Feng had already killed the man responsible.
"Thank you, young man. If not for you, I might have fallen into their trap."
Turning her gaze to Ling Feng, Xiao Yi Xian finally realized that he had saved her. She rose from the ground and thanked him.
Ling Feng waved a hand and said calmly, "No need to thank me. I saved you because I have my eye on you."
"Ah!"
Xiao Yi Xian involuntarily took a step back, her face flushing with embarrassment. She had only just labeled Ling Feng a good person, yet now he was being so forward. She could not quite take it in, and her thoughts raced.
What's wrong with him?
Are people nowadays all this blunt?
Still, he is rather handsome... oh, what am I thinking...?
That single sentence from Ling Feng had caused a tremendous misunderstanding, sending Xiao Yi Xian's imagination running wild.
Ling Feng remained oblivious. Seeing Xiao Yi Xian step back, he stepped forward, intending to continue their conversation. On edge, she thought he was about to force himself on her and immediately waved both hands to stop him. "Y-you stay back! Even if you saved me, you can't act like a lecher!"
"Huh?"
Only then did Ling Feng realize that Xiao Yi Xian had misunderstood him. He explained, "You've misunderstood. I mean, I'm interested in you as a person."
This only deepened Xiao Yi Xian's misunderstanding. Her face red with embarrassment, she glared at Ling Feng and snapped.
"Listen to yourself! You just want to sleep with me!"
"..."
Faced with Xiao Yi Xian's guarded stare, Ling Feng was momentarily speechless. This misunderstanding had really gotten out of hand. But upon closer thought, he felt that she might not actually be wrong.
Although I only wanted to recruit Xiao Yi Xian and nurture her, I suppose I do have a hankering for her body too. This girl's a prophet. Better take her out.
At that thought, Ling Feng no longer felt quite so speechless, and his mind began to turn. Still, I can't say that outright now, or my nurturing plan will fall apart halfway through. I'll have to coax and fool her properly if I want to get my snout into that fine cabbage...