The famously solitary Crimson-Tailed Grass Vipers were actually living in packs! How could that be possible!

One Crimson-Tailed Grass Viper was already a nightmare to deal with; now an entire swarm—was there any hope for survival? Chen Feng dared not hesitate now, retreating step by painstaking step, pulling his right foot back.

Turning and running would certainly be much faster, but doing so would expose his back to them. Who knew what tricks these slow-witted magical beasts might employ from behind!

Dozens of Crimson-Tailed Grass Vipers held their heads high, their blood-red tongues flickering, a thick, foul stench swirling between the grass and thickets, raising the hair on one's arms. The first viper’s tail whipped again, producing a distinct, low whirring sound in the air.

Upon hearing this, the remaining vipers seemed possessed, their crimson eyes glowing eerily, as if confronting an irreconcilable enemy, and they began to slither toward him. Although they weren't spewing corrosive venom, such a large number of highly toxic, cold-blooded beasts suddenly surrounding him was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

Chen Feng slowly accelerated the rotation of the vortex in his Dantian, a surge of Qijing gently circulating throughout his meridians. A faint layer of energy shimmered over his right fist.

With danger imminent, Chen Feng purged all distracting thoughts from his mind; his focus became sharper than ever before. This was a sensation he only gained after cultivating the power of the Qixuan (Vortex Energy); losing composure in a crisis guaranteed one's demise.

The Crimson-Tailed Grass Vipers advanced two or three meters before spreading out in a fan shape to surround him. Thorns hedged him in, and the ground was thickly carpeted with fallen dead leaves.

Chen Feng glanced around and immediately devised a strategy. Chen Feng stepped back, deliberately planting his foot on the soft, dead leaves covering the ground.

Too much force, and he would immediately sink in. For the vipers, who were fixed on him, this would be an undeniable fatal flaw.

Thus, the dozens of venomous snakes surged forward without hesitation, transforming into streaks of light rushing toward him. This was precisely what Chen Feng had been waiting for.

A faint smile touched his lips, and he suddenly drove his right foot upward! The dead leaves on the ground were swept up as if by a fierce gale, swirling into the air and perfectly obscuring all of the Crimson-Tailed Grass Vipers' lines of attack.

"Aran-Giya!" Chen Feng roared, disregarding the Qixuan energy within his body. He delivered two consecutive, frantic punches, unleashing the full strength of his body according to the channeling method of "Aran-Giya!" The fists struck the dead leaves, but instead of scattering them, a sharp poof sound accompanied the surge of hot air, and the entire canopy of leaves instantly ignited!

The furious Qixuan energy, confronted by the flames, transformed like ejected liquefied gas into dozens of searing tongues of fire that instantly engulfed the incoming Crimson-Tailed Grass Vipers. Chen Feng’s bloodline was not fire-aligned, preventing him from unleashing the full potential of "Aran-Giya." However, by leveraging external fire, the Qixuan energy could still exert a tremendously potent effect!

This much he had understood when he killed Bill, which was why he had struck twice in rapid succession in the air: one punch to ignite the leaves, the second to utilize the resulting fire to strike the vipers. The Crimson-Tailed Grass Vipers, being low-level magical beasts, possessed relatively meager intellect.

They were utterly unprepared for such a sudden assault and were swiftly consumed by the sea of fire! Chen Feng let out a breath.

The situation just moments ago had been perilously close. He hadn't been certain if his first punch would successfully ignite the leaves or if utilizing the fire would allow "Aran-Giya" to unleash its true power.

Still, conceiving of this fire tactic in the brief moment of being attacked by so many vipers was no small feat. Chen Feng watched the vipers struggle in the flames, one by one falling, thrashing on the ground until they lay still.

A wave of relief washed over him, followed by utter exhaustion. Though it was only two punches, in order to succeed, he had drained every ounce of Qixuan energy in his body.

Only when the danger passed did the tearing pain in his meridians surface, leaving him unable to even lift a hand. Just as Chen Feng was silently congratulating himself on his luck, a faint rustling of footsteps sounded behind him.

He turned his head and nearly burst into tears. What a cruel twist of fate!

The Iron-Backed Silver Tiger, the beast responsible for sending him tumbling down the cliff, stood directly before him, its eyes burning with focus! Even at full strength, he might not have been a match for this behemoth, let alone now when not a trace of usable Qixuan energy remained in his system!

"It's you... So you were here the whole time, waiting for the Grass Vipers to kill me before showing up?" Since escape was impossible, his state of mind surprisingly calmed.

He wasn't expecting the beast to understand his words—as advanced magical beasts possessed high intelligence—but he couldn't help speaking what he felt, unlike his previous tension. Seeing Chen Feng wearing a slight smile, looking strangely confident, the Iron-Backed Silver Tiger backed away a few paces, hesitating to advance.

Chen Feng found this odd, but then a strange sensation washed over his mind: "Fear!" Yes, fear. From the eyes of the Iron-Backed Silver Tiger, he could actually detect threads of terror!

Staring at the hesitant high-level magical beast, Chen Feng’s brain nearly short-circuited. This was an advanced magical beast; even if still immature, it should fear nothing!

How could it possibly exhibit fear toward him? He shook his head, trying to dismiss the absurd notion, but the reality before him only deepened his suspicion.

After retreating a few steps, the Iron-Backed Silver Tiger slowly lay down on the ground, issuing a low rumble, like a docile kitten. Chen Feng rubbed his eyes, almost unable to believe it.

Could the sheer deterrent force of his "Aran-Giya" strike have instilled an irresistible psychological barrier in this immature, high-level beast? This thought flickered through his mind before Chen Feng immediately dismissed it, for at that moment, he saw the true reason for the Iron-Backed Silver Tiger's terror.

The beast lay prone, one paw stretched out in front of it, its large, round eyes filled with misery. The extended paw was mangled and charred black in patches.

He had struck it once with "Aran-Giya" inside the cave; the fire damage contained within the Qixuan energy had indiscriminately burned the tiger's paw. The intense pain had evidently instilled a deep fear of Chen Feng.

Understanding this, Chen Feng finally grasped why Elder Harry had come to admonish him. If an advanced magical beast couldn't withstand such an injury, how could a frail magician survive it?

He imagined Gu Bo must still be lying in bed groaning! Thinking of this, a smile touched Chen Feng's lips.

In the eyes of the Iron-Backed Silver Tiger, this looked even more terrifying. It let out a roar toward the sky and retreated a few more steps while remaining low to the ground.

Seeing its behavior, Chen Feng felt a surge of self-satisfaction. To make a high-level magical beast so afraid of him was an achievement that could easily make one lose their rationality.

Just then, a sudden thought struck him. This Iron-Backed Silver Tiger was young; it was natural for it to fear an opponent that hurt it.

However, no matter what, it was still a high-level magical beast, one capable of reaching Level Nine when fully grown! A Level Nine magical beast—that was equivalent to a Grand Magus!

Would a Grand Magus fear a mere novice Fighter of only Level Two? A chill ran through Chen Feng.

Did this beast have some ulterior motive? ps: Dear brothers and sisters, the crucial moment has arrived.

Tomorrow marks the start of a new week, and Old Ya wants to strive for the New Book Weekly Ranking. I implore you for your recommendation votes.

The conversion formula for the New Book Weekly Ranking is: (Weekly Clicks / 10) + (Weekly Recommendations * 15) + (Total Collections / 2)... As you can see, recommendation votes are vital.

I heard that reaching 200 recommendations daily is enough to secure a spot on the board! Brothers, I am someone who writes novels while holding down a job.

My goal is to be able to quit my job and dedicate myself to writing. I genuinely love writing; seeing supportive comments from people in the comment section every day is the happiest moment for me!

I have already abandoned two books, so I truly do not want to abandon a third. I really want KOF (King of Fighters) to take off.

To be honest, I am a huge KOF fan; my favorite game is KOF. I know all about 12-hit combos...

infinite combos... hehe.

I’ve always held a dream of writing a truly great book about KOF... Regardless of whether you like this book or not, I hope to receive your precious vote after 12 o'clock to boost me up and fulfill a writer’s wish!

Thank you! There will be another chapter after 12 o'clock; I hope you enjoy it!!