A black short suit, a white long-sleeved shirt, and dark red trousers—coupled with an air of arrogance. Chen Feng seemed completely out of place in his surroundings.
“Iori Yagami…” Judy exclaimed, a mix of surprise and joy in her voice.
The surrounding bandits stared at the strangely appearing red-haired youth. With a single move, he had crippled their leader. Terror washed over their faces. But having chosen the life of a bandit, they had long ago cast aside concerns for death; if they failed to kill their opponents during a robbery, they would surely be killed themselves.
“This guy is strange. Let’s rush him together!” The bearded man, fighting the pain to stay conscious, roared.
The bandits hesitated for a moment, then charged toward Chen Feng with frenzied shouts.
Chen Feng paid no heed to the crowd surging behind him. With his back to them, he covered his forehead with his right hand and suddenly burst into loud laughter: “Ha, ha, ha…”
The audacious laughter vibrated in the air, and the pure white full moon overhead seemed to tremble, as if Chen Feng didn't even acknowledge the men behind him.
These bandits had arguably crawled out of piles of corpses; the amount of blood staining their hands was countless. Although their cultivation wasn't high, their killing intent was incredibly dense. A Level Seven Fighter facing such a Level Six bandit would likely face only a dead end.
Judy knew how dangerous these bandits were. Seeing Chen Feng still with his back turned, a look of anxiety crossed her face, and she couldn't help but shout, “Be careful…”
Chen Feng seemed not to have heard a word. After his laughter subsided, he looked up at the moon, and his figure suddenly vanished from sight!
The fourteen bandits charging forward suddenly found their target gone, resulting in instant disarray.
“Everyone, watch out! This kid is weird!” one bandit yelled, anxiously scanning the area.
“Hmph!” Chen Feng’s voice sounded from directly behind a bandit who was a Level Seven Fighter.
The bandit frantically twisted his neck backward; the movement was so sudden that his neck twinged in pain.
A cold, sinister smile spread across Chen Feng’s face. His steel claws plunged directly into the man’s back. With a sharp hiss, he brutally tore the body into two pieces!
Rebellious Stripping!
“Whoosh!” A plume of white vapor escaped Chen Feng’s mouth. His feet generated crisp explosions of Dou Qi, and his body immediately shot upward. He slammed a punch into another bandit, knocking him to the ground. Then, crouching before him, he began to incessantly claw at the man’s chest!
“Hiss, hiss!”
Organs popped out from under his steel claws, splattering the nearby snow scarlet.
While tearing this man apart, Chen Feng glanced back at the dozen or so bandits behind him, his eyes blazing with bloodlust.
This move wasn't Iori Yagami’s ultimate technique, Forbidden Art 1211: Maiden of the Eight Maidens. It was Chen Feng deliberately imitating an action from the game on a whim. While it bore some resemblance, the technique Chen Feng used was entirely derived from Rebellious Stripping, bearing no trace of the Maiden of the Eight Maidens.
After bidding farewell to the Pterodactyl flock, Chen Feng had been continuously contemplating the direction of his cultivation. The moves in the game were finite. In real combat, slavishly adhering to game techniques might work against lower-level opponents, but how should one deal with stronger foes possessing unique fighting skills?
It was for this reason that he had casually altered the application of Rebellious Stripping, employing an attack style similar to the Maiden of the Eight Maidens. Unexpectedly, the effect was quite good.
However, the power of this move was vastly inferior to the true Maiden of the Eight Maidens. If it had to be named, it would be the Fake Maiden of the Eight Maidens!
The true Maiden of the Eight Maidens, like other proper techniques, was executed in one continuous flow. The circulation pattern of the internal Qi vortex had a specific trajectory, and the power and speed of every strike were subject to strict requirements—far beyond what Chen Feng was currently executing.
The Fake Maiden of the Eight Maidens could achieve instant kills against those of lower cultivation, serving to intimidate. But attempting to challenge opponents above his level would be incredibly difficult!
One had to remember that the Forbidden Art 1211: Maiden of the Eight Maidens was comparable to Kyo Kusanagi’s Orochi Nage. If it couldn't challenge higher levels, wouldn't it be useless?
Although the Fake Maiden of the Eight Maidens Chen Feng was currently using was akin to uselessness, it pointed him toward a path forward!
If he continuously practiced the Fake Maiden of the Eight Maidens, could he automatically comprehend the true Maiden of the Eight Maidens?
Thinking of this, Chen Feng’s heart jolted, and a wave of ecstasy washed over him. Why hadn't he thought of this before? He had always passively accepted the sudden appearance of Kyo’s memories. He had never actively tried to imitate the moves. Now that he understood, it was as if a broad road had suddenly opened before him, refreshing his mind!
Chen Feng experienced this sudden clarity while fighting, but the bandit struck by his Fake Maiden suffered a far worse fate. After his internal organs were violently clawed out one by one, leaving him utterly dead, Chen Feng showed no intention of stopping. His hands continued to rake furiously inside the now-empty chest cavity!
Bones, shredded meat… each piece was tossed outward…
When the remaining bandits witnessed this scene, cold sweat beaded on their foreheads! A single word echoed in their minds: "Cruel!"
Was this truly a youth? Why would a youth be so cruel? Or perhaps, was this truly human? How could a human be this merciless!
Seeing this spectacle, if anyone dared to call their own bandit methods cruel, they would weep. Compared to the red-haired youth, their brutality was merely kindergarten level!
The bandits were gripped by inexplicable terror, and for a moment, not a single one dared to step forward.
Chen Feng snapped back to reality. Seeing the unrecognizable mess he had made of the man he was tearing apart, he felt a shudder, then stood up and looked toward the remaining bandits.
“Ah…” As the bandits saw him rise and look their way, they all cried out and stumbled back a step. They weren't afraid of death, but the savage display Chen Feng had just exhibited left an indelible impression, causing a powerless panic to well up from within them.
Chen Feng stood alone before the eleven remaining bandits and walked toward them, step by deliberate step.
The bandits kept retreating. Chen Feng advanced one step, and they retreated one step. To scare off a dozen bandits single-handedly was certainly an astonishing feat.
“Actually, I detest violence!” As he watched their fearful expressions, Chen Feng’s icy words slowly emerged.
Detest violence? The bandits felt like crying. Ripping a living person to shreds and continuing to tear at the remains—and he called that detesting violence? What then constituted violence?
Chen Feng observed their expressions, shook his head, and murmured, “Why does no one believe me when I tell the truth?”
The bandits were speechless.
Chen Feng claiming he detested violence was actually the truth; precisely because he despised violence, he sought to suppress it with even greater violence!
Friends familiar with Kyo would know that Iori Yagami used his hands as cutting weapons, tearing flesh and blood with his fingers. He was renowned for his brutal efficiency on the battlefield, yet he himself was a man who deeply disliked violence. His greatest dream was to carry his beloved guitar and tour with his band!
Chen Feng’s Earthling soul also loathed brutality. But having arrived in this world, if you didn't kill them, they would kill you. For survival, the opponent must be taught a painful lesson!
The bandits huddled together, slowly backing away. Chen Feng’s peculiar attire under the moonlight seemed to have become their nightmare.
“Ah…” One bandit could no longer bear the invisible confrontation and pressure. He turned and fled.
A smile touched Chen Feng’s lips. With a flick of his right hand, a low hook strike followed the ground, chasing after him. With a boom, the fleeing man was incinerated into ash!
The bandits watched the patch of pale blue flame on the ground slowly fade, their terror deepening. Running, it seemed, was not an option. As long as they fled, this youth would surely not let them go!
But staying meant death too! With death looming either way, they might as well fight!
“He won’t let us go!” one bandit finally shouted out their shared thought.
“You’re quite smart!” Chen Feng laughed coldly, his figure flashing as he appeared before them.
Rebellious Stripping! Rebellious Stripping! Another Rebellious Stripping!
Three consecutive Rebellious Strippings struck three bandits. These three didn’t even have time to release their Dou Qi before they were violently torn into fragments amid sounds of cracking bones!
Blood mixed with slush scattered everywhere.
“Roar…” Chen Feng emitted a low growl. Right hook, left hook…
Sunflower!
Three consecutive Sunflowers followed. Then, he sprang up, striking a bandit’s head with his left foot, shattering his skull!
Outer Style: Lily Thorn Break!
In less than a minute, none of the fourteen bandits remained. All were killed by Chen Feng’s violent methods. Only scattered limbs, broken arms, and pools of blood and viscera remained on the snow.
“Sigh, not nearly enough practice opponents!” Chen Feng lamented.
Using moves like Rebellious Stripping, Sunflower, and Lily Thorn Break was about constantly applying Kyo’s techniques in real combat to stimulate the sealed Kyo memories in his mind. But these bandits were far too few; they were slaughtered clean before he felt any noticeable change.
After sighing briefly about the small number in the bandit group, he turned to the bearded man whose arm he had burned off earlier.
“Don’t come closer! If you come closer, I’ll kill her!” The bearded man held Judy tightly, shouting in terror at Chen Feng.
Judy, having seen the horrific manner of Chen Feng’s previous kills, had been momentarily distracted by shock. Unexpectedly, the bearded man had seized her. His remaining arm wrapped around her throat, attempting to use her to threaten Chen Feng into letting him escape!
Judy watched Chen Feng slowly approach the bearded man with a chilling gaze, silently regretting that she hadn't fled long ago when the battle with Iori began. Being taken hostage now made her feel deeply guilty towards the red-haired youth who had “desperately” tried to save her.
“Don’t worry about…” Judy shouted, but she was cut off mid-sentence by Chen Feng’s icy reply.
“Kill her then! Her life is none of my business!” Chen Feng said, continuing his steady approach toward the bearded man.
“…” Judy had intended to utter some noble words, telling him not to worry about her, insisting he must kill the bandit. Instead, she was choked speechless by Chen Feng’s words.
Was this guy even human? He saved her, yet he didn’t care if she lived or died!
However, if this fellow truly didn't care about her life, why did he arrive at this location so “coincidentally” right after she encountered the bandits?
The bearded man saw that Chen Feng ignored his threat, and his steadfast resolve began to waver. The hand gripping Judy trembled slightly.
He had assumed the red-haired youth intervened because of the girl. Capturing her was supposed to be his way to escape this disaster, but the opponent uttered such words!
“You… really don’t come closer. I… I really will kill her!”
The bearded man’s voice began to tremble, and his threats lacked conviction.
“Killing requires no talking!” Chen Feng suddenly vanished eerily when he was less than five meters from the bearded man. As his cold words echoed from behind, the bandit felt his throat tighten. All strength drained from his body, and he fell heavily to the ground!
“You should avoid being out at night. I don’t come out to admire the moon every evening!” Chen Feng threw out the cool remark, then, ignoring the complex expression on Judy’s face, turned and walked toward the blacksmith’s shop.
“Admire the moon… Did he not come to save me just now, but just to admire the moon?”
Judy’s face cycled through red and white. She gritted her teeth and stamped her small foot on the ground, chasing after Chen Feng’s retreating figure!
“Hey…” Judy called out to the red-haired youth, who was not far ahead.
Her voice was like that of a nightingale leaving a valley, exquisitely sweet. In the Imperial Capital, such a cry could certainly captivate a crowd, but the red-haired youth walking ahead seemed not to have heard, his pace unwavering as he continued forward.
Judy couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. She quickened her steps, catching up to Chen Feng, spreading her arms wide to block his path.
“Hey…” Judy’s face flushed, her cry tinged with slight frustration.
“Move aside!” Chen Feng frowned.
“Hey… Don’t think that just because you saved me, I’ll be grateful, or that you can treat me harshly,” Judy snapped, seeing Chen Feng’s indifference.
Chen Feng stopped, slightly tilting his head, looking at the beautiful girl before him.
Judy’s face flushed under his unapologetic gaze, and her heart pounded wildly. He, he wouldn't…
Just as her emotions swelled, Chen Feng held up three fingers.
“First, my name is not ‘Hey’; second, I didn't ask for your gratitude, nor am I being harsh to you; third, I am very tired right now and want to go to sleep. Please move aside!” With that, Chen Feng ignored the slightly dazed Judy and walked step by step toward the blacksmith’s shop.