The wind sweeping through was cold, and under the chill of the moonlit night, Chen Feng's heart mirrored the frost for a single sentence.

Dany and Moko had instigated Griff to kill him; when that plan failed, they attempted a sneak attack, only to be slain by Chen Feng himself in the end.

Such despicable wretches were painted by Judy as petty and vengeful, claiming Chen Feng had killed them out of lingering spite!

But regardless of the misunderstanding, Chen Feng couldn't be bothered to explain. He only felt a crushing tightness in his chest, a desperate need to unleash battle.

He had painstakingly brought the bow, expecting Judy’s relieved smile in return, only to be met with the conspiracy to murder him! He had been touched by her previous selflessness, only to realize it was all a ruse, a calculated ploy. Chen Feng felt utterly deceived, a sensation like knives piercing his heart repeatedly.

When he first arrived in this world, the very next day he encountered betrayal from a woman, humiliation from his family, and then was hunted down. Now, having just broken free from the influence of the Dark Vortex, he was being insulted all over again!

“I am willing to be Iori Yagami forever…” Chen Feng’s voice sounded heavy and dark, waves of immense power radiating from him.

A crescent moon ascended in the sky. Beneath it, the red-haired youth’s slightly pale face was contorted with fierce hatred, appearing utterly frenzied.

“Those who wish to kill me, I offer them all only one end—death!” As the word “death” left Chen Feng’s lips, he vanished instantly from his spot. Though he hadn't mastered the Kari Yuga (Ghost Step), he could execute the Gen'ei Tsurugi (Phantom Crane Step), achieving incredible speed. Judy and the Young Leader saw only a blur, and Chen Feng was gone.

"Bang!" The Young Leader was struck squarely in the back, stumbling forward onto the ground. A crimson gash opened across his back, and blood began to well out profusely.

"Ah..." The Young Leader hadn't anticipated such speed; he had no time to react. Amidst the pain, his heart was filled with inexpressible shock: "Is he truly just a Fighter…?"

"Brother..." Seeing her brother slashed, Judy rushed to the Young Leader’s side, fixing Chen Feng with a venomous glare.

"So brutal, so inhumane! I will kill you!" A shriek escaped her as she lunged, all semblance of ladylike composure gone.

"Haha, you want to kill me and call me inhuman? Fine! I'll show you what inhumanity really means!" Chen Feng sneered. As Judy rushed in, he extended a fist, striking her abdomen with the Orochi Crush. Judy was immediately sent flying backward like a broken kite, slamming violently against the courtyard wall, spitting up a mouthful of blood before losing consciousness.

After advancing to Martial Adept, Fighters were practically straw men in his eyes, regardless of whether they held Sacred Artifacts or specialized combat techniques.

"Dany, Moko, Griff—I killed them all. Want revenge? Then I'll send you down to join them!" Chen Feng vented the rage in his heart, roaring towards the two figures lying on the ground.

After his shout, Chen Feng shot forward like an arrow, bringing his right foot down with a forceful "Thud!" The Young Leader didn't even manage a grunt before being sent flying backward like a football, soaring over ten meters before crashing heavily onto the ground!

The Young Leader, a Level One Martial Adept, was grazed across the spine by Chen Feng's Gyakubari (Reverse Peel) due to a moment of lapsed guard. Kicked flying, this marked Chen Feng’s first true engagement with a Martial Adept after his promotion, fully showcasing the might of his KOF techniques!

"Cough, cough..." The Young Leader spat blood, lying on the ground semi-conscious. He still couldn't fathom how this youth possessed such blinding speed and brutal power.

Chen Feng approached slowly. With every step the Young Leader felt as if he were moving closer to the gates of Death. Cold sweat, mixed with his blood, streamed slowly down his spine.

Since his cultivation breakthrough and subsequent mercenary missions, the Young Leader had only once been this close to death: facing a Rank Four Demonic Beast in the Glacial Demon Garden. That beast was savagely cruel, and the mission cost the lives of nineteen mercenaries to complete.

He remembered the eyes of that Demonic Beast as it mercilessly slaughtered men; they were exactly the same as the eyes of this Iori Yagami before him!

"I… I…" The Young Leader managed two words before blood began to flow freely from the corners of his mouth, his breathing rasping like a broken bellows. This was the first time since reaching Martial Adept that he felt so utterly defenseless!

"You want to kill me? Then die!" Chen Feng yelled, drawing out the Shiranui (Purple Flame) with his right hand—the Dark Hook!

The violet flames swept across the ground like lightning, slamming toward the Young Leader.

"Stop!" At that moment, a furious roar echoed from the sky, and a figure shot forward, throwing a punch directly in front of the Young Leader.

"Boom!" Dust and debris flew up as the ground erupted. Unexpectedly, Chen Feng’s overwhelmingly dominant purple flame was scattered by the newcomer’s single punch.

A sharp glint shot from Chen Feng's eyes as he clearly saw the newcomer: a venerable elder clad in blue robes, possessing a rather imposing countenance.

"Father… cough, cough…" The Young Leader managed a weak smile upon seeing him, calling out before coughing up two more mouthfuls of blood.

"So it's the leader of the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group, Old Wolf Head—a Rank Five Martial Adept!" Hearing the Young Leader’s address, Chen Feng immediately identified the newcomer.

At this point, a crowd surged into the courtyard—all tall, sturdy figures clad in matching mercenary uniforms. The preceding battle had been too intense, and Chen Feng’s wild laughter had finally drawn them out.

Several people helped the Young Leader and Judy to their feet, immediately administering healing elixirs for treatment.

Old Wolf Head, seeing his children were not in mortal danger, finally turned to Chen Feng, his voice chilling as he spoke: "Such ferocity from one so young. You must be Iori Yagami, the champion of the Newcomer Selection Trials! Why have you injured my son and daughter?"

Chen Feng sneered, clearly showing no deference. He exchanged no pleasantries, fixing his gaze on Old Wolf Head, a surge of fighting spirit rising within him.

The events of this night would not end quietly. Since that was the case, why waste words? Action would be far more direct.

"Whoosh!" An aura spanning two to three meters erupted around Chen Feng’s body. With the surge of this wave, he shot forward like a meteor. His speed was so great that streaks of afterimages trailed behind him.

"So fast!" Old Wolf Head exclaimed, his pupils constricting sharply. He rapidly retreated, narrowly dodging Chen Feng’s first attack. Simultaneously, he raised his right leg, slamming a powerful kick toward the charging Chen Feng.

Though Chen Feng’s speed was great, his center of gravity remained stable. Seeing the incoming kick, he unleashed a Fire of the First Demon and shot into the air.

Old Wolf Head’s leg connected with Chen Feng’s Kien (Demon Fire) strike. With a series of heavy steps—"Deng, deng, deng"—he was forced back three paces. With every step he took, his foot crushed the ground to a depth of half a foot, turning the stones beneath him into dust.

Because Chen Feng's Kien technique granted a brief period of invulnerability during its execution, he sustained no structural damage. However, the kick, infused with the opponent's battle energy, left his chest constricted, nearly choking the breath trapped inside him.

The surrounding onlookers retreated far into the corners, terrified to move, having witnessed the clash. Though only one move had been exchanged, the released battle aura was overwhelmingly powerful, chilling everyone to the bone.

"You possess the cultivation of a Martial Adept?" After clashing once, Old Wolf Head had a firm assessment of Chen Feng’s strength.

Upon hearing this, even those who had been annoyed by Chen Feng’s arrogance widened their eyes in disbelief.

A Martial Adept in his teens? How was that possible…

"Hoo…" Chen Feng finally expelled the suffocating air from his lungs, looking at Old Wolf Head and saying, "Not a bad feeling!"

"To reach Martial Adept at such a young age, it's unheard of across the entire continent. If the master who taught such a disciple exists, how powerful must they be! Or how vast is the family's influence!" Old Wolf Head was seasoned and astute; he immediately grasped the implications. Furthermore, this youth, Iori Yagami, had previously beaten the Seventh Prince so severely without suffering any royal punishment—his background must be significant.

His Blood Wolf Mercenary Group was a minor entity, not worth offending a powerful faction over. It was precisely because Old Wolf Head was so pragmatic that the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group had endured as the second-largest mercenary contingent in the Rocky Empire.

"Even if you are a Martial Adept, you are still no match for me now! I, Old Wolf Head, value fairness. Why did you harm my son and daughter? If we were in the wrong, I will make them apologize to you. But if you were wrong, hmph, regardless of how the Emperor treats you, I will not let you go!"

Although Old Wolf Head spoke with outward bluster, any discerning eye could see he had made significant concessions.

There were clever individuals in the crowd who, hearing Old Wolf Head’s words, bristled with righteous indignation and shouted in unison: "Leader… we can't let this boy go! We were beaten to our doorstep, and if we let him go now, how will our brothers ever show their faces again…"

The Young Leader struggled to stand up, adding, "Father, he is the one who killed Dany, Moko, and Vice-Leader Griff, and then he injured me and Judy! If we truly let him go…"

"Silence!" Old Wolf Head roared. "I will handle this matter. You troublemaker!"

Chen Feng, who had been growing suspicious from Old Wolf Head’s words, felt his anger slightly abate as he watched the leader berate his son.

The Young Leader urgently recounted, "Father, during the competition, you arranged for Dany and Moko to accompany Judy, but Judy chose him as her partner instead. Dany and Moko argued with him about it, and then he sneak-attacked and killed them!"

"Sneak attack?" Old Wolf Head frowned, looking at the Young Leader.

"Cough, cough…" The Young Leader continued, "He did it because he coveted Moko’s Battle Aura Short Sword…"

Old Wolf Head was perceptive and caught the discrepancy. With Chen Feng’s level of cultivation, if he truly wanted to kill Dany and Moko, a sneak attack would be unnecessary. He barked, "Did you witness this personally, or is this hearsay?"

"It's…" The Young Leader faltered, falling silent.

Old Wolf Head thundered, "Did you make reckless accusations without properly investigating?"

The Young Leader stammered, "The identity of the source could not be a lie; it is absolutely true!"

"Who was that person?" Old Wolf Head demanded.

The Young Leader shook his head, unwilling to say.

"Hmph," Chen Feng scoffed, a cold smile playing on his lips. "The act you father and son are putting on is quite convincing! One schemes to kill me, the other pretends to be the good guy—ridiculous…"

Old Wolf Head caught the implication in Chen Feng’s words and turned to his son, demanding, "What exactly is going on here?"

The Young Leader, terrified by his father’s anger, visibly flinched and confessed, "I knew he killed Dany, Moko, and Griff, so Judy and I discussed how to kill him… But he trespassed into our Blood Wolf Mercenary Group; we don't know his purpose…"

Old Wolf Head, cunning as he was, understood halfway through: his son and cherished daughter had conspired to kill Chen Feng, but somehow the plan leaked, and the target counter-attacked.

If you plot to kill someone and end up being killed in retaliation, that’s normal conflict—your own fault for being weaker while harboring lethal intent!

However, the root cause was the death of Dany and Moko, so that needed clarification!

Old Wolf Head suppressed his rage and looked at Chen Feng, saying, "Dany and Moko's cultivation levels were likely beneath your notice. I find it hard to believe you resorted to a sneak attack to kill them…"

Chen Feng knew what he was implying and stated coldly, "I killed Dany, Moko, and Griff."

Old Wolf Head was momentarily speechless. Frankly, he did not want to provoke someone with such a powerful background, as their vengeance was always ruthless. His Blood Wolf Mercenary Group had stood strong for so many years under his leadership; being wiped out over such a minor incident was not what he desired. Yet, Iori Yagami readily admitted to killing Dany and Moko. If this matter wasn't addressed, his authority within the group would plummet.

With this in mind, Old Wolf Head feigned extreme fury, glaring at Chen Feng: "Fine. Since you admit to killing Dany, Moko, and Griff, we, the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group, respect you as a man and will not attack you as a mob. Either you take your own life, or you defeat me, and I will allow you to leave!"

This statement was perfectly worded. It appeased the anger of the assembled group while simultaneously creating a fallback option for himself.

Saying, "Either take your own life, or defeat me,"—even the dullest person would choose the latter. Since the challenge was a direct duel, the outcome—whether he let the boy win or lose—was entirely up to him. Old Wolf Head was supremely confident that with his Rank Five Martial Adept cultivation, defeating a teenager would be trivially easy. Afterward, he could simply feign defeat and allow Chen Feng to leave, thus offending neither party and placating his men—killing two birds with one stone.

Chen Feng did not grasp the nuance of the proposition, but hearing the challenge for combat lit a fire in his eyes. He sneered, "Good. Today I will see just how formidable a so-called Rank Five Martial Adept truly is!"

With that, his aura abruptly soared, and a sphere of violet flame rose from his palm!

………………Free Content Below……………… PS: My lower back hurt terribly this morning, so I went to see a doctor, which is why the update is late, my apologies.

Also, I have some bad news for everyone: due to the dismal subscription numbers for this book, I must abandon it. There will be no recommendations for the next one or two weeks. No recommendations means the book’s performance will get worse, and worse performance means fewer recommendations. It seems I’m heading toward being shelved. Brothers, Lao Ya is pleading with you—please subscribe! Really, if you can subscribe to other books, just give Lao Ya one subscription, or else if things continue like this, the book will truly flop. My ten-plus hours spent sitting at the computer are worth just a few cents, not even enough for one of your cigarettes. I beg you!

Lao Ya calculated that there are no fewer than 50,000 people reading through piracy. I’m not greedy; I only need a thousand subscriptions to give me hope!

Since you are reading this book, you surely don't want Lao Ya to be unable to afford food and have to go back to finding a job, reverting to one chapter a day, one chapter a week, or perhaps no updates at all! To allow Lao Ya to write with peace of mind and keep you all happy, I implore you to subscribe!

A thousand words only cost three cents; reading the entire book won't cost much. Consider it my thank you!

Finally, the only legitimate reading site for this book is **Chinese Website; all others are pirated. I beg you all to subscribe and support the genuine reading experience! Thank you!!! (To be continued. For future developments, please log into www.xxxc.com for more chapters, to support the author, and to support genuine reading!)