The clothes were quickly folded, and the merchant's card was delivered. Chen Feng didn't make things difficult for the shop assistant and Old T, who had judged him by his appearance; people like that were everywhere, frequently encountered, and getting angry at them would surely lead to an early death.

Ignoring their surprised expressions, he left the clothing shop. Seeing the sky growing late, he found a place to stay and, while settling in, inquired if there was a magic circle nearby that could transport him to the Fenlai Empire.

Upon inquiry, there indeed was one, but it was on the other side of the city, a full day's journey by carriage, and it only teleported to the imperial capital of the Fenlai Empire.

Dragon Mountain Town was far from the imperial capital, but the capital did have magic circles leading to various locations. Flying directly from here to Dragon Mountain Town would likely take a month. After some thought, he ultimately decided to use the magic circle, as it was relatively quicker.

Having reached the Third Star Dou Shi realm, Chen Feng felt fully capable of seeking revenge. The memory of past hatred ignited a fierce fire in his heart; he yearned to arrive at Dragon Mountain Town immediately. However, since he had managed to endure for a full year, he didn't mind waiting a few more days.

Chen Feng rented a small, unassuming courtyard because it appeared the quietest when he arrived. Now, he stood in the yard, practicing the moves he had already learned, one technique after another.

He refrained from adding the Cyclone Force to these practice moves, otherwise, forget this small courtyard, even the inn might be smashed by his surging power.

Iori Yagami’s techniques manifested one by one in his hands. The more he fought, the smoother his movements became, the moves linking together faster and faster until his entire person moved like a phantom within the cramped courtyard.

"Hoo…" With a sudden rise from the ground, he unleashed the Oni Maki. Mid-air, Chen Feng tapped his toe on the courtyard wall, kicking out with a Yuri Ori (Lily Throw), then twisting in the air before flipping downwards to catch himself with a Kikyo (Wisteria Flower)…

Even without channeling the Cyclone Force, the power of his moves was immense. Every punch carried a scorching intent, and the sound of wind hissed continuously throughout the small yard.

Chen Feng felt a flicker of confusion. After that major battle in the palace, his body seemed to have undergone some strange change. He wasn't entirely clear what this change entailed, but he could distinctly feel his physical fitness improving at an unbelievable rate.

His strength was growing, his reactions were accelerating, and the speed at which his body absorbed elemental energy had more than doubled.

While he was in the forest, Chen Feng had pondered this extensively without finding an answer, eventually attributing it to the transparent Cyclone Force. Perhaps these bodily changes were simply a result of advancing to the Third Star Dou Shi realm.

Yet, regarding the advancement and cultivation methods for Dou Shi, Chen Feng had spent a full two months studying in the Loki Empire's library. He was intimately familiar with every step of advancement, but the books never mentioned that upon reaching the Third Star Dou Shi level, one's overall strength and reaction speed would also increase.

If he couldn't figure it out, he would just note it mentally. It wasn't a bad thing; the more robust the body, the stronger the defense, and having greater power wouldn't be hindered by the limitations of his physical condition.

The faster he practiced in the courtyard, the faster his movements became, gradually stirring up a whirlwind on the ground. This swirling air began to converge toward the center, forming a vortex.

Chen Feng watched the vortex created by his own movements, and a bold plan surged into his mind.

Standing motionless, he slowly perceived the various elemental energies drifting between heaven and earth. The liquid Cyclone Force in his dantian began to slowly rotate, continuously absorbing the ambient wind elements from the surroundings.

Upon entering the Dou Shi realm, the Cyclone transformed into a transparent state, undergoing a strange mutation: it could now absorb any single elemental energy drifting in the world. However, Chen Feng usually absorbed all elements during his practice. Now, absorbing only the wind element caused an imbalance in the energy distribution within the Cyclone Force.

Chen Feng completely disregarded the imbalance of the wind element, remaining rooted in place, his spirit fixed on his dantian, straining to stabilize the Cyclone Force.

More and more wind element accumulated, gradually showing signs of becoming uncontrollable. Chen Feng suddenly snapped his eyes open, roared, and leaped upward with a strong thrust, swinging his right hand diagonally upwards as his entire body coiled like a stretched bow before soaring into the air!

A pale purple tornado immediately formed in his hand, carrying immense might, rolling forward. However, lacking sustained power, this vortex only rolled two or three meters before dissipating with a "bang." The scattered wind speed remained fierce, whipping Chen Feng’s long red hair wildly, and the dust he had kicked up settled all over him.

"Hahahaha…" Chen Feng paid no mind to the dust covering him and suddenly burst into loud laughter, his eyes gleaming with triumph.

"It's Iori's Death Tornado!" Chen Feng clenched his fists: "No wonder the Cyclone Force has turned transparent. I never expected a completely transparent Cyclone Force could unleash other techniques from The King of Fighters!"

"But mastering these techniques will surely be difficult. It seems I must create them myself!" Chen Feng knew that while the transparent Cyclone Force could release moves of various attributes, comprehending a technique rooted in a single element would be far too challenging.

"I had a sudden inspiration just now upon seeing the ground vortex, which led me to comprehend this technique. Although I can't execute it perfectly yet, I believe if I persist in practicing, I will succeed!" Chen Feng thought firmly.

"Instead of absorbing the wind elements from the surroundings, I'll try directly utilizing the Cyclone Force within my body!" Chen Feng shifted his thought process, concluding this.

When executing Iori Yagami’s moves or Kyo Kusanagi’s, the Cyclone Force was entirely converted. Since the Cyclone Force could convert entirely into fire energy, why couldn't it convert into wind energy? It should also work.

With this thought, Chen Feng’s heart stirred, and his eyes shot wide open.

The Cyclone Force accelerated its rotation; he hooked both hands upward and jumped, executing the starting motion of a |(death stance.

"Hoo…" This time, contrary to his expectations, no strong gale surged forth. Instead, there was only a faint sound of rushing wind before it vanished without a trace.

"What happened? Was my previous method wrong?" Chen Feng frowned momentarily. The technique used to gather the surrounding wind elements was identical to the direction of the Cyclone Force's rotation, so why couldn't he perform it this time?

"I know, there must be a specific energy conversion method!" Chen Feng suddenly understood. The transparent Cyclone Force, formed by absorbing all elemental attributes, utilized a special energy conversion method when executing Iori's moves—a method that had been automatically comprehended upon promotion, without serious conscious effort. Thinking back now, that was indeed the case.

However, this method only worked for Iori's and Kyo's moves; it couldn't be used for the Death Tornado he had just conceived.

"It seems I won't be able to use this move until I fully grasp the conversion method for wind element power!" Chen Feng realized immediately, but he felt no frustration. The techniques of The King of Fighters were profound; it would be strange if he could master them overnight. Knowing the path forward today was already fortunate enough.

Brushing the clinging dust off his body, Chen Feng walked into the room with a look of deep satisfaction………………………………………………………………

The next morning, Chen Feng was out of his room early. After eating breakfast, he rented a carriage and headed towards the location of the magic circle.

He had considered flying, but first, he didn't know the magic circle's direction, and second, flying would be far too conspicuous. A carriage seemed better.

A day's journey wasn't long, and given Chen Feng’s cultivation level, it was nothing, but being confined to a small room for so long had made him feel somewhat stifled.

By evening, he finally reached the magic circle site. Chen Feng alighted from the carriage, paid the driver, and strode toward the circle. After paying a certain amount of gold coins, Chen Feng vanished within the array like a wisp of thin fog.

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing outside another magic circle. Chen Feng knew he had arrived in the imperial capital of the Fenlai Empire, Maya City.

Leaving the magic circle, Chen Feng moved to the side and saw a drowsy mage squatting there. He asked, "Excuse me, I have a question."

It had to be said that Chen Feng was quite polite when asking for directions.

The mage rubbed his eyes, frowned, and said, "What is it?"

Chen Feng stated, "Where is the magic circle that leads to Dragon Mountain Town from here?"

"Dragon Mountain Town?" The mage replied dismissively, "The magic circles leading to the small towns of the Empire are all gathered on the other side of Maya City, not here. You must cross all of Maya City to get there."

Crossing Maya City again. Chen Feng frowned, but then he understood. Magic circles were like train stations in his previous life; the circle he came from in the Loki Empire was the long-distance terminal, while those going to various towns were short-distance. The reason they were separated was obvious: to drive economic activity within Maya City.

People who could afford to travel between nations using large magic circles were wealthy. If the long-distance and short-distance circles were together, how could these people be drawn into the city to spend? It seemed that even in this other world, there were planning geniuses who considered all this when constructing the magic array systems.

Since he had to cross Maya City, Chen Feng did not linger and exited the magic circle hall.

Outside this magic circle, like many other places, there were numerous waiting carriages. He casually boarded one heading towards the main part of Maya City.

The concept of magic circles sounded mystical, but in reality, they were quite simple—a branch of spatial magic utilizing rare materials arranged in a specific configuration to activate the magical power contained within magic crystals, enabling teleportation. However, this transfer wasn't entirely safe; accidents were unavoidable. When numerous magical materials were piled together, a minor issue could cause an explosion, which is why magic circles were mostly built in sparsely populated areas rather than city centers.

The carriage jolted along the road for nearly an hour before finally arriving at Maya City.

By this time, the sky was darkening, the setting sun clinging precariously to the horizon. The crisp sound of hooves striking the stone streets was unusually jarring.

After moving a short distance, the carriage suddenly stopped. Ahead, there was a din of voices and a surge of people. Just as Chen Feng was about to ask the coachman what was happening, he heard shouts from both sides of the carriage:

"Hurry and see, they're fighting ahead! I heard it’s a contestant from the Kote Empire against one from the Toni Empire…"

"Ah, we have to watch that! The New Talent Competition of the Four Great Empires is in a few days; it's good to see their strength beforehand…"

The voices of the two speakers faded as they were drowned out by the general clamor.

"Kote Empire? Toni Empire?" Chen Feng muttered. These were the remaining two of the Four Great Empires. The New Talent Selection Trials held no interest for him now, so he had no intention of getting out to watch.

"Let’s take a detour; it looks like we can’t get through this way," Chen Feng told the coachman.

"Got it, sir!" the coachman replied. Just as he started to turn the carriage around, a whistling sound echoed, followed by a heavy object crashing onto the roof of the carriage!

ps: Another chapter tonight. A new volume begins, please support it!! (To be continued. For what happens next, please log on to www**com for more chapters, supporting the author and genuine reading!)