The two stood facing each other for a long time before Feliya was the first to speak.

"Alright?" Chen Feng sneered. "I'm alright, now that I've been set up by you!"

"I..." Tears slowly welled up in Feliya's bright eyes. "I... I had my reasons. I truly didn't want to do it..."

"And if I kill you now, will that also be because I had my reasons?" Chen Feng coldly scoffed, releasing an invisible killing intent that surged from him and slammed directly toward her.

Feliya, merely a Second-Rank Fighter, could not withstand the palpable, almost tangible aura of murderous intent. Her pale face turned ashen, and she staggered back several steps before collapsing onto the courtyard floor.

Chen Feng advanced slowly, his expression icy. "You had your reasons? Hah... A noble excuse. I only have one way to deal with those who betray me: death!"

Horror filled Feliya's eyes. She could not reconcile the gentle, meek Chen Feng of a year ago with the man standing before her. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and tears traced paths down her alabaster cheeks. As if gathering all her remaining courage, she squeezed her eyes shut.

"I know I wronged you. To die by your hand... I have no regrets. All my clansmen are dead, and I still have no word of my brother. I haven't wanted to live for a long time..."

Her sobbing and the two clean lines of tears marking her pale face conveyed the young woman's helplessness and sorrow. However, Chen Feng had made up his mind and would not be swayed by such displays. A ball of purple flame materialized on his fingertip, emitting palpable heat and a fierce roar in the air.

"Since you wish to die, I will grant your wish!" Chen Feng sneered, his right hand shooting out to grasp her head.

Feliya kept her eyes tightly closed, seemingly unaware that death was imminent.

Chen Feng's hand stopped less than five meters from her head. He spoke with chilling coldness, "Speak. Why did you come looking for me? Once you've told me, I'll give you a swift end!"

Chen Feng's hatred for Feliya was the most intense; it was her ingratitude that had thrown him into his desperate predicament. Though he didn't know the exact relationship between the original, foolish Chen Feng and her, the fact that the first thing he did upon waking was to defend her suggested their bond was deep.

To betray him despite such a relationship! Even if it was for her brother, even if she had a better reason!

Why should he be the victim to save her brother? It was her brother, not his! Chen Feng was no saint, nor was he a god, so he wouldn't be so magnanimous as to forgive her just because she claimed to have 'reasons.'

Yet, the girl must have had a purpose to brave his wrath and find him here. So, he paused his attack, waiting for her explanation.

"I came to tell you not to seek revenge on the Lev family, because... they have already prepared a method to deal with you; they are waiting for you to arrive," Feliya spoke rapidly.

"Hmph. Deal with me? I will make them pay the price!" Chen Feng said coldly.

"No... they already know you killed a Fifth-Rank Swordsman, so... they have set up numerous traps and magic scrolls. The moment you step in, you will certainly be killed!" Feliya's expression became frantic.

It was only natural that the Lev family would have taken precautions after he killed Locke and so many other swordsmen. But if they knew he could kill a Fourth-Rank Battle Master, the traps they laid would certainly not be simple.

A sinister glint flashed in Chen Feng's eyes, the blood rushing through him heating his veins. He asked, "Are their traps all set up?"

Feliya was momentarily confused by his question, staring at him blankly. "Set up? You shouldn't go..."

"If they aren't fully set up, going there is pointless. I want to wait until they have deployed every trap. That will be more interesting!" A wave of arrogant disdain for everything surged within Chen Feng.

The strongest member of the Lev family, Patriarch Halif, was only a Third-Rank Magus—a level that posed no threat in Chen Feng's eyes. If they relied only on innate strength without traps or mechanisms, Chen Feng feared it would be another one-sided slaughter! While slaughter was safe, it lacked the thrill of battle. A battle without the joy of fighting—what was the point?

The combative, fighting spirit of the King of Fighters, mixed with the arrogance of Iori Yagami, manifested completely in Chen Feng at this moment. In King of Fighters '96, Iori's strength far surpassed Kyo's, yet he never killed him. To force Kyo to unleash his highest potential, Iori didn't hesitate to slaughter the Kyo clan's village and capture Saisyu Kusanagi, severing his tendons to enrage Kyo, all to make Kyo stronger for a true fight.

Chen Feng's state of mind mirrored Iori's then. In his view, the Lev family was doomed to be destroyed eventually; any countermeasures they deployed were futile. It was like an ant, no matter how many sticks it raised or traps it set, it could never kill an elephant!

Feliya was shocked by Chen Feng's arrogance. "They have also invited many high-level cultivators to assist. You cannot fight them all... please stop, they are too..."

Chen Feng's eyes snapped open, and he spoke coldly, "If you came here only to tell me this, then you can die!"

Feliya never expected him to be so ruthless, completely ignoring her pleas. A look of deep disappointment crossed her fair face.

Chen Feng paid no mind to her distress, his eyes flashing with killing intent, and he swung a punch toward Feliya.

"Bang!" Suddenly, a sphere of magical light exploded before his fist. Chen Feng looked up, instantly enraged. "So, you brought backup!" With that, he stomped his feet, dodging a magical arrow, and was about to charge toward the rooftop when a startled cry echoed from inside the room!

"Damn it!" Chen Feng's heart lurched, his expression instantly shifting. He pushed off the stone platform in the courtyard, the giant slab cracking beneath his power, and shot into the room like a cannonball.

Strength, Cyclone Power, combined with Sky Dance Technique—he unleashed his maximum speed in an instant.

"Boom..." The moment Chen Feng burst into the room, the roof suddenly collapsed, and debris and dirt rushed toward him like a deluge.

"Uncle Wen..."

Chen Feng roared, swinging his right fist violently, pulverizing the incoming rubble. He pushed off the ground and shot upward like a meteor toward the roof.

"As expected of someone who can kill a Fourth-Rank Swordsman—his reaction speed is fast!" A voice filled with surprise rang out from above the roof.

Chen Feng surveyed his surroundings and saw four Fifth-Rank Maguses surrounding him in a tight circle.

"Lure the tiger away from the mountain! What have you done to Uncle Wen?" Chen Feng roared. He realized Feliya's objective had been to distract him so these people could act secretly!

Intense hatred made his whole body tremble. Uncle Wen was the most important person in his life, second only to Xiao Hu, John, and Yas. If anything happened to him, Chen Feng would deserve a thousand deaths! They must have known his deep regard for Uncle Wen to devise this diversion!

Betrayed by Feliya once more for no apparent reason, the rising anger felt like fire burning in his chest.

Far in the distance, he spotted a dark silhouette flying in the sky. Uncle Wen was lying limp in its grasp, unclear if he was unconscious or worse.

"Move aside!" Chen Feng bellowed, activating his Sky Dance Technique and immediately soaring toward the sky.

"He... he can fly? Has he reached the Battle Venerable realm?" A Magus's face changed drastically upon seeing Chen Feng ascend.

"It doesn't look like it; it must be some special Battle Skill. Stop him!" another shouted.

Chen Feng flew toward the dark figure ahead. Before he had gone ten meters, he felt a tightening sensation, as if plunging into a swamp, unable to move forward an inch. After struggling twice, he felt all his strength vanish, as if he were submerged in water and unable to exert any force.

"Hmph. This is the Binding Spell we cast simultaneously. Although it's only a Fourth-Rank spell, its effect is comparable to an ordinary Fifth-Rank spell. Even a Sixth-Rank Battle Master would struggle to break free in under ten minutes. I suggest you stop wasting your energy!" A blue-robed Magus said with a smile, observing the restrained Chen Feng suspended in mid-air.

"This kid runs fast. Good thing we cast the Binding Spell together; otherwise, he really might have gotten away!" A grey-robed Magus sighed in relief.

"I thought catching him would be hard, but he's just a young brat. It seems beneath us to send so many people for him," the blue-robed Magus remarked.

"Indeed..." another Magus agreed.

"Alright, stop struggling and come with us obediently, or I'll use a Wind Blade to end you right here!" The grey-robed Magus shouted loudly as he saw Chen Feng trying to break free of the restraint in the air.

"Hoo..."

Chen Feng took a deep breath, completely ignoring the Maguses. Watching the figure carrying Uncle Wen drift farther away, his eyes widened with rage. Intense hatred and fury burned fiercely from his Dantian, and a massive surge of power erupted from his meridians like an explosion, bursting out of his body! Simultaneously, his muscles seemed to swell, unleashing an incomparably powerful force from beneath his skin.

"Open!" he roared. A circle of purple flame ignited around his body. This flame was almost tangible, burning hotter and brighter. With a "Boom!" a scorching shockwave erupted in all directions, and the Binding Spell instantly shattered like brittle glass under the impact, disintegrating into dust.

Freed from the restraint, Chen Feng did not hesitate for a second, flying immediately in the direction Uncle Wen was taken.

"How... how is this possible? How could he break free so quickly!"

The four Fifth-Rank Maguses were stunned speechless when Chen Feng broke the spell, their minds momentarily blank. In that split second of distraction, Chen Feng was already gone, a streak of lightning soaring into the distance.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" the blue-robed Mage shrieked, pointing wildly at the receding Chen Feng like a madman. "Chase him!"