Jacob quickened his pace, walking faster and faster until he reached the dead end of the alley in the blink of an eye.

"Where did he go?" Jacob, seeing it was a cul-de-sac, showed a look of utter surprise. "Did he discover me following him? How is that possible? I'm a Third-Rank Battle Master. I kept my distance. If he could detect me, he’d need the ability of at least an Advanced Battle Master."

"The ability of an Advanced Battle Master?" Jacob shook his head, refusing to believe it.

Just as confusion clouded his mind, a cold voice sliced through the silence behind him: "Why were you following me?"

Jacob spun around hastily, confronting Chen Feng’s dagger-like gaze. His face instantly contorted into an ugly mask.

"You... When did you get behind me?"

If the other party genuinely intended to kill him, he would already be dead, given how silently he had appeared at his back.

"What is wrong with me? How can I be so thoroughly frightened by a mere youth!" Jacob stifled the panic surging within him. He mustered some courage and declared, "I am a teacher at Tianfeng Academy. You just injured my student; naturally, I must follow to discipline you!"

"Discipline me?" Chen Feng let out a cold laugh. "Then fight me!"

"Fight..." Jacob hadn't expected such a direct response. He froze. His threat to discipline the boy was just lip service; he hadn't anticipated the young man would actually take him up on it. A wave of faintness washed over him, but he forced himself to maintain composure. "As a teacher, I cannot strike first. You attack first. I'll even let you have ten moves... No, wait, three moves!"

He had originally intended to offer ten moves. But remembering how the youth had materialized silently behind him, he immediately corrected himself. Even if the boy possessed exceptional talent, he was young. His cultivation couldn't possibly surpass a Third-Rank Battle Master like himself. If he graciously allowed the youth three moves, he could then teach him a lesson, all while offering some diplomatic words. This would preserve his dignity as a teacher and reclaim the face lost when his student was beaten earlier. If he attacked immediately, even if he injured the boy, it would still earn him the reputation of bullying the young and weak.

"Three moves?" Chen Feng’s lips curled into an incredulous smile. "There really are people this foolish!"

Allowing an opponent three free moves was the height of arrogance or the pinnacle of showing off. No one undertook such a thankless task. In battle, every second counts; a single move could secure the advantage, or even seal someone's death. Three moves were unthinkable!

Throughout his combat experience, Chen Feng always fought with everything he had, regardless of his opponent's cultivation level or age. This was the primary reason he never held back his strength. Combat was life or death—live or die. To survive, one must exert their utmost effort!

"May we begin?" Chen Feng asked after his smile faded.

"You may..."

Before Jacob could finish speaking, an overwhelmingly large fist filled his vision. The next moment, his sight went black, and consciousness fled his mind.

Chen Feng clapped his hands, looking down at the unconscious Jacob sprawled on the ground, and sighed. "Too weak. Just like academy trainees—they’re told to fight, and they let themselves be ambushed without any defense..."

Just as he was about to leave, a spark ignited in his mind, bringing a bold idea into existence.

………………………………………………………………………………

Jacob slowly came to, blinking open his eyes only to see the red-haired youth standing over him, which instantly drained the color from his face. "You... You ambushed me!"

The exclamation was weak, lacking conviction, because even as he spoke, he knew the truth: judging by the speed of the red-haired youth's punch before he lost consciousness, even in a fair fight, he would have been no match for him.

"In combat, there is no ambush or fairness, only victory and defeat!" Chen Feng stated, his eyes locked on Jacob’s without blinking.

This conclusion was new to Jacob, and a chill crept into his heart. In this deserted alley, if this youth killed him, who would ever know if it was a fair fight or a sneak attack?

As this thought surfaced, he suddenly felt something profoundly wrong. His face darkened dreadfully, and he asked, his voice trembling, "What... What did you do to me?"

Chen Feng sneered. A ball of purple flame materialized at the tip of his right index finger. The flame writhed in his hand as if alive, growing and shrinking rhythmically. Suddenly, he clenched his fist sharply, trapping the fire within his palm.

"Ah..." At that exact moment, Jacob felt several streams of fire coursing through his meridians. The intense pain was so agonizing it nearly drove him mad.

"You... you... what... did... you... do... inside... my... body!"

"Nothing much," Chen Feng replied blandly. He opened his hand, allowing the flame to dance on his fingertip once more, staring at the tiny blaze with a slight smile. "Just making sure you behave."

As Chen Feng brought the flame back to his finger, the burning sensation inside Jacob instantly vanished. In less than ten seconds, he had experienced the transition from near-death back to life, and then felt the threat of death again—a torment so profound that he swore he would never endure it again.

"What do you want me to do?" Jacob understood his precarious situation; his very life was in the youth's hands. He abandoned his teacher's pretense and, stripped of it, decided to be blunt. "If it's too difficult, you might as well kill me."

"Are there any Dou Zun level experts in the Academy?" Chen Feng inquired.

"Tianfeng Academy, as the continent's foremost institution, how could it possibly lack Dou Zun level masters?" Jacob asked, startled by the youth's straightforward question.

"How many, and what are their ranks?" Chen Feng pressed.

Jacob glanced at Chen Feng, inwardly puzzled that the youth was asking about matters known to everyone on the continent. Nevertheless, he dared not show his confusion, as his life hung by a thread. "Tianfeng Academy has a total of 12 Dou Zuns and 17 Magic Masters. Among them, seven Dou Zuns are Rank Five or above, and eleven Magic Masters are Rank Five or above!"

Hearing about Tianfeng Academy’s faculty strength, Chen Feng drew a sharp breath. The entire Luoqi Empire possessed only four Dou Zun-level powerhouses. Here, a single academy boasted twenty-nine. No wonder Tianfeng Academy was a supremely independent entity that even the Four Great Empires dared not offend. Having the opportunity to interact with so many Dou Zun-level powerhouses within the academy would undoubtedly aid his rapid advancement.

This solidified his resolve to enter Tianfeng Academy.

Chen Feng then asked for the names, identities, and exact ranks of these Dou Zun experts, committing each detail to memory.

Finally, he asked, "How do I get to Tianfeng Academy?"

"..." Jacob.

Once he had gathered all the necessary information, Chen Feng turned to leave. But the thought of the fire-like agony inside him made Jacob call out urgently, "What about that thing... on me?"

Chen Feng said, "Continue being a teacher at Tianfeng Academy. I will seek you out if I need anything. If you behave well, I might consider removing the fire poison from your system. But don't get any other ideas; only I can neutralize this fire poison. Even the most skilled Light Element Mage would be useless!"

With that, Chen Feng ignored him further, walking faster and faster until he vanished into the alleyway.

Chen Feng was quite confident in his control over the flame. Even when he first comprehended Araging Bite, he could inflict flame damage that Gubo couldn't resolve for an entire year. Now, having reached the Ninth-Rank Battle Master level, his control was even tighter. Using this flame damage, he could control the man—that was the sudden realization that flashed through his mind. Controlling a teacher before even entering the academy to act as an underling would make moving around within the school much easier without exposing his true cultivation.

As for whether Jacob would reveal the embarrassing secret of being defeated by a mere Third-Rank Battle Master, Chen Feng worried even less. Being beaten by a teenager? Jacob wouldn't dare expose such shame even if given ten times the courage.

Exiting the alley, Chen Feng followed the directions Jacob had given, though there was no rush. The Tianfeng Academy enrollment registration was still three months away, and arriving too early would serve no real purpose. Chen Feng avoided the main roads to prevent another encounter with Jacob or Warren, opting instead for smaller paths.

In reality, he wasn't far from Tianfeng Academy. If he truly wished to rush, he could reach it in half a day using his Wu Kong Shu (Sky-Dancing Art). Since speed wasn't essential, he traveled on foot.

He had changed into neat, plain warrior attire, having discarded the magic robe. He had considered finding the cool outfit worn by Yashin, but he couldn't locate anything like it here, and having one custom-made seemed like too much trouble, so he gave up on the idea.

He walked continuously for three days, observing the local customs and life without attracting unnecessary trouble. However, to guard against unforeseen circumstances, Chen Feng transformed the Dark Gold Iron into armor and wore it beneath his clothes, effectively suppressing his cultivation fluctuations to around the Seventh-Rank Battle Warrior level. Even if someone saw him now, they would only assume he was a Seventh-Rank Battle Warrior, never suspecting he was already a master Ninth-Rank Battle Master.

Furthermore, Chen Feng had dedicated considerable effort over the past two years in Longtu Mountain to mastering concealment. His body's control over energy had reached an extremely high level. Even now, clad in Dark Gold Iron, if he walked past a Ninth-Rank Dou Zun, the expert probably wouldn't detect his concealed aura. Preserving strength judiciously was, in Chen Feng's view, the best way to survive in this world, so he followed this principle as a matter of course.

For these three days, Chen Feng had been contemplating how to merge his cultivation with nature. Only by blending with nature could he sense the existence of a Domain and unleash its power. While he had made no discernible progress, Chen Feng remained unhurried. After such a long period without a breakthrough, he would be surprised if he managed to comprehend it in these three days.

Not far ahead, another mountain range appeared. Tianfeng Town, where Tianfeng Academy was located, lay on the other side of the peaks. Seeing that the day was still young, Chen Feng avoided the main road and entered the mountains alone.

He walked deep into the range for a day, killing more than a dozen reckless demonic beasts. As the sun began to set, casting rays of blood-red light obliquely through the forest canopy onto his face, he reached the heart of the mountains.

"Same as usual, find a large tree and carve out a hole to sleep in," Chen Feng muttered, about to act, when a roar from a fierce beast and the sharp reprimand of a young girl echoed from the distance.

ps: I originally intended to write more, but my readers are pressing me hard, and I don't want everyone waiting until past midnight every day, so I'm posting this now. Three chapters amounting to over ten thousand characters—there will be nothing more tonight, please bear with me...

Also, after seven months of plotting, the female lead will finally meet everyone in the next chapter. Look forward to it... hehe.. (To be continued. For future events, please log in to wwwiddiancomm for more chapters and to support the author and genuine reading!) First published