Although the technique was a mid-tier Earth Rank Dou Skill, its power, wielded by the brocade-robed man, was vastly different from when a Dou Zun employed it.

A disc of brilliant light flashed, and the air seemed to be instantly torn asunder, slicing open a space rift as dark as ink. Upon seeing this rift, everyone felt a tremor of fear and a profound sense of helplessness deep in their hearts.

The rift, like a man-devouring demon, continuously expanded and surged forward, cleaving directly toward the purplish-red domain of the man ahead!

"Boom..."

A blinding white light flashed, causing everyone nearby to suffer temporary deafness in that instant.

"If that's all the power you have, I’m leaving!" a mocking voice echoed from the center of the white light, seemingly unconcerned by such an attack.

Hearing these words, the crowd felt as if they had been slapped twice across the face, their expressions instantly turning ugly.

"You..." The brocade-robed middle-aged man trembled with rage.

The preceding Earth Rank mid-tier Dou Skill had nearly exhausted his strongest power, and coupled with Chen Feng's mockery, the sudden surge of anger caused a wave of dizziness to wash over his mind.

As the light slowly dissipated, those present slowly opened their eyes. When they looked ahead, the sky above was utterly empty—the man was gone!

"Where is he..." A wave of clamor rose.

"He's in the seawater. Chase him down..." the brocade-robed man roared. His vision abruptly darkened, and his body swayed twice in mid-air, nearly causing him to fall.

"Chase..." A loud shout echoed, and everyone plunged downward.

In an instant, the water surface churned wildly.

In the water, the range over which spiritual perception could be projected was much shorter than on land. The seabed was pitch black. Although many people dove down, finding Chen Feng, who had entered the water some time ago, was certainly no easy task.

To be fair to the brocade-robed middle-aged man, he was utterly wronged. He was an arrogant man who had finally managed to seize the Xuantian Illustrated Codex. The meticulously planned scheme he had set in motion was exploited by someone else... resulting in another reaping the reward!

If the perpetrator had been that old eccentric Qing Xuan or Feng Ye, it would have been one thing. But it was a mere twenty-year-old boy at the Second-level Dou Zun rank... How could such a proud man accept this turn of events...

"Report, My Lord..."

A subordinate flew up behind the brocade-robed middle-aged man.

"What is it?"

"My Lord... all the antiques in your chambers are gone. It looks like they were stolen all at once using a spatial accessory..."

"Ptooey..." The brocade-robed middle-aged man spat out a mouthful of blood and immediately fainted...

This was the accumulation of his life's work over several hundred years as a Lord!

……………………………………………………………………………

While everyone was searching for Chen Feng at the bottom of the sea, he was actually moving upstream against the current along a river channel on the small island, having returned to land.

Using his own strength, he dug a spot in the silt beneath the small river, placed the "Divine Palace of Light" inside, and then immediately burrowed into the Divine Palace.

As the saying went, the most dangerous place is the safest place. Who would have thought he would still be on the small island?

Entering the "Divine Palace of Light," Chen Feng saw Ling Feng standing motionless, staring blankly.

Ignoring her stunned state, Chen Feng began taking out the spoils of war he had collected from the waterskin, piece by piece, arranging them in the room.

This time the haul was quite rich, completely filling the previously empty room.

"Where did you get all these things?" Ling Feng frowned tightly. "These items are all extremely rare."

With her discerning eye, she could naturally recognize the extraordinary nature of these objects. However, given her naturally calm disposition, although she found it strange, she didn't press the issue further.

Chen Feng did not answer her. After arranging everything, he nodded in satisfaction. With a flip of his wrist, the scroll he had taken from the Falcon Beast immediately appeared in his hand.

Upon seeing this scroll, he felt an intense sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

But before he could recall where, he heard Ling Feng gasp, "The Xuantian Illustrated Codex... You really stole it back?"

"This is the Xuantian Illustrated Codex?" Although Chen Feng had already guessed it, hearing Ling Feng confirm it still caused an uncontrollable surge of ecstasy in his heart.

Ling Feng nodded. "This is the Xuantian Illustrated Codex... May I take a look at it?"

Chen Feng handed it over.

Ling Feng slowly opened the codex, saying softly, "Ancestor Fire Phoenix left an imprint on this drawing..."

Before she could finish speaking, she saw Chen Feng frozen in place, an expression of utter disbelief on his face.

Seeing his expression, Ling Feng was not surprised at all. "The first time I saw this codex, I was much like you—absolutely stunned by the images on it..." But before she could finish, she saw Chen Feng flip his wrist and take out an identical scroll from the waterskin.

The scroll Chen Feng held was the landscape painting he had seized from Douglas, bearing the signature of Senior Flame Dragon.

Ling Feng looked at the codex in her hand and then at the one in Chen Feng's hand, her beautiful eyes shining with unbelievable light. "Others spend immense effort and cannot obtain even one, yet you possess two..."

It was no wonder she was emotional. The ancestors of the Phoenix Domain searched for nearly a thousand years before finding the whereabouts of this codex, and Chen Feng acquired two without even knowing what they were. Luck, sometimes, was truly enviable.

Why this painting ended up in Douglas's hands, and why the three major powers of the Overseas Continent didn't try to seize it, was impossible to ascertain now. But it had to be said that there would always be people blessed with extraordinary luck. Douglas's accidental acquisition and subsequent three-hundred-year concealment of the codex spoke to his good fortune, but meeting Chen Feng and dying was simply meeting his end.

Placing the two scrolls side by side for comparison, Chen Feng found no difference; both bore the inscription left by the Flame Dragon.

"These two scrolls are exactly the same. How can we distinguish which one was passed down by your Fire Phoenix ancestor?" Chen Feng asked doubtfully.

Ling Feng replied, "By stimulating the imprint left on it with the blood of the Fire Phoenix clan!" Saying so, she cut her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto a corner of the scroll.

"Hoo..." A plume of deep purple light immediately rose from the scroll. This light illuminated the air and instantly formed a line of text the size of a fingernail.

Chen Feng nearly fainted from excitement upon seeing these characters—they were written entirely in the Chinese script of his previous life!

"These are encrypted symbols, designed by the Flame Dragon Divine Beast, who was a divine beast alongside my ancestor, the Fire Phoenix. I have learned some of them," Ling Feng explained, assuming Chen Feng didn't recognize them because he was staring blankly.

"Chinese characters described as encrypted symbols? That’s... too much nonsense!"

But thinking about it, in this world, no one recognized Hanzi; calling them encrypted symbols wasn't entirely wrong.

"Xuan... Tian... Hall... Unity... Can Enter... Purgatory..."

Ling Feng stuttered, failing to recognize many characters. Her pronunciation was also very strange, resembling a dialect from a foreign land.

After reading a while without understanding the meaning, she turned to Chen Feng with an apologetic smile. "We inherited very little of this kind back then, so I cannot decipher these encrypted symbols either." Seeing Chen Feng silent, she added, "Don't worry about it. These are just some words of advice left by our ancestors. Even without reading them, we just need to be more cautious when we enter the Xuantian Demon Hall!"

Ling Feng tried to comfort Chen Feng, completely unaware that the latter had already finished reading all the Chinese characters that appeared.

"The Xuantian Demon Hall requires the unity of Nine Scrolls for entry. Inside, it is divided into seven levels of purgatory, controlled by seven ranks: Undead Soldier, Undead Guard, Undead Commander, Undead Captain, Undead General, Undead Marshal, and Undead Emperor. These are further divided into seven sections: Mountains and Rivers, Lakes and Seas, Ice Fields, Volcanoes, Prison Cells, Solitary Peak, and Heaven's Realm. To obtain the Godhead, one must ascend the Solitary Peak."

"Also, remember: Fire is not fire, water is not water, a flower in a mirror, the moon in the water. When the real is made false, the false also becomes real. Where there is nothing, something appears; where there is something, it vanishes. In times of peril, use the Codex!"

These words were neither entirely profound nor elegant; their coarseness mixed with refinement truly matched the unrestrained nature of the old Flame Dragon.

"This old Flame Dragon actually throws in Zen riddles. What is this 'fire is not fire, water is not water, a flower in a mirror, the moon in the water'? Why couldn't he just say it clearly?" Chen Feng grumbled inwardly.

He dripped two drops of blood onto the scroll in his hand. A ray of light shot out, revealing a line of identical characters.

It seemed the Flame Dragon Senior had used Hanzi for encryption, and later, the Fire Phoenix clan members had been taught to study them. It went without saying that the Dragon race must have learned these things.

However, this scroll didn't contain any earth-shattering secrets, nor did it directly state the location where the Godhead was buried. What was the Flame Dragon trying to achieve by creating this thing?

Putting the codex away, Chen Feng stopped thinking about the matter. Seeing Ling Feng still deep in thought, he decided not to explain it to her. After all, only the Dragon and Phoenix clans had learned this "encrypted script." He hadn't visited the Dragon race yet, and if she discovered he could read the characters, it would be hard to explain.

He slipped out of the "Divine Palace of Light," caught two live fish in the river, and brought them back.

"Clean these up and eat something. We will likely be staying here for quite some time," Chen Feng said, tossing the fish onto the ground.

He was correct; the surrounding sea area must be heavily blockaded now. The moment he surfaced, he would surely be spotted and pursued. Hiding in the river silt offered relative safety; even with powerful spiritual perception, it would be difficult for the enemy to probe dozens of meters deep into the river mud.

Furthermore, even if they detected the "Divine Palace of Light," it didn't matter. No one knew what the Divine Palace of Light was forged from, and spiritual perception could not penetrate it. Only Chen Feng, as its master, could perceive the outside world from within.

Ling Feng didn't know what Chen Feng had done outside, but based on his ability to retrieve the Xuantian Illustrated Codex, she could guess that the outside world was in utter chaos. Therefore, she didn't dispute his words, picked up the two fish, and began preparing them.

Ling Feng’s cooking skills were indeed good. Even without seasoning, the two fish were cooked crispy and delicious, earning continuous praise from Chen Feng.

After eating, Chen Feng found a room and retreated inside. What he needed to do now was consolidate his cultivation; he hadn't truly cultivated properly since reaching the Dou Zun rank.

During his two years of training in Dragon Diagram Mountain, he had gradually figured out the direction for his future cultivation. While mastering the techniques of the Fist Kings was powerful, due to attribute conflicts, many techniques were difficult to employ smoothly and naturally.

It was like using Kusanagi Kyo's Raikouken, which released energy in the form of an electromagnetic wave. But if he immediately followed that with Iori Yagami's Oni Yaki, there would be a 0.5-second cooldown period. This 0.5-second buffer could easily lead to his death several times over!

Now that his cultivation had reached the Dou Zun level, it was time to start comprehending combination skills. Executing a single person's combo was manageable, but relying only on one's own skills in special circumstances was too precarious.

Although the adage goes that mastery of one skill surpasses a hundred disparate ones, if utilized well, the effect of a hundred skills could unleash far greater power.

For instance, in a sea battle, using the moves of Kyo and Iori was possible, but due to the conflict between water and fire, the effect would be significantly reduced. However, employing the electrical attribute punches of Ralf or Clark could yield unexpected results.

Moreover...

What he most wanted to cultivate was the Super Combo Chain!

Super Combo Chain was a name Chen Feng coined himself. His initial idea was to merge the moves of the various KOF characters to create a powerful continuous chain.

Using an example again: after striking the opponent with Orochi's final move, connecting it with Benimaru Nikaido's Benishou Tou, then slamming the opponent down for Clark's Rolling Thunder, followed by Ryuuko Ranbu... That was the meaning behind the Super Combo Chain.

The initial concept for the Super Combo Chain was to link the ultimate moves of these famous KOF characters together to form the most powerful possible sequence!

If these moves could produce synergistic effects, their power would undoubtedly be unparalleled, perhaps even surpassing that of the Black Particle technique.

The Black Particle technique consumed all internal Domain Force after two uses, whereas, theoretically, the Super Combo Chain could be executed more than ten times in his current state!

Standing quietly in the room, Chen Feng clenched his fists. The Domain Force within him circulated ceaselessly.

"Zzzzt..."

Raikouken!

"Hoo..."

Ryuuko Ranbu!

"Bang..."

Benishou Tou!

"Grrr..."

Orochi!

...

One after another, the super moves were unleashed under his control. Having reached the Dou Zun realm, he could continuously release hundreds of these super moves, controlling them within just 1% of his absolute domain, without feeling fatigued. Thus, Chen Feng spared no effort in executing them.

"No... this isn't right either!" He analyzed as he moved.

"The transition between Benishou Tou and Orochi needs refinement in the initial stance. Hmm, this effect isn't optimal..."

In the first few days, while he could rapidly execute these major moves, there were unavoidable pauses in between, giving the opponent room to recover. In a real fight, this time delay would allow the opponent to react, escape, or launch a counterattack with their own Dou Skills.

This negated the very purpose of a combo chain.

Fifteen days later, Chen Feng finally found some headway, managing to smoothly link Benishou Tou and Orochi into a combination.

During these days, Chen Feng was completely immersed in his cultivation state; his daily life was almost entirely managed by Ling Feng. The spatial artifact on Ling Feng contained some preserved food, enough to sustain them both.

Of course, Ling Feng was also cultivating constantly. Her current strength was that of a Seventh-level Dou Zun. Her previous victory over Xia Liubinqing, the headmaster of Tianfeng Academy, relied entirely on the powerful Dou Skill Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens!

The cultivation method she practiced was Nirvana Rebirth. The best way for her to advance was to continuously refine the flames within her body by incinerating herself within the flames.

Her flames were entirely different from Chen Feng's. Chen Feng's flame represented destruction, while Ling Feng's represented new life.

Thus, their flames possessed a somewhat antagonistic relationship. Perhaps it was this clashing stimulus that helped consolidate Ling Feng's cultivation in the first place.

One month later, Chen Feng had successfully linked three super moves of different attributes.

After three months, Chen Feng could smoothly connect four super moves.

"Heh..."

Chen Feng stood in the center of the room, bare-chested, his muscles glistening under a coating of sweat. As he let out a low roar, his entire musculature began to ripple instantly, masses bulging like swelling grave mounds, veins and tendons standing out, filled with palpable power.

"Bang..."

A flash of light shot from his raised hands, and he instantly darted forward like a phantom, covering three or four meters. His two hands shot out like illusions—it was the Benishou Tou. Before Benishou Tou was even finished, his right hand abruptly thrust forward, and a spinning spark appeared in his palm, instantly stabbing forward!

"Puchi..." The spark exploded outward in a cluster.

"Sayonara" (Japanese, Goodbye~)

This move was exactly Leona Heidern's spinning spark! (The move that is inserted directly into the opponent's stomach and then explodes... Old Ya used to colloquially call it 'Inserting a Detonator' when playing...)

As the spark exploded, his left hand moved up, and his right hand thrust out the Orochi!

Before the Orochi attack subsided, Ryo Sakazaki's Ryuuko Ranbu was unleashed simultaneously...

In less than five seconds, he had linked four combo moves!

And every single move was the signature ultimate technique of a specific KOF character.

"Hoo..."

Chen Feng stood still, wiping the sweat from his face, a surge of pride rising in his heart. "Finally successful. I didn't expect practicing the Super Combo Chain to be so mentally taxing, but it was worth it. With my current Second-level Dou Zun strength, if I deploy my Domain and first attack the opponent's spirit with Killing Intent, then unleash this Super Combo Chain, I believe even a Seventh-level Dou Zun fighting head-on won't be my match. If I act fast enough, killing an Eighth-level Dou Zun might even be possible!"

For a Second-level Dou Zun to challenge an Eighth-level Dou Zun showed just how powerful this Super Combo Chain was!

Three months ago, without using the Black Particle technique, Chen Feng could probably only kill someone at the strength of a Sixth-level Dou Zun in a frontal clash, and only if the opponent lacked mid-tier Earth Rank Dou Skills!

Now, he could kill a powerhouse at the Seventh-level Dou Zun strength face-to-face, even if they possessed Dou Skills and techniques below mid-tier Earth Rank!

"Alright, great success. I can finally leave this place," Chen Feng muttered to himself, casually retrieving clothes from the waterskin, putting them on, and walking out of the room.

PS: I went out today, sorry for the late update, but it’s still twelve thousand characters...

Also, tomorrow morning's update will be delayed, and I probably won't hit twelve thousand characters tomorrow because I have other things to attend to... sweat... (To be continued. To know what happens next, please log in to www**, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) First published