"Sir. The mountain ahead is the legendary Dragon Soaring and Phoenix Dancing." Milo pointed at the peak. "I've seen it once. When it erupts, the sky forms a dragon and a phoenix winding around each other, soaring and dancing. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. We have about an hour until the eruption. We should hurry."

"How about we just fly straight there?" Xiaohu interjected.

"Let's climb slowly. The fun of the mountain lies in the walking. Flying straight up would be quite dull," Chen Feng stated.

"Alright then." Xiaohu considered it and found his reasoning sound.

"Hmm? It seems some people truly don't know what's good for them." Just then, Chen Feng let out a cold laugh. As his laughter faded, several servants blocked the group's path.

"You lot, stop right there. Our young master wishes to have a private conversation with this lady. The rest of you, get out of the way quickly," the servant spoke with the arrogance born of long-held impunity, his tone rough and unreasonable.

"Insolence! Do you even know who I am?" Milo was naturally arrogant and domineering. Since Chen Feng always acted so well-behaved in front of him, he could no longer tolerate such blatant rudeness. He burst out with a shout.

"Who do you think you are? Hurry up and move aside! It's the good fortune earned from her past lives that our young master has taken an interest in her. If you dare obstruct us again, watch out or I'll cripple you!" Before the servant could finish speaking, he felt a sudden chill on his face, followed by intense pain, and he couldn't help but cry out.

Ling Feng stood before them, her expression ice-cold, her eyes filled with fury.

"Ah!" The servant suddenly realized something and let out a shriek like a slaughtered pig: "My ear!" Unbeknownst to him, Ling Feng had sliced off his ear.

Luo and the others witnessed Ling Feng strike for the first time. They were startled by the speed and grace of her movement and looked at Chen Feng with even greater surprise. It was one thing for him to be monstrously powerful himself, but how could the girl beside him also be so formidable?

Ling Feng appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen, yet when she fought, her ruthless efficiency surpassed even that of grizzled mercenaries in their forties or fifties.

Chen Feng stepped forward, staring at the dumbfounded group of servants, and let out a sharp command: "Scram."

The sound exploded like muffled thunder, making their minds reel. They nearly fled, scrambling and crawling.

"You held back too much. If it had been me, they probably wouldn't be able to stand up now," Chen Feng said calmly, glancing at Ling Feng.

Milo and the others felt their expressions twitch upon hearing this; they almost fainted. They had thought the girl was violent enough, but apparently, he was even more brutal.

Luo secretly rejoiced that he had heeded his elder sister’s advice, otherwise, he might still be lying in a sickbed now. Thinking of this, his reverence for Chen Feng deepened even further.

.....................................

"Young Master, I..." the servant cried out, clutching his ear.

"I told you to just pull one person over, and you managed to be so useless! Didn't you even try to state my name?" the young man roared, completely ignoring the severity of the servant's injury. In his eyes, servants were no different from animals.

"I... I didn't mention the Young Master's name; if I had, they would have become even angrier! That's when he sliced off my ear," the servant embellished, adding fuel to the fire.

"Damn it! Did they grow ambition and leopard guts? How dare they harm someone connected to me?" the young man raged. "If I don't show anger, they think I'm easy to bully. Let's go, you two. We're going to teach them a lesson."

"Yes." The two men in black standing behind him nodded. Their bearing and demeanor clearly indicated that both were masters.

Just then, a calm voice broke the tension: "No need to go. We're here."

The young man and the two men in black jumped in fright, quickly turning around, only to see that the three of them had silently appeared behind them at some point.

The pupils of the two men in black contracted simultaneously. Although they couldn't discern the exact cultivation levels of the opponents, they were certain that the three standing before them were stronger than either of them.

"Hmph. Coming over themselves saves me the trouble of finding you. Alright, little beauty, you come with me. You two can go play by yourselves," the young man said casually, pointing dismissively. Halfway through his sentence, he noticed the look of disdain in Chen Feng's eyes and roared, "What? You're reluctant? Do you know how many girls in the Imperial Capital are lying in bed waiting for me? Don't mistake courtesy for weakness."

Slap.

The young man's words were cut short as he felt a sharp blow to his face, as if struck by a sledgehammer. He flew backward and landed heavily on the ground. He realized the one who struck him was Xiaohu.

"How dare you harm our Young Master!" the two men in black roared simultaneously and rushed forward. Xiaohu, with his peak Saint Domain strength, was a formidable fighter even without magic. He kicked one down after the other, sending them sprawling. "Sister Ling Feng is my Boss's wife! How dare you even have ideas about her? You clearly don't want to live anymore," Xiaohu said angrily to the young man, who was close to passing out.

Chen Feng and Ling Feng felt a touch of helplessness at Xiaohu’s somewhat awkward address.

Crack.

Xiaohu broke one of the young man's ribs with a kick. "This is a lesson for you, otherwise..." At that moment, the young man suddenly gave a strange laugh and brought out a cylindrical object he had somehow acquired. He pressed a button lightly, and a mist sprayed toward Xiaohu, who was still ranting.

"Be careful!" Chen Feng roared, lunging forward and unleashing a heavy palm strike. The immense gust of wind blew the mist away while simultaneously smashing the young man on the ground into a pulp.

"What's wrong, Boss?" Xiaohu asked.

"I'm not sure," Chen Feng replied, staring at the mist and dust scattered on the ground with confusion.

"This stuff isn't poisonous. Even if it were, it would be useless against us," Xiaohu stated.

A Saint Domain expert's physical body has reached an extremely high level, making them basically immune to most poisons, so they had no fear of being poisoned. Furthermore, any strong practitioner could discern the nature of the dust cloud facing them with a mere sweep of their spiritual energy—it was harmless. If it wasn't poisonous, why would this young man spray it at Xiaohu?

"He doesn't know our cultivation level. He thought this kind of thing would affect us, so he treated it as his ultimate trump card," Ling Feng interjected.

This seemed the most logical explanation. Chen Feng pondered for a moment but couldn't figure it out. He cautiously collected some of the dust scattered on the ground, intending to send it to Old Yan in the [Sweep the Horizon] legion for research. A complete fool of a young master randomly coming to harass them and then deploying useless mist—no matter how he looked at it, the incident felt strange.

"Do you know him?" Chen Feng turned to ask the Ninth Prince, Anthony, who was approaching.

"He is the only son of the Empire's Deputy Commander. He's been spoiled since childhood and thinks everyone is afraid of him. He has quite a reputation in the Imperial Capital," Anthony replied.

"Hmm? Why would he appear here?" Chen Feng surveyed the surroundings, then let out a cold laugh. "So that's how it is." He turned to Milo and said, "You found quite the spot."

Milo thought this was praise and nodded eagerly. "Yes, this place is quite good. The scenery is beautiful." As he spoke, he sensed the atmosphere shift and saw Anthony’s face turn pale. Anthony actually knelt on the ground. "Sir, my father, the Emperor, has already sent troops to surround Mount Qiansui. Seeing me with you, he must know my true intentions. He wants to kill me now. Only you can save me."

Chen Feng looked at his frightened appearance and sneered, "Are you saying these people weren't brought by you?"

"Me? Sir, please see clearly! How could it be me? I am plotting with you. If I brought them, wouldn't I be courting death?"

"I hope it wasn't you. Otherwise, you will die a terrible death," Chen Feng exhaled slowly. "Since they have made their move, I absolutely will not show mercy. Tell me quickly where John Yasbroot and the other two are being held."

"They..." Anthony hesitated before finishing his sentence when a booming voice sounded.

"I heard that esteemed friend John Yasbroot speaks highly of Lord Eight Gods' profound cultivation. I await the honor of a challenge at the mountaintop."

Although the voice carried no malice, it held infinite majesty. Its power spread vast and sweeping, like a spring breeze drifting across the land.

"Saint Domain?" Chen Feng discerned the opponent's strength from the voice alone, his brow furrowing slightly. "Could it be that demon from Tianfeng Academy? Probably not. Based on Warren and the others' descriptions, he shouldn't be very old, yet this voice sounds quite aged."

To project a voice without any discernible loss of clarity from thousands of meters up a mountain required a cultivation base that had certainly reached the Saint Domain. However, whether it was early-stage or peak Saint Domain was difficult to judge.

"Indeed. However, I am an elder and prefer not to bully the young. To avoid conflict, I ask that you agree to one condition," the voice continued. "Do not fly up the mountain; climb up step by step. I will set up three checkpoints along the way. If you can break through them to reach the top, this old man will fight you. Regardless of the outcome, I will send your friends home safely. Of course, if you choose not to challenge the gates, I regret to say, I cannot guarantee the safety of your friends."

"Are you threatening me?" Chen Feng's fists clenched, the light in his eyes flickering uncertainly.

"Heh heh. This is not a threat. Your cultivation is profound, and there are many innocents on the mountain now. We are simply afraid that your actions might harm the innocent, so we must adopt some special measures."

"Hahaha." Upon hearing this, Chen Feng suddenly roared with laughter, his voice echoing across the entire mountain: "Afraid I'll harm the innocents? Good. Good. I detest threats and blackmail the most. I will ascend the mountain right now! If they suffer even a single strand of harm, I will not hesitate to turn the entire Luoqi Empire upside down. I will ensure that the remaining five million troops of your alliance are buried with them. Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I will kill you."

His words were utterly devoid of emotion, coldness laced with a touch of arrogance. While not excessively dramatic, anyone who heard it felt a chill run down their spine, an infinite coldness settling in their hearts. There was an overwhelming sense that if this youth could say such things, he was certainly capable of carrying them out.