Chapter 7: Black Wind Ridge
Lin Feng arrived at an open area, a chill settling in his heart. This was a world where the strong ruled, where human life was as insignificant as weeds, where killing was as simple as speaking, as long as you had the strength.
He had only accidentally entered the One-Line Sky, and had merely glanced before turning his back, yet Liu Fei wanted to kill him, even though they were disciples of the same sect.
"The arrow martial soul can track and kill enemies, and its attack power is strong, but if I get close, I'm confident I can kill her with one strike." Lin Feng was quite satisfied with the sword-drawing technique he had used. It was as fast as lightning, as forceful as thunder, instantly splitting the arrow in two. It hadn't been in vain that he had endured the mental torment to cultivate it.
After all, Lin Feng had spent seven days on the cliff, constantly practicing the sword-drawing technique, using his dark martial soul to enhance his comprehension. Only when his spirit could no longer support it did he retract his martial soul, using the remaining time to practice the Floating Light Passing Shadow movement technique.
"Liu Fei." Lin Feng silently memorized that face. Then he gathered some wood, used his flexible sword to strike sparks from a stone, lit a fire, and dried his clothes.
Not far from Lin Feng, four figures appeared. They were probably all from the Cloud Sea Sect.
"There's someone over there. Let's invite him to join us. More people mean more strength," said one of them, a young man in blue.
"I wonder what his cultivation level is," said a burly young man with a grin, not objecting.
The four of them walked toward Lin Feng. The only woman among them blushed slightly when she saw Lin Feng's bare upper body. She said softly, "Hello, could you please put on your clothes?"
Lin Feng glanced at the girl. Although she wasn't as beautiful as Liu Fei, her features were dignified and delicate, her skin smooth and fine. She could be considered a rare beauty. In his previous life, she would definitely have been a great beauty. But from the memories of the former Lin Feng, he knew that the women of this world were indeed much more beautiful than those of his world. Perhaps it was because of cultivation.
"Alright." Lin Feng wasn't difficult to talk to. On the contrary, having endured hardship since childhood, he was simple and easygoing, very approachable.
"Is there something you need?" Lin Feng put on his clothes and asked the four who had come over.
"It's like this. We want to go to Black Wind Ridge to hunt demon beasts, and we wanted to invite you along. We'll split the beast cores equally. Are you interested?" the young man in blue explained. Black Wind Ridge was a demon beast forest located north of the Cloud Sea Mountain Range. It was extremely vast. Some disciples speculated that Black Wind Ridge might be much larger than the entire Cloud Sea Mountain Range. The Cloud Sea Sect's decision to establish its sect here was likely influenced by the Black Wind Ridge demon beast forest. After all, for martial cultivators, the demon beast forest was a place to hone their skills and also to obtain demon beast pelts and beast cores by hunting, which could be exchanged for things useful to martial artists.
"Alright, I agree." Lin Feng agreed without much thought. He really did want to see it for himself.
"Great! Now we have five people. As long as we don't encounter a ninth-level demon beast, we'll be fine," the girl said, a little happy that Lin Feng had agreed. Among the four of them, the highest cultivation level belonged to the white-clothed young man who didn't like to talk. He was at the eighth layer of Qi Martial Realm. The other three were all at the seventh layer of Qi Martial Realm. Lin Feng was also a disciple of the Cloud Sea Sect, about the same age as them, so he should also be at the seventh layer of Qi Martial Realm, or at least the sixth.
Ordinary demon beasts were divided into nine levels, corresponding to the nine layers of the Qi Martial Realm. So she felt that as long as they didn't encounter a ninth-level demon beast or a more powerful spirit beast, they would be safe.
"Brother, my name is Qing Yi. This is Senior Brother Han Man, Junior Sister Jing Yun, and the most powerful one, Jing Feng," the young man in blue introduced. The burly young man, Han Man, and the girl, Jing Yun, both smiled at Lin Feng. Only the white-clothed young man with the highest cultivation level looked aloof and indifferent.
"My name is Lin Feng," Lin Feng said with a smile.
"Lin Feng the waste," the white-clothed young man, Jing Feng, spoke for the first time, looking at Lin Feng with a mocking smile. "Junior Sister Jing Yun, it seems we're wasting our time. Bringing him along will only be a burden."
The other three had obviously heard of Lin Feng's reputation. There were too many outer disciples in the Cloud Sea Sect, so it was normal that they hadn't met Lin Feng before, but they had heard his name.
Lin Feng frowned. The other three looked a bit embarrassed.
"Junior Brother Lin Feng, Jing Feng is very talented, at the eighth layer of Qi Martial Realm. People like him tend to be a bit arrogant. Don't take it to heart. Just pretend you didn't hear it. Meeting is fate. Let's go together," the burly young man, Han Man, said straightforwardly and boldly.
"Right, Senior Brother is right," Qing Yi and Jing Yun agreed. But the white-clothed young man, Jing Feng, just snorted coldly and didn't say anything more.
Lin Feng saw the sincerity in their eyes and felt a bit of goodwill toward them. So he didn't refuse to go with them. The five of them crossed several peaks and arrived at Black Wind Ridge.
"Lin Feng, Black Wind Ridge is boundless. Probably only core disciples or sect elders know how big it really is. We can only move around the outer area. Don't go too deep. You're weaker, so stay close to us," the sturdy Han Man reminded him.
Lin Feng nodded slightly. From their journey, he knew that Han Man was a straightforward person. There was absolutely no sarcasm in his words.
Black Wind Ridge had complex terrain, full of grass, thorns, and dense trees, perfect for hiding. It was a paradise for demon beasts.
"Fifth-level demon beast, Wind Wolf. Get him!" Han Man suddenly called out. Not far away, a pair of cold, gleaming eyes shone from a bush.
Qing Yi stepped forward. The long sword on his back was instantly drawn. The sword light was like moonlight, pouring down like liquid silver, like wind, like shadow, penetrating everywhere.
"Chi!" With a soft sound, Qing Yi's long sword plunged into the Wind Wolf's head, killing the fifth-level demon beast with a single strike.
"Wind Sword Art against a Wind Wolf. Perfect," Han Man said with a hearty laugh, stepping forward to help Qing Yi collect the spoils—the fifth-level demon beast's beast core.
"Just a fifth-level demon beast," the white-clothed young man, Jing Feng, said disdainfully.
Hearing this, Lin Feng shook his head inwardly. He was just an eighth-level martial cultivator. Although he was better than ordinary martial cultivators, he was far from being a genius. Yet he was so arrogant and looked down on everything. His achievements would be limited.
After collecting the beast core, the group continued on. They encountered demon beasts every so often, but none exceeded the seventh level, and they were easily dealt with.
"Haha, the bag is getting heavier! We must have thirty or forty beast cores by now. Not a bad haul," Han Man said, grinning as he felt the increasing weight of the bag he was carrying.
"But we've already gone tens of thousands of meters deep into Black Wind Ridge. The demon beasts from here on might get stronger. We need to be careful. If it gets too dangerous, we should retreat," Qing Yi reminded them.
"Understood," Han Man replied. But as soon as he spoke, his gaze froze.
"Eighth-level demon beast, Furious Ape." Looking at the massive figure in front of them, Han Man muttered. Furious Apes were violent and incredibly strong, able to tear tigers and leopards apart with their bare hands. They were among the most formidable demon beasts.
"Jing Feng, we'll need to rely on you," Jing Yun said, glancing at the white-clothed young man beside her. An eighth-level demon beast shouldn't be a problem for him, right? Jing Feng was much stronger than them.
"Heh, Jing Yun, what's the hurry? It seems there's someone here who's been waiting to reap the rewards without lifting a finger. Does he really think he can get something for nothing?" Jing Feng glanced at Lin Feng, his voice sharp.
Lin Feng sneered. Did he want something for nothing? The reason he hadn't acted was that Han Man and Qing Yi had always been ahead of him, not letting him fight. If a real crisis arose, he naturally wouldn't stand by and do nothing. But this guy was pushing him forward in the face of an eighth-level demon beast. It was extremely malicious. After all, in his eyes, Lin Feng was just a waste. A waste against an eighth-level demon beast could only mean death.
"Jing Feng, what do you mean by that? None of us here can handle an eighth-level demon beast except you. Are you trying to get Lin Feng killed by sending him out?" Qing Yi understood Jing Feng's meaning and was unhappy.
"If he doesn't fight, does he think he can just share our beast cores? There's no such thing as a free lunch. If he dies, there'll be one less person to split with. Isn't that better?" Jing Feng said disdainfully.
"Jing Feng, since we came together, we should advance and retreat together. Lin Feng trusted us and joined us," Han Man said, also displeased.
"Hmph, if you want to protect him, then you fight yourselves. I'm not going to support a waste for free." Jing Feng snorted coldly and took a few steps back. By now, the Furious Ape had already reached them.
"Let me try," Lin Feng said, stepping forward. An eighth-level demon beast was equivalent to an eighth-layer Qi Martial Realm martial cultivator. He wanted to see how strong it was.
"No way. You can't handle an eighth-level demon beast," Jing Yun said anxiously. "Jing Feng, you've gone too far."
Hearing this, a cold look flashed across Jing Feng's face. He glanced at Jing Yun's graceful figure with a malicious smile. If it weren't for your looks, I wouldn't be hanging around with these wastes.
"I'll help you," Han Man said, dropping the bag of beast cores and coming to stand beside Lin Feng.
"Count me in," Qing Yi said, doing the same.
"And me. The three of us should be able to barely hold off an eighth-level demon beast, right?" Jing Yun silently prayed.
"Overestimating yourselves," Jing Feng sneered from behind. An eighth-level Furious Ape was extremely violent and incredibly strong. It wasn't something a few seventh-layer Qi Martial Realm martial cultivators could handle.
Lin Feng looked at the people standing in a line with him. A warmth stirred in his heart, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.
Rubbing his nose, Lin Feng said weakly, "Maybe... I can handle this demon beast after all."