Chapter 372: Sunrise Intent
"You want me to leave? I'm giving you face by doing so. Don't court death." Lin Feng looked at the middle-aged man surnamed Li, his eyes narrowing slightly. Then, a cold smile flickered in his gaze.
"Is that so?" The man took a small step forward, and a faint, intangible sword intent began to bloom from Lin Feng's body.
"Oh?" The middle-aged man surnamed Li noticed Lin Feng's small step and sensed that cold intent. His brow twitched as he said coldly, "You don't mean to start a fight, do you?"
Without a word, Lin Feng stamped his foot on the ground. A rumbling sound echoed as the ground beneath him collapsed. His body shot through the air like an arrow, and a vast sword intent burst forth from him.
A gleam of sword light shimmered on Lin Feng's body, flickering and pulsating.
"That's... true essence..."
The crowd's eyes focused. The Mysterious Martial Realm—Lin Feng was also a Mysterious Martial Realm expert. He had voluntarily withdrawn earlier, refusing to share the spirit vein, yet someone still demanded he hand over everything he had obtained from his storage ring before leaving.
Feng Ting's pupils contracted, and her heart pounded violently. Lin Feng was actually a Mysterious Martial Realm expert. She had rejected his offer to join forces and had even instigated others to target him.
The middle-aged man surnamed Li raised an eyebrow, a sharp light bursting from his eyes. Lin Feng, without a word, was ready to fight him directly.
A surging wave of true essence erupted from his body. The man surnamed Li said coldly, "An ungrateful brat. Let me teach you a lesson."
With that, his body also shot into the air, charging toward Lin Feng. His palm slightly curled, forming a black, hook-like shadow that flickered with dark light.
"Sword!"
A low shout escaped Lin Feng's lips. In the void, the world's energy spun wildly. A sword of true essence condensed in Lin Feng's hand, releasing a terrifying sword intent.
"Sunrise Sword"
Before reaching his opponent, Lin Feng's sword swung out slowly—not fast. This sword could even be called slow, but it was filled with a vibrant, rising energy, like the sun at dawn—not yet dazzling, but radiant, drawing the crowd's gaze.
A mocking smile curled at the corner of the middle-aged man surnamed Li's mouth. A laughable sword—flashy but useless. How could such a sword clash with him? One strike would shatter it.
The crowd also shook their heads inwardly. Both were at the Mysterious Martial Realm, but Lin Feng had likely just broken through. His combat strength was still weak; he probably wasn't a match.
Yet Lin Feng's expression remained unchanged. His sword continued forward.
That slow sword, like the sun, rose gradually, growing more and more brilliant, its light shining brighter and brighter.
"Kill!"
The man surnamed Li roared in anger, his black, hook-like palm striking out, carrying a destructive aura that made hearts tremble.
However, when this heart-stopping blackness collided with the slow sword, it was instantly devoured, vanishing without a trace. Only the sword's light remained, as radiant and captivating as ever, as if nothing could steal its brilliance.
"Oh?" The crowd's eyes narrowed. This sword seemed slow and plain, yet it gave them a sense of beauty, drawing their gaze, as if nothing could snatch away the sword's glory.
The young man surnamed Li also frowned, then retreated. But he found that no matter how far he pulled back, the sword still seemed right before his eyes, impossible to distance himself from.
The sword, still slow, clung to him like a shadow, following relentlessly, its light growing brighter and brighter.
The rising sun, though slow, was radiant. It ascended gradually, growing brighter and brighter, until it burst forth with the light of the blazing sun.
The sword—still the same sword, even the same sword technique—seemed to contain countless variations, growing stronger and stronger. The crowd's eyes froze, and then they watched in horror as that dazzling, brilliant sword directly cleaved into the middle-aged man surnamed Li. When the splendor faded, a blood line appeared on his forehead, and his body plummeted from the air.
A Mysterious Martial Realm expert—dead.
With just one sword. He had demanded Lin Feng hand over his storage ring and leave. Lin Feng killed him with a single sword. Until his death, the young man surnamed Li's eyes still held disbelief and regret. He, a dignified Mysterious Martial Realm expert, had been killed just like that—a worthless, inexplicable death.
"Courting death." Lin Feng spat out the words, returning the man's own words to him. Unfortunately, the middle-aged man surnamed Li could no longer hear them.
Turning around, Lin Feng swept his gaze over the other five and said coldly, "I withdrew, not because I feared you, but because I knew I couldn't swallow this spirit vein. In the Imperial City, some major powers will surely come to seize it. Individual strength is negligible. It's impossible to guard this vast spirit vein connected to nine sword peaks."
"You're all the same as me—you can't hold it. At best, you'll grab some origin stones and leave, like me. That fool didn't even know his own place, demanding I hand over my storage ring. With trash strength like his, did he really think he could swallow this spirit vein?"
The other five's eyes narrowed. When people encounter a great treasure, their instinct is to seize it and claim it. At that moment, their minds are no longer calm. Just now, they, like the young man surnamed Li, had entertained thoughts of dividing and claiming the spirit vein. Especially since Lin Feng had deliberately suggested they split it, which had stoked their greed. But now, Lin Feng's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over them.
They couldn't swallow this spirit vein.
"Why don't we join forces and take this spirit vein? If anyone comes, we'll deal with them together. What do you say?"
One of them was unwilling to give up. Even just a corner of the spirit vein would be enough to continuously elevate his cultivation, freeing him from worrying about origin stones. After all, Mysterious Martial Realm experts consume a terrifying amount of origin stones in their training. If they only relied on the world's energy in the air, their cultivation speed would be far too slow.
"Impossible. The six of us are still too weak. Grab the origin stones—take as many as you can. Otherwise, once the major powers from the Imperial City arrive, you won't even get that chance," Lin Feng said indifferently.
The news of the spirit vein here couldn't be hidden. Soon, the major powers of the Imperial City would learn of it. The Yu Family, the Yue Family, even the Imperial Family might join the fight for the spirit vein. The six of them couldn't possibly hold it.
The other five all showed reluctance, but Lin Feng was telling the truth. The major powers of the Imperial City were not something they could contend with. They could only grab as many origin stones as possible before those forces arrived.
Reluctant as they were, they had to accept it. They could only follow Lin Feng's advice.
One person flickered, diving directly into the vein to collect origin stones. Soon, others followed suit, grabbing what they could.
"Ah..." A scream rang out. A guard from the Feng Family died. The black-robed Mysterious Martial Realm expert said coldly, "Trash like this wants a share of the origin stones?"
Soon, more screams followed. Several Feng Family guards who were grabbing origin stones were killed. Whenever the five encountered them, death followed.
Without strength, trying to claim origin stones was a death sentence. Mysterious Martial Realm experts were no pushovers. Beneath the tiger's maw, they wouldn't tolerate such chaos.
Before long, the Feng Family guards dared not grab any more origin stones. They retreated to the ground, their faces grim.
Feng Ting had also wanted to grab some origin stones, but Lin Feng stopped her, sweeping a cold gaze over her. "Ten breaths. If I still see your face after that, you die."
Lin Feng's words dripped with killing intent, making Feng Ting's body stiffen and her face turn pale.
Earlier, she had betrayed Lin Feng, telling the middle-aged man surnamed Li that Lin Feng had Nine Sun Grass. Lin Feng had every reason to kill her. Her pretty face was ugly in Lin Feng's eyes.
"Miss, let's go." The old man beside Feng Ting pulled her along. Experts like Lin Feng were not people they could afford to offend. If they didn't leave, Lin Feng would really kill Feng Ting. He deeply regretted refusing Lin Feng earlier.
After the two left, the young guards followed them, their eyes flickering.
Lin Feng paid them no mind. He spread his keen senses, focusing on collecting mid-grade and high-grade origin stones.
At that moment, the roars of demonic beasts rang out, and the ground seemed to tremble. Many demonic beasts were heading this way.
At the same time, several teams from the Imperial City streaked through the void, rushing toward the direction of the Sword-Gazing Peak.
PS: Someone's counter-attacked and overtaken me—it's disheartening. Still updating early in the morning before work. Begging for flowers and tips to spark some passion. The writing will be more intense too. Just four more flowers to reach the bonus update count.