Chapter 473: Dare Not Accept the Battle
The Seventh Envoy was dead.
Lin Feng killed him with just one sword strike.
Although the people of Snow Moon had already anticipated the outcome, they were still somewhat surprised by the process.
Lin Feng's strength had indeed become even more terrifying. Killing the Seventh Envoy, who was at the Fourth Layer of the Mysterious Martial Realm, required only a single sword strike. Moreover, they all understood that this was not even Lin Feng's full combat power.
As for the crowd from Tian Feng Kingdom, their eyes were frozen, staring fixedly at Lin Feng and the corpse lying on the ground.
The Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind were the seven most outstanding young experts of Tian Feng Kingdom. They had arrived in Snow Moon only a few days ago, and at the welcoming banquet, one of them had already died. Before the Snow Domain Grand Competition had even begun, one of their own had been killed by a person from Snow Moon.
Both Tian Feng Kingdom and Snow Moon Kingdom were vassal states of the Dragon Mountain Empire. They had always harbored ulterior motives and secretly competed with each other. Not long ago, both sides had been arrogant, each believing they would surely win. But now, Lin Feng had killed the Seventh Envoy with a single sword strike. This was undoubtedly a slap in the face for the Tian Feng Kingdom crowd, causing their expressions to turn ugly one by one.
This Lin Feng actually dared to kill, showing no mercy at all.
"Snow Moon, very good. Truly a land of geniuses. But our Tian Feng Kingdom is, after all, a guest here. Snow Moon Kingdom killed one of our Seven Envoys just like that. Shouldn't you give us an explanation?" the Fifth Envoy of the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind said coldly, staring at Lin Feng.
"Heh..." The Snow Moon crowd was stunned for a moment. Wasn't it their side that had first proposed a sparring match? Now that the Seventh Envoy had been killed by Lin Feng, they were demanding an explanation? Ridiculous.
"Do you have any shame?" Lin Feng looked at the Fifth Envoy, his expression filled with deep sarcasm. "Or is it that you so-called geniuses of Tian Feng can't handle losing?"
"Of course, it's understandable. Tian Feng Kingdom finally managed to nurture the Seven Envoys, and now one of them has died. That really is unfortunate." Lin Feng let out a low laugh, causing the eyes of the Tian Feng crowd to freeze once more. Lin Feng's words were venomous. The fact that Tian Feng Kingdom had painstakingly cultivated the Seven Envoys, only for one to be so easily killed by him, was itself a sharp insult.
"Perhaps it was just an accident," the Fifth Envoy said, twisting the truth. He certainly could not admit that the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind were useless or inferior in skill.
"If you think it was an accident, we can fight another round. I'll fight you, and it will also be a life-and-death battle," Lin Feng said, looking at the Fifth Envoy with a calm yet cold gaze, directly challenging him.
The Eight Young Masters of Snow Moon and the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind were respectively the most talented young descendants of the two kingdoms. Lin Feng guessed that the Fifth Envoy of the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind, no matter how strong, could not have reached the level of Duan Wuya. He should be on par with the fifth or sixth of the Eight Young Masters of Snow Moon, such as Yu Qin or Chu Zhanpeng, whom he had killed.
There was no need to elaborate on Chu Zhanpeng's strength. Lin Feng was not entirely sure about Yu Qin's power, but he was certainly not afraid.
He challenged the Fifth Envoy for two reasons: first, because the Fifth Envoy had spoken insolently, and second, Lin Feng wanted to test himself. In a life-and-death battle, how could he not go all out? He wanted to force the Fifth Envoy to push him to his limits. Win and live, lose and die—this kind of battle best stimulated a martial artist's potential.
Everyone's eyes focused again. Lin Feng, after killing the Seventh Envoy, was now challenging the Fifth Envoy to a life-and-death battle. What an arrogant fellow.
Even the few people seated at the head of the table stared at Lin Feng, their eyes carrying amused expressions. This young man was interesting.
He had earned Duan Wuya's appreciation and the affection of a woman like Duan Xinye. Lin Feng clearly possessed his own extraordinary qualities. Moreover, Lin Feng himself was the descendant of Yue Menghe, one of the four great geniuses of Snow Moon in the past, and that nameless genius. Both his parents were rare talents, so how could their son be mediocre? His talent was beyond doubt.
Additionally, Lin Feng's fighting style had secretly alarmed these Tian Feng Kingdom people.
Lin Feng was indeed only at the Third Layer of the Mysterious Martial Realm, as they could see. But when he fought, each step he took borrowed the momentum of heaven and earth, increasing his oppressive aura and enhancing his destructive power. This was the Realm of Momentum.
His sword aura bloomed, omnipresent and penetrating everywhere, seemingly without a focal point, yet subtle to the extreme. This was the Realm of Subtlety.
Lin Feng combined momentum and subtlety in one fluid motion. In his final sword strike, he fused the momentum of heaven and earth into the sword, concentrating sword intent and killing power into a single blow, carrying a rolling surge of force, and killing the Seventh Envoy with one sword strike.
Lin Feng's strength was unfathomable, bottomless. Some even suspected that his realm might have already stepped into the rare Unity of Heaven and Man. Otherwise, how could a cultivator at the Third Layer of the Mysterious Martial Realm unleash such a powerful aura, comparable to the Fourth Layer?
Because of this, the Tian Feng Kingdom people hesitated. Another life-and-death battle, and Lin Feng spoke so calmly. Did he lack the confidence to fight?
They could not see through Lin Feng's true strength.
The most troubled was undoubtedly the Fifth Envoy. He was caught in a dilemma.
Earlier, in the verbal exchange, he and the Seventh Envoy had spoken the most, even boasting that they would make Duan Xinye dance. Now, Lin Feng had killed the Seventh Envoy and challenged him to a life-and-death battle. Should he accept?
As the Fifth Envoy among the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind, his cultivation was at the peak of the Fourth Layer of the Mysterious Martial Realm, much stronger than the Seventh Envoy. But in the end, he was still only at the Fourth Layer. If Lin Feng could easily kill the Seventh Envoy, could he also kill him?
"If you're so eager to gamble with your life, I'll keep you company," the Third Envoy of the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind said coldly, drawing sneers of contempt from the Snow Moon crowd.
"Are you planning to fight in a rotation?" Yue Tianming said slowly. "Or do you think Snow Moon has no one?"
"If you want to fight, then fight one by one. Let Envoy Minister arrange the order of battle."
Hearing Yue Tianming's words, the other side fell silent. They also knew this behavior was rude. He was the Third Envoy of Heavenly Wind, yet he wanted to fight someone at the Third Layer of the Mysterious Martial Realm. This was inherently an unfair challenge.
"Tian Feng Kingdom, a bunch of cowards. I see no so-called geniuses here, only those with sharp tongues and shrinking hearts. And this group dares to call themselves the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind, so self-righteous."
Lin Feng took a step back and returned to his seat. Duan Xinye smiled gently and poured him a cup of wine.
Lin Feng had not used her as a wager. In fact, because the other side had tried to use Duan Xinye as a bet, he had killed them in anger. For this, Duan Xinye felt a slight warmth in her heart.
Lin Feng's attention to such matters proved that she had a place in his heart. How could Duan Xinye not be satisfied?
The atmosphere at the banquet became somewhat tense because Lin Feng had killed the Seventh Envoy and provoked the Fifth Envoy. Everyone suddenly fell into a silence, no one speaking. Their eyes flickered with various thoughts, as if they had many ideas but did not express them.
PS: It's tough. Nine days straight of work, and at night, they still come to rush me to work. Going crazy.
(Note: The PS section is a personal note from the author and is translated as-is.)