"Crack…"
Lin Feng was still staring blankly at Li Renyao's corpse when an extremely faint sound reached his ears.
It came from above him. It sounded like wood splitting. So faint it could have been a trick of the mind.
Lin Feng's expression, however, instantly changed. A thought seemed to strike him. He whirled around and shot towards the warehouse exit like an arrow from a bow. The main doors were still closed. He slammed into them with a brutal kick.
"BOOM!!!"
The already decaying wooden doors shattered into splinters. He charged through the wreckage without breaking stride.
As he turned and sprinted out, the flying sword embedded in Li Renyao jerked free and streaked after him.
Once outside, Lin Feng's gaze swept the surroundings. He immediately spotted a figure darting through tall grass several hundred meters away, fleeing at full speed!
"Hmph!!"
A killing glint flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. His right hand snapped up, pointing forward.
"Swish!"
The flying sword shot past him, a silver bolt of lightning aimed at the distant runner.
"AAAHHH!!!"
The fleeing man heard the deadly whisper of air parting behind him. He spun around in terror, his face bleaching white. He screamed and threw himself sideways. The flying sword grazed his back, missing by inches.
The man scrambled, rolling desperately. Before he could even get to his knees, the flying sword suddenly halted mid-air, pivoted with uncanny precision, and lanced straight back towards him!
"NO!!"
A cry of pure despair ripped from his throat. He frantically channeled his true essence, conjuring a shimmering spiritual barrier before him in a final, futile attempt to block.
It was utterly useless. The flying sword pierced the barrier as if it were mist and punched straight through his heart, pinning him savagely to the ground…
Five hundred meters. That was practically the limit of Lin Feng's current control range for the flying sword. Only his keen alertness and lightning reflexes had prevented the man from escaping beyond reach.
Lin Feng walked over to the corpse. He yanked the sword free. Looking down, the man's face seemed familiar – one of the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer cultivators who had besieged him back at the Lin residence.
This was Li Renyao's sole personal guard. Li Renyao had sneaked out without informing his elders and dared not bring a large retinue. With the 'Thirteen Tigers' handling Lin Feng, he'd deemed it sufficient. This guard had been brought along only as insurance against any unforeseen trouble from the Tigers themselves.
The guard had been concealed on the roof from the start, acting as a lookout. His task was to confirm Lin Feng arrived alone and watch for any unexpected arrivals. Peering through gaps in the roof, witnessing the bloodbath below, had nearly made him fall off in shock. He hadn't dared move a muscle, even when Li Renyao was killed. He'd only slithered silently to the roof's edge and fled, intending to rush back and raise the alarm. His discovery by Lin Feng had sealed his fate.
...
Lin Feng conjured a fireball, incinerating the body before him. He retrieved a storage ring and a few other items from the ashes, then turned and walked back into the warehouse.
Surveying the carnage-strewn floor, the coldness in Lin Feng's expression faded, replaced by a flicker of somber reflection. He didn't regret killing them. Rather, he felt a pang at how effortlessly cold-blooded he was becoming. Ending lives barely caused a ripple anymore...
But such was the savage reality of the cultivation world. Applying Earthly morals here was folly. Today, without the flying sword, he would have been utterly obliterated by these men. When facing enemies, it was kill or be killed. Mercy had no place.
He walked over to Zhang Fangzhou. Placing a hand on the top of his head, Lin Feng channeled true essence into his body, forcefully unblocking the sealed meridians and restoring the flow of Zhang Fangzhou's own energy.
"Mmmph…"
Zhang Fangzhou's body trembled slightly. A soft groan escaped him, and his eyes fluttered open moments later.
"Ah!!"
He jerked awake with a startled cry. Looking up, he saw Lin Feng and froze.
"B-big… big brother?!"
Lin Feng flicked his wrist. The flying sword glided smoothly, severing the ropes binding Zhang Fangzhou. "Yes, it's me," Lin Feng said with a faint, apologetic smile. "Sorry you had to suffer again."
Last time, Zhang Fangzhou had been detained by the Li family trying to claim a bounty for Lin Feng. Though unharmed, it had been humiliating. This time was far worse. Lin Feng felt a deep pang of guilt.
"Big brother, you…" Zhang Fangzhou was still dazed by Lin Feng's 'sudden appearance'. Then, memory of his captors flooded back. Alarm flashed across his face. He instinctively whipped his head around, scanning the warehouse.
His face instantly drained of color. His eyes bulged, filled with utter disbelief, as if beholding ghosts.
Staring at the sea of corpses, Zhang Fangzhou remained frozen for several long seconds. He finally managed to turn his head back to Lin Feng, stammering, "B-big brother... th-they... did you... kill them all?"
Lin Feng nodded. "Yes. But we need to leave. Now. We'll talk back in the city."
He'd killed the guard trying to raise the alarm, but couldn't be certain there weren't other escapees. Even without a messenger, the Li family would likely investigate soon. Staying was far too dangerous.
"Oh... oh! Right!" Zhang Fangzhou scrambled to his feet.
Lin Feng pointed towards the scarred leader's body. "Your belongings should be on him. Retrieve them. Then burn all these bodies. Collect anything valuable."
As he spoke, he was already striding towards Li Renyao's corpse. Before he even reached it, two fireballs shot from his hands. Simultaneously, with swift, methodical motions, he began launching fireball after fireball onto the other bodies littering the floor.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Zhang Fangzhou hurried to the scarred leader's body, retrieving his storage ring. He then pulled out a Chain Fireball Talisman and joined the grim task, systematically immolating the corpses and gathering the spoils from the cooling ashes – storage rings, pouches, undamaged talismans.
Within minutes, the warehouse was thick with the acrid stench of charred flesh and hair. The horrific corpses vanished, replaced by piles of smoldering ash and slick, dark stains soaking the earthen floor.
"Let's go."
Lin Feng gave the grim scene a final scan, then nodded to Zhang Fangzhou. They walked towards the shattered doorway. As they exited, Lin Feng raised his hand again. Fireballs streaked continuously from his fingertips, igniting wooden beams, support pillars, stacked debris – anything flammable.
"Whoomph!" "Crackle!" "Hiss!"
By the time they were a safe distance away, the entire structure was engulfed in roaring flames. With a tremendous groan and crash, the roof caved in, walls collapsed inward. The warehouse became a collapsing pyre, swiftly reduced to a heap of blazing rubble.
Covering tracks. Every trace, every shred of evidence, was consumed by the inferno. Apart from Lin Feng and Zhang Fangzhou, no one could possibly prove Li Renyao or the 'Thirteen Tigers' had ever set foot in that place.
...
On the journey back, Lin Feng asked Zhang Fangzhou a few questions. He learned that after capturing him, the enemies had immediately begun torturing him for information about Lin Feng's 'master'. It seemed Li Renyao, despite claiming he thought the master was fake, still harbored lingering doubts and hoped to extract confirmation from Zhang Fangzhou.
Zhang Fangzhou, however, had proven remarkably tough. Even under torture and threats of having his cultivation crippled, he had clenched his teeth, refusing to reveal a single scrap of information about Lin Feng. Lin Feng's respect for him rose another notch.
Truthfully, even Zhang Fangzhou and his brothers weren't entirely sure if Lin Feng's 'master' truly existed – they'd never seen him, and Lin Feng hadn't elaborated. Yet, Zhang Fangzhou had chosen absolute loyalty.
Soon, the North Gate of Biquan City came into clear view. As they approached a roadside pavilion midway, three figures came into sight, clearly waiting for them.