Ning Jianli, who was holding onto Li Fengâs head, blinked in confusion.
Once again, the scenery had changed so fast that she barely had time to react.
But seeing the devastation around them, Ning Jianli realized that once again, Li Feng must have saved her and her fellow sisters.
"T-Thank you... once again, Senior Brother," she said, her voice trembling with gratitude.
Li Feng just smiled as he glanced at her.
"No worries. As long as Iâm here, Iâll protect all of you."
He gave a charming smile, even showing his teeth.
Ning Jianli fell silent at his words, then remembered what Ye Mo had said about Li Feng....about how he seemed to want to dual cultivate with them.
And having been saved multiple times by him, the debt of gratitude in her heart only kept piling up.
Yet, instead of happiness, Ning Jianli felt her chest grow heavy, and her face darkened slightly.
Seeing this, Li Feng gave her a questioning look, wondering what was wrong.
âIs she still poisoned or something?â
What he didnât know was that Heavenly Sword Sect disciples were extremely decisive.
And due to their training since youth, most of them didnât like owing favors....or even hatred
Once they owed something to someone, they tried to repay it as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, it would weigh on their hearts, nagging at them constantly.
That was why the righteous sects liked them, while the demonic sects often disliked them as they were simply too extreme in both their thinking and action.
Gritting her teeth, Ning Jianli seem to have made a decision.
Her eyes shone with determination.
As a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, once they made a choice, they always followed throughâthey had been trained to be decisive.
Ning Jianli slowly leaned into Li Fengâs ear and whispered,
"...Senior Brother, if you wanted to dual cultivate with me... t-then I donât mind, after this...."
She spoke softly, pressing her bare chest tighter against his shoulder.
Li Feng, hearing her soft voice, blinked in confusion.
âHmm? Since when did I say anything about dual cultivation?â
Then he glanced back and saw Ning Jianliâs grateful, solemn face.
Just as he was about to correct her, a thought popped into his mind.
âWait... this might be a good opportunity to test it out....â
Li Feng thought he should try dual cultivation for once to see if it was effective.
He hadnât tried it yet, because at first, asking for mortal indulgence from those fairies through their mortal bodies was easier than asking for dual cultivation.
As he understood, mortal indulgence and dual cultivation were completely different.
One simply allowed him to indulge in their mortal bodies, while the other required a spiritual connection and opening their foundation, which was like exposing themselves to him.
Of course, he was only after pleasure, which was why he had never bothered thinking about dual cultivation.
Not to mention, so far, his cultivation had been progressing steadily, and trying to ask for dual cultivation would have only made indulging in these fairiesâ mortal bodies more complicated.
But now, since he practically had one volunteering... it would be foolish to say no.
Li Feng then smiled at Ning Jianli, saying nothing.
_
_
_
âStrange... so strange... very strange.â
Ye Mo frowned as he looked at Li Feng, his dented face and broken jaw slowly knitting themselves back together, healing visibly by the second before the naked eye.
But his mind wasnât on the pain...it was racing with thought of Li Feng.
Everything about this fellow was weird.
He could clearly sense that Li Feng was only at the 8th Realm of Qi Refinement,
Weak and insignificant and yet...
âHis speed... his strength... none of it makes sense.â
Ye Moâs brows furrowed even deeper as he calmly analyzed the situation, watching Li Feng gently place the female disciples in his arm on the ground.
Then,
His gaze swept over Li Fengâs absurdly muscular yet perfectly sculpted body with each line seem to be brimming with raw, terrifying power that pressed down on him like a mountain.
âHe must be a body-tempering cultivator... but Iâve never seen such exaggerated strength before.â
He knew that body-tempering cultivators possessed immense physical power, but he also understood their greatest weakness.
As advancing each stage in the body-tempering path was far more difficult and far slower than improving oneâs cultivation realm.
Plus if raw strength alone could let one jump realms so easily, everyone would have choose that road.
But they didnât.... and even if someone was a genius, it still didnât explain why Li Fengâs punches... punches that he could clearly tell were being held back... were enough to make Ye Mo feel as if death itself was brushing past his throat each time they landed.
As his thoughts spun like an overheated machine, a realization suddenly struck him.
âAh... such a simple answer. Why didnât I think of it sooner?â
His eyes suddenly brightened.
âUnless... he has a special physique like me.â
But immediately, his heart trembled.
âNo... not just like mine. His must be far, far more terrifying.â
Ye Mo couldnât help being shocked by his own conclusion as he know how rare it is for one to be born with a Special physiques.
Special physiques were so rare that one might not encounter a single one in a million.
And he himself possessed a special physique that had nearly thrown the entire sect into chaos because of it.
Many wanted to kill him, ....yet also some wanted to protect him.
After all, they understood that with the nature of his âspecial physiqueâ, once he reached the Nascent Soul Realm, he would become a true powerhouse.
The Grand Elder, his own master had already planned to groom him into a contender for the Holy Son position once this trip was over.
But now...
He had a feeling that Li Fengâs special physique was above his ownâno, overwhelmingly above him.
But if such a monstrous disciple existed on the righteous side, his name would have spread far and wide.
Yet Ye Mo had never heard of Li Feng.
â...This guy must be the hidden prodigy of the righteous sect....I should probably find Brother Mo. With the two of us, we might be able to nip this bud before....he grow.â
And now,
Ye Moâs thoughts reached the obvious conclusion: he needed to retreat and return later with reinforcements.
And yet...
"Oi, what are you smiling like an idiot for?"
Li Feng approached calmly, staring at Ye Moâs smiling face.
Only then did Ye Mo realize he had been grinning widely.
He hastily wiped the smile off and looked at Li Feng.
He should retreat....yes.
But he also wanted to see the difference between their physiques.
He had never fought someone who possessed a special physique like his own, much less one that seemed to be superior to him.
"My apologies," Ye Mo said with a composed smile. "I got a bit... excited."
Li Feng stopped a few steps away, rolling his shoulders with a lazy shrug.
His joints cracked like boulders grinding together, as the sound alone seem to make the air tremble.
"Excited, huh?" he said, sweeping his gaze over Ye Mo with a faint smirk. "Your face just got folded like dough, and youâre still smiling? You demonic cultivator really are something."
Ye Mo didnât seem to mind the mocking.
He exhaled slowly, stabilizing his qi.
His bones were still tender from the earlier blows, yet his eyes burned with a strange, hungry anticipation.
"Because itâs rare," Ye Mo admitted and give a knowing look. "To meet someone like you...."
Li Feng tilted his head as his words seem to be implying something.
But then he just shrug it off.
Before Ye Mo could say anymoreâ
Li Feng vanished.
A gust of wind slammed into Ye Moâs chest a heartbeat later.
His pupils shrank as Li Feng grabbed his collar mid-sentence.
"You know what? You talk too much," Li Feng said flatly.
Thenâ
BOOM!
He smashed Ye Mo into the ground.
The earth cratered, dust erupting outward.
Even nearby trees shook violently from the shock wave.
....But Ye Mo didnât scream.
He laughed.
"...HAHAHAHA!"
A rough, unhinged laugh echoed from the small crater.
"Yes... yes! This is it!" Ye Mo spat blood, grinning like a madman as he looked up at Li Feng, who stared down at him coldly.
"This pressure... this suffocation... I knew it! Youâre the same as meâtruly! Weâre so alike to the point of being frightening!"
Li Feng paused, staring weirdly at the maniac who was still laughing despite his injuries.
âAre these demonic cultivator geniuses truly not afraid of death or something?â
He couldnât help but remember Mo Shuyanâs behavior and now this guy.
One kept provoking him even while getting pummeled, and this one was laughing and smiling like a maniac while blood poured from his mouth.
Then he saw Ye Mo slowly get back up, his eyes glowing with a feverish light.
Li Feng narrowed his gaze, finally getting fed up with this guy.
"Letâs end this farce," he sneered, ready to finish it in the next attack.
His arm muscles bulged as terrifying pressure slowly radiated from him.
Sensing that killing intent, Ye Mo smiled.
"Youâre right...."
Suddenlyâ
Clink.
Clink.
Clink.
A faint metallic sound echoed through the forest.
Chains slithered out from beneath Ye Moâs sleeves, completely black and eerie, etched with fiery runes that pulsed like beating hearts.
They coiled around his arms like awakened serpents, quivering violently as if alive.
Thenâ
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
More chains erupted from the ground, shooting toward Ye Mo like bolts of lightning.
They wrapped around his torso, limbs, and neck in a blur of dark metal.
The runes on the chains flared blood-red, glowing as though molten iron ran through them.
Ye Mo arched his body, spiritual energy surging outward.
"Ahhhâ!"
The ground cracked beneath his feet as the chains didnât just bind him...they began to
fused with him
.
Spurt!
Spurt!
Spurt!
The metal pierced and sank into his skin, melding seamlessly with his flesh.
Plates of dark, jagged armor formed across his shoulders and chest, locking into place with brutal finality.
Crack!
Crack!
Spike-like protrusions jutted outward, and his silhouette became broader, heavier, more monstrous.
A violent, crushing wave of killing intent burst from him, sweeping through the forest.
Leaves tore from the trees, swirling in a storm-like cascade as it burn.
"Hm?"
Li Feng stopped, staring at Ye Moâs transformation.
The man before him had grown monstrous and now towered above him, radiating power so oppressive it seemed to make the air burn.
Li Feng had to look up just to take in his massive form.
Crack!
Crack!
Slowly, a pair of dark, metal-like horns formed on Ye Moâs head.
His bright red eyes snapped open as he smiled at Li Feng.
"...Youâre right. Letâs end this long farce, shall we?"
Ye Mo grinned devilishly.
[Here a illustration of Ye Mo battle form:]