C16 One Sword Slashing Chen Hong

Upon hearing the command, Chen Hong's gaze sharpened, and he bellowed for a halt. Onstage, Yang Bao ceased his assault, but Shi Potian lay on the ground, convulsing, with blood steadily oozing from the corner of his mouth.

"Go!" Chen Hong commanded, his voice that of a grim reaper, though his face twisted with malice.

Lin Feng darted onto the Platform of Life and Death with lightning speed. Shi Potian managed a weak smile before losing consciousness. His resilience had narrowly saved his life.

"Spare no one," Chen Hong stated coolly from below.

In the arena of life and death, victory and defeat were irrelevant; only survival mattered. Lin Feng was marked for death, and anyone connected to this affair was to be eliminated.

Lin Feng hoisted Shi Potian's body and gently set him down at the edge. Meanwhile, Yang Bao charged at Lin Feng, intent on killing him.

Yet Lin Feng remained composed in the face of the oncoming Yang Bao. He reassuringly patted Shi Potian's shoulder and promised, "Rest easy, I'll avenge you."

Yang Bao, witnessing this, flew into a rage. Lin Feng's gesture was a blatant insult. But just as he closed in, less than half a meter from Lin Feng, a massive black sword cleaved through the air towards him. Yang Bao was hurled away, taken completely by surprise.

Puff.

Yang Bao staggered backward, a ghastly gash splitting his abdomen, from which blood surged.

In that moment, disbelief clouded Yang Bao's eyes. He had never imagined that his own ambush would backfire so disastrously.

Chen Hong, standing beneath the platform, watched the unfolding scene in shock, his fists clenched in frustration. He realized that even if he were to face the one who had crippled Yang Bao, he might fare no better. Yet the thought of his brother being killed so easily was unbearable.

Lin Feng advanced towards the wounded Yang Bao, who scrambled desperately to escape the Platform of Life and Death. A lethal menace radiated from Lin Feng, and Yang Bao could feel it closing in.

"Spare me! I, I..."

Under the looming shadow of death, Yang Bao couldn't afford to care about anything else. He struggled to his feet, fell to his knees, and frantically begged for mercy.

Lin Feng, however, remained unmoved by Yang Bao's pleas. He wouldn't give someone who was intent on taking his life any chance of survival. After all, sparing him would elicit no gratitude; instead, Yang Bao would remain like a venomous snake, ready to strike a deadly blow when least expected.

As Lin Feng lifted his sword, a stream of yellow liquid sprayed towards him. Yang Bao leaped to the opposite side of the Platform of Life and Death.

Bang!

In the nick of time, Yang Bao tumbled off the platform, with Chen Hong's body shielding him.

Chen Hong looked at Lin Feng with a scornful smile and said with disdain, "Your sword is still too slow!"

"Is that so?" Lin Feng glanced at Yang Bao, who was also sporting a smug grin. On the Platform of Life and Death, fate decides one's survival. But once off the platform, Lin Feng couldn't lay a hand on him without repercussions, or else the sect's involvement would mean serious trouble.

Hmm?

Chen Hong's confidence wavered at the sight of Lin Feng's smile. Then, Lin Feng bellowed, and with a flick of his massive sword, hundreds of Qi waves surged forth, each carrying a lethal technique.

Chen Hong stepped back and countered with a fierce palm strike towards Lin Feng.

Even Chen Hong's nerves were on edge facing the barrage of sword shadows. But he was not Yang Bao. In this critical moment, he wielded his long blade with a frenzied defense.

Thump, thump, thump...

After the collision, Chen Hong staggered back over a dozen steps before regaining his footing. The disciples below were stunned by Lin Feng's prowess, as Chen Hong, a formidable opponent, was pushed back several steps.

Ah!

A blood-curdling scream followed as Yang Bao's throat was slit open by the sword Qi. He collapsed, lifeless, onto the ground.

"You!" Chen Hong was both shocked and furious. Lin Feng's move was akin to ripping off his face and ruthlessly trampling it into the dirt.

"Good…"

The crowd erupted in thunderous applause. Even if Lin Feng refrained from acting, they would still find ways to eliminate him and his companions. After all, one less enemy meant one less threat. Moreover, Lin Feng was hardly the type to fear someone like Xiao Xia.

Amidst the resounding cheers, Chen Hong's gaze grew colder. Clenching his teeth, he glared at Lin Feng with malice. "Very good, very good. I will crush every bone in your body!"

Liu Yan watched Lin Feng with equal anxiety. To them, if Chen Hong made a move, the outcome would likely be grim.

"What do we do? What can we do?" Liu Yan fretted, stamping her foot in distress.

In contrast, Lin Feng returned to the Platform of Life and Death with a calm demeanor. He provocatively gestured to Chen Hong below, taunting, "Save your words for someone else!"

Silence fell over the venue in an instant. To everyone present, the gap between the two seemed insurmountable.

Lin Feng was a relative unknown, his eighth-level Qi Sea strength respectable but still falling short of Chen Hong's peak ninth-level prowess. Not even Lin Feng's previous sword strike was enough to convince onlookers of his ability to stand toe-to-toe with Chen Hong.

But that was only the surface of things.

"He's too impulsive. Given time, with his talent, he could become a match for Chen Hong," one disciple remarked, shaking his head in disappointment.

"That's easy for you to say. Do you really think Chen Hong would allow him the time to grow?" another countered.

At this, everyone nodded in silent agreement. The greater Lin Feng's displayed talent, the quicker he seemed destined to fall, especially given Chen Hong's influential backing.

Lin Feng's defiance had thoroughly enraged Chen Hong. His talent and the support of his powerful allies had allowed him to thrive within the Sunfire Order. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to scorn him so openly.

Today, he was eager to flay Lin Feng alive, to crush his bones to dust, and scatter them to the winds to quell the burning rage within.

Upon ascending the Platform of Life and Death, Chen Hong bit his finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto his long blade. The blade, once gleaming, turned a sinister shade of blood-red, and the air grew thick with the stench of blood, making the onlookers' stomachs turn.

Chen Hong entered the fray with no momentum, intent on unleashing his deadliest move to swiftly defeat Lin Feng. He aimed to demonstrate to all that Lin Feng was nothing more than an ant beneath his heel.

Despite his scorn for Lin Feng, Chen Hong pointed a finger and declared, "Lin Feng, if you can withstand this single strike of mine, we'll consider today's incident settled!"

With those words, Chen Hong sprang into action. A blade shadow, swift as lightning, descended upon Lin Feng. The strike, devoid of any flourish, was so powerful that onlookers' faces paled, and some even shielded their eyes, unwilling to witness the bloodshed that was about to ensue.

"Blood Shadow Slash!"

Confronted with such a formidable attack, Lin Feng positioned his greatsword before him and slowly closed his eyes. As the crowd anticipated his surrender, Lin Feng's sword came down with the speed of thunder.

"Sword Drawing Arts."

A clash of red and purple, blade against sword, the two forces collided, sending a shockwave that pushed the spectators back.

The arena was shrouded in a haze of dust, obscuring the outcome at its center. The audience watched with bated breath, their eyes glued to the stage. After a tense interval, the dust settled, revealing Chen Hong gripping his saber at the center, while at the edge of the stage, Lin Feng lay wounded, his body shielding Shi Pot.

A collective sigh of disappointment rose from the crowd, yet the outcome was not entirely unexpected.

"Lin Feng!" Liu Yan snapped out of her shock and dashed frantically towards Lin Feng.

At that moment, a clang rang out as Chen Hong's saber hit the ground, followed by a thud as his body split in two.

What?

The onlookers, who had been about to depart, were rooted to the spot in disbelief. Even Liu Yan was struggling to accept the scene before her eyes. Chen Hong was the one who had perished.

Coughing twice, Lin Feng rose to his feet. Chen Hong had not been as formidable as he had seemed. Had it not been for his need to protect Shi Pot, that strike would never have landed on him.

Whoa!

Moments later, the crowd below erupted into chaos, their eyes wide with terror. It was clear that after this sword strike, Lin Feng's reputation among the Outer Sect disciples would soar.

...

In another tower, a red-robed elder stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze filled with admiration as he watched Lin Feng's performance.

"Not bad at all. It looks like another dark horse is on the rise in the Outer Sect!"

He was indifferent to Chen Hong's death. Although Chen Hong had potential, his narrow-mindedness meant he would never achieve greatness.

Meanwhile, among the onlookers, a figure in a grey robe tried to slip away unnoticed. This was Wen Qing, sent by Chen Hong to gather intelligence. Now, terrified, a yellowish liquid trickled down his leg.

But as he turned to leave, he accidentally collided with Lin Feng's chest.

"No, please, I was wrong!" Wen Qing frantically shook his head.

"Everyone must face the consequences of their mistakes!" Lin Feng said with a slight smile. Before Wen Qing could react, Lin Feng forcefully pulled him onto the Platform of Life and Death.

"Lin Feng, the sect will punish you for this!" Wen Qing bellowed. Sadly, his words, meant to intimidate, fell flat.

Rules are merely tools for the strong to control the weak. In this world, there is no absolute fairness or justice. Lin Feng disliked violence, but his adversaries had crossed a line. Mercy towards an enemy is cruelty to oneself.

Swoosh!

With one swift sword strike, another lifeless body lay on the Platform of Life and Death.

"Exhilarating!" Shi Potian, struggling to stand, gave Lin Feng a thumbs-up.