Chapter 108: Chapter 107: Wind Power
The Seventh Palace, also known as the Silver Palace, was located at the summit. From afar, the entire temple appeared a brilliant, silvery white.
As he ascended the steps, Qin Feng realized the summit wasn’t just a monotonous blanket of snow. The surrounding peak was covered in fragrant snow lotuses, their pure white petals surrounding pale yellow centers.
Blooming defiantly in the frost and snow, they lent a touch of delicate beauty to the temple perched atop the summit.
However, on the mountain path before the temple, a group of people was already waiting. Upon seeing Qin Feng, the voice of their leader, a young man, drifted over from a distance.
"Qin Feng, we’ve been waiting here for you for quite some time!"
He was a handsome, elegant young man in purple robes embroidered with a coiled golden dragon. He carried an air of nobility, projecting an imposing aura like a true member of the Celestial Royal Family.
He was none other than Liu Qinghe, who held a major grudge against Qin Feng.
A disciple of the Liu Family, a Duke Family of the Great Yan Kingdom! And Xue Ning’s cousin!
’Liu Qinghe!’
His gaze sharpened as his eyes fell upon the purple-robed young man at the front. The youth possessed an innate arrogance and emanated an extremely powerful aura.
The first time Qin Feng had met Liu Qinghe, the latter was only at the Peak of Martial Arts Seventh Layer. Now, he had shockingly reached the Martial Arts Eighth Layer Early Stage.
Clearly, Qin Feng wasn’t the only one who had benefited from the vision of the purple qi surrounding the sun.
Behind Liu Qinghe stood several youths, each one exuding an intensely suppressive aura.
There were over a dozen of them. The weakest was at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Early Stage, and a few were even geniuses at the Peak of Martial Arts Seventh Layer.
Most of them were from the second tier of geniuses in the current generation, second only to the Five Great War Gods!
Besides Liu Qinghe, two others were particularly eye-catching.
One was a beautiful girl with a pure and innocent face, as lovely as a daffodil. Qin Feng had heard she was called Lu Han and that she cultivated the Eleventh Layer Martial Arts Foundation Establishment Technique, the Green Fire Cold Yin Technique.
The other was an aloof youth named Yang Chen. He was also a genius at the Peak of Martial Arts Seventh Layer, his origins a mystery. All that was known was that his fighting style was exceptionally ferocious.
The rest, while not on par with these three, were all regional prodigies who ranked among the second-tier geniuses.
The lineup was truly formidable!
With a gaze as cold as a sword, Liu Qinghe stood proudly with his hands clasped behind his back. He chuckled at the youth in the black robe. "Qin Feng, I originally thought you were just an insect I could crush at will, but I have to admit I underestimated you. However, I’ve made that mistake once. I won’t make it a second time!"
"On account of your talent, I’ll give you one chance! Submit to me! Pledge your loyalty!" Liu Qinghe was brimming with confidence, his tone absolute.
"And if I say no?" Qin Feng asked, looking up with a faint smile.
"What I can’t have, I can only destroy!" A cold glint flashed in Liu Qinghe’s eyes before vanishing.
A young woman stepped forward, scolding in a delicate voice, "Qin Feng, don’t be so ungrateful! Young Master Liu is the son of a Duke, a man of noble status. You’re of lowly birth, nothing more than a backwater peasant. Young Master Liu’s willingness to show mercy and spare you is a testament to your talent. You should consider it the greatest fortune of your life! Get on the ground and express your gratitude, lest you bring about your own doom!"
The young woman’s gaze was cold and condescending, as if she were rebuking an animal. She was none other than Lu Han, the one rumored to be involved with Liu Qinghe. She hailed from the Lu Family, also a thousand-year-old clan. Though slightly less prominent than the Liu Family, a Duke Family, their foundation was not to be underestimated.
"Why waste words on him? A mere lowlife who dares to provoke us. Just kill a bastard like him who doesn’t know the difference between the noble and the worthless!" Behind Liu Qinghe, the youths wore arrogant expressions, their gazes filled with disdain.
"A bunch of self-important trash. ’Bastard’ this, ’bastard’ that. You talk as if you’re from such fine stock yourselves, but you’re nothing but a pack of actual bastards!" Qin Feng sneered at the haughty group, his words instantly striking a nerve.
"You’re courting death!" Liu Qinghe’s expression twisted with fury. Qin Feng’s words had struck his sore spot. He was an illegitimate son of the Liu Family. Although his talent was formidable and he was eventually accepted, he hated hearing that one word more than anything else in his life.
A venomous, cold fury flashed across Liu Qinghe’s face, his eyes turning crimson as if crackling with lightning. "Kill him!"
With a flutter of robes, the powerful figures behind Liu Qinghe shot forward like bolts of lightning. Chilling glints of light from their weapons tore through the air. The faint shadows of swords and sabers streaked across the sky, and a subtle killing intent filled the air, as thick and pervasive as falling leaves in a dense forest.
A bone-chilling killing intent surged toward Qin Feng!
Liu Qinghe was using his full power this time. It was like a lion hunting a rabbit; these dozen-plus geniuses of the Innate Realm represented all the strength he could command.
These dozen-plus geniuses were all young prodigies from their respective regions, truly one in a thousand. Attacking all at once in a pincer movement, their combined power was terrifying. Liu Qinghe was confident that even one of the five top-tier geniuses would undoubtedly perish in such an ambush!
Standing his ground, Qin Feng felt a chill as a dense net of gleaming blades threatened to envelop him. An immense pressure bore down on his heart.
This was a death trap!
’But this trap is useless!’ Having comprehended the Wind Realm, Qin Feng feared no encirclement. They would need a Battle Array to corner him, but as a Mystic Array Grandmaster, why would he fear a mere Slaying Array?
’It’s a stalemate! Liu Qinghe has made a grave error!’
Qin Feng gave a cold smile. His Innate Primordial True Qi connected with a sliver of his Wind Realm, and a ripple of Wind Power emanated from his body. He moved, and his Clear Wind Refining God Step transformed him into a phantom. Like a breeze drifting into a forest, he weaved through the dense storm of blades.
Now that Qin Feng had broken through to the Innate Realm, the wondrous applications of his conceptual Realm finally began to show!
Dressed in his black robe, he moved through the rain of swords and sabers as if taking a leisurely stroll through a garden!
"What kind of Stepping Technique is that? It’s so profound," Lu Han remarked, a hint of surprise in her beautiful eyes as she watched coolly from beside Liu Qinghe.
"That’s Wind Power—the unique Heaven and Earth Power one gets by fusing Innate True Qi with a conceptual Realm. It’s just like your Green Fire Power. He must have comprehended a Wind Attribute Realm!" Liu Qinghe’s expression was grim. It was common knowledge that Martial Artists who comprehended a Wind Attribute Realm were notoriously difficult to pin down.
’Damn it, our intel was incomplete! We only knew he’d suddenly jumped from the Martial Arts Fourth Layer to the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Heaven and that his Swordsmanship was superb. We never expected him to have comprehended a Wind Attribute Realm!’
"Oh no! Watch out!" Liu Qinghe suddenly roared.
BANG!
Moving like a gentle breeze, Qin Feng appeared behind a youth at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Middle Stage. A look of terror crossed the youth’s face. In his haste, he swung his long saber in a desperate counter-attack, hoping to force Qin Feng onto the defensive.
This youth had comprehended the Vajra Realm. Fusing his Innate True Qi with his Vajra Will, he unleashed his full power, his attack instantly imbued with a trace of golden Vajra Power.
Vajra Power was known for its supreme defensive capabilities!
Qin Feng didn’t dodge or evade. The killing intent in his eyes flared as he threw a punch—the Profound Turtle Sea-Suppressing Fist. Terrifying Innate True Qi coated his fist. With a deafening boom, before the youth could even react, the ferocious power slammed into his waist, tore through his torso, and burst out from his chest.
BANG! With a final pulse of Innate True Qi from his fist, a gaping hole appeared in the youth’s torso. He was killed instantly!
"You whelp! You dare kill him!" Liu Qinghe’s eyes looked ready to split with rage. These were his staunchest supporters, regional prodigies who had the potential to become great figures, even titans. He had invested countless efforts to win them over, and now one was dead. Liu Qinghe’s heart was bleeding.
"That’s one!"
Qin Feng’s gaze was icy. With a flicker, he appeared behind a second youth. As the boy watched in terror, the Ancient Sword flashed.
Blood sprayed through the air as the youth collapsed, a look of terror frozen on his face!
Qin Feng’s Wind Realm had reached the stage of Great Success. His movements were ghostly and unpredictable, as if he had merged with the wind itself, making him impossible to defend against. The moment anyone exposed an opening, he would instantly lock on to them.
In the next instant, Qin Feng appeared behind two more youths. His sword flashed, and they were both cut down in a single motion!
In the blink of an eye, Liu Qinghe had already lost a third of his men.
"Retreat! Everyone, retreat!" Liu Qinghe’s face was ashen.
Liu Qinghe had envisioned a pack of wolves hunting a lamb. But in an instant, Qin Feng had transformed from the lamb into a ferocious tiger. The situation had reversed into a tiger devouring wolves! The sight was too gruesome to bear!
