The Martial Emperor

Chapter 7 - Revenge

The atmosphere of the inner disciple dormitory felt much calmer compared to the commotion at the Mission Reception Hall. Lin Feng and Zhang Hao stood in front of their simple wooden room doors.

In their hands, the pouches containing spiritual stones felt heavy, providing a warm sensation that spread to their palms. For Zhang Hao, this was the greatest treasure he had ever possessed during his time as a cultivator.

"Hao, use these stones to stabilize your foundation," Lin Feng said in a serious tone. "Do not rush to absorb everything at once. Remember the Qi filtering method I taught you. Discard all the energy filth before you pass it into your dantian."

Zhang Hao nodded firmly, his eyes shining with excitement. "I understand, Feng. I won't let you down. I feel this technique truly makes my breathing and movements feel lighter. See you in three days at the duel square!"

After watching his friend enter the room, Lin Feng locked his own door. He sat cross-legged on the hard bamboo bed, placing five spiritual stones in front of him.

The dim light from the stones reflected off his eye scar, giving a mystical impression to his thin face. He began to close his eyes, drawing a deep breath, and letting his consciousness enter his body.

However, the meditation this time felt different. Usually, he could easily feel the flow of Qi creeping through his blood vessels. Now, there was something that felt odd in his chest area.

Every time he tried to gather energy, he felt as if there were a hole or "something" missing from there. That hollow feeling was not painful, but it was very distracting to his concentration.

Several hours passed, and Lin Feng opened his eyes with sweat drenching his forehead. He had only managed to absorb thirty spiritual stones. Although his strength increased, the curiosity within his mind grew even larger.

He recalled the vision at the cliff crevice of Black Bone Valley—the majestic male figure referred to as the Martial Emperor.

"Who exactly is Zhan Tianshu?" he muttered softly. That name kept echoing in his head like an ancient whisper. "Why did that emperor's face feel so familiar, even the same as mine? And why did that woman give me this technique?"

Lin Feng realized that muscle and bone were only small parts of cultivation. Knowledge was the true key.

He resolved that after his business with Dan Wuji was finished, he would join the Scholar Hall. That place might not be as popular as the Law Enforcement Hall or the Battle Hall, but its library stored thousands of years of secrets that might be able to answer the restlessness in his soul.

***

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. News of the duel between Lin Feng and Dan Wuji had spread throughout the Cloud Sword Sect. The duel square located in the sect’s central valley was now filled by hundreds of disciples.

They stood on the circular stone stands, whispering to each other and betting on how long Lin Feng could last.

Shang Hui stood in the middle of the arena in his law enforcement robes. His face was flat and expressionless, but his sharp eyes watched every movement.

On the right side of the arena, Dan Wuji stood arrogantly, performing a light warm-up that triggered small sparks of fire from his fists. Meanwhile, Lin Feng stood on the left side in simple blue clothing, appearing very calm, almost like a statue.

"The rules are simple," Shang Hui’s voice echoed, silencing the noise of the spectators. "This battle aims to settle a dispute. It is forbidden to use weapons, poisons, or outside aids. Anyone who leaves the arena or surrenders is declared the loser. Do both parties agree?"

"Agreed!" Dan Wuji shouted impatiently. His eyes were red, harboring a grudge from being humiliated three days ago. Lin Feng only gave a small nod in response.

"Begin!"

The moment the command was shouted, Dan Wuji wasted no time. He lunged forward with incredible speed, his palms glowing a reddish-orange; that was the Destructive Fire Technique of the Cloud Sword Sect. A wave of heat swept across the arena surface, making the air around Lin Feng feel suffocating.

Lin Feng did not face him with raw strength. Instead, he stepped back with a fluid motion, as if his feet did not touch the ground. He only used the basic Qi strengthening technique, a technique that all cultivators were required to master.

However, in Lin Feng’s hands, that basic Qi felt so dense it was able to create an invisible protective layer on the surface of his skin.

Bugh! Bugh!

Exchanges of blows occurred repeatedly. Every time Dan Wuji’s fiery fist struck Lin Feng’s arm, a loud sound like stone hitting iron was heard.

The spectators were stunned; they expected Lin Feng would be immediately sent flying, yet the youth was actually able to match every attack with terrifying accuracy.

"Why is he so strong?!" whispered a disciple in the stands. "He is only using a basic strengthening technique, but Dan Wuji, who is at level five, seems to have difficulty penetrating his defense!"

Dan Wuji grew increasingly frustrated. Every one of his lethal attacks seemed to be read by Lin Feng. He felt as if he were hitting a slippery shadow. "Stop dodging, you damn Rat!"

Dan Wuji released a flurry of consecutive punches, but Lin Feng found a gap. With one twist of his waist, Lin Feng slipped under Dan Wuji’s defense and landed a palm strike right on his opponent's solar plexus.

"Ugh!" Dan Wuji staggered back, blood seeping from the corner of his lips. An extraordinary sense of shame burned his sanity. In front of hundreds of people, he was being pressured by the person he had stepped on for the past two years.

Losing his mind, Dan Wuji ignored the rules. His hand reached for the storage ring on his finger. With a lightning-fast motion, a short knife appeared in his grip. It was the same knife once used to tear open Lin Feng’s left eye.

"Die!" Dan Wuji shouted while charging forward, aiming for Lin Feng’s throat with the bloodthirsty tip of the blade.

"Stop! That is a violation!" Shang Hui shouted and tried to jump into the middle of the arena, but he was too far away.

Seeing that knife, something inside Lin Feng seemed to explode. Memories of the pain piercing his eye, the coldness of the steel blade against his skin, and Dan Wuji’s sickening laughter replayed.

His world turned red. A dark and cold power welled up from within his chest, enveloping his consciousness.

Lin Feng’s movements changed instantly; he no longer dodged. With a speed difficult to follow with the naked eye, he caught Dan Wuji’s wrist that held the knife. The sound of cracking bone was heard clearly amidst the silence of the arena.

"Aaakhhh!" Dan Wuji screamed in pain.

Lin Feng did not stop. He slammed Dan Wuji’s body onto the arena floor with a force that shattered the stone tiles. With a brutal reflex movement, he seized the knife and thrust it downward. His eyes flashed with pure rage, a darkness he had never shown before.

Clang!

The knife blade stopped exactly one inch from Dan Wuji’s left eye. Shang Hui managed to land and parry the knife in Lin Feng’s hand with all his might. Lin Feng’s breath was heavy, his chest heaving wildly. He stared at Dan Wuji’s face, which was now deathly pale and wet with tears of terror.

"The match is over! The winner, Lin Feng!" Shang Hui announced with a slightly trembling voice. He looked at Lin Feng with a scrutinizing gaze.

Lin Feng released the knife. He stood up slowly, letting the trembling Dan Wuji beneath him be dragged out of the arena by his friends.

Zhang Hao’s cheers sounded the loudest in the distance, as did the murmurs of awe from the other disciples. However, Lin Feng did not feel proud.

He looked at his own hand, which was trembling slightly. Just now, he truly intended to kill. It was not just self-defense; there was a foreign and terrifying bloodlust driving him from within. He felt as if it were not him controlling his body for that moment.

"What happened to me?" he whispered to himself. He ignored Zhang Hao’s congratulations and walked away from the arena with a racing mind. He wondered if this Qi filtering method had side effects, or if the Yin-Yang necklace had awakened something that should have remained asleep.

On the other side of the stands, among the crowd of disciples beginning to disperse, a beautiful girl in the signature blue robes of an inner disciple stood frozen.

Her black hair was tied in two braids, and her clear eyes stared at Lin Feng’s retreating back with an unexplainable spark. She did not cheer like the others, yet a thin smile was carved on her reddish lips.

"Now he has become a great man...," she murmured.

Lin Feng kept walking without looking back, unaware that today's victory was only the beginning of a much larger storm that would strike the Cloud Sword Sect.

His name was now beginning to be carved into the memory of every disciple, no longer as trash, but as a mysterious figure capable of shaking the order of power with even the simplest of techniques.