Chapter 293: The Sentence
Lin Feng quickly flipped backward, stumbling as he barely managed to regain his footing.
He frowned as he looked down at the shallow gash that had appeared on his chest.
The dagger had actually managed to leave a gash on him. If he hadn't defended himself in time, he'd likely be gutted by now.
But the shadowy figure had already vanished.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from in front of him. Lin Feng whipped his head around, only to find a jet-black longsword resting on his shoulder.
A deathly pale face appeared right in front of him—it was the same assassin from before!
The assassin held a longsword, its jet-black blade glinting with a cold, sharp light, as if mocking Lin Feng.
"Little bastard, now let's see you try to escape!"
The assassin sneered. "Haha, let's see you fight us now!"
Lin Feng's brow twitched, but then he suddenly broke into a grin. "If you're looking for death, then I'll be happy to oblige!"
His body vanished in a flash. An instant later, he reappeared behind the assassin, his fist hurtling toward the man's back!
The assassin sensed Lin Feng's movement but couldn't react in time. With a flick of his wrist, he swung the jet-black longsword horizontally, attempting to cleave Lin Feng!
BANG!
With a thunderous crash, Lin Feng's Iron Mountain Lean sent the assassin staggering back five or six steps. The man's entire body went numb, and an unbearable pain shot through his wrist.
He tried to look up to see what had happened, but what he saw filled him with absolute terror.
A gleaming longsword was now pressed against his neck. Lin Feng stared at him, his gaze as cold and final as a death sentence.
"You…"
He had just started to speak when he saw Lin Feng raise the longsword and bring it down without a shred of mercy.
SWISH!
With a sound of slicing air, the jet-black longsword was cleaved in two. Lin Feng's own gleaming sword didn't stop, continuing its path toward the assassin's throat.
SPURT!
Blood sprayed into the air as a head flew high. Scalding-hot blood splattered onto the surrounding ground, staining it a deep crimson.
The assassin's headless body crashed to the ground, utterly lifeless.
Haaa…
Lin Feng let out a slow breath, his eyes slightly closed. The battle had been brief, lasting only a few moments, but his heart had been pounding with tension.
'He knew that if his body hadn't been strong enough, he likely would have been defeated right then and there.'
'After all, he had already used up more than half of his stamina, and these people's techniques were insidious. The slightest mistake could have been fatal!'
But he felt no fear. These assassins were here to kill him. They were the enemy.
'Against enemies like these, even if he couldn't win, he had to fight to the bitter end. Their goal was clear—his life. That being the case, there was nothing left to discuss.'
RUSH…
Just then, the sound of rushing water came from within his body. The sound was incredibly clear, and he could even faintly make out the roars of a dragon and a tiger.
"Hm?"
Puzzled, Lin Feng closed his eyes and looked inward. He discovered that his nearly depleted Inner Strength was surging once more, frantically pouring into his Dantian!
It felt like a man dying of thirst finally drinking his fill. His entire body was undergoing a complete transformation, as if being reborn.
The sensation was marvelous. His power had directly broken through to the Late Stage of Innate!
'This... I broke through just like that?'
Lin Feng was dumbfounded.
'His original plan had been to concoct a pill to achieve his breakthrough, using the Red Flame Fruit as the main ingredient, supplemented by the Purple Reishi, the cold qi from Murong Qian's body, and numerous other herbs.'
'But he never imagined he would break through during a life-and-death battle, right when his body was on the verge of collapse from exhaustion!'
"Talk about a rollercoaster," Lin Feng muttered with a wry smile. In truth, he hadn't wanted to break through right now.
'He was surrounded by enemies, with no time to stabilize his meridians and new realm. This could actually be detrimental to his cultivation.'
'Oh well. Since it happened, it certainly saves me some trouble!'
Lin Feng's gaze grew resolute. He slowly exhaled, and as the Inner Strength surged through his body, the gruesome wound on his chest began to slowly close.
He also took two vials of medicine from his coat.
He shook a pill from one and swallowed it, then applied a salve-like substance from the other vial onto the wound.
'That's much better.'
Breathing a slow sigh of relief, the color returned to Lin Feng's face.
As a top-tier Physician, he always carried Healing Medicine with him, so he wasn't overly concerned about his current predicament.
'He was confident that with his skills and various techniques, he could outlast these guys if he just stalled for time. They wouldn't be able to touch him.'
With that thought, Lin Feng's gaze shifted toward the deeper darkness.
That was the farthest corner of the dilapidated factory. If he wasn't mistaken, that was where those bastards were holding Su Yanxue.
At this thought, Lin Feng's eyes turned to ice. He stomped his foot, then advanced into the depths of the building.
...
「In the hazy night, inside a simple work shed.」
A rich, meaty aroma filled the air. Inside the shed, a young woman dressed in black sat at a table with two dishes laid out before her.
Next to her lay two corpses.
"Heh, your cooking isn't bad. This looks quite appetizing."
A faint smile played on her lips as she picked up a piece of beef with her chopsticks. She chewed slowly and deliberately, her table manners clearly impeccable.
Behind her stood a man in black, his body bowed respectfully.
"Miss, that man must be the one named Lin Feng. I didn't expect him to be so strong... he finished off Old Wu and his team in a single move!"
The man in black said after a long moment of silence.
"Oh? So you're telling me Old Wu and his men couldn't even withstand a single one of his moves?" she asked, her voice flat. "Useless."
"The man is just... unsettling," the man in black said, his voice strained. "I watched on the monitors. Our assassins didn't even last twenty exchanges with him before he killed them all."
"And he was already injured."
The man in black's tone was bitter. "Normally, how could they possibly lose to someone who was already badly injured? But the truth is a harsh one. They didn't just lose—they lost their lives."