Chapter Sixty-Two: The Whole City as Foes

Qin Feiyang’s gaze grew cold as he charged straight at one of the guards. He would strike first, and in doing so, test the strength of these men.

“Stubborn fool!” the guard snapped, swinging his blade down with a chilling glint.

Qin Feiyang shifted his body ever so slightly, dodging with ease. He extended his forefinger, aiming a swift jab at the guard’s wrist.

At the tip of his finger, true energy surged forth. In an instant, a crystalline layer of ice formed around his entire finger.

—the Frost Crystal Finger!

Ling Yunfei’s pupils contracted, and he cried out, “Careful! That’s his martial technique—it’s incredibly powerful!”

Just yesterday, Qin Feiyang had used this very skill to effortlessly dispatch several water pythons.

“A martial technique?” The guard hadn’t thought much of it at first, but upon hearing Ling Yunfei’s warning, his expression changed drastically. He quickly drew his arm back, spinning his blade to strike at Qin Feiyang’s finger instead.

Qin Feiyang had calculated this attack perfectly, but hadn’t anticipated Ling Yunfei’s warning. Now, it was too late to withdraw his finger.

Clang!

Blade and fingertip collided with a piercing metallic ring.

“Even if your finger were made of iron, I could still sever it!” the guard sneered.

But in the next instant, with a resounding crack, the blade broke clean in two.

“How is this possible?” Not only the guard, but everyone present was left dumbfounded.

After all, the weapons wielded by the City Lord’s guards were all forged from the finest black iron—unbreakable. Yet now, one had shattered at a single touch. Was this a dream? How could anyone possess such terrifying strength?

Qin Feiyang glanced down at his own finger, equally surprised. The ice crystal layer had shattered and vanished without a trace, and a ghastly wound had opened at his fingertip, exposing the bone and sending blood flowing.

Though injured, his finger had not been severed.

“To think the Frost Crystal Finger isn’t just formidable in attack but also in defense,” he mused.

His most frequently used martial techniques had always been Thunderclap Fist, Smoke Steps, Lion’s Roar, and Wind-Thunder Palm. He seldom employed the Frost Crystal Finger. Who would have thought its power surpassed all the rest? Were it not for the crystal’s protection, his finger might well have been lost.

“Jiang Haotian, don’t think you’re the only one with martial techniques!” the guard snarled. “Quicksand Fist—kill!”

Enraged and humiliated, the guard clenched his right fist, true energy surging forth as he struck at Qin Feiyang.

“Wind-Thunder Palm!” Qin Feiyang responded without hesitation, unleashing a tempestuous palm strike that roared like wind and thunder, crashing forth like a tidal wave.

Boom!

Fist and palm collided.

The guard’s face turned instantly pale; blood spurted from his mouth as he staggered backward, his fist split open and blood streaming everywhere.

Qin Feiyang stood motionless, as steady as a mountain.

The gathered crowd stared in utter disbelief. Only now did they realize how gravely they had underestimated this young man’s strength.

With a sudden stumble, the guard sat down hard, gazing at Qin Feiyang in shock.

Qin Feiyang looked down at him coldly and said, “So, just a Five-Star Martial Master, and your Quicksand Fist is merely a middle-grade technique. Combined, you possess the strength of only seven wild elephants. It seems the Black Bear City guards aren’t worth much after all.”

At these scornful words, a cold light flickered in the guard’s eyes. He leapt up and shouted, “So you look down on us? Everyone, together!”

The other guards—more than a dozen—drew their blades and surged forward.

“You’re not enough!” Qin Feiyang sneered.

He stepped into the Smoke Steps, alternating between Frost Crystal Finger and Wind-Thunder Palm, and on that open plain, he battled fiercely against more than ten men!

“If I recall, when Jiang Haotian last visited the Treasure Pavilion, he was only a Three-Star Martial Master,” the Pavilion Master murmured.

“Then in just a month, he’s advanced to Four-Star?” the Alchemy Hall Master asked in amazement.

The Pavilion Master nodded.

“So soon!” The leading figures of the city were all astounded. To break through a minor realm in just a month—even with daily consumption of elixirs—was all but impossible!

The Pavilion Master continued, “His talent is matched by only one in Black Bear City—Luo Qingzhu. What a pity…”

He glanced regretfully at the Jiang family patriarch, who hung his head, inwardly bitter.

Had it not been for that incident years ago, Luo Qingzhu’s father would not have left, nor abandoned the Jiang family. Luo Qingzhu would not bear her mother’s surname. If none of this had happened, the Jiang family would surely be one of the most renowned clans in Yan Prefecture today.

The heads of the Mu, Ling, and other minor families looked toward the Jiang patriarch with thinly veiled schadenfreude.

Elsewhere, Luo Xiong stood together with the white-robed and black-robed elders, their eyes keen as they watched Qin Feiyang battle.

“Hall Master, no matter what, we must persuade this young man to join the Alchemy Hall,” the white-robed elder murmured.

“Hmm?” The black-robed elder was perplexed. “Strange, Old Feng, you’ve always been proud and dismissive of others. Why do you favor Jiang Haotian so much this time?”

“Don’t you know?” the white-robed elder frowned.

“Should I?” The black-robed elder grew even more curious.

Luo Xiong whispered, “Old Mo, I’ve been so busy lately that I forgot to tell you—Jiang Haotian possesses…”

He stopped abruptly, casting a wary glance toward the city lord and the other leading figures.

“What does he possess? Just say it!” the black-robed elder urged impatiently.

“Let me be clear—when I tell you, don’t shout it out,” Luo Xiong warned.

“Yes, you must keep it secret,” the white-robed elder added soberly.

“Shout out?” The black-robed elder’s curiosity was now fully piqued. He was, after all, a genuine Battle King—what could shock him so?

Luo Xiong leaned close and whispered, “Jiang Haotian possesses ninth-level spiritual power!”

“What? Ninth level—” the black-robed elder cried out, but quickly stifled himself, swallowing the rest of his exclamation. The shock in his eyes was hastily concealed.

The city lord and his peers glanced over, but seeing nothing amiss, paid them no further mind.

The black-robed elder asked quietly, “Are you certain?”

“I saw him test his spiritual power with my own eyes—there can be no mistake,” said the white-robed elder.

The black-robed elder drew in a cold breath.

Ninth-level spiritual power! Not once in the history of Yan Prefecture had such a prodigy appeared. Genius was too weak a word—this was a monster unseen in ten thousand years!

“We must stop them—we can’t let Jiang Haotian be harmed,” the black-robed elder urged.

“Not yet,” Luo Xiong replied. “Let him taste hardship first. Only then will he understand that by joining our Alchemy Hall, he can be free from the constraints of the king’s law.”

“There’s sense in that,” the black-robed elder nodded.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Agonized screams rang out. The dozen guards fell like meteors, blood spraying, collapsing heavily to the ground—though none were dead, all were gravely wounded.

Seeing this, Luo Xiong and his companions could only smile wryly. Clearly, the Black Bear City guards were no match for this young man.

Qin Feiyang exhaled deeply, then looked toward the city lord in the distance and said coolly, “A word of advice: don’t be so arrogant. Otherwise, your throne as city lord may not last.”

With that, he turned and strode away.

“You little cur, you court death!” the city lord roared. “The King of Yan gave me authority over Black Bear City. To defy me is to profane the king’s law! Such a crime—unforgivable! I hereby declare a bounty of one million gold coins for his head, as a warning to all!”

“One million!”

The crowd erupted in shock at the astronomical sum. Even the heads of the Jiang, Mu, and Ling families were stirred—one million gold coins would instantly elevate any small clan’s power overnight!

“After him!” “Surround him!” “Don’t let him escape!”

The crowd surged, sealing off all of Qin Feiyang’s avenues of retreat.