Today.
Sunlight gently peeked through between the branches, casting its warm glow upon Zi Yuan's fair face.
"Baqiu, baqiu......"
Her mouth opened and closed from a sleepy murmur before she gradually woke up and rubbed her eyes.
However, in the next second, she was stunned. She felt as though she wasn't seeing clearly as she found herself currently nestled in Qin Feng's embrace in a somewhat intimate position with the unsettling presence of his hand currently placed in a location where it shouldn't be near at all.
If she didn't remember wrongly, in which she probably wasn't wrong, she wasn't even wearing her little duckling [1].
"Ah......"
A shriek broke the peaceful silence of daybreak, scaring a flock of birds within the forest.
"Why are you screaming so loudly?!"
Qin Feng was shocked awake from his beautiful dream. As for him taking advantage of her, he would completely refute it.
'What would a mere kid like him know, and how could a child like him have any ill will?!'
"You, you......"
Zi Yuan couldn't bring herself to say anything. She truly couldn't do anything to a brat like Qin Feng.
"Ding dong! Congratulations to Master for taking advantage of a girl! You have obtained 200 villain points!"
"En!!"
Qin Feng's brows arched in surprise when he sensed that someone was coming. He hastily covered Zi Yuan's dainty mouth with his hand and quickly pulled her into the concealment of some tall grass.
Even now, the memory of the sudden appearance of a sword light yesterday night still made him terrified. It carried a terrifying sword will that didn't seem to belong to the mortal world.
"Could it be Lin San's trump card?"
Qin Feng pondered to himself. He instinctively thought it was Lin San.
After all, it was widely known that Lin San had inherited the legacy of the Sky Sword God. And to safeguard the life of his successor, it made perfect sense for him to leave some techniques to be used for such dire situations.
Deng! Deng! Deng!
Rushed footsteps could be heard.
Five members of the Fierce Tiger Gang rushed over, but unlike last night, they were all injured. It was obvious that they had suffered through the attacks of the raging sword Qi.
The leading member spoke, "It should be that young girl from last night. I don't think they would've been able to run too far. Quickly, go back and call more people......"
Before he could even finish speaking, Qin Feng jumped out from the grass with the movement of a pro. After a night of rest, his mana bar had been finally replenished, and he could now go on a rampage again.
Nod, unsheath!
The clear clang of a sword being unsheathed could be heard as a chilling air descended on the entire forest.
Huu huu!
Dark streaks of sword light flew their way as a fierce sword wind blew past them.
Pu!
The lethal dark sword lights found their targets, and streams of blood spewed out as the five figures crashed powerlessly to the ground. Their pupils dilated slightly before being glazed white, turning lifeless and empty---they were dead.
"Ding Dong! Congratulations to Master for eliminating five people! You have obtained 500 villain points."
"Is he really just a child?!" Zi Yuan was appalled.
This child had taken five lives with one move, and he didn't even blink once.
"Let's run away now!"
Qin Feng started running while holding Zi Yuan's hand, knowing that the Fierce Tiger Gang would definitely pursue them relentlessly.
At this moment—
On a mountain not too far away.
The gang leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang, the knife-scarred man's expression was dark as his right sleeve fluttered with the wind. It was obviously empty; he had lost his most important right arm.
The moment he launched his attack, he had truly grasped the reason why Lin San was renowned as a genius. Had he not made the timely decision to sacrifice his right hand, he would have met his end then and there.
"These prodigies are too terrifying!"
The knife-scarred man was afraid, but he was also strangely excited.
Qin Feng's value was undoubted, and Lin San had a powerful legacy within him. If he were able to seize them, he would become a force to be reckoned with in Huang Gu.
As for Zi Yuan...
A man of wealth and power naturally needed the accompaniment of a beautiful woman!
"All bets come with risks!"
After a moment of deliberation, the knife-scarred man decided to take this bet.
If he won, he would have a beautiful woman by his side and the ability to do anything he wanted.
If he lost, he would worry about the consequences then.
An underling quickly came and reported, "Gang leader, we have located the young man named Lin San. One of our brothers witnessed him opening a remnant and entering."
"There's a remnant here?!"
The knife-scarred man was dumbfounded.
He had played the mountain king for the last few decades here, and he had never even heard a whisper of a remnant here before. And yet, Lin San had discovered one the moment he arrived.
'Was he unworthy?!'
Quickly—
The knife-scarred man had called for tens of thousands of his disciples, leading a team to search for the remnant while commanding the rest to scour the forest in pursuit of Qin Feng and Zi Yuan.
"Why do I feel like they're underestimating me?!"
On the path that Qin Feng had led Zi Yuan, they had only met with small fries.
The strongest amongst them were only at the Seventh or Eighth layer of the Phenomenal realm. Since none of them was attributed with a Chosen One trait, Qin Feng didn't even have to use his Sky-Splitting Sword Technique to deal with them. His ancestor's Soaring Fallen Leaves were more than enough.
Zi Yuan responded, "It must be because of that attack from Childe Lin last night. They've decided to use their main forces to deal with him."
"Lin San?!" Qin Feng frowned. He noticed something was off.
Logically, the knife-scarred man should have been relentlessly pursuing him with all their forces considering the bounty from the Qin family. However, now he was splitting his main force to go after Lin San, which was inherently illogical.
Unless...the current Lin San held more value than he did!
An evil smirk appeared on Qin Feng's face as he mumbled to himself, "If I'm not mistaken, Lin San's halo should be coming into effect. The reason why that fellow chose to stay here rather than return with Lin Xin'er must be because of these treasures."
"What are you mumbling about?!" Zi Yuan asked curiously.
"Nothing, let's go!"
In an effort to find evidence supporting his assumption, Qin Feng started to make his way back while pulling onto Zi Yuan's hand. He needed to find Lin San quickly and rob him before his halo completely activated.
"Hey, are you crazy? You know that they're looking for us, but you're going back?"
Zi Yuan quickly reminded him, but Qin Feng simply held onto her dainty waist and activated the Phantom Escape to weave through the forest.
"Wu wu......"
Zi Yuan couldn't resist in the slightest and could only follow the whims of the brat before her.
After a while—
Qin Feng quickly arrived at the place where he had met the knife-scarred man. The surrounding area, spanning a thousand meters, bore the scars of destruction. Trees were all decimated and broken in half, with slashes more than ten meters deep scarring the earth. It was a testament to how terrifying Lin San's trump card was.
"Is this truly the work of Childe Lin?!"
Zi Yuan gulped, unable to imagine what kind of strength was needed to cause such devastating destruction.
"A Chosen One is much more terrifying than I imagined!"
Qin Feng was secretly relieved that he didn't try to kill Lin San.
Even with his trump card, the dense pupils, he still might not be a match for Lin San unless he used the Max-Levelled Red-Haired Old Monster Experience Coupon.
"No way, I need to think of ways to strengthen myself!"
Qin Feng took out his younger brother's Sovereign Bone from his spatial storage, and looking at the mysterious runes moving along its surface, he could feel the power of heaven and earth hidden inside of it.
As long as he could implant this into his own body, he could wield that power.
"This is......"
Zi Yuan stared at the Sovereign Bones in curiosity, wanting to ask Qin Feng what it was.
But even before she could open her mouth to ask, she watched in astonishment as Qin Feng's gaze became vicious as he stabbed the Sky God Sword into his own chest, taking out his own bone and replacing it with the Sovereign Bone.
Despite the copious amount of blood that flowed out, he simply gritted his teeth, not letting a single sound escape from his lips.
"Y-you......"
Zi Yuan was left speechless by the gruesome sight before her. She had never expected a brat to be so ruthless to himself......
Footnote:
[1] little duckling - Zi Yuan's innerwear