Falling, sinking—
...
...
Feng Yin’s vision shifted, and he found himself inside the familiar carriage.
From behind him came the White Crow’s voice: "The rest is over. It’s time to set out. I am truly looking forward to seeing where that dense forest path beyond the Bloody Camp leads."
Feng Yin stood up and walked over to the White Crow.
...
[Heading to Destination: Deep in the Dense Forest]
...
The fog dissipated.
Feng Yin was now standing on the path leading deep into the dense forest—the exact path he had found after killing the Great Swordsman last time.
From the black mist behind him, the White Crow flew down from the carriage and landed on Feng Yin’s shoulder.
"When the White Church’s escort team camped in the dense forest, in addition to the erosion of the Life Wedge, they were also attacked by a mysterious monstrosity.
"The tyrannical Great Swordsman of the White Sect and his elite troops were slain, turning into corrupted minions.
"Inside the prison carriage, the escorted White Witch was abducted.
"Only the accompanying White Wind Martial Artist managed to resist the corrupted erosion with astonishing willpower, chasing after the direction the enemy had fled.
"Now, this Cultivator possessing exquisite Martial Arts has also reached the end of his rope..."
The White Crow took flight to lead the way. "Keep up! You will face a powerful enemy next!"
A message condensed from the fog appeared in Feng Yin’s line of sight.
[Destination reached. Mission starts.]
[Objective—Eliminate the "Corrupted White Wind Martial Artist" and pull out the "Life Wedge".]
...
Feng Yin unholstered the Canfeng Sword, gripping it firmly in his hand. His Left Arm Crossbow transformed and materialized, ready to fire at any moment.
Just as the White Crow had said.
The opponent he would face in this stage was quite a unique type, fully deserving the title of a rookie killer. This was also the reason why Feng Yin rarely chose the Continuous Fire Engraving to start the game, despite having played so many rounds.
With only the Repeating Crossbow and no Stealing Step or Secret Blood Flame to support him, it would be extremely difficult to kill the upcoming opponent. It was far less safe than taking other routes to gather early-stage abilities before coming to challenge this.
However, going without this Repeating Crossbow wouldn’t work either. Precisely because this was the first Elite encountered after obtaining the Continuous Fire Engraving, this Strong Crossbow could indeed be used to counter that White Wind Martial Artist. With the Level 10 Repeating Crossbow, he could basically survive the opponent’s most troublesome opening phase safely.
For safety’s sake, Feng Yin had even spent some Spirituality before going to sleep to fully restore his Armor’s Durability. His Secret Energy Reserve had also been replenished to seventeen points, relying on the Essence of the Moon obtained last time along with some Spirituality.
He was still using the "Owl Hunting" form. Based on his current Badge Level, the Owl Hunting Form’s "Owl Dance Skew" was extremely practical in one-on-one combat, and was definitely superior to the Wolf Slaughter Form. However, once he reached Level 3, the key third of the Traits unlocked by the Wolf Slaughter Form would make its head-on combat ability surpass that of the Owl Hunting Form.
Therefore, if he accumulated five hundred units of Spirituality, Feng Yin’s priority upgrade target would definitely be the Wolf’s Badge.
Putting away his racing thoughts, Feng Yin quickly caught up with the White Crow.
While traversing the secluded path, he did not encounter any enemies. The reason was simple—this stage was purely an Elite one-on-one duel.
Soon, Feng Yin passed through the dim path and arrived at a grassy clearing beneath a cliff waterfall deep in the dense forest. Here, he could see a tall figure standing silently, facing the roaring waterfall. The splashing water filled the air, refracting the faint colors of a rainbow.
The man wore a hooded, windbreaker-like white cloak. The hem of his cloak fluttered wildly in the turbulent air beneath the waterfall.
"A Martial Artist who has tempered his body to the absolute limit. He possesses formidable strength. If you don’t handle this carefully, your path forward will be cut short right here." The White Crow cawed and flew to a higher vantage point to overlook the impending battle.
Feng Yin took a step forward.
The figure beneath the waterfall slowly turned around, revealing his appearance beneath the cloak. Under the hood were tightly shut eyes and the fierce, pained face of a tough man.
His upper body was completely bare, exposing a powerful physique that looked as if it were cast from vajra and iron, covered in scars both large and small. On his lower half, he wore loose gray Martial Arts pants tied at the ankles. He was bare-handed and barefoot, his fists clenched like hammers.
Just from his appearance alone, he looked like a formidable powerhouse.
Feng Yin knew that this was the White Wind Martial Artist.
At this moment, although the Martial Artist had his eyes closed, it was as if he could see Feng Yin. Facing Feng Yin’s direction, he spoke intermittently in an unfamiliar language that Feng Yin could somehow understand:
"Aura... corrupted... source of the seal.
"Did you cause the corruption? No... is the corruption... afraid of you?"
Feng Yin remained silent.
Instead, it was the White Crow in the sky that cawed continuously: "Haha, this guy’s perception is very sharp!"
While the White Crow was speaking, the White Wind Martial Artist seemed unaware of its existence and merely assumed a solemn Fist Stance. Centered around his body, a layer of powerful airflow emerged about a foot from his skin.
"With this broken and ruined body, let me test... your worth..."
As his words fell, the white silhouette fluttered.
Bare-handed, the enemy dashed forward, pulling out a string of rapid afterimages. In an instant, he had already charged right in front of Feng Yin.
Feng Yin, however, had long been prepared. Allowing this unarmed Martial Arts master to get close meant that even with a Sharp Blade in hand, he would be completely countered by the opponent’s terrifying special mechanics. Although this was just a mechanic designed for this White Wind Martial Artist in the "game," it might not be so unsolvable after Materialization, but who knew what kind of thing this mechanic would transform into.
The next second, when the opponent rushed extremely close, Feng Yin’s raised Arm Crossbow finally fired.
TWANG!
The Crossbow Arrow gleamed with a cold light as it sped towards the enemy’s chest.
The White Wind Martial Artist suddenly raised his arm. A violent airflow surged up in response, instantly sweeping the Crossbow Arrow aside.
"Injuring others with hidden arrows..."
The White Wind Martial Artist gave an explosive shout, directly swinging his arm back and throwing a heavy Punch at Feng Yin through the air. The airflow surged and sprinted along with his Fist Stance, impacting towards Feng Yin at an astonishing speed.
Feng Yin had already side-stepped with a Stealing Step to dodge it. At the same time, adjusting the Arm Crossbow to Continuous Fire mode, he unleashed eight consecutive explosive shots towards the White Wind Martial Artist.
The White Wind Martial Artist shouted furiously again, and the airflow exploded and surged, directly forming a wind barrier in front of him! All the Crossbow Arrows were blown away by this wind barrier. However, the turbulent currents entwining the White Wind Martial Artist’s body also largely dissipated as a result.
Feng Yin had been observing the opponent’s changes all along, and his heart immediately settled at this moment. In the next split second, the White Wind Martial Artist dragged out a string of afterimages and dashed rapidly toward him again.
This time, Feng Yin did not evade, but fearlessly met the charge head-on. He pushed off the ground and twisted his waist, sweeping out a Slashing attack with his Canfeng Sword.
The Martial Artist kept his eyes tightly shut, but as if completely unaffected, he tilted his body at high speed. Driven by the miraculous airflow, he perfectly dodged Feng Yin’s upward slash. At the same time, his right fist, the size of a sandbag, came crashing straight toward Feng Yin’s face!
Feng Yin also swung his sword back at high speed to counter-slash the man’s arm. Yet, he saw that this White Wind Martial Artist, despite clearly being bare-handed and wearing no Protective Gear, was not at all afraid of the Canfeng Sword’s Sharp edge.
He simply pulled his arm back to Block on the spot!
SWISH!
Amidst the fierce sound of airflow, Feng Yin’s Canfeng Sword was blocked out of thin air, half an inch away from the skin of the White Wind Martial Artist’s arm.
Feng Yin felt indifferent in his heart, having long anticipated this. This was the unique aspect of the White Wind Martial Artist. He was able to use his special Martial Arts to cover his whole body with the Wind Power of the Storm Secret Technique, transforming it into a "Wind Armor" that suited his combat style.
And this was even after Feng Yin had relied on the Repeating Crossbow to force the opponent to use that "wind barrier" move from earlier, which resulted in the weakened Strength of the Wind Armor entwining his body. Otherwise, this Slashing strike from Feng Yin’s Canfeng Sword wouldn’t just have been "blocked"—it would have been directly Skewed by the White Wind Martial Artist’s violent protective airflow!
This miraculous ability, combined with the White Wind Martial Artist’s formidable unarmed combat skills, would cause any novice who didn’t understand the "mechanics" to suffer a huge loss right at the start. Even getting completely overwhelmed and defeated by the opponent’s continuous flurry of punches and kicks would be normal.
But now things were different!
Feng Yin used a Stealing Step to dodge the White Wind Martial Artist’s dashing shoulder tackle. After widening the distance, he quickly utilized the reach advantage of the Canfeng Sword in his hand and began raining down stormy attacks upon the White Wind Martial Artist!
The White Wind Martial Artist continuously raised his arms and legs to Block Feng Yin’s Heavy Sword. Relying on the protection of the airflow, his blocking maneuvers were all effective. But without the turbulent airflow reinforcing it, the Wind Armor’s effectiveness was about the same as regular Armor, perhaps even slightly weaker.
Under Feng Yin’s set of high-speed continuous slashes, the invisible Wind Armor on the White Wind Martial Artist’s body was constantly struck and weakened. In a brief moment, it weakly dissipated.
At this time, Feng Yin’s Canfeng Sword was already cleaving down toward his head once again!
The White Wind Martial Artist seemed to know that this strike could no longer be blocked. In a desperate moment, he let out an explosive shout, and his right arm, forcefully gathering the power of the storm, launched a Punch at Feng Yin. The violent airflow erupted, instantly vibrating and rebounding Feng Yin’s fatal slash.
At the same time, the White Wind Martial Artist retreated at top speed, seemingly planning to put some distance between himself and Feng Yin.
But there was absolutely no way Feng Yin would give the opponent any opportunity. He understood that once the White Wind Martial Artist got past this vulnerable window, he would reactivate the strongest form of the Wind Armor. When that time came, breaking through those extra turbulent currents wouldn’t be so easy.
Speed was paramount in war; delay brings disaster!
Feng Yin directly activated the Secret Technique he possessed. Blood Flame!
A violent crimson flame light rose from his body. In the next second, Feng Yin fearlessly activated the second of the Traits of the Owl Hunting Form.
Shadow Flash!
An ultra-high-speed version of the Stealing Step initiated. Feng Yin’s afterimage remained in place, while his true body suddenly appeared in front of the White Wind Martial Artist as if teleporting. The Canfeng Sword then unleashed a Fury Slash!
The crimson flame light entwined on the sword’s edge contained a terrifying power.
This time, the White Wind Martial Artist was out of options. However, his face calmed down instead. He directly sidestepped rapidly, while his right fist, once again entwined with the final storm airflow, threw out a punch!
SLASH!
The Martial Artist’s evasion failed to completely dodge Feng Yin’s close-range Slashing strike, and his left arm was instantly severed at the shoulder.
BOOM!
To kill the opponent in one fell swoop, Feng Yin also forcefully tanked his opponent’s desperate punch. The violent gale exploded against his chest.
[Durability: 20/20 → 12/20]
A single punch knocked off eight points of his Durability! Feng Yin was shaken inwardly, but the movements of his hands were not slow in the slightest.
Taking advantage of the opportunity created when the violent explosion from the Blood Flame blew the White Wind Martial Artist off balance, he pushed off the ground and twisted his waist, and the Canfeng Sword swept out to kill with the momentum of the Azure Dragon Shocking Horn!
SLASH!
With one strike, the enemy was directly cleaved in half!
[Elite monster killed. Obtained Essence of the Moon: 1.]
[Corrupted White Wind Martial Artist banished. Obtained Spirituality: 50 units.]
...
Feng Yin watched as the White Wind Martial Artist before him turned into flying ash with a peaceful expression on his face. He also saw a Badge gleaming with a strange Light drop onto the ground.