Chapter 120: Terror

The moment the young man drew his sword, Ye Feng felt every hair on his body stand on end. In his previous life, he had encountered this sensation several times, and each instance had been preceded by a life-threatening danger. Yet now, facing a single streak of sword light, Ye Feng felt the very same intuition.

*Swish.*

Blade energy and sword qi surged. That streak of light arrived in an instant. There was no sound; the three-foot-long blade of light simply passed through, and the various blade auras in the void were pierced through simultaneously. It was as if a bullet had passed through dozens of layers of paper, leaving a circular hole in every single one. That was the sight within the void: every blade aura caught in the trajectory of the sword light now bore a three-foot-long, sword-shaped void.

"No... retreat!"

Only then did Ye Feng’s voice reach the ears of the Heavenly King Alliance members. But the light had already arrived.

*Swish.*

Three heads soared into the air. The faces of the severed heads still wore the expressions of excitement from the battle, not yet faded. Even in death, they remained immersed in the intensity of the fight, completely unaware that the Grim Reaper had claimed them.

*Rumble.*

Thunder cracked, and a brilliant flash of lightning illuminated every inch of the dim space. Only then did the members of the Heavenly King Alliance realize their three brothers had been killed. The lightning vanished, but the torrential rain continued unabated. The earth fell silent; the battle seemed to have paused. The mountain forest was shrouded in darkness, yet the scent of death permeated the woods.

"Ah... you people from the Holy Land must die!"

A roar of fury erupted, and a blinding golden blade aura flashed through the dark. Ye Feng was enraged. Three of his brothers had died before his very eyes. At that moment, his heart felt as though it had been struck by something, trembling violently. He remembered that rainy night when his mother had shielded him with her body against a sword thrust. Back then, he had been powerless. He had thought he was strong enough now to protect those he cared about, yet his brothers had been slaughtered right in front of him, and he remained powerless.

The golden blade glow spanned the sky, slashing toward the youth in the void. However, with a seemingly casual strike from the young man, the blade aura vanished, and the world plunged back into darkness. But in a mere heartbeat, the blade light reappeared, once again illuminating the earth with gold. Simultaneously, a golden figure lunged into the air.

The next moment, a fierce battle broke out. Ye Feng launched a violent assault from the start. Blade light and sword shadows danced in the void; blade auras and sword qi clashed and surged. Within the dazzling brilliance, two figures entangled, trading blow for blow.

In the darkness, everyone watched the duel in the void in silence. No one felt fear despite the heavy atmosphere of death. The gathered crowd remained mute; the fire in their blood had been extinguished the moment those three heads flew. At this moment, they felt a profound, desperate craving for strength.

The Dragon-Slaying Blade struck repeatedly. Ye Feng became a demon god from the nine heavens, each strike possessing the power to split the heavens and crack the earth. The sound of dragons roared through the void, and the shockwaves of surging spiritual energy caused the distant trees to sway violently. But what chilled him was that no matter how ferocious his attacks were, the young man deflected them with seemingly plain, simple sword strikes that lacked even a hint of overflowing spiritual power.

"Clever and resourceful, but that is all. You disappoint me."

Walking through the void with casual steps, the young man did not take the initiative to attack. Amidst the fight with Ye Feng, he even had the leisure to mock him. This was the most terrifying peer Ye Feng had ever encountered, a realm unfathomable. Ye Feng fought until he was frantic, while the youth remained calm and detached, showing not a hint of panic.

"Let's end this."

Seemingly tired of the struggle, the youth stepped back, retreating dozens of yards in an instant. That eternal streak of sword light appeared once again—only three feet long, yet nearly eternal.

*Hum.*

A phantom of an ancient shield appeared, rotating around Ye Feng. At the same time, two rays of purple-gold light shot from Ye Feng’s eyes to meet the sword light.

*Crack.*

In an instant, the purple-gold gaze—which had never failed him before—was shattered by the sword light. The light did not lose its momentum, silently reaching him.

*Boom.*

The moment the sword light touched him, the ancient shield phantom erupted with unprecedented golden brilliance, then shattered into pieces. Ye Feng’s body, struck by the immense force, plummeted into the dense forest below like a falling meteor. As he fell, he felt a surge of energy pierce through his body, causing excruciating pain in his chest and abdomen, but he was struck more by the shock of the youth’s power. Although he had suffered internal injuries, he was not incapacitated, as nearly ninety percent of the sword’s power had been absorbed by the shield phantom.

With a loud crash, Ye Feng slammed into the forest. But the next moment, he pushed his cultivation to its limit. Golden light burst from his body, suppressing his injuries, and he rocketed back into the sky. The golden spiritual energy swirled around him like a raging inferno, shielding him from the rain and making him look like a god of war in golden armor.

Even so, with his current strength, he was no match for the youth. Yet, Ye Feng had no intention of fleeing. Behind him were the brothers he had to protect. To bully them, one would have to step over Ye Feng’s corpse.

Ye Feng attacked again. A blade aura over two yards long illuminated the entire woods, the blinding edge erupting like a miniature sun. Seeing this, the young man shook his head in disappointment and swung his sword with a strike that felt entirely devoid of lethality, shattering the massive blade aura with ease.

Ye Feng did not stop. He strode forward through the void, his long blade raised high, unleashing one blinding strike after another. The surging spiritual energy tore through the nearby trees, causing them to collapse in rows. Everyone below turned pale; such terrifying spiritual energy was beyond that of even a high-level Spirit Sovereign.

In the void, Ye Feng took three great strides, each step causing the entire forest to tremble. He swung his blade eight times, the eight materialized auras channeling every ounce of his spiritual power into strikes of immense might.

"Would a tiger fear a cornered monkey?" The youth smiled faintly, his sword tapping repeatedly in the air. Each tap created a point of light that struck the blade auras, instantly disintegrating the peerless golden power. With the shattering of each blade aura, Ye Feng was forced back a heavy step, spewing mouthfuls of blood. After eight strikes, Ye Feng had been forced back eight steps, spitting eight mouthfuls of blood.