Chapter 157: Slain with a Single Punch! (3/3)-Leveling Up Infinitely in a Fantasy World(The Invincible Emperor)

"Why?"

Du Ziyue was completely unprepared; a streak of sword qi slashed directly across his neck, sending a violent burst of blood shooting into the air.

His face growing paler and paler, Du Ziyue stared at Lin Juncheng in disbelief and utter shock, questioning him with his dying breath.

His vision grew increasingly dim. Without waiting for Lin Juncheng's reply, his life was completely snuffed out, and his body collapsed to the ground.

"This?"

"Senior Brother Lin?"

Fan Gao, Xu Haomiao, Ning Hua, Qin Feng, and the other martial practitioners all stared at Lin Juncheng with looks of astonishment, incomprehension, and doubt.

"Clang!"

A disdainful smile played at the corner of Lin Juncheng's lips. With a wave of his sword, a majestic, boundless, fierce, and razor-sharp wave of sword qi surged forth.

"Bang!"

Fan Gao, Xu Haomiao, and the other six martial practitioners had lowered their guard against Lin Juncheng. They were struck directly by the sword qi and sliced cleanly in half at the waist.

"Fall back!"

Seeing Lin Juncheng make his move, Qin Feng's pupils contracted violently. Grabbing Ning Hua by the shoulder, he rapidly catapulted backward.

"Why, Senior Brother Lin?"

Xu Haomiao's face contorted in agony. Clutching the lapel of Lin Juncheng's robe with one hand, he demanded an explanation.

"Clang!"

Lin Juncheng's gaze remained fixed on Qin Feng. Feeling the tug on his robe, he flicked his wrist, shooting out a bolt of sword qi that pierced straight through Xu Haomiao's forehead.

Standing in the distance, Qin Feng watched with a puzzled and bewildered expression, unable to fathom why Lin Juncheng had suddenly turned on them.

"Hoo!"

Ning Hua was breathing heavily. That last burst of sword qi had missed him by a mere fist's width.

Had Senior Brother Qin not reacted with such speed, he would already have perished.

"Not a slow reaction!"

Stepping over the corpse of Xu Haomiao, Lin Juncheng cast his gaze toward Qin Feng and said flatly.

"Why?"

"We are all disciples of the Heavenly Thunder Sect. Why must you resort to such merciless slaughter?"

Qin Feng demanded in a cold voice.

"Dead men have no need to know so much!"

With a movement of his feet, Lin Juncheng lunged toward Qin Feng, brandishing his precious sword as wave after wave of sword qi slashed forward.

"I despise people like you who betray their companions more than anything in this life!"

With a cold hoot, Qin Feng channeled the true qi within his body, his blood boiling with fierce vitality as he thrust his fist forward.

"Boom!"

Carrying the immense might of one thousand five hundred soaring-serpent powers, Qin Feng's punch swept across all directions, obliterating everything in its path.

"How can this be?"

"Your strength?"

Seeing Qin Feng's incoming punch, Lin Juncheng felt a terrifying, overwhelming momentum that threatened to crush him completely.

He knew with absolute certainty that he could not withstand this blow.

Under this single punch, he would die!

"Clang!"

Retreating rapidly, Lin Juncheng frantically swung his longsword, sending blade after blade of sword qi crashing against the phantom fist in an attempt to deplete its momentum.

"Boom!"

Yet the force contained within the fist print was simply too overwhelming; it shattered and pulverized every single stream of sword qi, sweeping away all resistance.

"Ah!"

Seeing the fist print right before his eyes, Lin Juncheng let out a furious roar. Channeling every ounce of his remaining strength, he brought his longsword down in a ferocious downward slash.

"Crack."

The moment the sword collided with the fist print, it shattered into pieces.

"Humph!"

A broken fragment of the shattered blade rebounded with terrifying force, striking Lin Juncheng squarely on the forehead and piercing straight into his glabella.

"Bang."

With a muffled groan, the last traces of life rapidly drained from Lin Juncheng's body. The residual force of the fist print slammed into him, hurling his lifeless body heavily against the ground where he lay dead.

"Step!"

Striding forward, Qin Feng placed a foot on Lin Juncheng's chest and began to search him thoroughly.

Why would Lin Juncheng want to kill them?

He hoped to find some clues left behind on Lin Juncheng's person.

"Senior Brother Qin?"

Looking up, Ning Hua wore a look of shock, disbelief, and profound awe as he trembled and spoke.

"Gather all the spoils of war for me."

"And bring me all their weapons and armor as well."

Qin Feng had only found two bottles of pills on Lin Juncheng and nothing else of value—not even a storage ring.

"Understood, Senior Brother Qin!"

A wave of relief washed over Ning Hua's heart.

Hearing Qin Feng's instructions, he realized that Qin Feng had no intention of silencing him.

Ning Hua immediately sprang into action, collecting the spoils and searching the stronghold for any remaining wealth.

He also buried the bodies of Fan Gao, Xu Haomiao, Du Ziyue, and the others.

"Bang!"

The moment Ning Hua brought the collected spoils before Qin Feng, the latter moved with lightning speed, striking Ning Hua and rendering him unconscious.

Qin Feng intended to upgrade the Halberd of Heavenly Might, hoping to evolve it into a spirit artifact, or perhaps even a dao artifact.

The sight of him wielding his divine ability could not be witnessed by Ning Hua, which was why he had knocked him out.

"Divine Ability: Heavenly Fiend Devouring Weapon Art!"

True qi surged within Qin Feng's dantian, channeling directly into the talisman representing the divine ability: Heavenly Fiend Devouring Weapon Art.

Instantly, the talisman burst into brilliant radiance, soaring out from his dantian to engulf the Halberd of Heavenly Might along with the pile of accumulated weapons and armor.

"Boom!"

Faced with the dazzling light emanating from the divine talisman, the weapons and armor rapidly melted down, their purest essences flowing directly into the Halberd of Heavenly Might.

"It is time to return to the Heavenly Thunder Sect!"

After spending a full day on cultivation, Qin Feng withdrew the divine talisman and the halberd, revived Ning Hua, and set off rapidly in the direction of the Heavenly Thunder Sect.

Regaining consciousness, Ning Hua rubbed the back of his neck, which felt slightly sore and aching, though he knew better than to say anything.

The fact that Qin Feng had knocked him out that day meant there were things meant strictly for his master's eyes alone.

Upon waking up, Ning Hua asked no questions. He understood discretion and knew what was proper to inquire about and what was not.

"Upon returning to the Heavenly Thunder Sect, your task is to gather information regarding Lin Juncheng, including the faction backing him."

Qin Feng had already collected the two thousand three hundred primordial stones from the spoils and stowed them safely away in his storage ring. As they flew, he issued his instructions to Ning Hua.

"Whoosh!"

Soaring high into the heavens, Qin Feng and Ning Hua sped swiftly toward the Heavenly Thunder Sect.

"What?"

"You say Qin Feng has returned safely?"

"And what of Lin Juncheng? Has he returned as well?"

Yun Baisheng had all along dispatched subordinates to keep a covert watch on Qin Feng. Upon hearing the news of Qin Feng's return to the sect, his face registered profound astonishment as he quickly demanded confirmation.

He had personally sent Lin Juncheng to eliminate Qin Feng; how could Qin Feng possibly have returned alive?

"Reporting to Senior Brother, of the nine who went out on the mission, currently only Qin Feng and Ning Hua have returned."

Standing respectfully before Yun Baisheng with cupped fists, Left Xiangyu replied in a deferential and fearful tone.

"Only Qin Feng and Ning Hua have returned?"

"Could something have happened to Lin Juncheng?"

Frowning deeply, Yun Baisheng muttered softly to himself.

"Senior Brother Qin, I have already found out."

"Lin Juncheng is a martial practitioner from the Heavenly Yun Dynasty, and moreover, a follower of Yun Baisheng from the imperial clan."

Ning Hua was quite well-connected. Upon returning to the sect, he had hurried away to discreetly investigate Lin Juncheng's background.

"The Heavenly Yun Dynasty, the Yun family!"

"I have no grievances with the Yun family; why would they want to move against me?"

"Could it be because of the matter where I rejected him earlier?"

Lost in thought, Qin Feng narrowed his eyes and murmured quietly.

The only conflict he had ever had with the Yun family was when he refused the demands of Yun Shengtian.