Chapter Sixty-three: The Harvest!

Haiming Zhun tumbled more than ten meters away, catching sight of Yun Zhongfei and Xiao Yunzhou entangling Qin Feng. Relief washed over him—he had survived by the skin of his teeth.

A mouthful of fresh blood spurted from Haiming Zhun’s lips. Though he had struck Qin Feng and inflicted a grave wound, he himself had suffered severe injuries, losing seventy percent of his combat strength. He quickly retrieved some healing medicine from his robes, swallowed it, and strove to regain his fighting capacity.

“He’s wounded now. Don’t fight head-on—let’s wear him down!” Yun Zhongfei, noticing the gaping wound left when Qin Feng pulled out the long spear, whispered to his companion as blood poured out.

“Agreed!” Xiao Yunzhou rapidly adjusted his tactics, abandoning direct confrontation for agile, evasive skirmishing.

Qin Feng, observing their change in tactics, sneered inwardly at their folly. Wear him down? It was a fool’s dream. His body’s formidable regenerative powers meant he never tired in battle. The terrifying wound on his chest, though ghastly, would heal in two or three hours thanks to his strength.

“If that’s what you want, let’s see who outlasts whom,” Qin Feng said with a contemptuous smile, wielding his halberd—devoting most of his energy to defense, attacking with only a fraction of his strength.

“Why isn’t his strength diminishing?”

“Something’s wrong. Fall back!” After nearly half an hour of fighting, Yun Zhongfei and Xiao Yunzhou saw that Qin Feng remained vigorous, not even short of breath, while their own stamina plummeted, gasping for air as pain swept over them.

Finally sensing something amiss, panic gripped them and they tried to break away from Qin Feng and flee.

“Now you want to run? Too late!” Qin Feng’s mocking voice cut through the air. Unleashing all one hundred and twenty thousand jin of terrifying strength, he brought his halberd crashing down upon them.

Boom. Boom.

After more than half an hour of attrition, Yun Zhongfei and Xiao Yunzhou’s strength was spent. Even joining forces, they could not withstand Qin Feng’s onslaught and were blasted away.

Qin Feng strode forward, leaping over ten meters in a bound. His halberd crashed down upon Xiao Yunzhou’s body.

Blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs, spewed from Xiao Yunzhou’s mouth as his body, like a battered lobster, was hurled into the air.

“Brother, hurry—!” Xiao Yunzhou struggled to rise, but as soon as he got to his feet, another mouthful of blood gushed forth. He collapsed to the ground and died on the spot.

Qin Feng’s halberd swept forward with blinding speed, ensnaring Yun Zhongfei and leaving him no chance to escape.

With a resounding crack, Qin Feng’s halberd struck Yun Zhongfei’s weapon, knocking it from his grip. Qin Feng’s fist followed, smashing into Yun Zhongfei’s chest and shattering his heart.

Sensing disaster, Haiming Zhun leaped away and fled into the distance.

“Go!” Qin Feng gave chase, hurling his halberd at the fleeing man.

A scream pierced the air as the halberd punched through Haiming Zhun’s abdomen, its immense force carrying him forward.

“He actually managed to escape?” By the time Qin Feng caught up, only his bloodstained halberd and a pool of blood remained—Haiming Zhun had vanished.

Qin Feng scanned the surroundings, searching for any trace of where Haiming Zhun had fled. But dark clouds blotted out the sun, night was falling, and his vision was limited—he could search no further.

“My strength is still lacking. Three Marshals together could wound me—my power must grow quickly!”

He retrieved his halberd and hurried back, looting the bodies of Yun Zhongfei, Ye Sunyou, and Xiao Yunzhou.

“A banknote worth fifty thousand taels of gold.”

“A medicine of unknown effect.”

“So this is the treasure map they were fighting over? And it’s only a fragment.”

“But a treasure map worth fighting over by three Marshals must have an extraordinary origin. It may prove invaluable one day.”

Qin Feng entered the room, cataloguing the spoils taken from Yun Zhongfei, Ye Sunyou, and Xiao Yunzhou, a smile playing at his lips.

With no time to lose, he set out under cover of night. Of the four adversaries, only one had escaped—he could not know whether they had other accomplices. It was best to remain cautious while wandering the martial world.

Especially since he had heard the name of the North Martial King mentioned during the fight.

After becoming a Marshal and meeting Lin Xiaozhong, Qin Feng’s horizons had broadened. He had learned that the Great Chu Dynasty boasted eleven King-level experts on the surface.

The Chu royal family possessed three King-level experts. Beneath them stood four great lords: the North Martial King, the Celestial Marquis, the Northern Palace Lord, and the Tiancheng King. There were also the heads of top sects within Chu’s borders: the North Sea Palace, the Xuanming Sect, the Fiery Sun Sect, and the Baozhi Trading House.

As for Emperor-level experts, none had appeared in the Chu Dynasty for a hundred years—no one knew if such a figure even existed.

In the depths of the forest, Haiming Zhun hastily treated his wounds, gritting his teeth against the pain as he continued his desperate escape. For three whole hours he fled, until exhaustion and blood loss claimed him, and he fell unconscious.

What should have taken one day’s journey took Qin Feng two and a half, delayed by rain, before he finally arrived at Yuntian County.

Upon entering Yuntian County, Qin Feng first found an inn, left his Thunder Hammer and luggage, then took his halberd and went out to inquire about the location of the governor’s residence, hurrying there as soon as he had the answer.

Just as he arrived, he saw Lin Xiaozhong escorting three people out of the residence. Two of them were familiar faces: Chen Yunlong and Liu Xiang, the Marshals who had previously escorted the millennia-old spirit herb for Baozhi Trading House.

“Marshal Qin?” Lin Xiaozhong, seeing Qin Feng approach as he was seeing out the Baozhi Trading House’s branch master, spoke in surprise.

“Marshal Lin, Marshal Chen, Marshal Liu. And this is…?” Qin Feng strode up, greeting Lin Xiaozhong, Chen Yunlong, and Liu Xiang with a smile, his curious gaze settling on the striking woman beside Lin Xiaozhong.

She appeared about thirty, dressed in leather that accentuated her figure to perfection, captivating all who beheld her.

“Marshal Qin, let me introduce you. This is Huang Ningbing, branch master of Yuntian County’s Baozhi Trading House—also known as the county’s most beautiful woman!” Lin Xiaozhong’s tone softened as he introduced her to Qin Feng.

“It is a pleasure, Branch Master Huang. I hope we can work well together in the future.” Qin Feng’s eyes brightened, quickly resolving to forge a good relationship with her. As the head of Baozhi Trading House, she could make acquiring rare spirit herbs much easier.

“Branch Master Huang, this is Qin Feng—the very Marshal Qin whose name has spread throughout Yuntian County,” Lin Xiaozhong explained to Huang Ningbing.