Chapter 310: Use Their Own Way Against Them

Deep night.

Cold moonlight spilled over the leaves, glinting with crystalline sheen; the forest lay silent, broken only by the rustling of flocks taking flight.

"How long are you going to hide?!"

Qi Feng walked alone through the mountains, his gaze icy.

As a Spirit Tamer.

Monitoring one person was too simple—Qinghe City was now the city with the most demonic beasts in all Yu Kingdom; these beasts could all become his eyes, and Li Rui's every move was plainly visible to him.

He had to admit, Li Rui's patience was truly exceptional.

For a full six months.

He hadn't taken a single step outside Qinghe, not even venturing far from the Anning Guard.

Qinghe City was filled with experts, not to mention the God of Killing Nie Siming stationed there.

A direct assault was out of the question.

So Qi Feng could only wait.

"The Dragon Lord's patience is limited. If you still can't find Dragon Saliva Incense, return yourself to face punishment."

"I see you've been loafing around all day with no results—I'll take the two of them back with me."

These were the words spoken to him by the envoy from Jushi City a few days ago.

As he had expected.

The longer time passed, the more the great dragon would lose patience.

A primordial demonic beast was an extremely valuable war resource; it couldn't be left idle in Qinghe forever—that would be a terrible waste.

Staying half a year was already the limit.

One primordial demonic beast and one Sea-Observing beast had already left Qinghe; it was easy to foresee that if he made no progress, the demonic beasts sent by the Beast Lord would soon depart, and even he himself might be forced to return to Jushi City.

The thought of Li Rui feasting and drinking comfortably within the city, while he himself endured wind and dew in the mountains,

made Qi Feng hate him more.

He longed to drag Li Rui out of Qinghe City, flay his skin, strip his sinews, and devour every last trace of his dragon qi to satisfy his burning hatred.

He took a deep breath.

"Don't rush."

Qi Feng understood that the real contest had only just begun.

Spirit Tamers possessed a skill called "Taming Through Endurance," in which they used their own true qi to resist a demonic beast—a process often lasting months, a severe test of willpower.

The closer one came to success, the more likely one was to give up.

As a master Spirit Tamer, Qi Feng naturally had sufficient patience.

But the allure of true dragon qi was simply too great.

Qi Feng was determined to claim Li Rui's true dragon qi; Spirit Tamers found it extremely difficult to break through realms—he already possessed fifth-rank cultivation, highly impressive among Spirit Tamers, yet advancing further was as impossible as climbing to heaven; true dragon qi was his only hope of breaking into the primordial realm.

"I don't believe you'll stay in Qinghe your whole life!"

Just as Qi Feng gritted his teeth—

A sound suddenly came from beside him.

"Hmm?"

Qi Feng spun around sharply, his peripheral vision catching a dark shape hurtling toward him.

He twisted his body.

The dark shape grazed past him.

At that moment, he finally saw what the shadow was.

A black bear, two men tall.

Spirit-Devouring Poison Bear!

Qi Feng's pupils shrank slightly—he recognized it; this Spirit-Devouring Poison Bear was one of his tamed beasts.

And yet it had been slain without a sound.

This was a fifth-rank demonic beast!

Instantly, every hair on his body stood on end.

"Who?!"

Qi Feng frantically scanned the surroundings, searching for the attacker, while secretly contacting the two other demonic beasts nearby.

At that moment—

The hairs on his nape bristled; a powerful sense of danger triggered his instinct to dodge sideways.

Boom!

Soil exploded upward as a sheathed longsword slammed down.

Had the blow landed, he would not have died—but he'd be half-dead.

Qi Feng sucked in a sharp breath.

Before him stood a masked figure, eyes cold, a terrifying killing intent plunging him as if into a bottomless abyss.

"Li Rui!"

Even masked, Qi Feng recognized Li Rui instantly.

Because Li Rui's true dragon qi could not be concealed.

'I hadn't gone to kill him—he came to me?!'

Qi Feng had thought himself the hunter.

Yet he never imagined that at this moment, he had become the prey.

Beneath the mask, Li Rui's face was resolute.

He had come here to kill.

Qi Feng snorted, his panic fading slightly.

One Li Rui couldn't kill him.

As the Spirit Tamer the Qi Clan placed great hopes upon, he wasn't merely skilled in taming—he was also formidable in martial cultivation, and Spirit Tamers possessed far keener awareness of danger than ordinary martial artists.

His five senses were sharp, granting him near-invincible survival ability at his level.

As long as he held out for twenty breaths,

the nearby demonic beasts would arrive—and the prey would remain prey, unchanged.

He even felt a faint thrill.

'Indeed, I am the one with greater patience.'

Li Rui had finally stepped outside the city.

Though his method of leaving differed from what Qi Feng had anticipated, it didn't matter—the outcome was the same.

If he could kill Li Rui, the true dragon qi would be his.

Breaking into the primordial realm was within reach!

Qi Feng's lips curled into a smile; he retreated swiftly, offering no resistance—he didn't need to fight, only to buy time.

Meanwhile,

the other demonic beasts guarding him burst from the forest and lunged at Li Rui.

The Spirit Tamer's advantage became clear: though weak alone, with countless demonic beasts at his command, he could trap and exhaust even the strongest martial artist.

Watching Li Rui struggle against the beasts,

Qi Feng's smile widened—he felt everything under control.

He could almost smell the aura of the primordial realm.

Seeing Li Rui cut down one beast after another, he was secretly stunned.

'Such brutal combat power.'

'Kill all you want—I have more beasts. Let's see how long you can keep going.'

But soon, his smile froze; his pupils shrank instantly.

"Immortal Blade!"

Li Rui finally drew his longsword.

The moment it left its sheath, the heavens trembled; a violent, malevolent spirit energy erupted in a gale.

Born into the Qi Clan, Qi Feng had broad knowledge—he had seen Immortal Weapons before.

So he recognized at once: Li Rui's sword was an Immortal Weapon—and a malevolent one.

In that instant,

he could no longer remain calm.

"Damn!"

"How could he have an Immortal Blade? Impossible! Utterly impossible!" He knew better than anyone how terrifying an Immortal-level malevolent blade was—it was beyond his capacity to resist.

Qi Feng's mind raced, searching for a solution.

Simultaneously, he commanded the surrounding demonic beasts to block Li Rui at all costs.

Facing the beasts' relentless, suicidal assault,

Li Rui's eyes turned crimson in an instant, his lips curling into a bloodthirsty grin.

"Kill!"

A strange, crimson red flooded Qi Feng's entire field of vision.

That slash was truly breathtaking.

He had almost no chance to defend himself.

The next instant.

His head, eyes wide open, rolled onto the ground—truly dying with unclosed eyes. The surrounding beasts were all slain by that terrifying slash. Li Rui stood alone in the center of the pile of corpses, slowly sheathing his blade.

Not a single error in word, syllable, or content—every detail perfectly observed!

It's just killing. Why overthink it?

Li Rui scanned the dark forest.

He immediately crouched down, swiftly searching key areas on the black-robed man's body, then snatched a token and vanished into the night.

Only ten breaths had passed.

Several great beasts appeared in the woods.

They stared at Qi Feng's severed body, consumed by rage.

Someone had dared kill right under their noses.

Audacious to the extreme!

A giant, ten-foot-tall, Foundation Establishment-level Wind Wraith Spider glared at Qi Feng's corpse and growled: "What a waste. Couldn't even hold out for twenty breaths."

Less than twenty breaths—that's practically a one-hit kill.

The other beasts nodded in agreement.

Useless.

Absolutely useless.

They rushed here the moment they received Qi Feng's signal—no more than twenty breaths total. Yet Qi Feng was so weak he got instantly killed.

Beasts always obey the strong. If not for the Demon Lord's orders, they'd never have followed Qi Feng's commands.

Now they felt the past half-year of being ordered around by him was an insult.

"This revenge must be taken. We can't let this humiliation stand."

The Wind Wraith Spider continued.

Another Foundation Establishment beast, the Purple-Blue Flying Locust, refused to pursue: "Qi Feng wasn't truly useless. The one who struck must be at least Foundation Establishment. This is Qinghe. If we fight here, the noise might draw human experts from the city to surround us. Dying for Qi Feng isn't worth it."

The Wind Wraith Spider's countless black eyes blinked.

"That's true."

They were only here to help. Why risk their lives?

As Foundation Establishment great beasts, their intelligence was already extremely high. They had long resented Qi Feng, but dared not act out due to the Demon Lord's orders.

Now that Qi Feng was dead, they had the perfect excuse to return to Wu Country—and it suited them perfectly.

The Wind Wraith Spider nodded: "Yes. Let's go."

Hearing that the two Foundation Establishment beasts had no intention of acting,

the other five high-tier beasts obediently followed the two great beasts away.

Soon,

the forest was left with nothing but corpses scattered across the ground.

An hour later,

Li Rui returned, reappearing beside Qi Feng's body.

"What a grand scene."

Just now, he had been hiding in the shadows, watching.

Though the great beasts had left, he remained cautious, waiting a full hour to ensure no ambush would come back.

To kill him, they hadn't sent just one Beast Tamer—they'd sent two Foundation Establishment great beasts and five Sea-Viewing great beasts.

'They certainly have high regard for me.'

Li Rui was puzzled.

He'd only sent Little White Dragon to Annan Prefecture, disrupting the great dragon's healing—and yet they sent this entire force to hunt him down.

Is he really that vengeful?

Such a short temper.

He'd heard every word those two great beasts spoke. They'd truly come to kill him.

And the black-robed man he'd killed was none other than Qi Feng—the infamous Demon Lord of Wu Country.

Li Rui searched Qi Feng's body and found the Qi family's token.

Since it was confirmed to be someone from the Qi family,

and a Beast Tamer at that, his identity was obvious. There were few fifth-rank Beast Tamers. It was easy to guess who he was.

Ever since he and Nie Siming teamed up to kill the Sandstorm Three Wolves,

the smoke from his Insight Eye had not returned to white—it had grown redder and redder.

Li Rui knew the matter was far from over.

Otherwise, why had he stayed hidden in Qinghe City, never stepping out?

Of course,

if he merely hid, they'd vastly underestimate him—the Assistant Regional Commander of Anning Guard.

While Qi Feng used Beast Taming techniques to control beasts and spy on him, wasn't he doing the same?

Did they really think he kept going to the Weiheshimao Office to chase profits from the beast pens?

Yes—but not entirely.

Every time Li Rui visited the Weiheshimao Office, he went to the beast pens.

Soon after, some beasts would vanish without cause.

Some of those missing beasts had escaped on their own, but others had been deliberately released by elders of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, on Li Rui's orders.

Because he had made a pact with them.

If they helped him uncover enemies hiding outside Qinghe City, he would grant them freedom.

The Seven-Colored Emperor Parrot was one of them.

He had long studied Qi Feng and the great beasts he brought. He hadn't moved quickly, but waited a full half-year—until recently, when the two Foundation Establishment beasts departed and Qi Feng grew careless. Only then did he strike with lightning speed.

Every step had been calculated. No room for error.

So Qi Feng's death was no injustice.

After all, who could have imagined Li Rui could see through everything—and dare to kill outright?

In Qi Feng's eyes, he and Li Rui were both fifth-rank Sea-Viewing.

He shouldn't have been killed in one blow.

But the outcome far exceeded his expectations. Li Rui's combat power defied all logic.

Li Rui stared at the corpses on the ground.

He swept his sleeve.

A torrent of true qi surged forth, sharp as blades, slicing through Qi Feng's body and the beasts' corpses. In an instant, not a trace of the bodies remained.

Gazing at the clean ground, Li Rui's lips curled slightly.

'Truly a divine technique.'

He had seen Jiang Lin use this to erase corpses, and had secretly trained for it ever since.

Until the night of the Bright Moon,

he had finally mastered it—and now, he'd gotten a chance to use it in battle so soon.

After finishing everything, Li Rui clapped his hands in satisfaction.

Just as he was about to leave—

A line of small characters appeared before his eyes.

【Congratulations, Host. Achievement "Strike First" (Intermediate Plot) completed.】

(End of Chapter)